Lord of the Rings Online

Raes · Jan 19, 2022

mkopec said:
Did they ever fix combat in this game ir is it still jank fest?

They've done a couple passes on the combat. It's quite a bit better than it was at launch. Most notably for me with the Hunter class, which is way better. Still annoyed by the spilling silverware drawer sound effect on a Burglar ability that gets used a lot. But, overall, combat is improved. Hard to describe exactly how it's different, but for me, just has better flow (and Hunter has a nice mobile tree). Some people still have issues with it, but I find most complaints rather nitpicky. Except for the mounted combat, which I just try to ignore.

Breakdown · Jan 20, 2022

honestly the combat is ok. I like to have nice scotch or an edible and solo this and I cycle my skills in a fun way. Ive doubled down on the IP. Everywhere i go, everyone i see, is awesome.

McCheese · Jan 20, 2022

Obviously, don't watch the whole thing. Just click through randomly.

On one hand, it's cool that this is a thing. On the other hand, people are fucking weird.

McCheese · Mar 19, 2022

Some big changes coming.

A Letter from Producer Raninia – March 2022

Hello again! It’s time to update y’all again on what we have going on!

www.lotro.com

Most notably, all classes will be free to play.

Rune-keepers, Wardens, and Beornings will now be available for all players to play!

Also, almost all expansions will be free as well.

With this update, all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep will be available for free to everyone. Quest, explore, and craft your way to level 95 to your heart’s content!

Tearofsoul · Mar 19, 2022

I am very interested in playing on a new classic server.

Animosity · Mar 20, 2022

They just launched 2 a few months ago. They are only on the second expansion I believe. Probably won’t get a new one for awhile.

Wombat · Mar 20, 2022

McCheese said:
Also, almost all expansions will be free as well.

That's not quite accurate, Helm's Deep came out like eight and a half years ago, and its level cap of 95 is quite a bit off from the current 140.

That said, the game (now with Premium Wallet for everyone!) gives you a mountain of content to go through at no cost. It's also worth noting that their F2P model not only allows everyone to hit the level cap regardless of purchases, but the core questline, even up to the most recent expansion, remains free for everyone. (Gearing isn't easy without the non-core quest rewards / dungeon drops /etc. mind you.) Also the achievements give you credit to buy more content!

(I play LOTRO whenever I get bored of WoW but am still in a MMO mood. In the past, this means I have been entire expansions behind. For Shadowlands, this means there's a grand total of about two dozen non-dungeon/raid achievements/quests I haven't finished yet.)

Letsinod · Mar 30, 2022

Wombat said:
That's not quite accurate, Helm's Deep came out like eight and a half years ago, and its level cap of 95 is quite a bit off from the current 140.

That said, the game (now with Premium Wallet for everyone!) gives you a mountain of content to go through at no cost. It's also worth noting that their F2P model not only allows everyone to hit the level cap regardless of purchases, but the core questline, even up to the most recent expansion, remains free for everyone. (Gearing isn't easy without the non-core quest rewards / dungeon drops /etc. mind you.) Also the achievements give you credit to buy more content!

(I play LOTRO whenever I get bored of WoW but am still in a MMO mood. In the past, this means I have been entire expansions behind. For Shadowlands, this means there's a grand total of about two dozen non-dungeon/raid achievements/quests I haven't finished yet.)

Yes you get all but the current expansion. Mordor, Minas Morgul, and War of Three peaks included. That is basically up to 130.

McCheese · Apr 1, 2022

I just finished playing through the newest free mid-level (low 40s) zone they recently added: The Angle of Mitheithel.

It looks great. It's connected to the Trollshaws, so it has that nice autumn forest aesthetic. I don't think there are any new assets, though. It's all recycled mob models from elsewhere in the game, which isn't surprising for a free zone.

The quests are bland in terms of mechanics, but the stories are pretty interesting if you're the type who actually reads them (why are you playing this game if you don't?!). For example, there are several literal "Kill X enemies" quests. Not even specific enemies, but "Kill 4 enemies in the zone." Then "Kill 8 enemies in the zone." Then "Kill 16 enemies in the zone." All the quests consist of either killing things or collecting clickable groundspawn items.

The stories are pretty cool, though. There are two main storylines in the zone. One involves an elf preparing to leave Middle Earth, and he kind of takes you on a nostalgia tour of the zone from his centuries of life. It's almost sad to visit ruins and hear him talk about how happy and full of life they used to be. The other involves the rangers (big surprise) and the local wild folk.

It's worth doing if you have a character at that level, but I wouldn't bother going there with a max level or leveling up someone specifically for it.

Rajaah · Apr 19, 2022

McCheese said:
I just finished playing through the newest free mid-level (low 40s) zone they recently added: The Angle of Mitheithel.

It looks great. It's connected to the Trollshaws, so it has that nice autumn forest aesthetic. I don't think there are any new assets, though. It's all recycled mob models from elsewhere in the game, which isn't surprising for a free zone.

The quests are bland in terms of mechanics, but the stories are pretty interesting if you're the type who actually reads them (why are you playing this game if you don't?!). For example, there are several literal "Kill X enemies" quests. Not even specific enemies, but "Kill 4 enemies in the zone." Then "Kill 8 enemies in the zone." Then "Kill 16 enemies in the zone." All the quests consist of either killing things or collecting clickable groundspawn items.

The stories are pretty cool, though. There are two main storylines in the zone. One involves an elf preparing to leave Middle Earth, and he kind of takes you on a nostalgia tour of the zone from his centuries of life. It's almost sad to visit ruins and hear him talk about how happy and full of life they used to be. The other involves the rangers (big surprise) and the local wild folk.

It's worth doing if you have a character at that level, but I wouldn't bother going there with a max level or leveling up someone specifically for it.

Thanks for the heads-up. I love Trollshaws so I'm sure I'll like this. My hunter left off on level 33 so I should be able to go to this new zone fairly soon whenever I play it again.

McCheese · Apr 19, 2022

15th anniversary starts tomorrow. In addition to the free expansions and classes already being given to everyone, there is a ton of other free stuff during the anniversary event. Even if you don't actively play, you may want to log in to collect it. Includes more free expansions, character boosts, and more.

Make sure to log in between 10:00 AM Eastern on April 20th and 3:00 AM Eastern on May 11th to pick up your “Happy 15th Anniversary” gifts! When you log in you will receive the following if you are at least level two when the Anniversary Event is active:

Account-Wide Gifts:

Chestnut Corgi Pet
Steed of Starlight (This skill also auto-grants the Starlight Caparison, Head-piece, accessory, leg-guards, and saddle.
Collector’s Edition – Mordor Expansion
Collector’s Edition – Minas Morgul Expansion
Collector’s Edition – War of Three Peaks
Account-Wide Gifts – VIP ONLY:

Starlight Cloak
Hooded Starlight Cloak
Light Weapon Aura

Once per Account 15-year Celebration Login Gifts:

Mithril Coin x10
Gift of the Valar
Anniversary Small Carry-all Selection Box
15-year Celebration Gift Box containing:
Trait: Riding Characteristic
Virtue Acceleration Tome: 2000 Bonus Virtue XP
Reputation Acceleration Tome
Slayer and Skill Deed Boost (90 minutes)
Tracery Reclamation Scroll
Tracery Token, Incomparable
Legendary Item Box
Once per Account – VIP ONLY 15-year Celebration VIP Login Gifts:

Mithril Coin x40
Anniversary Medium Carry-all Selection Box
15-year Celebration VIP Giftbox containing
Trait: Riding Characteristic
Virtue Acceleration Tome: 2000 Bonus Virtue XP
Reputation Acceleration Tome
Slayer and Skill Deed Boost (90 minutes)
Tracery Reclamation Scroll
Tracery Token, Legendary
Legendary Item Box
Massive Pile of Silver Scraps worth 2 Gold

Celebrating 15 Years of The Lord of the Rings Online!

Find information here about our 15th Anniversary celebration, gift giveaways, and more! Make sure to log in before the Anniversary Event ends to claim your gifts!

www.lotro.com

Rajaah · Apr 20, 2022

McCheese said:
15th anniversary starts tomorrow. In addition to the free expansions and classes already being given to everyone, there is a ton of other free stuff during the anniversary event. Even if you don't actively play, you may want to log in to collect it. Includes more free expansions, character boosts, and more.

Celebrating 15 Years of The Lord of the Rings Online!

Find information here about our 15th Anniversary celebration, gift giveaways, and more! Make sure to log in before the Anniversary Event ends to claim your gifts!

www.lotro.com

Yeah, definitely want to log in to get those free expansions. Last time I played, I bought everything up to Helm's Deep if I remember correctly (and then ended up only going from like level 31 to 33 in that sub cycle). So I need everything after that.

Kanglor · Apr 20, 2022

Getting those level boosts with the expansion collector's editions is pretty nice, might actually make an alt at some point. I'm only 88 since I started playing, and don't think I could go back and do it all again on another character.

swayze22 · Apr 21, 2022

They introduced a game breaking bug with the big update + all the free shit giveaway - so servers were down all day for the "anniversary event". You can log on today and get everything, its just a day late.

McCheese · Apr 21, 2022

They really embraced that old school MMO feel with an epically game-breaking patch. Memories!

McCheese · May 4, 2022

I'm working my way through Moria on Treebeard (slow progression server). I'm dual boxing a guardian and minstrel, so I've got my minstrel on auto follow. I had forgotten what a dangerous place Moria is. Definitely an old school MMO expansion. No invisible walls here! My poor minstrel has fallen to his death half a dozen times already as I navigate the stairs and crevices.

Really enjoying experiencing it again, though. This is what Azjol Nerub should have been in WoW.

Animosity · May 4, 2022

Ive been thinking of checking out the server. Even though its a few expansions in. Is there a good population or will finding people to group with be hard?

Rajaah · May 4, 2022

What's the timeframe on those login bonuses? I haven't been able to find the login info for my old account. My mom might have it since she played it with me for a short time back in the day. Need to get her account on there too.

I like the idea of these slow progression servers a lot, and if this were 10 years ago I'd probably be participating. Unfortunately there's no time for it. Eventually I'll probably just pick up where I left off on whichever live server we played on and solo/duo grind my way up over there doing my own kind of progression thing.

McCheese · May 4, 2022

The anniversary event ends on May 12. So there is still some time to get the login bonuses.

Treebeard is only on its first expansion (Moria), so joining up now isn't very late at all. It's every 6 month for expansions, so the next one will open up in early June. The population isn't huge, but since everyone is in vanilla + Moria, it feels more crowded than it is. Global chat is constantly active and I regularly see LFG requests. There are a couple big social kins (Dances with Ents and Better Biscuit Bureau) that invite anyone if you want to make grouping easier.

Rajaah · May 12, 2022

Damn, I missed the anniversary bonuses. I had a calendar note to log into my 2 accounts by the 12th and forgot until today, the 12th. So I found the game and got it reinstalled and... the bonuses actually ended early in the morning on May 11th so it was really May 10th that was the last day to collect them.

So I got totally fucked on these in particular:

Collector’s Edition – Mordor Expansion
Collector’s Edition – Minas Morgul Expansion
Collector’s Edition – War of Three Peaks

Gonna have to pay through the nose for all those now whenever I play again, unless they're gonna do something like this again at some point in the near future.

This is what I get for procrastinating things until the last day a large portion of the time.

Lord of the Rings Online

Vyemm Raider

Gunnar Durden

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

Ancient MMO noob

Silver Baronet of the Realm

Trakanon Raider

Lord Nagafen Raider

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

Honorable Member

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Honorable Member

Silver Knight of the Realm

Elite

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

Silver Baronet of the Realm

Honorable Member

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk

Honorable Member