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Can anyone compare LOTRO to other MMORPGs for me?
bobcat_grad
Member Posts: 13
My playing history:
- I played WOW off and on for over two years
- Easy to learn and play, too much so at times
- Ever evolving world, constant updates to content was great
- Kept coming back to it because it was approachable
- I played COH for a long time, and loved it.
- Character Creation was a blast
- Superhero MMORPG setting was great
- Community was great
- Lack of items made the game feel a little shallow
- I played EQ2 when it was released, and lost interest after a few months.
- Pretty game for most part
- Release lag was a pain in the rear
- Initial character development was too bland, I see they redid that
- I'm currently playing Vanguard and enjoying it for the most part. Pretty game for most part
- It obviously wasn't really ready for release, and the frequent hanging and crashes to desktop can get annoying
- The world size is amazing, as is the depth
-
Some of the game is downright confusing - a nice challenge, but a pain at times
From reading others reviews/previews/impressions of LOTRO, it seems like the game would appeal to me. Has anyone else who has a similar playing history give me how they feel about LOTRO compared to other games they've played?
Hobbit Burglar at your service
Comments
Similar to WoW.
Dummied down easy games for the masses. Pretty, but not challenging at all.
While it is quite similar to WoW, I would say that it does many things better. WoW for grownups maybe? Anyways, i think the best way is for you to participate in the upcoming stress test and decide for yourself if this game is for you.
[size=16pt]The Scions[/size]
~A Mortal Online Guild~
www.scionsonline.com
I like the character modeling better than WoW but it has a similar solo friendly style. Not as good as character creation as CoH but a lot less grindy feeling. A lot like EQII except not as much zoning, there is some but other than entering buildings and the occasional quest, it is pretty infrequent. Performance is night and day from Vanguard, so is the game quality. 5 months ago LoTRO was more polished and had more content that Vanguard was at release.
The game is not perfect, it has a few warts but overall it is damn good in my opinion and you will get your moneys worth out of it.
I miss DAoC
I'd compare LOTRO to DDO.
Infact it's exactly like DDO.
Infact I thought I was still playing DDO when I played beta.
Honestly, it feels like they took the DDO engine and just slapped the LOTR logo on it.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
LOTRO exactly like DDO ?
Someone must have made a joke at your expense and gave you a link to the wrong beta client.
I've been playing DDO for almost a year and have played the LOTRO Stress Test/Beta for about three weeks and I can tell you the similarities end there. The combat is night and day between the two. If anything, the combat (and gameplay, in general) in LOTRO is much more similiar to WoW than DDO. Ironically, I enjoy DDO combat better but that's for another discussion ...
Next time try and provide some feedback that is at least somewhat useful and not just pointless, unsubstantiated opinion.
Please bear in mind that I have only played for several hours, and as a level 4 character, (and since the game is still in beta), it shall be a while yet before I can draw any firm conclussions.
What I can tell you, is that as you are a seasoned WoW player, you will find the interface amazingly similar. So much so, that you will not even need to read the instructions to play. When I first logged into LotR, I thought I was playing WoW, but with different graphics! I am a WoW player, amongst others, and this was a major disappointment for me, as my inital impressions were that my fears had been realised. That they had cashed in on the franchise, and were using the WoW interface so that basically it was WoW in Middle Earth. Where were the in-game cineamitcs I had been promised? Where was the immerisive story that took away the grind feeling of most MMO's? Well, I thought I had been cheated, although on playing a little more, I discovered that maybe I had been hasty to judge.
The cineamtics will no doubt be introduced closer to actual launch, and the framework of the quest system is definitely more involving than the standard MMO's. A lot of the side quests still require the 'fetch x' and 'kill y' type, offered by all the other games. I am hoping that this is just a rare occurance, required to level your character, and that the main focus will be on the actual story of your character.
At the moment, I would equate it to the more fun Draenei quests of WoW's expansion; Burning Crusade. There is a more adult feel to the game as well, which I am also hoping will be replicated by the community. At the moment, in beta, people are too busy exploring, killing things, and basically finding their feet to bother with the community aspect. I was worried about this, but I then thought that it was only to be expected in beta. As yet, I haven't even seen another player speak to another, but it is early days.
The Tolkien fans will no doubt make up a large part of the community, and therefore, I am confident that it will be a mature one, which will lend itself perfectly to this game. There should be ample oppertunities for role-playing and also The Fellowship system seems to be a nice feature, although I am not too familiar with it yet.
The graphics? Will this is a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. They are almost like a cross between WoW and EQ2. It should run smoothly, even on the less powerful computers, but I was looking for a bit more beauty and would not have minded if they had been closer to the quality of EQ2, or Oblivion, even at the expense of performance. Tolkien's world is one of beauty, and marvel. Filled with glorious locations that should leave you gawping in wonder. I have visited the Shire, and seen a part of the Elven lands, and so far, they are not at all awe-inspiring, yes they can be pretty, especially some of the backdrops, but for a next-gen MMO, I was expecting more. Again though, remember that it is still in beta, and that I have not seen a lot of what is going to be a surprisingly large game.
In summing up then, to compare it to another game? Yes, it is definitely very close to WoW, but like a previous poster wrote, with a more adult feeling.
Hope this helps you out. Now that the beta is open, you should definitely give it a try, and let my know your opinion.
That's the way i felt when I played the game, that's why they call it an opinion. Sadly, I'm not the only one to have made this comparison.
If you don't like my opinion, well I'm afraid that's too bad. You can always just cover your ears (or eyes as it were) and hum while you move on to the next post.
He asked for comparisons to other MMOs, and of all the MMOs I've played, I'd have to say LOTRO most resembles DDO. So much so that I felt like it was just a rehash of DDO. Perhaps DDO the way it should have been done, but still DDO nonetheless.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
LOTRO exactly like DDO ?
Someone must have made a joke at your expense and gave you a link to the wrong beta client.
ROFLMAO!
_________________________________
JonMichael
Currently: AION, an MMO Beta under NDA
Played: WAR, LOTRO, Hellgate: London, CoX, GW, SotNW, DAOC, EQ2, SWG, WoW, AO, Horizons, Second Life, There, TSO
Beta'd: There, Second Life, EQ2, DAOC:LotM, LOTRO, Tabula Rasa, Gods and Heroes, Hellgate: London, Requiem:Bloodymare, AoC, WAR, DDO, Fallen Earth
Bobcat, all I can say is doen't listen to the detractors in this thread. They simply have no experience with the game to make an intelligent reply to your request.
Let me say that I have played the games you mentioned. I didn't like WoW at all, and yet for all the comparisons to WoW, I enjoy LOTRO much better. I'd say LOTRO is very approachable as you say. And Turbine has a history of frequent content updates that is nearly unparallelled in the MMO industry.
Comparing it to COH, it has the same sort of skill acquisition scheme. By this I mean you acquire different skills as you level, not simple re-iterations of the same skill (that you've surely experienced in Vanguard--the same skills only bumped up in stats). In this regard, it is much like COH. Differing skills with increased level means that the game play of the class changes as you progress. This is a solid design and one I loved from COH. Like COH and killing thugs, killing Orcs in LOTRO just doesn't get old--or hasn't yet.
Character customization is somewhat better than WoW, though not as varied as COH (the best in any MMO in my opinion). Vanguard's chargen is only slightly better, mainly because they have so many races.
As for EQII, I didn't like the zones. LOTRO is 80% seamless, with about 20% instanced areas, and some of these are layered instances. Layered instances are 'copies' of the game world that sort of overlay the underlying world. These copies can be affected by your actions, and once complete revert to the underlying world. It's sort of hard to explain, but is a cool effect.
As for comparing it to Vanguard...performance-wise, LOTRO was nearly ready for launch months ago. Now they are adding polish, and 'wish-list' items. I'd bet money that within two months of release, LOTRO will be dishing out free content while vanguard will still be patching bugs and balancing classes (or finally finishing high-end content that isn't in game yet). LOTRO's initial world size will be small, but I think if you look at the game map of Eriador and compare it to the game map of MIddle Earth, you'll see that the eventual size of LOTRO will be huge.
LOTRO has a lot of fun things on its own - Monster Play being the most prominent.
My ultimate advice is to pre-order the game and join the open beta. Try it for yourself. If you don' t like the game, cancel the pre-order. Easy. Though the stress test will be free and open, it is a STRESS test, and might not give you a great idea of the game.
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
You'll like it.
It has all the good features that WoW has (which is a GOOD thing).
If you're looking for a challenge, don't play an MMORPG.
Saying an MMORPG is "easy" or "lacking challenge" is like saying "RPG's are easy."
IMO, just because a game allows you to level up easier than Vanguard's grind doesn't mean it's "lacking challenge."
There's more to challenge in an MMO than being frustrated, slow leveling, boring grinding, etc.
What makes a game challenging is stuff like PvP and AI.
All MMO's have pretty much the same AI, as do all video games. Sadly, Oblivion lied about their complex AI, turning out to be scripting not AI at all..... and no video game (Console or PC) has even attempted better AI.... (You can say some have attempted, but I wouldn't call CRAP an attempt.)
PvP is always challenging, and this game has it.
The only way an MMO can even be challenging is through PvP or NPC AI.
The former only needs to be in the game, and the latter is nowhere to be seen in any video game.
Slow leveling, being punished for dying (which is already bad enough), boring grinding, and a ton of frustration is NOT challenging.
I like challenge in my games, but NOT frustration.
LOTR has as much challenge as any other MMO, but it minimizes frustration.
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
I'd like to thank everyone here to the n-th degree for their input.
I'm at least going to give it a shot. I REALLY wanted/want to like Vanguard, but is so obviously rushed to production. It sounds like that isn't the case with LOTRO.
So, I will give a shot this weekend during stress-test, and come to my own conclusions. I love the fact that it is LOTR based... by no means am I a Tolkien fanatic, but I admit that I've read the books many times in my life as well as own the director's edition of the movies.
Thanks for your input, I'll see you all ingame.
Hobbit Burglar at your service