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My LOTRO experience and some insight
Kuanshu
Member Posts: 272
Lets cut to the chase:
1) It is best suited for casual gamers who play regularly; sounds like an oxymoron statement but I played LOTRO to the hilt and then some (quit in shortly after Book 10 release) and being a powergamer I went through everything they had to offer in no time and suffered boredom from lack of exciting end game. You must play regularly so you have a group of peeps you consistently fellow with; otherwise you get ownt by the dismal community.
2) The community in this game is some of the worst I have experienced. If your a powergamer (2nd player on Gladden server to max level) your going to but heads with other competitive powergamers and will be unable to really do anything about it (no PvP, cept monster play which is not taken seriously enough imho). If your a casual gamer who plays inconsistently you deal with lack of good fellowships or simply none at all. You can play for days on end with rarely any real interaction with other players and this is commonplace. Community is best summed up:
Rats (players who report you for everything and anything)
Farmers (pretty self explanatory)
Griefers (players who steal rare spawns, nodes, try to cause grief in whatever way they can)
LOTR lore freaks (most are dissatisfied with immersiveness of LOTRO lore in the game so you will rarely see them)
LOTRO fanbois (praise LOTRO at any given time (there is definitely a good share of them on these forums) and seem to be happy no matter what the devs do)
Powergamers (players who try to accomplish everything and twink to the nth degree in regular play and monster play and then sit around being utterly bored until the next book update)
PvPers (most have quit or are doing monster play (on one side or another) until warhammer or age of conan release).
3) Funny how many seem to think the once every two months updates are adequate. I played LOTRO since beta and I could literally predict almost everything that was gonna be included in any given update. They are sneaky mofos too...they will intentionally bug certain things that either once worked or were promised to be included in a given patch just so peeps anticipate it for the next patch and keep playing. I knew how Book 11 was gonna turn out and nothing surprised me in the least (I could go into detail but simply said the devs got way too predictible and I do not believe in griefing the player base which they seem unusually comfortable with). One major patch every two months is not so impressive given that they do absolutely nothing else between updates cept server maintenance.
I will be back later to add to this (life calls) but simply said this game is supposedly decent because of the LORE, there is no real competition at this time, bs propaganda (using misinformation to bolster numbers), lifetime subscribers, and the fact that people will simply remain loyal to any game (the first gen mmorpgs still remain active with low player base).
{Mod Edit}
Comments
Your post is not truthful concerning my experience with LOTRO, that's for sure.
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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
The only truth about LOTRo is ...that there is a free trial.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
Your post is not truthful concerning my experience with LOTRO, that's for sure.
Funny you should say that...I did exactly that (I had a thread containing my experiences in LOTRO (it got locked because of all the flaming it caused)).
If I am wrong in any way about what I have posted in threads then LOTRO will remain relatively unaffected by the release of WarHammer Online and Age of Conan
I quit playing LOTRO because I did not feel immersed into the lore of Lord of the Rings nor Middle Earth in any way really and I did not mesh with the mmorpg feel of this game considering that I am more of a Powergamer and PvPer.
Peeps can find out what they wanna simply be playing the free trial for LOTRO as stated by a poster in this thread...I doubt they see what I am saying in such a short time but it will undoubtedly become evident over time.
Added to the list of threads that are similar to this, this thread is number 1,002,875.
If you had hit the 1,000,000 mark you would've got a prize.
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I can see your epitaph now, on the day you expire. It will read "Wasted Potential".
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This may be the truth about LOTRO to you and the title of the thread should reflect that. I can tell you that for me and my kinship this is not the truth. I am sorry that you found the game lacking and not for you. Hope you have better luck with your next game.
What a waste of bytes this thread is.
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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
If you don't like the game then don't play it.
What you wrote as the "truth" about LOTRO could be said for any game out there as people are the same and every game has farmers, griefers, ect
If you play as a so called "powergamer" you will never find a game to suite you as you will always out level the content. This has been and will always be an issue for people that rush to max level in all MMORPG.
I learned my lession in EQ1 after playing that game intially as a powergamer. Try slowing down and try experiencing the whole game at all levels instead of rushing up in level.
Well, LOTRO is certainly not geared for powergamers, I can agree with that. TBH, I can't think of many games that are anymore. Even if VG had been in a decent state at release, it still wasn't very "hardcore".
EVE Online is about the only game I can think of off the top of my head that would keep a real powergamer going these days..maybe Lineage 2 as well. The korean grinfest games like Archlord?
While fanbois and loreboys are annoying, most any game has 'em. LOTRO's main problem from a community standpoint in my experience was more of the game design concerning quests. Chaining them and making it a PITA to keep a PuG together for more than one or two missions really kills the fun. Spending more time trying to find people who are on the same quest as you than actually doing the quests is a real drag.
So my truths in regard to the points the OP made are that its definately a casual game, and you'll have 100% better experience if you have a Kinship to depend on for questing and to mitigate the annoying non-self sufficient crafting set up.
If you have a guild, several of the fun-killing annoyances would be taken care of.
JonMichael, if you have such a hate for this site and its posters, why don't you just "move on". You're always calling anyone who criticizes the game Trolls. Do you not see that you're just the other side of the coin? Instead of a vendetta, you're on some kind of personal crusade to name-call and shout down any who disagree with you.Calling people trolls all the time and insulting this site just makes you sound as extreme as how you paint anyone who doesn't praise the game.
Perhaps the OP should have added "My" infront of "truths" in his thread title?
JonMichael- Then you have people on this site who, when the game isn't what they're looking for, decide to have some type of personal vendetta against it...
Nah, I don't think its anything as complicated as a vendetta. People get bored, or sleepy,maybe even hungry, so they decide to spout useless things just because they know others will reply or argue ect. This may even be the only social interaction they get and they've become lonely...who knows.
Meh, just a theory.
Ever wonder why so many posters here have some weird godhood delusion that their OPINIONS are indeed some kinda cosmic truths? Would be kinda neat if they got over themselves for a bloody minute , got a clue, and maybe figured out the world really doesn't revolve around them and / or their playstyle <sigh> guess a reality check from them is asking too much.
Lets just point out that NO GAME will ever be fast enough with updates for the powergamers who's whole lives revolve around playing 24/7. A update every 2 months seems pretty good IMO (which obviously differes from the OP's OPINIONS) Last I checked its at least as good if not better then what VG, or WoW are doing.
One of my major problems with these kinds of mmos...not being able to level solo and have fun with it. They "MAKE" you group up (and like it has been said) the community could care less about the next guy. Player housing is cool...but isnt this just EQ2 housing revamped? 1 gold to buy a house O_o and upkeep almost 1 gold a week??!!
I tested this game in beta and came back a few months after release. What I was shocked to see is that economy looks like anyone who played WoW jumped ship and came here. The prices are insane which I thought would have been under control after Beta..WRONG.
Presently I'm level 25 and I have stopped trying to get help from OOC channel and started asking other player in "other" mmos if they play. Noone plays so I am forced to help level my girls toon so I can actually partake in some of these quests.
Also not gettign a mount until level 35..? wtf?!! Ok so make up for lack of content by making people walk all over the place?! This was tryed once before what was it ? O yes SWG!! And you saw what happened there.
On the bright side...the graphics are great and gameplay is smooth and responsive. what kills this one for me is the forced grouping. If I pay 14.99 a month I want to play the way I want to play and not the way Turbine wants me to play. Why is so hard a concept for MMO companies to grasp? For gods sakes man I relize its a MMO but why must u make the solo guy have to kill 1 mil creatures to level solo??!! Feel like Eric Cartman in that WoW episode of South Park. SAVE THE BOARS!!!
JonMichael, if you have such a hate for this site and its posters, why don't you just "move on". You're always calling anyone who criticizes the game Trolls. Do you not see that you're just the other side of the coin? Instead of a vendetta, you're on some kind of personal crusade to name-call and shout down any who disagree with you.Calling people trolls all the time and insulting this site just makes you sound as extreme as how you paint anyone who doesn't praise the game.
Perhaps the OP should have added "My" infront of "truths" in his thread title?
Just as the OP has their own right to post their opinions, so do I.
It's not a disagreement of opinions that makes me post... it's the half truths and downright lies that do.
You don't see me over on the EQ2 or VG boards posting about how much I hate those games, do you? My posts are usually in response to someone who either is misinformed or is making the entire post up to suit themselves.
And btw- I never said I hated anyone or anything. I disagree where needed and point out troll posts as I see them.
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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
Maby you sould be playing singelplayer games instead of MMO's, you can level solo in an MMO , but its not supose to , MMO means Massive Multi Online ...
Playing: World of Warcraft.
Played: Lord of the Rings Online, Starwars Galaxies.
Tried: Starwars the Old Republic, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, Vanguard, Age of Conan, Aion.
Maby you sould be playing singelplayer games instead of MMO's, you can level solo in an MMO , but its not supose to , MMO means Massive Multi Online ...
Ofcourse you are or should assume to be able to level solo in a MMO.
The Massive Multi Online is alot more social interaction than forced grouping.
I'm so broke. I can't even pay attention.
"You have the right not to be killed"
News flash - MMO's are targeted at a different audience then Solitaire or Minesweeper.
They are designed around the idea of cooperative play.
LOTRO happens to be one of the more solo freindly MMO's out there.
Probably about 75% of the quests in the game you can solo (You can even solo some of the designated group or small group quests if you are carefull about it. I know, I've done it).
However, for the other 25% of the content, which (no surprise) includes some of the more challenging and exciting content in the game, you will need to find a group to experience.
This souldn't come as any surprise in an MMO.... particulary an MMO based on the Lord of the Rings setting.... that story was all about the efforts of many people working together to achieve a seemingly impossible goal.
Now, I really haven't experienced much difficulty in finding PUG's to do quests (or heck even RAIDS).... and while it's true that PUGS don't tend to stay together for more then 1 or 2 quests (kinda goes with the territory).... it's really not that hard to get together a new PUG for the next leg of the quests.
Nor, for those really concerened about it, is it hard to find a Kinship unless you are a total jerk (and sometimes not even then).... and any Kin worth it's salt will help it's members get through content when they need it. You CAN repeat content as many times as you like....you just don't get credit for it beyond the first.... which means you can help others in your Kin go through it.
Nor should it be surprising to anyone, that doing things in the game with the help of a well coordinated group is much easier then doing things on your own.
None of this holds any Truth, its all OPINION.
Learn the difference.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Yeah, a title more along the lines of "My Perception of LotRO" might have been more appropriate, but its pretty obvious that its all the OP's opinions...doesn't really add any value to specifically state the fact.
OP, while I agree with you in many cases, realize that your view of the game is quite a bit different than most of the folks who play it....
and...you're telling them nothing that a dozen other posters have said before you.....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
News flash - MMO's are targeted at a different audience then Solitaire or Minesweeper.
They are designed around the idea of cooperative play.
LOTRO happens to be one of the more solo freindly MMO's out there.
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Ok I guess maybe we are playing a different game ? Or perhaps you bought gold to get the equipment you need? Yea exactly! Either way your sarcatic retort is just plain false. If you like the game thats cool but speak truth when you defend a game. I clearly said I AM STILL PLAYING not hating on it just stating truths. I'll go as far to say IF you can get in with the "Cool kids" this is prolly one of the best MMO's out there atm. But even tho its an MMO and you play with other people you should not be forced to group unless you want those Cool Kid Loots.I am certain anyone who defends this game from a solo aspect is in a guild and have received help from other players in said guild. I'm not against grouping at all when theirs a community that trys to help ppl. This community however is selfish and self serving and 75% of pop im sure asks their moms for 15 mins more gametime at night.
I've played a lot of mmo's in my hay day, and LOTRO is nowhere near friendly to the solo player. Sure they have missions you can complete solo but after level 20 you are grouping. Unless in fact that solo person pays cash for gold PERIOD!
And as for the other comment someone said about sticking to 1 player games.... that is a recorded msg i've heard on every MMO forum from the beginning. So now instead of game companys telling us how to play we have players telling us. lol when will it end. But thanks for posting with that clever comment /rolleyes
I disagree, the community is one of the most helpful there is. and the game is VERY solo friendly...
Perhaps you’re just doing it wrong. You don’t need to buy gold to continue after 20, that’s just dumb and misinformed.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I dont understand, who forces you to group , its obvius in an mmo you get group quests aswell, but there are more then enough solo quests out there all the way to level 50 , but why dont you want to group exsecly i find it the most fun part in an mmo, its extuly the reason people play this, and non that forces you, Lotro is indeed one of the most solo able mmo's if seen in history , its compareable to wow even.
Playing: World of Warcraft.
Played: Lord of the Rings Online, Starwars Galaxies.
Tried: Starwars the Old Republic, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, Vanguard, Age of Conan, Aion.
Maby you sould be playing singelplayer games instead of MMO's, you can level solo in an MMO , but its not supose to , MMO means Massive Multi Online ...
Ofcourse you are or should assume to be able to level solo in a MMO.
The Massive Multi Online is alot more social interaction than forced grouping.
Erm what? were did i mention forced grouping?
Playing: World of Warcraft.
Played: Lord of the Rings Online, Starwars Galaxies.
Tried: Starwars the Old Republic, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, Vanguard, Age of Conan, Aion.
I'd say FFXI fits in that category. I've never heard anyone ever complain about a lack of end-game there either; there's so many things to do and many of them are quite challenging. There are raid-type encounters in that game that took players several months to even find out existed - then defeating them was another thing entirely. For a recent example, look up "Absolute VIrtue". He's a tough cookie; people have been taking him on for a while now and, to my knowledge, there's still no "guaranteed" tactic to take him down.
As for the OP... Let's see... He's a self-described power-gamer and hardcore PvP'er. LoTRO is designed for neither of those types... Sounds to me like Turbine hit their mark.
And to echo what someone said earlier... It is a bit silly frame a game as being flawed for not being something it was never advertised to be in the first place. If you hated sea-food, would you go into a Red Lobster and then complain about too much fish on the menu?
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Ever wonder why so many posters here have some weird godhood delusion that their OPINIONS are indeed some kinda cosmic truths? Would be kinda neat if they got over themselves for a bloody minute , got a clue, and maybe figured out the world really doesn't revolve around them and / or their playstyle <sigh> guess a reality check from them is asking too much.
Great post!! Truer words were never typed on any forum before!! If I had a dollar for every self-gratifying, narcissistic, blow-hard who thought their opinion was from God's lips that I encountered, I would be as rich as the Hiltion's. These people remind me of The Comicbook Guy from The Simpsons! And these types aren't just found on MMORPG.com's site. They are on just about every forum.