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What are your pro's and con's of LOTRO?
Wraithmire
Member Posts: 328
What are your pro's and con's of LOTRO? My friend wants more info on what is good and bad about LOTRO, so I'm posting here for him to see besides myself what others have to say.
Here are my pro's con's so far...and a little bit of comparisons to other mmorpgs I've played
LOTRO Pro's:
1. I see people all the time, now how that will change at release, I don't know, but this I feel will be a very good success. Why? I barely see anyone that hates LOTRO...well, okay there are people...so let me reword that, I see a lot more people that like LOTRO then dislike it. That is a very good sign for when release is to come.
2. The crafting is fun, not advanced like in Vanguard...more like World of Warcraft style crafting. Difference so? Have to rely on other players OR your alts to help craft certain things. I actually do find it fun, a good break from fighting.
3. I've never seen a more smooth beta...heck in closed beta it was so smooth I thought I was playing the released version...
4. Graphics are amazing to me, very colorful and I don't find them cartoony at all. I can play on max settings with no lag, although my pc is good so it will vary between people
5. I myself love the storyline, its LOTR...how can one not
6. Lots of quests, that helps feel like less of a grind
7. So far a great community...its in open beta of course...so I'll have to wait a month or two after release to judge what its like
LOTRO Con's:
1. World feels small, not even as big as WoW when it originally came out...but there is lots of possibilities for a lot more lands to be added to make the world even bigger than WoW is.
2. Crafting seems simple (WoW style), I myself like it but others might not.
3. Not a lot of races/classes to choose from compared to Vanguard
4. I can't choose stats, I miss AC stat days:(
5. Speaking of stats...level based, again good/bad thing...I myself don't mind levels, but there are people that do. I wouldn't mind if it was like in Asheron's Call so...exp to both level and then train skills/stats you want to train. I guess this could go onto number 4 but oh well...at least let me train the stats I want...from what I see its all autotrained for you, my least favorite part about LOTRO, I like being able to choose my stats.
6. The quests feel the same as in other mmorpgs...deliver...kill etc, but the story behind them makes it sort of more interesting. Still, nothing different about them really, at least not yet...not sure if it changes later.
Again, these are my observations from level 1-12,, I've played since open beta first came out...I level really slowly:P
So what are your pro's and con's?
Here are my pro's con's so far...and a little bit of comparisons to other mmorpgs I've played
LOTRO Pro's:
1. I see people all the time, now how that will change at release, I don't know, but this I feel will be a very good success. Why? I barely see anyone that hates LOTRO...well, okay there are people...so let me reword that, I see a lot more people that like LOTRO then dislike it. That is a very good sign for when release is to come.
2. The crafting is fun, not advanced like in Vanguard...more like World of Warcraft style crafting. Difference so? Have to rely on other players OR your alts to help craft certain things. I actually do find it fun, a good break from fighting.
3. I've never seen a more smooth beta...heck in closed beta it was so smooth I thought I was playing the released version...
4. Graphics are amazing to me, very colorful and I don't find them cartoony at all. I can play on max settings with no lag, although my pc is good so it will vary between people
5. I myself love the storyline, its LOTR...how can one not
6. Lots of quests, that helps feel like less of a grind
7. So far a great community...its in open beta of course...so I'll have to wait a month or two after release to judge what its like
LOTRO Con's:
1. World feels small, not even as big as WoW when it originally came out...but there is lots of possibilities for a lot more lands to be added to make the world even bigger than WoW is.
2. Crafting seems simple (WoW style), I myself like it but others might not.
3. Not a lot of races/classes to choose from compared to Vanguard
4. I can't choose stats, I miss AC stat days:(
5. Speaking of stats...level based, again good/bad thing...I myself don't mind levels, but there are people that do. I wouldn't mind if it was like in Asheron's Call so...exp to both level and then train skills/stats you want to train. I guess this could go onto number 4 but oh well...at least let me train the stats I want...from what I see its all autotrained for you, my least favorite part about LOTRO, I like being able to choose my stats.
6. The quests feel the same as in other mmorpgs...deliver...kill etc, but the story behind them makes it sort of more interesting. Still, nothing different about them really, at least not yet...not sure if it changes later.
Again, these are my observations from level 1-12,, I've played since open beta first came out...I level really slowly:P
So what are your pro's and con's?
-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!
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Comments
Pro: general integration of the various game elements. Ability to choose play style---solo, group, craft, whatever, all are supported. Integrated voice in fellowships. Quest instancing for major/epic quests.
Cons: only one so far; the economy is not fun, and the sooner the balancing is finished, the better.
Pro:
-easy (most people dont think they want easy but, yeah..they do)
-soloable(most of it anyway)
-pretty graphics
-will be popular game, so probalby no trouble finding people to play with
-smooth relatively bug/lag free gameplay
-good storylines and lore if your into that
Cons:
-not for hardcore gamers. i mean..if you want to play it sure, you can accumulate all the gold you want and have 10 alts etc etc. but w/e
-ZERO custimization. the days of being the only void spec'd eldie in a guild of 150 are over(viva la daoc!). 7 clases, 4 races. character models are not great, options of look aren't that great or noticalbe in game. you look like and play like millions of other and there nothing you can do about that(dont give me that 'traits' b.s either).
-small world. doesn't take very long to see it all.
Pros:
- nice graphics that scale well on a number of systems
- The single most iconic fantasy setting
- Lore is handled well
- Well written quests
- monster play (in cb) was tons of fun, cant wait for a few (couple) weeks after release and the freeps start showing up
- grinding mobs has been phased out in favor of quests
- mostly seamless world you can walk from the far west side of the shire clear to the misty mountains with no load times nor chunking issues
- pretty well balanced classes
- fellowship skills are a nice touch
Cons:- Player Avatar graphics are kinda dull with little customization
- quest grind is still a grind
- the OB community has gone way downhill with the influx of chuck norris bs and foul mouthed kiddies running around trying to harrass people
- poorly trained gm staff
- resource ninjas
- a number of classes which don't feel right in the lord of the rings setting (ie Minstrels and Loremasters)
All in all, imo, Turbine has done a very good job. They have crafted a very technically solid game with plenty of things for players to do to keep themselves occupied, what with the traits, and accomplishments that they can get. Loot is handled pretty well in that much of the dropped loot drops often enough that everyone has a chance at good items and that they aren't way above what can be gotten from crafters or from quest rewards. The quests are exceptionally well written and there is a good story to be told which moves you far enough away from the fellowship of the nine that you dont feel like a bit player. The world may feel a little small but there is only one area being released at launch (though it is broken down into a number of good sized areas). There is a ton of room for growth that Turbine can take advantage of.The community has taken a severe nosedive as jaded bored players migrate over from wow and vanguard though I believe that it will straighten itself out nicely after release. But, like I said there is a technically sound enough game to warrant a close look from gamers. There is none of that well Lotro will be a great game 6 months or a year or more from now, it is a good solid entertaining game now.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
Pros:
- Fun (that's the most important thing I want from a game, no matter what genere, fps, mmorpg or whatever).
- Graphics (I've downloaded the high-res textures, and wow... yeah, maybe it doesn't has an advanced engine like EQ2 or Vanguard, but it looks amazing, you really believe you are in the Middle Earth Online, tho to be honest, I don't like the Elf cities and houses, too artificial in my opinion).
- BSO (ok, it's not Howard Shore's BSO, but is really beautiful)
- Almost no zones (sure it has zones, but it's not something like EQ2, where you were zoning every 3 minutes)
- Content (ok, I'm level 13 and I've only seen quests and some crafting... but it seems there are a lot of things to do in the game. Titles, traits, deeds, and in the future even housing... seems to me a game to spend a lot of months playing with it)
- Lore (tho I really would prefered a LOTRO game based on the movies licence... the lore is amazing, as I said before, you really think you are part of the Middle Earth. Can't describe it, it's just inmersive, almost as WoW and Azeroth).
Cons:
- Animations (who the hell designed human & elf running animations? they are really far from realistic, in my opinion)
- Gear art (til level 13 all the gear looks almost the same (tho the same happened with WoW til you reached level 60), so I would like to see more types of armor in the high levels)
- Elf cities & houses (as I said before, I don't like them, remind me of Lineage 2
- Controls (they are pretty good, but not as polished and with the precision of WoW ones)
- Dungeons (seen only 2 or 3, but they seemed to me too simple... not many coordination needed between players, basically just a rush without any strat... we will see how this evolves in the high levels and end game dungeons).
However, as I said, I'm really happy with the game at the moment, and yeah, I'm leaving WoW for this after playing more than 2 years with my rogue. It has pros, and it has cons, but remember, it's still a new game, with a lot of new features coming during the next months: if the game is as good as it is at the moment, what it will be in the future?
Btw, sorry for my english, hope you guys understood my points =P
Saludos!
quest mobs appear often so far no need to sit in camp and wait for spawns, the stars are in constellation settings, day night feature with nice sky and moon art , not gear orriented with exception to repair , very nice ammount of bags storage space given upon start, many people on the servers at all hours day of night very pouplated servers . Nodes for crafters appear fairly often . Interdependance , depending on other crafters for parts to weapon, so unless filled with alts have to interact with auction house/ othre players. Nice ammount of hotkeys fast switch out of items for primary hand and off and use . Quests work and items given correctly.
for postal quests you see a character with mail bag. Ie same for pie/food delievery. NPCs move around chater . One can experaince progress even if can only play in short amounts of time, a huge pluss with many folks. Food gives mini buffs help. It can be enteratining looking for nodes and having fun with insturment for folks that do not want only combat all the time . Farming will be tweaked latter and if loved harvest moon seriers folks may love this feature as well
Cons, no need to group or have to do fellowships, can advance with normal questing only
advancing through questing mainly , little farming this mob then move to next 1/2 inch square mob leveling
grouping in open beta on several servers seem non existant, open beta folks not as open to help others as before open beta folks
no mages, healers have high moral costs , little diversity in classes small choice of classes
while graphics backgrounds stunning in game combat animations are lacking, some of the models of mobs are poorly done, the character models are not well done. Repair costs very high at this point
For some the not leaving tutorial area till a ceratin level feels very restrictive. While once out of tutorial the world is bigger it still feels as if a "road" and invisable walls on the sides.
THough there is a skill for exploration, no experaince is given and only useful purpose to exploring is finding horsey travel routes for latte, as well as harvestor nodes . If do not want to quest for experaince own finding mobs not "time worthy". Ui cluncky, questing info not resizable,.some of the quest information for directions not right and or poorly done, map in game could use lots of tweaking, /loc well not as fluid as in other games
Some mobs zipty do da all over the place and chase you for a long while..Mousey clicking can get repetitive and cause problems for folks with carpal tunnel / or joint pain . Combat seems to be watching hotkey to que next action
PROS:
1. The story driven nature of the game. This is the big thing in my mind that makes LOTRO differnent than any MMO i have played ( WoW/ SWG / eq2 / Vanguard). Getting levels is like something that happens as a sidenote when i am so into the story. Been wanting to play an MMO like this since i started with them.
2. Graphics - Fabulous looking and doesn't take next year's hardware to run it
3. Quests - see #1 above, the epic questline is fantastic and very very well done.
4. Lore - this is lord of the rings, lore is key and the way they have integrated with LOTR books is brilliant.
5. Fun - its fun to play ! Imagine that. Alot of nice features taken from other games, which are in now not ( going to come someday) that make playing less tedious and boring as MMOs can be.
6. Stability and polish - given the way other MMOs are released, they could have released this game a couple months ago and still would have beaten other games at release time in this category.
7. Playerbase - I am not sure if it is because of 6, but there is a positive vibe about the game and it shows with the playerbase. Many helpful people not alot of negativity around.
8. Content - the content in the game is great, the world is very full of stuff to do, and of course that epic quest drives it which is fantastic.
CONS:
1. Limited class types and races - Although i wouldn't change the way it is as it fits in lore-wise well, comparitvely LOTRO has few class choices.
2. Armor looks - I really am not a big fan of all the bright colors, especially the cloaks.
3. Crafting - If one part of the game needs balancing / work it is crafting. Certain professions yield great items while others do not. Also some are much more work, for less reward.
4. Content - while i listed it as a PRO, it can also be a CON if Turbine doesnt expand soon. They claim they will and that we will all be suprised how quickly it happens.... we will see. When i say expand i dont mean add a max level zone, I mean expanding the storyline, currently as it ends the Fellowship is in Rivendale. Lots more for them to do !
5. It is still open beta - Ack ! can't wait for release.
-Allegria
IMO opinion everythings been said except the fact that its more efficient to play naked... AC does very little
LotR does have the following PROs:
- Classes which can fulfill their role without having to resort to borderline exploits, or incredibly diligent planning. You can just go ahead and play, and dont have to whip out the calculator beforehand. While traits etc. DO make a big difference, you never get yourself into a dead end. Its..... relaxed.
- Recognization value of landmarks: You can get a feeling for an area, or a zone, and wont need to use the map after a short while anymore. Also, places like the Old Forest, Weathertop, Bree-Town, Midgewater Marshes etc. have a very distinct, and UNIQUE feel to them... their textures, models etc. are handcrafted, and not reused. This is a MAJOR factor in making the world feel non-generic.
- Names. Places have names that sound like they would make sense in a medieval time. Its a big difference in believability if some guy sends you to the Midgewater Marshes to get his pouch back, as opposed to the Swamps of Ug'alagosk the Black Death. Granted, this is the lore that LotR is based upon, but it once again proves that proper fantasy literature doesnt have to consist of apostrophes.
- Colours. I have seen a lot of LotR bashing based upon its vibrant colours, and also a lot of praise. This is based upon the first zones, that you are leaving around level 18. From that point on, colours become a bit more drab and realistic, with very distinct feeling to the various areas. Lone-Lands, for example, is every step the bleak, rugged, wild land it wants to depict.
- Comfortable use. There is a heap of small stuff that, I think, the long beta period brought us, and that affect day-to-day gaming much more than theoretical class balance considerations.
a) You can lock items in your inventory, so they dont get accidentially sold, and if you want, dont even show up when selling. This makes dumping a full inventory of stuff onto an NPC a quick and painless thing.
b) You have a preview window for items that lets you see if they clash badly with your current gear. BIG PLUS.
c) a large questlog, sorted by level, color-coded, sorted by area and topic.
d) No additional "ranks" to abilities. You will use your level 1 abilities, that level with you, at max too. This means your char gets progressively more complex, but no ability falls behind the curve due to not having an upgrade recently. Shamans in WoW know this one from pre-TBC flame shock
e) Sensible group settings. If you start a group, loot is set to a good mode (roll on stuff better than normal, round robin all else) the group combo system (conjunctions) is displayed well and pretty when it occurs, and the group window shows all necessities. Its amazing how much of this stuff isnt done properly in modern MMOs.
f) Filtering what you got on the screen. You can turn off names, titles, surnames, guild names, cloaks, helmets, shoes (for hobbit hairy feet) to your liking, which makes even large crowds not a headache to look at.
g) Bree is a natural hub, but spreads out the exact gathering spots so people dont all stand in one spot. The Auction house is instanced, so it doesnt bog down the town itself. Bree also has its own chat channels. This, along with the excellent travel, makes Bree a perfect place to be, and travel from even at low levels. With your racial bind and your regular bind, you can have 2 locations on the world at teleport range too.
- Quick log in, short loading times, no long pre-buffing, crafting stuff arrayed sensibly around towns...... basically, its perfect to log in and just do something for 30 minutes. Thats a big plus for the highly casual gamers.
Great graphic
Optimised game engine
Great storyline quests
Focus on questing instead of grinding
Very detailed breathing world
Focus on roleplaying
Casual friendly
Great balance between instance and open content
CON:
Small size world
Classes have few skills
Some armors and weapons look not to good
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas