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Lord of the Rings Online: MMOG Veteran's View
sempiternal
Member UncommonPosts: 1,082
There were not many surprises with LOTRO, it is a highly polished fantasy MMOG aimed at the mass-market, it was apparently designed to compete with the likes of World of Warcraft, capturing the attention of the lowest common denominator in the PC games market. The reason I wanted to try the game is because of the franchise and it's legendary history.
LOTRO is mostly about completing NPC quests and experiencing loads of NPC content, a fine online RPG first and foremost. However, as a result, what I found to be seriously lacking is player interaction and competition, some of the aspects I find most important and advantageous for an MMOG. Player vs Player content is very limited. When players do interact it is usually only because they need something; something to complete an NPC quest or help in completing NPC quests. It's a leveling game where the most powerful characters are not necessarily the best skilled or strategic players, but the ones that have completed the most quests and leveled up the highest. Combat involves standing near something and merely clicking on buttons and items until it's dead.
LOTRO is a great game for kids or first-time online RPG players, my five year old plays this game. It's very linear, quest driven, and solo-player oriented. The game is definitely not a competitive massively multiplayer experience, even when compared to MMOGs of the past like, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot and Star Wars Galaxies. However, it should do a good job at attracting and retaining the masses interested in dabbling in an online game. Just like WoW, it will need constant updates and expansions to hold a player's interest for the long-term.
One of the best things about the game is the founder's key. For $199 you can buy a lifetime account, with no subscription fee, that's a good deal for a highly polished MMOG, as I have no doubt the game will be around for many years
Comments
I guess some people just have more money than they know what to do with...
Equal opportunity troll.
As for your viewpoint. Seems to sum things up nicely
Did I miss anything ? Let me know when you son solos the goblin leader .
A yeah
Sony Online Entertainment Steals Customers Money
My 5 year old plays it too. He played EQ2, WoW, and Vanguard. He played to the best of his potential in each game and did well. There probably isnt a MMO he couldnt play, but he doesnt get the same thing out of the game as I do. LOTR might aim to the general market, but there is nothing wrong with that. We saw what happened to Vanguard despite it being a relatively good game. AoC or WAR might be good games, but the WoW kids are spying it out. Not my cup of tea anymore.
Would also point out LOTR changes significantly at around level 30 where group quests come to dominate the landscape. In reality I have played a wide variety of MMOs now and the difference is negiigible in most cases. quests are kill x things or deliver this. I just play them now for the story and most of all hang out with friends.
Triston Master Carbine/Master Swords (SWG Eclipse)
Triston 29 Warden (EQ2 Permafrost)
Weland 70 Hunter (WoW Hellscream)
Suidan 36 Cleric (Vanguard Flamehammer)
Suidan 50 Champion (LOTR Gladden)
Ok I have not played LOTRo yet but I have read alot about it.
First off your post is completly onesided, showing bad points of the game that are not even really true.
From what I have read after researching this game is that the game is very group oriented, and after like level 10 there are big quests that you need to do with groups. The max level is 50 if im not mistaken? And I believe no one has hit that yet?(Or at least not alot) So how can you write a review on a game that your 5 year old son plays when its been out for a week or so, and your son probibly has not gotten out of the noob training area? Give me a break, anyone that posts about bashing a game and has not yet completed it or reached max level deserves to get shot. You are posting with your veiws on one side of the game.
Ive read alot of post and im almost 80-90% positive that this game is not a easy to solo typeof game. From what I hear the quests are alot bigger and more fun then WoW. WoW is soloable but there are so many people that its rare to find yourself without a group.
You know, I come to expect no less from MMORPG users; blind flames, misinterpretations, assumptions, views from people that have not even tried a game - the level of ignorance here is obscene.
No! Where did I write that I never played the game? Where did I ever write that I got the game for my son, or even that he spends a lot of time on it? All ignorant assumptions, which speak on your character and the worth of your posts. My son plays it occasionally, but I got the game for myself. I played it for several months, but now the only one to play it is my son.
And, to the guy that has not even played the game before, I started playing in beta! Why don't you try playing the game before judging someone else's review of it, for crying out loud. You are basing everything off of what you have read rather than first-hand experience?
LOTRO just wore out quickly for me. For me, player competition is always more interesting and fun than endless NPC content and, for the most part, there is very little benefit to interacting with others in LOTRO except for completing quests. Endless amounts of players rush by you without returning a single greeting.
Players are not grouping with the need to trust each other in higher level quests, they are merely grouping because the quests require multiple players to handle without extreme difficulty. When there is no freedom for betrayal, there is no chance for trust. LOTRO is a highly controlled environment, chock full of NPC content to keep you busy.
No, I got the game for myself and I played it for several months, but now the only one to play it is my son.
It just wore out quickly for me. For me, player competition is always more interesting and fun than endless NPC content.
LOL....you really need to work on your troll skills. Several months?http://www.straightdope.com/
Just want to say that don't assume all "veteran" MMO players have the same taste as you
I can see how, from a PvP-player's perspective, LOTRO wouldn't be what you're looking for. If the PvMP doesn't suit your tastes, you're probably gonna be waiting for AOC or WAR, which I will also be trying when they come around.
For now, LOTRO is my game.
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"Give a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life."
I like pie !
I played WoW for 2.5 years thats 30 months. 30x$15= $450
$250 is a GREAT deal.
And the response from people who claim to be old enough to know better? F this F that and F you. You are a lazy F'ing useless parent.
Sad, very sad. Some of you were more than happy to sling the mud when other games hit the shelves, but someone DARE dislike "your" game!
Where you dip into the trolling/flaming realm is with statements like:
"capturing the attention of the lowest common denominator in the PC games market."
Also, while the game may be a great game for first time MMORPG players or children, its a pretty good game for a long time player like myself.
And as for this statement, "The game is definitely not a competitive massively multiplayer experience.." aren't you being a little misleading here? There's many competitive aspects to this game, but what you really meant was, there is no FFA PVP between player characters, such as UO, AC or SWG. Of course its nothing like DAOC..that game was designed around RVR combat...almost in a genre by itself actually.
Look, someday Darkfall may be released, and you can be happy gaming again.... until then, try to find enjoyment where you can...
"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
You complaint is that the game doesn't have PvP. There is plenty of player interaction, more the higher level you get. In the late 20s and early thirties, solo quests dry up and you need to find a group. I generally don't like being forced in to a group in games, but finding a group seems a lot easier than most games. It may be because everyone is close in level, and I haven't played many games at launch, but it just seems easier to get a good group than most games.
Playing in a group is a lot more fun for me in this one than most games I have played as well. Built in voice-chat helps a lot in keeping everyone on task... it's better than the average pick-up group anyway. Group dynamics are pretty good too. As a minstrel everyone in the group is depending on me, but I am just as dependent on the tank to keep me agro-free, and we are all counting on the debuff and DPS guys to knock the mobs out. I realize this isn't exactly ground-breaking stuff... but my point is that the system does what it should. It works and it's fun. I wasn't looking for them to reinvent the wheel. I like a good classic group RPG with the standard roles in group combat... and this game delivers that.
I have been playing the game solid for about 7 months, since I won a beta key here, and I still really enjoy it. I don't know what criteria we are using to define "veteran", but I have played a lot of MMOs, and games in general. My schedule allows for me to be a bit of a "power-gamer". I have been involved in organized competitive gaming for over a decade. I run a guild that I founded 8 years ago this August. We still have several of our founding members, with most of us over 4 or 5 years in. We have a week long convention every summer, and the guys on my team are some of the best friends I have. Player interaction is the number one reason I play video games.... and this game has it in spades. Sure it doesn't have standard open PvP, but some of us play it because it's not a gank-fest.
As far as the types of responses you got go, you should remember that you posted in the LOTRO folder saying that the game only appeals to child red, half-wits and noobs. Like a lot of things in life, you get out of these forums exactly what you put in to them.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
-Game List-
LOTRO - currently playing
Travian - currently playing
WoW - 1yr - Quit
FFXI - 5mth. - Quit
SWG - 3mth. - Quit
Rappelz - 2mth - Retired
Space Cowboy - 2mth - Retired
Dark and Light - 1 day - Quit
"Lowest common denominator," describes the market the game seems to be targeted at, nothing more. It's like a blockbuster summer movie, more or less, it's meant to appeal to the widest market possible.
As for, "competitive massively multiplayer," you have to admit that a player can do just fine, except for the toughest quests, without any player interaction or competition with other players at all, even though it is classified as a massive multiplayer design. And, I am sure the game was designed that way; so that players could solo it. I listed the other MMOGs as a comparision to how the game differs in this aspect.
Sony Online Entertainment Steals Customers Money
That simply isn't true. I can only assume you didn't get past level 20 if you think it is. You can level to 20 by doing mostly solo quests, if you do the low level quests for a few different races, but in the mid to higher levels, you need the fellowship quests to advance... unless you want to a whole lot of grinding random mobs. The game doesn't leave solo players out in the cold, but it doesn't cater to them either. If people want to level at a reasonable pace, see all the cool content and have the best gear, they have to get in a group to do it.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----