I have been playing now for about a month full-time and I must say that it is a very fun and frustrating game- it has monster play which is getting ready to get an upgrade (thank goodness) and it is not like other set ups for PvP or RvR or any other version thereof but it does meet the need of whooping up on someone if you feel the urge to do so. The quests are often multilayered and span from a "green -con" quest to an "oj-con" quest so you never know what to expect at times. It does help if you begin playing "with a friend" like my husband and I have played together so we get to explore (and argue) together througout the different lands and it makes it more like a scavenger hunt for things at times and can be great fun. To me this is not the usual quest grinding mode you have to get into like you do most other games in order to compete in something larger down the line; for instance in DAoC there are RvR battlegrounds for the various levels and there were only a few that were actually "popular" to attend so everyone was always "I need lvl 24 for Thid, or I need lvl 39 for Molv" it was very grind based and pretty much BIG RvR was not even attempted until lvl 49 (50 is the max for the game) and that made for "leet" groups and whiners and beggers for "plvling" and I have not had to contend with this in LoTR thankfully- it is a nice break from all the e-peeness and reach- around parties between realms ...basically I like that LoTR is pretty much drama free compared to other games. So, play on! The patches and expansions to come for this game I am sure will be rewarding to most!
i played WoW for about 2 years and i was hardcore addicted to WoW and i just lost the feeling of it b/c i was tired of doing the same thing, than i got a referral key for lotro and im playing it now and i love it, this games amazing. Its alot different from WoW in some ways, there is no grind at all you have to mainly quest to lvl up. The graphics just blow me away, the game is very well put together they just need to add more end game content. The first time i tried this game out was when it was in beta and i never got the feeling for the game but now i defenitly feel the MMO. You might like it, just ask around for a buddy key, i hope this helped you out.
there has definately been some mixed reviews but from what i can tell, the more mature, and experienced players who have come from hardcore MMO gaming to lotro and found a casual home with awesome graphics have alot of good things to say.
my damn alienware is taking forever, but with each new day i get excited to enter into lotro and see for myself whats going on.
but yeah the best thing so far is this sounds like a game that can quench the casual MMO thirst.
So you wanna how long it takes to get geared out in wow? Ill say if your in the best end game guild on ur seever it will take 2 monthes about. And if your not theres not chance of getting the best gear unless somehow you make it to the first second or third best guild on ur server. a average guild in wow may take up almost 7 monthes or more to learn a boss fight. Its not as easy as you think. Im in the third best guild on my server and it seems pretty tough still. ive played lotr and alot of similarities betewwn them. But if your a fan of lrod of the rings you should give it a shot.
To me, World of Warcraft fits into the MMORPG genre while LOTRO is a plagiarism.
Even though it was influenced by many other games in the genre and replicated many of their features, WoW greatly improved upon what it borrowed. It took a pretty standard MMORPG setup and made it much more playable and fun, obviously opening up the genre to an insanely large amount of people.
I think LOTRO was just a complete and utter rip-off of what WoW had established. It seems Turbine was hoping the title of the franchise would counterbalance their complete lack of expertise. It's just a total rehash...
there has definately been some mixed reviews but from what i can tell, the more mature, and experienced players who have come from hardcore MMO gaming to lotro and found a casual home with awesome graphics have alot of good things to say.
my damn alienware is taking forever, but with each new day i get excited to enter into lotro and see for myself whats going on.
but yeah the best thing so far is this sounds like a game that can quench the casual MMO thirst.
zing!
Wait till you get to the endgame instances LOL. Barrows Downs and Fornost are just training grounds for the real dungeons. Enjoy those first few uber casual levels because by the late thirties you had better know how to play your class.
yeah i have tried to get some serious discussion on the classes going but it hasnt panned out. with my experience in WoW i plan to do two things
A: not spend my gold
B: choose two professions and max them out and be ready for new content
C: pick one toon, one class, and stick with it, hell if i get to a dead end, go play some music and take some time off come back in a couple months and see whats up
but yeah i am pretty good when it comes to a mixture between a shadow priest/warrior for those who are familiar with WoW classes.
though i have always wanted to play a druid type character
meh i will see how it goes, alienware is taking ages!
well as i am sure we are all familiar its a new game.
when i started playing WoW UBRS was the big new content! lol. i rememmber those days, i was in one of the first guilds to start clearing MC and for some time MC was the big deal. but even before UBRS i mean think about how much content has been added in the last 4 or so years.
Lotro from what i have heard/read has alot of room for content, and from what i can tell turbine has set down a very nice platform to create alot of new and fun content to come.
Yeah man thats VERY VERY true, ive heard they're adding MANY more PvMP zones in the near future
I remember the first time MC was out, I ran in with my gnome warrior using all my potions and cool downs, pulling a 100 mobs and typing in "oops" and being kicked out by my guild... Good ol' days! (I was reinvited a few minutes later, hehe)
Played almost everything... Currently playing nothing... Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
This is hard to answer, because I have been jaded through 5+ years of MMORPG gaming. I've played literally over 12 MMORPGs and counting. I am bored to tears with this genre, yet I can't seem to break away from it. No other genre out there offers the ability to develop a character over several years and play in a persistant world with other people. My theory is I am tired of the same types of MMORPGs. I am telling you this for the following reasons: If you were tired of WoW: the questing, the special spamming, the PUG's, the raids, and the undesirable community that comes with the good community; you will not like this game. I want to say that you should try it, because you are a big LOTR fan, but I cannot. I cannot say don't try it either. I can only say, figure out the real reasons you left WoW and see if LoTRO has those reasons. If LoTRO does, then don't play it. There is no need to play a MMORPG that you can't get into when you can be working on your thesis. If you do end up buying the game, don't spend all of your free time playing it. Else you won't make it far like you did in WoW. That's what happens when you play one type of game for so long and switch to the same type of game playing it the same amount of time as the other. You just get burnt out faster and quit sooner than you would if you play the game casually. Playing Casually is the way of future MMORPG gaming. A person just can't keep up their social life, responsibilities to their ongoing education and family, and play a game hardcore like Raiders do.
Strangely, I agree with this fellow on this point.
If you played WoW, you played LOTRO, since it's just WoW with crappy voice acting. And crappy raiding. And crappy gear. And repetitive, crappy quests. And no variety in classes or races. And no customization. And the worst UI ever made. And lots of drama kiddies instead of l33T KIDZ.
I guess it's really not a WoW clone. It's a half assed attempt at a WoW clone. Just stay away.
I have to say there is no way I could have said it better then this guy did. Well said, and all of it is true
Since the arguments for and against Wow and Lotro have been rehashed so many times Ill refrain from my own opinions. Suffice it I play LOTRO and no longer play Wow. It has nothing to do with the mertis of either game. I simply like the way the world of Arda feels. I like sitting in the evening and looking over the Midgewater swamps playing my Lute with a few friends. When Im more adventurous I can be so. The world of Arda just feels.... Alive to me
EQ2 my friend. But of course, everyone will disagree in here
LOTRO is a cool game it seems. I just could not get into it for strange reasons... Can't put my finger on it, but if you are a big LOTR fan, give it a shot and decide for yourself.
yeah i have tried to get some serious discussion on the classes going but it hasnt panned out. with my experience in WoW i plan to do two things
A: not spend my gold B: choose two professions and max them out and be ready for new content C: pick one toon, one class, and stick with it, hell if i get to a dead end, go play some music and take some time off come back in a couple months and see whats up
but yeah i am pretty good when it comes to a mixture between a shadow priest/warrior for those who are familiar with WoW classes.
though i have always wanted to play a druid type character
meh i will see how it goes, alienware is taking ages!
try a minstrel, they remind me of the original DAoC smite cleric. I can solo blue elites ( barely) and orange regular mobs (easily) and always can find a group. Just be able to switch play style completely when grouping.
In group you are primary healer, secondary buffer and your damage is not crap compared to a hunter, champ, or guardian. In solo play you have a wide range of short duaration self buffs and mob debuffs which also do light damage along with a fair melee ability and your heals so you can kick some serious butt when you just want some casual soloing.
quit wow and came to this game. got bored of this game within a month and went back to wow and was happy. i thought lotro lacked depth, and the story has an ending so it can't go too far. the gear looked horrible and it really didnt keep a lot of peoples interest for too long .
oh for christs sake! my alienware just finally freakin shipped and its all the way on the other side of the damn country. grr..
anyways, i have read countless threads, articles, watched all the videos i could find and this is what i have come down to, of course without yet playing it.
its not WoW, the main time sink in WoW has been tweaked with good graphics and a comfortable world. New content is on its way and turbine is great at releasing new content. Its not as cartoony and rough around the edges, however for the casual gamer, or perhaps a hardcore gamer who is trying to calm down for RL its perfect. It has the immersion, it has the graphics, a more in depth storyline and can suit any kind of gamer for the most part, except the powergamer.
i actually hope it doesnt have the addictive power of WoW and perhaps EQ2. I cant handle another WoW right now in my life anyways. I am looking forward to the shortcommings in relation to WoW. They are the most convincing argument for me as far as i am concerned.
just let me have a world i can escape too from time to time, an avatar i can develope and begin to identify with, just not so much so that my grades drop, or i spend less time with family.
Also it seems that minstrels kinda remind me of a lesser WoW warlock in many respects. The loremaster some kind of hybrid mage/hunter, and best of all a fury warrior class that doesnt have to Tank! dope!
though i am kinda sad how small the dmg #'s are, it will be so hard to get used to having some ubber purple and seeing "you hit ___ for 45dmg!" pfft i am used to weilding a gorehowl and slammin a foo for 1400! in big yellow numbers biiatch!
LOTRO is a WoW clone as many MMORPG have become cliche clones. Its does not better what WoW does/did. Its has neither the auction hall, items, customization or PVP thrill. I'll say nothing about the last item on that list.
It pretty shallow and dumbed down just like WoW is, possibly even more so. Or to put it another way any depth dev's placed in a game is ... click click click.. press ok, go kill X of X creature at X location. Go, go .. go.
In the end if your an MMO veteran. But this I mean played at least 3 MMO ever and not just WoW. LOTRO is just another cliched generic MMO RPG which most dammning point is for a Lord Of the Rings setting is really unmagical andquite candy floss sweet puke and no depth.
LOTRO is a WoW clone as many MMORPG have become cliche clones. Its does not better what WoW does/did. Its has neither the auction hall, items, customization or PVP thrill. I'll say nothing about the last item on that list. It pretty shallow and dumbed down just like WoW is, possibly even more so. Or to put it another way any depth dev's placed in a game is ... click click click.. press ok, go kill X of X creature at X location. Go, go .. go.
In the end if your an MMO veteran. But this I mean played at least 3 MMO ever and not just WoW. LOTRO is just another cliched generic MMO RPG which most dammning point is for a Lord Of the Rings setting is really unmagical andquite candy floss sweet puke and no depth.
Good scalable engine though...
LOTRO is not a WoW clone because WoW is a EQ clone on easy mode. Therefore LOTRO is a EQ clone, not a WoW clone. I swear, all the people saying "WoW" clone are probably like 13 years old. All they know is WoW so that is their only frame of reference.
LOTRO is not a WoW clone because WoW is a EQ clone on easy mode. Therefore LOTRO is a EQ clone, not a WoW clone. I swear, all the people saying "WoW" clone are probably like 13 years old. All they know is WoW so that is their only frame of reference.
Well I reference LOTRO to WoW as they are very similar, if you dont think this then we'll have to disagree. You could probably if you felt like it draw all MMORPG's on a nice tree chart. But in the end a lot of MMORPG's are cliche and feature so many obvious standard features that everyon would draw a different tree.
I just dont get my knickers in a twist about there exact origins. The genre needs something truely new IMHO because all this nit picking about who copied who and who ripped off who is showing the lack of innovation. Its fine to be influenced but again in my Humble Opinion LOTRO offers nothing new and takes every element it has from other MMORPG games.
If you played WoW, you played LOTRO, since it's just WoW with crappy voice acting. And crappy raiding. And crappy gear. And repetitive, crappy quests. And no variety in classes or races. And no customization. And the worst UI ever made. And lots of drama kiddies instead of l33T KIDZ.
I guess it's really not a WoW clone. It's a half assed attempt at a WoW clone. Just stay away.
Luckily for the community, you won't run across "angry kids" like Gules here very often, if at all.. So that's definitely a big +++ for the game, as well.
Thank you for the demonstration, Gules.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I think the first reply to the original post is probably the most accurate. LOTRO held my interest for a few months. To be honest the community was great, lots of quests, lots of peeps willing to do them. But like so many of these games (and I've played alot of them) it's the same old wine in a brand new bottle. Other than the storyline quests, this game has little to offer that's new and feels pretty much like many other games of this genre. Its not Turbines fault really, I just think that given the available technology and the practical limitations imposed on developers to make a game that will make money, this is what you get.. When someone finally does come out with an original MMORPG it won't be one of the big game developers but a smaller company that's not afraid (and has little to lose) by taking risks. So until that day comes, if you've played one of these games, with some minor variations, you've pretty much played them all.
Too true. It's easy to knock developers nowadays, but in the end, it's the suits upstairs who want $$$ who are looking at the success of WoW and saying "Do what they're doing..." You can read similar accounts of this all over the place.
Back when Tomb Raider was the "big thing" and everyone had Lara Croft fever, I remember reading a story about an indie design team who'd been working on a game. They approached a publisher with it part-way completed, and the publisher picked it up. A short while later, the publisher told them, "We were discussing your game and we think you should replace the hero with a female". A female had nothing to do with the storyline, the plot, etc... Didn't matter. It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. They had to change alot of the lore and story in the game to fit this female character, all because the publisher wanted to ride on the coat-tails of Tomb Raider's success.
originality = risk and when a publisher is pumping millions of dollars into a project, they want to mitigate risk as much as possible.
And, I absolutely agree - 110% - that it's not the big-name companies with the AAA budgets that are going to evolve this genre forward. It's going to be some small garage team who has the ability to try something new without a publisher pulling their strings.
Anyone remember this small Shareware game company named ID Software... they introduced this new genre, the FPS and then popularized it with a game you might have heard of... Doom...
Remember a game called Myst? Completely new type of gameplay that caught on like wildfire, and it was literally designed by some guys working out of their home... the garage, if I remember right.
So, yeah.. the small guys will always be the innovators, and the big guns will always be there to cash in on it. Which is when you start seeing the derivative crap coming out with less and less originality.
But anyway... Personally, to me, LoTRO is a fun game. Is it original in gameplay? Nope... I've done the "kill x of y" quests more times than I care to remember, in more MMOs than I care to recall.. But, for now at least, LoTRO is keeping me entertained.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Alot of the people i read on these forums i consider to be very intelligent people in respect to the topics at least.
Think of it like this.
If you think of PC games as cars, then the MMO genre (EQ,WoW,Lotro ect) is another style of car, lets call it "Camaro". Now as time goes by every single new camaro that comes out is based off the ones before it, its not like out of no where will come some camaro which doesnt look like a camaro, drive like a camaro, and more importantly feel like a camaro. Or in any given year a certain model (WoW model) will come in many different colors but simply is the same package with a different color....I mean people who love camaro's want a freaking camaro!!! So dont go buy the new model and then bitch about how it isnt some other car?!?
it sounds like people are starting to really see the potential of our camaro and are getting impatient for one that can fly or have a conversation with us about geo-politcal issues while we fly around...
its just not time yet. You dont want any WoW or EQ in your MMO? Sorry but that will be the case for quite some time, relatively, even given the speed at which our camaro design teams can come up with new technology to use and create a new style camaro.
i dont mind that i will feel WoW, or to be more historically correct for certain posters here, EQ, in lotro, its just a new color of the models which came out before it. Fine, but it ISNT WoW and it ISNT EQ and aside from from the fact that much about the game is similar i dont give a %$#@.
NO one can argue it doesnt stand on its own in many respects. I Mean what the hell? A car has four wheels, and moves forward, you people want one which flies and can maneuver with unknown incredible aeordynamics which just aint out there yet!
I like MMO's because they arent as mindless as (Fords) FPS for gods sake!
if i am still around in 20 years i am sure something will come out which body slams all the stuff which came before it, but after all is said and done its still gonna just fit the basic model of A CAR
Alot of the people i read on these forums i consider to be very intelligent people in respect to the topics at least.
Think of it like this.
If you think of PC games as cars, then the MMO genre (EQ,WoW,Lotro ect) is another style of car, lets call it "Camaro". Now as time goes by every single new camaro that comes out is based off the ones before it, its not like out of no where will come some camaro which doesnt look like a camaro, drive like a camaro, and more importantly feel like a camaro. Or in any given year a certain model (WoW model) will come in many different colors but simply is the same package with a different color....I mean people who love camaro's want a freaking camaro!!! So dont go buy the new model and then bitch about how it isnt some other car?!? it sounds like people are starting to really see the potential of our camaro and are getting impatient for one that can fly or have a conversation with us about geo-politcal issues while we fly around... its just not time yet. You dont want any WoW or EQ in your MMO? Sorry but that will be the case for quite some time, relatively, even given the speed at which our camaro design teams can come up with new technology to use and create a new style camaro. i dont mind that i will feel WoW, or to be more historically correct for certain posters here, EQ, in lotro, its just a new color of the models which came out before it. Fine, but it ISNT WoW and it ISNT EQ and aside from from the fact that much about the game is similar i dont give a %$#@. NO one can argue it doesnt stand on its own in many respects. I Mean what the hell? A car has four wheels, and moves forward, you people want one which flies and can maneuver with unknown incredible aeordynamics which just aint out there yet!
I like MMO's because they arent as mindless as (Fords) FPS for gods sake!
if i am still around in 20 years i am sure something will come out which body slams all the stuff which came before it, but after all is said and done its still gonna just fit the basic model of A CAR
Bravo! Very well said.
The converse of that, of course, is that when you give them something that's not a camaro... they complain about how the new car would be better if it had more of the Camaro's features.
Give 'em "new", people complain that it's too different. Give 'em "not so new", people complain that it's too similar. Give 'em a little of both... people complain that it's not enough of either.
In short... it's a lose/lose situation in many ways.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
I have been playing now for about a month full-time and I must say that it is a very fun and frustrating game- it has monster play which is getting ready to get an upgrade (thank goodness) and it is not like other set ups for PvP or RvR or any other version thereof but it does meet the need of whooping up on someone if you feel the urge to do so. The quests are often multilayered and span from a "green -con" quest to an "oj-con" quest so you never know what to expect at times. It does help if you begin playing "with a friend" like my husband and I have played together so we get to explore (and argue) together througout the different lands and it makes it more like a scavenger hunt for things at times and can be great fun. To me this is not the usual quest grinding mode you have to get into like you do most other games in order to compete in something larger down the line; for instance in DAoC there are RvR battlegrounds for the various levels and there were only a few that were actually "popular" to attend so everyone was always "I need lvl 24 for Thid, or I need lvl 39 for Molv" it was very grind based and pretty much BIG RvR was not even attempted until lvl 49 (50 is the max for the game) and that made for "leet" groups and whiners and beggers for "plvling" and I have not had to contend with this in LoTR thankfully- it is a nice break from all the e-peeness and reach- around parties between realms ...basically I like that LoTR is pretty much drama free compared to other games. So, play on! The patches and expansions to come for this game I am sure will be rewarding to most!
i played WoW for about 2 years and i was hardcore addicted to WoW and i just lost the feeling of it b/c i was tired of doing the same thing, than i got a referral key for lotro and im playing it now and i love it, this games amazing. Its alot different from WoW in some ways, there is no grind at all you have to mainly quest to lvl up. The graphics just blow me away, the game is very well put together they just need to add more end game content. The first time i tried this game out was when it was in beta and i never got the feeling for the game but now i defenitly feel the MMO. You might like it, just ask around for a buddy key, i hope this helped you out.
there has definately been some mixed reviews but from what i can tell, the more mature, and experienced players who have come from hardcore MMO gaming to lotro and found a casual home with awesome graphics have alot of good things to say.
my damn alienware is taking forever, but with each new day i get excited to enter into lotro and see for myself whats going on.
but yeah the best thing so far is this sounds like a game that can quench the casual MMO thirst.
zing!
So you wanna how long it takes to get geared out in wow? Ill say if your in the best end game guild on ur seever it will take 2 monthes about. And if your not theres not chance of getting the best gear unless somehow you make it to the first second or third best guild on ur server. a average guild in wow may take up almost 7 monthes or more to learn a boss fight. Its not as easy as you think. Im in the third best guild on my server and it seems pretty tough still. ive played lotr and alot of similarities betewwn them. But if your a fan of lrod of the rings you should give it a shot.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
I played WoW a long time, myself.
To me, World of Warcraft fits into the MMORPG genre while LOTRO is a plagiarism.
Even though it was influenced by many other games in the genre and replicated many of their features, WoW greatly improved upon what it borrowed. It took a pretty standard MMORPG setup and made it much more playable and fun, obviously opening up the genre to an insanely large amount of people.
I think LOTRO was just a complete and utter rip-off of what WoW had established. It seems Turbine was hoping the title of the franchise would counterbalance their complete lack of expertise. It's just a total rehash...
But that's just my opinion.
Wait till you get to the endgame instances LOL. Barrows Downs and Fornost are just training grounds for the real dungeons. Enjoy those first few uber casual levels because by the late thirties you had better know how to play your class.
I miss DAoC
yeah i have tried to get some serious discussion on the classes going but it hasnt panned out. with my experience in WoW i plan to do two things
A: not spend my gold
B: choose two professions and max them out and be ready for new content
C: pick one toon, one class, and stick with it, hell if i get to a dead end, go play some music and take some time off come back in a couple months and see whats up
but yeah i am pretty good when it comes to a mixture between a shadow priest/warrior for those who are familiar with WoW classes.
though i have always wanted to play a druid type character
meh i will see how it goes, alienware is taking ages!
lotro isnt a very good choice when it comes to class variety, but a great game nevertheless
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
well as i am sure we are all familiar its a new game.
when i started playing WoW UBRS was the big new content! lol. i rememmber those days, i was in one of the first guilds to start clearing MC and for some time MC was the big deal. but even before UBRS i mean think about how much content has been added in the last 4 or so years.
Lotro from what i have heard/read has alot of room for content, and from what i can tell turbine has set down a very nice platform to create alot of new and fun content to come.
Yeah man thats VERY VERY true, ive heard they're adding MANY more PvMP zones in the near future
I remember the first time MC was out, I ran in with my gnome warrior using all my potions and cool downs, pulling a 100 mobs and typing in "oops" and being kicked out by my guild... Good ol' days! (I was reinvited a few minutes later, hehe)
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
Strangely, I agree with this fellow on this point.
I have to say there is no way I could have said it better then this guy did. Well said, and all of it is true
Since the arguments for and against Wow and Lotro have been rehashed so many times Ill refrain from my own opinions. Suffice it I play LOTRO and no longer play Wow. It has nothing to do with the mertis of either game. I simply like the way the world of Arda feels. I like sitting in the evening and looking over the Midgewater swamps playing my Lute with a few friends. When Im more adventurous I can be so. The world of Arda just feels.... Alive to me
Want a 2nd choice?
EQ2 my friend. But of course, everyone will disagree in here
LOTRO is a cool game it seems. I just could not get into it for strange reasons... Can't put my finger on it, but if you are a big LOTR fan, give it a shot and decide for yourself.
eqnext.wikia.com
In group you are primary healer, secondary buffer and your damage is not crap compared to a hunter, champ, or guardian. In solo play you have a wide range of short duaration self buffs and mob debuffs which also do light damage along with a fair melee ability and your heals so you can kick some serious butt when you just want some casual soloing.
I miss DAoC
quit wow and came to this game. got bored of this game within a month and went back to wow and was happy. i thought lotro lacked depth, and the story has an ending so it can't go too far. the gear looked horrible and it really didnt keep a lot of peoples interest for too long .
As much as I hate World of Warcrap its still a better game then this.
searching for the next DAoC....
Kay-exile
oh for christs sake! my alienware just finally freakin shipped and its all the way on the other side of the damn country. grr..
anyways, i have read countless threads, articles, watched all the videos i could find and this is what i have come down to, of course without yet playing it.
its not WoW, the main time sink in WoW has been tweaked with good graphics and a comfortable world. New content is on its way and turbine is great at releasing new content. Its not as cartoony and rough around the edges, however for the casual gamer, or perhaps a hardcore gamer who is trying to calm down for RL its perfect. It has the immersion, it has the graphics, a more in depth storyline and can suit any kind of gamer for the most part, except the powergamer.
i actually hope it doesnt have the addictive power of WoW and perhaps EQ2. I cant handle another WoW right now in my life anyways. I am looking forward to the shortcommings in relation to WoW. They are the most convincing argument for me as far as i am concerned.
just let me have a world i can escape too from time to time, an avatar i can develope and begin to identify with, just not so much so that my grades drop, or i spend less time with family.
Also it seems that minstrels kinda remind me of a lesser WoW warlock in many respects. The loremaster some kind of hybrid mage/hunter, and best of all a fury warrior class that doesnt have to Tank! dope!
though i am kinda sad how small the dmg #'s are, it will be so hard to get used to having some ubber purple and seeing "you hit ___ for 45dmg!" pfft i am used to weilding a gorehowl and slammin a foo for 1400! in big yellow numbers biiatch!
The short short answer :
LOTRO is a WoW clone as many MMORPG have become cliche clones. Its does not better what WoW does/did. Its has neither the auction hall, items, customization or PVP thrill. I'll say nothing about the last item on that list.
It pretty shallow and dumbed down just like WoW is, possibly even more so. Or to put it another way any depth dev's placed in a game is ... click click click.. press ok, go kill X of X creature at X location. Go, go .. go.
In the end if your an MMO veteran. But this I mean played at least 3 MMO ever and not just WoW. LOTRO is just another cliched generic MMO RPG which most dammning point is for a Lord Of the Rings setting is really unmagical andquite candy floss sweet puke and no depth.
Good scalable engine though...
LOTRO is not a WoW clone because WoW is a EQ clone on easy mode. Therefore LOTRO is a EQ clone, not a WoW clone. I swear, all the people saying "WoW" clone are probably like 13 years old. All they know is WoW so that is their only frame of reference.
-Currently looking forward to FFXIV
-Currently playing EvE and Global Agenda
Well I reference LOTRO to WoW as they are very similar, if you dont think this then we'll have to disagree. You could probably if you felt like it draw all MMORPG's on a nice tree chart. But in the end a lot of MMORPG's are cliche and feature so many obvious standard features that everyon would draw a different tree.
I just dont get my knickers in a twist about there exact origins. The genre needs something truely new IMHO because all this nit picking about who copied who and who ripped off who is showing the lack of innovation. Its fine to be influenced but again in my Humble Opinion LOTRO offers nothing new and takes every element it has from other MMORPG games.
Luckily for the community, you won't run across "angry kids" like Gules here very often, if at all.. So that's definitely a big +++ for the game, as well.
Thank you for the demonstration, Gules.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Too true. It's easy to knock developers nowadays, but in the end, it's the suits upstairs who want $$$ who are looking at the success of WoW and saying "Do what they're doing..." You can read similar accounts of this all over the place.
Back when Tomb Raider was the "big thing" and everyone had Lara Croft fever, I remember reading a story about an indie design team who'd been working on a game. They approached a publisher with it part-way completed, and the publisher picked it up. A short while later, the publisher told them, "We were discussing your game and we think you should replace the hero with a female". A female had nothing to do with the storyline, the plot, etc... Didn't matter. It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. They had to change alot of the lore and story in the game to fit this female character, all because the publisher wanted to ride on the coat-tails of Tomb Raider's success.
originality = risk and when a publisher is pumping millions of dollars into a project, they want to mitigate risk as much as possible.
And, I absolutely agree - 110% - that it's not the big-name companies with the AAA budgets that are going to evolve this genre forward. It's going to be some small garage team who has the ability to try something new without a publisher pulling their strings.
Anyone remember this small Shareware game company named ID Software... they introduced this new genre, the FPS and then popularized it with a game you might have heard of... Doom...
Remember a game called Myst? Completely new type of gameplay that caught on like wildfire, and it was literally designed by some guys working out of their home... the garage, if I remember right.
So, yeah.. the small guys will always be the innovators, and the big guns will always be there to cash in on it. Which is when you start seeing the derivative crap coming out with less and less originality.
But anyway... Personally, to me, LoTRO is a fun game. Is it original in gameplay? Nope... I've done the "kill x of y" quests more times than I care to remember, in more MMOs than I care to recall.. But, for now at least, LoTRO is keeping me entertained.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Alot of the people i read on these forums i consider to be very intelligent people in respect to the topics at least.
Think of it like this.
If you think of PC games as cars, then the MMO genre (EQ,WoW,Lotro ect) is another style of car, lets call it "Camaro". Now as time goes by every single new camaro that comes out is based off the ones before it, its not like out of no where will come some camaro which doesnt look like a camaro, drive like a camaro, and more importantly feel like a camaro. Or in any given year a certain model (WoW model) will come in many different colors but simply is the same package with a different color....I mean people who love camaro's want a freaking camaro!!! So dont go buy the new model and then bitch about how it isnt some other car?!?
it sounds like people are starting to really see the potential of our camaro and are getting impatient for one that can fly or have a conversation with us about geo-politcal issues while we fly around...
its just not time yet. You dont want any WoW or EQ in your MMO? Sorry but that will be the case for quite some time, relatively, even given the speed at which our camaro design teams can come up with new technology to use and create a new style camaro.
i dont mind that i will feel WoW, or to be more historically correct for certain posters here, EQ, in lotro, its just a new color of the models which came out before it. Fine, but it ISNT WoW and it ISNT EQ and aside from from the fact that much about the game is similar i dont give a %$#@.
NO one can argue it doesnt stand on its own in many respects. I Mean what the hell? A car has four wheels, and moves forward, you people want one which flies and can maneuver with unknown incredible aeordynamics which just aint out there yet!
I like MMO's because they arent as mindless as (Fords) FPS for gods sake!
if i am still around in 20 years i am sure something will come out which body slams all the stuff which came before it, but after all is said and done its still gonna just fit the basic model of A CAR
Bravo! Very well said.
The converse of that, of course, is that when you give them something that's not a camaro... they complain about how the new car would be better if it had more of the Camaro's features.
Give 'em "new", people complain that it's too different. Give 'em "not so new", people complain that it's too similar. Give 'em a little of both... people complain that it's not enough of either.
In short... it's a lose/lose situation in many ways.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops