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Letdown after intial euphoria
Elikal
Member UncommonPosts: 7,912
I started to ´play LOTRO at launch and I was quite surprised and at awe how good the game was. Some of those things lasted, but overall my euphoria has cooled down now, which is much sooner than ever before. I still have a lot of things about LOTRO I like. The world and graphics is awesome, the quest themselves are interesting and I totally love the great storytelling with the scripted mini-events. It it quite positive to see how many free updates we have seen in a short time.
However, I cant help to feel a bit a letdown now. I didnt push my levels and only played my main char to lv 34, partially because I played a lot of Monsterplay. MP was fun, it was a novelty, but it is likely the greatest weakness of LOTRO. I never was a PVP geek, but I enjoy doing it regularly, to have something more dynamic to do. But its likely the worst and more stupid PVP I have ever seen. It shows that initially LOTRO should not have PVP at all. The monsters are WAY underpowered stil, and the recent addition of Trolls and Rangers has finally destroyed what little sense was left. They are just FAR too uber. A Ranger can kill my Rank 3 Spider easily with one or two shots, and since they dont stand out unlike the Trolls, they usually survive MUCH longer than Trolls. A Troll stands out with his size, so its easy for 15-20 Freeps to jump on him and kill him in no time.
Most groups hardly were able to defeat equal sized Freep groups with 1-2 Rangers even when they had 4 Trolls. And what is the reason for making a class/race which can kill a player in one hit, as if he were in godmode?
The other things... I cant exactly put my finger on it. Generally, if I compare it to other MMOs I loved and played a long time, I see what LOTRO lacks. It SO lacks the great diversity of things to do EQ2 has. It lacks the balanced PVP SWG has. It lacks the interesting character customization and combat CoH has. It lacked the great diversity of classes and races most MMO have, most notably Vanguard. It lacks also the great diversity of monsters games like EQ2 and other high fantasy games have. WIth its endless series of wolves, bears and goblins its more like low fantasy and you cant expect to see anything fancy, which at least for me added a LOT to the grwoing boredom I feel. "oh yay, MORE wolves and boars!"
Really, some aspects are very good. But I feel as my interest is diminishing with each week now, I feel less and less compelled to log in now, which is a pity, since I had and still have high hopes for the game. I never thought I would say this, but the game is too easy and too fast levelling. I am REALLY no hardcore gamer, but in this... it kinda lacks the sense of accomplishment. Titles, money and levels is given out for free to a degree I dont feel their value anymore. It took me a LONG time to get my EQ2 titles, and I feel they are worth something because of it. The LOTRO titles... they mean nothing for me, I got them effortless.
I really see the potential. But the challange and diversity is FAR too low for me with its mere 4 races and endless wolf/boar/bear rince and repeat boredom atm. Its surely a good starter MMO, but it has to go a LONG way to become a game that will last.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Comments
I was a beta tester and started playing early Sept. I knew of the weakness of LOTRO before release, but I still talked my
friends into buying it. I leveled to 37 and when I went away to Europe for 4 weeks, I canceled my account.
When I came back the guild that I was in was disbanded and everyone had canceled.
LOTRO has so much potential, but it seems that any change is too slow.
Boars and wolves.... It's Middle Earth man, you won't see floating eyes anywhere
Races... Again it's Middle Earth man and only the western part of it is currently open.. Yeah. Titles are neat but worth nothing, however DEEDS are pretty cool as you get TRAITS that will greatly help your character's class. I love how you can customize your class according to how you want to play it.
Long way to go before it will last? Well yeah, it's an MMO... Book 11 is adding housing btw, I mean at the rate updates are going I don't see how long it has to go???
(,,,)=^__^=(,,,)
Oh, it's not going any where. People will play LOTRO that is for sure. What OP is saying is that LOTRO is lacking stuff. Monster play got added in a rush and looks unpolished compared to the rest of the game. Same will happens with Housing...
eqnext.wikia.com
Its an ok game i guess, but once I hit max lvl I really dont like to PvE very much after. More into the DAoC, War type games.
(this isn't a direct response to you, Cnthe - you just happen to be the lucky person whose post I happen to respond to
I've killed (and been killed by) my share of boars and bears in my time. However, I've also killed and/or been killed by Barghests, Wargs, Orcs, annoying little bomb-throwing goblins, dread-inducing ghosts, drakes, dragons, huge worms (not the garden variety), aurochs (not the blitzball team), evil dwarves, strange things with tall stalk-like legs, invisible wolves, walking trees, ghouls... a number of things.
So do you kill alot of boars and such? Sure... but there's a whole lot more that you can hunt or be hunted by as well.
As for things to do... Man, I have a hard time deciding on *one* thing to do at any given time. I'll quest/level for a bit... then craft... then maybe explore. I went hunting for a "sweet spot" for ash and yew wood earlier tonight and ended up stepping into what I believe to be the Witch King's fortress up in the North Downs... saw a purple named and quickly stepped back out.
It seems like every time I turn in some random direction, there's something new to be seen or done in this game. I really - and I don't mean this to bash the people who find it boring for whatever reason - am having quite the opposite problem. My concern is that I'm going to level past alot of it too quickly to get to experience it all because there's so much to do.
I think the PvMP is alot of fun. No, it's not set up like your traditional PvP system, but that's what I think makes it interesting. It's a neat twist, I think, on something that's often very similar from game to game.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
You seem to be somewhat typical of many people who have played and quit. I could never really get into the game and saw its weaknesses fairly early (every game has its weaker points btw). For many, though, they enjoyed the early parts but got bored once they leveled up. LOTRO is not a bad game at all. Theres some good, fun things to do. However, it seems that many that have stuck it out are of the more rp/casual type of gamer for who combat related content isn't what they like to do most. It also seems many of these same people are big fans of the setting and lore and this is their chance to finally, in some way, live in Middle Earth. For the rest of us who aren't as big LOTR fans, we want and expect more from an mmo. For me, theres just not enough in the game for me be interested in going back. I don't know if I'd really recommend it to anyone but I wouldn't tell them to not try it.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
You seem to be somewhat typical of many people who have played and quit. I could never really get into the game and saw its weaknesses fairly early (every game has its weaker points btw). For many, though, they enjoyed the early parts but got bored once they leveled up. LOTRO is not a bad game at all. Theres some good, fun things to do. However, it seems that many that have stuck it out are of the more rp/casual type of gamer for who combat related content isn't what they like to do most. It also seems many of these same people are big fans of the setting and lore and this is their chance to finally, in some way, live in Middle Earth. For the rest of us who aren't as big LOTR fans, we want and expect more from an mmo. For me, theres just not enough in the game for me be interested in going back. I don't know if I'd really recommend it to anyone but I wouldn't tell them to not try it.
Hmm... I think perhaps, especially given your lead-up to it, that the italicized line above might have been better phrased as:
"For the rest of us who aren't as big LOTR fans, we want and expect something different from an mmo."
From the conversations I've had with other people, in person, on Ventrilo, in-game and in various forums, LoTRO provides plenty to do, and - again, at least among those I've spoken to - we're eager to see what the next major updates will bring, among other things.
And, to group people who don't find themselves "wanting of something more" in the game as being those who are "big LoTR fans" is also highly presumptuous.
Speaking for myself... I like Tolkien's lore. I wouldn't call myself a big fan, though. Not even close. I've seen the recent movies. I remember seeing the Ralph Bakshi movie years ago. I remember trying to read one of the books but finding it way too "dense" for me at the time. That said, though I think the lore is deep and fascinating, and I like the way it's presented, it would not be enough to keep me playing if the rest of the game weren't entertaining to me. If I want to get my fix of Middle Earth, I've got the trilogy on shelf right near me and a DVD player to watch them on. I don't need to pay a subscription for a game I'm not enjoying to get it. I play LoTRO because I enjoy it. Likewise, from conversations I've had with others, they feel pretty much the same way; they can post with their own reasons if they wish.
For example.. I'm a big fan of the Matrix movies. I love the setting, the concept, Persephone... everything. When it first came out, I loved the Matrix Online. The game was fun to me, the community at that time has yet to be matched in my experience and I had a great time. I though that was going to be my "new home" in terms of MMOs. But then Monolith started slipping, more and more bugs crept in and the game became less and less enjoyable to me. As a result, I left the game. My love for the Matrix series was not enough to keep me there.
I've played numerous other MMOs that span the spectrum - 26-ish at last count over the past 6 or 7 years; so it's not like LoTRO is my first real MMO experience - I have plenty to compare it to.
My point is, don't be so quick to try to narrow people down into the "Big LoTR Fans" and "Not Big Fans" categories to try and distinguish who does and doesn't enjoy the game. It's presumptuous and entirely too short-sighted.
At the end of the day, gamers, like all people, are individuals who think and act for themselves (though they sometimes don't seem to act like it). While their reasons may overlap in a number of ways, everyone is ultimately playing, or not playing the game for their own reasons.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
being a long time mmo player, and huge fan of lotr, i was so excited into going into beta when i got my invite. A month later, i knew i would have felt heartache. I saw the lack of content the game brought, and the casual playstyle this game brought. This would be a problem in the long run, which now seems to rear its ugly head. People who want more to dive into (not necessarily more hardcore players...). Like me, i get about 3 nights a week to play, but i knew i was going to blow through this content. In the month i played in beta, i made it to level 10 on a few toons, trying it out.
Granted they are adding alot, but not to the extent they need to. Granted my favorite mmo so far was swg:pre nge, but i was able to make content, and there was a huge amount of diversity one could put into their character.I have since moved on to EQ2 (was bouncing around many mmos for a very very long time), and I like the amount of content included in eq2, granted it has been out for a very long time. LOTRO would have been such a great IP if they waited to release it a little longer, with much more content.
My personal points about LOTRO are simply a) the subjective felt lack of diversity in things to do and b) that it feels too easy. For me it all comes down to this. I love exotic races and classes, but the LOTRO classes are VERY narrow. I thought it would not matter, but in the long run when you only see humanoid faces it did matter for me.
In terms of difficulty I always tried to defend the middle ground. I always said Vanguard with the corpse run was too difficult and the grind to slow, but in LOTRO it feels way to fast and risk-free. That has kinda lessened the value of many accomplishments. I got to level 34 now even though I made breaks and did many other things that questing, and it feels as if I raced through those levels, so as I said it feel a bit like an anti-climax to level. I know thats all sbjective, and I dont want to bash LOTRO. Its just describing my personal experience curve, and I hope LOTRO will become a bit more demanding and add a bit more variety.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
The game is easy on the lower levels, but there's a LOT of group content at the last 10 levels...
DB
Denial makes one look a lot dumber than he/she actually is.
I also see a lack of diversity.
But there is really only one thing to blame really.
Lord of the rings is a great book. But this is where it should stay. It didnt fit the movies , and it certanly do not fit for MMO.
If turbine did the very same game. Based on their original IP with their hands open (and belive me they did wonders with hands tied with lotro storyline). They would be able to bring whatever classes, monsters and areas...
Than I am sure LOTRO (or whatever it would be called) would be awsome game!
Right now it is a great game , that seems restrained by its own lore
I guess it depends on what you are expecting. yesterday i did a 4 hour Carn Dum dungeon crawl, farmed hides to level my tailor, farmed faction points for my minstrel, helped a guildie get his warg enmity deed ( in exchange for hides), and crafted some high end jewelry for a mid 30's guildie and shot the breeze a lot in guild chat.
I miss DAoC
And i spent whole game night roleplaying in Bree , when actually i wanted to grind .... But there is just so much RP on EU-RP server Laurelin....
I know what you mean (the OP's post that is). I've too let go of LOTRO. I did pretty much enjoy it for about 3 months, but once I hit lvl 45, and had been to most places on the map, the game lost its appeal.
Well the content post 35 is basically lacking and simply annoying.Too many quests are same old and worse when you are finally in reach of that lovely dagger in some long chain you need a group and spam for hours to find others at same stage.Making matters worse is the lack of diveristy of classes.Meaning if i truely need a healer i have to find a minstrel ,nothing really fills in even the captain.
That said i stick my loyalty in lotro by taking a 6 months sub despite only playing an hour or 2 a week due to the current boredom
No, I don't mean I knew how to beat all the dungeons, or had been everywhere, but I certainly knew the formula I would have to follow to succeed and it was this lack of wonder that I think drove me from the game.
After 3 months of playing EVE... I am still aware of how much more I have yet to learn about how to play the game.... and there's even more hidden from my sight which is the real appeal of it to me now. (players with 2 years of experience are still learning new things here)
"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
So, my solution? 4 alts - playing with them, mastering all crafts (no useless craft mat/recipe drops anymore:), the only problem with that is that I need to do the same old areas again. But with my burglar I only do the solo quests and with my minstrel I do the fellowship ones. By the time I level all of them to 30-35, there should be a lot of new content for my main as well (I hope).
This is probably LOTRO's only fault: while being a really casual-friendly game, the solo content runs out above lvl 40-42...
DB
Denial makes one look a lot dumber than he/she actually is.
You nailed it right there. I do like LOTRO, but the content is SOOOOO repetative. I think I'm going to scream if Im told to kill another boar.
Im an old EQer, and I love a good dungeon crawl in diverse environments, but (at least up to about level 25), there simply are no dungeons to speak of. Oh sure, theres a few newbie dungeons which are really small, and the few others I've been in that look somewhat interesting, you are too busy following an NPC as he/she races through the instance that theres no time to explore.
One thing they really got right was the noobie-hook. When you first enter the game, and go through the newbie areas, you are left with a feeling of astonishment and filled with notions of great adventures to come. That quickly vanishes as you kill an endless stream of mundane creatures in the same set of old ruins.
I really want to like this game, and its not a bad game, but the desire to log in is starting to fade.
I think you hit on two major points right there: Expectations and Activities
I'm in the same boat as you, Jack .
In the "activities" department...
I played for about... hmm... 6-ish hours yesterday. In that time, I harvested a few stacks wood, crafted a bit, did several quests out of Ost Guruth and helped out Kinship members with a variety of their quests. I finally ended the session by helping to escort a fellow kin member and friend out to Rivendell. And there are still things I'd wanted to do before I logged off that I didn't get around to.
I got 1 level the entire time and was perfectly content and entertained.
Many of my sessions line up about the same. The most levels I've gotten in one day recently was 3, and that's only because I was breathing on one of the levels when I logged in.
This is why I really scratch my head when people say there's not enough to do. I have to wonder what it is they're doing. And I don't mean that in a "bashing" way... It's just that I can't seem to find enough time to do all the stuff I want to in a session some days.
Now you might have gleaned that I'm not very high level yet - still only questing out of Ost Guruth (granted, I was away from the game for about a month due to rl stuff). There are people who would say "OMG you suck at leveling". That's not it at all. Leveling is very easy in this game and when I feel like leveling - or even just by virtue of doing quests - I level up just fine. I just don't spend all or most of my time doing it. I feel like the pace I'm going at is just fine and seems to be meshing very well with the content I'm experiencing. I'm getting to do plenty, not burning out on anything and having a great time. My current short-term plan is to get to 24 or 25 in the Lonelands and then work up to 30 or so in the North Downs, so I get to experience a bit of each area.
In the expectations category.. again.. I agree. I find the more I have expectations, or some presumed idea of what something is going to be like, the more I tend to be disappointed. On the other hand, when I go in with an open mind and just take it as it comes, I tend to enjoy the result more often. Of course, that's just me... mileage may vary.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
You nailed it right there. I do like LOTRO, but the content is SOOOOO repetative. I think I'm going to scream if Im told to kill another boar.
Im an old EQer, and I love a good dungeon crawl in diverse environments, but (at least up to about level 25), there simply are no dungeons to speak of. Oh sure, theres a few newbie dungeons which are really small, and the few others I've been in that look somewhat interesting, you are too busy following an NPC as he/she races through the instance that theres no time to explore.
One thing they really got right was the noobie-hook. When you first enter the game, and go through the newbie areas, you are left with a feeling of astonishment and filled with notions of great adventures to come. That quickly vanishes as you kill an endless stream of mundane creatures in the same set of old ruins.
I really want to like this game, and its not a bad game, but the desire to log in is starting to fade.
The "great adventures to come" are there, only problem is that you need a fellowship to go through them....
Not to mention the many many more adventures with the following many expansions
DB
Denial makes one look a lot dumber than he/she actually is.
WSIMike has a good point there.
"In the expectations category.. again.. I agree. I find the more I have expectations, or some presumed idea of what something is going to be like, the more I tend to be disappointed. On the other hand, when I go in with an open mind and just take it as it comes, I tend to enjoy the result more often. Of course, that's just me... mileage may vary." (the posts were half-off the screen, so i had to quote like this cuz i couldnt see the button thingy)
I guess that, for some people when they heard of Lotro, they had high expectations because The Lord of the Rings is a really deep story with lots of background to it (and so on). So when they started playing and realized that it didn't meet those expectations with content or whatever reason,it was of course,dissapointing.
The game is still really young; so for some of the different stuff that Lotro features(pVmp ect.), Turbine might find that those things just won't work for whatever reason. Who really know where the game will lead, you know.
So I think that thats where at least some of the things that people may not like about the game come from, the expectations that they've already got when they start to play. As WSIMike already said.
And of course the game style is just not for everyone, everybody has their own opinion (blah blah blah).
I guess Turbine just has alot to live up to with this game since it's based on an epic tale and everything. Seems like they are doing a good job so far though.
It's a decent enough MMO. They've done enough to be able to check off the list of features that players expect in an MMO.
Some people want PvP. They've got it. It isn't great PvP, it's basically a battleground that other games have done before and done better. But PvP is in there.
Some people want crafting. They've got it. It's pretty shallow, certainly not even close to the depth and complex nature of Pre-CUNGE SWG crafting. But they've totally got crafting.
Some people want to spec. They've got Traits. It isn't really all that meaningful and there isn't really anything to encourage different builds. But they can definitely say they've got Traits.
Sone people want mounts. They've got those, too. They don't fight with you. You can't personalize them beyond choosing the breed. And the method for getting on and off is pretty clunky. But no one can say they are missing mounts.
I'd bet my life savings that Housing will be no different. Don't expect it to be comparable the best out there or even close.
It feels like they over-emphasized getting those important features in and didn't prioritize making them really great. Maybe they'll get around to it eventually. But do I want to cough up $15 bucks every month on the hopes that they'll eventually get around to it at the same time they are trying to crank out the other highly-demanded regions of Middle-earth? I don't like the odds.
It's a great starter game for people that don't know there is better out there for the same money. Once people get their feet wet in MMO's and branch out into other great games, that will highlight what LotRO is lacking: originality, innovation, and the drive to make it great and not just good enough.
Previous played: SWG (pre-NGE), DAoC, CoH, Anarchy Online, DDO, Champions Online Beta, LOTRO, GW2, SWTOR
Actually I have some faith in Turbine after time in AC a few years back. Here's 10$/month saying it happens. We're 159 days out of launch according to my kinship logs. We've already gotten a content update in Evendim that's large than any dungeon instance EQ2 ever threw at me. I'm pretty confident that things will roll along for the next year at a solid pace of improvement and expansion. Having been a launch-day SWG vet I'm highly attuned to what you speak of, and pretty much agree with many of the points you've made on the areas where polish is necessary. I feel like the attitude and quality of developers in this game are met with a corp. attitude at Turbine that might just pull it all off. It's certainly not as bloated nor as marketing droid driven.
Enjoy your favorite MMO with us!
crimsongamers.com
The last few patches are actually one of the reasons I don't expect more. Their emphasis is on adding; add zones, add skills, add traits, add deeds, add dungeons, add session play, etc. They haven't really dedicated a patch to making one existing thing really great. They haven't scheduled a future patch to do that, AFAIK. Housing is coming this fall, more adding.
If they only added once every 6 months or a year, then I'd be more forgiving. That would give them time to make the new content really good when launched, not just good enough to push on live and fix later.
I've been frustrated for years that the gaming industry has deemed it acceptable to sell a product they know to be flawed and expect the consumer to put up with the broken parts until they fix it. We wouldn't accept a cold steak in a restaurant if they told us to eat the side dishes first and they'll be back to finish cooking the meat in a few minutes. Even if one chooses to buy a fixer-upper, they do so knowing in advance and the price reflects this. With MMOs, we still pay the full initial price like that of any game, plus the monthly subscription.
If I had bought LotRO for $30 with an agreement that I'd pay an additional $20 if/when they fleshed out the game at a later date, then fine. But I'm paying the full price I would pay for any other MMO that has more and better content. I've kept my subscription open only because I was able to get some referral credits and I won't pay again until December. They've got that much time to convince me they are aware that their existing content is lacking (which I haven't seen yet) and further that they have concrete plans for fixing it in the near future.
Previous played: SWG (pre-NGE), DAoC, CoH, Anarchy Online, DDO, Champions Online Beta, LOTRO, GW2, SWTOR
OH come on....people are acting like Turbine is as bad as SOE.