Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Be honest with me... is the game declining?
Netzoko
Member Posts: 1,271
I'm thinking about doing the trial, but the single thing about MMOs that matter to me is population. I want tons of people running around, and tons to group with. I realize I'm a bit late, and the game is aging in a sense.
With this in mind, is LOTRO declining as it ages, or is it taking off even more like WoW did?
-------------------------
Comments
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
.jpg)
The game has only been out a year, so its not that old. To me it seems like the population is growing. When I'm in the starter areas for instance there's always tons of people doing quests there with new characters.
Of course, I'm on Meneldor, I can't speak for the other servers. I think Brandywine is one of the more populated of the servers, could be wrong though.
There will probably be a lot more people joining up once the new expansion comes out too. I think this game has great potential to grow ^^ it has a lot more depth to it than most and they add more with every new book that comes out.
Just my 2cents.
i am a noobie ... been playing for 3 weeks now...far as i can tell its got a healthy population. Least in the noobie zones of landroval
I would absolutely say no! I think it is going the other way. The population seems to be growing and I never have any trouble grouping when I want to. I even started a new toon and the newbie areas were well populated. I think with all the new content coming soon and the announcement of the Mines of Moria the current players are mostly staying while new crops are coming into the game to see what is up and play.
I play LOTS of MMOs of all kinds and while some might not agree I think LOTRO is amongst the best. I dropped all but LOTRO for now while awaiting AOC and WAR. My plan is to play LOTRO and one of the new ones going forward.
That's good to hear, thanks for the responses!
It seems like 'Melendor' has the largest population I take it?
-------------------------
And it's pretty damn packed.
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
.jpg)
Well the game is just reaching its 1 year mark and has just had its first expansion announced. In MMO terms, LoTRO is a toddler.
That said, you have decided to look at it at a great time as there is enough to keep someone occupied already***, and it's only going to get larger.
Player-wise, I see more and more all the time. I'm on Firefoot which, honestly, I don't know how it stacks up population wise compared to others and, really, don't care. I'm in a great kin with great people and I meet others along the way. LFF channel is always active in pretty much any zone I find myself in. I always see people running by or sharing my hunting spots - even in the most remote areas. It's more than fine for me.
*** - LoTRO is not designed for the "End-Game Is All That Matters - All Else Is Filler" type player. If your goal is only to get to level cap quickly and then do nothing but end-game, then WoW might be a better option as it seems more designed around that play style. While it has end-game raids and such, LoTRO is decidedly more about "taking your time and enjoying the journey". A quick glimpse at the various side activities the game has - many of which have *nothing* to do with leveling - demonstrates this well enough. Someone whose key concern is leveling quickly will (and have) consider those activities a "waste of time". Someone looking to get all they can out of the game and have fun will see them for what they are - more options and added value.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Yeah, this game is definitely growing. I've seen a bunch of new members to my kin over the past month alone (since book 12) and the overall level of players are growing as well.
If you're looking for the most populated servers, check out Brandywine and Elendilmir.
Elendilmir is also the unofficial Oceanic Server, so you find a pretty consistant population at all hours.
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
Elendilmir is also the unofficial Oceanic Server, so you find a pretty consistant population at all hours.
Yup, thats where I reside and its always hopping with players. Course late at night it can take a awhile to find ppl for a specific quest thats not so popular but u get that with all MMOs regardless of the time of day!
Kemih ~ 13 Red Mage | Currently playing FFXI & LOTRO, awaiting Warhammer Online & Aion...
I am on Landroval and I am European playing on US server so I keep odd hours in comparison to most of the population.
I have yet to be alone in the zone and even grouping isn't that bad providing you are not dead set on one thing alone
Anyway, last time I played, the server was still thriving.
I dont play lotro, but a good game like lotro is not aging after a year from launch. it may start to be aging after, 3 or 5 years, but not now.
The population is increasing.... join on in and have some fun!
It seems to me like the population is increasing too. The game world has grown considerably with Evendim and all of the instances that have been added since the game went live. People are much more spread out now than they were at launch when everyone was in the same areas. But the population still feels very healthy everywhere I go.
Elindilmir is definitely as healthy as ever. I started up another alt with some friends of mine, and the amount of completely new players is astounding.
Asking questions like:
How to find Prancing Pony in Bree?
Where to find the AH and Bank in Bree?
What level is good to start doing Book 1 of the Epic Story-line?
How to switch off the night and make it be daylight again? (I thought he was joking at first, but he honestly thought it must have been a toggle switch he had hit while in his options menu).
I've been answering more and more of these type of questions in the last couple of months. Points to a healthy, growing community. Let's keep our good reputation as a friendly community and do our best to welcome these new players and answer as many of their questions as possible (without laughing preferably).
It is taking off. And it will take off even more after people realize how bad AOC is (<-speculating)
Right now the game has more than healthy population. Lots of newbies , lots of old players.
And with up and comming expansion , i dont see no decline in population
Indeed... I'm seeing things fairly regularly now that I hadn't seen nearly so much before...
People hanging out in whatever spot (Prancing Pony, Auction House, etc) having spontaneous jam-sessions - got a mini-concert earlier with performances of Freebird, Mrs. Robinson (Simon and Garfunkle) and a variet of other songs.
I see people quite often standing outside either inside or just outside Bree dueling while others look on.
I was doing quests in North Downs earlier (E. of Esteldin) and there were people all over.
All around, there seem to be people everywhere I go now.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Its growing slowly like any mmo "Should" do.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
In terms of server population, there is no need to worry about. During peak hours, and popular raid hours, many servers are nearly full. Elendilmir surely is.
During odd hours, finding a group might not be easy. Somehow people in this game are fairly solo minded. Apart from some quests, grinding for traits or raids, people tends not to group. The community is very friendly, very helpful, and warm. Chats are polite and very informative. But not all are ready to jump on board for the sake of questing.
Part of that might be because the game is so casual friendly and there are many people who don't want to look for groups as their time is important to them.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I play on landroval and at peek hours its impossible to get anywhere with out lag. Half the time tells me due to the amount of players on the server my perception is lowerd lol.
Even during the day i get lots of lag in bree and other popular places.
My opinion on the population is its "growing" go check out just random forums and you will see alot of poeple saying they are going to try the game. This new expansion will bring tons to the game.
Generally speaking it is not declining.. however with the announcement of the latest expansion and decision to not release any raids until said expansion (they had previously planned to release a few raids for the next 1 or 2 books) Almost all of the raiding guilds have either disbanded or quit altogether
So the players who are at the top end of the game are on a decline as they didn't want to wait 6 months for something new