Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Review
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com reviewer Donna Desborough takes a look at Turbine's addition to Lord of the Rings Online with this official Mines of Moria review.
November is always a hectic month for gaming as everyone tries to get their game out in time for for Christmas. This year we added Lord of the Rings Online's first expansion, Mines of Moria, into the mix. So many games and so little time. Well, for this expansion I made time. There was no way I was going to miss what promised to be an epic addition to the game.
I've always liked Turbine's interpretation of the Dwarven interior areas. One of the main reasons my kinship hall is in the dwarf region is because I liked the look of it best. So when Mines of Moria was announced as the next expansion I got excited just to see what it would look like. Turbine do not disappoint.
)
Read the Mines of Moria Review
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Nice review and I agree with your points.
Great review...although to be clear, Hunters are able to equip up to two legendary items and a class slot item, usually a book or tome of some kind which reduces the power cost of skills or helps mitigate damage to an enemy. The class slot items for Hunters are not currently "legendary" items.
-G
Nice review.
MoM is great overall, but I think Turbine made major mistake turning crafting into a simple pointless money sink.
I agree that a TOP raid equipment CAN be a little better than an equivallent TOP crafted equipment (although personally ithink they should be on pair). But what we're seeing there is that a TOP crafted equipment is usually slightly below regular raid equipment and even below some solo epic quest rewards (or loot, in the case of legendary items).
I sincerely hope that was a mistake and Turbine will have it fixed on the next major update (or at least the one after it).
Ummm... Not to be nitpicky, but only Wardens (not RKs) can use gambits. Rune-keepers have an attunement bar, a very different sort of thing.
Good review, otherwise.
Yeah I was scratching my head on RKs using gambit skills too.
I have been looking in many places for information on this expansion. This review had more practical information and less useless hype then anywhere else I have found. Next time I will be sure to look here first. Thank you for this review.
Actually a small correction should be made, There is only one class so far that does not have a second Legendary item and that is actually the Warden not the Hunter as posted. so far there are only the Legendary Weapons available to the Warden but no class pocket item. The Hunter has their books as class pocket items plus two weapons melee & ranged... actually thinking about it now the Warden has two legendary weapons as well again melee & ranged but no class pocket items to speak of.
The crafting guilds have a minor part in the level of crafting. Mostly the crafting guilds are a piece of content that will satisfy those who enjoy the reputation part of the game. You gain reputation with the crafting guild by crafting items for them. As you gain reputation you are able to buy special items and patterns equivalent to your current standing with the guild.
You missed a very important use for crafting guilds. They remove the grind of crafting for those that use them.
Normally, in crafting you will make 20 items to gain points in crafting towards mastery; each item gives some number of points towards that. But it also leaves you with 20 items, that you now have to find something to do with, sell to an NPC, or on the AH, or destroy them.
With a crafting guild, its like hitting that +5% check box in SWG, You make one item, that takes a bunch of resources..Gives you a ton of crafting points (about 20x more) and you have a guaranteed buyer for the ONE item (+faction).
Granted they are not normally usable items, but I am sure anyone can see how this is a nice secondary way to advance in crafting.
Also, to the poster above, Crafting IS NOT just a money sink, in fact this game has more useful items at all levels than most. Turbine was very good at making sure that at all levels crafting fills the gaps that they intentionally put into loot drops. It’s an extremely well balanced system, one you do not need to be at the top tier to find use, and cash flow.
Also, the new tier of crafting has a lot more than just legendary items. and to say they are not as good as loot? Um, the entire system is designed to customize your weapons...... That statement just does not make sense in this context, with this type of a system.
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
As people have indicated before, this article has several factual items that are incorrect. Anyone who's ever played a Runekeeper knows they have no gambits. This article needs to be revised for accuracy ASAP.
Well I think the problem is that the new top tier items isnt wanted at all and crafting legendary items is way to expensive compared to how easy they drop. Im sure Turbine have done this intentionally to wait and see how things turn out before make crafting on par with drops. There will hopefully be craftable Radiance gear and 2nd age LI in book 7 to make crafting usefull again!
Good review and a fair score by the way
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
Well I think the problem is that the new top tier items isnt wanted at all and crafting legendary items is way to expensive compared to how easy they drop. Im sure Turbine have done this intentionally to wait and see how things turn out before make crafting on par with drops. There will hopefully be craftable Radiance gear and 2nd age LI in book 7 to make crafting usefull again!
Good review and a fair score by the way
That was my point. If the cost/benefit of crafted items is the way it became today (which wasn't the case for SoA), crafting has turned indeed into a money sink. Who will craft a teal armor set, which requires one mithril flake for each piece, if the purple instance/raid reward sets are sold by less than half its cost and have better stats? And why should I bother crafting a level 60 legendary sword, which also requires a mithril flake, among other things, and might turn to be useful just to become a few tier 1 gems, which is not any different from the hundreds of looted legendary items you find on the mines?
There are still some areas crafting is useful, as consumables (maybe just food, as the market for potions - thanks to the repeatable mirror quests - just vanished), some cloaks, off-hand weapons and bows for non-hunter classes. But, if we compare to SoA and its mirrored armor sets and weapons, crafting has just became a lousy mini-game. How can't it be a money sink if a crafter who decides to reach supreme master has to spend (or lose the chance to sell) so much money? And I'm talking about more than 10g per character. Market for low level equipment? That's reduced to a few crazy people who will spend all their money on some equipment they'll only use for a few levels, sometimes taking less than one week. So, the only profitable equipment, as it was on SoA, is the top level equipment. But, if the top level is so much below the ones you can get so easily, that market is just gone, and the game will eventually turn into another WoW clone.
I agree with several random posters above.
1. Runekeepers don't get gambits, no class apart from warden will ever have them. The review is very misleading on this point.
2. The crafting guilds are much more usefull than implied. Great for levelling crafting on new toons. And most importantly...you can earn auto crits on one shot recipes. That is actually a pretty big deal.
3. Teir 6 crafting is currently borked. Turbine really screwed the pooch on that, anything you can craft pales before dungeon drops. That isn't the game I've been playing for almost 2 years. Word on the street is that turbine has some plans to enhance crafting, but it's only rumor. We'll see.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Runekeepers have no gambits. Gambit's are not like being introduced in MoM, it's just a unique thing for one class - Warden. I have no idea why it's being mentioned like that in this "review", and even one hour of playing RK would make obvious that there are no gambits.
REALITY CHECK
and how would you know that?
*looks down at the oversized sig*
oh....
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
Good review that was pretty well balanced.
I'd repeat the comment on the misinformation about the Rune Keeper. They use an alignment mechanic and not a gambit. Using healing spells for example moves alignment towards healing and opens up stronger healing spells whilst simultaneously preventing the use of stronger DPS skills. Going DPS does the opposite. In itself a unique mechanic in the game.
Th lack of full raid content (i.e. Rift) was dissapointing, however it should be repeated that Turbine added loads of free content between launch/expansions which will continue and they have as much as committed that a large scale full raid will be released with the next free update, Volume 2, Book 7. Time will tell if it will fill the gap. No dates as yet, but guesses are late Feb/early March.
Overall a fair score for what is a very slick and entertaining overall game.
Well..Sorry but..
As the class was made available in MoM, then it's also introduced in MoM ...
If you do not own MoM you will not be able to play as a Runekeeper or a Warden...
Therefor these things should and can be mentioned in a MoM review.
But as you said, there still is that error with Runekeepers thou
/junker
Well..Sorry but..
As the class was made available in MoM, then it's also introduced in MoM ...
If you do not own MoM you will not be able to play as a Runekeeper or a Warden...
Therefor these things should and can be mentioned in a MoM review.
But as you said, there still is that error with Runekeepers thou
/junker
What are you talking about? I didnt say you can play RK or warden without MoM.
Fact is, the review gives a feeling like gambits are a new thing being introduced in lotro that will be used for later classes as well, but it's not true. Gambits are unique warden abilities.
REALITY CHECK
Thillian wrote:
"Gambit's are not like being introduced in MoM, it's just a unique thing for one class - Warden"
Maybe you didn't but this line made me confused..But I think I know now what you ment with it
But nevertheless, Im sorry..Was not my intention to pick on you or anything like that..
/junker
nice review. I'm kinda happy that this review seems more like a "review" and less like a long-paid-commercial.
Errors pointed out by earlier posters ("gambits") should definetly be looked at though.
I think MoM is a preety good expansion overall
The thing i didnt like about it the most would have to be the raids. Sure u have the watcher but u dont really have anything that replaces the rift in moria. what i mean by replace is that there is no raid that takes hours to do and people need to be expereinced to do. I hope that they will Make a new raid in the next major update
Nice review. Turbine realy did a lot in this expansion