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Lord of the Rings Online: Returning to LOTRO Part 3
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
MMORPG.com writer Phil James has been having a rousing good time in his latest excursion into Lord of the Rings Online after a hiatus. In the third installment of the series, Phil talks community, kinships, crafting and group quests. Check it out and then tell us about your experiences. (Read Part I and Part II for the full experience!)
I’ve resubbed to LotRO for a month to see if the grandaddy of the fantasy genre can make me feel welcome enough to make me want to become a permanent resident. I’m beginning my third week and so far I’ve been a bit of a loner, doing the ORPG, but not the “MM” of MMORPG. I intend to fix that this week and fling myself into the community.
Read more Returning to LOTRO Part 3.
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Comments
First of all there needs to be a correction right off the bad. you sad grandaddy of the fantasy genre ???? Lotro only a few years old in mmo terms. Sorry but were going to have to fail you right now.
You want granddaddy you go to EQ1, neverwinter nights or asheron's call.
Sorry.
I[object Window]m sure he was referring to the books being the grandaddy of the fantasy genre.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
he didnt say video game genre, soooooooo im guessing he might be talking about them things with the paper and words. BOOKS thats the word i was looking for:)
Well, that first poster has already been corrected but wow, embarassing. I swear people leap at the opportunity to rag on official reviewers, like cats waiting to pounce. Read a bit more carefully before you attempt to troll.
As for LOTRO, I recently installed it and gave it another try but...just couldn't do it. I had a 43 Minstrel (who was still in his large Kinship after all this time
) but he had so many skills and items and it's been so long since I lasted played, I didn't remember what any of it was for or how to use him. So, I made something new. There were more people around in the lower level areas than I expected, so that's nice, but I got a sinking feeling a lot of the people you'd meet as a lowbie were the same people you'd meet at higher levels; they're just grinding alts for Turbine Points to get the things they want. Not a big deal, I'd just sub if I liked it enough, but I didn't. Been around the block too much, and I see the lackluster combat for what it is. That's just me, though, there are clearly a lot of people who enjoy the game and more power to them.
"Forums aren't for intelligent discussion; they're for blow-hards with unwavering opinions."
if you want busier chat join globallff channel
I tried LOTRO again (last time was a year ago) and I could not play past a couple of hours. The game has an awful "single player game" feel to it and I could not stommich another kill 4 wolfs, 10 rats etc quests and that Strider need me, out of all the houndreds of other noobs, to "save middle earth".
It just does not work, for me, when 100s of people are also doing the same thing to "save middle earth" and at the end of the day it just felt like a subpar Dragon Age Origins experience.
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lotro is great if you are a sub , f2p is making me a living hell.
I spend 500 tp per month aka $5 per month cuz of quest pack.
I lvl up10 lvl per area.
Welcome to the MMO genre?
[quote]
otro is great if you are a sub , f2p is making me a living hell.
I spend 500 tp per month aka $5 per month cuz of quest pack.
I lvl up10 lvl per area.[/quote]
You should look up some of the guides out there that show you the direction to best utilize your money/time in F2P.
I'm glad the OP had a great experience in Lotro. A lot has improved in the game over the years. I have always been a fan of Tolkien before the movies so I really enjoy the way the devs at Turbine have interpreted the environments based on the books and not the movies.
Im also glad that other posters have pointed out the misinformation some have tried to post in vain.
Kill X, bring to Y quests are in every mmo like they said. The formula is hardly changing anytime soon.
As for high-level gamers playing alts, that's in every mmo as well. Of course people play alts but I can safely bet and have seen that there are a ton more new players over the past few months than there was before. I have been playing Lotro off and on since alpha phase and I havent seen this many players, new players that is, since Lotro launched.
Half of the members in my kinship are F2P gamers and they have no problems with the new F2P mechanics whatsoever. Some gamers posting here, need to not generalize their own bad experience in order to try to make it seem like it is a widespread issue.
I think there are a few disgruntled gamers with an axe to grind trying to be subtle about it. If someone doesn't like a game, that's fine, but don't post bad information to mislead other gamers.
I can already tell you don't read the quests (probably in any MMO) and that's fine. I'm not calling you stupid or anything of the like, but I can promise you you won't enjoy LotRO. What truly sets that game apart from the other themeparks is the quality of the writing in the quests.
And for the record, you are in no way "saving middle earth" in LotRO. The quests are quite adamant about Frodo and company saving middle earth, you're mainly there helping the local quest hubs with whatever and occasionally fixing whatever shitstorm Frodo's passing has created.
But you are not THE ONE in LotRO. This is where reading the quests may have helped.
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I must agree with Vagrant. And which MMO don't have quests with killing some rat's, bunny's or similar pitiful creature? Only people that judge that are powerleveling once playing just to reach end game in 1 week and leave the game in 2 week's. LotRO is way much more, should I say mature.
Anyway, yes, there is a lot of new players, F2P mostly. But i see a lot of new friends going to sub, buying quests packs and such. And definitely join GLFF channel (/joinchannel glff). It is trashy most of the times, but people that looking for or making a group are posting there first.
ive tried and even bought lotro twice but i just cant get into it (the secondtime it was cheaper to get a combo pack than resub and buy the expansion)
but i always found lotro very hard going and had to force myself to play
thought the character were good and the world was nice but somthing was missing
i couldnt put my finger on it but around lvl 35+ i just cant face the game and each time i get around that level i stop ,but i havent retried wow so maybe i would find that the same so maybe its the whole type of kill 10 of these ,collect 20 of them and go here i am finding stale
i also did get into the mythos beta recently and found this really hard going to play
the only game i am finding good atm is fallout new vegas maybe i just needed somthing different
i do plan to have another go again now its f2p but i dont think ill even get to lvl 20 as i know its not going to cost me anything if i stop playing
Wife and I loved this game when we started playing it about four months ago. Then we hit 65 realized there was like 5 dungeons to do and got bored. We started a pair of alts but then got discouraged when they announced the next expansion would not be out for about a year.
There will be small expansions and if I'm not mistaken, few dungeons in next month or two. Big expansion (Isengard) is coming next fall.
The Grandday of the fantasy Genre are in-fact the Conan the barbarian books >.<
I don't agree nor disagree with you. I think you could just flip a coin on those two choices and win either way.
The reason why ppl are so nice in LOTRO : Youre not playing wow with the noob class of 2010.
I miss DAoC
for future reference there is a quest sharing feature. The exception is if it is a quest in the middle of a chain and you have not done the prerequesite quest (s). Otherwise for non chain quests group members can share quests on the fly in a manner of speaking.
I miss DAoC
Conan was created after Howard created Kull of Atlantis, in fact Howard admitted that the first Conan story was a re-write of a Kull story.
Howard's work in the pulp comics represents the beginning of popular heroic fantasy, while Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is popular high fantasy.
I enjoy these LOTRO write-ups, not because they get me excited about the game (because I already play) but because they are the simple, accurate truth. No fluff, lies or misrepresentations of the game at all. Our experiences are much the same and I feel the same way about the game, it's great all-around . . . even if we aren't going nuts over every single detail.
I've said it before, but for those that take the time to read this post, the only thing that kept me from playing from launch is the fact that the story is over. I mean, the books have been written and the end has already come and gone. What I forgot to take into account, missing the point from the start, isn't what one story ended up being at the end but what it would be like to live and adventure in the world that the LOTR characters were traversing, especially in the dangerous time they were doing it. I mean, the ring was the most important "single" story, but it's no longer the ONLY story and everyone gets a chance to be a legendary adventurer in Middle-Earth, even if it only crosses path with the "main" story line from time-to-time.
All lore aside, when it comes to crafting, one thing to note is that having all the pieces to craft an item guarantees the creation the item. An upgraded tool and some additional catalysts will both stack to increase your odds of landing a critical success. If you are unsuccessful at crafting a item you've tried to "critically" craft, you don't lose everything, you just get the base item. So, not all is lost. Crafting is fun never-the-less. Making my own items all the way up to my current level has been rewarding AND extremely helpful.
Don't forget, every crafting trade includes your ability to harvest and craft your own gear without dependency AND includes one crafting trade that DOES rely on another trade you do NOT have. So, if you are an Armorer you can harvest, smelt and craft your own metals into the end-product armor pieces; however, you're also a tailor, but you will require a forester to turn hides into workable materials and such before you can actually craft any light/medium armor. So, you can both solo and work with others to max-out your 3 crafting/harvesting skills. Just another little non-necessary team-building opportunity, should you venture down that path.