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 Producer Outlines Future Functionality for Loot Boxes - MMORPG.com
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Lord of the Rings Online Producer Outlines Future Functionality for Loot Boxes - MMORPG.com
The Lord of the Rings Online producer has taken to the game's official forums to post a note to players about changes coming to the loot box system with the arrival of Update 23. The basic premise is that, while loot boxes will still be present, they will never contain gear that can't be earned through completing content or by purchasing it from vendors with in-game currency.
Comments
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
But a lot of people aren't being realistic with what they actually have to do these days to stay afloat. It's not a popular game and it's ridiculously dated.
Sounds like something Trion would say tbh
I check the forums daily in case I see the new Lord of the Rings mmo news
"... they will never contain gear that can't be earned through completing content ..."
Same BS was said in ESO, not about gear but about items. Then people discovered that their loot crates had a chance to drop XP scrolls hat were much better than anything that could be crafted in the game.
So they added an item into the game, an Aetheric Cypher, that has a chance to drop from any mob in any zone. that allows the crafting of XP potions equivalent to the loot box exclusive ones. That was 2 years ago and I play the game on a regular basis. How many of those drops have I gotten? Zero... and my RNG luck is typical.
They never mention in their promotional blurbs just how rare those "can be earned through completing content" things are.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
As for the loot boxes, who really cares. Not as if they had that much worthwhile to start with.
There were three sentences about loot boxes in a long post about gear philosophy. Way to title an article to skew perception.
First the Reapers indoctrinating EA, now Sauron taking over DayBreak. Looks like the bad guys are organizing. :-(
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
It is a move for reverting (more or less) the Ashes bullshit. LotRO has lootboxes since years, longer than the entire lifetime of most newer games - and they worked pretty much like that all the time. Cosmetics, fluff, consumables, and an ok-ish gear for that level range, not the best just close to that. Not the means, just convenience.
Then with Mordor they simply jumped off the beaten path and made a new lootbox with all the qualities of the crappy lootbox mechanics in other games. Many people raised concerns about it, right from the beta runs on the test server, there were long forum threads, videos, etc. but SSG sticked to the plan.
Actually, in that light it is a bit amusing to read from Sev the lines:
"The above should help you understand how we want loot to work in LOTRO, and set clear "meta rules" for the future. If we stray from this, let us hear it." Sure, since you've listened the last time as well, right? Oh, wait, you haven't.
"We've been carefully reading your thoughts about lootboxes in recent months, ..." You do now? Really?
"We have been paying close attention to high level gameplay and rewards, and are not entirely happy with the system in place." Oh, not happy with it? I think a "Told ya" would be appropriate, just a bit rude, so I don't say it. Darn, I just did.
Anyways, it is a good move. Pulling out the teeth of the new lootboxes, they still won't be as the pre-Mordor boxes, but at least will be optional (and with it, ignorable) which is a good thing.
Situation: you are in Mordor. Struggling with LoE buffs/debuffs, your armour is flower one, so - questing is a bit hard, even in Udun.
By pure luck you got some ash! Wow, you can barter first quality lvl.107 gear!
Nope.
Let us imagine NPC tells: you have to complete all Udun deeds, spend 2 weeks in questing there and be lvl.107 to be able to barter. How nice would that be?
Or imagine same Mordor. No LoE gear, esences. Oh, wait for 2 weeks, please.
New lootboxes would only give "some" (i.e. very little) embers. So, all lootboxes would become trash. Why purchase key to get trash?
The further, the better. Deeds would award embers instead of slivers or black keys. Ok:
Mordor dailies: 2 slivers --> 2 embers
Mirkwood dailies: 1 key -->probably 1 ember.*
1 week is around 11 embers. IF one essence is some 2500 embers (like ash) - guess I have some 200 weeks to work.
*Since no formal data is given, I take it would be 1:1
It does ruin almost all my hopes. I dreamt about this content, my Dwarf lands! Now - running undergeared with probably one month being a target for any lowby Goblin and getting 2 embers daily? My dear developers, I suggest you smoke less weed and maybe sometimes play your own game.
http://www.mmoblogg.wordpress.com
Nothing wrong with the changes, it's an improvement and makes it LESS p2w because you can't just open tons of lootboxes to get the best gear straight away.
Everyone here doesn't understand the game. They probably don't even play it. They see lootbox and just shit their pants in shock and jump on the bandwagon.
These changes make it easier to get the exact gear you want through gameplay and you will still be able to open plenty lootboxes without ever using the cash shop, just like before. You want raid gear when the raid launches? You have to do the raid. Simple as that.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Personally with these changes I might actually try the game out, however from what I know I have to buy like 100 expansions to get the full game? Is it really like that or I'm misinformed?
I know i would pay that monthly price even though i would not be playing it all the time but dang i went off online games because of in game shops (that tend to be a required useage and loot box's that are purly random and not worth it)
The game has 6 expansions (or 5 and a half, Mirkwood was fairly small
The first 5 expansions you can get on sales fairly cheap, I think $30 was the lowest price so far, a short-timed sale on the Quad pack for $10 while Helm's Deep was for $20.
The 6th, Mordor, is still pretty expensive, but for a tryout that is unnecessary anyways. Actually, for a tryout the free play is more than enough, you will see after the first week if you like the game or not.