Lord of the Rings Online

[alman7272]

As you may know, Turbine released an expansion Mines of Moria for its MMO Lord of the Rings Online. I have yet to play the original game but I am downloading the client from their site as of now. However, the problem is I want to play a trial of the game first before shelling 40 non refundable dollars out for this game. Can anyone kindly send me a buddy key so that I can try the game out?

If not, how is the game for the people who have played it? Is there enough co operative and solo content to satisfy a bored Guild Wars player?

[Yawning Angel]

I have a couple of buddy keys for the EU servers, but I'm guessing that as you mention dollars these won't be of much use to you, hopefully someone from the US servers will drop by.

In general PvE is very good in LOTRO, you can solo to level cap fairly easily and there is a reasonable amount of group content. Hardcore raiders whine that there isn't enough content, but then if you are the kind of player who stays awake 24/7 to rush to level cap and burn through content, what can you expect?

PvP has never been a focus and is limited to one area. I am not interested in PvP so this is not a problem for me

Mostly they have done a good job of capturing atmospherics of Middle Earth and I would say its certainly worth a go on free trial to see if you like it. If you want to know anything more specific, am happy to try and answer.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Any ORGAHs playing LotRO? Any guilds out there with familiar faces?
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[econ21]

I have not bought the latest expansion, but got a guardian until to max level before that. It's a solid game and generally does a good job of catching the LOTR world without being a clone of the movies. The Mines of Moria in particular are an impressive (and massive) dungeon and quite a challenge to solo level through. I think the game has started to run out of steam since then - the Mirkwood expansion was only one map (Moria was about 6) and Rohan three. I guess they have run into money troubles, hence the switch to free to play (F2P). I never joined a guild and had a poor computer, so did almost no instances, which is where the multiplayer aspect would shine (PvP sounds very limited). The endgame seems rather grindy, although I guess that's in the nature of MMOs (true of WoW, SWTOR etc). I'd recommend it to LOTR fans who want to enjoy levelling, but would recommend subscribing for a bit to avoid the frustrations of F2P.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Thanks for the suggestions!

I might consider subscription later. I still hate the camera management, being enamoured with the M&B style, and I find characters still lacking in such terms as stealth for instance. The Breeland scene and its main quest tends to be boringly stuck at single points, and there are various other things that makes it good enough for a free game but not as much to pay for. I'm in the hope of changing that idea someday.
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[econ21]

The F2P system gives you up to the Lonelands, so there's not much point subscribing until you get past that (level late 20s, I guess). For me, the game took off around Moria. The earlier zones are atmospheric but Moria was intense: I've never seen as big or impressive a "dungeon". Hacking my way through it solo, I felt like a veritable Sam Gamgee or Frodo: it was tough. It's also the point at which the legendary weapons become available, which are fun. You can buy Moria for a reasonable price, so if you persist with the game that long, I'd recommend it. Subscribing for a month or so gives you a lot of permanent quality of life perks that are well worth it, as well as giving you temporary access to the zones you would need to level through to be able to get to Moria. If you dig around you should be able to find the perks well explained (although finding other information on the game, e.g. about endgame instances and gear) can be difficult: there are good resources out there, but they are not always easy to find. The official forums are good places to inquire though.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Gah! I subscribed.
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[econ21]

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Gah! I subscribed.
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Good call: if you think you might be interested in alts, it's a good idea to create the maximum number of characters now while subscribed. That unlocks a number of perks that persist even after your return to F2P.

If you get into crafting, it used to be that you could have a low level character (I forget how low - maybe 10 or so?) that had a craft that produced the materials you needed for your main. I had someone who could skin to support the armor-making that my main did. Crafting is very useful in the game: the Lothlorien armor I made was only insignificantly worse than some of the raid gear (quite unlike most other MMOs where crafted gear is far from best in slot).

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Since this is not only my first MMO but my first ever online game experience, I'm the noobest person you've ever met in this context. So, I haven't the faintest idea how you use a character which is apparently not logged in. How do I do the things you advise?
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[econ21]

I wasn't suggesting using characters not logged in, just create the maximum number of characters now - while subscribed - just to cover the evenutality that you may one day want to play them in the future (when you return to F2P status). As long as you log them in once, characters created while subscribed are free of a number of irritating caps imposed on F2P characters - a restriction on the number of traits you have and a gold cap being the most annoying.

Personally, I am a "one character for life" kind of player, so did not create a bevy of such "alts". However, creating an ancillary crafting character was very useful. Crafting in LOTRO is designed so that no character is self-sufficient: for example, every piece of armor my main character made used leather which he could not create. (He could skin but could not process the hides to produce leather). If you are in a guild, you could find a friend to make stuff for you (although it is time consuming and rather onerous for them). If you go to the Auction House, you may find not enough material to buy or find it far too expensive (I found both problems). However, you can create a second character solely for the purpose of supporting your main character's crafting. I only had to play on my second character for a few hours to get her to the point she needed to be at (about level 10 or so), then she could learn about 5 levels of crafting and thus be able to support my main character's armor-smithing. Whenever I needed leather, my main would use the postbox to mail hides to my alt. I would log out, log into my alt, turn the hides into leather and mail them back. It sounds rather clunky but compared to asking people or paying on the AH, it was extremely smooth and convenient.

I fear the Rohan expansion may have broken this system: it may be that my alt has to get to Rohan to produce the end-game tier of leather. But you have a long time to go before you need worry about that. Up to level 65, you'd be fine.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Thanks! That sounds fun.
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[Mailman653]

It's a good game, I had it for a while and enjoyed it. If you're a LOTR fan, you'll get into it quick. And if you're an RP'er and know your lore, I think you can easily find several RP guilds.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Apparently I've never been a 'hardcore' RP'er -in the Gothic, NWN etc. style- and that's painfully taxing. Ironically, despite my lack of enthusiasm for action, all my RP ventures have been in the semi RPG-semi Action types, starting from Sea Dogs times and coming through Vampire: Bloodlines and M&B to this day. Both of the aforementioned games' combat systems are much better designed compared to LOTRO. Added to that, I've mischosen my main character's class, a captain, the result being I'm almost inexceptionally at a loss in combat scenes, especially against multiple combatants and when supposed to protect/escort a quest critical NPC.
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[econ21]

I don't mean to sound condescending, but have you tried reading on or asking for help at the official class forums? I think LOTRO has a good combat system, but I can imagine it might seem opaque and complex to someone not used to MMO type games. MMO classes each tend to come with a large variety of skills, of greatly different use and usefulness, giving rise to optimal "rotations" or "priority" systems. You get theorycrafters or hardcore players who work out the best play styles and reading up on that can make life so much easier. New players who don't research their class may painfully underperform or flounder. It can cause a lot of nasty social interactions with "elitists" berating "noobs" during PvP and PvE, although the LOTRO community I was in (Laurelin, an EU RP server) was not like that. What is more, periodic patches can totally alter the way things work, so optimal play one day may become hopelessly inept the next.

WoW is the paradigm here - in WoW, I play a class where the theorycrafting is done on matlab software by a physics PhD who is in the world top 20 in his class, so I religiously read his writings and my character even wears a ring named in his honour by Blizzard.

I don't know if you have ever watched the online series "The Guild" (you can see it on youtube) but it is a lovely take on the world of online gaming. There is a husband on it who very reluctantly gets drawn into a game, plays awfully and is told by his wife to read up on his class:

"What? This game comes with homework?!?"

I can see to a non-gamer, it does sound bizarre. However, given that you are totalwar gamer, you'll probably be like me and appreciate the more cerebral, strategy side of this.

With LOTRO, unlike WoW, most of the maths is hidden away. That means it is harder to get a good grasp of optimal play and arguments are more anecdotal rather than spreadsheet or sim driven. It can mean it is hard to root around the web and find the good stuff, but if you persevere, I suspect you can find it.

I don't know much about the Captain, but gather he's a "Jack of all trades" kind of character. I think he should have good skills for soloing and should be ok for escort missions. For the latter, the key is usually to "tag" each mob and so make sure it attacks ("aggros on") you rather than your escort. Any "area of effect"/multi-target attacks you have are a godsend here, as are any taunts. If all else fails just rotate your attacks - hit one mob, switch to next, to third, back to first etc. Usually spreading your damage like that is the height of foolishness, but for an escort mission, it may be essential. If your escort is hitting one mob hard and you can't get the mob to stop aggroing on the escort, ignore that mob and tank the others. However these things are very level dependent. Go in below level and even the best player tends to get squished. On level might be a nice challenge. Over level soon becomes trivial. So if a particular quest is hard, you can always come back after gaining a level.

But with an MMO, it's very important to play a role you feel happy with. I gravitated towards tanks and can scarcely bear to think of playing another role (dps or healer) in any MMO. There's just something about getting suited up in heavy armor and going to face to face with a big monster that appeals. So if you are not happy with your Captain, try out a few other characters and see what style feels most fun to you.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm browsing/searching the official fora on and off, and other community sites such as wiki's etc. This is my first MMO, indeed first ever online gaming experience; as it seems it's my first true RPG too. A learning curve is inevitable. As for asking a question, I'm reluctant and shall remain so for a while. Two of my favourite games' official fora (EU and M&B) were pretty much troll infested. I'm willing to lurk for a while before popping up my head.

While referring to (seemingly whining about) combat system I mean the general way it works, rather then specifics. It's extremely alienating for me after the ways I've been used to.

My captain is healing his wounds in Combe as my champion is now pursuing his career building upon the former's experiences. I don't have any intention of giving up hope on this game/genre too soon. All assistance is appreciated.
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[SkySonata]

What do you mean they were troll infested?

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Upon posting some comments or questions I was mobbed up by trollish seemingly 14 yo. crowd. (Talking about the EU & M&B fora a few years ago.)
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[econ21]

​My captain is healing his wounds in Combe as my champion is now pursuing his career building upon the former's experiences.
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Yes, a champion sounds fun. I don't like the idea of dual wielding, but I got to try a dwarf champion in a fun quest in Moria. (You get to play out a scene in the past where the dwarves delve too deep). It was an absolute blast, hacking into things and channelling Gimli from the movies.

Reading the guardian forum post-Rohan, champions now seem to be able to be very capable tanks. (Although you have to get used to a certain amount of predictable class envy and QQ in MMO forums: "Rock needs a nerf, paper is fine" as Scissors would put it.)

[Mouzafphaerre]

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​I hope you don't mind me sharing my learning experience/perceptions here. Just suppose I'm that Hobbit NPC -forgot the name- talking to himself because there's a lot to think. Feel free to join whenever you think it's worth.

So... I think I'm beginning to grasp the combat mentality of this genre. In my jumbled mind's hardly universally applicable terms I can summarise it being more alike to strategy, such as TW, than FPS/Action types, exempli gratia M&B. I have to de from my character and become its superego during combat. If I keep being hi I fail, even when I win.​

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[johnhughthom]

I played this when it first came out, it was the only MMO I ever tried and I didn't like it, simply not my type of game. What I do remember though, was the very friendly and helpful community, there was always someone there to answer my noobish questions or generally help me get acclimatised to what was an alien genre for me. As I said though, that was on release (2007?), so it could have changed a lot since then.

[econ21]

I am not sure how F2P has changed this, but I agree with you John - the community was excellent. Mouzaphfaerre, I'd recommend you find a guild if you have not already. The best thing about MMOs, imo, are the party-based instances - raids or dungeons - and they are best done with friends. Take your time to find one you like (e.g. after running an instance with some people who impressed you). There's a lot of fun to be had by levelling solo, which is all I did, but co-operative play is ultimately much more compelling and is where the end-game for MMOs is usually to be found.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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I believe and hope that I'll find a suitable guild someday. Solo is as much fun as frustrating at times.
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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The champion, Erohtar, is faring well it seems. Btw, I believe I'm already a member of a guild. Anyway, the semi-ret captain Urwendil will be supplying stuff for the promising champion. He started with a couple blades of copper.
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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The world of online gaming is totally new to me and such things as might be usual or customary for others surprise me. In a sense I'm feeling like explorers, who were discovering things that in fact were not at all new.

As I reported earlier, I was recruited into a kinship, as guilds are called in this games's universe, named Watchers of Elendil. One kinsman gave me my recent primary weapon as a present not much later. I thought that I was supposed to pay back in some fashion. It was not so.

What happened yesterday surprised me even further and more pleasantly. A few members of another kinship called The Last Homely House approached me and asked if I wished to own a house at the Shire Homesteads. I told them that I would, once I could afford it. They donated me game money not only for purchasing the house but also paying for its next upkeep expense. It occurred that I was 'the lucky winner' of I don't know what and they expected nothing in return. Now my character owns a modest yet beautiful house fashioned in the likeness of a Hobbit hole.


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[econ21]

Nice - that's one of the biggest attractions of online gaming; playing co-operatively with guildmates. Norms of behaviour within guilds do seem to be rather altruistic. Paying back in individual transactions is usually a big no-no, but there's a kind of "generalised reciprocity" so that as your character develops, you will be expected to behave likewise - helping out others, whether it's crafting, helping levelling or just co-operating in guild runs of instances.

The second thing you describe - altruism outside of guilds - is rarer. Maybe it was a kind of role-playing thing? You will be expected to role-play a tenant or neighbour? But I can imagine with LOTRO that some servers do have genuine communities that transcend guilds.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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I was made sure that I was expected to do nothing! As far as I can understand it was one of their guild activities. Nevertheless, I made my house accessible to the particular guild member who carried on the transaction as a visitor.

As for the other matter, I'll certainly do so, whether asked or not.
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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Did my first fellowship quest!
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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Wow, things are happening too fast for an old timer! Our kinship leader has promoted me to officer. I feel like filling Old Flourdumping's shoes.
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[johnhughthom]

Your obvious enjoyment of the game is making me wish I'd given it a bit longer.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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It deserves. Thanks to winterbreak I'm playing around ten hours daily.
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