LotRO devs reveal Angmar revamp plans for Book 12
The yellow sun slipped beneath the rim of the encircling hills, and the land was shrouded in shadow. In the dim half-light, two figures could be seen, walking north along a dusty road. They made no attempt at stealth. The pair could be seen for miles in every direction, but if this troubled either of them, they made no sign.
Amlug: If this is another boar quest....
MadeOfLions: It won't be. Angmar was the realm of the Witch-king, and that means Evil.
While most MMO companies make simple announcements about zone revamps, the Lord of the Rings Online devs have decided to go with charts, graphs and fictional accounts harshing their own work.
What it all boils down to is this: the high end adventuring zone Angmar didn't get the dev loved it needed before the game launched. The devs are going to fix that in the Book 12 patch.
Working with a combination of player feedback, first hand experience in the zone and lessons learned since launch, the devs have compiled a list of problems with Angmar they are going to tackle: better quest flow, lower mob density, no more group mobs spawning among solo quest mob targets, etc. More solo friendly, more quests and better loot.
There are a few caveats involved. All quests will be removed and replaced, so you need to finish them before the patch hits. All quest rewards, too, so if you have your eye on one, get it now.
I applaud LotRO for dealing with the half-baked zone now and not four expansions later. They are showing they listen to players and respond in the best interests of the game. It would have been great if the zone was finished when the game launched, sure, but fixing it not too long after is the next best thing.
