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The Road to Mordor: Six ideas to improve LotRO's deeds
When Lord of the Rings Online launched in 2007, one of its most-lauded features was the deed system. You have to keep in mind that achievement systems in MMOs weren't really the norm yet; World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online would boost their popularity a year later. And these weren't just meaningless Gamerscore points here; they were achievements that usually offered an in-game reward. From Turbine Points to virtues to mounts, deeds provided an alternate path for play and progression (albeit one that usually paralleled your standard path). But in 2013, LotRO is six years old, and rethinking core features of the game is a theme of the year. We're on the cusp of a massive class and class trait overhaul, and Turbine did promise that housing will be getting some major love at some point this year (although hey, it's almost November. Perhaps this should be mentioned?). So why not rethink deeds? As much as we love routine and become skittish about change, I feel it's important not to take anything off the table when it comes to improving the game. Deeds have served admirably thus far, but they're not without fault or potential for so much more. Here are six ideas that could take a good system and make it far better.
Free for All: Getting lost in the labyrinth of Wurm Online
Wurm Online is a game of darkness. Really, the entire world is balanced on what will happen after the sun sets. If a player isn't careful, she can find herself lost and alone without a torch to light her path. I don't mean to make the daylight out to be a haven from danger; a player can die during the day as easily as at night. But at least during the day, a far-off shelter can be aimed for. Unless there's fog, of course. OK, look. Wurm Online is a game of super-scary death things, but the night is particularly scary. That's what I meant. When an old Vanguard: Saga of Heroes buddy of mine let me know that he and his friends had built a giant maze in Wurm, one that can actually keep players occupied for hours and can possibly lead to injury or death, I jumped into a tiny rowboat and paddled my way south toward the Deliverance server. I had to see this thing for myself.
The Road to Mordor: Shopping at the LotRO Depot
About 99% of the time I'm in Lord of the Rings Online I never think about the LotRO Store. Ever since the store came online last year, it's been adventure as usual in the Olivetti household. Sure, I mock the "You got 5 Turbine Points! Now you can retire in the Caymans!" popups like everyone else, but I've always felt that Turbine does a good job balancing the store presence between the polar extremes of obnoxious and invisible. That isn't to say I haven't used the store at all; on the contrary, I've been a sporadic if loyal customer of sorts, trundling my shopping cart through the aisles of Shire-Mart looking for a good deal. Thus far I haven't dropped any additional cash into the game, choosing to subsist on my monthly allotment of TP with whatever I earn through deeds. Every once in a while I'll boot up the store and see what niceties I can give to my character as a reward for slaughtering his 5,000th Neeker-beeker. The LotRO Store has two categories of customers: the free-to-players and the upper class. Does that sound snooty? It's not intentional -- all I mean is that some folks use the store to provide basic necessities for gameplay (like quest packs, riding skills, class unlocks) while others are already well-off in the game and shop for luxury items. I'm in awe of the F2P gamers who can get a good chunk of their content by methodically knocking deeds out so they can purchase the next zone, but I'm fortunate enough not to have to do that. So today I wanted to give myself an audit of what I've spent in the store so far and analyze whether they were wise purchases, wasteful frivolities, or overpriced insanity.
The Road to Mordor: Fishing frenzy
Way back in the olden times of yore, henceforth referred to as "2008," Lord of the Rings Online released its first -- and to date, only -- hobby in the game: fishing. While we wait for a second hobby to make its way into the game (the popular rumor is golf), I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at this interesting side activity in LotRO. I'll admit that fishing bores me, both in real life and in virtual games. In both, it's a lot of waiting, a ton of non-interaction, and the occasional flashes of activity. The end result is edible and odd but nevertheless compelling to some folks. MMOs have a long history of incorporating fishing as a minigame or side activity, usually given to players as something to do when they're waiting on something else. I've noticed that roleplayers are big fans of the rod-and-reel, probably because it's defiantly against the grain. In a world of power-levelers, danger-seekers, and quest-undergoers, taking large chunks of time to stand in one spot and watch for a couple of pixels to bob shows that you walk a path less traveled. I get the impression that there are many people in the game who don't even know that fishing exists or perhaps who dabbled once and never gave it another thought. Even if fishing isn't typically your bag, Turbine's dangled a few tempting rewards from the hooks of fishermen's labors -- enough that it prompted me to take a closer look this week.
LotRO's Siege of Mirkwood discounted to become the one price to sell them all
While many of us have spent a great amount of time and money shopping for other people this holiday season, it's sometimes easy to overlook yourself in all of the hustle and bustle. Treat yourself to something nice this week -- you deserve it! May we suggest a gaming Snuggie for those long nights of raiding, or perhaps 50% off of Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood? As part of the Turbine Tuesdays sales, the LotRO store will be selling the game's second expansion for half off the regular price this Tuesday, December 28th. Siege of Mirkwood is priced at 995 Turbine Points in the NA store (which is around $10), but on the 28th the cost will be halved to 498 ($5). The Siege of Mirkwood expansion unlocks over 150 quests, zone deeds, five instances and plenty of content for high-level players. Currently, free players may access the zone and experience the epic storyline, but the rest of the content is walled off unless this quest pack is purchased.
