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The Road to Mordor: My love-hate relationship with Legendary Items
Second to perhaps radiance, Legendary Items have become one of the most controversial, most debated, and most divisive game features in Lord of the Rings Online since their implementation in Mines of Moria. Since their inclusion, players have discussed -- loudly -- how the system could be fixed and improved, and Turbine's made a couple of attempts at refining the feature into something we can all enjoy. And yet Legendary Items remain in that category that I like to call "love-hate," where there's almost as much to love about them as there is to loathe. I've waited a long time to write this article because the timing never felt right; either I was too new to the system to speak with any authority on it or changes were "right around the corner" or I was lazy. Take your pick. Perhaps talking about this today is beating somewhat of a dead horse in the LotRO community, but I wanted to get my thoughts out why LIs haven't quite gotten to where they need to, how they've failed, where they've succeeded, and why I pray every evening for cosmetic weapons so I can get rid of that ugly glow effect.
The Road to Mordor: Ten up, ten down
Levels in MMOs are best when accepted as a traditional aspect of the game that blends into the background. It's weird when you hold them up to scrutiny because it's very hard to mesh these arbitrary numbers with the pretend "reality" of the game world. I've always thought it was weird that I could get high enough in levels to return to old fortresses of evil and be basically invincible. Plus, how can there be bats and goats that are both level 5 and level 75? Is there an animal commando school somewhere I haven't seen? In any case, while I enjoy the ding as much as anyone else, levels have lost their luster to me. The fact that Rise of Isengard added 10 new ones versus, say, five or none, doesn't really mean much in the long run. There isn't a lot tied to these new levels other than a small handful of mostly recycled skills and the typical increase in stats, so for me there's really no rush to climb through them. However, as with any first week or two out of release, leveling seems to be a huge area of focus for many players as they seek to hit that end cap once again and re-establish the status quo. Still, it's important to some, and our kinship has spent a good amount of time chewing over these new levels, how to get them, and whether or not they're worth a hill of beans in this crazy, messed-up world. Today in our laser-focused Lord of the Rings Online column, I'm going to sort those beans. I may even eat one or two; beans are great for protein and fiber.
This RIFT 1.5 update trailer is approved for all audiences
RIFT's 1.5 update is barreling down the road at us, and woe to the unprepared who will not leap but be squashed beneath its weight. Also, we think that a giant monkey is throwing it whilst guarding a captured princess. In any event, RIFT's fifth major content update looks to be a game-changer in several ways, adding alternative advancement (planar attunement), master-level dungeons, and veteran rewards to the faithful. To celebrate this week's release of Ashes of History, Trion Worlds has put together an impressive trailer full of angels, demons, and the words "Trion Worlds presents" for our viewing pleasure. One interesting detail to note is the apparent addition of a giant spider mount, which will undoubtedly play favorably in the arachnophobic market. You can view the two-minute trailer after the jump! [Thanks to Ren54 for the tip!]
The Soapbox: Level the playing field
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Levels exist in every single MMORPG on the market today. There are games that eschew the class-level format popularized from EverQuest onward, but even those games still feature levels of one variety or another -- your character in EVE Online might not be a Level Seven Warship Pilot, but she still has certain skill levels at the right levels to make her effective. Levels are a great way of marking character progress, of showing a character growing in power and competence over time. They're also a great way to cause all sorts of problems, from PvP to PvE, from disparities in high-end play to the infinite frustration of having to gain twenty levels just so you can play with your friends. And unfortunately, the obvious solution of just removing the blasted numbers doesn't actually fix things. Levels are a great advantage to MMOs, even as they're also a big hindrance.
