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The Road to Mordor: Becoming a true Tolkien lore-master
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. Every MMORPG comes bundled in with what we call "lore" – that is, the background story of the entire world, the framework which holds the game together. Although some people claim to ignore the lore of the game to "just play it," everyone's aware of the lore at least to a certain point. Without it, we'd be generic heroes fighting generic mobs in generic settings. Lore provides the Who, the What, the Where and the Why of the virtual world around us. Who are those guys I'm fighting against? Why is it important that I beat them? Where did they come from? What history do they have? By providing context, lore enriches the game experience, and as such, it's a vital part of constructing a good MMO. Don't believe me? Think back to some of the blander MMOs that you've played or seen – chances are, they're pretty weak in the lore department.
