free-peoples
Latest
New LotRO dev diaries outline Minstrel changes, PvMP
Denizens of Middle-earth, sit yourselves down, light up some pipeweed, and brace yourselves for information overload. The fine folks at Turbine have released a pair of new dev diaries outlining the changes coming to Minstrels and PvMP with Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard. One of the first things that Minstrels will notice when they log in to Rise of Isengard for the first time is that they are no longer clad in the medium armor to which they are accustomed. Instead, the Minstrel's medium armor trait is being replaced with something "equally valuable." The next sweeping change comes in regard to the Minstrel's ballads. Gone are the days when Minstrels had to play ballads in tiers; instead, all ballads have been divided into minor, major, and perfect categories. These categories roughly tie into the three stances that the Minstrel employs, providing either healing, damage, or power reduction. The Major Ballad is of particular note, as its effects will change depending on the stance the Minstrel is in. With no stance selected, the ability will heal allies. In Harmony or War-speech stance, the ability becomes a damage-dealing skill. Minstrels will also be receiving an upgrade to their available stance choices, allowing players greater flexibility in their playstyle. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the changes coming to Minstrels with Rise of Isengard; they will also be receiving changes to their Anthems and will be given a new type of ability called a Coda. Trait lines are being given a few tweaks as well, so any would-be bards should certainly give the full list of changes a look. Meanwhile, in the Ettenmoors, changes are sweeping the Freeps. All Freep quests have been made into dailies, and all quests now reward players with a combination of Destiny, Glory, and cold hard coin. Rangers have received a variety of tweaks as well. Freep PvMP rewards have been upgraded to be uniform with the new stat system, and players who previously purchased the old versions of the armor rewards will be able to swap the old version for the new. New jewelry and offhands are also being made available to help the Free Peoples of Middle-earth take the battle to the Ettenmoors. Once again, the full details, as well as previews of some of the updated items being made available to the heroes of the Ettenmoors.
LotRO's Gaunt-lords will scare the bejeesus out of you
Making it into the Lord of the Rings Online lorebook this week are the supremely evil Gaunt-lords. Beginning their lives -- err, their "undeath" -- as Gaunt-men, they moved throughout Middle-earth in service to Morgoth, raising wights as they went. It was only later on, when serving the Witch-king, that five of these Gaunt-men became Gaunt-lords, to match the power of the Wizards aiding the Free Peoples.Donning their sinister crowned helms and peering with hollow eyes, the five Gaunt-lords stand for death, famine, pestilence, war, and evil. Approaching these powerful foes will strike fear into any adventurer's heart, and great courage will be required from those attempting to dispatch them. Find out more about the Gaunt-lords history at their new lore page.
LotRO: Troll and Ranger Session Play out for now
Session Play in Lord of the Rings Online is a feature that allows you to take the form of a different character, and experience Middle Earth from a new perspective. From the official website, "You could play as a Ranger, a Troll, or... a chicken." Well, it looks as though your only option for now may be of the feathered farmyard variety, according to this post on Turbine's official LotRO forums.The announcement from Turbine Community Specialist Saffron tells us little other than that there have been unspecified issues with Trolls and Rangers in Session Play, and that they will not be available until further notice. These two character types were formerly playable in the Ettenmoors Monster Play (PvP) zone, with Rangers for the Free Peoples and Trolls for the Monsters. A quick visit to the Monster Play forums shows that Trolls and Rangers have already been a topic of hot debate, with many feeling they were overpowered. Perhaps they will be tweaked along with other PvMP updates due with Book 12 -- we will have to wait and see what changes have been made when they are made available for play once more.
