hobbits
Latest
Pantheon summons the spirit of the Shaman class
Each new day brings new information on Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen in addition to pushing the game's Kickstarter campaign slightly closer to its February 22nd funding deadline. Today's update covers the Shaman, a healer/debuffer/support class that utilizes the spirits to enhance the power of his group while weakening enemies. The Shaman has two specializations from which to choose. Ritualist enables the Shaman to dance and chant in order to summon spirits that can be commanded to action, while Spirit Warden gives the Shaman the ability to buff teammates with the power of his spirit. Shaman players can choose between Ogre or Dwarf; more options may be made available if the game reaches one of several stretch goals that involve adding new races. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is currently at $365,667 raised of its $800,000 funding goal with 10 days remaining.
Pantheon talks 'The Gnome,' 12 days remain on Kickstarter campaign
Mysterious, diminutive creatures that love magic are standard fare for fantasy MMOs, and Brad McQuaid's Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is no exception. Visionary Realms, which is attempting to raise $800,000 via Kickstarter to develop Pantheon, has posted an update diving deeper into the game's race of tiny "secretive sorcerers." Originating from the world of Aruska, gnomes are creatures whose mastery of magic has made them "one of the more proficient crafters of magical items and allowed them to unlock the arcane potential of even the most mundane of items." According to the lore, Pantheon's gnomes are slightly antisocial creatures with a penchant for hoarding who destroyed their magical troves after a conflict with a tribe of humans. The locations of the new troves are unknown, even to the gnomes left behind. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has raised $360,000 of its $800,000 funding goal with 12 days remaining. Gnomes (and halflings) will only be added if Pantheon reaches $2,000,000 in funding, which at this point is starting to look like a serious long shot.
Pantheon reveals class/race combos
If you're pulling for Pantheon, then you might be daydreaming about what class/race combination you'd want to play if the game is made. Visionary Realms hears you (it's inside of your head), and it released a chart showing the classes available for each race. Some of Pantheon's races are at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to the total number of available classes at the moment, as Humans have six while Dwarves and Ogres have three apiece. However, Ogres do get an exclusive class -- the Shaman -- and can use that to boost self-esteem if needed. The Kickstarter project also revealed a new stretch goal: the Halfling race. Halflings will be added to the game alongside Gnomes if Pantheon races $2 million or more. [Thanks to Josh for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: What's the niftiest MMO character title you've ever earned?
I don't usually bother with the achievement metagame in MMOs or anywhere else. Checking off a bragging-rights checklist generated by a studio whose entire goal is to waste as much of my time as possible is just not my idea of fun. But I make exceptions, chief among them being character titles. If a game is going to give me an awesome title for doing something bizarre like eating 36 Eggs and Onions, Delicious Crispy Bacon, Hobbiton Omelets, and Complete Hobbit Breakfasts, then by golly, I'm going to do it just for the giggles and wear that silly title with pride. Besides, it sounds delicious. What about you readerly types? Do you also collect titles rather than minipets and scouting badges? And more importantly, what's the niftiest title you've ever earned? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Why do you play a short race?
Let me put my capital-b Bias up front and center here: Short races rock. Whether they be Gnomes, Gibberlings, Asura, Hobbits, or Dwarves, if I have the option to play a diminutive character in an MMO, I'll take it. Even my City of Heroes characters jacked down the slider to the shortest possible height. It's why I'm ecstatic that WildStar will be offering the Chua as an option, because my purpose in life is to play a small rabid kangaroo-rat-thing. So why do I play short races? Being somewhat short myself, I like putting my height out there in games as a point of pride instead of being ashamed of it. Plus, there's always something cool about watching a tiny dude beat up someone 1500% of his body mass. Plus plus, short races are often associated with a wicked sense of humor and irreverence. That's me, baby! Enough about me; why do you play a short race? Where are my gnomies at today? Speak up, tiny brothers and sisters! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Road to Mordor: The Age of Men
There's a movie poster tagline that I've seen copied numerous times. It goes along the lines of, "No matter who wins, they lose (or we lose)." This implies that the best-case scenario in the film -- the heroes emerging triumphant -- will still result in a bittersweet moment of defeat, despair, or doom. This is how I've always thought of the Lord of the Rings in regard to the Free Peoples. Even through this enormous struggle against the Enemy, we know that winning still means losing something precious. In this case, it's the ascension of Men during the Fourth Age and the fading of the other races: the Ents, the Hobbits, the Dwarves, and the Elves. This grand fight for Middle-earth ultimately will preserve and strengthen just one of the races, and the most boring one at that. For Tolkien, this is because LotR is a mythological past history of our world, and we just don't see a lot of Elves walking around today except at Starbucks. In a way, I feel as if we're starting to get into the Age of Men a bit prematurely in Lord of the Rings Online. The time for Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarves is past; the time for Men is just beginning.
Leaderboard: Hobbits vs. Gnomes
We shorties have been looked down upon our entire lives, so it's not without some sympathy that I champion the cause of the shorter races in MMOs. Happily, there are a lot of them, and they have their ardent supporters, with the added bonus of seemingly irritating the "Tallies" around them. Yet out of all of the diminutive races in online games, two seem to stand out as the kingpins of the Shortie Empire. The first is Hobbits, the classic heroes of Tolkien's novels as well as Lord of the Rings Online. With their genial attitude, disregard for shoes, and fondness for multiple breakfasts, they've endeared themselves to millions and influenced the development of the RPG genre. The second is Gnomes, the tenacious inventors of the underworld who seem to pop up in every MMO that isn't afraid of a steampunk fringe. So if a Hobbit and a Gnome fell into a pit together and there was only one breakfast to be had, which would go hungry and which would be satisfied? In other words, which race rules more than the other? Vote after the jump!
The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world
As I reported last week, I've recently rerolled as a Hobbit Minstrel in an effort to refresh my attitude toward the game, to get a different perspective, and to continue my series in which I go through all of the single-player quests in the game. It's been, in a word, smashing. Having been away from the tamer lands of Eriador for so long, I had forgotten the charm and serenity that these lowbie areas exude. Plus, it's always fun leveling up a brand-new character, since there are plenty of goals and ways to develop your character that your level-capped toons have long since surpassed. As I've been plugging away at Bree-land quests, I began to make a mental list of exactly what's so special about the low-level game in Lord of the Rings Online. The mental list became an actual one, and after a period of milling and refining, I've baked it into a nice loaf of observations to share with you.
The Daily Grind: Do other media releases make you revisit MMOs?
This has been quite a week when it comes to geek-related movie trailers. First off, we finally got a proper trailer for the third installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise. Then, Peter Jackson blew us away (again) with a nostalgia-inducing peek at his return to Middle-earth. What the heck do either of these blessed events have to do with MMORPGs? Well, not a lot, admittedly, unless -- like me -- you're now seriously considering a return to DC Universe Online and Lord of the Rings Online. In any event, the trailers are so collectively awesome that I can't help but make a Daily Grind out of them. The traditional question goes something like this: do big-name IP releases make you want to revisit MMOs? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Road to Mordor: Thoughts on Update 5
Update 5: Saruman's Obviously Not Compensating for Anything With That Tower will undoubtedly be the last hurrah of Lord of the Rings Online -- this year, that is. It's an interesting update that looks to patch in the rest of Rise of Isengard's content (namely, the instance cluster) and provide a little something-something for players who have already reached the end of the epic storyline and are looking for more. Earlier this week I took a dev tour through some of the main parts of the update, and while I wasn't able to see all of it (such as the non-raid instances), what I did preview certainly filled my head with opinions, analysis and further questions. Generally I came away pleased with what we're going to experience next month, although the comments section of the tour showed split feelings on what's in store for the patch. Is this a case of too little, too late for those dissatisfied with Rise of Isengard's release? Will it breathe new life into dungeon-running, especially for the many soloers out there? Is it what this game needs right here and now? Hit the jump and I'll give you my honest thoughts on it all, both the good and the bad.
The Daily Grind: Are tiny races persecuted?
We've seen it across the MMO spectrum: Gnomes, Hobbits, Halflings, Dwarves, Asura, Sprites, Danny DeVito -- they're all ridiculed, mocked, and often targeted by other players driven to an inexplicable rage at the mere sight of them. Small races may be fiercely loved by a segment of the playerbase, but their presence serves to infuriate even more. So what is it about short races that drives good men and women to near-madness? Is it their tenacity at overcoming odds? Their propensity for kicking shins? Or their "ooh lookit the cute widdle fella!" adorability? It's hard to say, although this writer personally loves them. So chew on that, tallies! But that's not today's question; today's question is whether or not you think short races in MMOs have become persecuted, to an extent. Are they unfairly targeted just because of what they are, and if so, does that mean we've traded real-world prejudices for virtual ones? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Road to Mordor: Double dragons
Last week Turbine released the concept art for one of its major bosses from the upcoming Rise of Isengard expansion: Draigoch. With it came a number of appropriate "oohs" and "ahhs," and no doubt raiders began thinking up uses for a giant dragon skull in their homes. But there was also a crowd that popped out to cry foul about lore molestation -- that this was a blatant example of Turbine pandering to MMO players by including the expected dragons even when the lore shouldn't support it. A couple examples of quotes, first. "Yet whatever way you cut this idea, how can you integrate another dragon into the story? Smaug was the last one of his kind," Contains Moderate Peril complains. A commenter on our article sniped, "So Turbine's decided to entirely drop the pretense of sticking to the lore, then?" Ouch. As much as I am totally not attached to MMO lore in general, I feel like this might be a good time to both address this particular argument and also the larger one of Turbine's approach to Tolkien's world. Are giant dragons lore-breaking? Does Turbine simply not care about remaining faithful to source material? Do you have my decaf light mocha with cinnamon sprinkles?
LotRO gives us a glimpse into Isengard's Dunland
Dunland, one of Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard's three new zones, promises to be a treat for bold Hobbits and nebbish Elves alike. Today we've gotten a better picture of what Dunland will look like as Turbine's released six screenshots giving us a feel for the wide range of vistas we'll be encountering. Dunland is located at the southern reaches of the Misty Mountains, with hilly, swampy and woodsy areas awaiting our discovery. The zone is dominated by the many clans of the Dunland peoples who are being tempted by Saruman into joining the forces of the Enemy. We've got a little over two months to go until LotRO's latest expansion hits the streets, so take your time to peruse all six of these new screenshots in the gallery below: %Gallery-9579%
PAX East 2011: Delving LotRO dungeons deeply
Right now, Lord of the Rings Online is in a brief respite between the insanity of PAX East and the upcoming March 21st release date for its next big update, Echoes of the Dead. To say that there's a lot coming with this update is a vast understatement, so it was great to get a sneak peek at the five new instances before they went live. Earlier this year, players started to get rumblings about a major upcoming event as five mysterious relics popped up all over Middle-earth in Evendim, Forochel, Enedwaith, North Downs and the Trollshaws. By finding all five, players completed a special deed and got the title "Calm Before the Storm," foreshadowing dire events to follow. All anyone could do after that was prepare for an uncertain future. It turns out that LotRO's players had good reason to prepare, because as of next week, five new dungeons will open their doors for business -- the business of eating adventurers alive and spitting out their bones, that is. Spurned Gaunt-lords have returned to make life for the Free Peoples of Middle-earth harder by transforming the very landscape into their hellish domain, and it's up to you to thwart their schemes. Hit the jump as we traveled to these new instances at PAX East with LotRO Executive Producer Kate Paiz!
The Perfect Ten: Best non-traditional MMO fantasy races
Elves. Dwarves. Humans. Halflings. Gnomes. Hobbits. Dark elves. High elves. Half-elves. Wood elves. Keebler elves. Elvish impersonators. Are you as tired as I am of the endless regurgitation of stock fantasy races in our MMOs? It seems inconceivable (I do not think that means what you think it means) for a new fantasy title to come out without most of the above races infesting the character creation screen with moldy unoriginality, putrescent stank, and dusty boredom. That's why today I'm standing up to praise 10 MMOs that dare to go above and beyond the stale by offering mostly unique and different races than the rest of the market. Hopefully future games will learn from their example and throw off the yokes of generic oppression to give us something bold and refreshing!
The Road to Mordor: Hallowed be thy burrow
One of my all-time favorite amusement park rides is Disney World's Haunted Mansion. More than anything else, the Haunted Mansion encapsulates the Halloween experience for my life -- a combination of goofy gloom, maudlin macabre and spooky spirits. I've never been into the gory side of Halloween, nor the freaky scares, but there's nothing I love more than traveling through a haunted house that's completely into crafting a perfect Halloween atmosphere. This is why I feel like a kid again as I spent the last couple days exploring the new Haunted Burrow in Lord of the Rings Online. While some see the notion of a haunted hobbit hole silly, lore-breaking or a frivolous waste of time, I think it's one of the best virtual haunted houses I've ever seen. As one person Tweeted, "It's like Scooby Doo, but with Hobbits and no Velma Dinkley!" The only complaint I have is that I truly wish there was more of it, and more to do in it. Instead of handing you a guide to the Haunted Burrow -- A Casual Stroll to Mordor covers all the bases, and TheREALify has a great map on the forums -- today I thought I'd just share my thoughts on each of the wings of the house and the little details that truly make this place shine. Take my hand and don't be scared... ...oh mercy me, what WAS that noise!?!
One Shots: We think Wright would approve
With the news today about a new digital expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, there's a lot of buzz in the community. That's why we couldn't resist bringing you this great scene of Hobbit home-building that was sent in to us by Dash. He writes in: I recently started playing Lord of the Rings Online again out of curiosity on how it has evolved since launch. While exploring the area a little while away from Bree I came across a little Hobbit town called Buckland that has to be one of my favourite areas in the game so far. Hobbits are pro at architecture. We know at least one famous architect who would definitely have agreed with you. If you've run across an area you absolutely love, we want to see it and hear a bit about why you think it's so great! Just email it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for snapping such a great screenshot.%Gallery-9798%
Free Lord of the Rings Online for former subscribers until August 24th
Do you miss the rolling hills of Bree-land? Home sick for The Shire? Well think fondly no more, as all subscribers are being welcomed back to Lord of the Rings Online! Past subscribers can jump back into the game until August 24th and enjoy all of the updates and changes made to the game. No links have to be clicked, and no accounts have to be re-opened. All you have to do is download the client, patch the game, and log in! Even more exciting is the fact that all players will be rewarded with a +25% exp boost, as is common with these welcome back periods. Free game play and bonus experience, how can you turn that down?But wait, there's more! Act now and you can go out adventuring with Massively's very own hobbit, Gibbi! Yes, the wonderful Gibbi, as played by Shawn Schuster, can be yours to adventure with all if you play on the Brandywine server.So what are you waiting for? Get to it!
The week in Massively features
Massively's picks for the best of 2008Massively doesn't hand out awards. We're not the Oscars, we're not the Emmys. What we are, though, is a bunch of opinionated MMO bloggers. Like it or hate it, 2008 was an enormous year for our favorite genre of games. We took a poll among the staff of the site, taking stock of an entire year in gaming. What follows are our picks for the best, the most surprising, the games that we just can't wait to play. Massively's Super-cheap MMO Gift GuideMassively aims to help with your holiday woes, and so today we have on offer a series of gift ideas that won't break the piggy bank. Ranging from the low, low cost of free to the cost of a few DVDs, this year more than ever it's incredibly easy to get into the online space. Just follow us into our gallery guide and forget worrying about what's under the Christmas tree. Know Your LotRO Lore: Concerning HobbitsIf you're curious about the origins and lore of the Hobbits both in the books and the game, follow along on our journey through the link below. We'll cover their migration to the Shire, their peculiar lifestyle, their interpretation in LotRO and even if Hobbits are real. TurpsterVision - Weapon of ChoiceMoria not only granted us two new classes, which I'll be exploring one at a time over the next two weeks, but it also granted players the ability to gain Legendary weapons of old which they can level up alongside their character. But enough reading about it, this is TurpsterVision! Watch on after the break...
Know Your LotRO Lore: Concerning Hobbits
Welcome to Know Your LotRO Lore, a new weekly column here at Massively showcasing the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien's world as it intersects with Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online.Known as essentially the main characters of Tolkien's books, Hobbits are an interesting bunch that have been admired and copied in stories for generations. They are a race of small home-bodies that prefer a good meal, good ale and a nap to most other activities. In some circles variations are known as Halflings, Bobbits or Kender, but despite being a "branch" of the race of Man, these peaceful hole-dwellers have very distinctive features that set them apart from most others in Middle-earth.If you're curious about the origins and lore of the Hobbits both in the books and the game, follow along on our journey through the link below. We'll cover their migration to the Shire, their peculiar lifestyle, their interpretation in LotRO and even if Hobbits are real. Hobbit Origins >> %Gallery-39552%
