instance-cluster
Latest
LotRO's Update 10 springs into action
Lord of the Rings Online raiders rejoice: Today marks the end of a very long wait for Riders of Rohan raids. Update 10: Against the Shadow, Part II ushers in the second half of the expansion's instance cluster as well as some fairly significant stat changes as the dev team prepares for wide-sweeping class revamps. The new instances include a six-person fight, The Bells of Dale, plus a trio of 12-person raids: Flight to the Lonely Mountain, the Fires of Smaug, and the Battle for Erebor. Update 10 has beefed up fate's effects and made agility the Warden's primary stat. Also included with the patch are several new store options, the ability to turn off forced emoting, the removal of dread upon defeat on the landscape, and new scaling for all of the In Their Absence instances. You can read the patch notes on the official site.
LotRO goes to the Lonely Mountain: Update 10 raid preview
If you haven't heard the garment-rending woes of Lord of the Rings Online players who have had to wait and wait for the promised second half of Riders of Rohan's instance cluster (now with raids!), then you haven't been anywhere near LotRO in the past half-year. Fortunately, the imminent Update 10 will soon swoop in and provide the populace with a trio of raids as well as a six-person instance to tackle. We got on the phone with Turbine for a tour of the new raids. Senior Designer Joe Barry opened the session by explaining that eastern Rohan just plain did not work for a location of instances due to lore restrictions, a lack of a big bad guy, and no iconic locations. So the team decided to tackle the IP-supported tale of the Easterlings' siege of Dale and the Lonely Mountain through the second half of this instance cluster. Join us as we take a look at just what is up with the Lonely Mountain now that Smaug has vacated the premises!
LotRO's team fields live dev chat
A gaggle of Turbine developers sat down this afternoon to field scores of Lord of the Rings Online questions from the community in a live dev chat. Among the topics discussed were mounted combat, earlier zone revamps, class updates, and PvMP options. One of the burning topics concerned possible player housing improvements. Turbine said that it needed to address the vacant neighborhoods first, but was moving in that direction: "All I can say is that we have a lot of devs interested in doing some serious home improvement." We have the full chat transcript for you after the jump, starring Senior Producer Aaron Campbell, Lead Systems Designer Matt Zimmitti, World Designer Matt Fahey, Senior Content Designer Lauren Salk, Senior Content Designer Joe Barry, and Community Manager Rick Heaton.
LotRO talks Update 9 instance cluster
The first half of Riders of Rohan's instance cluster is arriving with Lord of the Rings Online's Update 9, and the devs are excited to talk about the variety of experiences and challenges that went into making the trio of three-man dungeons. A new dev diary on the site gives the story overview for Webs of the Scuttledells, Seat of the Great Goblin, and Iorbar's Peak as well as a few behind-the-scenes notes. Developer Pinion discussed how the team wanted to make the return to Goblin-town special: "I wanted to ensure that this new interpretation stayed true to the source material while still providing a very different experience from our existing instance in the Misty Mountains. With all the different varieties of goblins that make their home here, I felt it greatly important to distinguish them both in appearance and in drastically varied abilities." A major change coming to these instances deals with loot. Not only is there remote looting for these dungeons, but each treasure chest will automatically reward class-appropriate gear for each player.
Turbine sweetens Riders of Rohan's editions, includes instance cluster
Frustration and confusion have been the name of the Lord of the Rings Online pre-purchase game these past couple of weeks, with some players feeling that the editions were overpriced and others bewildered over whether or not this fall's instance cluster would be included in the cost. Turbine announced today that all three of Riders of Rohan's editions will be boosted with Turbine Points and that the instance cluster will be given to all who buy one. In a forum post, CM Sapience said that the studio is dishing out bonus Turbine Points for all of the editions. Base and heroic edition holders will receive 1,000 TP, while legendary edition purchasers get 2,000. This applies to both players who have already bought the expansion and those who will in the future. He also addressed the confusion over the instance cluster: "While we are still not ready to talk about the details of the cluster, we did want to confirm that we will be releasing a new instance cluster in an update after Rohan launches, and that the cluster will be free to all players who have purchased the Riders of Rohan expansion."
LotRO: Riders of Rohan instance cluster coming after expansion launch
Even with all of the information flying around about Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan expansion this week, players were left wondering about the question of the expansion containing any new instances, skirmishes, or raids. In a forum post, CM Sapience addressed the instance issue directly by saying that it's being worked on, it probably won't arrive in time for the expansion's launch, and the team is waiting until the content is fleshed out some more before giving solid details. "We are working on an instance cluster," Sapience confirms. "Currently it is planned to be part of an update due to release after the Riders of Rohan expansion has shipped." He also mentions that Riders of Rohan will contain "a new type of repeatable content" that Turbine has yet to disclose. Sapience promised that further information on these two topics will arrive later this summer.
Lord of the Rings Online delves into the Ring of Isengard
Today's Lord of the Rings Online dev diary brings players behind the scenes with the upcoming instance cluster, Ring of Isengard. This new update includes three small fellowships, one fellowship, and one raid, ensuring that there's something for groups of every size. The team is working off the recent success of the instance cluster In Their Absence. The team states that "[Ring of Isengard] is a return to the classic LotRO cluster model with In Their Absence's added benefit of tiers." The cluster puts a large focus on interacting with the environment, with the addition of ballistas, saw mills, and more. The diary also gives many details on the story of the cluster, but we're not going to give it all away. Head on over to the official dev diary and read it for yourself.
LotRO's Update 5: Armies of Isengard storms servers today
It's Big Honkin' Patch Day for Lord of the Rings Online as a platoon of content is double-timing it to a server near you. Update 5: Armies of Isengard is the game's first post-Rise of Isengard release, and it's been highly anticipated as it will finally add the long-awaited instance cluster to the endgame. This cluster contains five new dungeons: three three-person, one six-person, and one twelve-person. In addition to the cluster, Update 5 is including the next book in the epic storyline, The Prince of Rohan. Through it, players will gain a nifty set of Ranger cosmetic armor and participate in an epic battle at the gates of Orthanc. The update also will add an instance finder, unified currency, a LUA plugin manager, a reputation update, and far, far more. Oh, and there's finally coffee in the game. Mmm... coffee. Turbine has posted the official patch notes for Armies of Isengard on the site, so you can read up on all of the changes while you're patching the game!
Lord of the Rings Online's Update 5 invading Dunland next week
Turbine's asking you out on a very special date next week -- December 12th, in fact. That's when the studio will show up to your door dressed in a sharp-looking tux, bearing flowers, and eager for you to head out on a magical tour around Middle-earth on a carriage ride. It's on December 12th that Lord of the Rings Online will be releasing its first major post-Rise of Isengard patch, Update 5. The update comes loaded with endgame activities, including a huge instance cluster, an instance finder, and a new book in the epic storyline: Volume III, Book 5. You can read more about Update 5 with our Turbine interview, head over to A Casual Stroll to Mordor to listen to what questions fans have about the patch, or check out the gallery below for five new screenshots of one of the instances, The Foundry. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-9579%
LotRO's Devs of the Roundtable sally forth on Update 5's instance cluster
What's better than one developer sharing the thought process behind a major update to a game? Six. Cut out the middleman and go right to "six," we say. Ergo, it's lightning development caught in a bottle to see a half-dozen Lord of the Rings Online designers and worldbuilders gather together to talk about the instance cluster of the upcoming Update 5. Update 5's five instances -- including an epic raid confrontation with Saruman -- presented unique challenges and exciting opportunities for the team. Worldbuilder Dan Ouellette says that Turbine didn't want to limit itself to merely Orthanc: "After looking at all our ideas we knew we didn't want to have them all in the tower, because that would be a very boring cluster. It's a very small space and in general... just really long." Instead, the team branched out to focus on the surroundings, inner workings, and underneath of Orthanc for the five instances. The different types of instances -- three-, six-, and 12-person -- allowed the team to try out different tricks as well. "It's an exciting and difficult demand when working on a three-man," Content Designer Bob Hess says. "The types of challenges you present to people have to be a little more outside-the-box." It's a smörgåsbord of delectable information, so if you're craving good group content in LotRO, you'll definitely want to scoop this up.
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.
Rings and words of power: Going inside LotRO's Update 5
It's been a couple of days since the news broke that Lord of the Rings Online's Update 5 is going to be bigger than previously thought, with not only a new instance cluster but an additional book in the epic storyline and an Instance Finder system. As Update 5 goes up on the test server for the remainder of the week, we got in touch with Turbine to talk about the details of this mountain of content heading our way, including an epic confrontation with Rise of Isengard's big baddie himself, Saruman. It wouldn't be a conference call without a few notable surprises as well, and Adam Merskey, Aaron Campbell, Jeff Libby, and Joe Barry were eager to share what the team has been working on for the first update after the expansion. It's time to wave goodbye to the Rangers, stop putting off instance runs, and take the fight to the bearded dude himself. It's time for Update 5. Get all the skinny after the jump!
