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Be crafty with ease in Lord of the Rings Online Volume III
Crafting, for many people, has a bit of a love-hate relationship going on. Nobody can complain about the bonuses it offers in the long run, but actually getting to high levels is an exercise in tedium and worthlessness for many. Which is why it's always a good thing when crafting gets a boost, as is happening in the upcoming Oath of the Rangers update for Lord of the Rings Online. The game has been putting out several developer diaries outlining the changes coming for the next installment, and the most recent diary deals with updates to the Jeweller, Cooks, Farmers, Woodworkers, and Weaponsmiths. Jewellery gets a fair all-around boost, with improved stats on crafted items, new icons, and the option to queue up multiple items for production. Cooks get their ingredients rebalanced and bigger buffs offered from their food, while new Trail Food recipies help provide a new set of desirable buffs. Farmers can also enjoy new recipes to provide ingredients for Cooks, and Woodworkers and Weaponsmiths alike get new class-specific items. The details of the changes can be found in the full diary, something most Lord of the Rings Online players might not consider especially crafty but still clever.
Lord of the Rings Online talks about skill upgrades for Volume III
With some major combat upgrades going hand-in-hand with the last major expansion, Lord of the Rings Online drew a few raised eyebrows over the lack of major skill updates at launch. However, as the official site's most recent developer diary explains, it wasn't for lack of interest so much as wanting to see how the new combat system played out before making changes. With the upcoming Oath of the Rangers, the systems team has been hard at work adding level 64 upgrades to help each class play better and more enjoyably in all areas of the game. Outlining a simple design philosophy -- make underused skills interesting, give exciting bonuses, and leave general class balance alone -- the diary goes on to highlight the upgrades offered to each class. Champions, Guardians, and Captains get improved buffs for themselves, Burglars and Hunters see their Power concerns addressed, and other classes got underused skills happily improved to bring them better to the forefront of play. Lord of the Rings Online has always had a respectable diversity among its classes, and the coming update seems poised to improve the game as a whole by making everyone just a little stronger.
