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LotRO begins selling instant level 50 characters
After testing the waters of the beta server, Lord of the Rings Online has decided that the waters of level-booster sales are inviting enough to try out a limited-time sale of instant-level 50 characters. The new Gift of the Valar package is on sale in the LotRO store for 4995 Turbine Points. It not only raises a character to level 50 in a flash but will provide that character with level 50 gear, one gold, four ranks of each virtue, the riding skill, a goat mount, 25 mithril coins, and several other boosters. This pack will be available through December 19th in its initial run. [Thanks to Fredelas for the tip!]
The Road to Mordor: Ten virtues strategies for LotRO players
Virtues are never far from my mind in Lord of the Rings Online, although recently they've been more a concern as I've been dithering around with several alts in a reality TV show-type vetting of a backup character. While not very sexy in comparison to class, race, and legendary traits, virtues are essential to bolstering your character's stats. As I've said in the past, not pursuing and equipping virtues is akin to ditching a very useful set of armor; you can do it, but it's not recommended. As LotRO really does not go out of its way to explain virtues and particularly which deeds you'll need to pursue to rank each one up, you'll have to go out of the game and do some basic homework or else be left behind. While I'm not an expert on all things virtue-related, I've certainly been around the block a few times and would like to share 10 strategies that help me to choose and acquire a good set of virtues over the long haul. And getting 16 ranks in five virtues is a long haul, make no mistake.
LotRO introduces flexible store-bought currency
Lord of the Rings Online has been evolving its in-game store for a while now, and it looks like the next phase of its development has a name: Mithril Coins. These coins are new store-purchased currency that's coming in Update 10 and will be used for a variety of in-game activities. Basically, the use of Mithril Coins is Turbine's way of streamlining several different smaller store options into a flexible currency. These coins can be used as replacements for revive tomes, stablemaster's writs, daily quest resets, and fast travel to quest NPCs. There's a helpful FAQ that answers some of the burning questions fans might have about this new currency, so give it a read if you're still confused.
Turbine proposes, nixes $50 LotRO hobby horse
Would you pay $50 for an in-game toy hobby horse? That's the question that Turbine put to players in Lord of the Rings Online this past Sunday. The studio put the item on sale on the test server store for 5000 Turbine Points (roughly equivalent to $50) and asked players for feedback on the item and price. The hobby horse functioned as a standard mount with an increase in traveling speed, even though it was a toy horse head on a stick. Unsurprisingly, players were not overly thrilled about the hobby horse and filled the thread with concerns and discussion over the expensive item. Following a few days and several hundred posts, a representative for the game said that the price will be changed: "The hobby horse will now not be going live with that price point. [Turbine is] experimenting with items and pricing on the store. This test was, as is obvious from your feedback, unsuccessful. The feedback was somewhat expected."
The Road to Mordor: The superiority of goats
I love goats. OK, pipe down there. I mean that I love the goat mounts in Lord of the Rings Online. Shush! Man, this column isn't starting well. It sounded better in my head. It's a well-known fact that LotRO lacks the mount diversity shown by most other fantasy MMOs. It's pretty much horses all the way down, and chances are it's going to stay that way thanks to the IP. Unless, of course, the devs give in to my flying eagles suggestion. There just isn't much wiggle-room in Tolkien's works for the Free People of Middle-earth to be taking a 2012 Mechanospider to work. However, the devs did shoehorn in one different flavor of mount for the Mines of Moria expansion. Goats received a room at the stable and were integral to navigating through the labyrinthine deeps. They never did match horses in terms of popularity or even variety, and I doubt that we'll be seeing War-goats for Riders of Rohan. Still, if I had my pick (and I do), I'd pick goats any day of the week. They're so much better than horses, and I'm going to tell you just why.
The Road to Mordor: A soldier to call my very own
So how are you liking Update 6 so far? No, I can't hear you right now -- you're probably going to have to leave a comment or something. Maybe I should do the talking for a while. With its new zone, massive PvP upgrades, class rebalancings, Landscape Soldier ability, updated barter wallet, and the Instance Finder 2.0, there's so much to chew on with Lord of the Rings Online's latest patch that it's going to take most of us some time to figure out what's what. I've heard a lot of praise for the new epic storyline, in particular the dream sequence, and it's definitely good that players who had tapped out Rise of Isengard's content now have more world goodness to explore. I am not in The Great River, not yet; I dug my level 65 Captain out of retirement and am plugging my way back up through RoI quite happily. However, I was incredibly curious about two of the most debated features of the patch -- the barter wallet and the ability to bring skirmish soldiers out into the world -- and I spent some time evaluating each. While I question the way Turbine's handling the cost of these features, I definitely came away impressed with what the wallet and soldiers do for the game.
LotRO's buried treasure resurfaces in a new dev diary
Deep under the soil of Middle-earth are riches galore, and only the Dwarves know where to dig. Fortunately for players, the Dwarves are totally fine with interlopers coming along to try their luck at finding a bit of buried treasure -- and they've even made an event out of it. While we previously saw a test run of the Buried Treasure event in Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine's put forth a dev diary that indicates we should be seeing more of it fairly soon. The event challenges players to flock to a treasure field, grab some picks, and get diggin' for booty. There's a strategy behind it that utilizes trained animals and dowsing sticks to find the best goods, although treasure hunters can just start digging randomly as well. The treasure will vary in size and quality, ranging from special mounts and cosmetic gear to more picks and barter tokens. While players can earn picks in-game through a repeatable quest, Turbine will also be selling them through the LotRO store for those who want to speed up their winnings. The dev diary posted several pictures of the nifty rewards that can be mined and states that the event is "seasonally agnostic," coming and going at various times during the year.
Turbine responds to LotRO store armor controversy
Following the community uproar over the selling of premium armor with stats in the Lord of the Rings Online store, Turbine has posted an official response to the matter in the form of a Q&A post on the forums. Community Manager Sapience says that Turbine is "very aware of the controversy" and wanted to address specific points of concern. According to the post, Turbine said it never intended to promise that it would abstain from selling statted gear to give low-level players a boost, but the studio promised that this would not happen with endgame armor. The company admits to being "too generous" with the stats in question, and may adjust the item's power levels or possibly remove them from the store after further observation. The studio took the opportunity to clarify its "convenience not advantage" stance. "Anything that's compulsory to be competitive in ranked play or achieves something by degrading another player's experience. We have not and will not make that part of our F2P offering," Sapience writes. He concludes by promising more transparency going forward: "We'll take this as a sign that we need to do a better job in clear and open communication. In the future we will take more time to explain why -- not just what we're doing." Massively previously reached out to Turbine for an interview on the subject but the studio declined to participate. [Thanks to Whitewolf for the tip!]
The Road to Mordor: Convenience, not advantage
Prior to Lord of the Rings Online's free-to-play implementation, players were raising concerns of potential abuse of the F2P model and the LotRO store in particular. The CM at the time, Patience, posted a now-infamous response stated that Turbine was about selling "convenience, not advantage" in the store. I thought it was a terrific stance to take (and still is, for any F2P MMO dabbling in microtransactions). It wasn't long, however, before the thread was purged from the forums entirely, although the playerbase has held on to those three words to this day. That phrase has echoed in my head over the past week, ever since we heard that statted armor was coming to the in-game store. I've been among those who have championed Turbine's F2P model as the way to do things right -- to offer fluff, a la carte content and convenience without straying into so-called "pay to win" territory that has plagued cheaper games. But now I wonder if the new motto is "convenience and advantage," especially in light of several other questionable store selections that have been pushed through despite player resistance. But let's concentrate on one topic today, that being the stat armor that's now available in the store. Is this strictly a "convenience" item that is meant to aid struggling lowbies, or does it represent the sale of a clear advantage for those who are OK with letting their money game for them? Are we making a mountain out of a molehill by discussing this, or is it far past time that something like this needs to be brought into the public discourse?
LotRO reverses policy, plans to sell PvE stat gear through the store [Updated]
In July 2010, Massively was told by Turbine that the then-coming LotRO store "would not sell any gear with stats attached." And while the studio has so far kept to the letter of the law, it has fudged the spirit of it with the sales of stat tomes (which boost stats independently of gear) and the addition of statted gear to PvMP (monster play). Consider the law cast aside today, then, as Turbine's announced the coming sale of statted gear in the LotRO store to normal PvE play as well. Light, medium, and heavy armor pieces will soon be available for purchase in the cash shop, and will come with beneficial stats attached. In addition to the typical stats, the store boots will come with a 8% run out-of-combat run speed boost attached. While the gear in question has reasonable stats, it certainly raises the specter of the game's heading toward pay-to-win territory by having it for sale at all. Massively has reached out to Turbine for an official comment. [Update: On the official forums Sapience commented about the sale saying, "It's lower level gear. Many players have given us feedback that there is a sparsity of gear on the AH at these levels and they wanted an alternative. We're trying to accomodate that."]
Lord of the Rings Online adding mount emotes
Emotes: They're not just for Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, and Men any longer. Naaay, Turbine is preparing to give emote love in Lord of the Rings Online to player mounts as well. Players' horses and goats will soon be able to rear up, kick, and bow with the best of them. While the emotes are not yet available in the game, CM Sapience announced on the forums that players have a chance to win one for free through the LotRO lottos: All weekend long we'll be running lotteries for the brand new, unreleased, Mounted Rear Up emote. That's right, Mount Emotes are coming to the LotRO Store! Enter the lotteries this weekend and you could win it for free, before your friends can buy it. You'll have a few weeks to show it off and brag before it hits the LotRO Store. Check back often as new lotteries will be starting randomly throughout the weekend and on Halloween! The LotRO lottery system is available on the my.lotro website.
The Road to Mordor: Getting the most out of your F2P account
We're going to step waaay back from Rise of Isengard today (screenshots notwithstanding) to address a question that I've seen pop up time and again. The question comes from players on the free-to-play side of the game who are wondering "What do I need to do or buy to get the most out of my LotRO gaming experience?" In my opinion, the lovely aspect of Lord of the Rings Online's hybrid model is that you, the player, have a wide range of choices when it comes to how you want to fund your gameplay. If you decide not to go the subscription/VIP route, it can get a little confusing, especially in light of just how much there is in the LotRO store. Do you need to buy anything at all? What are the essentials? How should you go about earning some free Turbine Points to finance these purchases? Unlike many other recent MMO F2P conversions, LotRO's offers you more flexibility than "just suffer with F2P restrictions or subscribe," which should give you hope that you can tailor the game to your exact needs. In today's Road to Mordor, I'm going to put myself in the shoes of a F2P player and tell you exactly what I'd do to get the most out of my account.
LotRO introduces Mithril Edition, Dwarves swarm local retailers
Every Hobbit and Dwarf knows that, ounce for ounce, Mithril is far more valuable than gold or silver. With a new Mithril Edition of Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine is hoping that players will value this deal just as much. Coming soon to an online or brick-and-mortar retailer near you, LotRO's Mithril Edition is designed to give new players a leg up in the game while perhaps tempting current free players into spending a little something and getting a well-rounded experience in return. Priced at $29.99, the Mithril Edition includes the game discs, starter guide, keyboard map, 2,000 Turbine Points to spend in the in-game store, an exclusive Steed of the Horse-lords mount, and a bundled quest pack covering the Trollshaws, Eregion, Moria and Lothlorien. Turbine claims that this is a $50 value, so it might be worth taking a close look. At the very least, you can keep it tucked inside your shirt for the next time a troll throws a spear your way, as it could save your life!
The Road to Mordor: A week in Dunland
Dunland: savage land of strife, tradition, and body paint. As I stood at its borders, my heel slightly sinking into the soft mud of the river shore, I could hardly believe I was there. The grass blew gently in the breeze, and for a moment it was easy to fool myself into thinking that all was right with Middle-earth, that my journey could be over. The moment passed, and I hefted my staff and walked resolutely toward the first village I saw. It's been almost a year since we first heard that, yes, we were going to take the Hobbits to Isengard (and Dwarves, Men and Elves, for that matter). It's been a long time coming, and now that it's here, it's a lot to absorb. I purposefully didn't spend a lot of time in the beta so as to not be spoiled; I wanted to savor Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard from start to finish. I wasn't going to be concerned with racing to the new level cap or attempting to devour all of the content in a couple of days. With that mindset in place, I've been vastly enjoying Rise of Isengard these past few days -- more than I thought I would, to be honest -- and I wanted to document this first week in Dunland in today's Road to Mordor.
Functional improvements coming to the store for Lord of the Rings Online
The store for Lord of the Rings Online is probably not the sort of epic adventure you think of when you consider Middle-earth. But it's an integral part of the game's setup now that it's moved over to free-to-play, and so it's in the best interests of Turbine Entertainment to make the store as easy to navigate and productive as possible. To that end, the team has announced a set of coming updates that should help players navigate the store, make purchases, and manage those purchases with the greatest of ease. The two biggest additions at a glance are the inclusion of a Quick Buy button and an Add to Cart button, with the former saving the need for a shopping cart trick and the latter allowing you to stay on the page after adding the item. Also added are a Recent Buy tab and some improvements to the visual elements of the store, making it easier for players to see which categories have additional items. No, it's not quite as exciting as slaying dragons and Uruk-Hai, but it should make it a little easier to buy the gear to do so.
The Road to Mordor: Power to the levelers
With Rise of Isengard creeping up on us, I've seen an increasing number of people begin to freak out about it, not because they're upset it's coming but because they're not prepared to partake in the expansion on day one. Now, this might not be important to you, but I assure you it's quite important to many -- lots of people like to be in on the excitement from the very beginning, and it's a special kind of torture to contemplate having to sit there and listen to your friends oohing and ahhing over the new zones and content while you're still poking your way through Moria. So because of this, some players really, really want to get a character up to level 65, prepared to do a dive roll right into Dunland when September 27th hits. It's understandable. Even I, a normally laid-back type of guy, am pushing hard to finish up Enedwaith with my Lore-master so that I'll have one character good to go on I-Day (that's Isengard Day). But what about those who don't have a level 65 in their pockets? Is it too late to get your act in gear and get up there before it's too late? Of course it isn't. I'm pretty convinced that you could even roll a fresh toon today and get him or her up to the endgame by I-Day, depending on how much time you can dedicate to it. Today we're going to look at a few leveling tips I've picked up over the years to aid those of you who want to kick in the afterburners of the leveling process so that you can make sure you're where you want to be. It's not even that hard!
E3 2011: A ride through LotRO's Rise of Isengard
With the news that Lord of the Rings Online's third expansion, Rise of Isengard, was finally given a release date, it became our quest to hunt Turbine down at E3 and make the team give up the One Ring of Info. We spoke with a couple of the devs about the lands and wonders that we'll get to experience come this fall. We began our journey at a village in one of the starting destinations in Dunland. It's there, Turbine told us, that an army had recently pulled out to fight the Rohirrim, leaving so-called "Oathbreakers" behind for you to handle. Players are tasked with figuring out what's going on and how these left-behind invaders will fit in with the local populace. The devs told us that one of the recurring themes of LotRO's latest expansion is the influence of others on the Dunlendings. With the war stirring across the world, suddenly this isolated area has become a major thoroughfare for enemies and good guys alike, and both sides are seeking to woo the Dunlending tribes. If you're thinking "tug o' war," you're not far off.
The Road to Mordor: Shopping at the LotRO Depot
About 99% of the time I'm in Lord of the Rings Online I never think about the LotRO Store. Ever since the store came online last year, it's been adventure as usual in the Olivetti household. Sure, I mock the "You got 5 Turbine Points! Now you can retire in the Caymans!" popups like everyone else, but I've always felt that Turbine does a good job balancing the store presence between the polar extremes of obnoxious and invisible. That isn't to say I haven't used the store at all; on the contrary, I've been a sporadic if loyal customer of sorts, trundling my shopping cart through the aisles of Shire-Mart looking for a good deal. Thus far I haven't dropped any additional cash into the game, choosing to subsist on my monthly allotment of TP with whatever I earn through deeds. Every once in a while I'll boot up the store and see what niceties I can give to my character as a reward for slaughtering his 5,000th Neeker-beeker. The LotRO Store has two categories of customers: the free-to-players and the upper class. Does that sound snooty? It's not intentional -- all I mean is that some folks use the store to provide basic necessities for gameplay (like quest packs, riding skills, class unlocks) while others are already well-off in the game and shop for luxury items. I'm in awe of the F2P gamers who can get a good chunk of their content by methodically knocking deeds out so they can purchase the next zone, but I'm fortunate enough not to have to do that. So today I wanted to give myself an audit of what I've spent in the store so far and analyze whether they were wise purchases, wasteful frivolities, or overpriced insanity.
LotRO players take on project to catalogue the in-game store
Ever since Lord of the Rings Online introduced its free-to-play model last fall, players have grappled with the new store interface and its many, many offerings. One of the biggest requests fans have had was for Turbine to post a list of the LotRO Store merchandise outside of the game, a request that has so far been ignored. However, a group of enterprising players on Lotro-Wiki decided to pick up the ball and run with it. According to A Casual Stroll to Mordor, this community-driven project is well underway on the wiki with a list of hundreds of items already. Of course, the store's prices aren't always fixed in stone -- especially with deals and sales being posted all the time -- so the list should be read with that fact in mind. Even though the LotRO Store catalogue is already lengthy, the creators of the project say that they have a ways to go and could use your help. If you have any interest in assisting, head on over to Lotro-Wiki and sign up!
The Road to Mordor: Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch!
Major patch weeks are always a great deal of fun in Lord of the Rings Online as everyone digs into the new content, looks for hidden gems, and goes on grand new adventures. As much as I appreciate most everything in this week's Echoes of the Dead update, I have to say that, hands-down, the additional outfit slots made me the happiest. Yes, I'm weird, but I can't be the only one who had an inner squeal of joy when Turbine announced that it was going to expand (via the store) the number of outfit spots from two to five. I've always, always loved the outfit system in this game as a way to give my characters a unique and aesthetically pleasing look versus having to stare at the mismatched armor they seem to pick up along the way. In celebration of the additional outfit slots, I wanted to finally dig into the outfit system and look at the basics of Middle-earth fashion: where you get these pieces, how colors come into play, and where you might go for inspiration. So let's put on our finest frippery and strut the catwalk, ladies and gentlemen! (I promise, next week I'll be much more manly. Probably.)
