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LotRO patching to Update 11 today
Turbine has released the official patch notes for Lord of the Rings Online's Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand this morning, and in them, you'll find an explanation of the changes coming to the game with today's update. In addition to a new launcher, new Wildermore region, continuation of the epic storyline with Volume III: Book 10, and an improvement to mounted combat, the most important thing to come to any LotRO patch since launch is the removal of Lalia from the cursed Barrow-downs. Seriously. Bob's aggro-magnet daughter and her cloak have retired from frustrating players and she now owns her own shop in Bree. Where she sells MISERY. Just kidding. I think she sells Beanie Babies or something. Be sure to check out the entire patch notes in the official forums.
The Road to Mordor: A Wildermore dev chat
Snow-covered zones aren't exactly new to Lord of the Rings Online, but the upcoming region of Wildermore is a little bit different than the normal Misty Mountain ski resorts. How so? Well, for one thing, it's not supposed to be snowy at all. So what's up with the premature winter in this area of Rohan -- and what are you, the player, going to do about it? That's the basic setup for Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand. The update, which should be going live next week, is what I call the intermission zone: It's the region that Turbine adds between expansions to keep veteran players from bouncing off the walls due to boredom. Lothlorien, Enedwaith, and the Great River are past intermission zones, but Wildermore might be the most fascinating one yet. Thanks to technical issues, I wasn't able to get a first-hand tour of the new region. Instead, I nabbed a heart-to-heart chat with the devs about the intricacies of Wildermore, the next step of the epic story, and plenty of assorted goodies coming with the update!
LotRO Update 11 dev diaries feature epic story, mounted combat 2.0
Hark! Is that a new update for Lord of the Rings Online on the horizon? It is indeed, my chums. And with any fresh LotRO patch comes an expected slew of developer diaries. Today we have two dev diaries to report about for players getting ready for next week's Update 11. The first talks about the next addition to the epic story, Volume III, Book 10. The diary discusses the 15-chapter storyline as well as the optional "interlude" Ranger episodes that may be played in sequence or out of order. There's even a funny behind-the-scenes moment when the devs show how badly they messed up an NPC model. Then there's a diary on what Turbine is calling "Mounted Combat 2.0." Sweeping changes are coming to mounted combat with Update 11, including retooling the movement tree into a class-specific one, the addition of more class-specific skills, and a ton of polish and iteration. Massively will take a deeper look at Update 11 tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone
When Lord of the Rings Online's Update 11 drops next week, it will open the paths to a brand-new zone: Wildermore. While it's part of the Wold, Wildermore is definitely unlike anything seen in Riders of Rohan; for starters, the area is inexplicably covered in snow and jagged ice crystals. So what's up with this area? Turbine's developers have put together a video to introduce the zone and explain the main storyhook behind it. It appears that Saruman has fused an ancient relic with a giant, creating a nasty foe that will be the main antagonist as players travel through Wildermore. Don't fret, as there are good guys as well attempting to fight the snow powers that be. Check out the dev tour after the jump, and if you use the LotRO forums regularly, you may want to read up on the forum consolidation that's about to take place.
LotRO Update 11 brings five new areas on May 13
Come next week, denizens of Middle-earth will have five new areas to explore and adventure in; Lord of the Rings Online launches Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand on Monday, May 13th. The epic story will continue in Wildermore, the remote area of Eastern Rohan, where players will attempt to restore the region from the icy destruction brought by the stone giant Núrzum. The journey will take players through Writhendowns, The Fallows, Whitshaws, High Knolls, and Balewood where they will face Uruk-hai threats, marauding Warbands, violent Huorns, and Wood-trolls in an effort to protect the people and fight against growing evil and corruption. Update 11 also includes a mounted combat revamp, daily Silver Hobbit Presents for logging in, and improved VIP benefits including an improved bonus experience system. The Wildermore Quest pack is free to VIPs. Check out the adventure that awaits in the gallery below.%Gallery-187620% [Source: Turbine press release]
The Road to Mordor: Helm's Deep calls!
While I'm quite excited to hear the news of this year's Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Helm's Deep, there are two small nits that I must pick, two little peeves that I must pet before moving onward. The first is that Turbine could not have worse timing; I've been prepping for a vacation and pre-written a couple of weeks of this column, and now this announcement's forced me to scramble last-minute to write a new one. The other issue is that Turbine's abandoned the "[something] of [place]" title structure it's had ever since Shadows of Angmar. A vain, egocentric part of me thinks that this might've happened because a developer read my expansion prediction column and decided to spite me. With that out of the way, let's digest the official announcement and see what we'll be doing this fall when LotRO's fifth expansion hits!
Update 11 hits LotRO's public test server
It's not quite yet time for Update 11 to hit Lord of the Rings Online officially, but it is time for folks to start testing it out on Bullroarer, the public test server. The testing patch notes have been posted, so let's take a look at what we may see in Update 11. There's a new LotRO launcher with several changes. A new region, Wildermore, has new quests, warbands, and endgame activities. The story is pushing players into Wildermore with Book 10: Snows of Wildermore. Mounted combat is getting a big update which will give players a class-specific trait tree for optimal maneuverability. The UI is getting worked over a bit to change the way players can view alerts. Players will now be able to pay for their housing further in advance, which will now go into foreclosure six months after they stop paying for upkeep. Read the full update notes for Update 11 on the official forum.
LotRO hands out daily 'Hobbit presents'
Hobbits love getting gifts, and Turbine loves players being in its game, so now everyone will be rewarded with daily and weekly presents for logging into Lord of the Rings Online. The so-called Hobbit Presents will be awarded daily, with VIP players getting a better version once a week. Each present is held only for 24 hours, after which it is gone forever (but don't cry, Argentina; a new day brings a new present). The Hobbit Presents will drop a variety of goods, including gear, gold, boosts, and food. The weekly presents have a higher chance of dropping rare rewards. Turbine says that the system will factor in a character's class and level when generating the reward and that only one free present per account will be given daily. A double-XP weekend began today to celebrate the game's sixth anniversary, and Update 11 is scheduled to go on the test server tomorrow.
LOTRO confirms player skill trees, expansion in the works
While it didn't take much reading between the lines to realize that Turbine has an expansion in the works for Lord of the Rings Online this year, the team confirmed the terminology in a dev chat. The devs hinted that the full announcement would come around the game's sixth anniversary next month. Players had many questions regarding the promised but vaguely detailed revamp coming to characters. Turbine revealed a few more details in the chat: "Three trees per class. Some degree of blending at a higher cost than sticking with a pure build. Bonuses granted based on an early-level specialization choice that grows as points are spent. You can have multiple specs. You can respec." Other interesting nuggets to chew on from the Q&A session include the news that player housing will include crafting facilities, virtue acquisition may see a significant change, and that applications for the player council will begin tomorrow.
The Road to Mordor: Digesting the LotRO dev chats
Apart from the nightmare of Twitter spam that the recent two Lord of the Rings Online dev chats have produced, I'm pretty happy that Turbine's being more interactive with the community and taking on some of these topics head-on. Of course, everyone has his own areas of interest that were probably not covered to satisfaction, but looking through these two chats (December 20th and January 24th), we can deduce a lot of useful information about where LotRO is headed in the future. Personally, I am pretty excited about 2013 for the game. It feels as if the team isn't slacking at all, and while there are always my wish list items that go unfulfilled, often the devs add cool changes (like the Bree update) that are equally welcome. So let's sift the wheat from the chaff and see what we come up with from these dev chats as well as the recent producer's letter!
LotRO devs talk Updates 10 and 11
If you had questions that weren't answered with Lord of the Rings Online's last dev chat, then maybe you'll be covered with Turbine's latest Q&A between players and the development team. Today's dev chat took place on Twitter as the team tackled 40 questions from the community. Chief among the topics was Update 10, of which the team spilled a host of details. The update will go to the test server next week, and promises to contain new armor sets, standardized power pools, the removal of dread on the landscape, a big change to Wardens, and the second half of the instance cluster. Turbine also said that while Update 10 won't have a new book in the epic story, Update 11 definitely will (and it'll be "super-sized"). Update 11 is also slated to add a whole new region to the game that includes mounted and standard combat. We've got the beefy Q&A transcript for you after the jump, so check it out!
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.
DDO Update 11 gets a ginormous patch
A few weeks ago we reported on the gigantic Update 11 patch that found its way to Dungeons and Dragons Online. The content received its first major tweak today, according to the DDO compendium, and the patch notes are similarly huge. Much of the virtual ink is devoted to describing myriad small fixes. That said, there are a couple of interesting nuggets related to the new Artificer class that was added to the game back in September. The steampunk ranged damage-dealer is now able to access the Sneak feat at level 1, and he's also able to revive dead Iron Defenders (even if said Iron Defenders are in another instance). Turbine has also adjusted DDO's user interface based on player feedback, and the changes are most notable when you're viewing party vitals. Head to the DDO compendium for the complete list of updates.
DDO's Update 11 arises with the artful Artificer
Today marks the latest evolution of Dungeons and Dragons Online, as Update 11: Secrets of the Artificers went live on the servers and the steampunk community collectively lost its composure. Update 11 adds a completely new high-level quest hub called House Cannith, where players can adventure out into a new wilderness area, dive into a trio of dungeons, tackle a pair of raids, and finish off the day with a trip to House Cannith's famed crafting hall. The cornerstone of this massive patch is the addition of the Artificer class, a steampunk-infused hybrid ranged damage-dealer with a snazzy look that would fit in fine at any geek convention in the world. To celebrate the advent of the Artificer, Turbine's Kyle Horner and Steve Muray sat down to compose a back-and-forth dev diary about the development and dark secrets concerning the class. The duo thinks that it will appeal to trigger-happy players who love their "pew pew." VIP players (subscribers) can start enjoying the new content today, but the rest of the playerbase is going to have to wait until the 15th to purchase the class and quest content from the DDO store.
PAX 2011: Turbine lifts Rise of Isengard NDA, shows off LotRO and DDO
Turbine's two free-to-play star pupils are battling it out for their mother's attention at PAX this week, but mommy loves both equally. On one hand there's Dungeons and Dragons Online, which is releasing Update 11 on September 12th with the much-anticipated Artificer class; on the other hand there's Lord of the Rings Online, which has its third expansion, Rise of Isengard, coming out on September 27th. The studio is showing off both titles and their respective new content at PAX, and Turbine has announced that the NDA for Rise of Isengard has lifted as of this morning. So now beta testers can feel free to share their experiences and impressions of the expansion -- and we hope you do so in the comments section! We have several new screenshots from both Isengard and Update 11 in the galleries below, as well as a LotRO dev diary highlighting Dunland after the jump! %Gallery-9579% %Gallery-130189%
DDO's Secrets of the Artificers crafts a release date
With Gamescom now in full swing, Turbine has taken the opportunity to announce a release date for the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 11, Secrets of the Artificers. Those of you who can't wait to get your hands on the new content don't have to wait too much longer because the update will be hitting live servers on September 12th, according to a press release sent out by Turbine today. Secrets of the Artificers brings a new class in the form of the crafty (Eheheh) Artificer, which allows players to sneak like a Rogue, blast like a Wizard, and generally destroy everything in a fantastic fashion. It also brings the new House Cannith enclave, new raids and dungeons, and new crafting levels all the way up to level 150. And lastly, we've got some new preview pictures for the upcoming update, so check out the gallery below to sate your appetite for Dungeons and Dragons goodness. %Gallery-130189%
Get crafty with Dungeons and Dragons Online's Update 11: Secrets of the Artificers
Change is coming to Eberron this September as Turbine gears up for Dungeons and Dragons Online's Update 11, Secrets of the Artificers. This update is sure to excite fans of Eberron's magic-tech setting, as it introduces the oft-requested Artificer class to the game. The Artificer is best thought of as a cross between a Rogue and a Wizard or Sorcerer, though unlike any of those classes, the bulk of an Artificer's power tends to stem from the magical items (and, in the case of Eberron, mechanical pets) he creates. As if a new class wasn't enough, Secrets of of the Artificer also brings a new enclave for House Cannith, the House of the Artificers, as well as new dungeon and raid content teased only by the statement, "Born in war, forged in fury, Stormreach faces its most terrible foe yet." So, Cthulhu then? Ahem, anyway. Lastly, the update will introduce new crafting levels, allowing players to progress to crafting level 150 as well as the ability to craft Draconic Runestones, which are a new class of magical weapon available to all classes. For a small preview of some items and locations coming with Update 11, check the gallery below. %Gallery-130189%
PAX East 2011: Stalking through DDO's Update 9
One of the scariest games I ever played has to be the original Silent Hill. A nearly empty town shrouded with fog and featuring one of the most terrifying elementary schools ever devised? Yes, this is why I didn't sleep much in 1999. So when I started to get flashbacks as Fernando Paiz took me through the creepy alleyways of Dungeon and Dragons Online's upcoming update, I had to excuse myself and run around the PAX East show floor for a few minutes while shrieking like a tormented cat. OK, it wasn't that frightening, but I definitely was getting a Silent Hill vibe from the latest adventure pack that Turbine has crafted for the game. Coming "soon" (TM, all rights reserved, void in Utah and the Yukon Territories), DDO's Update 9 promises to bring a wide assortment of lavish treats to a hungry populace. At the center of it is a level 15 quest chain that centers around mysterious abductions, a skittish population, and nightmares made flesh. Hit the jump as I recall my brush with certain death in these adventures and relate the other jewels of Update 9!
