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Lord of the Rings Online posts Echoes of the Dead patch notes
It's almost here: On Monday, March 21st, Lord of the Rings Online will release its next big content update, Echoes of the Dead. Containing a warehouse worth of fixes, features and new content, Echoes of the Dead is looking quite fine indeed. Although we have to wait for the weekend to pass to get our hands on this update, Turbine did go ahead and release the full patch notes for our consumption. Of course, if you've been following along with the many, many developer diaries that Turbine's released over the past few months, you're probably up to speed on all of the major points already. As usual, Turbine's snuck in a few funny notes amid all of the technical details, so it may be worth your while to hunt for comedic Easter eggs in this batch. Our favorite: "The Minstrel's 'Armour of the Silver Voice' set that is obtained in Mirkwood was renamed to 'Armour of the Hopeful Melody.' This sudden change was enacted when the creators of the Helegrod 'Silver Voice Armour' set sought to sue for copyright infringement. As far as we know all charges have been dropped, though Skirmish vendors everywhere intend to keep a very close eye on the Mirkwood barter vendors in the future."
The Road to Mordor: Echo... echo... echo...
Last night before I drifted off to sleep, I was idly wondering what it would be like to actually live in Middle-earth. Apart from the extremely high mortality rate due to wandering wolves, bold bandits, and orchestrating orcs, it might be a pretty excellent place to dwell, as long as one didn't mind a lack of Wi-Fi and Starbucks. I think Hobbit pies and Dwarf ale would be an acceptable substitute. Next week our virtual world will grow a bit in girth and depth with the Echoes of the Dead update. When all is patched and done, it'll be a truly big update containing meaty piles of content to devour. I think many of us are still scrutinizing Turbine as we go through this first year after the free-to-play switch, watching to see whether all of this additional revenue will be pumped back into the game or not. Echoes of the Dead marks the second post-F2P update for Lord of the Rings Online, following last November's Journey to Winter-home, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with just how much is being served up this time around. So in anticipation of the patch, let's walk through the major features of LotRO's latest update and see whether it was worth the wait!
Turbine releases new LotRO Monster Play screens, dev diary
PvP has long been the red-headed stepchild of Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online. Given the company's desire to recreate Middle-earth as accurately as MMORPG conventions will allow, the thought of Uruk-hai gankers camping hapless Hobbits outside the Prancing Pony seemed pretty far down the list of desirable scenarios. Thus, PvP was confined to the Ettenmoors and Monster Play was born, and though it's taken its lumps from competitive players over the years, Turbine continues to allocate dev resources toward LotRO's PvP minigame. As part of its PR rollout for the upcoming Book 3: Echoes of the Dead update, Turbine has released a batch of screenshots focusing on changes to the game's Monster Play system. What are these changes, pray tell? For starters, there are new incentives for participating in PvP (including armor sets and a new type of runic called Insignias). Check out the Monster Play dev diary for full details, and don't forget to gaze at the new shots in our gallery below. %Gallery-26234%
Turbine releases new LotRO Echoes of the Dead screens
Big changes are in the offing for Lord of the Rings Online's upcoming Echoes of the Dead update, and whether it's radiance removal, legendary item and relic changes, or the continuation of the epic quest line into Book 3, there's bound to be something for everyone. Turbine has just released a new batch of screenshots previewing the update, and more specifically, the images give us a glimpse of changes to the character UI. There's also a shot of a rather monstrous undead dude sporting some pretty spiffy headgear, so do yourself a favor and check out all the juicy details in our gallery below. %Gallery-101902%
LotRO lorebook examines Halbarad, North Downs hero
A new character of Middle-earth has stepped into the Lord of the Rings Online lorebook spotlight. Halbarad is a key figure in the North Downs, and helps to coordinate the defense against the forces of Angmar from his central location of Esteldin. He plays many parts in the story of LotRO's Book III, and has strong ties with a famous fellow named Aragorn.Those who have read The Lord of the Rings may recall that Halbarad was the leader of the Grey Company that meets up with Aragorn in Rohan. The lorebook lists his class as unknown, stating that he possesses the skills of both a warrior and a lore-master. Take a look at Halbarad's detailed entry to find out more about this significant character, and the quests he is involved in.
