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The Road to Mordor: Ten things to do in East Bree-land before you die
It's been a long, long time since I've been able to work on this series, going through each Lord of the Rings Online zone quest by quest and pulling the top 10 locations, points of interest, or missions for the aspiring adventurer to check out. There are many reasons I've been tardy in continuing it, but no excuses today! Today we dine in the Prancing Pony, for tomorrow we die! I decided to divide Bree-land into two separate articles, with this one covering the eastern portion and Bree proper, and the upcoming one tackling the western and northern areas. This is not just because Bree-land is a pretty dang big zone but because it's pulling double-duty: East Bree-land and Bree serves as the 1-15 leveling area for Men, while the west invites all four races to continue the journey to level 20. While it may seem like a generic fantasy zone on the surface, Bree-land is actually teeming with interesting details, stories, and activities. I've never regretted leveling in the area (it's a darn sight better than Ered Luin), and it was pretty tough to limit myself to just 10 activities for this list. So what should you do in East Bree-land before you die? Let's take a look!
The Road to Mordor: Six wonders of the newbie world
As I reported last week, I've recently rerolled as a Hobbit Minstrel in an effort to refresh my attitude toward the game, to get a different perspective, and to continue my series in which I go through all of the single-player quests in the game. It's been, in a word, smashing. Having been away from the tamer lands of Eriador for so long, I had forgotten the charm and serenity that these lowbie areas exude. Plus, it's always fun leveling up a brand-new character, since there are plenty of goals and ways to develop your character that your level-capped toons have long since surpassed. As I've been plugging away at Bree-land quests, I began to make a mental list of exactly what's so special about the low-level game in Lord of the Rings Online. The mental list became an actual one, and after a period of milling and refining, I've baked it into a nice loaf of observations to share with you.
In the beginning: Tester reminisces about LotRO's beta
It's always fun to sit back and recount the days of yore in video game land, especially when the MMOs of yore are yorely different than how those games are today. Haakon Stormbrow over at A Casual Stroll to Mordor has an interesting retrospective piece up about his time in Lord of the Rings Online's beta. He takes us back to September 2006, when the game world was still being shaped by Turbine and many of the features and locales that we've come to know and love had yet to be implemented. Apart from old animations and cloak designs, the biggest difference in LotRO from today's version was how rough and unfinished the landscape looked. Stormbrow recounts his exploration through Bree, Lone-lands, North Downs and even Angmar, noting how empty it was without mobs and how the devs had artificial walls to keep the testers from exploring where they shouldn't. By exploiting a few bugs, he and his friend were able to view the zones from heights that players today are simply unable to see: Exploring a little further north, we found an area [that] had all sorts of buildings and statues and ruins and a waterplane about 100 feet in the air. When you walked under the water plane, you flew very quickly up to the plane and began swimming. Then when you swam off the edge, you floated back down to the ground. If you're fascinated by the shaping of currently established MMO worlds, then do yourself a favor and give this article a read!
The Road to Mordor: Rating Eriador
Lately I've been playing world traveler with my level 43 Lore-master as he's bouncing all over Middle-earth in what used to be the high-level zones of the game: Trollshaws, Angmar, Forochel, Misty Mountains, and Eregion. Once again, I'm struck by just how cohesive this place feels -- it's not a collection of Sonic the Hedgehog-themed areas (Green Zone 1, Lava Zone 4, etc.) but a world that connects together in a tangible, real way. Even though it's fiction. Until November 2008, Eriador was the only place in Middle-earth that we could explore, and although some criticized Lord of the Rings Online for not shipping with, well, every locale in J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginarium open for business, it was a smart decision. The devs could take this section of the world and focus on building depth and detail instead of spreading it thin, like butter scraped over too much bread. As a result, Eriador remains a wonderful starting point -- not to mention the bulk of any current player's journey -- and many of us have grown attached to these familiar sights and sounds as a result. Today I'd like to take a brief overview of all of Eriador's zones (we'll leave Rhovanion for another day) and rate them from best to worst in terms of zone design, questing, and that slippery cool-factor that's hard to define. Where would I suggest a summer vacation home and where would be an ideal spot for a penal colony? Hit the jump and let's run it down.
One Shots: Do a little dance, make a little xp
One of the many fun parts of working here at Massively (or perhaps the pitfalls, depending on your free time quotient) is getting the chance to check out MMOs one might otherwise not have known about. A game that has become a surprise favorite amongst some of the staff is Zentia. This funky free-to-play MMO from ChangYou offers fantasy, sure -- but it takes a very silly twist on it with epic shrimp vs. crab battles, dance parties and more. Today's Zentia screenshot comes to us from Brianna Royce, our senior editor and devotee of all things silly and fun. She explains the image: "Here's a shot of the northern gates of the Serene City, one taken from the edges of the Serene Forest itself. The Serene City is the first of the large walled towns a player will encounter. In addition to featuring plentiful quests for the mid-teens character, it boasts markets for player vendor stalls and the infamous Dancing Nenny, whom you can follow and dance with (in long conga lines of players) for free experience!" We're always on the lookout for scenes and screens of games we don't get to see often. If you'd like to contribute, just email your image to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-85937%
The Road to Mordor: You've beaten Sauron. New game? Y/N
Huh... what is there to talk about these days? Really? Such a slow news cycle for LotRO... hm. I guess there's that whole "getting rid of pesky radiance" thing that's going to save me from having to write a column on that convoluted system, so thanks Turbine! Other than that, life in Middle-earth is as quiet as... As... as a... GEEKQUAKE! RUN FOR COVER! EMPLOY EXCESSIVE CAPS LOCK STATEMENTS! LOTRO AHOY! OK, so I might have been a bit facetious there. Shocking all of us, Turbine brought up the servers with the new patch an evening early, granting access to the head start of F2P on Tuesday night. I sort of suspected the devs were up to something when they kept rubbing their hands and cackling maniacally at PAX last weekend, although they claimed it was just a nervous disorder. So it's here -- the biggest non-expansion update to the game yet and a literal game-changer to boot. F2P, wardrobe, scaled instances, Enedwaith, the LotRO store, and lots and lots of new (and returning) players have existing players giddy and twitchy. So how'd the first couple days go so far? Is LotRO F2P really all that and a bag of Shire Sweet-leaf? Read on, my short and stout brethren!
Massively's Community Detective, Issue #6: Lord of the Rings Online
If you've been playing MMORPGs for any length of time, or you keep up with the latest happenings around the industry, you're probably familiar with Lord of the Rings Online's Landroval server. In addition to being the "unofficial" roleplay server for Turbine's Tolkien-based MMORPG, Landroval is consistently mentioned as one of the finest communities in online gaming. Whether it be in forum discussions on various gaming websites, chats with gaming buddies, or even internal discussions here at Massively, Landroval is almost always referenced when someone asks about a friendly server that offers a dense and mature population. For this week's issue of Community Detective, we decided to put Landroval to the test. While the community lived up to its billing, we did encounter some curious inconsistencies with regard to Turbine's customer service. Head past the cut for our findings and impressions.
One Shots: I am not under the alfluence of incahol
The worst part of having a great night of partying is always that blasted morning after! Whether you're talking about real-life overindulgences like cookout food and frosty beverages, or in-game happenings like too much ale at the Summer Festival in Lord of the Rings Online, there's always that period where you're staggering around. Today's drunken screenshot comes to us from Ocholorin on the Elendilmir server, who writes in: "Hi. My name is Ocholorin, and I'm an alco... What? Just a game? Oh! Then I'll have another!" There is something to be said for virtual hangovers fading much faster! If you've captured an amusing screenshot from an in-game event, we'd love to see it. All you have to do is to email it to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit! %Gallery-85937%
Anti-Aliased: Sometimes, it's the little things in (virtual) life
After playing so many games, there are moments that stick out in my mind that make me smile. Some of them are these really epic stories about boss battles, or hard fought PvP moments, or personal notes of glory and triumph. Yet others are drastically different. They're calm, touching moments, where the game either really affected me on an emotional level or wowed me with some attention to detail.In the frantic picture of game design, balancing, art direction, content, and bug squashing of making a highly complex MMO, development teams begin to miss things. Who cares about how a daisy moves when there's serious issues at hand, like item drop rates not working out the way they should be? Yet some development teams do see these little issues and they do take the time to program them in. Not every user may notice them, but some users will, and appreciate them.This column is dedicated to the little things in our virtual lives. Come with me as we look through some popular and some unpopular MMOs, and highlight some of the things that development teams have done to really hook us into their world.
The shady Harry Goatleaf featured on LotRO's lorebook
Next trip to Bree, visit old Harry Goatleaf at the West-gate. The Lord of the Rings Online lorebook has been updated to include an entry for this dodgy individual, and details his connections with various groups of ill-repute. With no actual criminal evidence against him, and with Chief Watcher Grimbriar needing all the help he can get with the city's defense, Harry has managed to keep his position watching the gate through all the rumors.He did at one point meet with Frodo and his party, in The Lord of the Rings, letting them into the city. The lorebook entry hints that, although nothing about him can be proven to this point, he may live up to his infamous reputation yet in LotRO.
Springtime set to invade hearts of LotRO players
It's been just about a year since Lord of the Rings Online launched. Even though there's a lot of interesting stuff happening at Connect08 later this month and a one-year anniversary coming as well, that doesn't mean LotRO players aren't getting a cool, love-filled spring festival. So worry not, players can expect some very interesting events to take their mind off the encroaching evil from the edge of the world. We've got the beef, so to speak, after the break.
LotRO tip: Finding Cole Sickleleaf
LotRO's quests are diverse and interesting, often backed with lots of character. One thing, though, that I hear more about on the advice channels than any other, is the location of the Blackwold bandit, Cole Sickleleaf. Indeed, fellowships have ranged up and down Northern Chetwood looking for this infamous handkerchief-stealer for hours, yet he remains elusive, as groups walk right past his hideout. It is one of the few serious stalls in the early part of character and quest progression in the Bree lands, and alone generates a fair bit of frustration. So, if you're searching for the infamous mister Sickleleaf, we'll show you where to look.
A better bow for younger hunters in Middle Earth
Got a lower level Hunter in LotRO and are looking for that extra edge? You've made it to Combe and Chetwood, maybe looked in on Bree. Gee those bows are nice, but you're maybe level 7 or 8, and level restrictions put the better bows out of your league. Well, wave your hand dismissively at the wares of those city-folk. You can do better.
The hottest ARG ever: lonelygirl15
At this point, internet starlet Lonelygirl15 should need no introduction, least of all to net-savvy Joystiq readers. But if you've been asleep all summer, here's a brief intro: Lonelygirl15's Youtube videos have garnered over 18 million views. She's the second-most subscribed-to channel of all time on Youtube, and she's crazy cute to boot. But she's not real. In fact, but she may be part of an alternate reality game (ARG). Bree's ARG-ness is discussed in detail over at the Alternate Reality Gaming Network. Admittedly, the evidence that she's part of some big ARG (ZOMG! The Halo 3 launch?!) is rather flimsy, but if we went with more mainstream conspiracy theories, we couldn't very well cover her on Joystiq now, could we? Whatever the outcome, this whole episode shows how powerful storytelling and internet video might be interwoven to create compelling new forms of gaming that entertain millions of people who don't normally consider themselves gamers. The interaction between whoever's producing these videos (the game master) and the millions of players is intricate, exciting, and very game-like at heart.
