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Kate Paiz answers the "Whys" of LotRO's changes
When a parent tells a kid to do something, the immediate follow-up question is invariably, "Why?" Likewise, Lord of the Rings Online's Kate Paiz knows that players are constantly asking "Why?" when Turbine makes any additions or changes to the game, which is why she spends a bulk of her December Producer's Letter explaining the company's actions and decisions. Paiz says that the team saw that not enough F2P players were heading into the Lone-lands, which is why they made the zone's quest pack free for everyone. Other deep LotRO secrets she reveals are the reasons behind removal of radiance, dual upgrades to the legendary item system, the addition of cosmetic pets for all (which may provide buffs when used!), and the expansion of Monster Play so that all tiers of players can participate. She also shares an encouraging word about the financial state of the game: "Revenues for the game have continued to increase. While we are getting some great feedback on what the LotRO Store can do better and what other items you'd like to find there, Store usage continues to be much higher than industry averages!" You can read the full Producer's Letter over at LotRO's website.
The Road to Mordor: Rise of Isengard is coming!
Tweet [Update: Made a clarification that there is no indication of "open-world" PvMP in the expansion.] Times are tough in Middle-earth, even after the inexplicable appearance of several hundred thousand new adventurers this fall. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken, Sauron is rising in power, and the White Hand of Saruman is marching across the lands. Even the bravest and hardiest soldier of the Free Peoples cannot be blamed for feeling disheartened, especially in the face of the monumental struggle to come. Welcome to the beginning of The Two Towers in Lord of the Rings Online. Welcome to Isengard. The rumors are true: Next year we will be venturing into LotRO's third expansion, titled Rise of Isengard, to confront evil in its own backyard. While this may not be the Rohan or Gondor expansion that we've anticipated, Turbine is fairly confident that it will be well-received by players and will represent an ambitious step forward on (wait for it) the road to Mordor. Turbine's Adam Mersky and Aaron Campbell were on hand to outline for us the company's near- and far-future plans with Massively, starting with the imminent November update and cruising all the way through 2011. Hit the jump as we look at interactive theater, busy bees, Monster Play improvements and, of course, Isengard.
The Road to Mordor: Horton hears a patch
Few things get me more excited than the promise of a big steak dinner and a big, beefy patch. Both get the mouth watering, the senses tingling, and the anticipation racing. However, the former comes and goes within minutes, while the latter is here to stay. I love devouring a good set of patch notes, chewing every morsel of information as my mind tries to picture it in action. Mental note -- I should not be writing columns when I'm hungry. I trust you were as pleased as I was when you woke up to the Lord of the Rings Online November update patch notes this past week (Standard Disclaimer: These are for the test server and are subject to change, void in Nevada). We knew that Turbine had a few substantial projects in the works for November, but this is far beyond what I'd speculated. It's one of those "There's something for everyone -- well, almost everyone" updates that has a little of everything, a buffet of sumptuous delights. Sure, it's not going to please folks looking for new dungeons, the promised LI and housing revamps, or the continuation of the epic storyline. That said, Turbine's first post-F2P patch is considerably bigger than anticipated, and if this is any indication of the course the company is setting with releases, I'm happy to be on board. Let's break down this LotRO update after the jump, and see just who this patch is for and what it has to offer, shall we?
PAX 2010: Counting down to LotRO's relaunch with Turbine
TweetWith the launch of Lord of the Rings Online's biggest patch to date a scant few days away, we touched base with Turbine's Aaron Campbell, Brian Aloisio, and Bob Hess at PAX Prime to see how their nerves are holding up at this point. It is, as Aloisio laughed, akin to launching the game all over again, and LotRO is definitely under close scrutiny because of it. Many players were surprised to hear that LotRO's free-to-play update was going live much sooner than anticipated, and we asked Campbell whether this was due to a preset schedule or better-than-anticipated beta feedback. He said that they weren't going to release it until it was ready, but by the team's reckoning, the beta process went so smoothly that there was no reason to delay any further. Compared to the betas for Shadows of Angmar, Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood, the F2P beta -- according to Campbell -- was the most upbeat Turbine's ever had, with far more positive feedback than negative. Hit the jump to hear more and see the latest screenshots and video from PAX.
The Road to Mordor: Enedwaith Exploration Expo
E3 is always an exciting time full of announcements, reveals and hundreds of journalists attempting to leech every last drop of information from crafty studios. It's pretty much insane, and if your head isn't exploding from all of the news, trailers, screenshots and surprises, then I'm going to have to ask you to hand in your gamer card. For Turbine, this year's E3 has been a crucial moment in the company's history. Not only are we seeing them under the Warner Bros. banner in public, but they had to step up and both defend and build off of the revelation of Lord of the Ring Online's new business model. They were smart not to save the announcement itself for E3, because the gaming public and the press needed a bit of time to both digest the news and get past the initial emotional reaction so they could bring the studio thoughtful questions. Turbine's undoubtedly enjoying its fair share of press coverage at E3 because of this, and that's saying something considering all of the other heavy-hitters like Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIV and Warhammer 40K that are making appearances. No matter what your feelings are on the F2P model, Turbine's got a lot more for LotRO gamers than just that -- in fact, they've been bombarding us with so much good new stuff that it's hard to know where to start. So let's take a quick tour through 10 exciting additions and updates to the game that they've revealed.
The Road to Mordor: The highs and lows of Middle-earth
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was also the most trite way to open an article, especially if you were to be submitting it to your English teacher. Still, I've never encountered a week in LotRO that's given me such a bipolar experience, and I'm going to need your help to work it out. You with me? Good, then grab a cup of red tea and let us spin such a yarn that cats all over the world will be attracted to it. The week began with a switch back to my Captain -- I like to juggle characters, but my cappy (Captain Crunch, thank you very much) is the flagship character of my account, the one in which I've poured the most time and interest. Crunch had just hit level 45, which meant she was eligible to start Volume II, Book I. This is generally recommended at level 45, because the book nets you your first legendary item (and your second, by the end of it). I figured, might as well get cracking on that infamous LI grind I hear so much about, so away I went!
The Road to Mordor: Community questions and answers
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. Lord of the Ring Online's Volume III, Book 1 patch is still humming along on the test server. New dev diaries have rolled out going over the new class skills (which are really just updated old class skills) and new crafting changes (mostly for farmers, cooks and jewelery crafters.) Duo skirmishes and the new epic quest line is being tested as well as the new solo mechanic for the 6-man encounters in the Volume I epic line. But that's not what today's column is about. Instead, I'm taking a look at the questions players are asking on LotRO forums. Join me for a look into the ramifications of the Lone-lands revamp, leveling characters solely on Skirmishes, farming marks the fastest way possible and the best way to get Legendary fragments for crafting. Plus, a quick look at the latest fan created content.
LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood patch 1 now live
Last week we brought you the preliminary patch notes for the first planned patch for Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood and noted that they were only preliminary, subject to changes and additions. Well, the patch notes are all settled and the patch went live today, bringing some surprises for players who may have preferred to remain unspoiled. For starters, players will find that all Legacy points on their Legendary items have been refunded with this patch, so they'll get an extra shot at redistribution without waiting for a reforge. As we mentioned before, Skirmishes got quite a bit of attention too, including the revival of the Barrow-downs Skirmish. In addition, non Siege of Mirkwood players will find that they are no longer limited to three Skirmishes. Of course, these are only a few of the high points. The full patch notes are available on the official site, or you can log into Lord of the Rings Online and explore them for yourself!
Preliminary notes for first Siege of Mirkwood patch released
Just a month and a half after the launch of Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, the first patch is almost ready. Preliminary patch notes were posted on the official forums by online community specialist Sapience, with a word of warning: "These should be considered a work in progress and incomplete. Final release notes will be posted when the patch is approved for release to the live servers." As expected, the patch so far focuses primarily on skirmishes and legendary items, with a few tweaks being made as needed to raids, instances, and quests. It looks like some significant and very welcome changes are coming, such as a correction to the tier 6 costs of certain legacies. General fixes here and there were also made, such as: "Hunter's Travel to Mirk-eaves skill now tells fellowship members you are travelling to Mirk-eaves. No more freaking out the other members of your fellowship." (Well, that was fun while it lasted, anyway.) The full patch notes as they stand right now can be viewed on the official forums.
World-first Val'anyr formed by Avant Garde
If you're a raiding healer, you almost certainly know this already: Ulduar-25 contains a legendary healer mace, called Val'anyr. To craft it, you have to gather 30 Fragments of Val'anyr, which drop from both normal and hard-mode 25-man Ulduar fights (though they always drop on hard-mode, and only have a chance to drop on normal). You then have to throw the combined collection of fragments at Yogg'Saron while fighting him when he uses the "Deafening Roar" ability, which he only uses on hard mode. After that, defeat Yogg, and Val'anyr is yours. Well, someone has now completed all of the above steps: Snuggleme, a resto druid of Avant Garde on Kil'jaeden. Congratulations on what appears to be the world-first Val'anyr! We know exactly what it does already, but I'm still curious what it feels like to use it in a real raid - hopefully Snuggleme can give us some insight in weeks to come. Also congratulations to Impervious of Stormreaver, who collected their 30th Fragment last week on a hard-mode Yogg-Saron kill, and will be forming the hammer this week.
Val'anyr explained
In an unusual move, Blizzard has spelled out exactly how the proc on Val'anyr, Hammer of the Ancient Kings works. There are probably one or two of you who consider it a spoiler, so I'll put it after the cut.
Val'anyr stats discovered [updated]
Like Boubouille, I'm pretty surprised to find that Val'anyr, the legendary healer mace from Ulduar-25, is up on the Armory, but there it is [update: it's been removed from the US Armory; still up on the EU Armory], and that means we now know all the stats on it. Just on the off-chance that someone considers this information to be a spoiler, I've put it behind the cut, so click on if you want to know what the Hammer of the Ancient Kings has to offer.
The Queue: Legendaries are for suckers
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.What? Me lace a post title with jealousy? I would never do that! Never ever! Okay, okay, maybe there's some jealousy there. Can you blame me? Screw purps, I want me some orange. Orange is where it's at, cat.erogroth asked...I have a question about legendary items. Do we know what Legendary items are planned for WotLK? Are there currently any in the game? If not what are planned for the future or can we speculate? It sounds like Ashbringer will not be a item that a player will be able to get. Is that true? Also, what about upgrade quest for old world legendary items. It seems like so much work went into getting them (Thunderfury anyone?) that it seems a shame that they are worthless.
The Daily Grind: What are your plans for Moria?
On Tuesday, players will be able to experience Turbine's eagerly-anticipated new expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online, Mines of Moria. With two new classes, the Warden and Rune-Keeper, tons of new content and lore to explore, and new monsters to slay, players are excited about all the goodness about to come. With new classes, a trip into the dark and foreboding Misty Mountains, and new legendary items, what's not to love?Of course, with any new expansion comes a few questions. Will you be shelving your beloved adventurer(s) to roll one of the two new character classes? Will you stick with the character you've worked hard at and continue onwards? Perhaps take a couple of days off to really sink your teeth into all the delicious newness that Moria has to offer and do both! What are your plans for Moria's launch?
Take a deep breath and dive into LotRO's Legendary Item System
Turbine has put together an immensely deep look into the Legendary Item system coming in the Mines of Moria expansion. If you ever had any questions about, well about nearly anything regarding how the whole thing works, you should find your answers now. Our impressions are that it's certainly a cool and interesting attempt at enabling players to craft the weapon of their choice over a period of time, similarly to how you would an actual character. That being said, our only beef with the system is that it doesn't seem to support any kind of visual customization options. Everyone loves to personalize their stuff, so it seems likes a no-brainer. Hopefully, in time, we may see something of this nature.For now though, we're happy that Turbine is going the distance to try something new and possibly very evolutionary within the genre. The developer diary states that they'll be making any required adjustments in the future, too. So this is something of a work in progress in that sense.
Massively in Moria: Hands on with the Rune-keeper
When The Lord of the Rings Online's new expansion, the Mines of Moria launches on November 18, two new master classes will be available to the player base: The Warden, a tank/dps class and The Rune-keeper, a healing/nuking class. The reason they are dubbed "master class" is that they are difficult to learn, but are powerful allies when mastered.I got to go hands-on with the Rune-keeper class in the beta for a few weeks and ran it through the paces: solo and group, with different specs and group configurations. Read on for my take on the strengths, weaknesses and tactics of the newest class to join the battle against the Shadow in the West.
Moria's legendary items unearthed
Just to keep us salivating about the upcoming Mines of Moria expansion to Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine has quietly put up a page of information about the new legendary items system. Legendary items are items that drop from completions of some instances or from some sentient creatures. Initially the object's true power is shrouded in mystery, and only very basic information is available. With the help of a Forge master however, the origins, history and special qualities of the item can be revealed. It doesn't stop there, though -- a legendary item, once slotted, will gain experience points and level up. They can even gain titles of their own through the completion of special Eregion and Moria quests. After ten levels, however, your item has gained a sufficiently new legacy in its time with you, and must be renamed and reforged, before it can continue to advance.
Turbine dev chat transcript gives more info on Moria
It's been quite a long time since we've reported on a House of Commons dev chat with Lord of the Rings Online's Turbine and Codemasters devs, so this latest one should come as a special treat. In it, we get word of a few new features for the first expansion, Mines of Moria, which was just announced today to have a release date of November 18th! In order to paraphrase this long dev chat, we've bullet-pointed what we feel is the most interesting answers to player questions: No pre-Moria equipment will be part of the Legendary Items system. After Mines of Moria, they'll "most likely" be heading south with future expansions. Although there's word of fleshing out Eriador as well. Capstone skills are used in conjunction with Legendary Traits and Trait sets to make mega powerful skills. These capstones come in three different types: solo gameplay, small fellowship and 6-man instance gameplay. You will get access to another Legendary Trait slot at level 60 Renown and Infamy will be changed to increase the amount gained in a full group and reduce the amount gained in raids. The Elves of Lothlorien will not have accessible reputation until the first book update after launch Suggested improvements to the kinship system include kinbank, plus stablemasters and crafting areas in the kinship house. The entire Book 1 of Volume 2 will act as an introduction to Legendary Items, so you will get them early on. Following the helpful dev diaries on the Hunter, Burglar and Lore-master, Turbine plans to release guides for the remaining classes from 50-60 as well. Inventory problems will be alleviated with quest tokens and key rings. Quest items will be stored in a quest journal, instead of the player's inventory. Key rings will hold important keys for certain doors. You will not need to finish Volume 1 to access Volume 2. No new hobbies releasing with Moria, but there are others in the works for future book patches.
Ashbringer: The Final Word
It does seem as though I'm making a lot of posts lately about ultra-rare legendary items - but what can I say, I keep seeing news about them! Community manager Eyonix made a post on the general forums today confirming that Ashbringer is not presently available in the game. Hopefully this won't put an end to all of the creative and entertaining speculation that goes on at Ashbringer.com forums.
Legendary Items for Casters?
If you saw this earlier post on legendary items, you may have noticed something odd about them - they're all designed for melee characters. While I sometimes wonder if this isn't a good thing - it means casters do not feel compelled to go through the long and arduous process of obtaining a legendary item - community manager Eyonix has made a post in the official forums suggesting that we will be seeing legendary items for casters at some point in the future. We'd like time-line, please, Eyonix!
