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LotRO Update 9 launches today, Yule Festival begins [Updated]
Over the past week, you've heard about the upcoming features in Lord of the Rings Online's next update, including three new level-scaling three-man instances and a travel to quest-giver feature. Today, you can experience them for yourself! Update 9 is now live, offering players these new features and more. Besides some combat revisions and a graphical update to Bree-town and Archet, players will also find that open tapping and remote looting are available throughout all of Middle-earth, not just Rohan. Chests in the new instances will also reward loot to players independently of others in the group and based on their class. More changes include getting experience for using craft nodes and completing recipes and the ability to turn off XP gain. For more details, check out the official patch notes. Along with the launch of the update, the annual Yule Festival has begun; denizens of Middle-earth can jump in and enjoy the usual festival activities. Once change players will note is that currencies from all the various festivals will now convert to a single currency to be used throughout all the different celebrations. [Updated: The team has now released a dev diary about the festival.]
LotRO dev diary spotlights roving warbands
Travel through the lands of Rohan will be no ride in the park according to the latest Lord of the Rings Online dev diary. Developers outlined the addition of warbands to Riders of Rohan, describing the roving mobs of mobs as replacements for world bosses. With no restrictions on size or type of mob, players can happen upon any variety of warbands patrolling Rohan, from a single troll to packs of Warg-riders. The idea behind the warbands was to give players the feel of world bosses -- and the fight or flight feelings had when stumbling upon them -- without forcing spawn camping. When players travels bring them into the vicinity of a warband, a quest will pop up offering a quest to defeat the rampaging horde. Utilizing the open tapping method, any player will be able to participate regardless of group affiliation. Rewards will then be delivered via the quest, not loot drop, allowing players to freely assist one another when confronting these new packs of foes. For more about Riders of Rohan, check out Massively's exclusive hands-on experience.
From warhorses to hobby horses: A ride through LotRO's Rohan
I have to admit, every bit of news for Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan that has come out has been a little stab in my heart. Is the news that bad? On the contrary, it is too good! But because of my notorious uber-casual gaming style, I had little hope of seeing the content anytime before the 2016 presidential elections; stalled in my low 60s, I am ineligible to participate in LotRO's upcoming content. Suddenly, all of my time spent wandering the beauty of Middle-earth, playing music, visiting player-run events, and participating in festivals seemed a less-than-ideal way to spend my time. But then fate intervened: I received an invitation to get a first-hand look at Riders of Rohan with a tour guided by Senior Designer Joe Barry and Senior Producer Aaron Campbell. Knowing that participating would be a double-edged sword (getting a taste only to know I couldn't have more), I still jumped at the chance. I'll just deal with the disappointment later, I thought. For a brief time, I got to immerse myself in Rohan and get a look at what awaits players when the expansion launches on October 15th. And between rebuilding an entire town, hobby horse races, and riding warsteeds, I am psyched-up to actually level and take part in all that RoR will offer.%Gallery-158706%
New Lord of the Rings Online video is all about warbands
Riders of Rohan is introducing several new mechanics to Lord of the Rings Online, including the brand-new warbands. But what are warbands? How do you interact with them? Can you join them, possibly on the strength of rocking a sweet lute solo? A new community video with community manager Rick "Sapience" Heaton and Senior Producer Aaron "Rowan" Campbell addresses all of these concerns and more. Except for the lute solo. You're on your own with that one. Campbell explains that warbands are essentially rare enemies taken up to the next level. Instead of just finding the occasional notable spawn, you'll see groups of enemies roaming the world, marked on your map and just waiting for you to ride off and challenge them. These bands will vary in size, with some requiring only a single player and some potentially requiring a full raid to defeat. The bands are also subject to a new "open tapping" system, which allows players to work together and receive rewards without being in a full group and encourages players to challenge these bands without worrying about competition. Check out the full video just past the break for more information on this upcoming addition to the game's mechanics.
