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Neverwinter's summer festival starts tomorrow
If it's Neverwinter, it must be summer, right? Now that you've stopped groaning, you might be interested to hear that the D&D MMO is kicking off its summer festival tomorrow. Cryptic is building on the previous year's festival by adding more content to the event. There will be a new summer-themed zone with daily quests, a water battle, new profession tasks, and a new dungeon for the web game Sword Coast Adventures. Players can try to grab a reward that they missed from last year or strive for one of the new prizes, such as the piñata or the Sunite Steed. The summer festival will run from Thursday, August 21st, through Thursday, September 11th.
The Daily Grind: What MMO company has given you good customer service?
A couple of Lord of the Rings Online's Inn League deeds are broken, which is unfortunate because the main reason I showed up for this year's Summer Festival was to finish the Inn League stuff on my newest character. I submitted a customer service ticket, and after having it closed with no action because I was offline (Turbine CSRs can't email, I guess?), I opened another one and remained online for a couple of hours so that I could be told that there is nothing to be done about broken deeds. All of this is a long-winded way of saying that I find Turbine's customer service off-putting. It's also a prelude to today's Daily Grind question. What MMO company has given you good customer service, and what was the circumstance? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
LotRO's Summer Festival runs July 22 - August 5
There's no shortage of things to do in Lord of the Rings Online these days, what with the recent release of Update 14, Western Gondor, and the level cap bump to 100. If you're already burned through all of that, though, you'll be glad to know that the game's annual Summer Festival starts tomorrow and continues through August 5th. Events include keg races, horse races, fishing challenges, the Taste of Hobbiton, and the usual Ale Association vs. Inn League shenanigans.
Neverwinter invites players to the Summer Festival
The summer is winding down and we are rapidly approaching autumn. But Neverwinter has a bit of slightly unorthodox summer fun for players in the new Summer Festival, an in-game event that goes live today and runs until September 18th. Rather than have players traipse about in swimsuits and visit beaches, the event asks players to take part in a variety of tasks and pastimes to enjoy the waning days of the season, most of which center around standard maintenance like gathering loose animals and fighting off trolls. Fighting trolls qualifies as standard maintenance in a world that includes trolls, honestly. So what do you get for your troubles? An array of cosmetic rewards, including new weapons and armor that have an appropriate summer theme. You can also earn an armored boar mount and a pig companion if you really want to go hog wild. Players can enjoy the content on the live servers starting today, so anyone who needs a respite from more serious fantasy fare is encouraged to log in and round up some pigs.
Party hearty at Lord of the Rings Online's summer festival
It's that time of year again, when the Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, and Elves of Middle-earth come together to celebrate the summer with -- you guessed it -- the summer festival! This annual Lord of the Rings Online event runs from July 24th through August 6th, giving revelers two weeks to get down and party it up. Festivities include horse races, fishing challenges, scavenger hunts, and more. Players can guess which Hobbit can eat the most the fastest in the Taste of Hobbiton competitions as well as which Dwarf can navigate the keg races while inebriated. Want to cut the rug but don't know how? Learn a jaunty step or two from the dance masters. And, as always, gain reputation with either the Inn League or the Ale Association as the rivals vie for top dog status. Participation in the various events nets a player festival tokens, which can then be turned in for rewards like cloaks, robes, and new steeds.
The Road to Mordor: Delay, delay, delay
Earlier this week, I was working on this column with the title "Preparing for Riders of Rohan." What a change a day or two makes because the body of that article quickly got changed to "Sit on your thumbs." Yes, the LotRO community got thrown for a loop this week, as Turbine announced that Riders of Rohan has been shoved back a month and a half for additional work. So we've gone from a mere two-week countdown to nearly two months, and that takes a bit of mental adjustment. On top of all that, the studio demolished the NDA wall, which sort of seems like a risky move when you've just disappointed players with news of a delay. I think we should talk about it, don't you? I'll say this up front: It's actually a very good thing.
The Road to Mordor: Wish lists, past and future
Hobbits love making lists, don't they? In The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo had a lengthy list of friends and relatives to invite to his eleventy-first birthday party, and he didn't have the luxury of Facebook to help him out. I love lists as well, although I try to save most of that for my Perfect Ten column. At the beginning of the year, I sat down and drafted up a "wish list" for Lord of the Rings Online's 2011 year, populating it with 11 changes and additions I was hoping to see by now. To my surprise, Turbine actually pulled off quite a few items on the list, and I thought it'd be a good idea to go back and examine which of my goals the team met and which remain elusive. Also, since 2012 kicks off tomorrow, I'll look forward as well and draft up a dozen -- yes, one more over the year before -- wish list items that I'd love to see come true in the new year. It's my column; I can cry if I want to, after all. Let's get this party started!
Fiesta Online celebrating third anniversary
Three years ago today, Fiesta Online's first server opened to the public, and gamigo has just announced plans for the title's birthday celebration via a new press release. The festivities will run through August 18th and include "special events and major contests." First up is the Birthday Cooking Competition and Come Party With Me events on the the Fiesta Facebook page. There's also the Fiesta Birthday Quest and Fiesta Online Summer Festival events, as well as new and exclusive track suit and mini gift items in the game's cash shop. Fiesta is free-to-play and features five classes as well as PvP, in-game weddings, and an estate system that allows for decoration and personalization.
Allods Online patch 2.0.04 includes... underwear?
Players have already been treated to a couple of sneak peeks at the new features coming to gPotato's Allods Online with the upcoming patch 2.0.04, and yet the stream of information continues! The game's team released yet another small preview of what's to come with the update on the site today, and from the looks of things, it would seem that Allods players will have their hands full. Allods' Summer Festival arrives with patch 2.0.04, providing players with a plethora of new daily quests as well as the opportunity to procure brand-spankin'-new vanity items such as wings and undergarments (yes, undergarments). Even mounts will get in on the festivities with new mount color patterns available only to "elite players" who can conquer the challenges of Twilight Isle. The update also brings training dummies, changes to the Astral system, and more. For the full details on this upcoming addition, check out the official site.
Lord of the Rings Online's Summer Festival is here!
Hear ye, hear ye, Free Peoples of Middle-earth! Summer is upon us, and that can only mean one thing: Lord of the Rings Online's Summer Festival is kicking into full swing. Throughout the course of the festival, you citizens of Middle-earth can "show your skill with reins or rod in the time-honored racing and fishing challenges [and] take part in new challenges too, and discover what new rewards are to be won!" Those of you lot who are the gambling sort can place your bets on the keg races, as four Dwarves face off to see who is stoutest of stomach and fleetest of foot. If you'd prefer to show your own skills rather than placing wagers on others, then get behind the reins at the the horse races. After all that excitement, wind down with a scavenger hunt, or go drinking with the Ale Association or the Inn League for fun and profit. And what would any festival be without music and dancing? For the full details on this upcoming event, check out the announcement on LotRO's official site.
The Road to Mordor: A year in Middle-earth
What a difference a year makes, eh? One year ago, and you didn't have to put up with me yammering at you every Friday like a hyperactive badger with a personality disorder. One year ago, and we weren't free-to-play-anything, Turbine was its own company, the festivals were nowhere near as cool as they are today, and shrews freely roamed the land without fear of reprisal. So in my last Road to Mordor (of the year, stop rejoicing over there!), I thought it'd be great to look back at the wild rollercoaster that was 2010 in Lord of the Rings Online. I also thought I'd get an easy column out of all this, but that was before I had to read through 1,337 posts and my eyeballs began to lose pressure. January Stuff happened. Let's move on.
The Road to Mordor: Entitled
A few days ago I asked the Massively community members what in-game titles they loved the most. Titles have been on my brain for the past week, as I've started to realize just how many -- how bogglingly, terrifyingly many -- exist in Lord of the Rings Online. I hadn't really given them a lot of thought before, because who really stops to read every small paragraph that magically floats above people's heads? "Frodo, Ring-bearer of the One Ring of Power, Fellowship of the Ring, Formerly of Bag End, The Shire." Yeah, we get it. You're Mr. Fancy Pants. But really, titles are kind of neat, if only for the player who puts one on like a fine three-piece suit before an evening on the town. A title tells the world not only of your great (or not-so-great) accomplishments, but also a little about your personality -- after all, you chose that particular title to wear above all the others. A title can tell me if a player is really proud of his crafting achievements, or if he's a raider, or if he has a decent sense of humor. While I'd say that -- like LotRO's hats -- a good bulk of the titles in the game are cosmetically useless, there exists quite a few that are worth procuring if you're into titular collection. Today we're going to look at some of my favorite titles in the game, as well as how to nab them. Please don't pee your pants in excitement.
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%
Live it up at LotRO's Summer Festival!
The halcyon days of summer are upon us, and between trips to the beach and leveling up our cooking skill at the grill, it's a perfect time to celebrate the outdoors. Of course, Lord of the Rings Online is all about the outdoors -- the hobbits have yet to perfect internet access -- and to encourage players to sample the lazier side of the season they've brought back the Summer Festival. Earlier this week LotRO Europe announced the festival's return, so it's great to get confirmation that Eastern-earth (aka Northa America) was going to see it as well. This annual event encourages the Free Peoples of Middle-earth to take a break from the grind and engage in a few of the languorous activities that the game has to offer. Horse races, fireworks displays, fishing for tokens and scavenger hunts are all par for the course! There's also regular festival events that pop up at the four big yearly celebrations which include learning new dances and boosting your rep with either the Ale Association or the Inn League. Hit the jump for a few links to help you plan your Summer Festival fun!
Summer festival returns for European LotRO players
June 29th is just a few days away, and if you're a Lord of the Rings Online player in Europe, that means it's almost party time! The Summer Festival is returning to Middle-earth, bringing all of your old favorites such as Keg Racing and Taste of Hobbiton. You've got plenty of time to participate in the celebration, because it's going on for quite a while. Events will last until July 29th, and you'll find celebrations taking place at several locations throughout Middle-earth. Visit the Shire, Ered Luin, Bree-land and Thorin's Hall to participate. Check out the Lord of the Rings Online official announcement for all of the current information.
The Road to Mordor: Forum diving
[Special note: Obviously, the news that LotRO is going free-to-play hit after this article was already written, so stay tuned as we dissect what it means for existing and potential new customers next week!] Lately, it feels like we're in a holding pattern for Lord of the Rings Online. The last major content patch, Volume III: Book 1, is fading into distant memory, and we're pushing into summer without definite news of the next update -- or better yet, the next expansion. Players are also nervous about any changes or new directions the game may take after the recent acquisition of Turbine by Warner Bros., and the silence certainly doesn't help any. However, there's always hope in the darkest places of Middle-earth, and the same can be said for the game itself. The Summer Festival should be around the corner, and as for new news, Sapience handed out a bit of vague encouragement on the forums: "You guys know we're preparing an announcement. I can't give you a specific date as to when we'll make it, but I can say I just ran into Adam Mersky coming out of an E3 planning meeting and he was pretty stoked!" While we continue the wait for the next step forward for LotRO, I thought it'd be a good idea to head over to the official forums and do a little diving for some of the more interesting topics and discussions bouncing around the LotRO community today.
LotRO dev diary looks at this year's Summer Festival
Now that the Summer Festival has begun in Lord of the Rings Online, a new developer diary has been posted that tells us a bit about some of the events, and what's different from previous festivals. This year, party invitations have been sent to each player's mailbox. This is more than a formality -- handing in the invitation will net you a Summer Festival Guide and Fishing Guide, to help with your enjoyment of the festivities and to make sure that you don't miss out on anything that's going on. There should also be an extra little present along with the two guides.The developer diary goes on to talk about two big events that are taking place during the Festival, The Keg Races at Thorin's Hall and The Taste of Hobbiton. Each of these events has four contestants, and you can learn a lot more about them at the diary. Lastly, it unfortunately looks like the Festival Run Horse Races won't be held this year. However, it's not all bad news: "The festival run token is still being offered as a reward to those who can generate a sizeable quantity of barter tokens. This means the Lithe horse and pony will still be available to those who look forward to owning this eye-catching mount."
LotRO Book 8 launches today in the US; Thursday 25th slated as tentative European release
The time has finally come for players of the US/Oceanic version of Lord of the Rings Online to experience Volume 2 Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-Dûm, as the large patch makes it to the live servers today. The information-packed official update notes are long and dense; here is a small sample of the changes and additions: The Epic Book 8 quest line, involving the thwarting of Gorothúl, sorcerer of Dol Guldur The Summer Festival, including two new events, located at The Shire and the area outside Thorin's Hall A huge crafting revamp Numerous class tweaks A barter system for First Age Legendary Items Changes to Lothlorien Gift Boxes A boat NPC for Lake Everswim... er, Evendim! Of course, to get the full scoop on these changes and more you'll want to sift through the actual notes, or for a more visual take, you can check the dev tour we were given late last month that looks at some of these things. The other good news is that we now know that Thursday the 25th is the tentative release date for Book 8 on the European servers. It was first spotted on the LotRO-Europe Twitter, and later backed up by Community Officer Faya on the forums. We're expecting official confirmation of the European launch date within the next 24 hours. %Gallery-64417%%Gallery-64288%
LotRO dev tour: Massively's look at Book 8
Once again, Turbine has been kind enough to offer us a sneak peek look at the newest Book update to Lord of the Rings Online. This newest one, Volume 2, Book 8, introduces two new 3-man instances, a 6-man space and their largest instance to date: an enormous 12-man instance with six bosses! In addition, there's a revamp of quests in the 15-25 level range, many crafting system improvements and the Summer Festival, complete with new events and a different way to win the festival horse.This dev tour was given by Aaron "Rowan" Campbell, Live Producer for LotRO and Adam Mersky, Turbine's Director of Communications. It focused mainly on the new instances, as we were shown the highlights of each space, including the incredibly difficult bosses at the end. Follow along in our 26-image gallery below for more on what we saw in Book 8.%Gallery-64417%
One Shots: Midnight riders
It seems that the recent festival has brought in more Lord of the Rings Online pictures in from far and wide. Today's One Shots shows off a kinship riding off for adventure courtesy of a ride from the last festival! Rhedbjerd writes in and tells us more about this particular screenshot: This one didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but it's a pic of the Laer En Tul Acharn kinship crossing the Ford of Bruinen in the central Trollshaws on the way to Rivendell. You can't really see it, but we're all on the summer festival horses. What impresses us is that you can see the horses reflected in the water too. Nice touch! Do you have a screenshot showing your guild, kinship, battlegroup, or [insert group name here] heading off into battle, adventure, cat herding or shenanigans together? Grab those screenshots and send them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name/group/server and a quick description. We'll post them up for all to see and give you the credit!%Gallery-9798%
