Lord of the Rings Online Book 11 brings new raids, player-owned housing
by Justin McElroy 
{ Oct 18th 2007 at 8:45AM }
We're not playing LOTRO, so it's difficult to say how much this content will mean to players. But it doesn't take a wizard to figure out that free content it always a good thing. Look for Book 11: Defenders of Eriador sometime this month, and our sister blog Massively will have ongoing in-depth coverage of Book 11.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
UltimateQ @ Oct 18th 2007 9:09AM
This game is by far the best newer MMO I've ever played. Its not just a fanboy game like I was thinking it was. I suggest you guys try it out for a free week..
On a side note, it follows the books, not the movies. and you actually play through the books 1 chapter at a time with your friends.
Zarim @ Oct 18th 2007 9:13AM
I think I might start this game back up; I first played it when I was released but fell out of it. It's definitely just as fun to play as WoW and has a better story and an infinitely better community.
Jouten @ Oct 18th 2007 9:36AM
"...I first played it when I was released...".
You were in prison? =D
Zarim @ Oct 18th 2007 10:55AM
In the joint we only got LOTRO, they wouldn't let us have WoW, it caused riots ya know.
Rayonic @ Oct 18th 2007 9:41AM
LOTRO is kinda spoiled because you already know how the overarching story is going to end. Gameplay-wise it's like a mini-WoW.
xdrewfacex @ Oct 18th 2007 9:44AM
i tried this game out in its 30 day trial period before it was released, and i was very impressed. at the time i hadn't played much MMO at all, but now that i've started a WoW character, it sort of makes me wish WoW had more of the cinematic-like quests that are in LotRO. if it weren't for the guys i work with playing WoW, i probably would have gone with LotRO.
Todd @ Oct 18th 2007 10:04AM
LORTO is like a wanna-be WoW but still not as good. Now granted, some aspects of the game are fine, but there is still much polishing to be made. Thankfully I have a lifetime membership, so I'm not pressed about choosing what to play.
t_m @ Oct 18th 2007 10:28AM
I want a simgleplayer version!!!
I'm a huge LOTR fanboy, but theres no way i'm gonna kiss my freetime and cash goodbye by playing MMORPGs.
However the idea being able to travel around a well relized version of Middle Earth is very appealing.
They need to make an oblivion style version.
StrangeBum @ Oct 18th 2007 10:46AM
Wannabe WoW..wannabe WoW. And yet all WoW is, is a wannabe Everquest anyways. And Everquest is just trying to be like D&D (the oldschool tabletop stuff) in an online computer experience.
Everything is a wannabe something else. Let's all just go all the way back and say that all of these games stem from stories like 'Beowulf', and that the classes stem from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales'
They are both good games in their own, right. Just give them that, and quit the lame 'but it's a wannabe WoW...' bullshit.
Todd @ Oct 18th 2007 11:33AM
Technically, everything is ripping off Ultima Online which was the first true MMO for the Internet. I'm not talking about GURPS, here.
Game Artist @ Oct 18th 2007 12:51PM
Actually there were several MMO's before ultima onlne. However it the first real commercial venture. All the other ones I remember were more shareware sort of distribution.
Christopher7xii @ Oct 18th 2007 4:34PM
Back in the days of Sierra online they had MMOs... Shadows of Yserbius and Towers of Twinion. I played those back in 93'ish, before I knew what RPGs were or even realized that it was an MMO. You run in a dungeon with tons of other users crawling the same dungeon, partaking in quests, grouping, or going LFG essentially in the town Inn (chat room). It was a blast.
Wonder why I didn't jump on UO or EQ sooner in my life...
MegaSnort @ Oct 18th 2007 12:35PM
Only one western MMO developer has been smart enough to adopt the 'Free-To-Play' model made popular by S. Korean MMOs. WoW is a behemoth that cannot be stopped head on, making people pay 50$ for the game and 12$ a month is not incentive for them to stop playing World of Warcrack. However, getting them to buy ingame items after 70+ hours of tears and sweat grinding is. Kudos to innovation.
blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 18th 2007 12:57PM
i don't play games with microtransactions purely on principle, because it's easy to lose track of how much you're spending
Game Artist @ Oct 18th 2007 12:50PM
LOTRO is a good game, It just got stale at level 50. There is alot more to do in WOW, but its been around alot longer. I like the story quests. It makes you feel part of a real epic event rather than just another peon doing meaningless quests like wow. However the lack of high level quests + the bad hunter nerf in august made me quit.
kitsune @ Oct 18th 2007 2:19PM
More high end content is coming in this as well as the next book.
As far as the hunter "nerf" in book 10, most of us were able to adapt to it just fine. We'll see if the same can be said for the fear adjustment that is coming with this book.
Anyways. For those of us playing, this new content will be great. The raid is a 12 man one, so even smaller to mid-size kins will have a shot at it. Player housing is a popular request even if at this point it is a glorified storage vault. There is going to be more content for players in their 40's, and the minstrel and loremasters are getting some nice new skills.
Rep @ Oct 18th 2007 8:18PM
Wait till you get to the hunter "nerf" in book 11 when the fear you started playing with changes and any damaged given the feared mob breaks the fear. Nerf on the Legendary train bard's arrow and the low level skill Cry of the Predator.
If you wanna play something besides a hunter, it's a great game, hunters are taking it in the shorts so roll something else if you want to solo.
kitsune @ Oct 18th 2007 8:50PM
Been playing with it on the preview server, and no, I'm not pleased with the change to fear for hunters. I'll probably be unslotting Bard's once it goes live, especially if DoT's continue to break fear. It wouldn't be so bad if we had one decent heal (well there is that legendary, oh wait, it sucks). :)
Sadly, for minstrels the fear change really is a buff of sorts as it will now last longer. Sure they can't hammer away on the mob while it's feared anymore either, but minstrels can do something the hunters can't which is heal and buff themselves.
Honestly for group play it's not gonna matter, but for solo play, yes it is a negative change, but one that can and will be adapted to (plus my champion is approaching 50).