LOTRO

[CountZero]

Fiancee and I were thinking of trying LotRO. We've been playing WoW since launch but its been getting kind of boring as of late. Before WoW we played EQ for a few years.

I guess the first and biggest question is what is lotro like as a noob now that it has been out a while? Are the low levels full of people playing alts or are they largely empty? Is duoing/soloing feasible and actually somewhat fun, in other words you could have solo'd in EQ but it was painful, slow and you didn't get to see 99% of the world. What is the end game like, small group dungeons, raiding? Can you level solely through questing or are there points where you have to sit and grind? Does anyone actually participate in the PvMP? Do main characters from the book show up at ridiculous times, ie does Elrond ask you to kill giant rats Do you have to be well versed in Tolkien to get much out of the lore? We've read the books but not memorized the details. Umm, I guess that is it. More or less I'm wondering if you like the game and you wanted to get your friends to play what would you point out is fun about it.

Thanks!

 

[crownjules]

LOTRO has regular quests (go here and kill x) and they also have the main storyline. In the latter, you basically are doing quests for the main characters from the books which follow in the footsteps of the Fellowship as they go to Mordor. The majority of them are hanging out in Rivendell because, as of the game's time period, that's how far they've progressed. I'm guessing the expansion pushes them on further.

I played about half a year ago, just before the Mines of Moria expansion was released, and there were plenty of people leveling up. I'm sure that's still the case. LOTRO is a very polished product that's only real drawback is the poor implementation of PvP. It's easy to solo the majority of quests, but like WoW there are some thrown in that require a group to accomplish. You'll probably understand most of the lore in the game from reading the books.

 

[skace]

We 3 manned the majority of lotro. Err, well all of it except the 2 major raid instances.

The world has always been kind of empty, even when we played at the start. If you can get 3 consistent players you should be good, even if you have to overlevel some content to complete it. If you can't, you'll be more reliant on finding the random stragglers to group with.

 

[lupi]

if you want to join a couple of us (like me) are founders and can give you invites that allow a reduced monthly $$ if you stay. Also I saw that BB has the regular and collector moria packs on sale.

 

[imported_Section8]

My wife and I have been playing for a few months and so far we really like it. We are both lvl 53 (Hunter + Lore Master) and there are not very many quests we can't do together. Give it a try, there is a ton of content and you can lvl all the way to a 60 solo if you take a few minutes to read up on the quests via the internet. I suggest you pick a heavy dpser and a healer to start and pick crafting that compliments each of you. My wife is a supreme woodworker for bows and staffs and I am a supreme tailor for our armour needs. I was also a big time wow head and I think this is much different (not better). The best thing about this game is the story line which does not exist in wow.

 

[crownjules]

Originally posted by: Section8
The best thing about this game is the story line which does not exist in wow.

Well, there is a story in WoW, it's just not as rich and detailed as LOTR because it isn't someone's life's work. Turbine has had to stay as close to the source material as possible to maintain the license - the Tolkien family is very guarded about people taking liberties with the LOTR works. That's why you don't see tons of flashy magic abilities in any of the classes (except one of the new classes kind of crosses that line I hear).

For those saying it's been low pop, it probably depends on server. I played on Silverlode and there was honestly never a shortage of people playing. I was in a sizeable guild (50+ people) but there was always other people running around doing the same quests I was doing. It felt about the same as a medium populated WoW server.

I think one of the strong points in LOTR is the crafting system. At least when I played WOW back in the classic days before TBC/WotLK, most of the armor and weapon crafting formulas were trash compared to what you picked up in raids. Not so in LOTRO. There are a lot of viable recipes you can use that are better than available drops. You can also critically succeed while crafting which yields an even better item.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: Section8
My wife and I have been playing for a few months and so far we really like it. We are both lvl 53 (Hunter + Lore Master) and there are not very many quests we can't do together. Give it a try, there is a ton of content and you can lvl all the way to a 60 solo if you take a few minutes to read up on the quests via the internet. I suggest you pick a heavy dpser and a healer to start and pick crafting that compliments each of you. My wife is a supreme woodworker for bows and staffs and I am a supreme tailor for our armour needs. I was also a big time wow head and I think this is much different (not better). The best thing about this game is the story line which does not exist in wow.

Hunter is the reason your duo works, the only class that compares is the Runekeeper.

 

[natebigdawg]

I also play on Silverlode and I never feel that it is deserted. LOTRO does seem to have a larger Alt population which is good for anyone just starting the game. Both my Wife and I have went with the Lifetime Subscription plan which has already paid off for me and now I feel like I actually own the game.

The game is very rich where I feel Middle Earth is depicted accurately as beautifully. It does help to be a fan of the books and movies making then game even more enjoyable. I also think there is a good spread of content for anyone from Role Playing to Exploring/Raiding and even aspects of PVP.

I Really think that LOTRO is one of the best MMO's that you can play as a couple or family. Most people who play are mature and respectful and the developers really work hard to release constant and memorable content. My wife and I will be playing it for years to come.

 

[datalink7]

I joined with a friend a few months ago. I'm a level 44 guard and he is a level 42 hunter. Thus far there have been few quests we couldn't do as a team. We have been having a lot of fun playing. The game is all about the story though. If you want PVP try a different game. But I love exploring, going to see Elrond or Weathertop... that is fun to me. And they based the game off the books not the movies so there is a lot to see and do.