Lord of the Rings online - Shadows of Angmar [Archive]

Mugato

25th April 2010, 02:56 AM

Im a big LOTR fan. The books and the movies. I don't think anybody who has been introduced to middle earth can ever NOT be a fan. It takes a special kind of negative to diss Tolkien's writting, its an incredible fantasy world. Ive seen the LOTR online game for sometime, I looked at some reviews a few years back and it was given a big thumbs down and I left it at that.

Thursday I was browsing Musica and saw a shiny collectors box. LOTR Shadows of Angmar GOLD edition, on further investigation it was only R80!! I couldnt refuse it. I thought Id buy it, if anything atlease I have a cool cd case!

The gold edition gives u a free mount at lvl 15, a welcome mat for your housey (coz u can buy property in middle earth.. oh yes u can!!) (u can also decorate it!! yay!) some other trinket things and most importantly 45 days free!

I took it home and installed it, I was a little annoyed at the patching process. I downloaded a whopping 9gb worth of patches - it includes the first 2 games i missed - u don't have to pay for them either. It downloads easy enough, i didn't require anything other than bandwidth and I have an uncapped 4mb line so the +-12 hours wasnt anything to cry over. I encountered issues with Win7 UCL - if you get the game DISABLE IT BEFORE install it. The game wouldn't run on first install. I had to uninstall and re download everything. So at this point I was now getting a bit fed up with the game but I thought another 12 hours no worries.

Well it works like a dream now and I must tell you guys I am very impressed with the game. It is actually pretty dam awesome. The graphics are great and while your character customization isnt exactly AION its better than WoW's by a mile. The world looks realistic, the latency im getting is around 150ms so its great for SA players. There is so much depth and the quests are interesting and very story driven. Did i mention the depth? At no point do I feel like im grinding. There is so much going on and plenty I have to learn still but so far its the most fun leveling ive had in mmorpg ever!

There are some drawbacks - the pvp side is very different to WoW. No ganking. But it has so much depth. You cant be a bad guy. You can only choose to Man, Dwarf, Elf, Hobbit as your race. However you can join BG tyoe things to vex opponents. You get awesome traits and achievements in there. You can also GROW your own monster. Thats right. You can grow an Orc! You train him and when u want to fight you log into your monster and go run around looking for kak. EPIC! Its all voluntary though, no ganking, u have to ask ppl to fight. I like that. Its nice to be able to play without spoilers coming along and messing things up.

The community is nice. People are really friendly and helpful. The guild set ups seem very cool although im not in one yet. The economy is good, the proffs are a bit different, im still trying to figure them out properly but that will come with time. Im to busy hunting Goblins! The awesome graphics and animation really make things like crafting interesting to watch. Ive heard the end game is lacking a bit but this game isnt so much about end game action like wow. They do have Raids and it seems Codemasters sends out new quests and raids every 6 months or so in patches they call "books". You get legendary weapons and insance traits from them. But that's just what ive read tbh I have no idea what to expect.

So far my first impressions are that this is a great great game. Its very based around the movies so the orcs look like the movies orcs, the voices are from the movie too. The visuals and everything about the game you can see they took straight from Peter Jackson. I love that.

The game seems to have come along way and has quietly crept along making no noise and I cant believe what a little gem it has become. So if you thinking about trying something different and if galloping on the grassy plains of Rohan seems like something you would be interested in - GET THIS GAME!!

Flatty

25th April 2010, 10:15 AM

It sounds very interesting the way you have worded it, though I doubt it would hold any level of attraction to me without the frustration of being ganked involuntarily. The ganking aspect is what makes these games interesting - one day you might just be in the mood to be a complete butthole & actually feel like ganking (a sort of transference of real-world frustrations).

Mugato

25th April 2010, 12:40 PM

Yeah it isn't a game for the inner asshole that lies within most of us but I think thats why ive really enjoyed it so far. I leave my innner asshole for the jocks in my bar and try spend my game time relaxing!

I got my mount at lvl 15. Omg, I feel like a king, you actually feel like u are part of the movie. Epic. The animation of the mount is brilliant. When i run up stairs it looks like the horse is actually moving up stairs. On uphills it slows down a bit and on downhill it picks up speed! The attention to detail in the game has really given at an authentic feel.

As i finished the prologue quest a cut scene happens and tells you that the 3 Hobbits have set out on an adventure, my new main quest is to seek out "the one called Strider" in the Prancing Pony! Omg! I got wet almost immediately! I get to hang out in the Prancing Pony! Who the hell needs ganking when you get to hang with Aragorn!! That is awesome!!

The main story line quests are very difficult and almost all require a group - they called fellowships - to complete. Standard group compisition here, tank, healer and some dps. I imagine as you get into the higher levels it gets tough because my baby quests were a bitch at level 14 fighting lvl 10 monsters. I couldn't solo it. The other quests are all standard fair. Kill this, fetch that, rescue so and so. Im in the Shire (yay!) currently and the Hobbits are awesome. The side quests im getting there are typical Tolkien. I had to deliver post for the post master to different areas but I had to avoid nosey hobbits. On your mini map u see these little eyes and when they come close they start questioning you about what your are doing there and the quest is failed. Brilliant. Just good old fun man, good old fashioned fun.

25th April 2010, 01:46 PM

I'm looking for something new. I spent 4.5 hours last night exploring Discworld MUD. Yes, a MUD. Holy koekies it's huge.
I'll see if I can find this. :p

Lynus

25th April 2010, 02:35 PM

Heh, nevermind. P2P.

Voicy

25th April 2010, 02:38 PM

I picked up the last copy at Musica today, thanks Mugsy!

Busy going through the manual and it actually looks really cool. I should install TS again so I can bug you for boosts through the Deadmines of Moria. :D

I take it you're a hobbit. I'm still wondering if I should go for elf or dwarf...

Mugato

25th April 2010, 06:03 PM

No I went elf - hunter. I did some research and it seems hunter and champion are 2 easy classes when it comes to soloing and getting jobs done.

You going to love this game dude. Its a win win hands down. I wish I had chosen a more elf like name. My name is Drakonian. What a wolly. All my other attempts were taken so I started reaching deep came up with that brain fart. I don't see people running around in game with real world names. Just a tip when u think about naming your dude. Shadowmourne isn't an RP server though so its all good either way im sure.

Voicy

25th April 2010, 06:34 PM

Is there a stat site showing which classes/races are most prevalent? I don't want another "DK/Pally" type character where every 2nd guy has one, but at the same time I want to enjoy solo play.

I had a read through the classes and even though I've always been a fan of assassin/stealth classes, the idea of the hobbit burglar being a support class isn't that appealing. The captain sounds pretty lame as well.

A dwarf guardian would be pretty cool, but only once I have a main going. An elf Ranger sounds like the best bet right now, considering they're labeled the "nuker" class whereas the champion is AoE/DPS.

Mugato

25th April 2010, 06:45 PM

My advice is to throw away any misconceptions you may have from other MMORPGS and walk into this one going with whatever you want too. This game is so far from the wow experience. Not in a good or a bad way, they are just 2 different kettle of fish with one thing in common - you pay to play over the internet.

The community is small. I haven't seen an overload of any particular class. I only researched it because I was looking into the "grind factor" and im pleased to say there isnt much of a grind at all. The side quests are quick and actually pretty fun.

Nitty

25th April 2010, 07:21 PM

EyeBall

25th April 2010, 08:41 PM

but more importantly , drop us some screen shots , would love to see what it looks like

25th April 2010, 09:21 PM

Bleh. Didn't find much in the way of MMORPG's on my afternoon foray.
I'll try again tomorrow cuz at least then BT will be open more normal hours, and MAYBE they'll have it.

Voicy

25th April 2010, 10:33 PM

Be prepared for a motherload of patching. My pc's been patching since 3pm non stop.

There are instances in this game and there are sort of similar group setups to wow:

Groups = Fellowships
Guilds = Kinships

Groups contain of:

Guardian = Tank
Burglar = Debuffer (via stealth and tricks)
Captain = Buffer / Pets
Champion = Melee AoE DPS
Hunter = Ranged DPS Nuker
Loremaster = Crowd Control / Pets
Minstrel = Healer

You get horse/pony mounts at lvl 35, but there are ground-mount-points (similar to flight points) where you use horses.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/21/0/38/s21038_pc_132.jpg

Those of you who read the book will remember the character below, no he did not feature in the movie - despite his role in the book being a crucial one - Much like Tom Bombadil, I suppose.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/6091/screenshot00022h.jpg

http://games.softpedia.com/screenshots/8-2400_3.jpg

http://gotymedia.gamespy.com/2007/images/screenshot_pc_lotr.jpg

Mugato

26th April 2010, 05:34 AM

Thanks for that in-depth description of the game Mugsy :thumbsup: It really does sound like fun! So how many levels are there for your character? Do you also gear it and get stronger like in WoW? Are there also raids and instances and guilds?

Yes you do. The end game content has come along way it seems from when they first started. Top level is currently lvl 65. From what ive seen you get normal white items, rare yellow items (wow greenies) epic purple items (they arent common but u get them early its not restricted to end game like wow). Then you get unique items. Thats end game stuff and legendary items which are super rare highly sought after goodies. You can start doing instances from lvl 20 although 25 is optimal but guys are always keen to boost coz anything can happen in them.

There is an interesting system called "Deeds". Everything you do including proffessions gives you a kind of "rep" this eventually pays off into a trait. You get virtue traits, class triats, race traits & legendary triats. You can only have 5 types of traits per section. It may be confusing to understand now but you can combine all sorts of traits from the deeds you accomplished to give your toon a real unique feel. Add in the fact that some unique Armour that's once off drop that nobody else can have and you got some real magic! I suspect its merely the names that are different with uniques but you will find Armour with the same stats. Also certain "events" in game happen as they "happen". I don't know how to explain it. And that event will never be repeated. So if you are in the right place at the right time you will experience something that nobody else will. Like real life haha.

Im awake at this unearthly time btw coz baba is teething. NOT because im stomping shrews with hobbits! :)

---------- Post added at 05:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 AM ----------

Oh and the guild set up is very cool. The guild/fellowship can buy its own club house where ppl can hang out in and set there return maps too (hearthstones). All your storage needs are there too so it becomes a communal place. I see there are raids up to 25 man but I have no idea whats what there yet. The only people i know all mid 20's level and are as noobish as me. lol. Its nice the game has been around for ages but there are no wow brats lurking about. Its refreshing to be able to talk to people without getting flamed. I have found that ive had to break my habit of always being on the defensive and certainly no snarky comments in trade, its really frowned upon. Its a much more mature, level headed community BUT i cant say for sure, its only been a few days.

---------- Post added at 05:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 AM ----------

Oh and you can decorate the club house. If you are really rich you can buy your own house to live in and decorate but the rates and taxes are steep. lol. thats so cool.

You can also customise all your clothes and Armour with dyes and the like. So essentially you can make your stuff match or if you dont like the bright purple new cape, you just can find someone with the prof or have the prop yourself and dye your cloak a more manly colour :D Voicy will never leave the house again! :P

Voicy

26th April 2010, 10:10 AM

The stupid site doesn't want to authorize my credit card. :sad:

---------- Post added at 09:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 AM ----------

So it seems quite a few of my mates on mygaming.co.za are jamming on the Snowbourn server. Which one are you on, Mugsy?

---------- Post added at 10:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 AM ----------

Ugh this sucks ... did all the patching and everything... now when I try run the game, I choose a server and a soon as it tries to connect it tunes:

"d3dx9_33.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

EyeBall

26th April 2010, 10:25 AM

Voicy

26th April 2010, 11:22 AM

Just download dx 9 and or dx 10 , should fix the problem

Yep, busy pulling 9c now thanks :)

---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------

Sweet it seems to be working - albeit not completely stable yet...but at least I'm in.

The game actually looks pretty flippen awesome. Aside from choosing your race, you can choose which clan you're from as well i.e. the elves of lorien, rivendell etc. So each one has a different starting position too.... quite hectic.

26th April 2010, 03:01 PM

Ok, just got this from BT (Gold Edition) for a whole 89 bucks and Age of Conan for a whole 49 bucks.

---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:27 PM ----------

I can't seem to find what the subscription fee is. Anyone?

Hoss

26th April 2010, 05:23 PM

I'm also curious as to what the monthly rate is

Voicy

26th April 2010, 05:29 PM

For those of you keen to join and who want to keep to imersion names while still having a sense of ownership, here's a great site:

http://www.myprecious.us/name_generator.php

It generates normal names etc. you enter into different names as per Tolkien lore...

26th April 2010, 06:41 PM

Thanks dooder, I'll definitely keep that one in mind when I get around to installing it. :)

Voicy

26th April 2010, 07:18 PM

I made myself an Elf Hunter from Mirkwood on the server 'Snowbourn'. The game is very much like guild wars, aside from the fact that you can jump. Character movement is not as fluid as WoW, but it does seems interesting.

Mugato

26th April 2010, 08:27 PM

Its $14 pm. Cheap i suppose.

Voicy

26th April 2010, 08:49 PM

Mugsy, which server are you on dude?

My dude is lvl 6 now and going on rather well. Even grouped up with someone in a cave. It was rather funny, if you jump too far down, you get hurt and you walk all crippled for a few seconds.

26th April 2010, 08:50 PM

Bah. Run the launcher, and it just says 'data center is not available'. When I try manually going to the listed URL, I get a web application error. Grreeeeat.

Voicy

27th April 2010, 12:21 AM

I was going to ask how the rest of your international is, but I suppose you wouldn't be posting on here if it was terribad.

How are you doing the updates? I didn't pull the V3.0 updater, I just pulled it straight from the V1.4 version.

Mugato

27th April 2010, 10:57 AM

Voicy

27th April 2010, 10:59 AM

I also struggled a bit to get the game going. Its stupid little bugs like that, that I think is the main reason why the game never reached its true potential. However, the technical support guys are on the ball. I sent them a mail on a direct x issue i had and User Access Control problem and they had solutions for everything and they were fairly quick on the response

Yeah that's warrant enough to support the game, imho. I just installed DX10 again to sort out that issue, but fortunately my UAC was set to off anyway.

So mugsy are you also on Snowbourn or where? I'm keen to jam with you before I get too far down the line. Although there are a few people I know who jam on Snowbourn as well.

Mugato

27th April 2010, 11:06 AM

Im on Snowbourne too. I thought it was Shadowmourne. lol.

http://images.ddoforum.turbine.com/showthread.php?p=1816975 <-- give that read TG it seems some other dude had the same problem as you with DDO. They made by the same people and it also uses the turbine launcher app.

Flatty

27th April 2010, 11:09 AM

One ring to rule them all :p

I actually read "The Hobbit". Never got through the first half of "The Lord of the Rings".

Mugato

27th April 2010, 11:14 AM

Voicy, Im working till 1pm, then im heading home to play.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 AM ----------

One ring to rule them all :p

I actually read "The Hobbit". Never got through the first half of "The Lord of the Rings".

You read a book??:jawdrop: Was that back in the day when Eskom was doing all the load shedding?? :p

27th April 2010, 12:41 PM

I'm busy grabbing all the standalone patches. Frikkin' huge in total, considering the one patch is 9gb.

Voicy

27th April 2010, 03:13 PM

I'm really enjoying this game...it's very single-player'ish with others running around. So you can do your own thing entirely or group and not feel left out.

Also, you get tons of titles. Plus, you get deeds (achievements) which become more advanced into traits etc. which means the achievement gives you special features/abilities.

For example, if I used a specific move on enemies 600 times I become proficient in it and it reduces cooldowns or improves the skill etc.

27th April 2010, 03:28 PM

With the download rate I'm getting, it's gonna be a couple of days before I can play. :mad:

Voicy

27th April 2010, 05:16 PM

That's odd...I pulled at an average of 200KB/s per file. Took me about 20hours though I'd say.

Voicy

27th April 2010, 08:47 PM

Here's a couple of screenshots:

http://www.wargeeks.org/album.php?albumid=33

EyeBall

28th April 2010, 07:35 AM

the screenies gives me a bit of wow feeling , just with different Graphics. it looks fun but I don't have 9GB worth of cap to waste on updates

Voicy

28th April 2010, 08:35 AM

the screenies gives me a bit of wow feeling , just with different Graphics. it looks fun but I don't have 9GB worth of cap to waste on updates

Grab it from TG, he should be done soon.

It has a WoW feel to it, but it's vastly different. The skills setup is amazing:

You get different talent trees as in wow, but only 8 or so talents to choose. So spending 1 point in the wrong tree isn't going to make you a failtard. It's very custom built. You have skills for your class, for your race, for your traits and then epic ones (from major accomplishments)...You only unlock them depending on your 'achievements' i.e. if you kill X amount of a certain creature, you get a title for it as well as a trait skill which you can add like you do with glyphs in wow, this has nothing to do with your class, but helps you to customize your character like nobody else's.

I think there are 6 trait slots you can fill and about 30 to choose from to fill it.

Even your skills are customizable. E.g. if I use a specific skill to kill 700 creatures, I've "refined" that skill, allowing the cooldown or effectiveness of it to improve. So not only do you choose your own skills, you fine tune them through play - not talent point spending.

The game movement isn't as smooth as WoW, but weapons and gear look real to the era. Combat is very fluid and the animations look cool. My hunter has a skill called "Distracting shot", which is not the same as in WoW, but rather used when a creature is in melee range, my char pistol whips it on the head with the hilt of my dagger/sword to daze him, then point-blank fires an arrow at him.

I've added a screenie showing the quest tab ... where it separates main / secondary and crafting quests. The tracker also works very well. The maps are also pretty damn huge. More or less Guild Wars Size.

Lastly, with the Moria addon you get 2 extra and more advanced classes... a runemaster, sort of like an elemental mage and a Warden, which is a tank who uses spears and javelins, it looks pretty epic.

Ga5can

28th April 2010, 10:51 AM

Who has all the patches downloaded? I would like to take a look at this but cannot stand 9GB of downloads for one game.

28th April 2010, 12:46 PM

I have. Just finished this morning.

This game has an Everquest 2 feel to it, but better IMO.

Ga5can

28th April 2010, 01:55 PM

Can I come and fetch some patches TG? I will bring a muffin :)

28th April 2010, 02:23 PM

You're more than welcome. I'm home this entire week.
Might be easier if you bring a portable drive. ;)

Oh - I'll have to give you directions as my area has been closed off and there's only one entrance / exit now, and it's on completely the opposite side from where my house is.

Ga5can

28th April 2010, 02:27 PM

Portable drive and muffins? Sheesh - it is getting expensive!

Will call :D

Mugato

29th April 2010, 12:23 AM

Well.. i can pretty much confirm that the honeymoon ends after lvl 20. lol. But in a good way if you like a challenge. The quests pick up pace, monsters become real angry bastards and proceeding with caution is about the only way u get things done. The debuffs on some of the monsters and the animation used is epic. Tip: Stock up on disease healing food!!

Voicy

29th April 2010, 08:43 AM

:bitenails:

flip I'm glad I got that racial trait skill to allow me to go into stealth mode!

Oh ... and don't go near TG ... he's a mob magnet! I went to go visit him in the vineyard to give him a new bow I fashioned and in one single pull, he grabbed 5 mobs! That's got to be some record.

29th April 2010, 03:12 PM

Bad news. It's maintenance day, and the servers are only back at 4pm-ish.
And the worst part is that there's YAFP. (Yet Another Patch).

Ga5can

29th April 2010, 04:23 PM

I have made a room on TS for LOTR - online

Busy doanloading some patches ... about 1064 of them :(

Voicy

29th April 2010, 05:30 PM

Thank you, Gassie! That's TS2 right? Not the one the BF2 guys are using...

I see Incredible Connection is selling the game for R59. Not all that bad. The Mines of Moria expansion, which gives you access to Moria and Lothorien as well as two extra classes (Rune-keeper and Warden) is going for R300.

29th April 2010, 06:08 PM

Um.. Gassy, sorry. Something I didn't realise is that installing off disk first, gives you the benefit of high-res textures, which the download client doesn't have.
You need to have a file called client_hires.dat in your LOTRO main folder. If it's not there, perhaps try installing the game off disk into a new folder, and then just copying that particular file into your game folder.

Then edit your My Documents\The Lord of the Rings Online\UserPreferences.ini, find the entry called TextureDetail and set it to VeryHigh and start the client.

Mugato

29th April 2010, 08:54 PM

Ga5can

29th April 2010, 09:39 PM

Created a Champion called Maduin

30th April 2010, 11:06 AM

Does that bring in hi-res graphics? Coz i idiotically installed the game without checking that tic box and I really dont feel like re-installing and sitting through all those downloads again. I contacted technical support but ja i think they are confused. I dont think i explained myself properly.

According to the forums, yes it does.

The file client_hires.dat is 3.61Gb. Apparently after you put that in and edit the file UserPreferences.ini and start the game, a few more updates will download (no clue how big), and then you'll have the highres textures. Should be a BIG difference in the look.

Nitty

5th May 2010, 08:53 PM

Thank you for all this feedback. Sorry I'm only reading this now - I was on holiday :p

I am giggling at Voicy tonight. Creating another stealther :gno: And all that patience asking Mugsy which server he plays on :thumbsup:

5th May 2010, 11:32 PM

These are shots from travelling through The Shire. Beautiful area.

2815

2816

5th May 2010, 11:33 PM

Obviously the static images don't do it justice.
The shadows are gently moving, the water is rippling, the clouds are moving across the sky, etc.

Voicy

6th May 2010, 08:19 AM

Here's a few screenies of Weathertop in the lonelands, some of you may recognize it as the place where the hobbits camped out for the night and were spotted by the Nazgul. Leading to Frodo being gelemmed inna [-]bluegums[/-] shoulder wif a [-]geelmes[/-] Nazgul blade.

Voicy

6th May 2010, 08:27 AM

Here's a few showing the graphics in the game:

1) The rain and water reflection effects are really crazy good. Your dude can swim, but not submerge. But Voicy, what about backstroke? Actually yes :) ...and as Gassie and I found out, you can sometimes traverse your way down a waterfall without dying. Mostly. Also if you fall off a small ledge, you hear a sharp crack noise and your dude limps for a few seconds.

2) Some more night time riding. Pretty stars!

3) Some random open field with the sun-flare effect. Incidentally, if it's raining and you tilt the view cam to look upwards, you actually get water spots on your screen. It's very clever.

4) I'm sure you guys all recognize these bonfire pilons. Yep, it's one of the signal camps used in relaying the flame of Gondor to Rohan.

Voicy

6th May 2010, 08:33 AM

1) Great Barrows instance where we're about to pwn a boss.

Here's some more familiar faces:

2) Strider at the Prancing Pony

3) My homeys, G-dawg and Gassie :coolio:

4) Those who read the book and not only saw the movie will recognize this member of the white council. :cool:

Voicy

6th May 2010, 08:37 AM

Lastly a few pics of Thorin's Hall as well as of the Shire at night.

TG's pics of the shire during the day does it more justice though.

Mugato

6th May 2010, 12:23 PM

Nice pics Voicy. I cant wait to get back into it!

Im a bit tied up in ICC at the moment! I want to kill the LK! We one boss away in 25man. 10man is pretty much on farm, I just need to set aside a friday night so i can get the achieve and title! Then I can invest time to kill the Dark Lord and then when Im done with him, I will destroy the Sith. After that I can retire as ive pretty much destroyed all that is evil. Ill print myself a certificate and make sure my will insists that my headstone oneday reads "Here lies Dylan Mugabe, he played way to many video games".

Voicy

6th May 2010, 01:26 PM

My headstone will prolly just read "Ping Timeout."

Voicy

11th May 2010, 08:24 AM

I see the folks over at LOTRO Online™ are feeling particularly generous this month.

They're offering a welcome back special that includes:

1) 5% Bonus XP for every mob killed (ok'ish)
2) Free travel all over middle earth (w00t!)

but most of all...

3) 50% off lifetime subscription! You heard it folks ... now for only 75 GBP you can get yourself a lifetime subscription and never worry about monthly subbies again!

If my Math serves me, it's:

Lifetime subs: 75x11= R825.00

Monthly subs: 14x11= R154.00

825.00 / 154.00 = +/- 5.5 Months

That's something worth considering...If you take the lifetime subs offer now, you're paying 5.5 months upfront and never have to pay again. I like that.

Nitty

11th May 2010, 09:01 AM

Voicy

11th May 2010, 09:16 AM

How does free travel over middle earth work? What's the currency in-game?

Lifetime subscription sounds good - I suppose it all depends on how the game grabs you and how long you will end up playing it.

Thanks for sharing it Voicy :kiss:

Well, imagine if you only had to pay 6 months subbies to play WoW forever...

Game currency:

Same as WoW: gold/silver/copper. However, the main trading is done in silver. I'm at lvl 38 and I have about 5gold. 1 silver = 100 copper, but 1 gold = 1000 silver. Weapons and everything is bought in Silver ... and quest rewards only give about 20 silver at a time.

Flatty

11th May 2010, 09:27 AM

That sounds very tempting. How do you rate this game compared to World of Warcraft & Aion (if you've played it)?

Voicy

11th May 2010, 09:51 AM

Flatty, have a look at the screenies I posted in this thread.

I've played Guild Wars (All 4 parts), WoW and Aion. Since LOTRO is new, I'd sound a bit biased by saying I like it. However when I started playing I wasn't that impressed with it.

However one thing I hated about WoW is the Addons thing. Guild Wars, Aion and LOTRO don't have it and I prefer it that way. The one thing this game has over every other is the lore. If you're not a big fan of the BOOKS *not just the movie*, then you might find it a bit arb and think that WoW / whatnot is more enjoyable. I like it because, having read the Silmarillion, the hobbit, tales of a perilous realm, and the lotr trilogy books etc, I can relate to and get very excited when I see character such as Tom Bombadil and Radagast the Brown appear in quests.

Equipment looks realistic and proportionate, unlike WoW. I didn't mind the cartoon effect, but they were just over the top.

It's not perfect, but I enjoy it. The classes are also very interesting and not everything is about nuking and zerging. Also, this game is not ALL ABOUT end-game. It honestly is a great journey getting there and taking in the breathtaking views and quests. Speaking of: you get mainline quests which you can do to follow the story. It helps to guide you as well, seeing as there are literally TONS of quests around.

Oh ... and standing in the main crafting hall playing Rick Astley's Never gonna give you up or playing YMCA around a campfire while Gassie is buffing up on my lute is also pretty ossum. :D

11th May 2010, 11:09 AM

Er yes. He's not kidding. You can get musical instruments and actually play them.
Keys on your keyboard correspond to various notes.

Hoss

11th May 2010, 01:16 PM

Gassie buffing Voicy's Lute!!! :eek: :faint:

Voicy

12th May 2010, 02:49 PM

Gassie buffing Voicy's Lute!!! :eek: :faint:

http://ridersofthemark.guildlaunch.com/guild/avatars/user_files/803142/user_avatar8956_mid.gif

:D

Mugato

15th May 2010, 02:41 PM

That giff is on another level of funny!! omg! Epic, kudos voicy!

Punky3025

15th May 2010, 05:17 PM

Can we have a subsection created for this please. It would be nice to ask questions about professions. etc

Nitty

16th May 2010, 10:48 AM

Go for it Red! :gyes:

Voicy

16th May 2010, 10:56 AM

I'll be happy to answer it, Punky. :)

I rolled a Warden yesterday and man oh man! Forget everything you think you know about typical MMO classes!

The warden is an AoE tank...but he doesn't wear heavy armor! He works on agility etc. and well ... He's a spartan! Runs around with a shield, spear and javelin, giving everyone a hard time.

you get different types of attacks (obviously), but depending on which sequence you use them in, you generate a different "super move" type of finisher. The combo's range from 2 move combos to 4 move combo's...really interesting stuff.

I'll tell you all about the rest of the classes in a sub forum a bit later on.

Nitty

16th May 2010, 11:56 AM

Is that a profession? :confused:

Jono

16th May 2010, 01:32 PM

What's the data usage for this game? wow's been quite good to me concerning data usage.

Punky3025

16th May 2010, 07:27 PM

bout the same as wow

16th May 2010, 07:46 PM

Actually, probably less, as you don't have all the damn addons communicating with each other.

Albereth

22nd March 2011, 09:39 PM

Okay - I am all set up to go. Which world do I choose?

Rizzy

22nd March 2011, 09:49 PM

Snowbourn :)

WondaWoman

22nd March 2011, 09:50 PM

awesome...i'll join up and boost you a bit as soon as i can Albs :wink:

Albereth

23rd March 2011, 04:55 PM

awesome...i'll join up and boost you a bit as soon as i can Albs :wink:

Great! Or should be little thumbs up thingy?

Just in case the lame police are about.

WondaWoman

23rd March 2011, 05:08 PM

Put your giant stirring spoon away Alby!

I'll try get online this weekend, if I manage to finish up my marking.

Stool

23rd March 2011, 05:46 PM

just post your toon name albereth

I will add you as a friend and then get an officer to invite you to the kin as soon as I or others see you online

Albereth

23rd March 2011, 07:10 PM

Put your giant stirring spoon away Alby!

I'll try get online this weekend, if I manage to finish up my marking.

I will be at Rhodes until Saturday so maybe Saturday evening?

---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:09 PM ----------

just post your toon name albereth

I will add you as a friend and then get an officer to invite you to the kin as soon as I or others see you online

Ulralind

Albereth

27th March 2011, 12:21 PM

Can some please explain:

I have DLed the online free to play hi res version of the game - took about several centuries in mayfly time and it updated itself. Today, and for most of the morning it is downloading and updating itself again - I guess that is the Thursday update being done.

What do I have on my computer? Do I have Mines of Moira? Or must I go and buy that?

WondaWoman

27th March 2011, 05:07 PM

When you're in game type /accountinfo in your chatbox thing & see what it says.

Albereth

27th March 2011, 09:26 PM

@WaWa - thanks for the stuffs

Org

29th March 2011, 08:07 PM

WW, I tried to invite Albereth to the kin but looks like he doesn't like us ... he declined ... twice :)

WondaWoman

29th March 2011, 08:43 PM

Well...I'll try. Albs can't say no to me :D

Albereth

29th March 2011, 10:06 PM

Well...I'll try. Albs can't say no to me :D

LOL - at least I recognised the name. Sorry to Org - I was wondering why I was being invited to some kin by a stranger and I remembered what my mom had told me.

I had been invited by some other arb when I first started playing too.

Oh well, it all ended happily after all

Arbythep00nage

30th March 2011, 08:37 AM

Voicy

30th March 2011, 08:49 AM

Make sure you dont hate the game before you buy expansions. If you want to buy them... then good luck! I couldnt get it right :p

Go away hordie! Your kind is not welcome here! :mad:

Stool

30th March 2011, 09:10 AM

Make sure you dont hate the game before you buy expansions. If you want to buy them... then good luck! I couldnt get it right :p

I would say the system is rather straight forward right now than how you experienced it last.
Their are a handful of wrg's knowing exactly how the Lotro setup works regarding purchasing of expansions and advantages of using time cards.

Top of my list is Org I'd like to say. He goes out of his way to be approachable to all and reads every scrap of lotro info his hands can get to. So yea if you guys need help with game setup or game info dont forget our wrg lotro addict Org ;).

WondaWoman

30th March 2011, 10:34 AM

He's usually on ts3.

Org

30th March 2011, 04:25 PM

It is true, I are Addict :) and I'm always on TS

Arbythep00nage

30th March 2011, 05:30 PM

Go away hordie! Your kind is not welcome here! :mad:

You are just jelups of my chestguard of natures fury :p

*Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk *

31st March 2011, 11:33 AM

You are just jelups of my chestguard of natures fury :p

*Sent from my iScrap using Tapatalk *

Furry chest what?

Albereth

6th April 2011, 04:38 PM

Okay - no answer about whether stuff needs to be bought or not.

Org

6th April 2011, 06:33 PM

Albereth, the download is Shadows of Angmar. Below is a link to one of the F2P FAQ's on the forums:

F2P FAQ (http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/vipchart.html)

The way I understand it, F2P and premium gives you access to quests in Ered Luin, Shire and Bree-land. VIP gives you access to quests in the whole of Eriador (everything before Moria). If you want access to those quests, you need to buy it from the Lotro Store in game. If you log into your character and go to the Lotro Store (not from the front page, you must be logged into one of your toons), click on Account and then Quests & Content. There you will see 3 options - Expansions, Quests & Content and Skirmishes. Browse through those and see whats available. If you do it from the main menu, it won't show anything available for you (think its a bug - don't know if they've fixed it yet) that's why you have to be logged into one of your toons.

Hope this helps.

Albereth

6th April 2011, 08:24 PM

Thanks Org - I bought Mines of Moria today. Not sure what it does but there is a code that I can activate but will this code mean anything if I am a F2P player?

WondaWoman

7th April 2011, 12:35 AM

Yes I think it will. My timecard ran out the other day, and besides a few AH and skirmish restrictions, I could still quest in all the areas as I had bought the xpansions for them. So I think it will allow you quest access, but maybe not all access to the perks in those areas. Perhaps email codemasters?

Org

7th April 2011, 07:53 AM

What Wonda said. Buying the MoM expansion from a retailer is the same as if you bought the quest pack in game so you will have access to those quests even though you are F2P. However, I think the code will change you from F2P to VIP for one month and then down to Premium. Its as if you subscribed for one month (I could be wrong about this). Enter the code on the codemasters account page after you installed the game and then see what account type you have when you log in. Its on the main menu at the top left. The mirkwood quest pack you have to buy in game. I don't think its available as an expansion pack from retailers any more.

If you received a buddy key with the expansion sommer enter that as well on the account page. I think Sheep and Rissie found a bug with that. Even though it says its not valid, it confuses the codemaster account system and makes you VIP :)