ZAM's Lord of the Rings ContestFollow

I have only played LOTRO for about 5 weeks. I am loving the game. I love the graphics and the feel of the game. The players are friendly and helpful from what I have seen. I played EQ and WOW for many years, and just wanted a more friendly place to explore, quest and conquer. I am into tradeskilling and fishing as well. The most awesome graphics on fishing! If you can't do it in real life, do it in LOTRO!!! hehe

There isn't much to complain about that I have ran across yet. Just wish there was more information available on some of the purple items that seem to be for crafting. I hate to vendor something that is of good use, but if it doesn't sell in AH and you can't figure out what it is good for, what choice do you have?

I've been with LOTRO since two months after it opened. I enjoy the game overall. The graphics are excellent, strong storylines to follow through the various quests, and nice ideas for the crafting.

There are some areas that I'd wish would be fixed or addressed.
1. There are still too many antiexploits, particularly in Tinnadur.
2. Since updates to the starter lands for low level quests, it seems like few new quests have been added. Instead the existing quests were moved to new locations. I don't mind the move, but I'd like to see new quests with meat to them rather than superficial resource gathering. When starting new characters these lands are getting tedious with doing only quests that you've done 5 times before.
3. At levels 53+ it's extremely difficult to level up unless you grind through mobs. Would like to see more solo quests. There are plenty of quests needing fellows.
4. A major problem is the crafting economy. Crafting becomes obsolete because quest and mob drops tend to be better items than what a character can craft. Why buy craft items on the auctions when a mob drop is better? For example, the weapons crafter is obsolete because they can not make legendary weapons or something competitive. Armor drops in Angmar and Moria far surpass anything a crafter can make, even with critical successes. As prices on auction items escalate, how can anyone generate money when their crafting is out competed by their competitor, the LOTRO company (the mobs drops).

I continue to enjoy LOTRO, and would recommend to others. Because of these issues listed above, I do look elsewhere for a change, like WOW and Guildwars. I hope that LOTRO addresses these issues before adding any new content.
Thanks.

I was a subscriber to LoTRO but I left the game. I will list some of the things that I did like then things I disliked. I haven't played since MoM first released. Some things could be different now.

I really liked the graphics of the game. I also like the fellowship focus rather than many large raids. I found the travel system immersive using horses. I enjoyed the classes BEFORE the expansion pack MoM.

I did not like the changes in the expansion pack to the classes. The classes went from unique fun classes to everyone feeling hybrid like. The burglar seemed to go from the debuffer to a dps class. The champion and guardian were tanking and dpsing. Loremaster had added dps trees when they are suppose to be crowd control. Seemed all classes could now be a dps class. I dislike that they addes a revive button for all classes, takes away from the unique ability of having a rez for some classes. Didn't really like riding goats in the mines. I would have rather had no mounts in there with only some travel take place with cutscenes on foot. I really didn't like the removal of fellowship quest through out the game, making it more solo oriented. The expansion was missing a big raid like in the original. The original didn't have much raiding but it had just enough.

If I win a free box I guess I will give it a try and see what has happened since I have been gone. Most things I could live with if the classes were brought back to what they were originally intended to do. If I happend to get a box, I will report back to give my new opinions.

I have been playing Lord of The Rings for 2 years now since i was 16. Been playing a Lore-Master during most of that period of time, so ive become well aquianted with the class. It hasnt been easy though, ive lost good characters to account troubles and so on and have recently started a new one that im trying to pay for. Despite the casual i hate this game scenario when you die by a large group of mobs near the end of a loooong quest or instance... I do love this game no matter what. I hope to stay with it till they reach the end of this great adventure of Lord of The Rings.

I've been playing LOTRO since open beta and opted for the lifetime sub based on what I saw in the beginning. I am still enjoying that investment as well. I have played one other MMO, so I was familiar with the scene and mechanics. First note, the graphics and artwork are amazing!! The music is beautiful as well. The main draw for LOTRO was the emphasis on the RPG part. I am not a lore junkie, nor have I read any of he Tolkien books. Yet, I find myself hooked on the stories told within the game. The main story quest leads you along the plot of the game and thru each of the various areas within the story. The encounters with well known characters are fun. My first trip to Rivendel had me saying "OMG..it's Frodo!" It's been a real treat to be in on something this cool from the beginning. I've been able to watch the changes within the story line and the gameplay. The quests do change every so often to account for the travels of the 'fellowship', which I really have enjoyed. It's one of the main reasons why I play online. You can't help but notice how active Turbine's staff is on player forums. You really get a sense that they love what they do as many posts have a playful, sense of humour to them. I am somewhat active on the 'suggestion' forum as well and I have seen MANY player made suggestions implemented in the game. I'm not saying that they do everything we ask, but it's the little things that can really make the biggest difference. If something is not possible, it is usually explained why and not just ignored. There is sooo much to do with the game, that I'll probably never complete all the content. I would love to see 2 things added to the game (which I'll state in very general terms): 1) Freeform housing decoration 2)Non-combat professions (ie..merchant/crafter). Turbine has done a good job with so much in the game and there seems to be something for everyone's gaming style. Moria expansion added the 'legendary weapon' system which is like putting a plate of brownies in front of a chocoholic! The legendary weapons and legendary class items can be leveled. Gems/runes/settings can be combined and then added to legendary weapons/items (much like I've seen in Diablo..another game I loved). With the ability to change the line-up of player traits and legendary weapons, the game is quite a bit more customizeable than it was in the beginning.

I have been playing LOTRO for a year, and it is a great game. I love the auction house. And I love crafting. It's an all-around great game.

Played since release, well two day after since took Fed Ex time to get disc to the UK.
Graphically stunning. First release was great, as a solo player and crafter a lot of content and progress was steady. MOM and latest free content is destroying the game for the solo player, being increasingly aimed at the group and powerplayer with gear gated content and more and more the solo player has no possibility of accessing. Very few crafts are now worth pursueing, with the old problem of drops etc being better than the crafters can make. The level cap of 60 is pretty easy to solo to now but then nothing. Roll an alt or buy a new game.

I played LOTRO not long after it became live, and found the "realism" very refreshing. Compared to other MMO's that take pop culture references and infuse them into game play, I enjoyed a fantasy setting that took itself seriously.

I quit for a year or so, not so much because I didn't enjoy the game, but moreso due to needing a change of scenery, but recently came back a few months ago. There have been an abundance of updates/changes and it has felt like playing a new game from the start.

Pros -

1. Nice visuals, both on character look and scenery (The Shire is glorious!)
2. Crafting is a lot of fun, and something I didn't attempt my first time around.
3. Other players tend to be very curteous and willing to lend information if needed.
4. Leveling is somewhat slow, which I really like. If I level up to fast, it loses it's excietement.
5. Lots of quests, both solo and fellowship. No need to grind anymore if you don't want to.
6. I love the trait system. Gives grinding a legitimate purpose.

Cons -

1. Characters seem a bit unbalanced, with some classes overpowered or just bland. (minor quibble)
2. More character customization upon creation. Too many people look similar/same.
3. Better mount customization. I love riding, but how about being able to dress them up a bit, nothing silly
or unrealistic, just so every mount doesn't look the same.
4. I wish the music was a little more grandiose. Some is good, most is just forgettable.

Overall, this is the best fantasy setting MMO I have played, and it's not really close. The mood and setting is great for players who like a serious game and even enjoy roleplaying a little here and there.

Why do I play Lord of the Rings Online? One word "minstrel". From the beginning (2nd beta) I've been a minstrel, and there is no changing that anytime soon. The classes are always changing in LOTRO, demanding that you evolve or go home. With the minstrel nothing has been the same for us since we were given "war speech" (WS). And now with 3 different class trait lines, and a plethora of legendary weapon options, you can be the burst healer, the buff healer, or the warrior Skald that kicks *** up and down the streets of middle-earth.

I’ve played some other MMO's SWG, PSO, and WoW (for 15 min once like 3 years ago). But through all of it I had my nose in a Tolkien book. Now with my minstrel it’s not just my nose that’s in middle-earth, it’s my whole world.

I also was a ex WoW player and swg, but when this game first came out it was ok, some classes were especially better then others but as time went on the server i randomly picked soon dropped to the lowest population(Vilya). The only thing that I wish they do is a server Merge, I just don't think their is enough people interrested in this game as much to really populate the servers again. As low pop servers age, high pop servers become more fun and more and more people join those rather then the lower pop ones.

Content also durring leveling now is fine, but once you achieve endgame and have a kin that actually runs stuff(rare on vilya at least) its meh. Far from the endgame content of when I played WoW.

*Also I'd like to add that they need to stop making low level gear for rep in a high lvl area, forochel for example is 42 armor in a 44+ zone which by the time you do the quest to get friend, you are 47 and it was useless content added, would rather seen a L50 or L60 2nd rad set.

Edited, Jul 16th 2009 5:45pm by Whitemn

Have you tried the game?
Yes, I have been playing for about a year now. Having played a couple previous MMO's, the switch was a welcomed change. Whether you wish to play casual or hardcore, there seems to be a nice mixture of both.

What do you like about it?
I have always enjoy the lore surrounding the world of Middle Earth, from the books to the big screen movies, I found it all intriguing. So to see it come to life in an exploring/roleplaying video game is fascinating to me. The gameplay is very addictive, and to have a storyline to follow, and knowing there is so much more to come, keeps me in the moment.

What don't you like about it?
At first I loved the crafting system of LOTRO, but since the release of Mines of Moria and the introduction of Legendary Items/Weapons, the need for crafted weapons has majorly declined, along with the Radiance gear and the need for tailored/metalsmithed armour.

Ok....so I'm now 19. I remember one of my good friends around the time I was 12 telling me stories from the Lord of the Rings universe and fell in love with the characters & tales she was telling me. So I got the books. I read through the books and fell in LOVE with Tolkien's universe. Then the Peter Jackson's movies came out...let me tell you I saw the Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) at least 21 times. Needless to say I was obbsessed with the movies, books, and even the games they created based on the Tolkien works.

A few years back I remember everyone was getting into the whole WOW (World of Warcraft) phase and really wanted involved because it seemed really cool. However, the monthly fees were a high price to pay do to me not having a job at the time. So I got into the Guild Wars games in fell in love with them. MMORPG's are AMAZING! Then I found out they were making a LOTR one and I was in shock. Finally I could live out my dream of being a Elf killing orcs and goblins with my arrows while Frodo is off trying to get the damned ring destroyed. However like WOW it had a montly fee. I broke down trying to find a way to get my father to let me DO the lifetime membership option but he said it was a waste of money. Two years pass on waiting for a price drop and I just gave up and bought the game just to play it for the free 30 days that it came with. This was 2 days ago...and I am OBSESSED with the online LOTR game. It is purely genius to create Tolkien's world into a MMORPG form. It even sticks to the Tolkien lore which made me happy! I am seriousally trying to find a way to get the 300 bucks for the lifetime membership because it totally is worth it. They (the company behind the game) haven't even completed the whole world that Tolkien has created yet but what they have accomplished is already a huge chunk of it. They followed Tolkien's descriptionsand created a Middle Earth that is totally worth immersing yourself in for hours on end. I TRUELY love this game and wish for more! I am on the edge of my seat waiting for Rohan and Helm's Deep to be created. The Two Towers was my favorite book in the series and I really wanna see how the LOTRO creater's create the battle of Helm's Deep. From what I can tell from what they have already achieved...it will be epic!!!

Sorry this is a long post. I just really wanted to share my appreciation for them (the makers of this game) for creating a world that I lived in (through reading, movies, and my imagination) since my childhood and actually making it good.