Director of Content Cody Bye is a big Tolkien fan, and Lord of the Ring Online's Rise of Isengard expansion is going to make him fall in love with the game all over again. Read on to find out why!

The developers at Turbine are going to make me crazy. With just the right amount of pacing, Lord of the Rings Online is expanding into the wide world of Middle-earth, and they're drawing ever closer to the development and release of the one expansion that will personally make me fall in love with the game all over again (ride Rohirrim!). With this upcoming expansion, Rise of Isengard, the development team has brought players to the very edge of the Gap of Rohan.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that we're also going to be seeing Orthanc, the home of Saruman, up close and personal as well? While there's been plenty of talk about Rise of Isengard among the LOTRO community since the drop of the NDA, there was still plenty to see in the world at PAX.

First and foremost, Turbine continues their terrific legacy of creating vistas and environments that are simply breathtaking. No other MMO studio with a current release in the industry can match what this company has done in the last decade. Players are continually taking screenshots from the tops of mountains, and Isengard will be no exception. As part of the demo, my driver took his horse up to one of the lofty peaks that looks down upon the fortressed area, and it unfolded before us exactly as you'd expect it would if you were reading the novels.

And one does not simply walk into Isengard. Throughout the entire complex were hordes of slavering orcs and, although we didn't see their name plates specifically, uruk-hai. Their industrial wheels were turning throughout the great fissures made by their earth-carving, and the entire complex has obviously been tainted with the same corruption that wound its way into Saruman's essence when he began using the Palantir to usurp Sauron's position.

The main portion of my demonstration really centered on the new raid that's going to be added to LOTRO. Players will be facing down with an ancient and sinister dragon (who apparently makes Smaug look like a cupcake) by the name of Draigoch, and he's more than familiar with the exploits that have been going on throughout Middle-earth. His lair is exactly as you'd expect; full of treasure and epic amounts of loot.

The mechanics of the raid are fairly intense. Before players even get to the dragon, they'll have to avoid being “seen” by him. If they are, he'll immediately blast fiery death into the crevice where the player is hiding and cook them into a crispy critter.

Once players make it down to where Draigoch roosts, they'll have to split up and try to keep various portions of his body occupied. For example, someone really needs to tank the vile creature's head, because if they don't then the rest of the party will get a quick blast of burning pain down their necks. It seems like a pretty fantastic fight, and I'm sure LOTRO fans will be excited for the new encounter.

Of course, there are plenty of other additions that are coming with the launch of Rise of Isengard on September 27, and my interviewee touched on a number of them, which include:

• Three new regions in total are being added: Dunland, the Gap of Rohan and Isengard.
• Level cap is being increased to 75.
• Lots of changes to existing classes skills to help with balanced and playability.

To me, this looks like the best Lord of the Rings Online expansion to date, and includes some of the most important lore that we've seen tackled by the developers. And we're getting that much closer to Rohan, the Rohirrim and Helm's Deep. Because there isn't anything more awesome than a Viking on a pony.

Cody "Micajah" Bye, Director of Content