Fashion Friday: High Elf Warden

You may remember the commotion about Lord of the Rings Online's Mordor expansion earlier this year. One of the gripes about its pricing was that the new High Elf race was only available if you'd buy the deluxe edition for $80,-, or the legendary edition for even more. Other players would have to wait until "winter" and buy it in the in-game store. Well, last week the time was finally there: the High Elf race was available for LOTRO points! And I bought one.

LOTRO's Dulgabeth teaser: one trailer to save it all

Remember that truly awful Mordor trailer? You know, the one that made Lord of the Rings Online the laughingstock of the MMO scape and that everybody, including Standing Stone Games, is trying really hard to forget about? (Right, I'm not helping, eh? Sorry about that.) Back then I wrote that the only thing SSG could do to fix it would be to make a better one. Turns out they have! Scroll down and watch LOTRO's latest trailer with me.

LOTRO's first character update: humans & Elves

Lord of the Rings Online's recent Mordor expansion didn't just add a good chunk of depressing landscape architecture to the virtual world, it also introduced something for all residents: a character overhaul. Okay - correction - it only adds something for players that own Elven and human characters; hobbits and dwarves will follow in the future. Being a ten year old game, LOTRO could really use an update of its avatars - or so many players seem to think. It is telling that I spent my first couple of hours after launch fiddling around with my characters' new looks rather than venture into Mordor.

LOTRO's Mordor trailer: a reaction

It's expansion time in Lord of the Rings Online, so get ready for some dark and depressing images on Ravalation. Sauron has done a great job of branding his homeland such that nobody ever wants to visit (SSG arguably even helped a bit with their widely discussed pre-order prices), yet many players chose to (wo)man up and venture through the Black Gate this past Wednesday. I was among them. Since I haven't played enough to write a review yet, let's discuss something else: the Mordor trailer.

Fashion Friday: Sunflower-picking hobbit

With all the exciting news in Lord of the Rings Online and Star Wars: the Old Republic (Scavenger hunt, Manaan stronghold, Mordor pre-order deals etc), I didn't find the time to write about this year's Summer Festival in LOTRO. Content-wise, my 2016 Summer Festival review still holds true: it's the same festival with the broad varied offer of cute quests. Of course there are some new cosmetics, though; my sunflower-picking hobbit will show you in this LOTRO fashion post.

LOTRO's Mordor pre-order deals put in perspective

This week, Lord of the Rings Online announced its upcoming Mordor expansion, including its pre-order options. Whereas other MMOs feed the hype before the release of a new expansion, LOTRO stuck to tradition by causing a huge player outrage with its pre-order offers. Just like in 2012 and 2013, it looks like the player base will spend the last weeks before the release of a major expansion discussing its outrageous pricing rather than eagerly anticipating cool new content.

LOTRO Scavenger hunt review

Earlier this year, Lord of the Rings Online hit its ten year mark - a respectable age for an MMO. I wrote a lengthy game review in its honour. In-game the feat was celebrated with the annual anniversary, but this time around, something new was introduced alongside it: the Scavenger hunt. At the time of writing, this event is nearing its end (13th of July, 2017). It's time for a review.

Ten years of LOTRO: a history of virtual Middle-earth

Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating its ten year anniversary. Time to go back to 2007 and look at everything that has happened since then, I thought. Well, that kind of backfired: it took me two weeks of writing to finish this article. Turns out a lot happened in ten years; more than fits in a blog post! This means I had to be selective. I also had to find a middle ground between my personal experiences and universal developments in virtual Middle-earth. History is always subjective, and by no means did I want this article to be a dry summary of facts. That said, if you experienced an in-game era very differently, I would love to read about it in the comment section.

This article is meant to reminisce about good and bad times in LOTRO, or to look up what happened in a period you were absent: few people will have been around for the full ten years. I realize that some people may read this that have never played LOTRO, so I have tried to make it comprehensible for everyone. You can drop me a note below if anything isn't clear.

I hope you'll enjoy this 'longread' of ten years of LOTRO. We start by traveling back in time, to the spring of 2007...

Fashion Friday: Egg hunter's outfit

It's Easter this weekend, and I'm already looking forward to our egg hunt. Okay, okay, I'm grown up... but what's wrong with some fun? I've been looking for eggs with my family since I was old enough to identify one, so it's a nostalgia thing for me. Also, if I'd be a hobbit I'd still be a tween, so... totally legit.

Managing a ten year old MMO: thumbs up to the LOTRO devs

I've never written so much for Developer Appreciation Week (DAW) before: one post a day. I don't know, I think I just finally found the right format for this thing. When I thought of developers to thank beforehand, I came up with eight, more than I had time for! So I'm saving one for next year (which one will have to stay a secret a bit longer).

Note that this is the last day of DAW 2017, a bonus day (as I was late with the announcement post). I will write a wrap up post with everyone's contributions later this week. If you are too curious to wait until then, you can already check some out in the comment section of the introduction post or on Twitter.

This last DAW entry is dedicated to the developers of Lord of the Rings Online. I know, I've featured them in previous years (read To the people making the sun go up and The things I love about LOTRO), but if you read my DAW 2017 introduction post...

"Have you ever been so critical about a game that you read back that post later and gasped? As in, you start wondering if any dev addressed would jump off a cliff after reading it?"

Well, let's just keep it at that I have opinionated LOTRO posts that would qualify.

Standing firm in the wake of progress: a tribute to Standing Stone Games

Somewhere during the course of 2016, news reached me that Turbine was transitioning into a 'mobile game studio'. For us, the fans, this came out of nowhere and didn't make much sense: after all, thusfar the studio had been working on MMOs. It sounded ominous for the many Turbine developers that were working on MMOs such as the one I've been playing for almost ten years now: Lord of the Rings Online. After the short announcement, things went on as usual and the worried feeling retreated into the back of my mind.

Fast forward a couple of months (December 2016) and we hear that the developers that worked on LOTRO and Dungeons and Dragons Online for Turbine are starting their own 'indie game studio': Standing Stone Games. The gaming community is blindsided: nobody saw this coming. Some people preach doom and gloom, others regard it as a liberation from the shackles of the 'evil' corporate Turbine. Myself? Somewhere in the middle. I don't believe Turbine is evil; that's a product of gamers having the tendency to blame unpopular decisions on corporate greed.

Fashion Friday: Herald of the moon moth

It's been a while since I posted an in-game outfit. "Fashion Friday" I used to call these posts, as there isn't always a 5 Fandom Friday topic that fits my blog and it is nice to have something relaxing going on the last day for the working week. I'll take the occasion to pick up where I left and share my latest spring look in Lord of the Rings Online.

When MMO love is complicated. The ambiguous relationship of a seasoned raider with LOTRO

I have an ambiguous relationship with Lord of the Rings Online: I seem to be part of an eternal cycle of embracing and rejecting the game. On the one hand, virtual Middle Earth calls to me, always. I love immersing myself in its gorgeous landscapes and if there's something new, I want to check it out. On the other hand, it's hard for me (as a seasoned MMO progression raider) to ignore fundamental flaws in its combat system. For reasons already stated elsewhere, the gameplay simply isn't what it used to be.

Green inspired screenshots from virtual Middle-earth

The Shire

It's Five Fandom Friday, and that means another geeky post! This week's topic was the Green Photo Challenge, and the participants were stimulated to share 5 green inspired photos in honour of St. Patrick's Day. In what is by now Ravalation tradition, I decided to go with screenshots instead, and Lord of the Rings Online was the first game that came to my mind.

LOTRO is my go-to game when I want to immerse myself in beautiful landscapes. Even though it's a pretty old MMO by now that has been overtaken graphics wise by new games, there's something about its landscapes that makes it feel more lively and 'real' than any game world I've visited. Perhaps it's the beautiful skies and weather mechanics. Or I'm just biased because I'm a huge Tolkien fan. Either way, here are five pretty green screenies from virtual Middle-earth.

LOTRO housing updates: a review

Lord of the Rings Online received two updates to player housing in 2016. A few weeks ago, February 2017, it received a third. I didn't write about the changes to the housing system before, but they're quite good and much celebrated in the community. So it's about time for a full review.

Geeky expressions only my friends understand (and now you will, too)

For most these will just be some random words, 

but members of Asylum will recognize them immediately

The latest 5 Fandom Friday was about "geeky expressions that only my friends understand". I suggested the topic myself, so I definitely wanted to participate, even if the flu kept me from writing anything on the appropriate day (last Friday). 

I don't really talk "geeky" in everyday life, but when I'm at my gaming laptop, I definitely do. Not only am I fluent in "MMO language" (read: Lost in translation: Why my friends don't understand me when I talk about MMOs), I also use specific phrases that don't make a lot of sense to anyone (not even other MMO players) but my friends. 

The power of memories: a quest for the essence of MMOs

 Last week, I was chatting to my friend Rakuno. He was reminiscing why he was going through this "long, weird streak of burning out on MMOs": "after playing MMOs for a while it kind of feels like the road is the same no matter the game", he said. And he has a point. Other than artistic, visual differences and varying lore settings, all MMOs boil down to the same formula: gather experience (level up), gather gear, gather currency... maybe fight some challenging bosses, craft stuff, dress up or decorate your house. There is no definite end goal, no satisfying "You WIN!" button at the end; in fact, there is no end, there are seemingly always more things to do. Indeed, MMOs would be shitty, grindy RPGs, if not for that single defining element: the other people with whom you share this virtual world.

LOTRO changes I'd love to see in 2017

In the beginning of the year, I wrote a post called SWTOR changes I'd love to see in 2017. What about the other MMO I play, though, Lord of the Rings Online? At first I decided against writing such a post, because I am sure (contrary to SWTOR) none of my suggestions would see the light of day and that's a depressing thought. But then I read LOTRO Legendarium: My LOTRO wishlist for 2017 on Massively OP and it was so radically different from my own list that I decided to go with it after all.

The Massively OP article suggests some nice quality of life changes, such as a virtue and currency overhaul, that would make life easier for the everyday player. Some proposals will definitely be addressed this year: Standing Stone Games has already revealed that the developers are discussing where to go with the story after Mordor, claiming it's a new beginning for player characters rather than an ending. We also know that player character models will get attention (hopefully with new hairstyles becoming available). However, no pressing gameplay matters were addressed.

In this article, I will feature things I'd love to see changed in LOTRO that are of vital importance to me as an endgame group player. I'm going to keep it simple and restrict myself to three. You are warned: they are absolutely unsexy and not easy to sell to the playerbase (as in "hey guys, look what we're working on now!") - hence I'm not believing they'll ever happen. However, I cannot overstate the impact these three changes would make.

LOTRO moving to Standing Stone Games: a fan's perspective

Earlier today, the MMO world was surprised with the news of Lord of the Rings Online moving to a newly founded independent game studio called Standing Stone Games, together with Dungeons & Dragons Online. Daybreak Games will be doing the publishing. Of course, people are already announcing the impending death of LOTRO in various comment threads, inspired by the cancellation of the much anticipated Everquest Next earlier this year by that very company. Truth is, we don't know what Daybreak's role in this exactly is and we're not likely to find out anytime soon either, the way things are done in the game industry. But if Daybreak Games is indeed just distributing LOTRO and will not hold any control over the game's content, this may actually not be a bad change.

WTB Massively Singleplayer Online Game

A friend just pointed me to someone complaining in LOTRO world chat. Okay, so far nothing new. But several people joined in, in a lament of which the irony just hurts.

"Why do we need to do raids and instances for the featured gear box?"

Good question. Why force players to leave the safety of solo play and expose them to something stressful like carrying out strategies, playing skillfully and exercise social interaction? Wouldn't it be awesome if one could just do something relaxing, such as enjoying the beautiful landscape and picking flowers, to get best in slot gear?

Oh, wait...