Now that we've covered the basics of crafting in the last post, let's move on to the more important task of choosing a vocation to go well with your class.
On the surface this may seem simple. Hunters use bows so they should choose woodsman so they can make their own bows, right? Not necessarily...
First off let's straighten something out: it's your character and you are free to do whatever you want with it. This guide is designed to help you make an informed decision that you won't regret 30 levels into the game. You may also have one or more other characters who are able to craft everything your hunter needs except bows. In this case you'v probably made the best decision.
However, if this is your first toon, you might want to consider what's going to give you the greatest long term benefits. So here we go...
Captain
Cappys benefit from a wide range of professions: They use heavy armour and can use shields so metalsmithing can be handy, they can use halberds, which aren't always easy to find, so that would mean weaponsmith, but then they also use captain emblems from a woodworker as well as armaments and standards from a tailor and tonics from a scholar. Keeping in mind that cook or tinker wouldn't exactly be a waste really there's no bad choice for a captain.
Just as in the rest of the game, captains are not a spectacular choice for any particular vocation, so it depends on your circumstances. If this is going to be your one toon then I would suggest choosing armorer. This will let you craft your own armour (6 items: head, shoulders, upper body, lower body, hands, and feet) and shields, as well as letting you purchase leathers to make cloaks, herald armaments and standards. That's 10 items total which will certainly be valuable to you both in equipment and in trade potential (how much stuff you can sell to other players).
Champion
The champ is a bit more straightforward to choose for. While champs certainly benefit from champion horns (woodworker) and champion potions (scholar) and heavy armour (metalsmith), the reality is that the champion wants great weapons above all else, making armsman an excellent choice. Barring this, the next best is almost certainly armorer, though really neither of these is bad. Some players run a champ as armsman and a guard or cappy as an armorer so both weapons and armour are provided for both.
Guardian
Guards may be the most obvious. Heavy armour use, heavy shields, legendary guardian belts and crafting tools make metalsmithing the most obvious and certainly most valuable choice. Throw in the ability to make your own cloaks through tailoring and congrats: the perfect armorer. No other class benefits from armorer as much as the guard.
Hunter
I used this earlier to mention that the most obvious isn't always the best and the hunter is a good example of this. The obvious choice is woodsman, which certainly isn't bad. You can make your own bows and if you're a hobbit you can get some bonuses with clubs as well, but that's about all you'd really get. Not that three weapons is bad, but you can do better.
My personal choice for a hunter vocation? Scholar. Why? All of the not-so-obvious reasons:
Hunter books provide permanent bonuses as long as they are equipped, hunter chants give huge combat advantages, hunter potions give short term combat boosts, and the hunter/warden oils can change your damage to light or fire, which can be very helpful. Add in battle lore and warding lore scrolls, healing pots and dyes and you stand to gain a lot more from a scholar than a woodsman.
Lore Master
There are three vocations that LMs get extra benefit from:
Scholar provides books and parables, jeweller provides talismans and brooches (both class specific), but if your lore master relies heavily on pets, then cook may be the best route to choose. Cooks can make pet food for lore master pets which provides significant combat advantages to your pet. These can be purchased or traded for from others players, but combined with the ability to make them yourself as well as keep yourself in cooked, trail and fortifying food, it's not a bad choice. It might even be the best choice.
Minstrel
The minstrel has a few decent choices:
A tailor will provide a continuous supply of top notch light armour, while a woodworker provides a good selection of instruments to use, but a scholar can give access to sheet music and legendary minstrel books.
Which one you choose is up to you and will likely depend on what other toons you have or are planning to roll. Some players don't use sheet music that often and legendary items can be purchased or traded for. If you use a wide range of instruments then run with woodworker otherwise choose a vocation that includes tailor. Go with woodsman and you can make your own instruments and have a friend (or alt) make you armour with the leather you provide.
Rune Keeper
More than any other class, rune keepers have special class specific items in a number of different professions:
Woodworkers give RK parchments, tailors make rune bags, jewellers produce rune stones, scholars make rune inlays and enamels, and metalsmiths make rifflers and chisels. One thing to say for sure: RKs make lousy weaponsmiths...or rather weaponsmiths are lousy for RKs...
So your top professions will be tinker, historian, armorer, explorer or yeoman. Tinker will give you jeweller as well as cook, but you need to track down cook ingredients. Historian gives you scholar but farmer doesn't produce anything for you while weaponsmith is completely useless (since you'd have to buy the materials and then have to try to profit from the sale of weapons (which is usually a glutted market in LOTRO).Yeoman if fine if you just want to cook, but since you'd have to purchase mats for tailoring it's not as good a choice as explorer, which lets you produce leather to turn into armour and rune bags.
My personal choice here is tinker. You can make all your own jewellery (7 equipped items) in addition to making your own rune stones. The addition of edhelharn tokens doesn't hurt either. You can also do some cooking (which is easier if you have a toon with farming).
Second pick for the RK would be armorer: you can make rifflers and chisels as well as light armour (though this would require mat purchases as well).
Warden
I'll sum up quickly with the ward: Woodsman. Here's why...
While warden excel with swords and clubs, they're usually the only class often seen running around with spears. They are also the only class that can use javelins. No biggie so far, but woodworkers also make warden carvings, which are very helpful, as well as warden hymns, which provide short duration buffs in combat. Farmer can raise some extra money or supply your tinker RK.
Ultimately it's up to you what you roll both for class and crafting. These are some suggestions and you're free to either take them or leave them.
The important thing to remember is that it's a game. So go have fun!
Thursday 23 October 2014
Wednesday 22 October 2014
Picking a Vocation (part 1: Introduction)
Crafting in LOTRO is essential to enjoying the full scope of game play, as well as providing tremendous benefits to your character and enabling you to make some money by selling what your character makes.
However, it can be a bit daunting to new players when deciding what vocation to choose from. This post and the next will seek to shed a bit of light on how crafting works and help you make that choice.
Overview
There are 9 professions. A profession is a single group of crafting skills, such as blacksmithing. There are gathering professions and production professions. For example, a forester gathers and refines wood and hides, while a woodworker takes refined wood and turns it into products, such as staves and bows.
There are 7 vocations. A vocation is a group of three professions that fit together in a way that makes some practical sense. As an example the vocation armorer consists of the professions prospector, metalsmith and tailor. The prospector mines the ore and refines it into metal, the metalsmith turns the metal into different products, most notably heavy armor, and it makes sense that someone who makes armor would have some skill working with cloth and leather as well, though these have to be obtained from different characters since the armorer can't gather them on his own.
In lotro you do not choose your professions on an individual basis, instead you select a vocation, based on what professions you prefer.
Professions Overview
In brief, here is a quick description of what each profession allows you to do.
Gathering Professions
Forester: harvests logs of wood from resource nodes and converts them into usable forms, refines rare materials into critical success items; refines hides into usable leather
Prospector: harvests chunks of ore from resource nodes and converts them into metal ingots, harvests rough gems from resource nodes
Farmer: grows various vegetables, grains, flowers and pipe weed, s
ome of which can be used by cooks or scholars
Production Professions
Woodworker: produces a number of melee weapons, staves, bows, crossbows, javelins, warden carvings, captain emblems, champion horns, instruments, and rune keeper parchments
Tailor: makes light armor, medium armor, cloaks, burglar signals, captain armaments, burglar tools, and rune keeper rune bags
Weaponsmith: makes metal melee weapons, burglar throwing weapons, burglar tricks, and shield spikes
Metalsmith: Produces heavy armor, shields, captain emblems, guardian belts and crafting tools
Jeweller: refines rough gems (from prospector), produces necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, rune keeper runes, lore master brooches, lore master talismans, and edhelharn tokens
Cook : takes various ingredients to produce cooked food, trail food, fortifying food, lore master pet food, and fine drinks
Scholar: harvests scholar materials from resource nodes, produces scrolls of battle lore, scrolls of warding lore, captain tonics, champion potions, crafting journals, scrolls of crafting lore, dyes, fireworks, hunter books, hunter chants, hunter potions, light and fire oils (for hunters and wardens), lore master books, minstrel books, lore master parables, minstrel sheet music, paints, potions (various kinds), and rune keeper rune tools
Vocations Overview
Each vocation consists of a set of three (3) professions.
Armorer
Prospector, metalsmith, tailor
Prospector allows the gathering and refinement of ore into metal which can be used in metalsmithing, but leathers must be obtained from another toon (either yours or someone else's) before you can use your tailor abilities.
Armsman
Prospector, weaponsmith, woodworker
As with the armorer, prospector feeds into weaponsmith but refined wood will have to be obtained to use woodworker.
Explorer
Forester, prospector, tailor
The ultimate gathering vocation, explorers can refine hides into leather to use in tailoring while also refining wood and metals to either trade or sell. Excellent for making money.
Historian
Scholar, farmer, weaponsmith
Typically the scholar aspect is the most focused on, however farmers grow a number of ingredients for scholar recipes (most notably dyes). Farmer can also be excellent for making money. Weaponsmith is tedious without a toon who can prospect the materials for you.
Tinker
Prospector, jeweller, cook
Jewellers get most of what they will need from a prospector, who can provide both the gemstones and the metals needed for making jewellery. Cook is probably the most difficult profession to level up and is even tougher without having farming.
Woodsman
Forester, woodworker, farmer
Foresters provide for woodworker while farmer is useful for raising money or trading. Sometimes a little pipeweed goes a long way...
Yeoman
Farmer, cook, tailor
This is the best cooking combination since you're able to grow your own ingredients. Tailor can be useful but you will need to obtain leather from another toon.
That's it for this post. Next time we'll compare classes with vocations and see what combinations work the best in the long run. You might be surprised.
However, it can be a bit daunting to new players when deciding what vocation to choose from. This post and the next will seek to shed a bit of light on how crafting works and help you make that choice.
Overview
There are 9 professions. A profession is a single group of crafting skills, such as blacksmithing. There are gathering professions and production professions. For example, a forester gathers and refines wood and hides, while a woodworker takes refined wood and turns it into products, such as staves and bows.
There are 7 vocations. A vocation is a group of three professions that fit together in a way that makes some practical sense. As an example the vocation armorer consists of the professions prospector, metalsmith and tailor. The prospector mines the ore and refines it into metal, the metalsmith turns the metal into different products, most notably heavy armor, and it makes sense that someone who makes armor would have some skill working with cloth and leather as well, though these have to be obtained from different characters since the armorer can't gather them on his own.
In lotro you do not choose your professions on an individual basis, instead you select a vocation, based on what professions you prefer.
Professions Overview
In brief, here is a quick description of what each profession allows you to do.
Gathering Professions
Forester: harvests logs of wood from resource nodes and converts them into usable forms, refines rare materials into critical success items; refines hides into usable leather
Prospector: harvests chunks of ore from resource nodes and converts them into metal ingots, harvests rough gems from resource nodes
Farmer: grows various vegetables, grains, flowers and pipe weed, s
ome of which can be used by cooks or scholars
Production Professions
Woodworker: produces a number of melee weapons, staves, bows, crossbows, javelins, warden carvings, captain emblems, champion horns, instruments, and rune keeper parchments
Tailor: makes light armor, medium armor, cloaks, burglar signals, captain armaments, burglar tools, and rune keeper rune bags
Weaponsmith: makes metal melee weapons, burglar throwing weapons, burglar tricks, and shield spikes
Metalsmith: Produces heavy armor, shields, captain emblems, guardian belts and crafting tools
Jeweller: refines rough gems (from prospector), produces necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, rune keeper runes, lore master brooches, lore master talismans, and edhelharn tokens
Cook : takes various ingredients to produce cooked food, trail food, fortifying food, lore master pet food, and fine drinks
Scholar: harvests scholar materials from resource nodes, produces scrolls of battle lore, scrolls of warding lore, captain tonics, champion potions, crafting journals, scrolls of crafting lore, dyes, fireworks, hunter books, hunter chants, hunter potions, light and fire oils (for hunters and wardens), lore master books, minstrel books, lore master parables, minstrel sheet music, paints, potions (various kinds), and rune keeper rune tools
Vocations Overview
Each vocation consists of a set of three (3) professions.
Armorer
Prospector, metalsmith, tailor
Prospector allows the gathering and refinement of ore into metal which can be used in metalsmithing, but leathers must be obtained from another toon (either yours or someone else's) before you can use your tailor abilities.
Armsman
Prospector, weaponsmith, woodworker
As with the armorer, prospector feeds into weaponsmith but refined wood will have to be obtained to use woodworker.
Explorer
Forester, prospector, tailor
The ultimate gathering vocation, explorers can refine hides into leather to use in tailoring while also refining wood and metals to either trade or sell. Excellent for making money.
Historian
Scholar, farmer, weaponsmith
Typically the scholar aspect is the most focused on, however farmers grow a number of ingredients for scholar recipes (most notably dyes). Farmer can also be excellent for making money. Weaponsmith is tedious without a toon who can prospect the materials for you.
Tinker
Prospector, jeweller, cook
Jewellers get most of what they will need from a prospector, who can provide both the gemstones and the metals needed for making jewellery. Cook is probably the most difficult profession to level up and is even tougher without having farming.
Woodsman
Forester, woodworker, farmer
Foresters provide for woodworker while farmer is useful for raising money or trading. Sometimes a little pipeweed goes a long way...
Yeoman
Farmer, cook, tailor
This is the best cooking combination since you're able to grow your own ingredients. Tailor can be useful but you will need to obtain leather from another toon.
That's it for this post. Next time we'll compare classes with vocations and see what combinations work the best in the long run. You might be surprised.
Monday 20 October 2014
Picking a Class: The Guardian
Guardians and champions are effectively 2 sides of the same coin. Both wear heavy armour, both engage in direct melee combat, both are combat experts. However, where the champ focuses primarily on melee DPS, the guard focuses mainly on absorbing damage through mitigations and shield useage. Before we go into the different trait lines of guard, let's look at some other similarities between these 2 classes.
Both can gain access to reasonable self heals, more or less depending on which trait line is trained and active.
Both have the ability to draw threat off of other players.
Both look awesome as dwarves!
Both can wield massive 2 handed weapons.
Now a few key differences.
Only the champ can dual wield.
Only the guard can use shields (guards are the only class in lotro that can use heavy shields).
Guards get a really nifty ability to make a whistle that can be given to another player. When used the player will summon the guardian to their location.
Combat for the champion is based on fervour. Guardian combat is responsive based on either blocks or parries.
Combat for a guard changes a bit typically based on whether or not you are in a group. When fellowing, a guard will often (but not always) be in a tanking role. However, tanking usually means doing less DPS and that means that regular mobs can take way too long to take down solo, so a solo guard will typically be using the overpower stance (which is now a trait in the Keen Blade line) which allows faster attacks and more damage output.
Regardless of your role a few things are always the same for a guard. Guardians have three different kinds of combat ability: basic, block response and parry response. What this means is that a guard will always begin combat with only a few basic attacks available. However, upon blocking an enemy's attack, certain shield based abilities become available. Using some of these can lead to a chain of special responsive abilities.
Likewise, parrying an attack opens up other special abilities, some of which provide a special ability chain. In both cases though, the special abilities are only available for a set amount of time before becoming unusable, so be careful not to get stunned while in the middle of a chain.
Guard traits runa wide gamut. On the one end is pure tanking: low DPS, high survivability, high blocking. On the other end is higher DPS, lower defense, no shield, decent parrying. In between finds a more hybridized blend of both defense and damage.
Defender of the free:
High damage mitigations, heavy shield usage, focus on drawing threat and holding it, aggroing multiple mobs at once, defending allies and self heals. This trait line is what makes guards desirable in group play situations. Almost every group running an instance or skirmish will want to have at least one main tank (generally either a guard or a warden, but sometimes a champ or cappy) and this is the trait line that will most benefit your group. Your role as a tank is to keep the enemy focused on you while your allies assault the enemy and keep you alive.
The Keen Blade:
Probably the default trait line for most guards running solo. This trait line exchanges high defense for increased attack speeds and higher DPS. Most will forgo a shield in this stance in order to equip a 2 handed weapon for more powerful blows. If running this trait set in a group the guard can increase their fellowships damage (which can be nice when cleaning up slayer deeds). Additionally KB focuses on bleeds, damage buffs and parrying.
The Fighter of Shadow:
As a rule, yellow trait lines in lotro are designed as alternatives for solo play or small groups, providing a different experience than the red line. The FoS certainly fits that bill. A mix of damage buffs and enemy debuffs, with some self heals and defense thrown in, the FoS line provides a delightful change of pace for the guard. In a group the FoS almost becomes an anti-captain; debuffing with almost everything they do rather than buffing allies.
Whichever trait set you pick, if you like being the burly, damage resistant type, that guard is probably the way to go. Additionally, it is one of the few classes available to all races. When choosing a profession for a guard, the obvious choice is armorer, since you will benefit from heavy armor, shields and shield spikes that can be made by a metalsmith.
Both can gain access to reasonable self heals, more or less depending on which trait line is trained and active.
Both have the ability to draw threat off of other players.
Both look awesome as dwarves!
Both can wield massive 2 handed weapons.
Now a few key differences.
Only the champ can dual wield.
Only the guard can use shields (guards are the only class in lotro that can use heavy shields).
Guards get a really nifty ability to make a whistle that can be given to another player. When used the player will summon the guardian to their location.
Combat for the champion is based on fervour. Guardian combat is responsive based on either blocks or parries.
Combat for a guard changes a bit typically based on whether or not you are in a group. When fellowing, a guard will often (but not always) be in a tanking role. However, tanking usually means doing less DPS and that means that regular mobs can take way too long to take down solo, so a solo guard will typically be using the overpower stance (which is now a trait in the Keen Blade line) which allows faster attacks and more damage output.
Regardless of your role a few things are always the same for a guard. Guardians have three different kinds of combat ability: basic, block response and parry response. What this means is that a guard will always begin combat with only a few basic attacks available. However, upon blocking an enemy's attack, certain shield based abilities become available. Using some of these can lead to a chain of special responsive abilities.
Likewise, parrying an attack opens up other special abilities, some of which provide a special ability chain. In both cases though, the special abilities are only available for a set amount of time before becoming unusable, so be careful not to get stunned while in the middle of a chain.
Guard traits runa wide gamut. On the one end is pure tanking: low DPS, high survivability, high blocking. On the other end is higher DPS, lower defense, no shield, decent parrying. In between finds a more hybridized blend of both defense and damage.
Defender of the free:
High damage mitigations, heavy shield usage, focus on drawing threat and holding it, aggroing multiple mobs at once, defending allies and self heals. This trait line is what makes guards desirable in group play situations. Almost every group running an instance or skirmish will want to have at least one main tank (generally either a guard or a warden, but sometimes a champ or cappy) and this is the trait line that will most benefit your group. Your role as a tank is to keep the enemy focused on you while your allies assault the enemy and keep you alive.
The Keen Blade:
Probably the default trait line for most guards running solo. This trait line exchanges high defense for increased attack speeds and higher DPS. Most will forgo a shield in this stance in order to equip a 2 handed weapon for more powerful blows. If running this trait set in a group the guard can increase their fellowships damage (which can be nice when cleaning up slayer deeds). Additionally KB focuses on bleeds, damage buffs and parrying.
The Fighter of Shadow:
As a rule, yellow trait lines in lotro are designed as alternatives for solo play or small groups, providing a different experience than the red line. The FoS certainly fits that bill. A mix of damage buffs and enemy debuffs, with some self heals and defense thrown in, the FoS line provides a delightful change of pace for the guard. In a group the FoS almost becomes an anti-captain; debuffing with almost everything they do rather than buffing allies.
Whichever trait set you pick, if you like being the burly, damage resistant type, that guard is probably the way to go. Additionally, it is one of the few classes available to all races. When choosing a profession for a guard, the obvious choice is armorer, since you will benefit from heavy armor, shields and shield spikes that can be made by a metalsmith.
Picking a Class: The Champion
If the idea of sitting back casting spells from afar while someone else does the up close dirty work appeals to you...you probably wouldn't like being a champion.
If you like to run through Middle-Earth wearing long flowing robes and sparkly tiaras...you might want to avoid being a champion.
If your idea of combat revolves around a bow...you're probably not cut out to be a champion.
Champions (or champs for short) handle the bulk of the dirty work in lotro combat. Along with captains and guardians, champs are close range, heavy armour melee fighters. They don't heal others, they don't backstab, and while they can use a bow, they're really not all that good at it.
What they are good at is wielding weapons. Almost any melee weapons will do. Axes, swords and clubs are best. One Or two handed is really a matter of preference.
Champion combat revolves around fervour. Essentially, you have a small gauge (default set to the lower left of your screen but it can be moved with Ctrl-\) which measures your fervour. Basic attacks will not cost any fervour but will add to your fervour pool. More advanced (and powerful) abilities become available as your fervour increases (to a maximum of 5) and consume a certain amount of fervour in the meantime.
As with any class, you choose your trait specializations:
As a martial champion you will specialize in survival and aggravating foes. MC champs make excellent tanks (and even better off tanks) as well as providing a reasonable option for champs having trouble with areas where they face multiple mobs. If you're dying a lot, try the MC trait line. With an emphasis on self heals you might find yourself going a bit easier, although not quite as fast. A big weapon doesn't hurt.
For taking out single or dual mobs, there's no better way than as a berserker. Berserkers can use a two handed weapon but they really shine while dual wielding. Traited properly, berserkers have an incredible attack speed and while they don't have the healing options that a MC has, their multiple strike attacks can more than make up for it. However, just as MCs lack in the damage department, berserkers lack in survivability. They do not do well against large groups of mobs, and even two signature or higher mobs can be a significant challenge. Still, it's a lot of fun running around slicing into your foes with 2 weapons and watching them drop quickly.
For those times when you find yourself dealing with larger groups, and you want to see a fast rising body count in a group of mobs, there's only one choice: the deadly storm (DS). Area of effect attacks abound. Why waste time hitting one mob when you can hit 3? or 4? or 7? DS champs do amazingly well in a group where they are well supported by a tank keeping most of the action off of them. As with berserkers they don't have nearly the survivability that MCs do but they can drop big numbers like no one else.
In short, if you like running around in heavy armour, swinging weapons around and killing things up close and personal...champions might be for you.
If you like to run through Middle-Earth wearing long flowing robes and sparkly tiaras...you might want to avoid being a champion.
If your idea of combat revolves around a bow...you're probably not cut out to be a champion.
Champions (or champs for short) handle the bulk of the dirty work in lotro combat. Along with captains and guardians, champs are close range, heavy armour melee fighters. They don't heal others, they don't backstab, and while they can use a bow, they're really not all that good at it.
What they are good at is wielding weapons. Almost any melee weapons will do. Axes, swords and clubs are best. One Or two handed is really a matter of preference.
Champion combat revolves around fervour. Essentially, you have a small gauge (default set to the lower left of your screen but it can be moved with Ctrl-\) which measures your fervour. Basic attacks will not cost any fervour but will add to your fervour pool. More advanced (and powerful) abilities become available as your fervour increases (to a maximum of 5) and consume a certain amount of fervour in the meantime.
As with any class, you choose your trait specializations:
As a martial champion you will specialize in survival and aggravating foes. MC champs make excellent tanks (and even better off tanks) as well as providing a reasonable option for champs having trouble with areas where they face multiple mobs. If you're dying a lot, try the MC trait line. With an emphasis on self heals you might find yourself going a bit easier, although not quite as fast. A big weapon doesn't hurt.
For taking out single or dual mobs, there's no better way than as a berserker. Berserkers can use a two handed weapon but they really shine while dual wielding. Traited properly, berserkers have an incredible attack speed and while they don't have the healing options that a MC has, their multiple strike attacks can more than make up for it. However, just as MCs lack in the damage department, berserkers lack in survivability. They do not do well against large groups of mobs, and even two signature or higher mobs can be a significant challenge. Still, it's a lot of fun running around slicing into your foes with 2 weapons and watching them drop quickly.
For those times when you find yourself dealing with larger groups, and you want to see a fast rising body count in a group of mobs, there's only one choice: the deadly storm (DS). Area of effect attacks abound. Why waste time hitting one mob when you can hit 3? or 4? or 7? DS champs do amazingly well in a group where they are well supported by a tank keeping most of the action off of them. As with berserkers they don't have nearly the survivability that MCs do but they can drop big numbers like no one else.
In short, if you like running around in heavy armour, swinging weapons around and killing things up close and personal...champions might be for you.
Wednesday 7 May 2014
LOTRO: Loving the Epic Story (most of the time)
A few days ago I finally finished the epic quest line in The Lord of the Rings Online in its entirety. Having also read some developer comments about where the epic story will be going I gave the subject a bit of retrospective introspection, or if you prefer, I thought back on where we had begun and where we had (for the moment) finished off and gave the whole subject a bit of thought.
I'm sure every player remembers their first little foray into the epic story: playing through a short, class specific game tutorial which introduces storyline elements which are picked up in the game introductions and played out through the various books of epic quests, most of which are tied up in Volume I.
Once we played through the introduction and landed in the game world proper we started playing through the epic quest, which took us throughout the "zone" in which we started the game, Ered Luin for elves and dwarves, The Shire for Hobbits and East Bree-Land for men. All paths led us to Bree and our first encounter with Strider at the Prancing Pony. In those days the epic quests were fun, relatively simple and simply added to the story. A bit of running around, we may have thought, especially if it was your first toon and you didn't have a horse yet. Ah...those were the days...
Eventually we moved our way through the storyline, we saw the extent of the spreading darkness in the Western lands of Middle-earth, the growing influence of Angmar, and...well, right about there the epic story started to drag on. Not that the story wasn't still great or well crafted, it was, it's just that travelling all over Tolkien's green earth got a little bit tedious after a while; especially for those who aren't rolling a hunter!
Overall, Vol. I had a great story but was done in by the repetitious travelling. Some of the later epic content has dealt with the same problem by providing instant travel to the next point in the quest, which is a great idea and wastes much less time while holding the story together.
Volume II started, rather infamously now, with us performing such epic feats as delivering sandwiches to dwarven workmen, but moved on to have us fighting the watcher in the water, multitudes of orcs and various agents of Angmar. Towards the end we started spending more time travelling from Lothlorien to Moria and back again, but to a less degree than that experienced in Vol I. Again, we had great story, saw the world around us, and fought the Shadow with our allies among the free peoples.
Volume III took us a long time. Let me rephrase that...Volume III took us a loooong time!
Yes Vol. I was longer, but it also shifted in it's focus a lot more. It really wasn't so much a single coherent story as it was a string of stories that flowed into each other. Vol. II was much more coherent and focused and Vol. III seemed to be a bit more so again. Vol. I took us from Ered Luin to Eregion and covered roughly 50 levels. Vol. III took us from Enedwaith to Western Rohan and involved the most interaction with the Lord of the Rings story.
It also provided continuity through our three travelling companions, who mysteriously always managed to get ahead of us to wait at the next objective. It also managed to avoid pointless travel, instead allowing us to quest through a region as we followed the epic quest chain. Even more impressive was the ability to play through without relying on fellowships and group play. Overall, one would have to concede that it was a very well done epic quest story arc.
As we wait to see where things will go from here, aided by hints given to us by Turbine staff executives and developers, I am hopeful that not only will the story be worthy of the epithet "epic" but also that the progress made towards making the game more enjoyable to play will continue to progress. This year we are expecting to see the Paths of the Dead, Dol Amroth and more and certainly players are excited to see those places.
I guess what I want to close off with is this: You've come a long way Turbine, keep up the good work.
I'm sure every player remembers their first little foray into the epic story: playing through a short, class specific game tutorial which introduces storyline elements which are picked up in the game introductions and played out through the various books of epic quests, most of which are tied up in Volume I.
Once we played through the introduction and landed in the game world proper we started playing through the epic quest, which took us throughout the "zone" in which we started the game, Ered Luin for elves and dwarves, The Shire for Hobbits and East Bree-Land for men. All paths led us to Bree and our first encounter with Strider at the Prancing Pony. In those days the epic quests were fun, relatively simple and simply added to the story. A bit of running around, we may have thought, especially if it was your first toon and you didn't have a horse yet. Ah...those were the days...
Eventually we moved our way through the storyline, we saw the extent of the spreading darkness in the Western lands of Middle-earth, the growing influence of Angmar, and...well, right about there the epic story started to drag on. Not that the story wasn't still great or well crafted, it was, it's just that travelling all over Tolkien's green earth got a little bit tedious after a while; especially for those who aren't rolling a hunter!
Overall, Vol. I had a great story but was done in by the repetitious travelling. Some of the later epic content has dealt with the same problem by providing instant travel to the next point in the quest, which is a great idea and wastes much less time while holding the story together.
Volume II started, rather infamously now, with us performing such epic feats as delivering sandwiches to dwarven workmen, but moved on to have us fighting the watcher in the water, multitudes of orcs and various agents of Angmar. Towards the end we started spending more time travelling from Lothlorien to Moria and back again, but to a less degree than that experienced in Vol I. Again, we had great story, saw the world around us, and fought the Shadow with our allies among the free peoples.
Volume III took us a long time. Let me rephrase that...Volume III took us a loooong time!
Yes Vol. I was longer, but it also shifted in it's focus a lot more. It really wasn't so much a single coherent story as it was a string of stories that flowed into each other. Vol. II was much more coherent and focused and Vol. III seemed to be a bit more so again. Vol. I took us from Ered Luin to Eregion and covered roughly 50 levels. Vol. III took us from Enedwaith to Western Rohan and involved the most interaction with the Lord of the Rings story.
It also provided continuity through our three travelling companions, who mysteriously always managed to get ahead of us to wait at the next objective. It also managed to avoid pointless travel, instead allowing us to quest through a region as we followed the epic quest chain. Even more impressive was the ability to play through without relying on fellowships and group play. Overall, one would have to concede that it was a very well done epic quest story arc.
As we wait to see where things will go from here, aided by hints given to us by Turbine staff executives and developers, I am hopeful that not only will the story be worthy of the epithet "epic" but also that the progress made towards making the game more enjoyable to play will continue to progress. This year we are expecting to see the Paths of the Dead, Dol Amroth and more and certainly players are excited to see those places.
I guess what I want to close off with is this: You've come a long way Turbine, keep up the good work.
Monday 5 May 2014
LOTRO: Pets coming to Middle-earth?
Alright, so pets were possibly already here, but with the exception of lore masters no one else really noticed.
So if you read today's release notes regarding patch 13.1, you probably read something about pets becoming available to LOTRO players in game.
Is this a good thing?
Short answer: maybe.
Long answer: This will definitely add a new "cuteness" factor to LOTRO as well as providing a new hobby for players, along side things like fishing and steed collecting. High end players who have done it all can do it all again in the hopes of earning or finding a new pet, and we can expect to see at least some people with a Pokemon "Gotta catch 'em all" mentality for whom collecting pets will be something a bit too much more than a hobby to be healthy.
New cosmetic options, which is what this sounds like, are almost always welcomed by players as new ways to make your toons stand out from everyone else's. However, Turbine devs obviously expect this to present potential hazard to graphics cards the world over. You can turn the option to view other's pets off to save you PC, but then the game really doesn't gain anything new, does it?
Is this a bad thing?
Short answer: Maybe.
Long answer: I don't know yet.
Much will depend on how Turbine develops the system going forward. This could be a new fully functioning aspect of the game that's completely free, but I doubt it. I'm anticipating store exclusive pets, unlockable pet slots, and possibly even the need for F2P and premium players ti unlock the ability to equip or store pets (similar to the wardrobe function).
It all boils down...
...to what Turbine does with the pet system. It could be a really cool new addition to the game's cosmetics or it could be another way to nickel and dime players for minor content. I sincerely hope it's the former, but it's hard to tell these days. I'm hoping that we see something that doesn't just copy the pet system of other games but genuinely adds something to the game, even if it's just flavour.
And if any game devs should happen to read this: I beg you...I plead with you...please please please....keep it tasteful. This is Tolkien's Middle-earth, not Pokemon.
So if you read today's release notes regarding patch 13.1, you probably read something about pets becoming available to LOTRO players in game.
Is this a good thing?
Short answer: maybe.
Long answer: This will definitely add a new "cuteness" factor to LOTRO as well as providing a new hobby for players, along side things like fishing and steed collecting. High end players who have done it all can do it all again in the hopes of earning or finding a new pet, and we can expect to see at least some people with a Pokemon "Gotta catch 'em all" mentality for whom collecting pets will be something a bit too much more than a hobby to be healthy.
New cosmetic options, which is what this sounds like, are almost always welcomed by players as new ways to make your toons stand out from everyone else's. However, Turbine devs obviously expect this to present potential hazard to graphics cards the world over. You can turn the option to view other's pets off to save you PC, but then the game really doesn't gain anything new, does it?
Is this a bad thing?
Short answer: Maybe.
Long answer: I don't know yet.
Much will depend on how Turbine develops the system going forward. This could be a new fully functioning aspect of the game that's completely free, but I doubt it. I'm anticipating store exclusive pets, unlockable pet slots, and possibly even the need for F2P and premium players ti unlock the ability to equip or store pets (similar to the wardrobe function).
It all boils down...
...to what Turbine does with the pet system. It could be a really cool new addition to the game's cosmetics or it could be another way to nickel and dime players for minor content. I sincerely hope it's the former, but it's hard to tell these days. I'm hoping that we see something that doesn't just copy the pet system of other games but genuinely adds something to the game, even if it's just flavour.
And if any game devs should happen to read this: I beg you...I plead with you...please please please....keep it tasteful. This is Tolkien's Middle-earth, not Pokemon.
Saturday 3 May 2014
LOTRO Back to Basics 102: Picking a Class - The Captain
Currently the game's only racially exclusive class, (at least until the beornings get here) playable only by men, the captain is a jack of all trades. Able to summon allies,
heralds and use banners to inspire themselves and their fellowship, they are
valiant in combat. Able to heal and resurrect allies in or out of combat makes
them valuable as healers. Captains can heal, fight, crowd control, buff and
tank, making them valuable in any situation.
They are one of the two current "pet" classes (class
that is able to summon a NPC pet or helper).
Captains are rated as "moderate" difficulty to play, but
are probably not too difficult for most beginners to enjoy.
Solo Play
Captains can summon heralds who fight next to you as well as
providing a buff to damage, morale and healing or power regeneration.
Alternately they can plant a banner to provide stronger buffs, but the banner
won't fight for you.
Captains can become "Battle
Group Play
No other class performs as well in a group as a captain.
Their buffs are always welcome, raising stats, damage, and more,
and with heralds or banners providing even more buffs. They are, hands down,
the best buffing class in game.
They can put out reasonable DPS but are also able to quickly
switch to a healing role in a pinch.
Against groups of mobs their enemy defeat skills will be a great
boon to a fellowship or raid, increasing the groups attack speed or stunning
multiple mobs or providing a small heal to the fellowship.
They are also able to use skills to draw the focus of mobs,
becoming decent off tanks, or even covering main tank if the main tank has been
killed.
With the variety of abilities at their command, captains should be
a welcome part of most groups.
Drawbacks
Since captains have such variety, this means that they don't do
most things as well as other classes. They can tank, but not as well as a
warden, guardian or (properly traited) champion. They can heal but not as well
as a minstrel or rune keeper. And they certainly don't DPS like a hunter, rune
keeper or champion
They also suffer from a shortage of ranged attacks. This is pretty
much limited to "battle shout".
Overall
The captain is a personal favourite class of mine, especially for
group play. The versatility provides both challenges and rewards that are truly
unique to the class. While soloing, the captain may be the best of the heavy
armour classes, since he has (typically) better defence and healing than a
champion and better DPS than a guardian.
If you want to excel at a single role, the captain is probably not
for you, but when you'r ready for something different, or if you want to lead
your herald (or fellowship) into the fray, the captain is the way to go.
Friday 2 May 2014
LOTRO Store Post-Update 13...Seriously?
So I decided to check out the "New to the Store" link that came with my weekly LOTRO email. Here's my reactions...
The first thing that showed up was inventory slots. We knew this was coming; a revamp of how inventory works and how to expand it beyond 6 basic bags. Definitely something that has been wanted by many for a long time. Good on you Turbine.
Next up: Third Age Treasure Trove. This one caught my attention since I had no idea what it was, so I checked the description box. Apparently you can buy the box, which comes with 3 third age legendary items or weapons, pick one to keep and the others are discarded. I assume that this is for people who can't find 3A items (?). Personally this has never really been a problem for me, but hey, if someone's willing to pay for it...
The fourth item (I'll deal with the third last) is tier 9 relics, no big surprise there and they are certainly useful. We've seen these in store for a long time in almost every tier. No biggie.
It was the third item in particular that caught my attention: "Promotion Points +10".
My first thought - "Doesn't this defeat the point?"
I was under the impression that the way to scale up your promotions was through running the epic battles and excelling at them, but maybe I was wrong and it was to allow Turbine to shill upgrades for TP.
Why Does This Bother Me?
Turbine sells a lot of things through the store, and as a rule I'm OK with it. So why does this rankle me?
Let's take a quick look at the stuff you can buy from the store:
Content: including quest packs, skirmishes, additional character slots, etc. This is all stuff to give you more playing experience, basically more game.
Stuff: housing, steeds, cosmetics, LIs, this is basically stuff you can acquire in game, but with a different currency system. There may be some store exclusives but none of this stuff is going to dramatically alter game play in a way that you could not get in game.
Stuff enhancements: Things that make your stuff better, again typically things you can find or buy in game but without the hassle of trying to find the right one.
So what makes this different?
This is a store purchase that makes your character better. Yes we had stat tomes already but they were a store exclusive. This was a system which would seemingly require a lot of work to master but which now has been cheapened.
A few years ago I started playing another free MMO (I won't say which one right here but it might be a rant topic later). The game was entirely dominated by people who payed to enhance their characters and those who didn't could't begin to compete (which in a game with PVP is a pretty big deal). As a result the experience was spoiled and the game cheapened.
Turbine hasn't gone that far, but it diminishes the work of those who work hard to earn promotions when some kid with daddy's credit card can max his promotion points.
I'm all for Turbine making money, after all it's what keeps the game going, but this one feels like a cheap sell out.
Just saying Turbine.
The first thing that showed up was inventory slots. We knew this was coming; a revamp of how inventory works and how to expand it beyond 6 basic bags. Definitely something that has been wanted by many for a long time. Good on you Turbine.
Next up: Third Age Treasure Trove. This one caught my attention since I had no idea what it was, so I checked the description box. Apparently you can buy the box, which comes with 3 third age legendary items or weapons, pick one to keep and the others are discarded. I assume that this is for people who can't find 3A items (?). Personally this has never really been a problem for me, but hey, if someone's willing to pay for it...
The fourth item (I'll deal with the third last) is tier 9 relics, no big surprise there and they are certainly useful. We've seen these in store for a long time in almost every tier. No biggie.
It was the third item in particular that caught my attention: "Promotion Points +10".
My first thought - "Doesn't this defeat the point?"
I was under the impression that the way to scale up your promotions was through running the epic battles and excelling at them, but maybe I was wrong and it was to allow Turbine to shill upgrades for TP.
Why Does This Bother Me?
Turbine sells a lot of things through the store, and as a rule I'm OK with it. So why does this rankle me?
Let's take a quick look at the stuff you can buy from the store:
Content: including quest packs, skirmishes, additional character slots, etc. This is all stuff to give you more playing experience, basically more game.
Stuff: housing, steeds, cosmetics, LIs, this is basically stuff you can acquire in game, but with a different currency system. There may be some store exclusives but none of this stuff is going to dramatically alter game play in a way that you could not get in game.
Stuff enhancements: Things that make your stuff better, again typically things you can find or buy in game but without the hassle of trying to find the right one.
So what makes this different?
This is a store purchase that makes your character better. Yes we had stat tomes already but they were a store exclusive. This was a system which would seemingly require a lot of work to master but which now has been cheapened.
A few years ago I started playing another free MMO (I won't say which one right here but it might be a rant topic later). The game was entirely dominated by people who payed to enhance their characters and those who didn't could't begin to compete (which in a game with PVP is a pretty big deal). As a result the experience was spoiled and the game cheapened.
Turbine hasn't gone that far, but it diminishes the work of those who work hard to earn promotions when some kid with daddy's credit card can max his promotion points.
I'm all for Turbine making money, after all it's what keeps the game going, but this one feels like a cheap sell out.
Just saying Turbine.
Monday 21 April 2014
LOTRO: Are Beornings Justifiable as a Class?
OK, so I thought I was through with talking about beornings, but I keep seeing enough negative comments that I had to follow up. This will be the end of it until the class is actually released. I promise. Unless I change my mind. Anyway...
Many comments have focused on the fact that beornings are a seemingly small group and that they are a subset of the race or men, possibly even a distinct race altogether. Further, many of them assert that the beornings would not have been near the areas currently available in LOTRO and that all of this constitutes large holes being torn in the lore by the development team at Turbine.
Are the Criticisms Accurate?
In a word, yes. The beornings would seem to a be a specific population descended from Beorn, a notable character from The Hobbit, who are given some passing mentions in The Lord of the Rings. The available references would indicate the following about the beornings:
Yes. In The Hobbit Beorn seems to have a meeting, while in bear form, with a large number of other bears. These may or may not be natural bears or other "skin changers" like himself. While the immediate inference may be that Beorn has the ability to summon and communicate with bears, it could just as easily be that he has summoned others like him, who may naturally be known according to the best known of their kind, Beorn. Thus beornings may not simply include his descendants, but perhaps an entire family of which Beorn himself was only the most notorious member.
What About the Geography Problem?
That's a good question. The beornings are said to be busy in the North between Carrock and Mirkwood and this is a long ways from the action in LOTRO. However, let's look at the other problems already present in the game:
Hobbits
Dwarves
Elves
So what was I hoping to prove with all that? Simply this: Yes, beornings may represent come incongruities with the "lore", but no more than the other races (not to mention classes) already found in LOTRO.
The Reality is...
If the developers were to stick solely to the in-book-continuity, without any deviations whatsoever, the game would be a flop. Oh sure, there would be a lot of people who would come for the experience, but as a MMO it would be terrible. The only playable race would be men (unless you confined elves or dwarves to specific areas) and would be limited to only those events and places mentioned by Tolkien. If I'm not mistaken, there have been other games where you effectively play through as a member of the fellowship, alternating between characters depending on where you are.
The Other Thing...
I'm sorry to say this, but if you're so anally retentive about what's in the game then just don't play it. Don't comment in all the forums just trying to convince everyone how terrible the game is. Go write something better or design a better game if you like, or go even further and create something totally new. Enough with the endless criticisms about how Turbine continually fails to meet up to your stringent standards, either play it and make constructive remarks about plausible improvements to the game.
In the End...
Someone is always going to be unhappy about the state of just about anything. Maybe there's a good reason and maybe there isn't. Either way, Turbine makes the game to make money and that means making a game that's popular, not just geared to the hardcore purists. Those who aren't happy can either send detailed and well thought out imput to the developer team via email or just vote with their (metaphorical) feet and leave the game. As for teh rest of us, we will continue to enjoy a game that has been thoughtfully and meticulously put together to provide maximum appeal to both Tolkienites and the un-initiated alike.
Many comments have focused on the fact that beornings are a seemingly small group and that they are a subset of the race or men, possibly even a distinct race altogether. Further, many of them assert that the beornings would not have been near the areas currently available in LOTRO and that all of this constitutes large holes being torn in the lore by the development team at Turbine.
Are the Criticisms Accurate?
In a word, yes. The beornings would seem to a be a specific population descended from Beorn, a notable character from The Hobbit, who are given some passing mentions in The Lord of the Rings. The available references would indicate the following about the beornings:
- they are excellent bakers, notable for their twice baked cakes made with honey
- Beorn was a "skin changer" able to change into a bear at will
- the shifting ability may or may not have been lost to his descendants
- they are busy defending the area between Carrock and Mirkwood
- they are vicious enemies of the forces of Mordor
Yes. In The Hobbit Beorn seems to have a meeting, while in bear form, with a large number of other bears. These may or may not be natural bears or other "skin changers" like himself. While the immediate inference may be that Beorn has the ability to summon and communicate with bears, it could just as easily be that he has summoned others like him, who may naturally be known according to the best known of their kind, Beorn. Thus beornings may not simply include his descendants, but perhaps an entire family of which Beorn himself was only the most notorious member.
What About the Geography Problem?
That's a good question. The beornings are said to be busy in the North between Carrock and Mirkwood and this is a long ways from the action in LOTRO. However, let's look at the other problems already present in the game:
Hobbits
- the hobbits are preoccupied with regular life in and around the Shire, until after the rangers have all left and dark forces begin to slowly filter in around the bounds. They don't begin to Take up arms as a group until The Scouring of the Shire well after the events of the War of the Ring.
- there are exactly four hobbits (not counting Bilbo or Gollum) who are active in the War of the Ring; Frodo, Samwise, Meriadoc and Peregrin
- there are seemingly thousands of hobbit characters active in LOTRO
Dwarves
- the dwarven populations of Middle-earth are focused in Ered Luin, Erebor and the Iron Hills, with some further South in the Ered Nimrais, and would not be found in the central lands of the West of Middle-earth unless travelling
- while the dwarves of Erebor and the Iron Hills are drawn into confrontation with forces of Sauron there is only one directly involved in the events being followed in LOTRO; Gimli
- it would seem that dwarves are more popular than hobbits and have far more characters representing their race
Elves
- there are only four Elven populations left in Middle-earth that seem to be worth mentioning; Mithlond, or the grey Havens under Cirdan, Rivendell under Elrond, Lothlorien under Celeborn and Mirkwood under Thanduil. While Mirkwood seems to have ongoing issues, and Lothlorien repulses some attacks by the orcs during the War, no major force of elves is active in fighting the forces of darkness outside of their own lands
- Elves are a dwindling group in Middle-earth, with many of their number sailing into the West
- the sum total of elves active outside of their own lands: 3; Elladan and Elrohir (the sons of Elrond who travel with the rangers) and Legolas
- Elves are abundant in LOTRO
So what was I hoping to prove with all that? Simply this: Yes, beornings may represent come incongruities with the "lore", but no more than the other races (not to mention classes) already found in LOTRO.
The Reality is...
If the developers were to stick solely to the in-book-continuity, without any deviations whatsoever, the game would be a flop. Oh sure, there would be a lot of people who would come for the experience, but as a MMO it would be terrible. The only playable race would be men (unless you confined elves or dwarves to specific areas) and would be limited to only those events and places mentioned by Tolkien. If I'm not mistaken, there have been other games where you effectively play through as a member of the fellowship, alternating between characters depending on where you are.
The Other Thing...
I'm sorry to say this, but if you're so anally retentive about what's in the game then just don't play it. Don't comment in all the forums just trying to convince everyone how terrible the game is. Go write something better or design a better game if you like, or go even further and create something totally new. Enough with the endless criticisms about how Turbine continually fails to meet up to your stringent standards, either play it and make constructive remarks about plausible improvements to the game.
In the End...
Someone is always going to be unhappy about the state of just about anything. Maybe there's a good reason and maybe there isn't. Either way, Turbine makes the game to make money and that means making a game that's popular, not just geared to the hardcore purists. Those who aren't happy can either send detailed and well thought out imput to the developer team via email or just vote with their (metaphorical) feet and leave the game. As for teh rest of us, we will continue to enjoy a game that has been thoughtfully and meticulously put together to provide maximum appeal to both Tolkienites and the un-initiated alike.
Friday 18 April 2014
LOTRO Upcoming Content for 2014-15
Today I want to continue looking at some of the announced new content from the letter from Aaron Campbell. If you missed it yesterday, or haven't seen it yet, here's the link: A-letter-From-Executive-Producer-Aaron-Campbell-April-2014
Yesterday I talked a bit about my thoughts regarding the newly announced beorning class, today I want to look at some of the new playable content, or "zones" of the game.
First off, props to Turbine for deciding to try and stick with the timing of the LOTR story rather than inserting a lot of extra content. Personally I think this will have two major positive effects, though there may certainly be others as well.
1. Tolkien fans should be happy as we will be progressing towards the truly epic portions of the war of the ring. Helm's Deep behind us, we now press forward through the paths of the dead and eventually the Pelennor Fields. We always knew (or at least assumed) that eventually we would be heading towards Mordor and now we have some confirmation that we are heading in that direction. After three expansions (Rise of Isengard, Riders of Rohan and Helm's Deep) and now three content updates (Great River, Wildermore and now Fangorn) focused on the story within Rohan, it will be nice to see some of Gondor at long last.
2. Those who have been doomsaying the end of the game should be reconsidering their prophecies. If we hit Minas Tirith in 2015, we will likely be seeing the Black Gate in either 2016 or 2017. Not only does that give us at least 3 more solid years of new story and content, but it leaves a number of undeveloped portions of the map left for post-Mordor adventuring.
Wouldn't that go outside of the lore of Middle-earth?
No. Those familiar with LOTR know that following Sauron's defeat with the destruction of the ring (I'm assuming I'm not spoiling anything for people here!) there is a number of events that tie up most of the hanging plot threads and the story is mostly peaceful (until the return to the Shire anyway). However, anyone who's ever taken the time to read the appendices in The Return of the King knows that King Elessar spends most of his reign rebuilding his kingdom and setting things right, which includes a lot of battles with remnants and rebels throughout the re-established realms of Gondor and Arnor.
This will open the possibilities of not only going to Northern Mirkwood and Wilderland, as well as (I hope) Erebor and Dale, but possibly even returning to places like Evendim and the North Downs. It would be amazing to see the sort of technology that allowed us to transform Hytbold letting us see a return to grandeur of these realms of the North.
3. We will be seeing either a new map system or a new map showing Gondor, Umbar and (possibly) Mordor. Personally, I always love to see new pieces of the map being filled in; and the LOTRO game world has become truly expansive. A few years ago I read somewhere that to ride (a standard steed) from Thorin's Hall to the Gates of Moria took around 45 minutes. I've never tried this, but I may someday soon try a ride from TH to Parth Galen. Middle-earth is getting to be a very big place in LOTRO.
The other stuff is what we would expect to see; lots with the army of the dead, a tour of West Gondor leading up to Osgiliath, etc, etc. and I'm prepared to wait until it's out before making any comments on that content.
We've just seen our first of three planned updates for the year, which means Middle-earth is going to be a busy place in 2014. Hope you're all set to enjoy it!
Yesterday I talked a bit about my thoughts regarding the newly announced beorning class, today I want to look at some of the new playable content, or "zones" of the game.
First off, props to Turbine for deciding to try and stick with the timing of the LOTR story rather than inserting a lot of extra content. Personally I think this will have two major positive effects, though there may certainly be others as well.
1. Tolkien fans should be happy as we will be progressing towards the truly epic portions of the war of the ring. Helm's Deep behind us, we now press forward through the paths of the dead and eventually the Pelennor Fields. We always knew (or at least assumed) that eventually we would be heading towards Mordor and now we have some confirmation that we are heading in that direction. After three expansions (Rise of Isengard, Riders of Rohan and Helm's Deep) and now three content updates (Great River, Wildermore and now Fangorn) focused on the story within Rohan, it will be nice to see some of Gondor at long last.
2. Those who have been doomsaying the end of the game should be reconsidering their prophecies. If we hit Minas Tirith in 2015, we will likely be seeing the Black Gate in either 2016 or 2017. Not only does that give us at least 3 more solid years of new story and content, but it leaves a number of undeveloped portions of the map left for post-Mordor adventuring.
Wouldn't that go outside of the lore of Middle-earth?
No. Those familiar with LOTR know that following Sauron's defeat with the destruction of the ring (I'm assuming I'm not spoiling anything for people here!) there is a number of events that tie up most of the hanging plot threads and the story is mostly peaceful (until the return to the Shire anyway). However, anyone who's ever taken the time to read the appendices in The Return of the King knows that King Elessar spends most of his reign rebuilding his kingdom and setting things right, which includes a lot of battles with remnants and rebels throughout the re-established realms of Gondor and Arnor.
This will open the possibilities of not only going to Northern Mirkwood and Wilderland, as well as (I hope) Erebor and Dale, but possibly even returning to places like Evendim and the North Downs. It would be amazing to see the sort of technology that allowed us to transform Hytbold letting us see a return to grandeur of these realms of the North.
3. We will be seeing either a new map system or a new map showing Gondor, Umbar and (possibly) Mordor. Personally, I always love to see new pieces of the map being filled in; and the LOTRO game world has become truly expansive. A few years ago I read somewhere that to ride (a standard steed) from Thorin's Hall to the Gates of Moria took around 45 minutes. I've never tried this, but I may someday soon try a ride from TH to Parth Galen. Middle-earth is getting to be a very big place in LOTRO.
The other stuff is what we would expect to see; lots with the army of the dead, a tour of West Gondor leading up to Osgiliath, etc, etc. and I'm prepared to wait until it's out before making any comments on that content.
We've just seen our first of three planned updates for the year, which means Middle-earth is going to be a busy place in 2014. Hope you're all set to enjoy it!
Thursday 17 April 2014
A Quick Note on Playing in Tolkien's World...
Alright, we get it. You consider yourself a Tolkien purist. You get offended at the slightest retouching of the LOTR story, you don't like any of the art that's been produced over the years and you're thoroughly ticked off at any "Middle-earth" game like LOTRO, Battle for Middle-earth, and others. And you absolutely hate it when someone adds to the world in some way. You have bought and read every volume of The History of Middle-earth in addition to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and The Children of Hurin. As far as you're concerned, there is nothing else. Tolkien's world should be left in stasis, just the way it's creator left it.
The question is, have you actually read Tolkien's letters?
For example, in "A Letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman, 1951", Tolkien states, "I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story...I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama." (emphasis mine)
It would seem that the man himself was in favour of having others add to his work, bringing many of the seeds he planted to fruition in their own time.
Now, there are two groups of people who play in Tolkien's world; those who add to his world and those who edit his story, I'll give a few brief thoughts on both below.
First, to those who add to Tolkien's world: This would seem to be in keeping with the man's most profound desire for his world. From the artists who have shaped and sculpted Middle-earth and its many denizens into being over the decades, to those who have written fan fiction attempting to add subtle things to the world, Tolkien s' world has grown and I believe he would have been deeply flattered to see the great homage that has been paid to his work.
Secondly, those who seek to edit, to reinvent and twist what Tolkien created. These are people who are willing to take what has been made and remake it in their own image, so to speak. The end result is a product which is not Tolkien, although it may at times resemble it.
I will be blunt in my own opinion here. I put Peter Jackson's work, first in his Lord of the Rings film trilogy and then, more recently, in his film adaptations of The Hobbit, firmly in the second category. While I was willing to forgive much of the license he took in LOTR, his work on the Hobbit has been somewhere between insulting and disgusting and should not even bear the same name. For the sake of space I will not go into details on this further, but I suspect most of you know what I mean. The work, and indeed the world, is no longer Tolkien's, but Jackson's, and the gulf between them has grown wide.
Lord of the Rings Online, or LOTRO, is a very different animal in this regards. It has sought to be as accurate as possible in it's portrayal of the War of the Ring storyline, while making adjustments to the world to allow an assortment of diverse classes to exist in the game in such a manner as to allow players to interact with that central story, but without altering it, at least more than would be necessary.
In short, I believe that LOTRO has been quite faithful to the world Tolkien created, at least as much as can be expected of a Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game, and while I may not agree with every decision which the game developers and producers have decided upon, when I play I get the feeling that I'm in Tolkien's Middle-earth, not Turbine's and certainly not Peter Jackson's!
So while being a purist isn't a bad thing, per se, maybe it's time to draw a line between the purists and the obstinate, inflexible Fundamentalists who refuse to allow Tolkien's vision for his own world to exist. If you happen to be in that crowd, maybe it's time for you to move on to other games that you're a bit less...sensitive...about and let the rest of us continue to play in Tolkien's world.
The question is, have you actually read Tolkien's letters?
For example, in "A Letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman, 1951", Tolkien states, "I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story...I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama." (emphasis mine)
It would seem that the man himself was in favour of having others add to his work, bringing many of the seeds he planted to fruition in their own time.
Now, there are two groups of people who play in Tolkien's world; those who add to his world and those who edit his story, I'll give a few brief thoughts on both below.
First, to those who add to Tolkien's world: This would seem to be in keeping with the man's most profound desire for his world. From the artists who have shaped and sculpted Middle-earth and its many denizens into being over the decades, to those who have written fan fiction attempting to add subtle things to the world, Tolkien s' world has grown and I believe he would have been deeply flattered to see the great homage that has been paid to his work.
Secondly, those who seek to edit, to reinvent and twist what Tolkien created. These are people who are willing to take what has been made and remake it in their own image, so to speak. The end result is a product which is not Tolkien, although it may at times resemble it.
I will be blunt in my own opinion here. I put Peter Jackson's work, first in his Lord of the Rings film trilogy and then, more recently, in his film adaptations of The Hobbit, firmly in the second category. While I was willing to forgive much of the license he took in LOTR, his work on the Hobbit has been somewhere between insulting and disgusting and should not even bear the same name. For the sake of space I will not go into details on this further, but I suspect most of you know what I mean. The work, and indeed the world, is no longer Tolkien's, but Jackson's, and the gulf between them has grown wide.
Lord of the Rings Online, or LOTRO, is a very different animal in this regards. It has sought to be as accurate as possible in it's portrayal of the War of the Ring storyline, while making adjustments to the world to allow an assortment of diverse classes to exist in the game in such a manner as to allow players to interact with that central story, but without altering it, at least more than would be necessary.
In short, I believe that LOTRO has been quite faithful to the world Tolkien created, at least as much as can be expected of a Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game, and while I may not agree with every decision which the game developers and producers have decided upon, when I play I get the feeling that I'm in Tolkien's Middle-earth, not Turbine's and certainly not Peter Jackson's!
So while being a purist isn't a bad thing, per se, maybe it's time to draw a line between the purists and the obstinate, inflexible Fundamentalists who refuse to allow Tolkien's vision for his own world to exist. If you happen to be in that crowd, maybe it's time for you to move on to other games that you're a bit less...sensitive...about and let the rest of us continue to play in Tolkien's world.
LOTRO New Class Revealed!
So the not-so-long wait to discover the new LOTRO class is over; and the news is: Beornings!
Read the whole letter here: A-letter-From-Executive-Producer-Aaron-Campbell-April-2014
Am I surprised? Not really. In fact a few years ago, while I was musing on the current classes (and in the process of discovering the rune keeper and warden) it occurred to me that beorning would be perhaps the most obvious class to create.
Am I disappointed? A little. I suppose there's always a bit of disappointment when you've waited for something and then you finally get to find out what it is. But I guess I'm more apprehensive than disappointed, but its only my own fault. I have certain preconceived notions as to what a beorning would be like, and of course now the test will be to see how well the LOTRO reality matches with my own thoughts.
I am a bit disappointed though, and I mentioned this in an earlier posting back in March, with the fact that the beorning will only be playable by the race of man. This will give Men 9 playable classes while Elves have 7 and hobbits and dwarves will both be stuck at 5 out of 10. Oh well, I knew it was going to happen and all can do is hope that maybe the next new class (if there is such a thing) will give me new reasons to play hobbits or dwarves.
Am I excited? Absolutely, and for a few reasons.
The game has seen a ton of new content over the past few years with Rise of Isengard, Riders of Rohan and Helm's Deep being released in successive years and with additional content being added intermittently with those. But as the levels and the content have been flowing in, Turbine has been working to streamline the classes a bit and to reduce the number of skills learned. This means that by the time you're level 85 there's really nothing new to look forward to other than some new gear. If you're one of those players who's run a number of classes up to a high level, well, things can feel a bit stagnant after a while. A new class every few years certainly helps freshen things up a bit.
Turbine has done an amazing job of having every class have it's own unique combat system; fervour for champions, battle ready and defeat response for cappys, gambits for wards, etc. So far the beorning has been described as "a light armor casting class with a focus on control of the battlefield. When a Beorning gathers sufficient rage, they may transform into a mighty bear" is somewhat exciting. Not only are shapeshifters almost always a fun class to play, but it sounds like the beorning will be a bit of a different take on the shapeshifter.
This may in turn bring some new excitement to tailoring, assuming that the beorning is a light armour class that has something other than will as it's prime stat. So far all of the light armour classes pretty much want the same thing, but hey, we'll have to see.
Of course this all means we'll be waiting with baited breath to see some concept art, and developed diaries and so on, ultimately waiting until we can play the beorning. Expect to pay a bit extra for the class though. It may be free for VIPs, but I doubt it, and definitely F2Ps and premium accounts will have to purchase it separately.
Will it flood the game with beornings? Yes, but only for a while and only in the starter zones. It will be exciting for most players to try out the new class, but most will want to keep up with their mains and the new content which will likely be released with the class, and of course there are a lot of toons who never make it into the Trollshaws, let alone Moria and beyond.
That said, we can expect to see some more action in EL, Bree and the Shire than we have in a while, so even if you don't decide to play a beorning (which, of course, you will) it might be a good time to catch up on some low level group play and relive your early days of LOTRO.
Am I Going to Play a Beorning? Does a beorning crap in the woods? (don't answer that) Probably. I have played every class to a fair degree and I find they all have something unique and desirable. The beorning is very likely to continue that tradition. Unless I feel it's overpriced I will likely get it as soon as possible. How much I play the beorning will in part depend on how much time I'm spending on my other toons to play new content at the time.
*Update*
I've been doing s a bit of reading on the forums and finally saw the comment I knew I would, basically calling the beorning a rip off of World of Warcraft. This isn't true for a number of reasons:
1. WoW didn't create shapshifters. In fact Blizzard (the company that produces WoW in case you live under a rock) used druids in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, but that wasn't unique either since shapshifting druids have been around for decades in Dungeons and Dragons. Of course as with so many other elements of fantasy culture, it all comes back to Tolkien, who introduced us to Beorn (who was explicitly mentioned as a shapeshifter) not in the 1950's with LOTR, but in the 1930's with The Hobbit. So no, beornings are not a rip off of anything from WoW but an original creation of J.R.R. Tolkien himself...who probably borrowed the idea from mythologies and folklore as he did so much else...
2. The classes are very different. Granted, we haven't seen the LOTRO beorning yet, but from what we have been told, they're not the same. For one thing the WoW druid can take on several shapes, including some which fly, whereas the beorning will only have two forms, man and bear.
Another difference is armour; while the beorning has been stated to be a light armour class, the WoW druid is a medium armour class.
3. The combat sounds a bit different. Anyone who has ever played a WoW druid traited as a bear would almost certainly not refer to it as a "casting class". It is, in fact, a rather boring (albeit useful) tanking class (and let's be fair, the beorning may have a trait line focusing on tanking as a bear, but isn't that what bears are for?).
So...no...definitely not a rip off.
Read the whole letter here: A-letter-From-Executive-Producer-Aaron-Campbell-April-2014
Am I surprised? Not really. In fact a few years ago, while I was musing on the current classes (and in the process of discovering the rune keeper and warden) it occurred to me that beorning would be perhaps the most obvious class to create.
Am I disappointed? A little. I suppose there's always a bit of disappointment when you've waited for something and then you finally get to find out what it is. But I guess I'm more apprehensive than disappointed, but its only my own fault. I have certain preconceived notions as to what a beorning would be like, and of course now the test will be to see how well the LOTRO reality matches with my own thoughts.
I am a bit disappointed though, and I mentioned this in an earlier posting back in March, with the fact that the beorning will only be playable by the race of man. This will give Men 9 playable classes while Elves have 7 and hobbits and dwarves will both be stuck at 5 out of 10. Oh well, I knew it was going to happen and all can do is hope that maybe the next new class (if there is such a thing) will give me new reasons to play hobbits or dwarves.
Am I excited? Absolutely, and for a few reasons.
The game has seen a ton of new content over the past few years with Rise of Isengard, Riders of Rohan and Helm's Deep being released in successive years and with additional content being added intermittently with those. But as the levels and the content have been flowing in, Turbine has been working to streamline the classes a bit and to reduce the number of skills learned. This means that by the time you're level 85 there's really nothing new to look forward to other than some new gear. If you're one of those players who's run a number of classes up to a high level, well, things can feel a bit stagnant after a while. A new class every few years certainly helps freshen things up a bit.
Turbine has done an amazing job of having every class have it's own unique combat system; fervour for champions, battle ready and defeat response for cappys, gambits for wards, etc. So far the beorning has been described as "a light armor casting class with a focus on control of the battlefield. When a Beorning gathers sufficient rage, they may transform into a mighty bear" is somewhat exciting. Not only are shapeshifters almost always a fun class to play, but it sounds like the beorning will be a bit of a different take on the shapeshifter.
This may in turn bring some new excitement to tailoring, assuming that the beorning is a light armour class that has something other than will as it's prime stat. So far all of the light armour classes pretty much want the same thing, but hey, we'll have to see.
Of course this all means we'll be waiting with baited breath to see some concept art, and developed diaries and so on, ultimately waiting until we can play the beorning. Expect to pay a bit extra for the class though. It may be free for VIPs, but I doubt it, and definitely F2Ps and premium accounts will have to purchase it separately.
Will it flood the game with beornings? Yes, but only for a while and only in the starter zones. It will be exciting for most players to try out the new class, but most will want to keep up with their mains and the new content which will likely be released with the class, and of course there are a lot of toons who never make it into the Trollshaws, let alone Moria and beyond.
That said, we can expect to see some more action in EL, Bree and the Shire than we have in a while, so even if you don't decide to play a beorning (which, of course, you will) it might be a good time to catch up on some low level group play and relive your early days of LOTRO.
Am I Going to Play a Beorning? Does a beorning crap in the woods? (don't answer that) Probably. I have played every class to a fair degree and I find they all have something unique and desirable. The beorning is very likely to continue that tradition. Unless I feel it's overpriced I will likely get it as soon as possible. How much I play the beorning will in part depend on how much time I'm spending on my other toons to play new content at the time.
*Update*
I've been doing s a bit of reading on the forums and finally saw the comment I knew I would, basically calling the beorning a rip off of World of Warcraft. This isn't true for a number of reasons:
1. WoW didn't create shapshifters. In fact Blizzard (the company that produces WoW in case you live under a rock) used druids in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, but that wasn't unique either since shapshifting druids have been around for decades in Dungeons and Dragons. Of course as with so many other elements of fantasy culture, it all comes back to Tolkien, who introduced us to Beorn (who was explicitly mentioned as a shapeshifter) not in the 1950's with LOTR, but in the 1930's with The Hobbit. So no, beornings are not a rip off of anything from WoW but an original creation of J.R.R. Tolkien himself...who probably borrowed the idea from mythologies and folklore as he did so much else...
2. The classes are very different. Granted, we haven't seen the LOTRO beorning yet, but from what we have been told, they're not the same. For one thing the WoW druid can take on several shapes, including some which fly, whereas the beorning will only have two forms, man and bear.
Another difference is armour; while the beorning has been stated to be a light armour class, the WoW druid is a medium armour class.
3. The combat sounds a bit different. Anyone who has ever played a WoW druid traited as a bear would almost certainly not refer to it as a "casting class". It is, in fact, a rather boring (albeit useful) tanking class (and let's be fair, the beorning may have a trait line focusing on tanking as a bear, but isn't that what bears are for?).
So...no...definitely not a rip off.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
New Content: Fangorn
So our first new post-Helm's Deep content was released yesterday with Fangorn Forest. I haven't been there yet but thought I'd share some preemptive thoughts anyway.
First off, it's nice to see things swerve away from Rohan a bit and to take a break from the central plot of LOTR (and yes, the ents marching on Isengard is a (vitally important) side story, being told in flashback in the books). I'm hoping that we can spend a bit more time wandering the world of Middle-earth without being driven through by the War of the Ring story.
Personally I'd like to see more, but Turbine has worked themselves into a bit of a spot here. While it would be possible to go do some questing in Northern Mirkwood, or even go to Dale or Erebor to help make preparations for the coming war with Sauron, now that Helm's Deep is over the lore only leaves about 2 weeks before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Not that that's likely to stop anyone. After all, in the time it took the hobbits to make it to Rivendell we quested through Ered Luin, The Shire, Bree-land, the North Downs, Evendim, the Lone-lands and the Trollshaws. By the time we followed them into Moria we'd also done the Misty Mountains, Forochel, Angmar, and Eregion, and we still caught up to them in Lothlorien! So it's hardly beyond the realm of expectation that we might see some of the Northeastern parts of Rhovanion before we head to Gondor. The epic story? It's really more of a guideline...
Secondly, we need to give a tip of the hat for a revamp of the inventory system. It's been overdue for a while and it's nice to see some attention being payed to UI and not just to gameplay. I'd still like to see some sort of sorting option, but hey, you have to leave something for later, right?
Likewise with mail. Finally, I can send a complete set of gear to someone in a single mail instead of needing 5 or 6 or more. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Finally, the Anniversary event begins today. Go have some fun and celebrate LOTRO's birthday.
Also, for those who don't already have Helm's Deep, it's on sale in the LOTRO store this week. Grab it now while it's only half price.
First off, it's nice to see things swerve away from Rohan a bit and to take a break from the central plot of LOTR (and yes, the ents marching on Isengard is a (vitally important) side story, being told in flashback in the books). I'm hoping that we can spend a bit more time wandering the world of Middle-earth without being driven through by the War of the Ring story.
Personally I'd like to see more, but Turbine has worked themselves into a bit of a spot here. While it would be possible to go do some questing in Northern Mirkwood, or even go to Dale or Erebor to help make preparations for the coming war with Sauron, now that Helm's Deep is over the lore only leaves about 2 weeks before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Not that that's likely to stop anyone. After all, in the time it took the hobbits to make it to Rivendell we quested through Ered Luin, The Shire, Bree-land, the North Downs, Evendim, the Lone-lands and the Trollshaws. By the time we followed them into Moria we'd also done the Misty Mountains, Forochel, Angmar, and Eregion, and we still caught up to them in Lothlorien! So it's hardly beyond the realm of expectation that we might see some of the Northeastern parts of Rhovanion before we head to Gondor. The epic story? It's really more of a guideline...
Secondly, we need to give a tip of the hat for a revamp of the inventory system. It's been overdue for a while and it's nice to see some attention being payed to UI and not just to gameplay. I'd still like to see some sort of sorting option, but hey, you have to leave something for later, right?
Likewise with mail. Finally, I can send a complete set of gear to someone in a single mail instead of needing 5 or 6 or more. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Finally, the Anniversary event begins today. Go have some fun and celebrate LOTRO's birthday.
Also, for those who don't already have Helm's Deep, it's on sale in the LOTRO store this week. Grab it now while it's only half price.
Thursday 3 April 2014
LOTRO Back to Basics 102: Picking a Class - The Burglar
So here we are back at stage 2 of character creation; picking which class to pick.
If you're new to the game, odds are you haven't purchased the Mines of Moria expansion (MoM) or otherwise purchased the Rune Keeper and Warden classes, so you'll only have the seven core classes to pick from initially. If you'd like to start out with either a warden or rune keeper, there are a number of ways to purchase them, but at this point, there is no way to get them without paying either real money or using Turbine Points. Don't worry, there's lots to keep you busy in the meantime.
This will be more of an overview of character classes than any sort of guide. From time to time a class gets a revamp anyway, so we're just going to stick with the basics here and then give you some guidelines to help you pick.
Of course there's no reason to stick to just one class, and many players will run multiple classes to end game, level cap status. This is simply to get you started and help you avoid junking the whole game just because you made a bad choice early on, or maybe came in with a poor understanding of a class.
The Core Classes
These are the seven classes everyone has access to, regardless of account type or how much money you've spent in (or on) the game, in alphabetical order: burglar, captain, champion, guardian, hunter, lore master and minstrel.
The Moria Classes
Also known as the prestige classes, these were introduced with Mines of Moria, and since they won't always be "the new classes" and they're not particularly "prestige" I've chosen to refer to them as the Moria classes. There are two: the rune keeper and the warden.
To do even a brief overview of each class would take a significant amount of space, so I'm going to try to do one class per day (maybe two if I get ambitious) just to give you an idea of what to expect.So today we start with...
Burglar
Burgs rely on stealth, positional damage and tricks (or gambles) to take out their foes. They have abilities that allow them to stun, daze, knockdown and slow their enemies, as well as being able to fall without taking mobility penalties. Think of them as the Jedis of Middle-Earth. They dual wield one handed weapons and are the only class able to start a fellowship maneuver with 100% success. Burglars are rated as "advanced" in difficulty to play, and are likely not ideal for players who are new to MMORPGs, but experienced gamers new to LOTRO will adjust quickly.
Solo Play
with their ability to sneak burgs are able to finish recon type missions much faster than most other classes. Rather than kill your way into an enemy encampment, just sneak! They also handle assassination type quests very well, being able to sneak into an encampment and then backstabbing the necessary mob.
Between their tricks and their class specific tools (caltrops, stun dust, and marbles) they are able to control a decent size group of mobs with efficiency.
Backstabbing from stealth affords considerable bonus damage, and if equipped with proper weapons, can allow burgs to one-shot on-level opponents.
Group Play
Since they are the only class able to start FMs with certainty, certain raids will have a high demand for burgs. The Draigoch raid introduced with Rise of Isengard, was one such instance, with 12 man raids often wanting at least two burglars in order to go through a series of FMs to wear the massive beast down.
In groups burgs will typically have a mixed role of DPS/debuff with some crowd control thrown in.
They gain positional damage buffs, meaning that when attacking from behind a mob you will do extra damage, and this really shines in group play since you can stand behind a mob and jab away while the tank holds its attention. Stabby, stabby!
Drawbacks
They are limited to leather (or medium) armour, but are able to parry and evade with efficiency, so this isn't much of a drawback.
They cannot use either bows or crossbows and so are limited to throwing axes for ranged attacks. There are special burglar throwing axes that do extra damage, but when you're trying to attack mobs from a distance to finish a slayer deed, this doesn't really help. This makes the burglar a bit tedious to play at times and can make the game progress a bit slowly.
Only men and hobbits can be burglars. Dwarves don't sneak very well and elves wouldn't resort to it (in keeping with the lore).
Overall
If you like subterfuge, hiding in the shadows and striking from behind, or enjoy puzzling your foes while out manoeuvring them, the burglar is probably a good class for you.
If you're new to the game, odds are you haven't purchased the Mines of Moria expansion (MoM) or otherwise purchased the Rune Keeper and Warden classes, so you'll only have the seven core classes to pick from initially. If you'd like to start out with either a warden or rune keeper, there are a number of ways to purchase them, but at this point, there is no way to get them without paying either real money or using Turbine Points. Don't worry, there's lots to keep you busy in the meantime.
This will be more of an overview of character classes than any sort of guide. From time to time a class gets a revamp anyway, so we're just going to stick with the basics here and then give you some guidelines to help you pick.
Of course there's no reason to stick to just one class, and many players will run multiple classes to end game, level cap status. This is simply to get you started and help you avoid junking the whole game just because you made a bad choice early on, or maybe came in with a poor understanding of a class.
The Core Classes
These are the seven classes everyone has access to, regardless of account type or how much money you've spent in (or on) the game, in alphabetical order: burglar, captain, champion, guardian, hunter, lore master and minstrel.
The Moria Classes
Also known as the prestige classes, these were introduced with Mines of Moria, and since they won't always be "the new classes" and they're not particularly "prestige" I've chosen to refer to them as the Moria classes. There are two: the rune keeper and the warden.
To do even a brief overview of each class would take a significant amount of space, so I'm going to try to do one class per day (maybe two if I get ambitious) just to give you an idea of what to expect.So today we start with...
Burglar
Burgs rely on stealth, positional damage and tricks (or gambles) to take out their foes. They have abilities that allow them to stun, daze, knockdown and slow their enemies, as well as being able to fall without taking mobility penalties. Think of them as the Jedis of Middle-Earth. They dual wield one handed weapons and are the only class able to start a fellowship maneuver with 100% success. Burglars are rated as "advanced" in difficulty to play, and are likely not ideal for players who are new to MMORPGs, but experienced gamers new to LOTRO will adjust quickly.
A man burglar
Solo Play
with their ability to sneak burgs are able to finish recon type missions much faster than most other classes. Rather than kill your way into an enemy encampment, just sneak! They also handle assassination type quests very well, being able to sneak into an encampment and then backstabbing the necessary mob.
Between their tricks and their class specific tools (caltrops, stun dust, and marbles) they are able to control a decent size group of mobs with efficiency.
Backstabbing from stealth affords considerable bonus damage, and if equipped with proper weapons, can allow burgs to one-shot on-level opponents.
Group Play
Since they are the only class able to start FMs with certainty, certain raids will have a high demand for burgs. The Draigoch raid introduced with Rise of Isengard, was one such instance, with 12 man raids often wanting at least two burglars in order to go through a series of FMs to wear the massive beast down.
In groups burgs will typically have a mixed role of DPS/debuff with some crowd control thrown in.
They gain positional damage buffs, meaning that when attacking from behind a mob you will do extra damage, and this really shines in group play since you can stand behind a mob and jab away while the tank holds its attention. Stabby, stabby!
A hobbit burglar
Drawbacks
They are limited to leather (or medium) armour, but are able to parry and evade with efficiency, so this isn't much of a drawback.
They cannot use either bows or crossbows and so are limited to throwing axes for ranged attacks. There are special burglar throwing axes that do extra damage, but when you're trying to attack mobs from a distance to finish a slayer deed, this doesn't really help. This makes the burglar a bit tedious to play at times and can make the game progress a bit slowly.
Only men and hobbits can be burglars. Dwarves don't sneak very well and elves wouldn't resort to it (in keeping with the lore).
Overall
If you like subterfuge, hiding in the shadows and striking from behind, or enjoy puzzling your foes while out manoeuvring them, the burglar is probably a good class for you.
Tuesday 1 April 2014
LOTRO Back to Basics 101: Picking a Race
Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is a fantastic MMORPGthat for a few years now has been free to play (F2P), and continues to attract new players every day. Whether you're a seasoned RPGer or new to games like this entirely, character creation can be a bit intimidating when you first start out. With Back to Basics I hope to give you a few guidelines to help out with your decision.
If you are among those who has read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or seen Peter Jackson's film adaptations then you will, no doubt, be a bit familiar with the world of Middle-Earth. If not, don't worry. Here's a brief breakdown of the races that people the West of Middle-Earth.
I will be dealing here only with the playable races of LOTRO, although maybe later I'll do something on a wider scale.
The playable races are often referred to as "the free peoples" or "freeps" in LOTRO slang. This is to differentiate them from the races and peoples who are enslaved under the dominion of Sauron or other dark powers.
The Race of Men
I've been told in other RPGs that playing a human means you have no imagination. That is hardly the case in LOTRO. The race of man is specifically the men of the West, not necessarily Dunedain, but typically their descendants or distant relations. There are many evil men in LOTRO, including some from the free people side, but as a rule these nations are opposed to Sauron and the dark powers.
If you select "Man" during character creation, you will be able to choose male or female (gender does not effect or concern gameplay at all, i is purely cosmetic) and will then be given a choice of where your character (or "toon" in game slang) hails from. These options are Bree-Land, Dale-Lands, Gondor, or Rohan. The only effects of your place of origin are some cosmetic options (such as hair colour and skin tone) and the title you will begin the game with ("Your name" of "your place of origin").
Men have more class options available to them than any of the other races. As of this writing there are nine classes and men can play all of them except Rune Keeper. They are the only race which can play the Captain class. Men are the dominant race during this period of time and most of the places you visit will be peopled with them.
Men start the game with extra fate and might and bonus to healing but with lower will than other races, however, stat bonuses or deficits typically make little significant difference throughout most of the game. The benefit from healing might make a bit of difference, but by the time you make level 20, no one's going to notice much.
Dwarves
Short, stocky, resilient and gruff (and typically bearded), dwarves are a tough bunch not to love. They live under mountains, drink whenever possible, look great in heavy armour and have the best /roar emote of all races.
The people of Durin begin the game with bonuses to might, vitality and in-combat regeneration, but suffer from lower fate, agility and out of combat regeneration. They hail from The Blue Mountains, The Iron Hills, The Lonely Mountain, The Grey Mountains or The White Mountains. As with other races the choice of origin only affects minor cosmetic choices.
There are male and female dwarves, but since they are alike in appearance, voice and dress, there is no gender option for dwarves, presumably leaving you open to deciding which your toon is yourself.
Dwarves are limited to Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Minstrel and Rune Keeper as class options. While they do look great with heavy armour and big shields, they are also able to function well in these other roles as well.
Hobbits
Perhaps Tolkien's best known creations, hobbits live almost exclusively in the Shire (or within close proximity thereof), where they eat, drink, smoke and party (in a rural, pastoral sort of way).
There are three branches of hobbits; the Fallohides, Harfoots and Stoors.
Hobbits get a boost to vitality and out of combat power regeneration and have a slight resistance to fear effects, but are less strong than other races and start with less might.
Hobbits are able to play as Burglars, Guardians, Hunters, Minstrels and Wardens.
Elves
The Eldar were once the most powerful and influential race of Middle-earth, but their time is passing as the age of men draws near. This is reflected in their starting stats as they have decreased fate, morale and non-combat morale regeneration. They also have increased agility as well as resistance to disease and poison.
Elves hail from Lindon, Lorien, Rivendell, Mirkwood and Edhellond. They can play all classes except Burglar and Captain.
Sum Up
The choice of race is largely a cosmetic one and will not have any long term effects on gameplay. However, each race does have a unique tutorial instance which helps flesh out their respective Epic Story Prologue, so I'd recommend playing each race at least once and doing the tutorial along the way. Additionally you can do the epic prologue for each race (there might even be a hidden reward for something like that...)
You don't have to be a particular race to visit and quest in the starting zones, only to do the tutorial and introduction.
The most important thing about playing different races is to pick one that fits your tastes and preferences. Of course there will be some class limitations based on your race, but if you don't like how a character looks or feels, the odds are you won't play that toon much anyway, so why bother?
Have fun and I'll see you at the Havens!
If you are among those who has read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or seen Peter Jackson's film adaptations then you will, no doubt, be a bit familiar with the world of Middle-Earth. If not, don't worry. Here's a brief breakdown of the races that people the West of Middle-Earth.
I will be dealing here only with the playable races of LOTRO, although maybe later I'll do something on a wider scale.
The playable races are often referred to as "the free peoples" or "freeps" in LOTRO slang. This is to differentiate them from the races and peoples who are enslaved under the dominion of Sauron or other dark powers.
The Race of Men
I've been told in other RPGs that playing a human means you have no imagination. That is hardly the case in LOTRO. The race of man is specifically the men of the West, not necessarily Dunedain, but typically their descendants or distant relations. There are many evil men in LOTRO, including some from the free people side, but as a rule these nations are opposed to Sauron and the dark powers.
If you select "Man" during character creation, you will be able to choose male or female (gender does not effect or concern gameplay at all, i is purely cosmetic) and will then be given a choice of where your character (or "toon" in game slang) hails from. These options are Bree-Land, Dale-Lands, Gondor, or Rohan. The only effects of your place of origin are some cosmetic options (such as hair colour and skin tone) and the title you will begin the game with ("Your name" of "your place of origin").
A man captain
Men start the game with extra fate and might and bonus to healing but with lower will than other races, however, stat bonuses or deficits typically make little significant difference throughout most of the game. The benefit from healing might make a bit of difference, but by the time you make level 20, no one's going to notice much.
Dwarves
Short, stocky, resilient and gruff (and typically bearded), dwarves are a tough bunch not to love. They live under mountains, drink whenever possible, look great in heavy armour and have the best /roar emote of all races.
The people of Durin begin the game with bonuses to might, vitality and in-combat regeneration, but suffer from lower fate, agility and out of combat regeneration. They hail from The Blue Mountains, The Iron Hills, The Lonely Mountain, The Grey Mountains or The White Mountains. As with other races the choice of origin only affects minor cosmetic choices.
There are male and female dwarves, but since they are alike in appearance, voice and dress, there is no gender option for dwarves, presumably leaving you open to deciding which your toon is yourself.
Dwarf guardian
Dwarves are limited to Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Minstrel and Rune Keeper as class options. While they do look great with heavy armour and big shields, they are also able to function well in these other roles as well.
Hobbits
Perhaps Tolkien's best known creations, hobbits live almost exclusively in the Shire (or within close proximity thereof), where they eat, drink, smoke and party (in a rural, pastoral sort of way).
There are three branches of hobbits; the Fallohides, Harfoots and Stoors.
Hobbits get a boost to vitality and out of combat power regeneration and have a slight resistance to fear effects, but are less strong than other races and start with less might.
Hobbit burglar
Hobbits are able to play as Burglars, Guardians, Hunters, Minstrels and Wardens.
Elves
The Eldar were once the most powerful and influential race of Middle-earth, but their time is passing as the age of men draws near. This is reflected in their starting stats as they have decreased fate, morale and non-combat morale regeneration. They also have increased agility as well as resistance to disease and poison.
Elf Loremaster
Elves hail from Lindon, Lorien, Rivendell, Mirkwood and Edhellond. They can play all classes except Burglar and Captain.
Sum Up
The choice of race is largely a cosmetic one and will not have any long term effects on gameplay. However, each race does have a unique tutorial instance which helps flesh out their respective Epic Story Prologue, so I'd recommend playing each race at least once and doing the tutorial along the way. Additionally you can do the epic prologue for each race (there might even be a hidden reward for something like that...)
You don't have to be a particular race to visit and quest in the starting zones, only to do the tutorial and introduction.
The most important thing about playing different races is to pick one that fits your tastes and preferences. Of course there will be some class limitations based on your race, but if you don't like how a character looks or feels, the odds are you won't play that toon much anyway, so why bother?
Have fun and I'll see you at the Havens!
Monday 31 March 2014
Fuelling Rumours: Why LOTRO won't release Gondor this year
So while everyone has been rumour mongering about what the new class may be in 2014, many seem to be taking for granted that LOTRO will naturally be doing Gondor. I don't think this is going to be the case and here's a few reasons why:
1. It's too soon.
While Tolkien takes us directly from Helm's Deep to Gondor (with some quick layovers), LOTRO isn't going to. Simply put, it's too soon. This MMO, unlike most others, is tied to a strict story-line and when it ends, it ends. Once you do Gondor, you have to do Mordor, and that's pretty much it. Sure, there may be some follow up stuff, like "scouring the Shire" or "the Grey Havens", or even some other clean up stuff (which is mentioned in the appendices of LOTR) but the big shebang will be over by that point and things just winding down. Expect Turbine to put as much time as possible (within reason) between these critical chapters of the canon.
2. Look at the map!
No, seriously, go look at it. There's two things I want you to notice about it:
First of all, there's a whole bunch of areas in "Rhovanion" with greyed out names. These are areas just waiting to be done. Notice that "Eriador" has no more places like this. Eriador = done, but Rhovanion = lots left. So expect some further development of at least one of these areas before Gondor comes along.
Secondly, notice that there is no Gondor. Nothing South of the Ered Nimrais has been shown on any map except the big "Middle-Earth" map. Turbine might surprise me by releasing a new map area while ignoring half a dozen areas in Rhovanion, but I doubt it. My guess is that when Gondor shows up it will be thoroughly expansive, including not just places like Dol Amroth, but also going as far down as Umbar (let's go show those uppity rebels a thing or two). But the real reason I doubt we will be seeing a new map with Gondor in 20114 is...
3. A letter from Executive Producer Kate Paiz
This letter, still up on the LOTRO forums, is from mid-December 2013 and has Kate Paiz effectively telling us point blank that we will not be seeing a new expansion in 2014, but that they will be developing more content and revamping a number of aspects of the game. She also mentions the Path of the Dead and the Dead Marshes as examples of new content (which apparently will be free to VIPs, yay!). The paths of the dead are sort of a no-brainer since we can already go up to the door. However, she mentions that this will be in keeping with the lore content, meaning that both areas may only exist as quest related instances or session plays. However, the Dagorlad area is just over the river from East Rohan, so that's probably our best bet for zone content.
Whatever comes, I think it's fair to say that our expectations are high, and rightfully so. Turbine has done an over all excellent job of turning out new material consistently. Combined with other much wanted revamps, we may start to see server lag again.
1. It's too soon.
While Tolkien takes us directly from Helm's Deep to Gondor (with some quick layovers), LOTRO isn't going to. Simply put, it's too soon. This MMO, unlike most others, is tied to a strict story-line and when it ends, it ends. Once you do Gondor, you have to do Mordor, and that's pretty much it. Sure, there may be some follow up stuff, like "scouring the Shire" or "the Grey Havens", or even some other clean up stuff (which is mentioned in the appendices of LOTR) but the big shebang will be over by that point and things just winding down. Expect Turbine to put as much time as possible (within reason) between these critical chapters of the canon.
2. Look at the map!
No, seriously, go look at it. There's two things I want you to notice about it:
First of all, there's a whole bunch of areas in "Rhovanion" with greyed out names. These are areas just waiting to be done. Notice that "Eriador" has no more places like this. Eriador = done, but Rhovanion = lots left. So expect some further development of at least one of these areas before Gondor comes along.
Secondly, notice that there is no Gondor. Nothing South of the Ered Nimrais has been shown on any map except the big "Middle-Earth" map. Turbine might surprise me by releasing a new map area while ignoring half a dozen areas in Rhovanion, but I doubt it. My guess is that when Gondor shows up it will be thoroughly expansive, including not just places like Dol Amroth, but also going as far down as Umbar (let's go show those uppity rebels a thing or two). But the real reason I doubt we will be seeing a new map with Gondor in 20114 is...
3. A letter from Executive Producer Kate Paiz
This letter, still up on the LOTRO forums, is from mid-December 2013 and has Kate Paiz effectively telling us point blank that we will not be seeing a new expansion in 2014, but that they will be developing more content and revamping a number of aspects of the game. She also mentions the Path of the Dead and the Dead Marshes as examples of new content (which apparently will be free to VIPs, yay!). The paths of the dead are sort of a no-brainer since we can already go up to the door. However, she mentions that this will be in keeping with the lore content, meaning that both areas may only exist as quest related instances or session plays. However, the Dagorlad area is just over the river from East Rohan, so that's probably our best bet for zone content.
Whatever comes, I think it's fair to say that our expectations are high, and rightfully so. Turbine has done an over all excellent job of turning out new material consistently. Combined with other much wanted revamps, we may start to see server lag again.
Friday 28 March 2014
Why You Can't Be a Wizard (Sorry)
I said I'd follow up on my comment about why wizards won't be a class in lotro, so here it is.
The word wizard is translated from the Elvish istari meaning wise. There are five wizards. To keep it simple they are Saruman (originally the white), Radagast (the brown) two who are left unnamed who wear blue and pass into the South and/or east and Gandalf (the grey).
This is the first reason why they could not be a playable class, the lore strictly limits them in number.
But we continue...
The istari are maiar out of the far West. If you haven't read the Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales or some other Tolkien writing detailing Middle-Earth before the war of the ring, then this won't mean much to you, so I'll give a real quick crash course on what you need to know.
There is one God, named Eru or Illuvatar, who is the great planner and creator. Illuvatar creates what are essentially angelic or celestial powers called the ainur. The ainur are separated into two categories: the more powerful ones who are effectively the equivalent to a classical pantheon (think the Greek gods or something close) who are called the valar and the lesser beings who principally serve as servants to the valar known as the maiar. All of this is a bit of an oversimplification but I hope it helps.
The istari are 5 maiar who were sent by the valar to go into Middle-Earth to help the free peoples in their struggle against Sauron, but who are cloaked (as it were) in a diminished form and are not permitted to use the power that would be theirs as maiar. Most notable among these, Gandalf is a maiar known as Olorin (referenced in The Two Towers during discourse between Frodo and Faramir, who quotes Gandalf as having said, "...Olorin I was, in the West which is forgotten").
So, while it would be fun to run around lotro with the power of a demi-god at your disposal, it would somewhat unbalance the game a bit. Unless the entire game were redone at full fellowship scale, which would of course unbalance it for everyone else.
And that's why you can't play as a wizard.
However, Turbine and the lotro devs have a long history of letting us play odd characters through session play, so maybe we'll see something in the future (Gandalf's encounter with the ringwraiths on Amon Sul for example).
To read more on the istari check out the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Unfinished Tales.
The word wizard is translated from the Elvish istari meaning wise. There are five wizards. To keep it simple they are Saruman (originally the white), Radagast (the brown) two who are left unnamed who wear blue and pass into the South and/or east and Gandalf (the grey).
This is the first reason why they could not be a playable class, the lore strictly limits them in number.
But we continue...
The istari are maiar out of the far West. If you haven't read the Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales or some other Tolkien writing detailing Middle-Earth before the war of the ring, then this won't mean much to you, so I'll give a real quick crash course on what you need to know.
There is one God, named Eru or Illuvatar, who is the great planner and creator. Illuvatar creates what are essentially angelic or celestial powers called the ainur. The ainur are separated into two categories: the more powerful ones who are effectively the equivalent to a classical pantheon (think the Greek gods or something close) who are called the valar and the lesser beings who principally serve as servants to the valar known as the maiar. All of this is a bit of an oversimplification but I hope it helps.
The istari are 5 maiar who were sent by the valar to go into Middle-Earth to help the free peoples in their struggle against Sauron, but who are cloaked (as it were) in a diminished form and are not permitted to use the power that would be theirs as maiar. Most notable among these, Gandalf is a maiar known as Olorin (referenced in The Two Towers during discourse between Frodo and Faramir, who quotes Gandalf as having said, "...Olorin I was, in the West which is forgotten").
So, while it would be fun to run around lotro with the power of a demi-god at your disposal, it would somewhat unbalance the game a bit. Unless the entire game were redone at full fellowship scale, which would of course unbalance it for everyone else.
And that's why you can't play as a wizard.
However, Turbine and the lotro devs have a long history of letting us play odd characters through session play, so maybe we'll see something in the future (Gandalf's encounter with the ringwraiths on Amon Sul for example).
To read more on the istari check out the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Unfinished Tales.
New Class for LOTRO (?)
Back in 2007 Lord of the Rings Online (lotro) launched with 7 character classes. A few years later, the Mines of Moria (MoM) expansion gave us 2 more. Now, after several years of speculation, the word from Turbine (the company that produces lotro) is that we can expect a new class sometime in 2014. This has set the MMO community, and obviously the lotro community in particular, abuzz with speculation, rumours and criticism. Here's my look at it.
Why?
This has been asked a lot, which seems strange to me, but many players are asking why Turbine would create a new character class. This seems fairly obvious to me. First of all, a new class provides a fresh take on the game. Anyone who's played through as (let's say) a hunter, and then gone back to play as a guardian, or a rune keeper, will find the game very different.
Secondly, MMOs are probably the most competitive game market in existence right now, so, frankly, you need to throw a bone out once in a while to draw some new attention and maybe hook some former players back in.
The third reason? Easiest of all: Because players want more classes. Whether or not you are one of those players is irrelevant to the fact that there have been forum threads since forever asking about the when and what of a new class and players suggesting new classes to bring into the game.
So, simply put, people want it, it is likely to make people want to play more, not less, and since Turbine wants people to play their game and like it they're going to make a new class.
What?
This one's a bit tougher and Turbine hasn't given enough information to do anything more than speculate widely by giving the hint that it's referenced multiple times in the books. While this may be true, they would also say the same of their current classes, but would anyone really look at Sam Gamgee and conclude that a class based on him would use heavy armour and shields? No. Why? Because it's not in the books. What about looking at the ring smith Celebrimbor (who's barely mentioned in The Lord of the Rings because he belongs to the second age, not the third, and come up with a class that shoots fire and lightning from their hands? Probably not, but Sam is named as the basis for the guardian class while Celebrimbor is the model for rune keepers. But, hey! Speculation is fun, so let's run with it for a few minutes, shall we?
Fun!
Many have speculated about Beornings, including myself. Shape changers are common these days in many games and they certainly add both new game-play elements as well as some cool eye candy.
Does it fit in the lore? Yes and no. Yes, Beorn was able to shift into a bear form and yes there was a group of his descendants, but it's not stated that his descendants retained his shifting abilities. That said, this is more than enough for Turbine to substantiate a new class.
Many have also commented regarding a knight class, something like knight of Gondor or Dol Amroth or something along those lines. While certainly fitting in with the lore, it would seem a bit redundant. After all, guardians, champions, wardens and captains are all in the "knight" category, so it's hard to imagine a knight filling a role in way that is not already done by these 5 other classes. Frankly, I think we have enough standard melee classes to go around.
Wizards has been asked for and speculated for several years and I'm assuming that the people for beg for it have never actually read the books, or if they have, have never bothered to look into what wizards are in Tolkien's world, particularly during the Third Age. I may write more on this later, but for now, look it up. Seriously. It definitely wouldn't fit into the lore and the Rune Keeper class was added, seemingly, in part to take the role of a magic user, while attempting to squish it into the lore.
Ent? Seriously? Not only would they be overpowered, and not only are they not any of the four "freep" races, and not only are they becoming rarer with every passing decade, and not only are they...you know what? Never mind. It's just stupid.
My Guess?
I don't know, honestly. However, there are a few balance issues to look at:
First of all, there are 3 classes in each armour category - Light: lore master, minstrel and rune keeper; medium: burglar, hunter and warden; heavy: captain, champion and guardian. What does that mean? Maybe nothing, but it would be interesting to have a class without armour or maybe a melee class with light armour. Just saying.
Of the 9 classes currently, 8 of them are playable by men, and the captain class is man specific. Again, doesn't mean anything, but it would be nice to give elves, dwarves and hobbits something to play as well. Both Beorning and knight would seem to be man specific.
Obviously it will be a hybrid, since all roles within a fellowship are currently fairly well met. Since DPS abounds in Middle-Earth I would expect something to fill in the gaps. It occurs to me how hard it is to find a burglar when you need one...
Ultimately, only time will tell. Since Turbine hasn't released much concerning what else we can expect in 2014, it's only guesses right now.
Why?
This has been asked a lot, which seems strange to me, but many players are asking why Turbine would create a new character class. This seems fairly obvious to me. First of all, a new class provides a fresh take on the game. Anyone who's played through as (let's say) a hunter, and then gone back to play as a guardian, or a rune keeper, will find the game very different.
Secondly, MMOs are probably the most competitive game market in existence right now, so, frankly, you need to throw a bone out once in a while to draw some new attention and maybe hook some former players back in.
The third reason? Easiest of all: Because players want more classes. Whether or not you are one of those players is irrelevant to the fact that there have been forum threads since forever asking about the when and what of a new class and players suggesting new classes to bring into the game.
So, simply put, people want it, it is likely to make people want to play more, not less, and since Turbine wants people to play their game and like it they're going to make a new class.
What?
This one's a bit tougher and Turbine hasn't given enough information to do anything more than speculate widely by giving the hint that it's referenced multiple times in the books. While this may be true, they would also say the same of their current classes, but would anyone really look at Sam Gamgee and conclude that a class based on him would use heavy armour and shields? No. Why? Because it's not in the books. What about looking at the ring smith Celebrimbor (who's barely mentioned in The Lord of the Rings because he belongs to the second age, not the third, and come up with a class that shoots fire and lightning from their hands? Probably not, but Sam is named as the basis for the guardian class while Celebrimbor is the model for rune keepers. But, hey! Speculation is fun, so let's run with it for a few minutes, shall we?
Fun!
Many have speculated about Beornings, including myself. Shape changers are common these days in many games and they certainly add both new game-play elements as well as some cool eye candy.
Does it fit in the lore? Yes and no. Yes, Beorn was able to shift into a bear form and yes there was a group of his descendants, but it's not stated that his descendants retained his shifting abilities. That said, this is more than enough for Turbine to substantiate a new class.
Many have also commented regarding a knight class, something like knight of Gondor or Dol Amroth or something along those lines. While certainly fitting in with the lore, it would seem a bit redundant. After all, guardians, champions, wardens and captains are all in the "knight" category, so it's hard to imagine a knight filling a role in way that is not already done by these 5 other classes. Frankly, I think we have enough standard melee classes to go around.
Wizards has been asked for and speculated for several years and I'm assuming that the people for beg for it have never actually read the books, or if they have, have never bothered to look into what wizards are in Tolkien's world, particularly during the Third Age. I may write more on this later, but for now, look it up. Seriously. It definitely wouldn't fit into the lore and the Rune Keeper class was added, seemingly, in part to take the role of a magic user, while attempting to squish it into the lore.
Ent? Seriously? Not only would they be overpowered, and not only are they not any of the four "freep" races, and not only are they becoming rarer with every passing decade, and not only are they...you know what? Never mind. It's just stupid.
My Guess?
I don't know, honestly. However, there are a few balance issues to look at:
First of all, there are 3 classes in each armour category - Light: lore master, minstrel and rune keeper; medium: burglar, hunter and warden; heavy: captain, champion and guardian. What does that mean? Maybe nothing, but it would be interesting to have a class without armour or maybe a melee class with light armour. Just saying.
Of the 9 classes currently, 8 of them are playable by men, and the captain class is man specific. Again, doesn't mean anything, but it would be nice to give elves, dwarves and hobbits something to play as well. Both Beorning and knight would seem to be man specific.
Obviously it will be a hybrid, since all roles within a fellowship are currently fairly well met. Since DPS abounds in Middle-Earth I would expect something to fill in the gaps. It occurs to me how hard it is to find a burglar when you need one...
Ultimately, only time will tell. Since Turbine hasn't released much concerning what else we can expect in 2014, it's only guesses right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)