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.
Monday 31 March 2014
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.
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