Incline The Lord of the Rings Online - Corsairs of Umbar expansion out now

[someone else]

It's a vista/landscape simulator. The gameplay is your typical MMO shit with filler quests and tab-based combat, but this time it's incredibly laggy (only has US servers and terrible netcode on top) and the engine is one of the worst you'll ever experience, with hitching and performance problems as the game loads assets on any set up imaginable.

Sykar
Lag sometimes but otherwise ok on US server, I'm not from US, some other players complain, game is free for you to test.
A few seconds of loading when moving into area with many other players otherwise smooth gameplay, game has new 64bit client a couple of years ago which helped, I'm running an old PC.

The filler quests are terrible, even the non filler ones have lots of messenger-boy and back & forth travelling.
World is huge, beautiful and interesting. Lots of LOTR memes eventhough it is not based on movie. Gives a lot of gameplay but it also takes a lot of time.
Combat is skill cooldown rotation based, can solo, some instances require group with tank/DPS/heal/support. It's slightly good, I don't play this for the combat.
Developers keep wanting your $$$.
Community is mostly good, lots of old players.
If this isn't LOTR, I will find something else. Check out my LP on unexplored: The Mithril Run in my sig.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

The wiki has conflicting info on the lvl requirements for riding.
google suggests 20 is right. Ppl ingame advices 20 too.

Bummer, that would make it a bit trickier. Could get a pair of dorks to 20, then go VIP, then create all 3 remaining characters so the other 2 are gaining rest XP boost while I'm leveling one to horseriding just to speed things up a little. Probably not much of a concern since I'd have a month to do it but it would be busier than my current method of play which is slow as shit, I think I'm around 10 hours played on my dude and not yet 20. I am reading all the quests and sightseeing however.

 

[LarryTyphoid]

If you like games based on Tolkien, check out Sil, a free roguelike which is around 5 or 6 years old now. I like it because it has a pretty strong emphasis on stealth, because enemies get really dangerous later on and you get XP merely by encountering them, rather than only for killing them. You can forge your own amulets and rings with different pros and cons. One of the cons is that your artifact will constantly spawn ringwraiths on your floor. Magic is contextualized by the PC singing different songs, with different flavor text for each - for instance, the song of stealth is whispered, which is a great touch.

 

[someone else]

My VIP ended and I can't increase my crafting guild reputation levels & I'm back to normal crafting speed.
Oh well time to test out Dungeon & Dragons Online free coupons.

Moria is visually impressive.

 

[someone else]

https://lotro.com/en/blackfriday2021

Black Friday Sales have arrived!
Available through Monday, November 29th, 2021:

LOTRO Market:
85% off the Minas Morgul expansion!

60% off War of Three Peaks!

Double Bonus Points is Back!

Get twice the Bonus Points in the LOTRO Store through Monday November 29th!

I'm missing both expansion, dunno if I should get or wait for a possible LOTRO store sale later so I can use LPs instead of $.
Minas Morgul in market also includes Stoutaxe race and char slot. Hmm.
DDO also has huge expansion sale too. Hmm.
btw double bonus points for LOTRO is rarer than DDO.
Hmm.

 

[Reinhardt]

installing it just to claim free shit. glad to see it's same long and retarded process as ddo installing...

 

[Sentinel]

https://www.thegamer.com/lord-of-the-rings-online-major-revamp-amazons-lotr-series/

Lord Of The Rings Online To Get "Major Revamp" In Time For Amazon's Upcoming LOTR Series
BY LU-HAI LIANGPUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

Big things are planned for the MMORPG.

Lord of the Rings Online is an MMORPG that launched 14 years ago, which is a long time in the world of video games. Heck, when the game debuted in April 2007, the PS3 had only been out for less than six months, and Instagram was still three years from existence. How time flies. But that Lord of the Rings Online, which originally included the subtitle Shadows of Angmar, has been running this long is something of a success in itself.

Since the game launched on Windows PC it's received major updates and expansions, which added new quests and storylines to in-game regions such as Isengard, Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor. Now, it's been revealed that Lord of the Rings Online will be getting a significant visual overhaul and will get console launches as a major new show, which is set in a JRR Tolkein world, is planned to hit TV screens nex year.

In an investor presentation, that was spotted by Twitter user and Twitcher streamer Miller (per Eurogamer), reliable details were published about forthcoming plans for the MMORPG. The document, which is published online, shows that expansion pack releases are in the pipeline for Lord of the Rings Online. It also describes the game as "the biggest and truest simulation of Tolkien's Middle Earth world online."

The document continues: "Along with Amazon's new streaming series (reported to be the biggest budget series ever) based on the Lord of the Rings IP, Daybreak is investing in a major revamp to upgrade the visuals, modernize the experience and release on consoles." These details are published as part of an investor presentation, which is available online. 'Daybreak' refers to the publisher of Lord of the Rings Online.

Amazon's forthcoming series is set in the world envisaged in JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings books, and is reportedly based on the wider mythology that the English author created for his signature fantasy series. The Amazon series is set to launch in September 2, 2022, and is said to have cost an incredibly large amount of money to produce. While this new streaming series is not directly connected to Lord of the Rings Online, it is clear that the game's owners want to make the most of the hype that will likely surround the release of Amazon's show, and time the planned upgrades and console launches accordingly.

In Lord of the Rings Online players can choose between races such as Dwarves, Elves, Hobbites, and Men, and it all takes place in Middle-earth. This is all quite ironic considering that the book on which the game is based, The Lord of the Rings, has been enormously influential on fantasy MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape, or basically any game that features dwarves and elves and orcs, since it published in 1954.

It isn't yet known which consoles the game will launch on, but considering the console versions won't arrive until later next year, it seems the PS5 and Xbox Series are the more likely platforms, but we will have to wait and see.

 

[LarryTyphoid]

ERP incoming!

 

[curds]

https://www.lotro.com/news/lotro-producer-letter-march-2022-en

Quite a significant update coming in late April.

All races and classes will be available to for free-to-play, as will all content up to and including the Helm's Deep xpac.

To put that into perspective, free-to-play originally only covered the first few zones of the base game. Now it covers the entire base game plus 3-4 xpacs.

I am thinking of jumping back into the game when this update drops. I'd be mildly interested in getting a Codex Kinship going, if there are enough interested parties.

 

[Rahdulan]

There's so much you have to wonder remains for subscribers as incentive if you've kept up with new content. More importantly, what spurred this F2P generosity?

First, we’re adding a new area: the northern region known as the Yondershire, a sparsely populated region of moor, thicket, and fen that has long been home to Hobbit recluses and troublemakers. Since the time of Bullroarer Took, the Yondershire has squabbled with the more comfortable parts of the Shire. The upstart Lotho Sackville-Baggins aims to bully the local Hobbits, but they’re none too keen on his designs. Explore the Yondershire, and experience some more delightful Hobbit adventures, our first expansion of the Shire in years!

Second, we’re bringing back the Anniversary Festival, and we’re adding a whole new festival instance, A Flurry of Fireworks! You’ve been asked to aid with the greatest fireworks display that Bree-land has ever seen. Setting up for the fireworks, things have gotten behind schedule and dusk is fast approaching. You must help keep everyone on task and deliver their fireworks to the proper locations on time! And if you’re looking for a bit more, we’ve got an exciting gift to share with everyone, but we’ll have more info about that when we get closer to our 15th Anniversary.

Third, we’re making some updates to VIP. Some of the smaller changes will stay under wraps for now, but I'm excited to inform you that VIP will now include the standard versions of the Mordor, Minas Morgul, and War of Three Peaks expansions. You may be wondering, why only those expansions? Well, that brings me to my next announcement.

Fourth, and long requested, we’re making some big changes to the LOTRO Store. You’ve seen some of the first changes we made a month ago with the release of Rangers and Ruins, which brought the Premium Wallet, Gold Currency Cap, and Virtue, Race, and Class trait slots for free to all players! Starting with Update 33, we’re making the High Elf race free for all players. Now everyone can play as those who beheld the beauty of Valinor, and play as a Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-keeper, Warden, or Brawler through all of Middle-earth!

That, conveniently enough, brings me to the next change: Rune-keepers, Wardens, and Beornings will now be available for all players to play! Craft powerful runes, create masterful gambits, or summon the secret of Beorn, as you grow your legacy as a hero in Middle-earth! And if you’d like, you can do all of the above!

Finally, there’s another change that’s perhaps the biggest we’ve made since The Lord of the Rings: Online went free to play all those years ago... With this update, all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep will be available for free to everyone. Quest, explore, and craft your way to level 95 to your heart’s content!

 

[curds]

There's so much you have to wonder remains for subscribers as incentive.

Content from Helm's Deep onward (as in, likely over half of the game at this point) still requires a sub. Personally, I may sub as a gesture of goodwill for them finally doing things better if I end up getting properly back into the game.

More importantly, what spurred this F2P generosity?

Years of criticism from players, but more importantly, taking advantage of the resurgence in interest in LotR due to the upcoming TV show. Also I'm pretty sure the game is under new management.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Might pick up to try the Beoring play if we won't get nuked by then of course.

 

[curds]

Might pick up to try the Beoring play if we won't get nuked by then of course.

Beorning is worth playing if only because it allows you to skip the terribly boring, hour-long prologue/tutorial instance. I may go beorning this time myself as Beorn is one of my favourite characters from that world.

 

[Atlantico]

Oh man, I'd love to get back into Lotro... it's good fun!

 

[Saerain]

High Elves at no cost? It's fucking heretical but here I come.

 

[Scruffy]

I reinstalled this, not because I had seen any announcement, but because I felt like romping through Middle Earth again, but man is the combat even more tedious than I remembered...

 

[ADL]

Supposedly they're overhauling the visuals and making moves towards putting it on consoles. If they're going to bring it to consoles, I'd imagine they're going to overhaul the combat significantly too. My friend that has been playing for the last 15 years seems to think it's all bullshit.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I played LOTRO in beta and for a couple of years after its release. It was great fun (I played as a Warden and I remember the then-current expansion being Moria). The difficulty was quite high for small groups back in the day - I have fond memories of getting my ass kicked at Fornost.

However, I haven't touched it in over a decade and all this f2p stuff is obviously very confusing. Do old subs get any kind of perk?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Supposedly they're overhauling the visuals and making moves towards putting it on consoles. If they're going to bring it to consoles, I'd imagine they're going to overhaul the combat significantly too. My friend that has been playing for the last 15 years seems to think it's all bullshit.

They've already mentioned it before. I'll believe it when I see it.
The game badly needs a UI rewrite though, same deal with DDO. UIs in both are fucking awful and unusable now.

Also, the "Unannounced MMORPG" being a Marvel game is fucking personified. I was hoping it was EQ3. Disgusting.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Lol, upgrade the visuals of a 15 year old game during a semi-conductor shortage. Hope it still runs on my machine or at least has a toggle feature between update and pre-update.

 

[deama]

Can Beoring transform into animals?

 

[baud]

Lol, upgrade the visuals of a 15 year old game during a semi-conductor shortage. Hope it still runs on my machine or at least has a toggle feature between update and pre-update.

they'll upgrade the visuals to those of a 10 years old game instead. Shouldn't tax your rig too much

 

[Gerrard]

>along with Amazon's series
>upgrade the visuals

I know where this is going.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The amount of effort it would require to update the visuals of the game across the board would be astronomical.
LotRO is easily one of the biggest MMOs that exists, especially after WoW decided to take old content out back and shoot it more than a few times.

An engine update with a rewrite of the renderer to a more physically based model would probably go a long way, but still require a good deal of effort on the art assets to make them work with the new renderer, much could possibly be automated though.

The real issue is the fucking UI though

 

[deem]

Supposedly they're overhauling the visuals and making moves towards putting it on consoles. If they're going to bring it to consoles, I'd imagine they're going to overhaul the combat significantly too. My friend that has been playing for the last 15 years seems to think it's all bullshit.

They are rebooting IGI? Damn, this brings back memories.