Incline The Lord of the Rings Online - Legacy of Morgoth

[ADL]

LOTRO is by far the best game imaginable for a fan of Tolkien's work. Can't imagine anyone doing much better than this. That being said you really have to be into it to justify their bullshit monetization. It'll set you back a couple hundred bucks to own all the content and that's a little much for such a dated MMO.

Sucks that you missed out on that promo code that gave you all the quest packs for 99 turbine points or whatever. I agree they should really make that permanent.

 

[Ranselknulf]

I'm not a completionist by any means. If I do keep playing, I'll play until it feels too grindy or I feel like it costs too much for the enjoyment I get.

My brief reading of the subscriptions while killing stuff in game made me think you get all the quest packs when you sub. Maybe there were better deals in the past, but I honestly cant see myself playing this game much in 6 months, but you do get 3000 free lotr coins for the item shop with a 6 month sub.

Ehh, mathing out costs probably isn't worth it for this old game, but I'll see if I still enjoy the game when I play more and go from there.

 

[Ranselknulf]

I've probably put about 10 hours into the game.

There is more I could do at this point, but I think my time is better spent just waiting for the free codes to become available again (if they ever do that is).

The monetization scheme for the game is confusing and outdated if you ask me. I don't mind spending money on games or subscribing, but their prices are crazy.

If I can pop into the game in the future at a better price it might be worth it.

 

[Siveon]

I've probably put about 10 hours into the game.

There is more I could do at this point, but I think my time is better spent just waiting for the free codes to become available again (if they ever do that is).

The monetization scheme for the game is confusing and outdated if you ask me. I don't mind spending money on games or subscribing, but their prices are crazy.

If I can pop into the game in the future at a better price it might be worth it.

A subscription just for everything would be so easy. What I would've done was have a cross-promo subscription too, with this and DDO.

Personally I'd just want a single player version with an upfront cost for everything but I know they got mouths to feed.

 

[deama]

I really wish there was a way to play this single player with everything intact cause I sometimes hate how slow it can get, wish I could speed hack it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

A subscription just for everything would be so easy. What I would've done was have a cross-promo subscription too, with this and DDO.

Strange part is how well their parent company handles the exact same situation with EQ/EQ2.
Everything but the latest two or three expansions are free, one subscription for both games, buying the latest expansion gets you all the previous ones.

LOTRO and DDO would be way more popular with that model.

 

[Siveon]

buying the latest expansion gets you all the previous ones.

God, I wish DDO/LOTRO could be like this.

 

[flabbyjack]

I refused to play ever since they cut orcs as a playable race.

 

[deama]

I refused to play ever since they cut orcs as a playable race.

They still have them no? I believe you have to do some stuff to be able to play the monster races like orcs, spiders, goblins etc...

 

[Atlantico]

I refused to play ever since they cut orcs as a playable race.

 

[ADL]

There is more I could do at this point, but I think my time is better spent just waiting for the free codes to become available again (if they ever do that is).
The monetization scheme for the game is confusing and outdated if you ask me. I don't mind spending money on games or subscribing, but their prices are crazy.
If I can pop into the game in the future at a better price it might be worth it.

For what it's worth basically everyone that plays the game wants them to bring back the quest pack deal and change it so buying the latest expansion grants you the previous ones. The barrier for entry is too damn high and it's getting in the way for bringing in new players and their legacy playerbase is pissed about it.

 

[Siveon]

There is more I could do at this point, but I think my time is better spent just waiting for the free codes to become available again (if they ever do that is).
The monetization scheme for the game is confusing and outdated if you ask me. I don't mind spending money on games or subscribing, but their prices are crazy.
If I can pop into the game in the future at a better price it might be worth it.

For what it's worth basically everyone that plays the game wants them to bring back the quest pack deal and change it so buying the latest expansion grants you the previous ones. The barrier for entry is too damn high and it's getting in the way for bringing in new players and their legacy playerbase is pissed about it.

This is definitely too much, but I'd want that AND some sort of guarantee of a single player/offline mode. No MMO company has done this but I feel like for these two games in particular, it'd be super easy.

 

[Zlaja]

Last I checked (which was a few years ago) the base game is free

The only thing that is free are the 4 starting areas. All quest content in other regions (except the main quest) has to be unlocked by either subscribing (region quest packs) or/and buying with points (region quest packs and big expansions). As you can see the only way to access stuff labeled as an "expansion" is by buying it with points, even if you are a current subscriber. Also, you can access most later areas, but only grind mobs if you are a free player.

Back when I dropped, the biggest QoL improvement for F2P players was to buy 1 month of premium subscription, as even after it ended, plenty of stuff stayed unlocked forever (gold limits and stuff like that). Not sure how true that is these days

Some things do stay unlocked forever like no gold limit and extra character slots, but the quest packs can only be accessed while a subscriber.

Sucks that you missed out on that promo code that gave you all the quest packs for 99 turbine points or whatever. I agree they should really make that permanent

I'm gutted that I missed that shit. Just started playing recently, and I had to subscribe (got 3 months for 30 bucks) to be able to continue doing other stuff then just the main quest after LV30.

 

[Achilleslastand]

LOTRO is testing a difficulty slider for the landscape/pve and i believe it is going to be released on a new server. Depending how this works i would probably resub in a heartbeat.

 

[Deflowerer]

Why isn't every MMO doing this difficulty slider?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

LOTRO is testing a difficulty slider for the landscape/pve and i believe it is going to be released on a new server. Depending how this works i would probably resub in a heartbeat.

how do people play with their player/target info in the top left like that
I get why it was ok when PC resolutions were 800x600, but that shit is way away from what I'm looking at on a modern monitor.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Checked in on updates, I missed, this caught my eye

https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Update_29.5_-_Monday_April_19,_2021
Seems they're doing another Bingo Boffin-style quest series, which I liked quite a lot. For those that didn't play it, it's an episodic series of quests which follows you throughout most of your journey in middle earth with a recurring cast of characters.

 

[Achilleslastand]

LOTRO is testing a difficulty slider for the landscape/pve and i believe it is going to be released on a new server. Depending how this works i would probably resub in a heartbeat.

how do people play with their player/target info in the top left like that
I get why it was ok when PC resolutions were 800x600, but that shit is way away from what I'm looking at on a modern monitor.

Ya no clue, you can move the UI around but i believe{?}there is no way to get rid of certain parts.

 

[The Great Deceiver]

Those who wanted more difficult content finally got their wish:

The Legendary World experience now has two new servers, Shadowfax and Treebeard, that will take you through the journey faster or slower, more or less difficult - your choice!

Speed through Middle-earth on the Shadowfax server:

• Get +50% XP, Legendary Item XP, and Mount XP along with +20% Virtue XP!
• Unlocks more quickly than normal, about every two months.

Enjoy every moment of LOTRO on the Treebeard server:

• Get only 40% of the XP you would normally receive (-60% reduced XP).
• Unlocks less frequently than normal, about every five to six months.

Shadowfax and Treebeard also debut a new Landscape Difficulty option! Currently, this option is only available on Shadowfax and Treebeard. Speak with Berthadan near the Prancing Pony in West Bree to get started!

https://lotro.com/en/legendary

 

[Gerrard]

Why isn't every MMO doing this difficulty slider?

Because then people start asking for extra rewards for playing on higher difficulty. Happened with Warframe, I see it happening in discussions on ESO.

 

[Rahdulan]

I honestly think they keep making the mistake of locking these progressive or gimmick servers exclusively to subscribers. There's only so many of them left in a game like LotRO which already isn't top dog in terms of player count, and they have their favorite servers already. SSG would succeed in making new servers more populated by opening them up to general F2P population as well.

 

[Sinilevä]

I remember playing this one in 2007-2008 and it was pretty good. Is it still worth playing? Judging by some posts the microtransaction stuff seems to be confusing as hell.

 

[Voids]

I remember playing this one in 2007-2008 and it was pretty good. Is it still worth playing? Judging by some posts the microtransaction stuff seems to be confusing as hell.

I played it on release and jumped back in a few months ago before jumping back out, so I can't speak to how it is right at this moment. If you're not a MMO kinda person it is confusing, and I was confused by all the different ways it changed. It'll be a little bit to wrap your head around but nothing impossible. It's still a gorgeous, atmospheric game.

 

[Sinilevä]

I remember playing this one in 2007-2008 and it was pretty good. Is it still worth playing? Judging by some posts the microtransaction stuff seems to be confusing as hell.

I played it on release and jumped back in a few months ago before jumping back out, so I can't speak to how it is right at this moment. If you're not a MMO kinda person it is confusing, and I was confused by all the different ways it changed. It'll be a little bit to wrap your head around but nothing impossible. It's still a gorgeous, atmospheric game.

I'm not really an MMO person. In fact this one was the last one I played up until Moria(I think) expansion, but the atmosphere and Tolkiens world that what really enticed me despite it's having it's share of typical boring "kill 10 boars", "collect 5 wolf pelts" type of quests.

 

[Frank Capicoli]

Ramblings on the treebeard server:

The introduction of the difficulty choices ranging from normal to deadly+6 paired with the slowed experience system is probably one of the better choices they've made in the past few years. One of the problems this game has faced with introducing 130 levels over the years is the leveling generally goes by so quickly its far too easy to out level a zone by the time you're halfway through its content. They introduced a store item quite a few years ago to try and remedy this problem but it was a bandaid fix at best, costing money and if I remember correctly a gear slot on your character. With the reduced experience gain of the new server this is largely gone from the game, to out level areas you have to go out of you way to achieve it.

The difficulty choices finally makes the overworld content something other than a faceroll on options above deadly 0. Enemies are more resistant to damage, you take more damage, the "Eye of Sauron" system adds extra hazards to combat like area damage effects that will hit you for 20%+ of your health if don't avoid them or giving enemies buffs that you have to remove or they gain double damage, attack speed, % damage reductions, etc etc. It's nothing advanced but it goes a long way to actually making encounters dangerous.

A few years back they revamped the stats on crafted gear, the new difficulty changes value crafting at all levels much more now as you need to pay attention to upgrading gear to stay alive now. The downside to this is that 90% of low level quest rewards are just vendor trash at this point since their stats are way out of date.

Certain classes have a much easier time. Beornings, Guardians, Wardens, and Hunters have a far less challenging time than classes like Burglar, Loremaster, or Minstrel. To little surprise Loremaster is the rarest class to see on the server.

On another note I never liked how the Legendary Items system was implemented. Having a fresh server where LI's aren't implemented until another 4-5 months or so is refreshing and the developers have been talking about a possible LI system revamp.

Over all the servers changes have been a nice change of pace. My only concern is that making these servers splits the population of an already niche game and certain less than liked expansions may cause some turbulence if they aren't tweaked (looking at you Riders of Rohan).