New LOTRO Expansion Announced: Wolves of Mordor
The next expansion for the MMORG, The Lord of the Rings Online, was announced on the 1st August, via the gaming website MMORPG.The Wolves of Mordor, which will launch later in the year, appears ambitious in scope as it will include two new game systems as well as the obligatory story update. This expansion takes place in Draugardh located in the North East of Mordor, beyond the Plateau of Gorgoroth. It includes the new zones of Heledhris, Parth Rhavas and Nan Ogol. These vary environmentally ranging from the arid, volcanic and semi-tropical. Players will encounter the Daugrim in these regions, Werewolves but not in the modern sense. This is not the lycanthropy of Eastern European legends but in the established Tolkien idiom of fell spirits inhabiting the bodies of Wolves. The region also sees the return of the Woses and players can expect to encounter Elves and scouts from Gondor. As ever with LOTRO expansions, there will be new instances as well as a raid.
LOTRO: Kingdoms of Harad Expansion Announced
MMORPG announced earlier today and it was subsequently confirmed by Standing Stone games, that the new expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online will be Kingdoms of Harad and that it will launch later in the year. The expansion will see the conclusion of the epic Song of Waves and Wind storyline and the level cap raised from 150 to 160. There will be a new region to explore, Mûr Ghala, comprising four zones. Adagîm, Idagâl, An Shêru and Kighân. The latter contains the main trading hub of Zajâna. Players will travel into the region with Gandalf the White, along with allies of the Kindred of Coins and Mizadi as they seek to counter the regional power struggle brought about by the fall of Sauron. Canonically, this takes place three months after the destruction of the ring, hence King Elessar and Eomer are busy with domestic affairs in their respective kingdoms.
LOTRO: Thoughts on Fate of Gundabad
I’ve spent the last week catching up with recent content in The Lord of the Rings Online. I started the Update 30: Blood of Azog and struggled with the PVE quests, due to the stats nerf and LI change. I got to level 132 and then decided to replace my two Legendary Weapons on my Lore-master. I would like to thank Linawillow for their advice via social media. So much for the new system being easier to understand and implement. I now have new LIs that have boosted my stats sufficiently enough for me to deal with the mobs above 130. Hence I completed the story set in the Battle of Azanulbizar, which was very well conceived and implemented. It has a great deal of canonical detail and is engagingly presented. By the time I finished the Epic Story and side quests in the area, my character had reached level 136, so I decided to go straight to Gundabad.
LOTRO: Following an Established Formula or Demonstrating a Lack of Vision?
Standing Stone Games have announced that Fate of Gundabad, the next expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, will launch on November 10th. Pre-orders are now available and like the last three expansions, the latest will be available in three different versions. A Standard Edition which retails for £30. A Collector’s Edition with some additional items priced at £60. And then there’s the so-called Ultimate Fan Bundle which is loaded with trinkets and baubles. This costs £100. Whether the more costly versions offer anything tangible and of “value” is obviously subjective and is already up for debate. However, there are no real surprises here. This pricing model has been established since August 2017 and the release of Mordor. And the game content is similarly formulaic.