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: The Beginning of the End
The recent Fate of Gundabad expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, has increased the game's level cap from 130 to 140. Mobs of 130 or above have seen a significant statistical increase. Hence if you play through PVE content or undertake an on level skirmish, you may well struggle to defeat your enemies. To compensate for this, if you create a new Legendary Item and replace your old weapons, you will see a boost in DPS that allegedly allows you to deal with the stronger mobs. In principle, this seems like an equitable quid pro quo. However, this is a very significant change to the game. What I and many other players find “surprising” is that the developers, Standing Stone Games, have done precious little to publicise this change in game dynamics. At present there is a major lack of information both in-game and on the official forums.
LOTRO: Fate of Gundabad Bullroarer Preview
Yesterday afternoon (UK time) Standing Stone Games made the forthcoming expansion for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, available on the Bullroarer test server. This new release, Fate of Gundabad, is due to launch on the 10th of November which is under two weeks away. However, I suspect that this expansion has been under development for a while as it appears fairly complete without very little or no placeholder material. Players have already been providing feedback on the official forums and it would seem that the nuts and bolts of the area are in place and functional. There appears to be a substantial amount of new zones in this expansion with areas both above and below ground. It is worth mentioning straight away that if you are a LOTRO player who didn’t especially enjoy navigating your way through Moria, you will probably find the new areas underneath Mount Gundabad as equally frustrating. There are dense groups of Orcs and other enemy mobs to get past and I suspect these areas will be quite taxing.
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.