LOTRO 10th Anniversary: Remembering LOTRO Part 2
When reminiscing about LOTRO, there are many personal highlights for me to consider. Raiding in the Rift, completing the epic story in Shadows of Angmar, or even getting my first mount. Yet, if I had to pick a personal favourite experience, it would be the great charge across the River Anduin, into Mirkwood. This happened on Gilrain server on Monday 25th of Janurary 2010, the night before Siege of Mirkwood expansion was launched. An enterprising player by the name of Mikeemoo arranged the event via the forums and at the designated time a hundred plus players assembled on the Western bank of The Great River. Once the signal was given we swam en masse to the Eastern shore and swarmed up the bank into the woods. As the zone was not yet accessible the developers had placed NPCs in the vicinity; Mirkeves Fell Arrows that could one shot any player. However, due to the sheer number of players in the zerg and the resulting lag, many made it across. Eventually the server kicked everyone but it was immense fun while it lasted.
When reminiscing about LOTRO, there are many personal highlights for me to consider. Raiding in the Rift, completing the epic story in Shadows of Angmar, or even getting my first mount. Yet, if I had to pick a personal favourite experience, it would be the great charge across the River Anduin, into Mirkwood. This happened on Gilrain server on Monday 25th of Janurary 2010, the night before Siege of Mirkwood expansion was launched. An enterprising player by the name of Mikeemoo arranged the event via the forums and at the designated time a hundred plus players assembled on the Western bank of The Great River. Once the signal was given we swam en masse to the Eastern shore and swarmed up the bank into the woods. As the zone was not yet accessible the developers had placed NPCs in the vicinity; Mirkeves Fell Arrows that could one shot any player. However, due to the sheer number of players in the zerg and the resulting lag, many made it across. Eventually the server kicked everyone but it was immense fun while it lasted.
This anecdote in many ways encapsulates all that makes LOTRO so enjoyable. Teamwork, a sense of community, an environment that lends itself to more than just the scripted gameplay. This is why player generated events thrive in the game and why Standing Stone Games are wise to support such undertakings. Although over the years, the relationship between the player base and the development team hasn’t always been good and it’s fair to say that mistakes have been made on both sides. The transition to F2P was far from smooth for the European players and both Enedwaith and Dunland where hardly highpoints in the games ten-year journey. Then there was the introduction of the skills tree with Helm’s Deep which divided the player base. However, unlike other fickler communities, LOTRO players tend to take a more pragmatic approach to the ups and downs of gaming. They have rolled with the changes over the last decade mainly due to their passion for Tolkien’s work.
As soon as I had bought LOTRO in 2008, I started blogging about the game. In many respects, it was instrumental in my writing on a regular basis, as it tends to be a rule of thumb that you should write about what you enjoy. What quickly became apparent was that there existed a very dynamic and friendly blogging and podcast community associated with the game. Everyone was extremely welcoming and only too happy to help promote each other’s content. The LOTRO Combo Blog was an invaluable source of information, aggregating dozens of fan related sites. There was also a wealth of LOTRO related podcast and shows, all dealing with a unique facet of the game. But I think we can all agree that the jewel in the crown of fan related productions was “A Casual Stroll to Mordor” with Merric and Goldenstar. The show presented LOTRO related news and views each week with a healthy dose of enthusiasm and honesty. It very soon became indispensable listening among fans and in many ways, did a better job of informing players and promoting the game than Turbine.
On a personal note, one of the most agreeable aspects of playing LOTRO over the years has been the friendship that I’ve formed with fellow bloggers, podcasters and guild mates. The kinship system in LOTRO is a subtly different beast to comparable social systems in other games. It doesn’t offer the obvious items advantages of say Guild Wars 2 or STO. It seems to be far more of a labour of love. I have been in the same kinship since spring 2009 and it is a remarkably tight knit social group. Some players come and go but there is a core group that are the heart and soul of the kinship and they are always online, willing to help and blessed with a boundless enthusiasm. As LOTRO has finally reached the Black Gates and Mordor awaits via the next expansion, I’ve seen many a familiar faces return to the kinship roster. It’s amazing the way friendship just resume, as if time has no bearing on the matter.
Ultan Foebane. Holding his chopper and going nowhere since 2007.
In many ways Update 21 is a major crossroad for both LOTRO and Standing Stone Games. Finally, the central story goes beyond Tolkien’s work and it is incumbent upon the in-house writers to maintain the high standard that they have for the last decade. There is scope for this to be a major creative step forward. It could also go the other way. Yet, despite the importance of this transition, the community seems far from nervous about the matter. Good will abounds at present and the recent ten-year anniversary has been well received. Certainly, the transition from Turbine to SSG has repaired a lot of previously burned bridges and the developers seem to be far better at communicating and keeping players informed than they previously were. So, here’s to LOTROs future and years more of fun and fond memories. May the road continue to go on and on.
Contains Moderate Peril Podcast to Celebrate 10 Years of LOTRO
Over the last ten years, both Brian and I have had a long and at times tumultuous relationship with the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. Yet we both have a great deal of affection for the game along with many fond memories. It has been a subject that we have regularly discussed on our various podcasts. Therefore, we thought it would be a great idea to dedicate an entire episode of the Contains Moderate Peril podcast, to LOTRO and reflect upon its highs and occasional lows. Furthermore, rather than just reminiscing from our own perspective, we feel it would be far more interesting to hear the opinions of fans and wider the community. Therefore, we are formally inviting you, as players of LOTRO, to tell us about your memories and experiences of this truly enduring MMO.
Over the last ten years, both Brian and I have had a long and at times tumultuous relationship with the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. Yet we both have a great deal of affection for the game along with many fond memories. It has been a subject that we have regularly discussed on our various podcasts. Therefore, we thought it would be a great idea to dedicate an entire episode of the Contains Moderate Peril podcast, to LOTRO and reflect upon its highs and occasional lows. Furthermore, rather than just reminiscing from our own perspective, we feel it would be far more interesting to hear the opinions of fans and wider the community. Therefore, we are formally inviting you, as players of LOTRO, to tell us about your memories and experiences of this truly enduring MMO.
To try and make this process as accessible as possible, we’re happy to accept submissions in any of the following formats.
1.) Comment on this post. Potentially the easiest way. Tell us about how you started playing LOTRO or what has been the most memorable experience you’ve had in the game. What do you like about the LOTRO and its community. What are your hopes and aspirations for the games future development. It’s up to you what exactly you want to tell us about. We’d love to hear from you.
2.) Email. Why not drop us a line care of rogeredwards@containsmoderateperil.com and recount an anecdote about the game. Again, it’s up to you what you want to share with us about LOTRO. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
3.) Audio file. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, why not record your reminiscence about LOTRO or send us a message from your buddies or kinship? Most smart phones have a voice recorder these days. We won’t be too picky about the audio quality. WAV or MP3 files are the preferred format.
Please note, although we intend to produce a longer than average podcast to celebrate the 10th anniversary of LOTRO, it is inevitable that we shall have to make some editorial decisions about content. Therefore, please bear in mind that submitting material does not guarantee its inclusion in the shows final edit. The usual legal caveats regarding content also apply.
Because Standing Stone Games anniversary celebrations for LOTRO are scheduled to run throughout the next two months, we’ve set a deadline for content submissions of Sunday the 7th May. Provisionally the release date for the finished podcast is Friday the 12th of May. This may be subject to change depending on the response we get.
Brian and I have wanted to do some kind of vox pop with our listeners for several years now and feel that combining this with the LOTRO anniversary is a great opportunity. Therefore, we’re both looking forward to hearing from fellow LOTRO players and enjoying your stories, vignettes and anecdotes. I’m sure there are many familiar voices to be heard but I’m especially excited by the opportunity to hear from those who have quietly player over the years and have yet to speak out. Here’s your chance to share your thoughts and to celebrate ten years of The Lord of the Rings Online.
LOTRO 10th Anniversary: Remembering LOTRO Part 1
On Monday 22nd December 2008, I visited the Game store at Colliers Wood, South West London. I was working at St George’s Hospital in Tooting the time at and the nearby shopping centre was an ideal place to spend the lunch hour. As I perused the shelves in the PC gaming section, I spotted a “compilation pack” that contained not only the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online but it’s recently released expansion pack, Mines of Moria. Although I was aware of the MMO genre at the time, I had never played one beyond a trial of Star Wars: Galaxies. However, as I had recently moved and was living alone, I was in the perfect position to start playing such a game. So, I decided to take the plunge and buy LOTRO for the bargain price of twenty pounds. There was also a sizeable display for World of Warcraft in the shop, which was by far the market leader at the time. Yet because I’ve always been a Tolkien fan, I just naturally gravitated toward buying LOTRO and it never crossed my mind to buy another product.
On Monday 22nd December 2008, I visited the Game store at Colliers Wood, South West London. I was working at St George’s Hospital in Tooting the time at and the nearby shopping centre was an ideal place to spend the lunch hour. As I perused the shelves in the PC gaming section, I spotted a “compilation pack” that contained not only the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online but it’s recently released expansion pack, Mines of Moria. Although I was aware of the MMO genre at the time, I had never played one beyond a trial of Star Wars: Galaxies. However, as I had recently moved and was living alone, I was in the perfect position to start playing such a game. So, I decided to take the plunge and buy LOTRO for the bargain price of twenty pounds. There was also a sizeable display for World of Warcraft in the shop, which was by far the market leader at the time. Yet because I’ve always been a Tolkien fan, I just naturally gravitated toward buying LOTRO and it never crossed my mind to buy another product.
I installed and started playing the game that very night. It should be noted that the European version of LOTRO was distributed and administered under license by Codemasters at the time. So, I set up a subscription and on a whim decided to create my first character on Gilrain server, which met my language and social requirements. Having spent some time reading about the various classes in LOTRO, I can remember now that I was still a little confused by it all. Yet there was something about the Lore-master that just seemed to appeal to me. Perhaps it was the pets, or its semi-magical status. Although I wasn’t that au fait with control classes, I found the explanation of how the Lore-master fought intriguing. “The Lore-master uses his knowledge of ancient wisdom to stave off the advance of the shadow for a time. He can use his knowledge to attack his foes or to treat the wounds and suffering of his companions. He can even communicate with animals and request their aid”.
Let it suffice to say that the tutorial quickly got my orientated in the game. Having been a gamer prior to LOTRO, meant that the learning curve was not so steep. The other advantage I benefitted from by playing LOTRO at this particular time, eighteen months after its launch, was that there was a wealth of online resources for the game already in place. This proved invaluable because things were pretty different in LOTRO back in late 2008. For example, the location of quest objectives were not directly marked on the map. The quest bestowal details usually referred to a specific area which you then had to find and search. Sometimes this would be a very intuitive process but from time to time there would be frustration. Thus, fan sites and blog would often have map coordinates to aid this process. Obtaining a mount was also a challenge. A player didn’t become eligible to purchase a horse until level 35. It also cost a tidy sum of gold and was dependent on a somewhat convoluted quest.
Looking back now at these early days of LOTRO, the most pronounced difference was the fact that much of the game was designed to be completed in a group or fellowship. The Epic storyline frequently had group content as did a percentage of the regional quests. Zone chat was filled with requests for fellowships. Yet because of the volume of players in the game and that fact that Middle-earth had not yet grown to the size that it has now, finding a group was never an issue. There was also a prevailing sense of camaraderie. If a random stranger sent you a tell, you’d more than likely answer it. For the most part, the game was populated by mature Tolkien fans and as a result, things remained mainly civil. Plus, the concept of multiplayer gaming was still novel.
It took me nine months of to reach the then level cap of sixty. That meant playing most evenings and investing a considerable amount of time into LOTRO. There were occasions over weekends where I’d spend a whole day playing. There were also plenty of late nights, although I never did this at the expense of my personal life or work. However, let me be clear, LOTRO at the time became my primary means of entertainment and therefore I was happy to lavish it with attention. As I’m not the sort of player to experiment with multiple alts, this time was exclusively invested into my Lore-master. Lore-master crowd control skills were a key part of group play back then, so I found myself regularly grouping. As a result, friendships were formed and eventually I found the right kinship for me. Eight years on I’m still an active member of it.
Kinships always have been the heart and soul of LOTRO. They come in many shapes and sizes, catering to all types of gameplay. Yet they all have mutual support and friendship in common. What I particularly like about my kinship is its diversity and inherent good humour. It includes people from all over Europe and various walks of life. As a result, interacting with such a cross section of people has been a very positive experience and has certainly broadened my horizons. Then of course there’s the community outside of the game itself. The bloggers, podcasters, streamers and such like. Many are still active today but seven or eight years ago the scene was much bigger and very lively. Because of that community I changed my existing website to a LOTRO blog and instantly it got traction. LOTRO also inspired me to podcast. I can honestly say I’ve not encountered anything similar in all the subsequent MMOs that I’ve experienced.
To be continued.