LOTRO: The Hytbold Experiment
In 2012, developers Turbine embarked upon an interesting experiment as part of the Riders of Rohan expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. I do not refer to mounted combat. Let us leave that debacle for another discussion. I was referencing the rebuilding of the burnt out village of Hytbold, which was promoted at the time as an alternative to raiding for solo players. Hytbold is a settlement located within the Sutcrofts in East Rohan, which was burned down in an attack by Orcs from the East Wall. Once a player reaches level 84 they can undertake repeatable daily quests, participate in mounted combat and other unique events. Over time a player can rebuild the two dozen buildings that make up Hytbold and access services such as Stable Master, Provisioner and Barber. The rewards for this task are class and trait-specific armour sets that are comparable to level 85 raid gear and the title of Thane of Rohan.
In 2012, developers Turbine embarked upon an interesting experiment as part of the Riders of Rohan expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. I do not refer to mounted combat. Let us leave that debacle for another discussion. I was referencing the rebuilding of the burnt out village of Hytbold, which was promoted at the time as an alternative to raiding for solo players. Hytbold is a settlement located within the Sutcrofts in East Rohan, which was burned down in an attack by Orcs from the East Wall. Once a player reaches level 84 they can undertake repeatable daily quests, participate in mounted combat and other unique events. Over time a player can rebuild the two dozen buildings that make up Hytbold and access services such as Stable Master, Provisioner and Barber. The rewards for this task are class and trait-specific armour sets that are comparable to level 85 raid gear and the title of Thane of Rohan.
At the time, there was a great deal of debate on the Official LOTRO Forums regarding access to top tier gear and that the developers were pandering too much to raiders. Casual players and non raiders requested alternative ways to receive raid quality gear and rebuilding Hytbold allegedly provided a solution. However, just like raiding, rebuilding Hytbold requires a substantial investment of time. Former Senior Game Designer Joe Barry argued the point thus. “The overall time commitment is on par though with the amount of play hours and overall time it would take to get a raid armour set from a cluster. However, instead of spending 5+ hours once a week for 6-8 weeks raiding, you're instead spending 30-45 minutes a day doing soloable dailies for a similar amount of weeks”.
The main method of time-gating the rebuilding of Hytbold is via reputation factions. There are four in Riders of Rohan. The Wold, Norcofts, Sutcrofts and Entwash Vale. Reputation XP is gained through doing regional quests. Although Hytbold can be accessed with lower rep, some of the quests are gated behind Ally status. Regional quests will only provide rep XP upto a certain level, so if you want to reach kindred, then playing through Hytbold is mandatory. The fact that faction rep cannot be supplemented by tasks is a major hindrance. Managing the rebuilding of Hytbold is also quite complex in itself and shortly after release, several equally complex guides appeared on the forums (like this legendary one from Fredelas) as players tried to find an optimal selection of quests which could be completed quickly and efficiently on a daily basis.
As a dedicated LOTRO player at the time, I undertook the task of rebuilding Hytbold and if memory serves, I believe it took me about one and a half months. It was an enjoyable experience initially doing dailies and speculating about how Hytbold would look when rebuilt. The burned out buildings were replaced with new ones through phasing. However, after about twenty days or so, it became a chore, especially as some of the dailies were less enjoyable than others. Admittedly once complete it was rewarding to see the town rebuilt and to be able to purchase one of three class specific armour sets. But once this lengthy task was finished there was little or no reason to return to the town of Hytbold. Furthermore, twelve month later the next expansion Helm’s Deep saw an increase in level cap and so new sets of armour.
One of the worst failings of LOTRO is the way in which the game continuously invalidates gear and more importantly, the player’s hard work to obtain it as they progress through the game. I remember grinding through numerous Moria instances and raids to get a First Age Legendary Weapon back in Autumn 2009. I finally got my weapon a month before the release of Siege of Mirkwood. Once that expansion arrived it immediately became obsolete. My Hytbold gear suffered a similar fate although I did benefit from it a little longer. At present there are 221 stable-master in LOTRO. One of these is Hytbold and you only get it if you completely rebuild the village. I can’t remember the last time I went there but it’s a badge of honour that I have it. As LOTRO content doesn’t scale there often is no reason to go back to an older zone. Also because levelling is streamlined now, new players progressing through the game have no requirement to complete Hytbold if they don’t wish to.
Hytbold was an interesting experiment which genuinely attempted to address an issue that the player community had raised. Some people like progression, a clear path to a goal and repetition. Others don’t. Raiding doesn’t always guarantee obtaining the gear you seek but it probably offers a more exciting experience than the more structured path of Hytbold. Whatever your opinion, it should be noted that Turbine did not offer an alternative to raiding in later expansions. Perhaps they felt it was too much work or wasn’t particularly well received, just like mounted combat. Perhaps back in 2013, they were already considering an alternative system that could be monetised, as it is today with lootboxes and Embers of Enchantment. As for Hytbold, it remains one of many experimental systems that litter the game that have subsequently been abandoned. A curiosity from a decade ago.
The Problem with Raiding
The subject of raiding in MMOs raised its head once again over at Massively Overpowered. It would appear that ArenaNet have been looking into the current raiding content in Guild Wars 2 and found that it is only undertaken by a relatively small percentage of the playerbase. Hence they are currently looking at producing some sort of intermediary content to encourage “endgamers” who have completed all the PVE material, to work towards raiding. Whether they are successful remains to be seen but it does show once again that raiding is not a universal pastime in the MMO genre. I remember Turbine making a similar statement to this effect, back when they were developing The Lord of the Rings Online. But this post is not intended as a discussion about the validity of raiding or any of the traditional debates associated with it. I think raiding has a place in the genre. What I want to do is state the reasons why it is not something I actively do anymore. I suspect my experience is not unique.
The subject of raiding in MMOs raised its head once again over at Massively Overpowered. It would appear that ArenaNet have been looking into the current raiding content in Guild Wars 2 and found that it is only undertaken by a relatively small percentage of the playerbase. Hence they are currently looking at producing some sort of intermediary content to encourage “endgamers” who have completed all the PVE material, to work towards raiding. Whether they are successful remains to be seen but it does show once again that raiding is not a universal pastime in the MMO genre. I remember Turbine making a similar statement to this effect, back when they were developing The Lord of the Rings Online. But this post is not intended as a discussion about the validity of raiding or any of the traditional debates associated with it. I think raiding has a place in the genre. What I want to do is state the reasons why it is not something I actively do anymore. I suspect my experience is not unique.
Time: I have in the past done a degree of raiding in LOTRO. This was during a period of my life when I was living alone, worked from home and had the time necessary to undertake this aspect of MMO gaming. Time is a key aspect of raiding and the MMO genre per se. Raiding requires assembling people online at a specific time. Something that is akin to herding cats, because often your raid team will live across multiple time zones. Some will have been raised in heathen cultures that have no concept of punctuality. Also let us not forget that “real life” can get in the way. Once you have everyone online you next have to ensure that they are good to go. Does everyone have the right consumables? Have they switched to the right builds and brought the right gear? All these things take time because they involve “people”. Then you need to allot the appropriate time to actually play through the content. You may wipe and have to do it again. I can recollect times where we started a raid at 8:45 PM and finished roundabout 1:00 AM. So to summarise, raiding is a major time sink that I can no longer afford.
The Human Factor: If you are a member of a well run Guild, then raiding will often be organised by even tempered, supportive individuals with good communication skills. It is also incumbent upon those participating to do their best, follow any instructions and keep their wits about them. If there are any issues, then calmly raise them as combat in raids can be a fluid situation. But it doesn’t always go this way. Simply put, the human factor can complicate things. People are not all the same. There are a multitude of factors to consider such as egos and different personalities. Hence there is much scope for a group to pull in different directions as there is for them to work together. Plus some people do not perform well in a team dynamic. Extroverts and introverts are not always compatible. Then there are those players who tolerate the group requirement of raiding because they want the achievement or the rewards on offer. I fall into the latter category and have no time for “drama” or players who are high maintenance. I’ve also had my fair share of bad experiences with pick-up groups. Therefore, if a raid is populated by people I do not know and trust, then I’m not likely to participate.
Quid Pro Quo: I do not see raiding as a test of character nor do I see it as a prestige event that if undertaken successfully, confirms status. It is simply a process with complex systems and fail states. These mechanics can be learned, just like any other form of choreography. Undertaking raid content requires preparation, organisation and a degree of skill. Players have to make a considerable investment of time and effort when raiding. Therefore, I see the entire process as a “quid pro quo”. If you successfully complete content you should be given a reward. Rewards should scale according to how many of the raid’s criteria you have met. Drops should not be random, nor should players run the risk of receiving rewards that are of no benefit to them. Raiding should be a clearly defined enterprise. If you do what is required then you get the reward that was advertised. If you partially complete the terms of the raid then you get a lower tier reward, again something that you knew about in advance. You should never leave empty handed if you have succeeded, nor should you be palmed off with junk. Any raid that cannot honour this social contract is poorly conceived.
