LOTRO: The Producer’s Letter is Now Quarterly
On the 31st December 2021 (nine days ago), Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia) posted his latest Producer’s Letter for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. As ever, it wasn’t exactly promoted with any enthusiasm, being mentioned just once by the official LOTRO Twitter account. So I only discovered it yesterday when it was referenced by Justin Olivetti in a post over at Massively Overpowered. The letter mentions broadly what is coming to the game in the not too distant future. No one was surprised by what’s on offer as much has already been alluded to or openly discussed over the course of last year. A new raid, housing in Erebor, the new Legendary Item reward track and a new zone in Southern Trollshaw; the Angle of Mitheithel which has level 40 to 45 content. However, one important change is that the Producer’s Letter is now to be a quarterly publication.
A Year in Gaming
Usually in a post such as this, my primary focus would be writing about the games that I’ve played over the last twelve month and what it was about them that I specifically enjoyed. However, this year I feel that I must address the wider issues that have dominated the news regarding the video games industry. Simply put, several very high profile and successful triple A video game companies have been beset by scandals over the last twelve months. And these have been of such a nature that they have finally laid to rest the myth that some still cling to, that working “in video games” is somehow different from working in more traditional industries because it’s “cool”. It turns out that it has all the same failings as TV, music and film. The people at the top are abusive and broken and maltreat those at the coalface who do all the real work for precious little reward.
LOTRO on Consoles
When EG7 bought the Daybreak Game Company over a year ago, they mentioned in a subsequent investor report that a console port was being considered for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. This was met with a degree of scepticism by the player community who saw it mainly as speculative marketing. However, one year on and EG7 has referenced a potential console version yet again. Their Q3 2021 investor report lists a “release on consoles” as a medium term goal. The fact that this idea has been mentioned twice within a 12 month period is interesting. Investor reports are public information so EG7 no doubt knew that this “talking point” would find its way into the wider gaming press. It certainly means that the concept now warrants some serious consideration from LOTRO players.
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: The Benefits of Being a VIP For a Month
I recently created a new Brawler class character in the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. This is the first time I’ve rolled a new alt while not subscribing. Hence I suddenly became aware that a great deal of features and functionality that I usually take for granted were not available. I started unlocking these services in a piecemeal fashion but soon realized that this wasn’t very cost effective. So I started digging around online to see what the exact benefits are of subscribing to LOTRO and becoming a VIP player. There is a comparison chart available if you do a Google search but it is far from comprehensive. For example a free player has to pay to unlock skill point set bonuses, which surprised me. Overall, the entire monetisation of LOTRO is somewhat arcane. However, if you subscribe for one month to become a VIP, when you stop paying you drop down to Premium player status, rather than return to that of a Free player. This has benefits.
LOTRO: Tying Up Loose Ends
I discovered an excellent thread on the official Lord of the Rings Online forums today, created by Tesalion Lortus, which tackles the complicated subject of outstanding and unresolved storylines within the game. It is a very well researched and comprehensive post. I try my best to keep abreast of the various ongoing stories within the MMORPG but this list of plotlines that have yet to be completed, is a timely reminder of the sprawling narrative that Turbine/Standing Stone Games have woven over the last 14 years. The story is a major reason for this game’s longevity and many players enjoy the way it references and compliments so much of Tolkien’s overall lore. But it would appear that there are numerous story arcs that have not reached fruition, going back as far as the Helm’s Deep expansion that was released in 2013. Naturally, now that this matter has been highlighted so well, I am curious to see what SSG intends to do to resolve the situation.
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: Problems With the Revised Legendary Item Systems
NB. If you have a strong feeling of deja vu while reading this post, it’s not just you. Most of the points raised here were mentioned previously a few weeks ago when I wrote about my experiences during the beta testing of Update 30.3 on Bullroarer server. I’m sure long time LOTRO players will not be at all surprised by what is discussed in this post.
Developer’s Standing Stone released Update 30.3 for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online today. This includes the new Brawler class and the revised Legendary Item system. The latter has proven to be problematic. Firstly, there has been no support information from SSG as to how the new system works. There is no in-game tutorial or quest that orientates the player. In fact unless a player opens up the LI window and discovers that there is a new “appraise” button added to the UI, they could easily continue playing totally oblivious to the revised system. Secondly, all the bugs and glitches that were highlighted by players on the test server have not been addressed and have been ported over to the live servers. Unless you are the type of player who is heavily invested in the game and has kept abreast of the various threads about the revised LI system on the official forums, you will have to muddle through the best you can. Furthermore, you will be at risk of making mistakes, wasting valuable in-game resources and potentially gimping your new LI.
A Month in Gaming
September has been and gone and the nights are now drawing in. Usually this time of year is ideal for gaming but sadly I’ve had a lot on over the last 30 days and as a result there’s been precious little time for gaming or indeed writing. Such is life. When I did have some leisure time, MMOs were the easiest way to get a quick gaming fix, as per usual. Standing Stone Games announced that the next expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online would be released in November and that a revision of the Legendary Item system would be coming prior to that. Hence I took a look at the beta builds on the Bullroarer test server and then started prepping my various alts on the live servers, to get ready for this major change. I also managed to complete the latest event in Star Trek Online. However, beyond these straightforward tasks I didn’t really get to do much more.
LOTRO: Bullroarer Update 30.3 and Legendary Item Conversion
Bullroarer Update 30.3 - Beta 3 is currently live on The Lord of the Rings Online test server. This latest build focuses on Brawler Class and New Legendary Item System. As a player whose primary character (a level cap Lore-master) has two Legendary Items that are currently “maxed out”, I have been very interested in the revisions that developer’s Standing Stone Games have been working on. However, having logged into the test server last night and tried the new system, I now have reservations regarding the current build and concerns regarding several issues associated with converting an existing LI to a new one. I will try to keep my thoughts on the matter as clear and as simple as possible because despite changes, the new LI system is still very arcane. The average LOTRO player who struggles with the intricacies of the current game mechanics may possibly find the revised process just as complex.
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.
LOTRO: Brawler Class Preview
Standing Stone Games are currently previewing the new Brawler class and major revisions to the Legendary Items system on the Bullroarer test server. So I decided to take a look today. As ever, they have made it very clear that both of these are very early builds and therefore subject to change. In fact some elements of this “first look” have not even been fully integrated into the game. For example, the quest arc prior to entry to Moria is still linked to the existing Legendary Item system and as of yet has no suitable rewards for the Brawler class. Players using the test server need to visit the Eyes and Guard tavern in Archet to obtain a suitable LI. It is also the same for Brawler related gear. Most quest lines do not at present provide suitable gear for this new class. Also many icons and tooltips associated with both Brawlers and LIs are temporary placeholders or recycle existing content.
A Month in Gaming
Again this is more a case of two months in gaming. Furthermore although I was quite active in July, I was less so in August as the Blaugust 2021 Festival of Blogging event consumed the lion share of my leisure time. The majority of my gaming time is usually mid to late evening. Although Mrs P and I do many activities together, there are times when she will want to watch something I don’t, be engrossed in a book or out with friends. These occasions present sizable windows of time to focus upon a video game, which is especially useful for the MMORPG and RPG genres. However, I often have to choose whether to use this time exclusively for gaming or some other recreational activities such as writing. Another foible of my video game time management is trying to arrange things so I can undertake recurring, daily quests in a game early in the morning. I will often tackle such content in Star Trek Online, as soon as I get up.
LOTRO: We’ll Always Have the Books
I was cautiously optimistic when EG7 acquired Daybreak Game Company in December 2020. I found the various communications by CEO Robin Flodin to be quite encouraging. I got the impression that EG7 were facilitators and planned to provide the resources that developers such as Standing Stone Games required to move their portfolio of games forward. For the first time in ages, I felt that there was a positive future for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The arrival of a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), certainly appeared to address the community communications vacuum that has existed for several years. However, it would appear that Robin Flodin has been removed as CEO. Apparently he had a poor interview recently with Dagen Industri in which he had “difficulty answering questions about the difference between total revenues and net sales during the quarter”. This followed an interim business report that was not well received with the market and led to a drop in share prices by 25%. Hence he was removed by the EG7 board.
The LOTROCommunity Forums to Close
One 1st June 2011, Turbine officially took back control of the European service of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Prior to this it was operated by Codemasters Online Gaming. There were several unique distinctions between the two services. Codemasters were far more proactive in running community events and they also maintained a totally separate set of forums, catering to their European customers. When LOTRO was consolidated in the US under the auspices of Turbine, the European forums faced closure and the loss of all the valuable game related data that they held. However, a private, fan maintained forum was quickly established by MueR and the old Codemaster data was archived. Over the next ten years the LOTROCommunity, as it was known, grew in membership and overtime found itself to be an independent alternative to the official LOTRO forums run by Turbine and later Standing Stone Games.
LOTRO: Wildwood, Deeds and Virtues
I recently logged into the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online with the intention of completing Update 30: Blood of Azog. I got as far as some of the wrapper quests which set up the main story and then I lost interest when I reflected upon the content ahead. I tire of some of the excessively dour regions one has to play through in LOTRO, although I realise they are fully lore appropriate. LOTRO is also one of those games where I frequently struggle to see what is going on if there is low lighting. In such instances I have to tinker with the video settings to try and improve things. So with all this in mind, I decided instead of participating in the Battle of Azanulbizar, I would go and visit the Wildwood region in Bree-land which was added to the game in April. Now you may ask why take a level cap Lore-master to a zone that has content at level 45? Well the answer is simple. There are deeds to be completed.
LOTRO: What Happens Next?
Around the middle of May, it was announced on the official forums that the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online had a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia). This news was hardly “shouted from the rooftops” and I only found out about it when Raninia was recently “interviewed” by LOTRO streamer Louey7. So what do we know about Mr Brodiskiy? Well he comes from a mobile game background, having worked on such titles as Archer: Danger Phone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. He has experience as a game producer and in QA. According to the introductory post he made on the forums “Sev remains the Executive Producer, I'm coming in as support under him. I'll be spending my time exclusively on LOTRO, and am hoping to be reasonably communicative”. As mentioned, he recently appeared on a live stream and answered some questions regarding what’s happening with LOTRO in the next 6 months or So. He also alluded to 2022.
A Month in Gaming
The last installment of A Month in Gaming was at the end of April. I have decided to update this recurring post less often to ensure that I have more to write about than just cataloguing my generic activities in The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online. The only downside of such an approach is that it invalidates the title but that can’t be helped. Fortunately, I have done more than usual over the last two months. My daily schedule has changed temporarily and I now have a little more leisure time available. Hence I’ve dabbled with several new games as well as using my Nintendo Switch more often. I also took part in a “tag team” playthrough of XCOM 2, which was a very interesting experience. And I finally took the time to go through all my games libraries on the various different platforms to catalogue exactly what I have. I found a few hidden gems but the majority is just “filler” that you find in most video game bundles.
ESO: “Where am I and What am I Doing?”
The other day, I was undertaking a daily mission for the Undaunted in The Elder Scrolls Online. I do these to level my companion’s associated skills line. The mission required me to go to a particular delve, set some soul traps and defeat the boss. Nothing unusual there, so off I went. Whenever I go into a delve in ESO, I usually do the quest associated with it. It provides a story and some additional experience points. Thus I arrived in the vicinity of the delve in question and found a note not far away. I read it and accepted the quest assuming it to be the one associated with the delve. To cut a long and confusing story short, it turns out it wasn’t. I discovered this about 20 minutes later when I found myself running around, confused with three separate lots of quest markers on my in-game map. Not for the first time I found myself pondering “where am I and what am I doing”.