A Month in Gaming

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I have confined my gaming to three MMORPGs in recent months and have not strayed into anything new. Time has been an issue due to a great deal of change in my domestic life. Hence The Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online have proven suitable for my needs. Being able to log into a game and commence an activity without any complicated preamble is convenient and currently suits my schedule down to the ground. I will be buying Sniper Elite 5 at the end of the month as this is a franchise that has always proven entertaining and engaging. While recently perusing the various game launchers I have installed, I took the opportunity to remove several games that I’m no longer playing or that have proven to be a “five minute wonder”. Hence I said goodbye to GreedFall, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Days Gone. Their removal is no reflection upon their quality.

I’ve finally completed all outstanding content in LOTRO and find myself now kicking my heels. The conclusion of Fate of Gundabad was interesting and I felt that there was emotional depth to the character Mótsog. I have also enjoyed exploring both The Angle of Mitheithel and Yondershire. I like the way that Standing Stone Games is not just creating new content for endgame. Adding additional zones for players levelling alts makes good business sense. It also makes the game more attractive to returning players by offering them content that they previously haven’t played. At the time of writing this post, LOTRO is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Although this is a significant milestone and one I am pleased that the game has achieved, I am not especially interested in the celebrations themselves. I don’t find any of the activities engaging, nor do I find any of the gifts and prizes that can be claimed desirable. I prefer the functional over the cosmetic.

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Despite some frustration with the post Knights of the Eternal Throne storyline in SWTOR, rather than quit I decided to continue to play through the remainder of the original game. So far I have completed the Imperial Agent and Trooper stories. Both were well conceived and executed, although I did find the Trooper a little underpowered as a class. Speaking of which, it would also appear that every class in the game has at least one companion that is an utter twat. I see absolutely no merit in companions such as Skadge and Kaliyo Djannis. They’re objectionable and their dysfunctional nature doesn’t provide any alternative insight. These aren’t anti-heroes that make philosophical points to counter traditional archetypes. These are just shitty people who are a pain in the butt. Mercifully, for every poorly conceived companion there are at least two who are well rounded and relatable.

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Moving on to my final gaming mainstay, STO, I continue to find this MMO ideal for quick fix entertainment. This game offers long term involvement but also excels at providing daily activities that can be quickly undertaken.In the last few months I have earned A600 Android (Combat Pet), a Tier 6 Jarok Alliance Carrier and sundry upgrade tokens for use on various alts. I’ve also continued working my way through the various story arcs in the main game and it has again proven a welcome reminder at how well developer’s Cryptic are at utilising the wealth of Star Trek lore to their advantage. Canonical characters and events are not just referenced or invoked as a lazy fan service, but drawn upon in ways that are relevant and that sustain an interesting narrative. I look forward to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds being integrated into the game.

LOTRO: Bullroarer Update 33 - Yondershire Beta #3

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Standing Stone Games have a third preview of Update 33 for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, available on the Bullroarer test server which ends tomorrow. This latest build includes all stables for the new zone. There are six in total, four of which are based in the Hobbits villages of Gamwich, Tighfield, Nobottle and Long Cleave. The mob population has increased since the last preview and all enemy encampments are now accessible. Most importantly, a map of Yondershire is now available clearly showing how the zone fits between The Shire and Ered Luin. Hence players now have sufficient details to be able to accurately appraise Yondershire which has a challenge level of 20-23. Furthermore, the map of Eriador has also been adjusted to show the new zone.

This latest beta has been of particular interest to me as there are some significant changes coming to the Lore-master class. My primary character in LOTRO is a Lore-master that I’ve played since 2008. Perhaps the biggest change is the removal of the “Sic’em” trait from the “Keeper of Animals” trait tree. This skill when used summons all Lore-master pets and causes substantial damage to target(s). However, it is a major resource hog and causes lag problems for groups in instance when used. So SSG have decided to retire it and replace it with “A Murder of Crows”. According to the developers this new skill “summons a cloud of crows around the target for 15s. It has a 2 minute cooldown. While they persist the crows inflict enormous damage and disorient their victim, reducing hit chance and increasing the damage of other attacks made against the target. Enemies within 7m of the main target also take constant damage from the cloud of circling avians (but are not debuffed)”.

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Class changes are always a source of trepidation for players and it is always difficult to approach such changes in a way that pleases everyone. I remain cautiously optimistic regarding those currently listed on the Official LOTRO Forums. My Lore-master is currently traited for a red line DPS build and so the replacement of “Sic’em” doesn’t especially bother me but I can see how players are attached to the sheer bravado of this skill. I am more intrigued by the statement “damage of LM red line skills and effects in general has been improved” because even at level cap with a robust selection of gear from Steel-bound lootboxes, I still feel a little underpowered at times. So any positive adjustment will be well received by me. With regard to Update 33, it will be interesting to see if there will be a 4th beta test or whether SSG simply go ahead and release the current build.

LOTRO: Bullroarer Update 33 - Yondershire Beta #1

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The first preview of Update 33 for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has been available on the Bullroarer test server for the last three days. The update features the new region of Yondershire which connects the North-west of The Shire with Ered Luin. Yondershire has a challenge level 20-23 and continues with Standing Stone Games recent trend of not just adding level cap content to the game. Yondershire can be reached by travelling West out of Little Delving or North-west out of Needlehole through Rushock Gate. Alternatively, if you are travelling South-east out of Ered Luin then follow the Eastway. If returning from Evendim, travel South-west out of Oatbarton through Bullroarer's Sward. At present a map of the new zone is not available in the current test build. However it is not too difficult to get orientated, due to the way Yondershire neatly fills the gap between The Shire and Ered Luin.

The terrain is very similar to the more temperate Westerly part of Ered Luin and there are also some similarities with The Lone-lands. There are four Hobbit settlements in Yondershire. Nobottle and Tighfield are farming communities set among well tilled fields. Gamwich and Long Cleeve are located within wooded areas. Willows groves and streams also feature in the zone. So far the flora and fauna is comparable to The Shire with Bears, Wolves, Shrews and Flies. Yondershire also features both Arnorian and Elvish ruins, populated by Ruffians or Goblins. There are also roaming bands of Boggarts. Several ruins cannot be directly accessed in this build but this may well change in the future. Yondershire is a large zone which maintains a sense of continuity with The Shire but also manages to feel more rustic and remote. I suspect this is SSG’s intention.

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As ever, although I am content to visit new regions that are coming to live servers, I tend not to play any of the associated quests. Hence I cannot comment much on the playable content of Yondershire. However, judging by the amount of domesticated livestock there is roaming around I suspect that there may well be some lighthearted quests involving rounding up various animals. It should be noted that Bingo Boffin offers a quest as you enter Yondershire from Needlehole which appears to send the player straight to Nobottle. Whether this is the start of another adventure for him remains to be seen. So far Yondershire appears to be an large and interesting zone that fits perfectly between the existing regions of Ered Luin and The Shire. Not a bad achievement when you consider that SSG are trying to seamlessly dovetail new material into content that is 15 years old.

LOTRO: Producer's Letter March 2022

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According to Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia) in his latest Producer's Letter for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, there are some major changes coming in April. These are part of the ongoing restructuring of the game’s monetisation. Previously, in the last content update, the Premium Wallet, Gold Currency Cap, and Virtue, Race, and Class trait slots were made free to all players (prior to this, all were chargeable unlocks). In Update 33, which will be coming in April, “all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep will be available for free to everyone”. Furthermore, subscribers will be able to access the standard versions of the Mordor, Minas Morgul, and War of Three Peaks expansions.

Another change is that the following classes Rune-keepers, Wardens, Beornings as well as the High Elves race will be free to all players. All were previously tied to the purchase of expansions and as those are now to be accessible free of charge, Standing Stone Games thought it fair to follow suit with these. To put these changes into perspective, from April F2P players will now be able to play through all the games content, at no cost, up to level 95. Players who do not wish to subscribe after level 95 will still have to buy the last three expansions. However, subscribers will be able to play through all of the game’s content, apart from the latest expansion Fate of Gundabad. These changes finally resolve the issue of content gating which has been a major source of complaint from new and returning players for years. 

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The next update will also see the addition of a new area within The Shire. “The northern region known as the Yondershire, a sparsely populated region of moor, thicket, and fen that has long been home to Hobbit recluses and troublemakers. Since the time of Bullroarer Took, the Yondershire has squabbled with the more comfortable parts of the Shire. The upstart Lotho Sackville-Baggins aims to bully the local Hobbits, but they’re none too keen on his designs. Explore the Yondershire, and experience some more delightful Hobbit adventures, our first expansion of the Shire in years”. April will also see the return of the Anniversary Festival as LOTRO reaches 15 years old. A new instance, A Flurry of Fireworks, will be added to the existing events.

These forthcoming changes have been very well received by the LOTRO community. The streamlining of content access and previous changes regarding removing the cost key quality of life items now means that the game is extremely friendly to new and returning players. Many people play MMOs to be with friends and to play through content together. Hence many games such as The Elder Scrolls Online have level scaling content so players of different levels can still play together equitably. LOTRO at present does not have this facility and due to the previous gating of content behind paid expansions, it would often feel that there was a huge gulf separating players from their friends if they were of differing levels. These changes certainly help address this with the prospect of not having to pay for any content up to level 95. It will be interesting to see if there will be an influx of new and returning players in April.

Playing MMOs Solo

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It’s just me versus Middle-earth

There was a perennial question being discussed over at Massively Overpowered recently. Justin Olivetti asked “why do you play MMOs solo” and as you would expect, there was a wide variety of answers. I have written about this myself in the past, as when I first started playing MMOs, I was very enamoured by the social element and therefore very disposed towards group content. However, that experience between 2008 and 2011, when I played The Lord of the Rings Online most days and dedicated Friday and Saturday nights to raiding, was very much down to circumstances. I had the time and inclination to spend hours online. That is something that I don’t have now. Plus the novelty of the social element has worn a little thin over the years. Nowadays, I do not have the luxury of waiting for a raid group to assemble, nor do I have the tolerance for the inevitable delays that always stem from any kind of human interaction.

Hence the primary reason I play MMOs solo is simply to be able to progress at my own pace and not having to be dependent on others in any other way, shape or form. The advantages are obvious, as are the disadvantages. I may well be able to clear through PVE content, level efficiently and manage my gear progression, but I also miss a substantial part of the game. I haven’t participated in any major group content in LOTRO for over a decade. The last raid I did was Draigoch’s Lair in 2011. But that is the price you pay for solo gameplay. By playing on my own I get to use my time efficiently. Raiding is a long, drawn out process that doesn’t come with any guarantees. It is this aspect of MMOs that bothers me. If I invest my time into something, I want to walk away with some sort of reward. Raids do not always hand out loot in an equitable fashion. Playing through PVE content on your own gives you clear and achievable goals.

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“Can you tell me where Bagel Street is?”

At present I play four MMOs. In LOTRO I have been in the same guild (or Kinship as it’s known in this game) since 2009. I know many of the other members and it is still active but certainly not to the degree it was a decade ago. In Star Trek Online I have my various alts in the respective Reddit based Fleets (guilds) such as Reddit Alert. I will chat with other members but I don't really know anyone nor ever group with them to play through content. I am in the Fleet simply for the benefits of accessing Fleet resources. which are mainly gear based in STO. With regard to Star Wars The Old Republic, I am in a guild which I created myself. This was mainly to stop me from getting swamped by guild invites from other players when the game first launched. It has two active members, myself and podcast co-host Brian. Beyond having a novelty name (Shaved Wookies) it serves no purpose. Due to my intermittent playing of The Elder Scrolls Online I see no reason to join a guild in that game. 

The most social interaction I have in an MMORPG at present is in STO. Task Force Operations are five man missions which last between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the ability of the group. When selecting the TFO of your choice you are then auto-grouped and ported immediately to the appropriate instance. More often than not there is no communication between players in Team Chat. Sometimes players will deliberately go AFK and wait just to get the TFO reward. Every now and then someone will say “hi” to the group. On other occasions someone will try and give instructions but that seldom goes well. But such is the state of solo gameplay in most MMOs. You only talk and group with people if you want to and if there’s no compelling reason, then you don’t. Any game where your progress is dependent upon others is a game that I’ll more than likely not play.

A Month in Gaming

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It’s been a while since I’ve written an instalment of A Month in Gaming. Over Christmas and New Year I was busy with family issues and it’s only in January that I’ve started anything approaching a regular gaming schedule. The novelty of Forza Horizon 5 has run its course and I’ve grown tired of the game’s upbeat tone and neverending activities that litter the in-game map. It’s nice that the game tries hard to engage with you but it reaches a point where you never get a time to stop, think and take stock. I couldn’t find anything else included in the Xbox Game Pass which especially excited me. There were a few titles that did take my fancy but I then discovered that I already own them elsewhere via Steam or Epic Games. So I decided to cancel my subscription. I still think that the Xbox Game Pass for PC is very good value and my failure to find anything that I like is my problem and not Microsoft’s fault.

As ever MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has kept me intermittently busy over the Winter months. I have continued with the central story arc that runs throughout the latest expansion Fate of Gundabad. Sadly performance issues still plague the new zone. I have experienced at least two instances, in which NPCs will not trigger the next stage of the story and remain unresponsive despite having flaming rings above their heads. Lag also persists in the Gundabad maps, especially in Câr Bronach. Handing in missions is also problematic and again you often find yourself having to wait for the game to catch up with what you’re doing. I also managed to visit the Bullroarer test server and take a look at the preview of Update 32 (Beta #4 and #5). So far I like what I’ve seen of the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. It’s biggest problem seems to be the correct pronunciation of the name.

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Star Trek Online has just started its12th anniversary celebrations. Kate Mulgrew is the latest actor from the television shows to reprise her character in-game. Furthermore, not only do we finally get to meet Admiral Kathryn Janeway in-game, we also encounter her Mirror Universe incarnation, Terran Marshal Janeway. I cannot emphasise how important it is to STO to have the presence of so many much loved characters in-game, portrayed by the same actors that did so on television. It certainly elevates the credibility and gravitas of the proceedings. The anniversary episode continues the new Terran Empire storyline and has some very interesting lore based surprises. One plot element that’s proving a major talking point is who exactly is the current Emperor of the Terran Empire. Will it be someone who has previously not featured in the game? Will there be a major voice artist surprise later in the year?

As for what I intend to play in February and beyond, I’m not quite sure at present. I suspect I’ll be done with LOTRO shortly and will then take a break from the game. I usually return to The Elder Scrolls Online for three months or so but I cannot at present muster much enthusiasm for the game. Should I revisit an older game such as one of the Sniper Elite series, or should I replay Hand of Fate 2; a game which still impresses me. I am reluctant to buy something new as the last few times I’ve done this it hasn’t proven a good decision. Prior to Christmas I bought Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint in a sale and it has failed to hold my interest. I sure I can find something in my ever growing libraries of “free” games to keep me amused. I shall have a trawl through them and hopefully may find a pleasant surprise.

LOTRO: The Angle of Mitheithel Preview Update

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Yesterday, Standing Stone Games made Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #5 available on their test server and invited player feedback. This latest preview of the next content update for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, focuses mainly upon The Legendary Item Reward Track. When the revised LI system was released last October as part of the expansion Fate of Gundabad, it was not fully integrated into the game. Existing LI rewards were not replaced with new ones and no decision had been made regarding potential compensation for obsolete LI related items. There were also outstanding changes to the user interface for the LI system. These are now being addressed in Update 32. The current build, Beta #5, also has some minor updates to the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. As ever with anything on the Bullroarer test server, it is subject to change and may be different in the final live release.

Beta #5 now features a new map for The Angle of Mitheithel as well as a revised map of the Trollshaws. In this test build, animals have been added to the region and there are boars, wolves and crows of a comparable level. There are now three additional stable-masters at the following locations; Gaerond, Tham Lumren and Tornhad. Gaerond is a camp to the Northern opening of The Angle of Mitheithel. Tham Lumren is a ruined Elven settlement to the West of the zone on the borders of Eregion and Tornhad is a village of men to the South of the region. Furthermore, two additional stable-masters have been added to the existing Trollshaw map. These are at The Last Bridge and directly outside The Last Homely House. The entire Trollshaw stable list has been updated to reflect these changes.

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In my previous post I thought that a log bridge and a settlement that I saw was the existing route from Trollshaw to Eregion. However, in this test build, the landscape has changed further and the log bridge made from a large fallen tree appears to be the entrance to the Elven settlement of Thamren. I confirmed this by travelling to Gwingris and looking out West over The Angle of Mitheithel. You can clearly discern three of these sorts of bridges (see the gallery of pictures at the end of this post for details). Now there is a map available, I believe that The Angle of Mitheithel is a smaller zone than the Wildwood region that was added to Bree-land last year. In the middle of the new zone is a deserted Hobbit settlement called The Warrens of Tun Melen. I suspect this may be an instance or a quest hub. Similarly there is also a farmer’s cottage to the Northwest of the region which may also be a quest hub.

LOTRO: The Angle of Mitheithel Preview

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Yesterday, Standing Stone Games made Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #4 available on their test server. Unlike the previous three test builds, this one allows players to visit the new area coming in Update 32 to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. According to SSG “The Angle of Mitheithel stretches south from the Trollshaws to the junction of the Bruinen and Mitheithel rivers. It is a wild land of rocky hills and deep pine-woods, and a graveyard of ancient kingdoms. The ruins of Elves and Men alike crumble among the trees, and the Rangers steal through the shadows of the trees, ever watchful, carrying out secret assignments as the north grows more dangerous by the day. The Angle of Mitheithel will be for levels 40 to 45”. This is a very early build and as a result, there are no mobs at present in the new zone, nor have any new maps or stables been added to the game at present.

The Angle of Mitheithel utilises that same visual aesthetic last seen in the Wells of Langflood. It is a zone swathed in mist and it does lend an air of mystery to the dense pine-woods and rocky bluffs. There is a steep path to the East of the zone which leads down into a valley directly below Gwingris in Eregion. You can clearly see the fallen tree bridge that links Eregion and Trollshaw. The zone is hemmed in by high cliffs and several swift flowing rivers. As mentioned by Standing Stone Games in their press release, there are both Elven ruins as well as deserted settlements from the former kingdom of Arnor. There is also a small village populated by Rangers which will no doubt be a quest hub. At the entrance to the new zone, just south of the Last Bridge in Trollshaw, there is a camp with Elladan as an NPC.

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Aesthetically speaking the new zone is pleasing to the eye and has a suitable ambience. As this is a new addition to an established part of SSG’s virtual Middle-earth, it uses art assets and textures already seen in Trollshaw and the borders of the Lone-lands. So don’t expect any surprises in The Angle of Mitheithel, other than the topographical design. Beyond this, at present there is precious little to report about the new zone as much of its resources have not yet been added to the game. However, I do like the fact that SSG is not solely focused on creating endgame content and it is pleasing to see material added to LOTRO for levelling players. The Wildwood addition to Bree-land was most welcome. Hopefully The Angle of Mitheithel will be equally well received. In the meantime, here is a gallery of pictures taken from Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #4.

LOTRO: Abandoned Game Mechanics and Systems Part 2

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In the previous post, I focused upon several major game mechanics that were added to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online with much pomp and ceremony, only to fall into abeyance shortly afterwards. I cited such examples as mounted combat, epic battles and skirmishes. Their fate may well have been due to player indifference or the fact that the mechanics were complicated to develop and expensive to maintain. In this follow-up article I would like to discuss some additional systems that are somewhat smaller in their scope and relevance, but have similarly been abandoned by the developer’s Turbine/Standing Stone Games over the lifecycle of the game. Some are ancient history within the context of the LOTRO. Others are far more recent and that is a point worth reflecting upon.

Destiny Points. All LOTRO players earn destiny points after they have reached level 10, by progressing through the game’s content. The current award is 200 destiny points per level. The currency can be spent on perks that enhance gameplay and levelling. For example, points can be spent on accelerated experience. Similarly they can be spent on a combat run speed, power and morale regeneration, hope, damage and mitigation buffs. However, only VIP players can spend destiny points on perks and this system has never been extended to free-to-play customers. Destiny points offered tangible benefits between 2007 and 2010 but when LOTRO went F2P, the system was sidelined in favour of store based perks. Furthermore, the revisions made to the games levelling curve also impacted upon their relevance. As the LOTRO level cap has grown, levelling per se has become a lot quicker in earlier parts of the game and destiny points are not really required. However, they are still quite useful if applied wisely, although nowadays the system is buried within the game’s UI.

Episodic Content. This is possibly one of the best ideas Turbine/Standing Stone Games have ever implemented. Continuous player engagement is always an issue for the MMORPG genre. The Ballad of Bingo Boffin addressed this by offering players a weekly episodic story that ran for an entire year. The first instalment was set at level 8 so the episodic content could be used to provide a weekly goal for levelling, if a player so wished. Alternatively players could play all episodes in one session if they wanted to, once they had been released and as long as they had reached the level of the final episode. The story was fun and cleverly revisited a lot of existing zones that players may not have necessarily revisited. The weekly release also generated excitement and reason to log into the game. Yet despite the success of this game mechanic it has not been utilised to a comparable extent since its initial release in 2015. A decision that is somewhat baffling.

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Hobbies. Hobbies are a nice concept within the MMO genre. Something I’m sure Simon Quinlank would endorse. The idea of a non-combat based activity that can be progressed and developed over time is very appealing. Sometimes when playing a game such as LOTRO you just want some down time and to bask in the pleasant virtual sunshine. Hence hobbies were introduced to the game in 2008. The first one was fishing and sadly no further activities have been added in the ensuing 14 years. Furthermore fishing has been nerfed. Although it still yields prize fish that can be taken to the taxidermist and turned into trophies, the bait mechanic which improved critical chance has been removed. I miss the Red Wiggler bait.

Pipe-weed. For the Lore-master class in LOTRO, pipe-weed used to be an essential consumable that was required for any group content. Back in the early days of the game, the Lore-master skill Back from the Brink that can revive a downed player, was dependent on having a supply of pipe-weed. Perhaps that’s why the developer’s nerfed it and removed the dependency on actually having pipe-weed. Pipe-weed remains in the game as a farming item. The various varieties yield cosmetic smoke ring emotes but as a functional item it is now obsolete.

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Class Trainers. When LOTRO was first released, as a player’s character progressed through the game, class skills were not automatically bestowed and added to the quickslot bar. Instead you received notification to visit a class trainer and you bought the skill that you now qualified for. If you didn’t have sufficient in-game gold, then you couldn’t buy the skill. Hence you had to exercise a degree of fiscal prudence. However, this system has now been removed from the game and skills are bestowed directly to your alt as you level. The class trainer NPCs are now just relics of this system with no real purpose.

Currencies. MMOs love multiple in-game currencies and LOTRO is no different. As you level your alts through content there are multiple reputations factions offering unique currencies that can be used to barter for level appropriate gear. And therein lies the rub. Once you out level a reputation faction its currency can offer you precious little. Hence it can be very frustrating to have a barter wallet full of useless currency that you’ve worked hard for. It’s a similar story with regard to seasonal festival tokens. At one point Turbine/SSG talked about creating a universal token system and phasing out all the niche currencies. Sadly this never happened and more than likely never will. LOTRO continuously undermines the effort players put into the game.

LOTRO: Abandoned Game Mechanics and Systems Part 1

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According to Merlin, played by the great Nicol Williamson in the 1981 film Excalibur, “It is the doom of men that they forget”. A criticism that could be levelled both at me and Turbine/Standing Stone Games. The MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online is littered with systems, game mechanics and features that have been introduced to the game, proven unsuccessful, unpopular or too complex to maintain and subsequently abandoned. I can’t help but think that the last reason is possibly the most common factor in determining the fate of a new game system. Cryptic removed The Foundry system of player created content from Star Trek Online because the sole member of staff that curated it left the company, proving this problem isn’t unique to LOTRO. However, as it’s been my main MMO of choice for 14 years, I shall be using it as a point of reference. Here are a few examples.

Mounted combat. This remains the most obvious “experiment” which was introduced to LOTRO in 2012 and persisted only while the story progressed through Rohan. Although there are still plenty of areas in which you can still ride your mount and kill mobs, it is no longer a requirement that is written into the story. Mounted combat remains a clumsy game mechanic, with unwieldy mounts and a huge disparity in its effectiveness depending upon your chosen class. It has proven so unpopular with players that the developers had to integrate additional story missions as an alternative to the mandatory mounted combat quests.

The War Wolf. Effectively this combat pet functions similarly to a skirmish soldier and is equally erratic. However it does have some useful attributes and can be used as an aggro magnet, affording a speedy getaway for the Lore-master that pulls too many mobs. If used wisely (IE by a more competent player than me) it can be quite effective. The War Wolf is unlocked by spending skill points on the yellow talent tree and accessing the "riding companion" ability. Turbine should have done more with this and tried to extend it to all classes. It made mounted combat a little more interesting.

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Epic Battles. This is a system that was introduced in the Helm’s Deep expansion in 2013. Although far from popular, the developer’s persisted for another two years adding further epic battles in Gondor. It’s a great idea on paper, just like mounted combat but the reality is quite different. Epic battles only start to get interesting once you have amassed sufficient points to upgrade your Role Traits (Officer, Engineer and Vanguard). You then have skills that can make a difference during the 30 minute long battles. Many players never get that far. When you first start playing the enemy mobs pretty much ignore you and head straight for the ally NPCs. You’re left begging for someone to fight you like Connor MacLeod in the Highlander.

Skirmishes. Skirmishes which were added to LOTRO in 2010. They remain an excellent form of scaling instance with multiple achievements and goals. They can accommodate  1 or upto 6 players. They provide a great alternative means of levelling and the skirmish vendors also had a very robust range of intermediate gear upto level 105. Plus it is fun to have an AI companion. However, skirmishes stopped being added to the game after the Siege of Mirkwood, apart from some simple seasonal variations that accompany festivals. I suspect that Turbine was focused on other content at the time and later found that the staff with the requisite skills had left the company. Missions are now a watered down, poor relation to skirmishes which are far less exciting, only allow 2 players and offer war less of any worth. 

Fellowship Manoeuvres. Players who are new to LOTRO may well forget that upon its release in 2007, the game was heavily based around group content. This MMO was meant to be played in balanced teams and much of the content could not be played solo. Also known as conjunctions, fellowship manoeuvres occur randomly, or are triggered by Burglars or Guardians. They require that the target be stunned or knocked down, in any group encounter with a signature or higher enemy. If the conditions are met a menu appears on screen and each player can contribute by selecting one of four skills. Specific combinations offer advantages such as a morale or power buff to the players, an increase in outgoing damage or they can debuff the enemy. They can contribute an invaluable supplement to group healing. However, as LOTRO became more focused upon solo PVE content over the years, this game system ceased to be relevant or even known about anymore.

To be continued.

LOTRO: The Hytbold Experiment

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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”.

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  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.

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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.

LOTRO: Changes to Embers, Motes and Figments Currencies

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I dislike an excess of currencies in the MMORPG genre. I believe that such systems are implemented with a deliberate intention to obfusticate and dissemble. Especially if such currencies are bought with real money. Consider the following scenario. A player buys a specific currency and then uses that to purchase a second, different currency. They then use that to obtain an ingame item, The sole intention of such systems in video games are to disassociate the player from the fact that they have made a purchase which has a real cost. These are manipulative and predatory business practises but such is the nature of the video games industry and they are commonplace. You have to keep your wits about you when spending money ingame. Sadly those who don’t, end up falling foul of such practises.

Which brings me on to The Lord of the Rings Online. A game with a plethora of barter currencies and unique monetary systems. Since 2017 and the release of the Mordor expansion, the game has had a bespoke currency that has been exclusively used for the provision of endgame gear. Five years on and this system has been overhauled several times and replaced with a new tier due to increases in the games level cap. At present Embers are the premium currency. This can be used to obtain level 140 gear, jewellery and essences. Motes are an older currency which can be used to obtain gear, jewellery and essences between levels 20 and 130. Figments of Splendour are the lowest tier of these currencies and iare mainly used to obtain cosmetic items, housing items and pets.

For many LOTRO players, Embers are the most important of these three currencies as they can be used to obtain very good gear. Effectively gear bought with Embers is the next best thing to that gained from raiding. When my primary character reached the new level cap recently, I replaced all their armour, jewellery and essences with gear bought with Embers. It is important to point out that Embers are obtained either by playing endgame content or by opening Adventurer's Steel-bound Lootbox. You have to buy Black Steel Keys to do so. Keys are paid for with LOTRO points. LOTRO points cost real money. It is also worth noting that items that are purchased with Embers can be deconstructed. If a lootbox gives an item you do not require or like, it can be “disenchanted” back into Embers. Hence Embers are an important part of Standing Stones Games ongoing monetisation of LOTRO.

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Today, SSG announced that there will be changes coming to Embers, Motes and Figments currencies in Update 32, which is scheduled for February. Changes that SSG claim are designed “to clarify the value of each currency, better control their distribution, and improve the overall player experience when it comes to acquiring and spending these currencies”. Here is the short version of the proposed changes, specifically those associated with Embers of Enchantment, to give them their full title. If you want to read the more detailed account please click on the following link.

Embers continue to be our cap level currency used to barter for cap level gear.

The only gear in-game that will disenchant into Embers will come from Adventurer's (level cap) Lootboxes.

Embers will no longer barter into either Figments of Splendour or Motes of Enchantment.

In Update 32 and other large item level jumps we will version all existing Embers of Enchantment in your wallet into Motes of Enchantment. Any gear that could previously be acquired with Embers will also change to require Motes at the same time.

The Embers of Enchantment cap is being increased to 100,000 with Update 32.

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According to LOTRO Producer Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), these changes are because of the imbalance between players undertaking level cap content that drops high end gear and those playing older, easier content, to obtain items that are disenchanted into Embers, that they then use to purchase level cap gear. However, as many LOTRO players have pointed out, the biggest obstacle for running top tier, endgame content, is the prohibitive time specific weekly lock. Ultimately both of these problems are of SSG own making and they are now trying to correct them by implementing a further flawed solution. Downgrading a player’s store of Embers, whenever there’s a level cap or gear change is a mistake. Taking away anything that a player has paid for is bad for business. Sadly, many of the problems and PR disasters that SSG have faced over the last five years have been of their own making. There is of course the chance that this isn’t a mistake but an intentional decision driven by a desire to increase monetisation. Whatever the reason, this decision is not going to be well received.

LOTRO: The Producer’s Letter is Now Quarterly

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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.

At first glance, publishing a quarterly Producer’s Letter is a great way to address the long term criticism that Standing Stone Games doesn’t handle its communication and community relationships very well. Posting a news missive every three months provides a vehicle for appraising players of forthcoming changes and an opportunity to address their concerns. It is more immediate than the previous yearly approach and highlights the ongoing work that the development team at SSG are doing. No doubt players will welcome this change. However, it can be argued that by following a quarterly press release schedule, longer term “goals” will not be discussed as they have been in previous yearly roadmaps. A more concise form of PR focused on three months periods is a more controlled form of PR. Many of the points that were raised by Raninia last July in the “delayed” yearly Producer’s Letter remain outstanding. Does the new schedule mean that they’ll be conveniently forgotten?

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It should be noted that among the various content announcements mentioned in the latest producer’s Letter, there are still a few references to ongoing long term goals. Class rebalancing is one, although I can understand why SSG would wish to defer this for as long as possible because it really is a poison chalice. Class rebalances divide players and are seldom well received. More importantly, the letter specifically mentions lag which continues to plague the game. Currently new zones such as Gundabad suffer a lot of lag due to the numbers of players in the zone. However, lag still exists in both old and new content. Rohan and Minas Tirith are still areas with major stuttering and hitching. Plus missions are subject to lag both while playing and when trying to communicate with the associated NPC, afterwards. If this could be fixed, I’d happily take that as a 15th anniversary gift.

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Another year on and I’m still very curious about the future of LOTRO. Comments left on a previous post that I wrote, by an informed source, has made me very sceptical about the likelihood of a console port anytime soon. It sounds to me as if the entire game would need to be re-written. In theory that would mean creating both a new PC and console version running on some contemporary game engine. Such an undertaking would be costly and time consuming. EG7 have indicated that they hope that the media attention generated by Amazon’s forthcoming Middle-earth TV show will translate into interest for LOTRO. As the show is due for release in Q4 2022, they will need to be prompt in delivering a product suitable for the tastes and needs of a modern gaming audience. I suspect that none of this will happen and that LOTRO as we know it, warts and all, will be all that greets potential new players. Looks like 2022 is going to be another year of watching and waiting. Hope can be a finite commodity.

A Year in Gaming

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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.

Hence, I feel that there is now a moral dilemma in buying games from certain companies and that their products are in a way “tainted”. The same way as there is shopping at certain stores that are known for their unethical practises. However, a consumer boycott is not always the most effective form of protest and on occasions can do more harm to those parties one wishes to demonstrate a degree of solidarity with. However, one can still voice one’s unhappiness with the situation and that is what seems to be happening at present. Negative PR seldom goes unnoticed and as and when it impacts upon share prices, the message eventually reaches the top of the food chain. Action gets taken sooner or later but what the Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Bungie scandals highlight are a wider societal malaise. The abhorrent behaviour that we’ve read about seems to be ingrained in specific socioeconomic stratas. Fixing that is a much harder issue than just replacing a few managers and CEOs.

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Moving on from how shitty the video game industry seems to be, personally speaking this has not been the most exciting year for my relationship with video games. As 2021 draws to an end my PC’s hard drive is filled with games that I’ve abandoned and become bored with. Cyberpunk 2077, GreedFall and Days Gone are a few examples of games that showed promise but became somewhat routine and pedestrian. I did enjoy my first major foray into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Black Flag proved to have an engaging story and an unusual setting, hence I completed the game. My gaming mainstays, the MMORPGs The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online, also kept me busy this year. This was mainly due to the way this genre lends itself to “quick fix” gaming. STO in particular continuously runs events that afford the player a reason to log in and undertake a quick task. Yet despite this engagement, I don’t feel I’ve done anything significant in either game.

The jury is still out as to whether my Nintendo Switch has been a good or bad investment. It gets used mainly when my granddaughters come to visit and then Mario Kart is a firm favourite. But personally I have yet to find a game that enthrals me. I think I’m just culturally conditioned to do my gaming on a PC. And in other news, my love hate relationship with Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout continues. There is fun to be had playing this game but the moment specific races and events appear, they instantly kill my passion. I have still yet to win a crown. This failure to achieve this particular goal bothers the heck out of me. I suspect that overall, my relationship with gaming is shifting. As a pastime it is becoming very much like mainstream cinema. There’s no shortage of content but it’s all rather generic, formulaic and mediocre.

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As for 2022, well for the present I shall just continue to push on with LOTRO and STO. I have nearly finished the new expansion in LOTRO, Fate of Gundabad and have reached the current level cap of 140. I finally got on top of the new Legendary Item system and have managed to create a rather robust new weapon. I think I may soon make a return to The Elder Scrolls Online and see what content I have waiting for me. I usually enjoy playing for a few months continuously and feel that subscribing improves the overall experience. I shall also keep a weather eye on the video game industry to see if and how it bounces back from the recent scandals assailing it. It already looks like the player uptake of NFTs is not going to be as easy as some publishers have anticipated. Maybe I’ll chance upon some hidden video game gems in the next 12 months and my enthusiasm will be restored. Time will tell.

LOTRO on Consoles

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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.

From a technical perspective porting an ageing Windows based MMORPG from 2007 over to the latest generation of consoles is a major project. The UI as it exists in the game at present is cluttered and doesn’t scale well for higher resolutions. Plus the layout of skills is designed for point and click mouse access. The game textures also do not fare well at 4K plus the character models and animations are somewhat dated. Then there are issues regarding lag, hitching that are zone specific. Also tearing, the draw distance, the environmental “pop in”, clipping, loading times and possibly a hundred other issues. And if you are fixing all of these fundamental issues, wouldn’t it be wise to also address LOTRO’s long standing lack of comprehensive voice acting? Will a modern console audience want to play a game that still heavily relies on text driven dialogue?

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Then there are further issues stemming from a successful conversion to both the latest Playstation and Xbox consoles. It is doubtful that crossplay is going to be implemented as it hasn’t been done so for other MMOs that have been converted. Both Star Trek Online and The Elder Scrolls Online have separate servers to accommodate console players. Thus a port for LOTRO would also require a new server system to support the game which no doubt comes at a significant cost. It can be argued that LOTRO’s PC server environment is lacking at present which raises the question as to whether there would be any changes to this infrastructure. In fact the more one thinks about this “project” the more it seems like a very capital intensive undertaking. Such an investment would have to be driven by some pretty compelling financial predictions. EG7 has referenced several times the potential interest the IP may receive due to the Amazon Prime Middle-earth television production that launches next year. Is that itself a big enough incentive?

However, there is an alternative train of thought to consider inlight of the choice of words EG7 have used in their latest investor report. Specifically “a major revamp to upgrade the visuals, modernize the experience”. Modernizing the experience may simply mean making the games overall graphics and systems work on the consoles. Cryptic have successfully done this for Star Trek Online by condensing menus, automating some skills and decluttering the UI. Their port to consoles has not essentially changed the gameplay or radically altered experiences between those playing STO on a PC and those on an Xbox or Playstation. Yet, there is scope to interpret “modernize the experience” as something akin to Star Wars: Galaxies New Game Enhancements (NGE). A revamp of that classic MMO that profoundly changed the game by taking a reductionist approach. Are EG7 implying that to port a game such as LOTRO it needs to be overhauled at source IE PC level first and then converted? Such a prospect is potentially troubling.

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In the meantime, a console conversion remains a “mid-term” goal for EG7. One that I’m sure will be dependent upon ongoing revenue growth and senior staff being invested in the project. Something else to consider is that EG7 owns several game development studios such as Big Blue Bubble, Piranha Games and Toadman. A project of this kind would involve more than just Standing Stone Games. Although SSG have managed to keep the LOTRO alive and ticking over in the last few years, they have not exactly taken the game forward or in any way improved its standing. Bringing the game to a new player base such as console players presents a perfect opportunity to reset community relationships. However, all of this is a long way off, assuming that it ever comes to fruition. For the present the prudent LOTRO player would be best served focusing on playing the existing game and keeping an eye on the more immediate situation.

LOTRO: Thoughts on Fate of Gundabad

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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.

As I usually participate in the Bullroarer test preview of new content for LOTRO, I was already aware of the vertical dimension that is an integral part of the Delvings of Gundabad. Mattugard and Deepscrave are very reminiscent of Moria and one needs to reconcile oneself to the reality of navigating around such an environment. Thankfully, being several levels higher than the content of the area helps. So I have taken my time to explore these areas and have just taken quests as and when they’ve been offered. At present, there are lots of other players in the area, so if you do run into any difficulty or get lost, you are not without support. Whether you actually like the labyrinthine design is a matter of personal taste. If you stick to the main routes through the area, you will miss a great deal of discovery deeds. I find the best approach is to explore specific areas between stables and to be systematic in your approach.

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To make my exploration of the entire zone a little easier, I used my supply of Mithril Coins to unlock access to all the new stables. I visited them using slow travel, as this also unlocks discovery deeds as you pass through an area. It also allows you to reconnoitre and determine the level and variety of mobs, without taking any unnecessary risks. When I do get into combat, although my new LI can deal significant damage, my moral takes quite a hit. I checked into this and it would appear that my armour and jewellery is now lacking. I last re-geared my primary alt back in January 2020, using lockboxes. I think it may be time to do this again but it makes sense to do so when I hit the new 140 level cap. By then I should have sufficient barter currency to buy reputation gear or alternatively, spend some money on lockboxes.

I have never been especially knowledgeable about the statistical side of LOTRO. I know what type of stats are beneficial to my class but I am not au fait with the minutiae of the system. Hence I tend to rely on how combat “feels”. It’s difficult to quantify but I tend to know when a fight is hard or more importantly, getting away from me. The new LI system has certainly boosted my stats and I now feel in control again but when I look at my alt’s stats in the character panel, the power creep is getting silly. I have over a million Tactical Mastery at present. This will no doubt increase further when I get to level cap. I can’t help but feel that when numbers become this big, they begin to fail to convey anything tangible to the average player. I wonder if LOTRO would benefit from a level “squish” as we saw recently in World of Warcraft or some other recalibration of stats.

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One of the things I often find frustrating with the MMORPG genre is the gear cycle. Superior gear is usually gated behind reputation status, barter tokens or is just awarded when the player reaches the current level cap. This comes from a historical design choice where you earned intermediate gear at level cap and then went on to do group content such as raids to get the better gear. But very few players follow that route now. Hence it seems redundant to be awarded with the best gear once you hit level cap and have nothing else to do. Sadly LOTRO is still locked in this model. You need robust gear as you’re levelling and not having access to any is an impediment. This is why I didn’t start playing through Gundabad content until I was level 136. It means I will reach the new cap of 140 and re-equip my main character and then play through the remaining half of the expansion with an optimal build. I regularly inspect other players in my journeys and sometimes marvel at how they’ve come so far while indifferently equipped.

I was surprised to see that the Allegiance system has had a further faction added with this expansion. You can now affiliate with the Zhélruka, whose main hub is in the Hall of Vérnozal in Gundabad, which is convenient. There is a fast travel skill with a 5 minute cooldown which is invaluable if you’re currently questing in this region. Unlike the Mordor-expansion allegiances, the Zhélruka allegiance is scalable, allowing players with a minimum level of 20 and above to participate. It uses the Missions system, rather than zone specific PVE content that the previous allegiances did. It came as a pleasant surprise that developers SSG had added another. However, I’m not so well disposed toward the increase in virtue traits. These now cap at 80 which is a significant increase. I finally got the five that I currently have slotted on my primary character to level 75 a few months ago. I am somewhat peeved that I have to get on that particular treadmill again.

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Returning to the subject of the new LI system, one of the consequences of this major revamp is that there is now a great deal of redundant NPCs throughout Middle-earth and a lot of superfluous rewards. The User Interface also retains some outdated features which will be confusing for players just beginning to use the Legendary Item system. It will be interesting to see if SSG makes an effort to remove these obsolete aspects of the game at some future point. There are also a lot of old items that still need to be replaced. I have half a dozen relic removal scrolls which I assume I will be able to exchange at some point for traceries removal scrolls. I suspect that there will be some players who will require a great deal of compensation, especially for store bought items

As I mentioned in a previous post, Fate of Gundabad is very much a question of more of the same. This seems to be the business model that Standing Stone Games have chosen and I suspect they are not going to change. If you are a returning player, then Fate of Gundabad will offer you a familiar experience. One that is reassuring and enjoyable as you know what the game has to offer but you’ll have a new story to immerse yourself in. If you are a regular player then that familiarity, untempered with time away from the game, may feel a lot more like repetition. As ever the story is well written and thought provoking. Bill Champagne’s soundtrack is sublime and he uses many of his established leitmotifs very effectively. There is a palpable atmosphere in Glooming Tarn, especially when the sombre and portentous music cues start to play. But overall, when looked at objectively, Fate of Gundabad is essentially just treading familiar ground.

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Regardless of my views on Fate of Gundabad, the expansion is certainly proving successful. The volume of players online on Laurelin server has meant that the dynamic layering system is active in most zones. In one respect this is indicative of an expansion that is engaging with players and finding an audience. Sadly the downside to this are server performance issues. Lag is a common place, especially when interacting with Mission NPCs. There are also delays with skill inductions and connecting to the chat server. It can be quite an impediment at times. No doubt SSG will address these issues in the weeks to come. Overall despite following a tried and tested formula, Fate of Gundabad is the strongest expansion LOTRO has seen for a while. It has a wide variety of maps, several ways to level and a robust narrative. The polish will come over the next few patches. But as the main story about the line of Durin comes to an end, it does raise the question where does the game go from here?

LOTRO: The Beginning of the End

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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.

Today I finally decided to try and replace my existing Legendary Items on my primary character. Replacing my maxed out, First Age Lore-master staff and book is not some trivial change. These two items have been with me for three to four years and have had a substantial amount of time and resources lavished upon them. The moment I unequip them I see a significant drop in my character’s stats. Hence it is very important to me that any new weapon is at the very least comparable to that which it is replacing. However, I found trying to understand the new LI system extremely difficult. I managed to purchase a new Lore-master staff and book and reforge them to my current level of 132. However, no information was offered regarding the realities of purchasing, equipping and managing traceries. Furthermore, no guidance is offered as to their respective interchangeability, set bonuses and restrictions.

Hence, there is scope for errors. Such errors cost in-game resources such as Ancient Scripts. These resources are scarce and can only be obtained by investing time and effort into the game. So players will have to either take a calculated risk and live with their choices, or simply leave their current LI alone until they can find the answers and reassurance they need. So far, the only people providing answers are the LOTRO community themselves. LOTRO Players have a guide on their website and it is useful insofar as how the new LI system works. However, if you want class specific advice then that is harder to come by. It may appear in the weeks to come when some of the more analytical LOTRO players write guides and post FAQ videos. However, for a player such as myself, until I feel confident enough to create new LIs, I won’t be touching this aspect of the game. As my character is effectively gimped if I keep using my old weapons, there is no point in playing as I cannot progress in a manner I find enjoyable.

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So to summarise, one of the most important aspects of this MMO has been changed with virtually no support from the developers. The information vacuum potentially leaves players confused, unsure and frustrated as to what to do next. The resulting statistical imbalance makes progress to the new level cap extremely difficult. Now is it just me or is this a massive mistake on behalf of Standing Stone Games? To say that this course of action is an act of poor community relations is an understatement. Being impeded from playing a game by the game itself is ludicrous. It also tends not to make customers happy. If I can’t make any progress with my new LI build in the next few days, I’ll just go and play something else. That means the money I was going to spend on lockboxes when I hit the new level cap will be spent elsewhere. Standing Stone Games loss could well be Cryptics gain.

I have played LOTRO regularly since 2008. It is not a perfect MMO but it has its some unique points. The intellectual property is one and the community is the other. The game itself is big and sprawling, with numerous very well conceived storylines. Every now and then a reference, character or geographical feature will just strike a chord with the player and in those moments the game is at its best. However, LOTRO is also repetitive. Nothing really new has been added to the game in years. LOTRO survives by offering variations on a theme, more of the same and ultimately being the only multiplayer virtual Middle-earth game available at present. Depending upon your perspective, players are either part of an unique, exclusive, niche market experience or simply over a barrel. 

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The relationship between any game developer and its players should be an equitable one. Sadly, this has not been the case with LOTRO for a long time. Put simply the community does far too much heavy lifting with regard to the games promotion and the sharing of knowledge. It is also far too forgiving of SSG failings which in recent years have been many. Community relations are poor as are communications. The games monetisation is becoming increasingly questionable and this latest debacle over LIs has been tediously predictable. I and many other players saw it coming a mile off. The question now that I and other LOTRO players have to consider is how much more are we prepared to tolerate? Because SSG seems hellbent on making the same mistakes again and again. And their intransigence further diminishes the ever decreasing fun that the game offers.

Even if I can find a prompt solution to my LI problem and resume playing, I am faced with an expansion that really doesn’t offer anything intrinsically new. I essentially get the conclusion to a story and the opportunity to replace all my gear once again. Or I can create a new alt and play through content that I’m very familiar with. There is no alternative levelling path, no new systems to explore and master, nor any fun mini-games. LOTRO is like a restaurant that has an interesting theme but sadly hasn’t radically altered its menu for 14 years. For some that may well be a selling point. For others, such as I, it’s beginning to become less and less appealing. In many respects the most saddening aspect of this change in relationship is the air of indifference from SSG. I shall give it a week or two but it may be time for me to part company with LOTRO. If that is the case, I shall be genuinely sad as the fault will not lie with me.

LOTRO: The Benefits of Being a VIP For a Month

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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.

So after some research, here is what I discovered regarding the benefits that are maintained on a per-character basis, when downgrading from VIP to Premium. It should be noted that the following benefits are only maintained for characters that have been logged into the game while the VIP status is active. To clarify, if you create a new alt while a Free player, upgrade your account to VIP and then log into the game with the aforementioned new alt, the following benefits persist when you stop subscribing and drop down to Premium. If you have an alt that you created as a Free player and do not log them in while a VIP, you will not see any benefits afterwards. Also note, these per-character unlocks also work for content that the character hasn't reached, due to level restrictions and other qualify criteria.

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After downgrading from VIP to Premium you keep the following:

• All trait slots unlocked for all your characters on all servers.

• Swift travel from all stable NPCs.

• Riding skill quest for all your characters at level 20.

• All 5 inventory bags remain unlocked.

• The currency cap of 2 gold for Free players and 5 gold for Premium players is lifted.

• You keep access to the last level you reached within the Crafting Guild.

• You can still access items placed in the shared wardrobe and dye them but you can no longer replace them.

You lose the following features after downgrading from VIP to Premium:

• Two character slots (VIP has 7 by default, Premium has 5 premium. You may have to disable two characters).

• Access to all quest packs and skirmishes.

• Access to the Legendary Servers.

• Shared wardrobe if not used by other alts (20 slots).

• Rested 100% XP.

• Monster play.

• Ability to spend destiny points.

• 30 auction house listings.

• Access to your Mailbox everywhere.

• Access to crafting guild advancement.

As you can see there are tangible rewards to be had from subscribing, if for only one month and then dropping to Premium status. It is definitely superior to being a Free player. Ultimately your decision to do so is dependent upon your personal gaming budget and your own views on video game monetisation. However, it is useful to be aware of the differences in customer status in LOTRO. In the meantime do not forget the current offer available from Standing Stone Games in which they are giving away all quest packs within the game, permanently. The code LOTROQUESTS2021 can be redeemed up until the 31st of November. This combined with subscribing for one month and thus becoming a Premium player unlocks a significant amount of content and will save players a lot of money.

LOTRO: Tying Up Loose Ends

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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.

I won’t repeat all of the plot points provided in the original forum post. Here is sufficient to give you an indication of the scope of research that Tesalion Lortus has carried out.

• The Bugdatish storyline.

• Borangos the Horror and his plan.

• The fate of Karazgar.

• Thostír the Rank, a great fire-drake of the East.

• Brathar Crack-helm and his Dourhands.

• Jajax and his brother.

• Where is Corudan?

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Thankfully, one of the things that SSG does well is write complex and long term story arcs well in advance of their release. It is not unusual to find characters from the dim and distant past resurface years later in the LOTROverse. For example Atli Spider-bane, who we initially encounter at Archet in Bree-land at the start of the game, later returns at Lhingris in Mordor, on the far side of Cirith Ungol in the Morgul Vale. Then there is the enigmatic Trév Duvárdain warrior Aviar, who was exiled from her tribe and had her clan name removed. We first encountered her in Forochel. Living as a brigand, she was shown mercy by the Ranger Lothrandir. However, his compassion irked her and so she followed him and so she was ensnared by Saruman. This ultimately led to Lothrandir capture and imprisonment in Orthanc. Saruman called her Gun Ain (without name). During the ruin of Isengard she was again subject to the Rangers justice. On this occasion Halbarad renamed her “mercy” and set her loose. Perplexed, she wandered into Rohan and was shown kindness by Bingo Boffin when he met her at Grimslade. It is a rather unusual and redemptive story arc.

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Tesalion Lortus thread on the forum regarding these multiple loose ends garnered a response from LOTRO developer, Made of Lions. They said “To be honest, we have so many of the items on this list earmarked for future quest stories already!” which is reassuring. Because if the history of gaming has proven anything it is that players remember everything and the internet is a pedants paradise. Plus I find continuity in storytelling integral to my enjoyment of LOTRO. Hence it is important that such standards are maintained for the sake of both the game. However, let us not forget that for every LOTRO player that revels in the dense narrative, there is always another who dismisses all quest texts and chooses to remain oblivious to the subtleties of the plot. It takes allsorts I guess. Although the latter group are free to play as they see fit, I feel that they are missing out on a key component of the game. Yet for some, the MMO genre is about “doing” and any framing story is purely an optional extra.

LOTRO: Fate of Gundabad Bullroarer Preview

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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.

The Fate of Gundabad expansion adds a new area that directly abuts next to the existing Elderslade map. The northern road that bypasses the Angmarim tower of Caivád Sâr leads to Câr Bronach, which was previously blocked by a locked gate. The player can now enter this area and the region very much in the idiom of Angmar to which it connects. There is a road that traverses Câr Bronach from east to west and leads to Nan Gurth. Midway along this road there is a very impressive Dwarven structure, Mur Shatraug, the Witch-gate. This is the northerly entrance to Gundabad. Enemies hold this entrance so entry is not easy. A second road strikes south west and circles round the western side of Mount Gundabad to an area called Welkin Loft. Due to the altitude this is a snowy zone and filled with ravines as the road travels up the mountainside. There are several Angmarim camps and the contested area of Uzdarulzahar, where Dwarves fight both Orcs and Frost Dragons.

Upon entering Mur Shatraug entrance, there is an underground zone called The Delvings of Gundabad. It is split into five subzones, all of which form a broadly circular route running clockwise. The first Pits of Stonejaws is akin to The Glittering Caves in Helm’s Deep and the Foundations of Stone in Moria. It is a maze and rife with mobs. This area leads to Mattugard which is very much like Zelem Melek in Moria. There is an immense abyss in the centre of the map and a triangular road around it. Vast windows in the mountainside roof let in a pale light. On the eastern side of Mattugard is an exit which leads to the main entrance to Mount Gundabad in the Elderslade map, which is a contested zone. Mattugard is populated by Orcs, Grodbog Spitters and Goblins on Bats (yes you read that right). The next connecting area is Deepscrave which is similar to Mattugard but with more bridges and walkways. There are also infestations of bioluminescence growths encrusting the walls. This in turn leads to Glooming Tarn, which features an underground lake. It is filled with crystal spiders and looks similar to the Giants Causeways with its interlocking basalt columns. Finally, the road leads to Clovengap, the former garden city of the Gundabad Dwarves. There are lights, windows and lush green terraces as well as Wargs. Clovengap exists out onto the surface and Welkin Loft.

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The new zones in Fate of Gundabad are large and totally in accord with the ongoing Epic story. If you enjoy Dwarven culture and its respective aesthetic in LOTRO then this expansion should prove enjoyable. However, there are very few entirely new assets on display apart from several reskinned mobs and a handful of relatively unique Dwarven structures. Pretty much everything else is a variation on established themes using assets that players are already familiar with. I suspect that a lot of players will find travelling throughout the Delvings of Gundabad to be an uphill struggle due to the mob density and the complex routes that SSG seem to delight in creating. As always, I’m sure the developers will attempt to compensate by providing a very engaging story as they so often do but I can’t help but feel that Fate of Gundabad is lacking the aesthetic inspiration found in prior updates such as Wells of Langflood and Vales of Anduin.