# Lord Of The Rings Online (LOTRO) - any one else play?



## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 29, 2011)

I decided to give this a whirl seeing it's free to play

so far it's... ok

the big bonus for this game  is setting and tone  and it's not bad at doing what it does. it does indeed feel kinda like LOTR 

i've got myself to level 8 and i've finished the opening area archet

overall it's nice  but it feels a bit cheap and clunky...  

the only other mmo i play (at the mo) is guild wars  and that one feels a lot different. that one has more of an emthesis on graphics    where as this one seems more focused on plot and story 

i'm going to keep at it for a while  but i was interested in what anyone else though


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## kained&able (Jan 29, 2011)

free to play you say. hmmmmmm tempting.

dave


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

100 views and only one reply...  i guess  no fans here then

so far i'm enjoying it...   there is enough  variety  in it  that  you can switch from a bit of exploring to a fetch quest to a bit of monster killing  fairly easly

and thats before you even touch  stuff like hobbies and crafting


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## TruXta (Jan 31, 2011)

I'd love to check it out, but know from experience that MMOs (and RPGs in general) would open a vortex through time and space that would spit me out the other end 3 months later with no SO, no life and and no self-esteem.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

it's like crack  except crack doesn't have a cool sound when you level up


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## kained&able (Jan 31, 2011)

downloaded it! took long enough. I will load it up in the next few days and give you the verdict.

dave


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## TruXta (Jan 31, 2011)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> it's like crack  except crack doesn't have a cool sound when you level up


 
You can level _up_ on crack?


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## bi0boy (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm downloading. Do you need a decent ping to play?


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## TruXta (Jan 31, 2011)

About 3, they say.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

FUCKING GODDAMN EVIL SHITTING ESCORT MISSIONS!!!!


that is all


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## Random (Jan 31, 2011)

I played this a bit, I think there's an old thread of mine from when I started. The main good thing about it is that it's very pleasing for LOTR nerds, you get to feel like you're actually in the world, lots of stroking you with lore in-jokes,etc. I levelled up my hobbit hunter to about 17 and got to Bree, but then my interest paled and I went back to mount and blade, a sandbox game where you get to train peasants into armour clad killing machines to ride down your enemies plus assault castles and become king. No contest, really.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

i'm on level 15  now...  

i think i'm going to try to go for some more story based  missions  or  short  kill quests  as  a long day killing shit on the barrow downs has left me burnt out


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## TruXta (Jan 31, 2011)

Random, isn't that always the problem with franchised games like LOTR, that you're too constrained by previous story-lines and attendant expectations about what things should look and feek like? It's difficult to take that wish fulfilment and turn it into a good stand-alone concept.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

i think the scale of middle earth  combined  with the detail of the world   means that  you can have huge areas  which are true to the books  yet  not directly involved in the story 

i mean at the moment  i'm in bree   selling stuff in the prancing pon   wandering across the barrow down    dodging wraiths (my level isn't high enough)  and  i've even talked to tom bombadil 

it all very LOTR  in feel   yet   not directly  related to the story  in the book  this could  easly be taking place  just before  or during  the  happenings in the fellowship


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 31, 2011)

I didn't know anyone was still playing LOTRO. There was a flash of interest but I have to say that all the MMO types I know just said "oh it's basically WOW then" after a bit.


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## TruXta (Jan 31, 2011)

So is there a (multi-)linear story with an end quest or what?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 31, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I didn't know anyone was still playing LOTRO. There was a flash of interest but I have to say that all the MMO types I know just said "oh it's basically WOW then" after a bit.


 
well  it is basically  WOW  in terms of game play  but then even if it's talking the same language it's  telling a different story ...  

plus it's free to play


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## Random (Feb 1, 2011)

TruXta said:


> Random, isn't that always the problem with franchised games like LOTR, that you're too constrained by previous story-lines and attendant expectations about what things should look and feek like? It's difficult to take that wish fulfilment and turn it into a good stand-alone concept.


 No, what I said above was quite the opposite, that LOTRO met my fanboy expectations quite well and gave me a great feeling of actually being in middle earth. But itäs still a quest based game, based on basically doing missions for other people and thatäs what made me bored.


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## stupid dogbot (Feb 1, 2011)

TruXta said:


> You can level _up_ on crack?


 
Ding. Grats.


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## jannerboyuk (Feb 2, 2011)

Seems quite good to me, but i like the setting and without that it would be pretty ordinary. Also free but you need to cough up dough for certain things. A fiver for example to open up the warden class. Playing a hobbit guardian seems quite fun.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 4, 2011)

Played it briefly a couple of years back. Sure i had to pay a subsciption at the time. 

It's basically wow but i got bored with it quicker than i did wow.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 4, 2011)

who wants to fellowship with me?  i'm hanging around bree
level 20


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 4, 2011)

Citizen66 said:


> Played it briefly a couple of years back. Sure i had to pay a subsciption at the time.


 
yeah they decided to switch to free to play a little while back  along  with   D&D online  which turbinme also runs

much more korean  model of play... i really like it.. i've prob bunged £20 on it but  thats to unlock  some cool stuff  and do stuff like remove the level cap and buy black dye


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## TruXta (Feb 4, 2011)

Buy black dye? What's that good for?


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## tommers (Feb 4, 2011)

making black cloth?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 4, 2011)

because a black cape is better than a blue one!


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## TruXta (Feb 5, 2011)

Better for what tho? +1 hide? 

Or do you mean it's just more neato?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 5, 2011)

black is the new black


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## TruXta (Feb 5, 2011)

Q: Can you play bad guys? (Lazy, can't be arsed to Google)


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 5, 2011)

yes but only  if you buy the VIP package


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## treelover (Feb 6, 2011)

what are the graphics like?


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## jannerboyuk (Feb 6, 2011)

treelover said:


> what are the graphics like?


 
Somewhere between everquest and everquest 2. Not as cartoony as WoW.


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## kained&able (Feb 7, 2011)

Its pretty good i have to say, only just started but it is quite good fun and all the names/places are familiar which is nice. Seemingly, no head set support which is annoying. I don't want to type messages damn it!

dave


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 7, 2011)

i think that is really what sells it

middle earth feels real  in a way  a lot of other fantasy worlds don't.  and your place within the world  kind of makes sense. this is a world  where evil is creeping in at the edges and it is up to every one to strive to maintain civility.  all the quests and tasks seem to be relatively well  constructed to fit into the environment and promote wandering about. 

but yeah  it's really  the fact  that it's LOTR that makes this game work... it's all the charactor names  the locations  and  even awesome things like the fact that  if you are put into a deep state of dread   your minimap becomes a blazing eye of sauron


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 3, 2011)

fuuuuuu


just transfered over to turbine  and i can't find my charactor


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## kained&able (Jun 3, 2011)

played it for like a month got bored, fucked off.

dave


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 3, 2011)

it's  good for an mmo   but it  does suffer the same flaws  that most mmo have

if i had freinds who played it  it would be a lot more fun


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## Pingu (Jun 7, 2011)

i couldmt get into it. I ama big LOTR fan and also love my MMos but for some reasonn didnt click with the game.

so i am sticking to guild wars (which also has no monthly fee)


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## Random (Jul 13, 2011)

Have just re-started this. Never have enough time to get into it but I love the game world. Am a lvl 14 lore master right now.


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## Random (Jul 21, 2011)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> just transfered over to turbine  and i can't find my charactor


 Sign up to the official boards then while logged in look at your characters, it'll say what server they're on. That's how I found my hunter again. Am now doing the last few shire slayer deeds although one-shotting grey mobs is getting a bit old.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 21, 2011)

it  doesn't seem to say

http://my.lotro.com/home/character/3495032/153403862308549157/


EDIT

oh,  it  does say   

baka...


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## Random (Jul 21, 2011)

What character are you running now? Have just been re-reading the FOTR and so I wanted to do some strolling in the Shire with my hobbit. It all looks different to the maps in the book, though imo, and very different to how I imagine it to look.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jul 21, 2011)

human champion  based in bree

man the  sever is empty.


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## DarthSydodyas (Aug 8, 2011)

I play it in window mode with CS Source in the back 

Its ok though I may have to revisit WoW...


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## Random (Aug 23, 2011)

Am loving this, managing to play a little bit almost every week, and on level 23. Don't want to level too fast in case I miss something! Barrow Downs are great fun.


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## TruXta (Sep 9, 2012)

What have I done... Installing as we speak. Taking a while for the game to DL and apply patches and shit, so not actually done anything yet. Anyone still playing?


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## Random (Sep 11, 2012)

Gave up when I reached Weathertop and it just turned into a huge plain with random wandering Uruk-hai and blah. The levels up to 20 were great, though; the starting areas are all very very good and full of appropriate lore and stories. May dip in again one of these days. maybe would be better if I'd not tried to solo everything.


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## chilango (Sep 11, 2012)

I played up to the quests around the forsaken inn. No time to play anymore, did enjoy it though.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Sep 11, 2012)

should probably dip in again.  i was almost level 30.   still mostly doing barrow downs stuff.


the problem is  i only ever really  solo


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## chilango (Sep 11, 2012)

I only soloed, got bored with rescue missions to advance the storyline.


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## TruXta (Sep 11, 2012)

I've got as far as creating a character. A male hobbit burglar. Sticking to the stereotypes!


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## Random (Sep 11, 2012)

TruXta said:


> I've got as far as creating a character. A male hobbit burglar. Sticking to the stereotypes!


The shire and nearby is my favourite area in LOTRO. You'll enjoy. What server are you on?


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## TruXta (Sep 11, 2012)

Random said:


> The shire and nearby is my favourite area in LOTRO. You'll enjoy. What server are you on?


 
Riddermark I think, but as I said I've not started playing yet.


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## Bingo (Sep 11, 2012)

how much is it?


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## Random (Sep 12, 2012)

Bingo said:


> how much is it?


Free


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## Random (Sep 12, 2012)

TruXta said:


> Riddermark I think, but as I said I've not started playing yet.


Then make sure you're on a server I'm on and we can team up some day. My main is on withywindle iirc and I have others on laurelin. My main on Withy is called Tango iirc


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## Bingo (Sep 12, 2012)

Surely you have to pay for the game itself tho?


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## Random (Sep 12, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Surely you have to pay for the game itself tho?


No, you can download it for free. You can buy game points to unlock certain features, but those points can also be gained in the game itself. And like I said, the early and most free part is the best imo.


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## Bingo (Sep 12, 2012)

Cool I'm on that!


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## Bingo (Sep 13, 2012)

Hoping it gets better than the intro... urg


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## Bingo (Sep 18, 2012)

Well I made it to Bree, its pretty good, basically just WOW in the Lotr setting... but FREE!

Looking forward to checking out the Barrow Downs


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## Random (Sep 18, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Well I made it to Bree, its pretty good, basically just WOW in the Lotr setting... but FREE!
> 
> Looking forward to checking out the Barrow Downs


The Barrow Downs are a great setting, but it's a bit unsettling to see that the locals are basically mining them for cash, rather spoils the awe.


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## chilango (Feb 18, 2013)

Started playing this again. Only for the odd half hour at a time, but I do enjoy wandering around. I think you can travel most places now with last expansion. Still mostly pottering around Bree and the Forsaken Inn trying to avoidtheBarrow Downs.


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## Buddy Bradley (Jun 11, 2021)

After burning out on just about every other MMO, I've landed on playing LOTRO, and it's actually still pretty good. The graphics are crap compared to anything released in the last 10 years, but the music is great, the minimal voice acting is fun, and the interweaving of the plot of the book into your adventures is clever. The fact that I'm re-reading the books at the moment helps a lot too - hopefully I won't lose interest once I've finished them.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jun 11, 2021)

I'm going to see if my account still works.


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## Buddy Bradley (Apr 19, 2022)

Not that anyone probably cares, but LOTRO is getting a big update tomorrow which is making a ton of stuff free-to-play. All of the classes and races that were previously locked behind subscription or purchase can now be played on a free account, and all of the content up to level 95 is also going free (previously you were limited to level 30 without paying).


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