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Overview Lord of the Rings Online OverviewLord of the Rings Online was originally a subscription-based MMORPG, but now allows players to get a taste of the iconic world of Middle Earth for free. That world has been massively expanded over the years with continuous updates. The winding depths of Moria, the wide plains of Rohan, the thickets of Mirkwood, and much else has been added through periodic expansions. While LOTRO only offers the option to create characters of the free races, a PvP mode called Monster Play allows players take command of powerful monsters in large-scale arena battles. For those more interested in making music than making war, Lord of the Rings Online includes a built in music creator and gives all classes the ability to play at least one instrument.Lord of the Rings Online Key Features:. Welcome to Middle Earth – the official Lord of the Rings set!
Find yourself fighting and exploring the amazing Tolkien world. Variety Galore – 10+ playable classes, 5+ races, 10+ professions, and over 1,000 titles. No Money Necessary – free-to-play, but some content requires purchases. Need a House?
– player housing system available. Great Story Writing – game is driven with good story progression.Lord of the Rings Online Screenshots. Classes Lord of the Rings Online Classes and RacesClasses:. Beorning – Beornings are descendants of ancient Men, and they are capable of “skin-changing” into bears when angered. They can be unlocked through the cash shop, and are only available to the Beorning race. Burglar – the Burglar relies on stealth and deception, being great at attacking from the shadows and debilitating their enemies. They are available to Hobbits and Humans.
Captain – Captains are born leader, emboldening allies through their presence. They use battle cries and banners of war to both strengthen their allies and weaken their enemies. They are available to Humans. Champion – Champions are masters of melee combat, dealing unrelenting damage while being able to tank just as much.
They are available to Dwarves, Elves, and Humans. Guardian – Guardians are the protectors and defenders of those in need. You will find Guardians on the frontlines, where they can see the white of their enemies’ eyes. They are available to Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and Humans. Hunter – Hunters are at large in the forest, where they can use their bow and lay traps for their prey. When they do come out in the open, they are excellent ranged fighters capable of taking down even the biggest foe. They are available to Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and Humans.
Lore-Master – the Lore-masters seek knowledge and wisdom, and as such they can cast powerful boons upon their allies while confounding enemies. They are available to Elves and Humans. Minstrel – Minstrels are the heart of a fellowship. Through ancient song, they inspire, renew, and bring hope to their allies, giving them the motivation and gumption needed to face the forces of darkness.
The Lord of The Rings (The Lord of the Rings #1-3), J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work.
They are available to Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and Humans. Rune-Keeper – Rune-keepers are students of ancient languages and runes. Through their studies, they have learned to both heal and destroy. They can be unlocked through the cash shop and they are available to Dwarves and Elves.
Warden – Wardens are melee fighters who use a javelin and a shield against ranged foes. They make great tanks and can be unlocked through the cash shop.
They are available to Elves, Hobbits, and Humans. Welcome to Middle Earth!Lord of the Rings Online is set in Middle Earth, during the fantastic journey of the Fellowship as they try to take the One Ring to Mt. Players will be able to explore such legendary locations as Gondor, the Mines of Moria, the Shire, and Rohan.
You can also meet famous characters from the books and movies such as Gandalf, Gimli, Frodo, and many others. Fans of Tolkien’s universe will find themselves immediately drawn to the game’s world.The character creation screen in LOTRO is nothing special. You can choose between five races (Man, Hobbit, Dwarf, Elf, and Beorning) and ten classes (Beorning, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-keeper, and Warden).
The customization itself is fairly basic, though there are decent options for facial features. Players can also choose a character’s nationality, which will give them a title later on.Once that’s done, players will go through an instanced tutorial where they’ll get their first chance to meet several iconic Lord of the Rings characters. As a dwarf, I met with Gandalf and Gimli, and faced a troll in a cave. Talk about setting the tone, right? However, things settled down after that, and I found myself faced with the familiar /WoW type of MMORPG. The controls are the classic WASD to move, mouse to look around and interact, tab to target and the number keys to cast abilities. Quests are tracked on the minimap, abilities are learned automatically upon leveling, and combat is fairly static.
Leveling and TraitsCharacters automatically learn both passive and active skills as they level up. To further character customization, you have class traits, virtue traits, and racial traits. Class trait points are earned by leveling up, and are spent in a talent tree, improving a character’s offensive and defensive capabilities. Virtue traits are gained by completing deeds and are used to enhance a character’s combat abilities. Racial traits are specific to the character’s race and they are usually earned by killing a certain number of mobs. These traits provide special skills or fast travel abilities.
Both Virtue and Racial traits have their own talent tree. This system is actually quite in-depth and gives players a great sense of progression as they level up. Deeds, Titles, Housing and ReputationLOTRO is all about PvE, lore, and questing. To keep things interesting, LOTRO has a Deed and Title system. Deeds are similar to achievements in other games and can be divided into four categories: exploration, slayer, lore, and reputation. Different types of deeds are completed in different ways. Sometimes a deed involves killing a large number of mobs, and sometimes it involves exploring and completing an instance.
Deeds also reward Turbine Points, which can be used in the Cash Shop. It's great that LOTRO gives players free cash shop currency just for playing the game. You then have Titles, which are earned by completing deeds, or mastering professions.
Titles are purely cosmetic, appearing next to a character’s name. For example, if a player reaches Level 5 without dying, he or she will earn the title, “The Wary”.There is also a housing system in the game, which becomes unlocked at Level 15. Players will own a house in an instanced neighborhood that corresponds to their race. There are 3 types of houses available, with 2 of them being personal houses, and the largest one being available only to kinships (guilds). Too bad player housing is in its own unique instanced area.
It'd be cool to see player housing in the persistent world, but as far as I know, is the only game to ever have attempted that. Finally, you have the reputation system, which is similar to the one found in WoW. Players can earn reputation with a faction through daily quests, killing mobs, or running instances, which then unlocks certain rewards, such as items, recipes, and various other services.
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PvEWhen it comes to PvE, you have quest instances, world instances, raids, public dungeons, and skirmishes. Quest instances are designed for one player or a small group, and they are used for storytelling purposes.
The beginning tutorial is an example of a quest instance. World instances are designed for a small or full fellowship (party), and they have quests, deeds, and boss encounters within them. Raids are designed for two or three full fellowships (12-18 players) and they involve defeating large, powerful bosses for high quality items. Public dungeons are similar to world instances, but the main difference is that anyone can enter without the need for an invitation from the main group.
Skirmishes are instances that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Players join Skirmishes alongside their Soldier (a special Skirmish NPC). A Skirmish can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes and they can be adjusted for either solo, duo, small, or full fellowship, and raid size groups. Cash ShopLOTRO features both a cash shop and a subscription option (VIP). By becoming a VIP, players gain access to all character trait slots, 500 Turbine Points/month, unlimited chat, extra inventory slots, custom character portrait frame, access to all quest packs and skirmishes, daily 100% XP boost, access to all monster classes, no currency cap, and maximum auction house listings, among other things, for $14.99/month. All of the benefits have a cumulative value of over $300.
In the cash shop, players can find quest packs, instances, raids, skirmishes, storage slots, auction house slots, character slots, classes, currency cap removals, cosmetics, traveling, housing, buffs and boosts to both stats and in-game currency, crafting items, potions, travel options, dyes, mounts, and much more. Players purchase from the shop using Turbine Points, which as mentioned above, can be farmed by completing deeds.
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