I dunno if I got general idea from a Three Moves Ahead podcast or just knew it instinctively – but in a role playing game (mmo included) you tend to imagine the game as your character will be in 20 levels – (sounds like the podcast was where I confirmed this). That’s great if there is a CHANCE you’ll get there --even if you don’t. If there is no chance … motivation peters out.
I will try and quote to that podcast --the idea there was used in a different context --but it was the same concept. If LoTRO is going OFF line in a few years --even the great gameplay etc etc --pales in comparison to the thought “This is wasted time.”
If it is indefinite and has no ending you can convince yourself “I can get to level 235 and get that Angel-Horse with the golden wings” etc --even if you never do.
[quote=“DTG, post:2962, topic:59553”]
no guarantees. It could all be gone a year later
[/quote]Surely this would deepen the ephemeral poignancy of the impending loss. Kinda like Keat’s “name writ in water” and junk.
Sorry to be that guy, but I am firmly on the Estate side. I am super glad The Silmarillion is under lock and key never to be transferred to another medium (so far). The movies were cool but they have introduced a host of problems that will never go away in the nerd realm in which I wrestle with yearly (lol). It is insufferable first world bullshit admittedly, but that isn’t Faramir! Not even close.
AKA I have fan edits of all movies to make them tolerable. (Example: The Hobbit is 4 hours in total. Dwarves never enter the mountain while the dragon is home)
I never can understand why movie makers just change things --I know it is to make things more dramatic – but just outright changing major things when adapting a book? My pet peeve for the Lotro movies were the elves marching into Helm’s Deep – lol utterly ridiculous.
I usurped leadership of the Knights of Quarter To Three guild a year or so ago in order to have a cheap guild to play with some friends on. I’m on Landroval if anyone wants to join up.
So my farewell tour of Middle Earth is in full swing and I’m really enjoying it. It’s amazing how relaxing the game can be when you’re not racing through levels trying to get to the cap to do endgame content. Instead I started out in lowbie areas knocking out any leftover old quests and finishing every deed. I quickly swept through my remaining Breeland deeds, Shire deeds and Ered Luin stuff. I didn’t gain any real XP, but racked up a good 300 TP, thousands of marks, leveled some traits and reached kindred with Bree (was already there) and The Mathom Society and ally with Ered Luin.
From there it was on to Lone Lands, where I finished all the deeds except the Garth Agarwen ones. GA is still a group instance, and it scales, so it is NOT soloable at my level (43). I’ll need to circle back around when I can get a couple of guildmates to help out. Also reached ally with the Eglain, looks like I’ll need GA to hit kindred.
North Downs was next on the list. Lots of cool stuff to do there, and spent quite a bit of time knocking out the slayer deeds for the region as the numbers increased from the previous regions. It was here that I came to appreciate the addition of repeatable region quests and daily tasks to LORTO. While running down the few remaining quests in the region and racking up the kills for slayer deeds, I was able to collect tons of task loot and ran through the half dozen or so repeatable region quests several times, which when combined with the deed completions and faction items like medallions and lashes resulted in my obtaining ally status with Rangers of Esteldin, something I never accomplished on previous characters due to the difficulty of obtaining that faction in the old days.
After North Downs I hit the Trollshaws. Here, finally, I encountered both creatures and quests that were green and light blue to me, meaning XP to be had! I’ve spent the last few nights cleaning out the various regions of the Trollshaws of available quests, racking up explorer deeds and whittling away at slayer deeds while doing daily tasks and repeatable quests. I’m down to the final few quests out of Rivendell, have a bunch of creatures to slay for the advanced slayer deeds, and am close to Kindred with Rivendell.
All the while I have enjoyed seeing the sights of Middle Earth again, this time at a much more leisurely pace. I’ve stopped to look around and experience the ambiance of both the settlements full of NPCs and the ruins full of monsters. I’ve enjoyed the excellent music of the game, and smiled at the NPC voices greeting me as I took the time to actually read their text. And as I close the door on each region, finishing all the deeds and quests, I feel a sense of finality, knowing that I’m seeing it for the last time. It’s both a little sad and very satisfying, and a feeling that will certainly keep me playing for some time to come even if I do scale back to once or twice per week in order to play something new.
My current character (now 45) is my third “main” character. I created him back when a lot of people from the QT3 community decided to return to LOTRO together and create new characters on Nimrodel to start from scratch as a group (I think it was around the time they introduced Wardens and RuneKeepers). That was so much fun. So…Much…Fun.
Anyway, I had two other characters already past 40 on Arkenstone at the time. They were my original mains from when I first played LOTRO (shortly after it’s release). I eventually got both of them into Mordor, the Guardian was (is) 57 and almost through when I finally got so frustrated with it that I had to walk away. Moria at the time was a slog, especially solo, and eventually the dark confined landscapes and the constant running back and forth over the same endless ramps, bridges and staircases got to me.
I am hoping that Moria has vastly improved with all the changes that have since been put into the game. I know that this time through, with a new perspective and less pressure, many of the zones I found kind of boring or tedious (hello Barrow Downs and Lone Lands!) have ended up being much more entertaining.
It has. Many more travel points, more quests, less getting lost. I liked the hard-core original, but I understand why the changes had to be made.
Like you, I’m doing a farewell tour. I left the game about 2 years ago after Helm’s Deep came out and I didn’t have the desire to learn the new epic battles mechanic to progress the main story. Plus it was just time to leave for a while.
I’m now using my original character, a minstrel I started right after the game started and left abandoned at lvl 65 several years ago. Back then I didn’t pursue rep or deeds or tasks (I don’t think there even were “tasks” then), so I’m now racking up turbine points and traits while enjoying the scenery. I polished off “World Renowned”, and occasionally work on the original Angmar end game again. I’m not interested in re-doing Mirkwood again, so I’ve skipped to Dunland and then onto Rohan. It also is a chance to level up all of the minstrel legendary items my other higher-level characters collected .
Maybe I’ll pick up my lvl 95 burg (which I started when QT3 did that short-lived guild on Nimroedel) or 93 Guardian someday and go on to Minas Tirith and the Black Gate, just to see them. Assuming they’re not walled behind “epic battles”.
They’re having a big sale on expansion packs. I’ve enjoyed my time with this a bit, but it never clicked with me like ESO has. Might this make it worth diving back in?
Be sure to buy the quad pack down at the bottom, if you need all the expansions…that’ll save you like $15. Then you just have to buy Helm’s Deep to complete the collection.
I do believe that a farewell tour is an awesome idea. I am gonna grab my captain. One of the nice things about Lotro was that you could deed, and fight, and instance, and raid --and all in a bit of sublime peace. I never got all worried about stuff.
I myself have just barely gotten past level 65 or so – beyond Moria --and into some of the weaker areas. Though I did like Mirkwood.
Sauron! We are coming for you! And it’s not a few hobbits! it’s -well – It is a crazy captain with a legendary halberd!
I submit that while I would hope a new person starting the game for the first time would enjoy it – I would seem to me it is more of an old school taste and maybe a bit of nostalgia.
The quests in the world seem to be very old-school in their design, for sure. And between tasks, deeds and so forth it ends up feeling kind of like methodically checking things off a list at one’s own pace in a beautifully recreated Middle Earth more than following much in the way of story (at least when not working on Book quests). But there’s room for that.
It is a pretty stark dichotomy between the Book Quests, which are steeped in lore and very story-heavy, and the zone quests, which are as you say essentially task lists to be checked off (hell, the Deeds tabs should really be titled things like “Evendim To-Do List” with little boxes like “Visit Scenic Minathranc” and “Slay Pesky Angmarim”).
That said, there is a nice sense of constant accomplishment to it that I enjoy, probably because I cut my teeth on old school UO and Everquest, so I dig the task lists. Then, when I’m looking for something a little more immersive, the Book Quests are always there. I like too that some areas of the world, like Dol Dinun and Annuminas for example, have their own sort of meta-story happening that is linked to the quests in the area. It’s been nice to stop and smell the roses (so to speak) now that I’m not in a rush to make the next level and progress to the next area. It’s amazing just how much I didn’t really see the first couple of times through (and of course there is plenty that has been added since as well).
I might have to take advantage of the $20 (50% off) for Helm’s Deep. It’s the only expansion I’m still missing, and even though I am nowhere near high enough level to utilize it, it does come with 1,000 Turbine points too which would be handy to have. Plus it’s $20 in Turbines pocket, which would be my way of saying “Thanks” for keeping the lights on in Middle Earth all these years.
If any of you who are returning are on Arkenstone by chance, look me up. I’m Slainte on there as well.
Man… all your posts are getting me in the mindset where I am seriously considering reinstalling. I played LOTRO from Beta through the first year or so of F2P (one of my life’s biggest regrets was not buying in on the Founders’ Lifetime sub). I have a Lore Master, a Minstrel and a Guardian all leveled up to whatever the cap was when I quit. I know there’s a ton of content I never saw – pretty much Rohan onwards – so maybe a revisit to Middle-Earth is in order.
I’m just concerned that the mechanics/skills have been changed so much that it’ll take me forever to relearn how to play my toons.
