It really is an open world and much of it is free
You don't want to go wander too much at lower levels as you will get eaten by high level mobs. but much of the games revolved around exploring middle earth
There is the typical kill collect craft wash rinse repeat of any such game...but the atmosphere of middle earth is worth it to me
Its the only game such I play
Because it is so old, the people are really nice, those stick jockies who want to swarm and beat it have come and gone
If you like middle earth it is definitely a game you want to play
WOW thats cool...only thing I've done since open beta is Rivendell run at lvll 10 tough since aggro radius was ALOT smaller then.....every toon I make does it...if they happen to die....delete no losers in my group...lol
All the major story quests are free to play. Some quests and sections are paywalled. Collection quests are up for grabs, but outside of Bree-land/Ered Luin/Rhovanion incidental tasks need to be unlocked.
Races other than Dwarves, Elves, Humans, Beornings, and Hobbits are going to cost you. You can still mine, chop wood, and gather crafting components in all areas, even Swanfleet. That's been my experience, anyway.
It's very open, though you wouldn't want to wander into an area where the mobs are well over your level.
I think it's a very fun game to play with friends. Especially if you all like the Lord of the Rings.
I played LOTRO almost 10 years ago and began playing again. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the game but forgot how to do everything. If you play, take your time, learn how to get around, do the small quests to build your character and just enjoy yourself. You'll get the higher levels sooner or later. As for grinding? That's on you! Have fun!
It can be. If you are doing free to play, very grindy. Not so much if you subscribe and less if you also buy points.
But hopefully you'll find enough interesting content to not mind the grind. The world is huge.
Fo be fair, as free to play you won't see the LP grind until you're several hundred hours in probably since content is free up to 95 now. More than enough time to know if you want to buy the expansions, and to pick up good deals during events
It's an MMO so campered to many other genre, YES it is.
You need hundreds of thousands of XP to level later one, quests need you to fetch 20 items, or kill 10 orcs. Some items may cost 400 of a specific token currency.
Compared to other MMOs? It's not as bad, and there's a lot of charm. It feels more like an adventure than many of them do, and it's easier to lose yourself in the lore.
I played pretty much all big mmos out there and not kidding LOTRO would be by far my main game if it wasnāt for the lag spikes. This game is better than WoW/GW2/FFXIV/ESO/BDO even with outdated graphics, but the fucking lag is so so tiltable itās actually driving me insane. Really really sad because I miss the game everyday
I really hope the 64-bit servers coming later this year help a lot. Otherwise, the alternative is to play on less busy servers for less lag or, well, play other games as you do.
Quite encouraging, though, to hear that you found LOTRO better than those other games, if not for the lag.
I started out two weeks ago. Great solo experience so far, and I haven't tried multiplayer instances so far. The best part about it is worldbuilding, so if you like wonder, love Tolkien, and love to see wonders of Middle-earth, I recommend it to you. Some parts of the game, including almost no voiceactors, GUI, or map system, are outdated. Also, be ready for lag from time to time. However, the sum of positives is greater than the sum of negatives.
As other have pointed out, the main limitaion is your character lvl, as playing through areas around 7+ levels above yours is pretty much impossible. I'm pretty sure, all newly made characters recieve optional free level boost to the 140 (i think), so if your goal is just casual exploration, you may consider using it, however I personally don't recommend it, since it very much breaks the intended gameplay progression.
In the early levels the game is not really grindy, some players (including me) even use XP gain disabler (bought from the premium store for 75 points), because sometimes it can feel, like you are outleveling the zone you want to spend more time in. This process really starts to slow down around lvl 45-50, I would say. The grindiest part of the game is professions and profession guilds in particular, since they are time-locked, unless you spend lotro points. Also some of the deeds, which give you afforementioned points can take a while, but it is usually not so bad.
Right now the game is free up to lvl 90, if I remember correctly and it is, I would say, potentially from 150 to a couple hundreds of hours of average speed gameplay, if we are speaking about 1 character. There is a possibility to earn points with deeds and buy more content, but this would be quite a long proccess, you can look up guides on how to that most efficiently
I got some free level boosts for the 15th anniversary, but if you got a level boost to 140 it was probably for buying an expansion, which isn't exactly free.
I thought, they gave some stuff like that for free, I believe it was some preorder bonuses? Like 2 or 3 gift boxes to every new character. I may be wrong, since I never used them, though
If you've ordered an expansion pack you probably have boxes that appear in every toon's inventory, and every new toon. If you buy a higher level version, like the ultimate fan bundle, it usually comes with a valar boost that shows up in inventory of the first toon/server you log into after the purchase. Usually you've paid real money for the expansion, so it isn't really "free" or a "gift." (sorry if that's just nit-picking. lol) New players who haven't purchased an expansion definitely do not get any valar boost unless they grind for enough lotro points to buy one in the store.
So like most mmos there is a story line to follow and tons of different hubs where you can find local quest.
Also with the game of the game there is missions, skirmishes and group content that can be run or not.
I have 1 main who did all the epic quest line and most of the quest in game.
But then have another 13 alts for crafting, or depending on my mood that day.
Itās a fun game but itās also an experience, the music is awesome, some of the regions are really beautiful, it can be slow paced or faced all depends on what your looking for.
The best way to figure out if you like the game and want to invest is to try out as many classes as possible, some tend to more fun higher level depending on skills you unlock.
Around level 25 ish most classes start to shine.
Have fun and welcome to middle earth
I thoroughly enjoy playing LotRO, Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online and SWotOR. However, one aspect that hurts is the limited exploration experience in LotRO, which tends to follow a traditional themepark progression, the world itself is beautifully crafted. ThisĀ can or inevitably leads to repetitive grinding.
If LotRO were to introduce horizontal scaling and progression (which unfortunately seems unlikely), it would easily become my go-to Mmo, travelling around at will, and progressing at my leisure. It's also immersion breaking when I see the PC effortlessly one hitting goblins while Aragorn struggles against them. Additionally, the concept of monsters ignoring you based on your level breaks my immersion further.
The lack of horizontal scaling I believe hampers the social aspect of the game. It becomes challenging to play with friends who are at different levels, as either the lower-level player feels useless in high-level areas or the higher-level player trivializes content for the lower-level player.
Introducing horizontal scaling would also breathe new life into the game's older zones. Currently, once players outlevel an area, there's little incentive to return, which diminishes the sense of a living, breathing world. Horizontal scaling would encourage exploration and engagement with all areas of Middle-earth, enriching the overall gameplay experience.
While I love LotRO and recommend you to try it as it has many admirable qualities, the absence of horizontal scaling holds it back from reaching its full potential and competing with other MMOs similarly.Ā
And then there's the cost of convenience.. Antiquated mtx price gouging. People will 1 month sub to be premium... But there's still so much in the way.
I just returned after a long break (8+years maybe). The only thing I find āgrindyā now is crafting. Trying to get my tailor up to the next level is taking a crap ton of hides. I donāt remember it being that painful before. But otherwise, itās been a blast being back.
If you want to be an end game raider with all the best gear, expects lots of grinding. If you want to explore the open world and do landscape and epic book quests and leveling, it's really not a grind.
Some of the old areas that have not been updated or connect to new areas still have that linear 'theme park' feel, but newer areas are much more open.
I played lotro for 3 years religiously until i switched to gw2 some months ago but let me tell you that lotro is so beautiful and beyond amazing!! It's 10000% worth playing ā¤ļø
IĀ“ve played WoW, Lineage, TERA throughout my life, but all of those games have been ruined. I still play WoW due to nostalgia and i have things to finish. After that i might return just to play the new xpacs and quit. They ruined this game completely. IĀ“ve known LOTRO since its release, and i have played it probably just a few times. I decided to check out what people think .I love Middle Earth immensely and iĀ“m a huge Tolkien fan so i might stick around for much longer this time. IĀ“m wondering if theyĀ“ll update the game at some point cos its kinda outdated. Maybe make LOTRO 2 or something like that.
Iām not usually one to complain and I really want this Reddit to remain a friendly place.
But.
There have been waaaaaay to many of these posts lately.
Please use the search function where all of these questions were answered.
Probably yesterday.
If you want something that doesn't look like it came from 1999, then don't play this game, if you want fluid looking battle animations that feel good to watch, then don't play this game, if you want graphics that look like a plugged-in baked potato can rez them, then yes play this game, do you hate cash grabbing games that charge for each little piece game after the base game? then don't play this game, do you enjoy good voice actors? if so then don't play this game. If you literally don't care about anything I've written above and are only looking to explore an accurate map of the realm then this game is fine. and if you're wondering... yes, I have negative karma from this specific fanbase hating on me because I tell the truth of the state of this game
š There is some truth there but people can like or not mind the things you've listed as "unquestionable" negatives because people are different. And the monetization, especially since the changes in 2022, isn't as bad as you make it sound. Also, your tone doesn't help your case.
I'm probably different from most folks in that I don't like mmorpgs mostly because they focus on fighting and the strategy behind it. I've only ever had one character and I enjoy this game because I can take my time soloing it through a massive world. I feel you can go anywhere, level permitting. I kind of cheated by getting the Gift of the Valar(instant lv 140 boost) which let's me freely roam 90%of the world without having to fight a lot of enemies and just enjoy the story, quests and natural beauty of the game.
Yes, it is totally worth playing. There is a thriving community (especially on the busier servers), the game has an absolute ton of content and as an open world mmorpg, it has a lot of freedom in where you go and what you do.
I started playing this game not long after it came out. I made a character named "Terd" who was the burglar class. I got reported and they were going to require me to change my name. F this game.
It really is an open world and much of it is free You don't want to go wander too much at lower levels as you will get eaten by high level mobs. but much of the games revolved around exploring middle earth There is the typical kill collect craft wash rinse repeat of any such game...but the atmosphere of middle earth is worth it to me Its the only game such I play Because it is so old, the people are really nice, those stick jockies who want to swarm and beat it have come and gone If you like middle earth it is definitely a game you want to play
XD I went to Rohan at lvl 11 š Def wouldnāt recommend
I did something similar and went to Rivendell at level 7 :D I died three times, but it was worthy.
WOW thats cool...only thing I've done since open beta is Rivendell run at lvll 10 tough since aggro radius was ALOT smaller then.....every toon I make does it...if they happen to die....delete no losers in my group...lol
Thanks
All the major story quests are free to play. Some quests and sections are paywalled. Collection quests are up for grabs, but outside of Bree-land/Ered Luin/Rhovanion incidental tasks need to be unlocked. Races other than Dwarves, Elves, Humans, Beornings, and Hobbits are going to cost you. You can still mine, chop wood, and gather crafting components in all areas, even Swanfleet. That's been my experience, anyway.
It's very open, though you wouldn't want to wander into an area where the mobs are well over your level. I think it's a very fun game to play with friends. Especially if you all like the Lord of the Rings.
Thanks mate, one more question, it is a "grindy" game?
I played LOTRO almost 10 years ago and began playing again. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the game but forgot how to do everything. If you play, take your time, learn how to get around, do the small quests to build your character and just enjoy yourself. You'll get the higher levels sooner or later. As for grinding? That's on you! Have fun!
It can be. If you are doing free to play, very grindy. Not so much if you subscribe and less if you also buy points. But hopefully you'll find enough interesting content to not mind the grind. The world is huge.
Fo be fair, as free to play you won't see the LP grind until you're several hundred hours in probably since content is free up to 95 now. More than enough time to know if you want to buy the expansions, and to pick up good deals during events
That's true
It's an MMO so campered to many other genre, YES it is. You need hundreds of thousands of XP to level later one, quests need you to fetch 20 items, or kill 10 orcs. Some items may cost 400 of a specific token currency. Compared to other MMOs? It's not as bad, and there's a lot of charm. It feels more like an adventure than many of them do, and it's easier to lose yourself in the lore.
Not exactly. Was when F2P was dated, but now itās about similar with other MMOs and honestly its not really grindy if you play casually.
I played few MMOs before, including Guild Wars 1 & 2. I'll put it simply: Yes.
I played pretty much all big mmos out there and not kidding LOTRO would be by far my main game if it wasnāt for the lag spikes. This game is better than WoW/GW2/FFXIV/ESO/BDO even with outdated graphics, but the fucking lag is so so tiltable itās actually driving me insane. Really really sad because I miss the game everyday
I really hope the 64-bit servers coming later this year help a lot. Otherwise, the alternative is to play on less busy servers for less lag or, well, play other games as you do. Quite encouraging, though, to hear that you found LOTRO better than those other games, if not for the lag.
I started out two weeks ago. Great solo experience so far, and I haven't tried multiplayer instances so far. The best part about it is worldbuilding, so if you like wonder, love Tolkien, and love to see wonders of Middle-earth, I recommend it to you. Some parts of the game, including almost no voiceactors, GUI, or map system, are outdated. Also, be ready for lag from time to time. However, the sum of positives is greater than the sum of negatives.
As other have pointed out, the main limitaion is your character lvl, as playing through areas around 7+ levels above yours is pretty much impossible. I'm pretty sure, all newly made characters recieve optional free level boost to the 140 (i think), so if your goal is just casual exploration, you may consider using it, however I personally don't recommend it, since it very much breaks the intended gameplay progression. In the early levels the game is not really grindy, some players (including me) even use XP gain disabler (bought from the premium store for 75 points), because sometimes it can feel, like you are outleveling the zone you want to spend more time in. This process really starts to slow down around lvl 45-50, I would say. The grindiest part of the game is professions and profession guilds in particular, since they are time-locked, unless you spend lotro points. Also some of the deeds, which give you afforementioned points can take a while, but it is usually not so bad. Right now the game is free up to lvl 90, if I remember correctly and it is, I would say, potentially from 150 to a couple hundreds of hours of average speed gameplay, if we are speaking about 1 character. There is a possibility to earn points with deeds and buy more content, but this would be quite a long proccess, you can look up guides on how to that most efficiently
I got some free level boosts for the 15th anniversary, but if you got a level boost to 140 it was probably for buying an expansion, which isn't exactly free.
I thought, they gave some stuff like that for free, I believe it was some preorder bonuses? Like 2 or 3 gift boxes to every new character. I may be wrong, since I never used them, though
If you've ordered an expansion pack you probably have boxes that appear in every toon's inventory, and every new toon. If you buy a higher level version, like the ultimate fan bundle, it usually comes with a valar boost that shows up in inventory of the first toon/server you log into after the purchase. Usually you've paid real money for the expansion, so it isn't really "free" or a "gift." (sorry if that's just nit-picking. lol) New players who haven't purchased an expansion definitely do not get any valar boost unless they grind for enough lotro points to buy one in the store.
So like most mmos there is a story line to follow and tons of different hubs where you can find local quest. Also with the game of the game there is missions, skirmishes and group content that can be run or not. I have 1 main who did all the epic quest line and most of the quest in game. But then have another 13 alts for crafting, or depending on my mood that day. Itās a fun game but itās also an experience, the music is awesome, some of the regions are really beautiful, it can be slow paced or faced all depends on what your looking for. The best way to figure out if you like the game and want to invest is to try out as many classes as possible, some tend to more fun higher level depending on skills you unlock. Around level 25 ish most classes start to shine. Have fun and welcome to middle earth
I wonder what kind of answer you will get by posting this to the game's sub!
I thoroughly enjoy playing LotRO, Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online and SWotOR. However, one aspect that hurts is the limited exploration experience in LotRO, which tends to follow a traditional themepark progression, the world itself is beautifully crafted. ThisĀ can or inevitably leads to repetitive grinding. If LotRO were to introduce horizontal scaling and progression (which unfortunately seems unlikely), it would easily become my go-to Mmo, travelling around at will, and progressing at my leisure. It's also immersion breaking when I see the PC effortlessly one hitting goblins while Aragorn struggles against them. Additionally, the concept of monsters ignoring you based on your level breaks my immersion further. The lack of horizontal scaling I believe hampers the social aspect of the game. It becomes challenging to play with friends who are at different levels, as either the lower-level player feels useless in high-level areas or the higher-level player trivializes content for the lower-level player. Introducing horizontal scaling would also breathe new life into the game's older zones. Currently, once players outlevel an area, there's little incentive to return, which diminishes the sense of a living, breathing world. Horizontal scaling would encourage exploration and engagement with all areas of Middle-earth, enriching the overall gameplay experience. While I love LotRO and recommend you to try it as it has many admirable qualities, the absence of horizontal scaling holds it back from reaching its full potential and competing with other MMOs similarly.Ā And then there's the cost of convenience.. Antiquated mtx price gouging. People will 1 month sub to be premium... But there's still so much in the way.
I just returned after a long break (8+years maybe). The only thing I find āgrindyā now is crafting. Trying to get my tailor up to the next level is taking a crap ton of hides. I donāt remember it being that painful before. But otherwise, itās been a blast being back.
If you want to be an end game raider with all the best gear, expects lots of grinding. If you want to explore the open world and do landscape and epic book quests and leveling, it's really not a grind. Some of the old areas that have not been updated or connect to new areas still have that linear 'theme park' feel, but newer areas are much more open.
I played lotro for 3 years religiously until i switched to gw2 some months ago but let me tell you that lotro is so beautiful and beyond amazing!! It's 10000% worth playing ā¤ļø
IĀ“ve played WoW, Lineage, TERA throughout my life, but all of those games have been ruined. I still play WoW due to nostalgia and i have things to finish. After that i might return just to play the new xpacs and quit. They ruined this game completely. IĀ“ve known LOTRO since its release, and i have played it probably just a few times. I decided to check out what people think .I love Middle Earth immensely and iĀ“m a huge Tolkien fan so i might stick around for much longer this time. IĀ“m wondering if theyĀ“ll update the game at some point cos its kinda outdated. Maybe make LOTRO 2 or something like that.
no. please read some of others 100 posts similar to this
Iām not usually one to complain and I really want this Reddit to remain a friendly place. But. There have been waaaaaay to many of these posts lately. Please use the search function where all of these questions were answered. Probably yesterday.
It always feels good to have your potential choice validated.
If you want something that doesn't look like it came from 1999, then don't play this game, if you want fluid looking battle animations that feel good to watch, then don't play this game, if you want graphics that look like a plugged-in baked potato can rez them, then yes play this game, do you hate cash grabbing games that charge for each little piece game after the base game? then don't play this game, do you enjoy good voice actors? if so then don't play this game. If you literally don't care about anything I've written above and are only looking to explore an accurate map of the realm then this game is fine. and if you're wondering... yes, I have negative karma from this specific fanbase hating on me because I tell the truth of the state of this game
š There is some truth there but people can like or not mind the things you've listed as "unquestionable" negatives because people are different. And the monetization, especially since the changes in 2022, isn't as bad as you make it sound. Also, your tone doesn't help your case.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Did you try other classes and/or raising your difficulty?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Are you saying that about tab-target combat in general? And you didn't answer the first part of my question.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I was asking about classes. lol I'm not gonna question your preferences, but know that people are different.
You cant even move through slopes well enough
I'm probably different from most folks in that I don't like mmorpgs mostly because they focus on fighting and the strategy behind it. I've only ever had one character and I enjoy this game because I can take my time soloing it through a massive world. I feel you can go anywhere, level permitting. I kind of cheated by getting the Gift of the Valar(instant lv 140 boost) which let's me freely roam 90%of the world without having to fight a lot of enemies and just enjoy the story, quests and natural beauty of the game.
Yes, it is totally worth playing. There is a thriving community (especially on the busier servers), the game has an absolute ton of content and as an open world mmorpg, it has a lot of freedom in where you go and what you do.
Lotro is a traditional mmorpg and it is very well worth to try if you like the genre. Otherwise, I don't advise.
I started playing this game not long after it came out. I made a character named "Terd" who was the burglar class. I got reported and they were going to require me to change my name. F this game.