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Lotro Book 12 Release notes

Lotro Book 12 release notes are available here.

You have to love Turbine's regular content updates. I have a feeling that this will be the last free one but nevertheless with four free updates since launch I am satisfied that I got my money's worth.

In addition to a new chapter for the Eeic storyline this update has a tonne of stuff for everybody. Guardians, Burglars and Champions are in for some special loving (yea for Throg) but there really is something for everyone.

I am looking forward to some of the cosmetic additions - apparently we will now have a "cosmetic only inventory" just for show so we can alter our appearance without sacrificing the stats of our gear. I think that is great and can't wait to try it out. Haircuts are another new feature and there will be improvements to the housing system.

The Angmar quests are getting a revamp - which is no bad thing because they were a bit of a mess with complicated chains that weren't in a logical sequence.

Anther thing I find interesting is that questing from level 10 to 20 is being made easier with
  • Many Fellowship and Small Fellowship quests downgraded in difficulty to be Solo or Small Fellowship.
  • Several Instance and Escort quests reviewed and modified to be less difficult for solo players
  • Quest arcs smoothed out to have more logical level progression
I actually liked the fact that lotro required you to group from quite low levels but I can understand that now that the bulge of players has moved on the lower zones can be quite empty making it hard to get a group. These changes are probably for the best and if nothing else will make it easier to level up alts.

Lotro really is getting better and better all the time. It may not have added content quickly enough to hold on to many of the people who took a temporary break from World Warcraft but it is certainly good enough to keep my attention. I actually think that the game is ready to grow again and I would love to see more people trying it. Perhaps when Turbine release the next content patch they will spend some money on advertising and attract new players.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm thinking of giving LotRO another shot...
3:21 pm
mbp said…
Hi Tipa

I seem to recall that one of the reasons you left Lotro is that you missed Raiding. There are still only 2 real raid instances in the game and I don't think that Lotro will ever become a Raidfest like WOW. Nevertheless a lot of stuff has been added since you left.
6:00 pm
Anonymous said…
I left LotRO because they pushed me out. They had some problem billing my credit card at the end of the free month so they canceled me and I didn't fight it. Because I was, simply, bored, and all I could see of the rest of the game from where I stood in my mid-thirties was just more of the same.

Raiding was then and always will be available on EQ2 or even EQ1 if I wanted to go back there. I don't need it on another game unless they somehow change the EQ1-EQ2-WoW formula.

The game has changed a lot since I stopped playing and I am still looking for a good *casual* MMO I can play so I won't burn out on EQ2. It could be worth resubscribing for a month or two.
9:38 pm
mbp said…
I hope you do give it another shot then Tipa. I look forward to hearing your impressions.
10:57 pm
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