Why I never picked up LoTRO before now is still a mystery to me. I’ve picked up pretty much every other title out there from EQ1 to WAR and gave them all at least the free month that came with the game. Since I don’t typically play console games myself spending the $40-50 every few months to test out a new game has become some what of the norm for me.
KTR was kind enough to toss a 10-day trial my way, which happens to be on a founders account. Before I even stepped into the game I was impressed. While other games do typically have some sort of ‘recruit a friend’ program these days having a reduced subscription and the offer of the life time subscription is a huge bonus. I was going to start downloading the client, but not being a huge fan of 2+ day downloads, I picked up the box at EBGames. Vlcan pointed out that Best Buy is going to have Mines of Moria (the complete edition) on sale for $19.99 so if you’ve been on the fence about this game get a hold of a founder and maybe think about picking it up. I didn’t mind paying the full price for it because I got a lot more then I bargained for – EBGames here in Ottawa happened to still have pre-order copies kicking around and I snagged one of those.
Not only was I already impressed before I logged in due to the recruit-a-friend (and a very smooth set up for that might I add, the interface to set up an account was really nice) but I love the goodies that came with the pre-order. What did we get with EQ2? Well, that pewter bear that collects dust on the top of my desk. What did I get with the LoTRO pre-order? A CD of all of the music, the ability to subscribe myself for $9.99 a month or get the life time for $199, and three unique in game items. A cloak, a title, and some in game tokens that I have no idea how to work yet but they were in my bags when I created.
When I upgraded my account from trial to a full member they didn’t just take away my 10 free days either, it was added to my account along with the free 30 days for purchasing the game so I have a bit of time before I’ll start to be charged for it. At $9.99 a month I won’t be complaining.
Installation went smooth, it took less then an hour to install the two DVD’s, patch the game, and create my first minstrel hobbit, Petites. After the advice of others on twitter, I created on the Landroval server which is where I believe a few CoW members are hanging out amongst others. I honestly don’t know enough about the servers to have a secure preference yet.
The introduction videos were a lot of fun to watch, I’ve always enjoyed them the first time through no matter what the game. I didn’t get to play a whole lot since by the time I got everything settled, (yesterday was another day of family stuff) installed, patched and what not I was looking to play a little EQ2 before bed, but what I did play I really liked.
I enjoyed the character creation process. The characters look good. They look crisp and clear and while there are not a HUGE amount of options, there are enough to let me have fun playing with it. The characters themselves sort of remind me of WAR in colour and graphic, not necessarily a bad thing. Of course like every other game I play the first thing I do is re-map all of my keys to something I’m used to and more comfortable for me. That means getting rid of the WASD keys and changing them to the arrow keys on the number pad. After 7 years of gaming if I can’t move around in the way I’m most used to, it’s a deterrent. The game ran really really smooth, the UI was clutter-free even though it will take me some time to figure out how everything works, where it all is, and what it means. I picked up the first quest I saw after logging in (of course after putting on my cloak) and headed off down a road to talk to someone and smush some spiders. Combat was a little confusing to me but I was also trying to play EQ2 on the laptop at the same time which was a bad idea.
Over all though my impressions (so far) have been very positive, and I’m looking forward to exploring middle-earth. I should have more solid time this weekend to play, and for $9.99 a month you really can’t go wrong.
Oh brother…so many “We love LOTRO” posts (/groan).
Let me even it out.
Some things to be aware of….
After level 20, the grind will set in big time. As long as you get into groups, you should be ok for completing quests, because if you do not do quests, the grind exponentially climbs.
As you get further in the game, there are issues with some hitching (some people do not see this though), but I have seen it on 3 different systems.
To complete any of the Books, the final chapters require grouping…period…if you plan to stick it out, get into a kinship quick.
Anyways, good luck…like I said, I think the game has a lot of stuff you like (crafting and housing) even though a little simplified..but, you may like that.
Cheers
I got sucked into LotRO during Christmas when I gave the game a chance and did a trial. I absolutely loved it — the lush, beautiful environments just make me want to explore, and the community on my server (EU-RP Laurelin) is awesome. I also adore my hobbit girls, which is kind of crazy considering I tend to NEVER pick small races. But I couldn’t help it, and once I was in the Shire, my hobbit love was complete. Oh, actually, once I did the /giggle emote on my hobbit girl, I knew I was going to forever after be a hobbit lover at heart. I suggest you try a /giggle if you haven’t. It makes me smile so hard in real life.
I’m glad you’re getting into the game. I always feel quite chuffed when new people get into LotRO — makes me feel like I’m part of a new wave or something, hehe. I find new people on Laurelin all the time. It’s great.
I really enjoyed LOTRO when I played it, and I often consider going back. For one thing, it has a really great, immersive environment and is probably the most role-play supportive MMO I’ve ever tried. It’s amazing how much fun I had just puttering around the Shire with my hobbit and trying to do as many quests as possible. I did have a problem with the relatively small number of class choices (compared to EQ2) but with Moria there are two new classes at least. As I am a daytime gamer I often ended up going solo, which got old after a while like in most games, and I had a lot of trouble finding casual groups to adventure with – but I could definitely see myself going back and giving it another shot.
Also, Monster Play is a really neat feature if you’re into PVP at all.
You are playing two games at once? That’s hilarious. I used to dual box Eve Online and EverQuest II for a while. But that was easier since Eve Online in high sec space is mostly a fancy screensaver.
I played LOTR when it launched, and it was great. At first. I found myself bored with it after about 3 weeks. It’s gorgeous, but the content wasn’t there. It’s been a while now, so I look forward to your reviews of it in the coming days. This is my favorite gaming blog, (I’vew learned more about EQ2 here than anywhere else) so it’s very possible that you’ll convince me to give it another try.
Variety is the spice of life so they say!
Glad you enjoyed your intro to LotR
I think you’re the first gamer I’ve ever heard of to dual box two DIFFERENT games at the same time. :P
I like LOTRO reasonably well, though I think I’m going to give Moria more time for Turbine to add more content. They certainly go all-out with the subscription incentives.
The trial sounds better what other games tend to offer – I’ve heard that EQ2 will void the rest of your trial and immediately start your 30 day retail period if you enter a key before the trial expires, which seems a bit short-sighted. Do they really need the cash badly enough to start nickle and dime-ing me the moment I start playing?
Woot!!! Glad you had such a positive first impression! Like so many others, I read your blog every day, so if you get confused by anything, just post about it and we can help you out. Or Twitter about it.
My “main” on Landroval is Aethgar, a champion. I also play Meglivorn (hunter) and just started Gillain (warden). Feel free to Friend me. (For better or worse, LOTRO adds friends on an account basis.) I don’t play LOTRO a lot right now due to other subs I have running, but by the end of January it’ll be my main game for a while.