^ Lotro - Siege of Mirkwood - Exp ^

eekfek · 2 Dec 2009 at 11:23

the new expansion is finally released on thursday with a whole new bunch of gameplay upgrades, instances and the all new skirmish modes !!!

the new Launch Video ;-

Characters can now push onto level 65 with a whole new legendary weapon system, some new skills , new armour and new jewellery etc etc

there is a fantastic post on the official forums regarding these new skirmish modes available from level 30 , http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=397473

there are spoilers contained within that post but its extremely informative and makes this new feature sound superb !!!

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There is a pre-available 1gig file for the expansion available via torrent from the official forums which can be installed now

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Leodido · 2 Dec 2009 at 12:36

Are there any new stuff for newbie in this expansion? I have a 24 something captain I guess and I might be interested..

Oizu · 2 Dec 2009 at 12:37

Played lotro for a long time but it lost its spark when the first expansion game, will keep my eye on this but im not expecting changes

Sleepery · 2 Dec 2009 at 12:44

What are the combat changes like? They've speeded it up and made it more responsive according to the patch notes.

m0r94n · 2 Dec 2009 at 12:46

Every time I think of picking this up again, I remember that my old guild disbanded and it puts me off joining

.

eekfek · 2 Dec 2009 at 13:04

Leodido said:
Are there any new stuff for newbie in this expansion? I have a 24 something captain I guess and I might be interested..

well when you reach level 30 you can now enter the 'Skirmishes' and earn experience towards your soldiers.. basically everyone will obtain something similar to the captains herald but it can be customised ie melee dmg or make him ranger type, or he buffs everyone.. visit the above link and check out in detail this marvelous system.

Once the skirmish is completed and objectives done you are rewarded with 'Skirmish Mark' tokens which can be traded for armour,weapons,rare materials or upgrades to your 'soldiers'

Sleepery said:
What are the combat changes like? They've speeded it up and made it more responsive according to the patch notes.

im not sure how it will work but the general idea is that once an auto attack animation started you had to wait for it to complete before you could select an actual skill, however the new update allows for them to be interupted so you can use another 'skill' therefore making it easier to react to situations ie get your 'kick' skill in to stop a mob from using a specific buff or attack.

Antar Bolaeisk · 2 Dec 2009 at 13:04

Does anybody know what the name of the music used in the video is?

modo77 · 2 Dec 2009 at 15:14

Leodido said:
Are there any new stuff for newbie in this expansion? I have a 24 something captain I guess and I might be interested..

They have redone the lone lands to make it more solo friendly. And stopped a lot of the traveling back and forth for quests. Northdowns is coming next book.

Sleepery · 2 Dec 2009 at 15:18

I wish they'd stop making things easier

There was nothing wrong with the lone lands. It was brilliant for getting a few levels solo, and if you wanted to see some of the more out of the way bits, you grouped up and off you went. And a solo version of weathertop?!

Why not just remove the ability to talk to other people altogether :mad:

m0r94n · 2 Dec 2009 at 15:49

Sleepery said:
I wish they'd stop making things easier

There was nothing wrong with the lone lands. It was brilliant for getting a few levels solo, and if you wanted to see some of the more out of the way bits, you grouped up and off you went. And a solo version of weathertop?!

Why not just remove the ability to talk to other people altogether

I think the whole point is so people wanting to start new chars can do so without needing to group. One of the main problems I faced when I started my Guardian was finding a party that would help me through some of the instances. Was a nightmare.

Sleepery · 2 Dec 2009 at 15:56

You can already solo all the way to 50 if you want, and most of the story instances can be done solo if you just wait a few levels. It just annoys me when they continually take away reasons to actually contact other people in the game, defeats the whole point of it being an mmo.

griffy · 2 Dec 2009 at 15:57

Not sure if I will resub and buy this.....
I played for a few hours last week, when they invited me back for a free week. My Guardian is lev 27 and I've forgotten how to play (been playing lots of Warhammer Online)

Are the servers still busy enough ? I was on Snowbourn and it seemed very quiet, maybe most players are now high level

modo77 · 2 Dec 2009 at 16:18

Snowbourn is packed, but lower areas are less so as most people are in moria

saguy · 2 Dec 2009 at 16:56

I presume there is no new starter area in this expansion. If there were I would consider re-subbing. I have not played a MMO for over a year (well apart from a week in Fallen Earth) and I am in the mood to play something again.

Dan.m · 2 Dec 2009 at 17:00

Some kind fellow gave me a sub for a month here on the forum so ive been trying out the game when i have the time, Im level 10 hobbit, and i havnt even seen another player yet its quite weird playing an mmo with nobody around. Im travelling through doing the quests i think to get to breeland or something.

Loving the game, not loving how deserted it is. I rolled on Snowbourne as apparently its the most populated and i have nobody i know who plays lotro so thought it would help me make some pals. Deffinately a game for the higher levels.

modo77 · 2 Dec 2009 at 17:12

saguy said:
I presume there is no new starter area in this expansion. If there were I would consider re-subbing. I have not played a MMO for over a year (well apart from a week in Fallen Earth) and I am in the mood to play something again.

They worked on the 3 starter areas a few books ago to make them flow better, and now with lonelands done this time and northdowns next, seems they are working through them all.

bushmins · 2 Dec 2009 at 20:11

Loved the Shire, was the best starter area i ever played in a mmo.

Wouldnt want to go back since it would probably be boring without lots of people running about - wouldnt want to loose the good memory of it.

For that reason I like catching the mmo's when they first come out.

Mahnsikir · 3 Dec 2009 at 11:44

Its live now, takes a while to install/update even if you preloaded. Going to be giving it a go tonight when I get back in.

Le_Petit_Lapin · 3 Dec 2009 at 11:56

At 1:33, does Onyxia from wow make a cameo appearance?

eekfek · 3 Dec 2009 at 15:39

Love the skirmish mode !!!

prerequisites require you to farm War Orders from Orcs,Goblins etc etc which you take to the Skirmish camp at various places. Once you hand them in you do a quick training session. I had to take back the South gate, Auction hall and someones house in Bree which was very basic.

once you complete the training you get to train you own personalised companion who you take into the various Skirmish battles!! ie train him into a healer or melee DPS or archer etc etc..

you can make a skirmish anywhere in ME once youve completed the first one, you can set it as solo or as a group with rewards dropping in the forms of tokens used for barter .. of which rewards are vast with class trait awards available like 'Putrid Slime of Helchgam' woohoo !!