The Lord of the Rings Online

From Tolkien Gateway
The name The Lord of the Rings refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).

The Lord of the Rings Online (commonly abbreviated to LOTRO or LotRO) is the common name for an MMORPG that takes place in the world of Arda during the time of The Lord of the Rings.

Development

"The wise will stay here and hope to rebuild our town..." — Master of Lake-town
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Sierra began to develop the game in 1998, then called Middle-earth Online. After Sierra was bought out by Vivendi Universal Games, production of the game was shared with Turbine. The rights to the game were sold exclusively to Turbine in March 2004, after which they announced that the name of the project would be changed to The Lord of the Rings Online.

While the majority of quests in the game are original content created by Turbine based on the history and lore of Middle-earth, the quests flagged as "Epic" quests depict specific events and scenes from the The Lord of the Rings storyline. While conducting Epic Quests, players interact with the main characters from the books, and assist in the advancing of the story toward the War of the Ring and the destruction of the One Ring.

The game also attempts to mimic The Lord of the Rings by being broken down in volumes, books and chapters. The original game is called Volume I, the following expansion is Volume II and the current expansion is Volume III. Each one of the epic quests are broken down by "Books" and "Chapters".

Turbine has gone to great lengths to faithfully recreate the fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien with a high degree of attention to detail. Essentially every character named in the books appears in the game and can be interacted with during quests and other activities.

A closed beta was announced on September 8, 2006. An open beta began on March 30, 2007, and was open to all who pre-ordered the game's Founders Club edition. On April 6, 2007, the beta opened to the public.

Shadows of Angmar

Main article The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Shadows of Angmar was released on April 24, 2007. It included books 1 through 8 of the epic quest line. Approximately once every two months a major free update is added to the Lord of the Rings Online. Each update is an extension to the epic quest called a book.

Book 9: Shores of Evendim

Main article Shores of Evendim

The first free content update was released on June 14, 2007.[1]

Updates included:

  • Discovery of Evendim
  • Over 100 new quests
  • Raid in the Battle for Helegrod
  • Nine new monsters
  • Collectible armour sets

Book 10: The City of Kings

Main article The City of Kings

The second free-content update was released on August 21, 2007 in North America and on August 24, 2007 in Europe.[2]

Updates included:

  • Continuation of the Story Line.
  • Legendary Play – Players can now use Destiny Points to play as a Ranger of the North or as a Troll.
  • Critter Play – Players can now explore Middle-earth from a different viewpoint as a chicken.
  • New Reputation and Bartering Systems – The Reputation system enables players to earn positive and negative standing with different races and groups in Middle-earth based on both monster kills and quest completions. The Bartering system allows players to trade trophies earned in battle for rewards, such as armour sets or mounts.
  • Over 100 new Quests.
  • More customizable user interface.

Book 11: Prisoner of the Free Peoples

Main article Prisoner of the Free Peoples

The third free-content update was released on October 24, 2007 in North America[3] and October 25 in Europe.[4]

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • Continuation of the Epic Story arc, including 13 quests.
  • Player housing – players will be able to customize their houses with items such as furniture and doormats.
  • Second raid called "The Rift" – 12-player raid in which players encounter a Balrog for the first time. Turbine has stressed that this is not the Balrog from Khazad-dûm.[5]
  • Two new areas – Tâl Bruinen in the Trollshaws, where Gollum will be introduced for the first time, and Goblin-town in the Misty Mountains, featured in The Hobbit.
  • More than 100 new quests.

Book 12: The Ashen Wastes

Main article The Ashen Wastes

The fourth free content update was released on February 13, 2008 in North America; and February 14, 2008 in Europe.

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • Continuation of the Story Line.
  • Character customization - Increased character customization "ranging from haircuts, to some (possible) additions to the trait-system." In addition, the Outfit system, along with many special social clothing designed just for it, will be introduced where a second or third set of clothing can be slotted and displayed while retaining the statistical bonuses of the currently equipped items.[6]
  • The Delving of Frór - A new Monster Play PVE (and PVMP under certain circumstances) area will be introduced: An expanse of caves and catacombs located beneath the Ettenmoors.
  • The Great Angmar Revamp - A revamp of the most high-level region of the game's current 9 PvE regions. The revamp included the reworking of many quests, areas and other changes, such as new horse routes.
  • Barbershop - You can customize the look of your avatar in-game with around 50 new haircuts and second set of details.
  • Updates to the Burglar, Guardian, and Champion classes.

Book 13: Doom of the Last-King

Main article Doom of the Last-King

The fifth free content update was released on April 24, 2008 in North America and on May 1, 2008 in Europe.

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • A new playable map area: the Ice Bay of Forochel.
  • Players being able to see the ocean for the first time, confirmed as the Ice Bay of Forochel in recent developer chats.
  • Fishing - the first of a new system in Lord of the Rings Online, called 'hobbies'.
  • New PVMP Monster Healing Class - Orc Defiler.
  • Looking For Fellowship- and Quest-panel improvements.

Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion

Main article The Ring-forges of Eregion

The sixth free content update was released on July 22, 2008 in North America. It was released on July 24, 2008 in Europe.

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • Climax of the "Shadows of Angmar" storyline.
  • Added selected sections of Eregion (Region leading towards the Gates of Moria).
  • Epic Quest events that will allow interaction between players regardless of server.
  • Prelude quests for and leading up to the Mines of Moria expansion. Which will have updates leading to Lothlórien, Fangorn, Rhovanion and Rohan.

Book 15: Daughter of Strife

Main article Daughter of Strife

The seventh free content update was released on November 18, 2008. This update was released in tandem with the Mines of Moria expansion for players who did not purchase the expansion release.

Updates include (Epic - Vol. I, Book 15: Daughter of Strife Quests epic):

  • Conclusion of the "Shadows of Angmar" storyline.
  • Added the zone of Eregion expanding on the selected sections from Book 14. The zone does not include the Hollin Gate leading to the Black Pool.
  • Added UI enhancements

Mines of Moria Expansion

Main article The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria

Mines of Moria was released on November 18, 2008. It included books 1 through 6 of the epic quest line. Like Shadows of Angmar, Mines of Moria continues to regularly release updates. Updates have been less frequent than Shadows of Angmar.

Book 7: Leaves of Lórien

Main article Leaves of Lórien

Book 7 was released on March 17, 2009. This update included:

  • Continuation of the Epic Storyline.
  • Expansion of the Lothlorien Area including the reputation gated city of Caras Galadhon and a conflict area north of the Golden Woods.
  • A new raid entitled "Strange Happenings" in the Waterworks.
  • The new faction of the Galadhrim.
  • Crafting instances allows players to gather resources.
  • Revised new player experience in Ered Luin for Elf and Dwarves

Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dum

Main article Scourge of Khazad-dum

Book 8 was released on June 23, 2009. This update included:

  • Four new raids and instances: Dar Narbugud (a multi-boss, radiance-gated 12-man raid) in The Foundations of Stone, The Halls of Crafting (a 6-man instance), Lumul-nar (3-man instance) in Zirak-Zigil and Nala-dum (3-man instance) in the Waterworks.
  • Revised new player experience in Bree-land.
  • The continuation of the storyline with the character returning to Moria.

Siege of Mirkwood Expansion

Main article The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood

Siege of Mirkwood was released on December 1, 2009 in North America and December 3, 2009 in Europe. Unlike the second expansion this edition was only available via a web based download. It included Book 9 and the epilogue of Volume II: Mines of Moria.

Kate Paiz, Executive Producer for The Lord of the Rings Online, released a letter on October 22, 2010 stating that updates will be more frequent but will not always be accompanied with a new book continuing the epic story.[7]

Book 1: Oath of the Rangers

Main article Oath of the Rangers

Book 1 was released on March 1, 2010.[8]

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • The beginning of Volume III in the epic story line.
  • The ability to solo the Volume I epic story line.
  • A duo mode for most skirmishes.

Book 2: Ride of the Grey Company

Main article Ride of the Grey Company

Book 2 was released on September 10, 2010 in North America. (September 8, 2010 for subscribers). It was delayed in Europe because of contractual reaons and was finally released on 2 November, almost two months after North America.[9]

Updates include (complete release notes):

  • New region: Enedwaith
  • Lord of the Rings Online Free to Play subscription
  • Book 2 in the Volume III epic storyline
  • Scalable instances
  • Improvements to the vault, and a new wardrobe system for cosmetic items
  • Updates to the captain class
  • The Lotro store, where players may purchase convenience items. Points either earned through gameplay, through the VIP program or by being purchased.
  • The introduction of Lua Scripting
  • DirectX 11 support
  • Ranger sesion play

Update 1: Journey to Winter-Home

The first post Free-to-play update will be released in November 2010[outdated]. Due to changes to how updates work this will not contain an epic book.

Updates include:

  • A Barter Wallet for skirmish marks and anniversary tokens
  • Opening of Moria, Lothlorien, Mirkwood and Enedwaith to free-to-play players, Volume II and Volume III will also be available, as well the legendary item system, and the lvl 65 level cap all to free-to-play players.
  • Vault improvements
  • Tasks: a new quest type for all levels
  • Improved reputation mounts
  • Updates to the Lore-Master, and Rune-Keeper class
  • Ered-Luin starting area revamp

Update 2: Echoes of the Dead

The Lord of the Rings Online - Update 2 Echoes of the Dead.png

The first update of 2011 was released on March 21 in the United States and March 24 for Europe.

Updates include:

  • Two three man's, two six man's, and a 12 person raid were added for lvl 65 players.
  • A special item required to craft a first age weapon which drop from the above raid.
  • Radiance was removed.
  • Legendary Items were updated.
  • Character panel and cosmetic system were revamped.
  • The Minstrel, Hunter and Burglar classes were updated.
  • Volume III Book 3: Echoes of the Dead was added.
  • Volume II was revamped and made soloable, including three instances which have been converted to skirmishes.
  • Improvements to the PvP starter tutorial.
  • Evendim was revamped, with Annúminas being scaled down to level 40.

Update 3: Lost Legends of Eriador

The Lord of the Rings Online - Update 3 Lost Legends of Eriador.png

Lost Legends of Eriador was the third update. It was released on May 23, 2011 and included: (complete release notes):

  • Two new three-man scalable instances starting mid-game
  • Two new skirmishes

Rise of Isengard Expansion

Main article The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard

The third expansion for the Lord of the Rings Online is entitled Rise of Isengard. The expansion will be available on September 27, 2011 and only as a digital download.[10]

Update 5: Armies of Isengard

The Lord of the Rings Online - Update 5 Armies of Isengard.png

Armies of Isengard is the first update published after the release of The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard. It has been released on 12 December 2011 and included (complete release notes):

  • Four new instances and a 12-man raid in and around Isengard.
  • Book 5 of Volume III is released.
  • A new Instance finder, to form groups more easily
  • Barter currencies of skirimishes, classic and instances are unified.
  • Changes to Reputation items

Update 6: Shores of the Great River

The Lord of the Rings Online - Update 6 The Great River.png

Shores of the Great River is the sixt update and will be released in 2012.[11][12]

  • A new region, the The Great River, will be added, featuring seven new areas - including Parth Celebrant - in the upperAnduin. [12]
  • Book 6 of Volume III will be released, in which the player seeks the wisdom of Galadriel about troubling dreams and pushing back the Easterlings, Brigands and an ancient enemy of Rohan.[12]
  • The ability to summon skirmish wariors outside skirmishes.[12]
  • Updates to the Instance finder.[12]
  • Currency-change in Monster Play: "Destiny" will be replaced with "Commendations". Commendations will be available for both Freeps and Creeps.[13]

Update 7

A sevent update for The Lord of the Rings Online will be released, no release date has been given.[13]

  • Continuation of the forementioned currency-change.[13]

Riders of Rohan Expansion

Main article The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan

The fourth expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online is named Riders of Rohan. The expansion is scheduled to be released in fall 2012.[14]

Added Elements

There are a number of elements that do not appear in any of the published works. This includes characters, lineages, objects and locations.

Characters

  • Éogan was the second in command of the Blackwolds and took over leadership of the group after William Skunkwood's death.
  • The Huntsman was a spirit found in Enedwaith who took the shape of a large man with horns of a stag. Many players thought this was Oromë. The developers confirmed that it wasn't Oromë but a Maia of Oromë.[16]
  • Skorgrím was a dwarf and leader of the Dourhands he was slain during the Battle of Edhelion. His corpse was used as a vehicle by Ivar the Bloodhand who possessed it with a fell spirit to trick the Dourhands to ally themselves with the forces of Angmar.

Groups

  • The Dourhands was a clan of dwarves aligned with the forces of Angmar. They were the dwarves that stayed behind to rebuild the Dwarven Halls in the Blue Mountains which were destroyed during the War of Wrath.

Objects

Locations

Structures

License

For The Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine has licensed the rights to the content and lore of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Turbine does not have license rights to the New Line Cinema film trilogy nor The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth books or The Children of Húrin. Turbine was bought by Warner Bros. on April 20, 2010 and through them now have the license right to the New Line Cinema film trilogy and the upcoming Hobbit films.

Discrepancies from the source material

The Lord of the Rings Online does not follow the story as told in The Lord of the Rings, but rather tells stories about events that happened during the same time period as the events told in J.R.R. Tolkien's book.

Reception

The Lord of the Rings Online has been received very positively thus far, as reviews continue to appear since the game's initial release.[17]

GameDaily awarded the game 9/10, praising its rich, fantasy-themed universe, well-integrated trait and title system, and a story that remains true to the works of Tolkien. Yahoo! Video Games wrote a review with few negative mentions, awarding the game a score of 4/5,[18] while Computer and Video Games called the game an essential purchase for Lord of the Rings fans, scoring the game a 9.2/10.[19] Eurogamer scored the game a 9.0/10, calling it tough to resist.[20] Gamespy gave it 4.5/5 stars, claiming the game "opened up Middle-Earth to the masses" but commented negatively on its weak PvP content,[21] while GameTrailers awarded it 8.5/10,[22] citing its interesting tweaks to the MMO genre. IGN.com ranked it a similar 8.6/10, praising it for its solid experience, though criticizing it for its lack of major improvements to the genre.[23] GamerNode.com awarded the game an 8.8/10, calling it the best MMO launch experience since Ultima Online.[24] The New York Times called the game "a major achievement of interactive storytelling, the first game truly worthy of the ‘Lord of the Rings' franchise and a must-play for just about anyone with an interest in Tolkien or the future of online entertainment."[25] In a GameSpot review, the product was awarded an 8.3/10, praising its appealing polish and intriguing Monster Play feature.[26] Gamepro.com's review gave it an overall 4.25/5, pointing out how engaging the epic quests are, as well as how faithful to the novels the game managed to stay.[27] GameSpy declared The Lord of the Rings Online 'Game of the Month' for May 2007.[28]

Awards

In August 2007, Codemasters announced that The Lord of the Rings Online had received five Golden Joystick Awards nominations for the five applicable categories for the game,[29] and in October 2007 that it had won the "PC Game of the Year" at these awards.[30] and again won the same award on October 2008. In December 2007, GameSpy awarded The Lord of the Rings Online 6th place in the top 10 PC games of 2007.[31] On December 18, Turbine announced it had also won the GameSpy MMO of the Year award.[32] In January 2009, mmorpg.com awarded Turbine both MMORPG studio of the year 2008[33], and MMO Expansion of the Year for Mines of Moria.[34]

Subscription Model

In North America, players who pre-ordered the game were offered a special founder's offer, a lifetime subscription for $199 or reduced cost of $9.99 per month. Standard monthly fee is $14.99 with three, six, twelve month, and lifetime discounts available. European players had a similar program from Codemasters.

A Holiday subscription was available in December of 2007 and January of 2008 for $9.99/month for a 3 month commitment. A one year anniversary addition includes a $9.99/month subscription or a $199.99 Lifetime subscription, which was again offered during the lead up to the release of Mines of Moria.

Warner Bros. announced on June 4, 2010 that Lord of the Rings Online will offer a free-to-play model starting in the fall of 2010.[35] On August 18, 2010, Warner Bros. announced that the free-to-play model would go live on September 10, 2010. On October 21, 2010, Codemasters announced that a preview of Free-to-Play would be available in Europe on October 25, 2010.[36]

External Links

References

  1. Book 9: Shores of Evendim Release Date Announced
  2. | Codemasters Online and Turbine unveil Book 10: The City of the Kings
  3. Turbine and Codemasters Online Gaming to Unveil Book 11: Defenders of Eriador for The Lord of the Rings Online
  4. Codemasters Online and Turbine to unveil Book 11: Defenders of Eriador
  5. Book 11 Preview: The Balrogs are Coming
  6. Lord of the Rings Online: House of Commons
  7. Producer's Letter, October-2010 lotro.com, Dev Diaries
  8. Volume III: Allies of the King has arrived!
  9. Massively, V-E-ME Day: LotRO Europe announces launch date for free-to-play, dated 29 October, 2010 (accessed 11 November, 2011)
  10. The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard Official Homepage
  11. Justin Olivetti, "Riding into Rohan: LotRO maps out in 2012" dated 25 January 2012, Massively (accessed 29 January 2012)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "Update 6 Great River", www.lotro.com (accessed 19 February 2012)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Jaret Pruett, "http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/1776-update-6-commendations-developer-diary", www.lotro.com (accessed 19 February 2012)
  14. "WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND TURBINE UNVEIL THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: RIDERS OF ROHAN™", www.lotro.com (accessed 30 January 2012)
  15. In the game the Witch-king reigned over Angmar again shortly before the War of the Ring.
  16. big D, small d Jonathan Rudder, lotro.com forums
  17. Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, The - Review metacritic.com
  18. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Review Yahoo! Games
  19. PC Review: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Computer and Video Games
  20. Review - Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Eurogamer
  21. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Review GameSpy
  22. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Game Trailers
  23. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Review IGN
  24. Lord of the Rings Online GamerNode
  25. Lord of the Rings Online Press Release Lord of the Rings Online
  26. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar for PC Review GameSpot
  27. Review: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar for PC Gamepro
  28. Game of the Month: May 2007 GameSpy
  29. Music and vice top games awards BBC News
  30. Gears Wins Big at Game Awards Next-Generation
  31. GameSpy's Game of the Year 2007 GameSpy
  32. LOTRO Wins Top Honors from Gamespy! Lord of the Rings Online
  33. MMORPG.com Best MMO Studo of 2008 mmorpg.com
  34. MMORPG.com Best Expansion of 2008 mmorpg.com
  35. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Announces The Lord of the Rings Online™ to Adopt Global Free-to-Play Model Turbine, Inc
  36. The Lord of the Rings Online Europe Preview Event
The Lord of the Rings Online
Games titles Shadows of Angmar · Mines of Moria · Siege of Mirkwood · Rise of Isengard · Riders of Rohan · Helm's Deep · Mordor · Minas Morgul · War of Three Peaks · Fate of Gundabad · Before the Shadow
Storyline Volume I: Shadows of Angmar · Volume II: Mines of Moria · Volume III: Allies of the King · Volume IV: The Strength of Sauron · The Black Book of Mordor
See also Characters · Locations · Shadows of Angmar soundtrack · Mines of Moria soundtrack · "King Under the Mountain" minigame