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How is the game compared to WoW?Follow

#1 Feb 23 2010 at 1:57 AM Rating: Decent
Hi, because my old LOTRO account is not active I cannot post on the official server forums. I hope the players here can help with my questions.

I played LOTRO from open beta, through to release and a few months on.

The problem I found was that at that time it seemed very slow to progress through the levels with no real feeling of gain in abilities. I have played RPG's since the days of Ultima Underworld and the thrill has always been that feeling of your character becoming more powerful and capable.

It also seemed hard to progress as a solo player - I have a busy family and work life so I cannot devote long periods to a game. Players in my kinship that grouped seemed to race away from me in levels, leaving me behind. My playing hours meant few players online at the time.

So, since 2008 how has LOTRO changed with respect to the items above? Is it easier or harder to solo than WoW? More fun or less fun? (disregarding the huge numbers of idiots on WoW). Can you solo through the main quest line to enjoy the story or do you have to flail around trying to find someone to group with during the strange hours that New Zealand players like me play?

Is it worth returning? I do not have any of the expansions, and have to download heaps of stuff to get the game going again.
#2 Feb 24 2010 at 9:38 AM Rating: Decent
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826 posts
Honestly, LOTRO is still fun to play, but quite a large amount of things have changed since 2008.

Many of the major items 1-50 are now gained by trade-ins via factions or skirmish. This is very much like WoW, where barter systems are a necessary part of the game, and has become for LOTRO as well.

In addition, the introduction of the most potent recipes are on CDs, which was necessary when they were first introduced, but relatively pointless now, as most people have tackled bigger and better things in SoM. Once again, this is another carryover from WoW, and makes gaining approval very slow to gain depending on how willing you are to sacrifice your rep items, since some of those same items are needed for the good recipes.

Most classes can solo with ease now, even Minis have received a considerable amount of buffing, although still the slowest soloer overall. You'll likely only run into issues soloing once you hit 58-60 and move on to SoM content. LM and Warden are still the solo kings IMO, although RK and Guardian are gradually nudging their way to those spots.

So far as my opinion, LOTRO has always been more solo-oriented. People generally only group if they're in a large kin or to get one set of quests completed. The difference between WoW and this game is that folks tend to be a heck of a lot more mature and friendly.

Many folks race past the 'old world' now, and bypass a large part of the epic storyline after VOL 1, Book 6 in favor of reaching Moria faster. However, there are still a considerable amount of players who continue to do the older dungeons on a regular basis, so you likely can find some groups even in the middle of the night. Try the GLFF channel.

Mounts are easier to acquire and maintain, the AH has been improved some, quests are streamlined in older areas a bit, prospecting wood/ore/skins are easier as Turbine has increased the pops and drops. These are just a few improvements.

Your best best is to pick one of the more heavily populated servers such as Brandywine, and get recruited into a kinship there. You can always try TINFS on Meneldor as well, which is Alla's kinship.




Edited, Feb 24th 2010 7:40am by Dallie
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