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Playing Lord of the Rings again

Playing Lord of the Rings again

It’s been a long while since I wrote anything about this game. There has been a lot of changes. My last real article I wrote was back in 2009. I played a few months in 2010 which I started recording some videos of my adventures. I thought it would be cool to see how my burglar at level 40 could do in PVP. You can check them out at my youtube channel playlist. I have to finish a few more videos to catch up where I am now. It was fun doing it and lot of people enjoyed watching the progress. I saved all the videos I made last year for this project so it’s just editing things together. My burglar is now at 65 so lot of the video is old and no longer a representation of the game now.

My main character used to be my minstrel, Johnsono.

Johnsono (Minstrel)

My main character is now my burglar, Johnnyboi.

Johnnyboi (Burglar)

I am going to be recording videos again soon because I’ll be getting my next rank in a few weeks probably. It’s been so much fun playing again and trying to remember everything. I don’t play to be the best at 1v1’s. I am thrilled when I can win a fight against a 1v1 but my main focus is to defend others and help our side. If I die in the process then that’s fine. If I have to die 100 times just to keep a few creeps busy while we take some keeps then I see it as a win.

My hunter is Johnboi in LOTRO

Johnboi (Hunter)

My runekeeper is named, Johnlandir.

Johnlandir (Runekeeper)

My small guardian with power is Johnsmall

Johnsmall (Guardian)

I recently got a new video card which I thought would make things go faster and allow me to play at a higher graphics level. Well I found out I was able to play at a higher level with directx11 but was really slow. Either my memory or motherboard is causing this problem. I recently went back to directx9 and I am able to log in very fast compared to directx11. I didn’t try directx10 which I might later. I want to see how well I can play with directx9 at different settings. Last night I got into a raid and had no problems but this was at the lowest settings. I will be posting more about all my characters and continue my burglar adventure in the game.

My warden is called Johnlangard

Johnlangard (Warden)

My Loremaster is called Johnmoth

Johnmoth (Loremaster)

My captain is called, Johnborn

Johnborn
(Captain)

My champion is named, Johngnaw

Johngnaw (Champion)

I Bought a new CPU this week which I’ll be getting next week. It should make things a lot faster. I am hoping this will allow me to play at a higher graphic settings. I am running right now with AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor 2.50 GHZ. I have 6 GB of memory. My video card is a Radeon HD 5850. I don’t need my computer to be the fastest. I just want to play this game at a nice looking setting. Wouldn’t mind if I could play at a medium setting with no slowdown. The new CPU I bought is AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2 GHz. Shouldn’t have to change the Motherboard.

 
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Posted by on July 16, 2011 in characters, news

 

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My lotro videos and intro

My lotro videos and intro

Hello everyone! I thought I should write something on here especially because I am making some lotro videos I would like to share. I’ve been playing this game ever since it came out. I played in the open beta. I liked playing on creep side for years. I play a spider. I got it to rank 10 but stopped due to rl issues and bad changes in the game for pvmp. I am a very casual player. None of my characters have any gear from mirkwood instances. I haven’t even stepped into one of those group instances. Not because I can’t but because I have other stuff I like doing.

I do bring out my characters in the moors sometimes. Getting better gear will help out so it is something I will need to do in the future. I am having fun with my warden. I feel very comfortable playing solo or in groups with him. My hunter is mainly a group or raid player. I can’t solo with him yet if ever. My minstrel is also a group or raid player. I also bring out my lower level burglar in his 40’s to the moors to have some fun. This is where I am starting to create videos of his adventure in the moors. So if anyone want to check them out here are the links to the first 2 videos.

 
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Posted by on April 19, 2010 in experience, videos

 

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My Adventure in Lotro

My Adventure in Lotro
Lot of changes and updates to LOTRO after all these years

It’s been a very long time since I wrote about LOTRO. I thought I should update on my adventure in this virtual game. Recently the game came out with the first paid expansion called Moria. It brought 10 more new character levels and a huge area to explore in Moria. This post isn’t going to be a review of this expansion or the following update, book 7. I want to write about my experience in this game and how it relates to real life.

I started in this game playing with my best friend. We played and supported each other for a whole year. I enjoyed the PVP side of this game a lot more then the PVE side. Since Moria came out things have changed in friendships and groups. I have joined two Kinships since my last post and both have had some great moments and some drama. Recently some of my new friends I made in the game have decided to leave the game or leave the kinship I’m in. This new update, Book 7, has brought changes in the PVP side that doesn’t match my style of play too. I found myself not logging in as much due to these changes and missing my friend and the new friends I had.

I still play LOTRO but not as much as I did before

With all these new changes I am going to take a break from the game and try to work on my business, life and new friends. I already lost my best friend to this game which I really feel bad about. I never knew a virtual game could make people so emotional and change lives so fast. Maybe I’ll have some time to make a real review about the new updates to this game. I still really feel this game is good and the updates have made some things a lot better.

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2009 in drama, experience

 

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LOTRO, Real Life Changes

LOTRO, Real Life Changes

I used to play a game called Lord of the rings online every day. My friend and I would play together and share stuff in the game with each other for almost a whole year. I really got hooked with the PVP, Player vs Player, where I can play a spider and fight other people. That has changed with the last update. It made the creep side a bit too easy and the freep side is struggling now. Not much fun when there are no fights. Maybe in the future it will get better but I’m taking a break from it.

The PVE side of this game doesn’t give me much hope too. The kinship I am in lost some good friends I had so all I do is log in for the raids so I can help out. I already lost a great friendship to this game and I’ve lost some of my new friends as well. The Kinship I am in just isn’t the same without those people I got to know these past months. I never would believe a virtual game can be so emotional and make things so difficult in real life. A break from it will be good and lot of other people have decided to do the same. I bought a lifetime membership to the game so I’ll be back just hope everything gets better.

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2009 in drama, experience

 

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Lotro – The Road to Moria

Lotro – The Road to Moria
First expansion of this game is Mines of Moria

It’s been more then a year that LOTRO has been out. I’ve been playing ever since and I am still having fun. In the fall there will be an expansion to this game. All the free updates to this game has ended with book 14. Out of all the free books I enjoyed book 14 update the most. I’ll be reviewing the other books soon but with this new update the live events really made it enjoyable for everyone!

Now that the last free content update has happened everyone is looking to the first expansion. From some of the press releases this expansion seems it will be very good. You can already pre-order this expansion which should be released sometime in November.

 
 

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Lotro – Welcome back weekend

Lotro – Welcome back weekend
Lord of the Rings Online has a welcome back weekend

LOTRO, Lord of the Rings Online, is having a special weekend for previous players. If you have played this game before you will be able to log on with your account and play free through May 8th to May 12th. There’s been plenty of new updates since this game started a year ago. They also have a special new pricing for this month. You can pay for a 3, 6 or 12 month plan and get the special pricing of $9.99 a month! You can also pay for a lifetime subscription for $199. I’m sure there will be new players trying it out but I think AOC, Age of Conan, beta will still be a big draw for ones who have their key. I was lucky enough to get a key and I’ll be reviewing it soon.

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2008 in specials

 

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LOTRO: The Mines Of Moria Announced

LOTRO: The Mines Of Moria Announced
Mines of Moria has been announced for LOTRO

Today was a big day for the players of Lord Of The Rings Online (LOTRO). The first retail expansion for this game has been announced. It’s called “The mines of Moria” and is expected to be available in fall of 2008. Since the launch of this game Turbine has added 4 new updates for free. This expansion will be the first update which will need to be paid for. The reaction in the forums have been positive and the majority are willing to pay extra for this. Many LOTR fans have been waiting to adventure in Moria. The maximum level for a player will be extended to 60 also. There will also be 2 new classes added called the “Rune-keeper” and “the Warden” but no further details on what role they will play. I have also found some more details of a new Player vs Monster Player (PvMP) area in this expansion as well.

 
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Posted by on March 14, 2008 in Mines of Moria, new content

 

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LOTRO: My review of book 11 update

LOTRO: My review of book 11 update
Level 50 minstrel and rank 7 weaver in LOTRO

Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) has been updating their game almost every 2 months with new changes and areas. Book 11: Defenders of Eriador! was added on October 24, 2007. This book brought a new smaller 12 person raid called the Rift with a balrog to fight against. I haven’t done any raiding in this game yet but I have heard this raid is very challenging. I also have reached level 50 with my minstrel and rank 7 with my spider in monster play. I’m the first rank 7 spider on the server I play on so It’s a big accomplishment but I get no new skills so that’s a disappointment.

New update allows housing for everyone in LOTRO
The inside of a kinship housing in LOTRO

This update also allowed players to buy houses for themselves and for their kinships. Players can decorate their houses with brand new items and some crafted items. There are 4 different housing areas for each race: dwarf, elf, hobbit and man. I picked the hobbit housing for my characters and kinship house just because that is my main race and my kinmate liked the houses.

The misty mountains was expanded with a new area which includes the goblin-town. Trollshaws area was expanded too. A lot more quests for the higher levels were added with some great items with good stats. You might also meet gollum in one of these quests. It is a fun quest when you finally find it and doesn’t break the lore at all. Gollum’s cave in the Goblin town area is a a great place for fans of the Hobbit book to visit. It’s not easy to get to unless you are a high level character.

Book 11 update for LOTRO brings new skills

Lore masters and minstrels got some new skills which really was a great addition. Lore masters can rez (resurrect) a fellow player and have more pets. Some of these pets are passive and only for looks. Lore masters can lay tar down on the floor which makes mobs slow down to a crawl and vulnerable to fire. Minstrels can now do some good damage if they sacrifice their healing a bit. Minstrels get some better healing too but the best part is now they have better dps for solo play.

Some changes to other classes didn’t play well with players. Hunters biggest damage skill now places a big x mark on a creep in PVP so it’s a warning for the creep to get out of the way. When hunters track players in PVP the creeps get notified of being tracked now. Burglars didn’t appreciate the 10 second timer on their sneak skill which didn’t have any before. But Burglars are still the best at PVP and can still survive easily.

Monster players can now use warband maneuvers which allows a stronger attack within a group. This only used to work on the freep side but only to npc characters. Now both sides can use it on any player character or npc’s. In my opinion this was not the right thing to do. The attacks were too strong and it pauses the fight which is not good in a PVP setting. I’ve suggested to keep the group attacks but not allow them on player characters. The creep side got some needed skills for higher ranked players which allowed for better fights. There were plenty of silly bugs that got though testing but I felt these were not as bad as the last update.

This update provided a lot of content for high level characters. The housing was the best due to the chests which allowed players to save more items. The rift seems a big success from what I have heard and read. It’s challenging, entertaining and gives great rewards. The new skills for minstrels and lore masters were great and it made players have more choices on how to play their class. The new skills made PVP more difficult in some ways with the tar being the most hated update skill.

I give this update a 8.5 out of 10.
 
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Posted by on January 16, 2008 in new content, review

 

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Turbine, We have a Problem

Turbine, We have a Problem

For months now I have been playing Lord of The Rings Online (LOTRO) and been posting about my experiences. This is my first major MMO to play so haven’t had many experiences with downtime’s. On Monday they had a scheduled maintenance which should have lasted for 6 hours. That’s usually the average time they go down for updates or maintenance anyway.

There was a problem and the downtime lasted more than what was expected. In fact LOTRO, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Asheron’s Call were all affected by this problem.

The SAN upgrade that went awry was intended to reduce the length of downtime’s during future patches, by a pretty significant amount.

The games were down for almost 24 hours and there were plenty of angry people. Most were understanding and were patient. I went on our monster play ventrilo server to find out what everyone else was doing. We all just shared fun web pages and talked about what things we liked to see changed in the game. Most everyone else waited for any word from the developers about the status of the game.

On behalf of the entire staff at Turbine we would like to apologize for yesterday’s extended downtime. The outage was a unique occurrence involving a combination of the hardware and software that supports our login servers and other related web services. This problem prevented players from successfully logging into the games, although the game servers themselves were unaffected and remained up.

Most everyone was happy that the servers finally came up and wasn’t expecting anything from Turbine but an apology. We were surprised with a free day and some special items. Very nice way to make their customers happy. Hope this never happens again and I have heard of other games with longer downtime’s so this one isn’t that bad. One big mess-up their first year is good for a new mmo game I think.

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2007 in downtime, news

 

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Revisiting Lord Of The Rings Online Part 2

Revisiting Lord Of The Rings Online Part 2

This is a continued post about the updates to Lord Of The Rings Online since today. Click here for Part 1.

On August 20th, 2007 the second free content update was added called “The City Of The Kings” which features book 10. Watch the trailer here.

The book 10 quests start in Evendim and occurs mainly in Annuminas. I haven’t started on this book but the quests look challenging and interesting. Annuminas has plenty of hard enemies and instances for the higher level players. Other quests have been added throughout the world for all levels. This new update also changed the user interface. Players can resize the controls and icons to fit better on their screens. Some of the classes got more skills like the captain and hunter. This update seems like it gave some needed stuff for the higher levels but not enough to satisfy some.

Players can now play as a chicken in a separate session. You have different quests to do and you can gain a new cape and some destiny points. As a chicken you can walk among the other players but you can’t attack or talk to them. A chicken starts at level 1 and can not gain any experience. This is actually a fun little side part of the game and I hope they expand on this idea for the future. Trying to run in places where wolves and bears try to kill you is hard! At least a chicken can evade and run really fast to get away.

You can play a chicken in LOTRO now

Reputations have now been added to the game which allow players to gain some nice rewards. A player can do quests for a particular group to gain points. These points will gain favors and rewards which can be bought or traded. The amount of stuff you need to collect is a lot and becomes a big grind to get more reputation. I find the hobbit reputation the hardest due to very rare drops. More vault space for your items have now been added for a price at certain levels. This was a needed addition but they still need to add more bag space either from crafting or buying them. With all these quests, players need more space to hold items.

Crafting has also been updated with jewelers making earrings and bracelets. I hear that jewelers are making lot of money from these new recipes by selling stuff at the auctions. Scholars can now track their resources which was was very much needed. So this update gave some nice stuff for crafting including plenty of new recipes to find.

Monster play had plenty of changes implemented. All the keeps can now have defenses like boiling oil. This could have been a great idea but in my experience it isn’t working as it should. It kills too many people all at once when it should at least slow the attackers down. The creeps had some of their damage increased and health increased. It actually makes ranked creeps a bit better at fighting freeps. The biggest change is that they allowed players to play as a troll and a ranger. Now this could have been great for some great battles but the trolls seem like they are just too powerful. The trolls have massive AOE attacks which scatter the players. The rangers on the freep side can stealth and kill creeps with one shot. The rangers can be handled if they have no backup. The trolls can be taken down easily with a really good group of players. Before this patch the freeps could easily take the map when they wanted to. Now they can only take keeps with good tactics and less creeps around. This patch needs to be fixed so it becomes a bit more balanced for monster play.

LOTRO gets some new session play characters

In my opinion this update introduced more bugs and less needed content. Some of these bugs were awful and easily should have been seen on the test server. Having a whole building disappear with lower graphics on is one example. The game is still fun and the higher levels have some new content but I am hearing that they are getting bored. I have paced myself and don’t have plans of getting to level 50 any time soon. So for me this game is still entertaining enough for me to continue playing. The next update might happen in October or november. I’m hoping they will add more quests for us solo players and better stuff for the players at level 50. They better fix monster play or this part of the game might not entertain players anymore. I give this update a 6 out of 10. The bugs and poor planning with pvp really brought me down. The next update looks promising with player housing! Fun Fun!

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2007 in experience, new content, review

 

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