The Road to Mordor: 10 reasons why LotRO is worth picking up over shiny new MMOs
by Justin Olivetti 
Mar 5th 2010 at 11:00AM
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, The Road to Mordor
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis.
Hey dol merry dol, Lord of the Rings Online fans! My name is Justin Olivetti, and I have the pleasure of joining you on this winding, epic road to Mordor. I play a Captain on the Gladden server, and some of my favorite activities in LotRO include wandering accidentally into signature mob camps, exterminating the local fauna in the name of Deeds, and trying to cobble together the perfect pirate costume for show.
So I know that LotRO is one of the best MMORPGs out there, and you know that as well, but with all the newer MMOs bursting out of the gate on what seems like a weekly basis, how can you convince your friends, loved ones and everyone in your social network that a three-year-old title is worth giving a try if they missed it the first time around?
Never fear -- I am on your side, and ready to equip you with ten terrific reasons why the lovechild of Turbine and Tolkien deserve an even greater number of folks exploring the lands of Middle-earth. So hit the jump and let's spread the word!
1. The Community
As everyone knows, a good community is essential to a great gameplay experience -- while a fragmented, immature one drags it down. LotRO is widely recognized [citation needed] as hosting one of the absolute best communities in MMOs, folks who are passionate about both the setting and the game, and who generally are open and eager to hand out advice and assistance to the stranded traveler.
In my experience, I've seen far more people with setting-appropriate names than those sporting pseudonyms like "Hobbitzkillaz", and players are generally open to grouping if you need help finishing a particularly difficult (or grindy) quest. It's not difficult at all to find yourself a mature, welcoming kinship on any of the servers who place more of an emphasis on social interaction than hardcore raiding (although those exist as well!).
2. The IP and Lore
Whether you're one of Tolkien's biggest fans and can quote every line from his books, just a casual fan who is more familiar with the movies than anything else, or are largely clueless about Middle-earth other than it has something to do with short people and jewelry, Lord of the Rings Online contains a treasure trove of lore, story and setting that few other MMOs contain. This is largely in part to the detailed world that J.R.R. Tolkien created, from which Turbine is building piece by piece while expanding it in the spirit of the books.
Lord of the Rings is an intellectual property so vast that you could easily spend years trying to get a handle on the lore and still be skimming the surface -- and yet, it's also accessible to the layperson who is looking to pick up on the "highlights" of the tale.
3. The Huge, Expansive World
For what is a relatively small part of the larger Middle-earth that's currently explorable in LotRO, you never get the feeling of being a big fish in a small pond -- quite the opposite, in fact. Everywhere you go are looming statues, mammoth mountains, hidden dells and uncivilized territory that has the giddy effect of making you feel as though you're journeying through an actual world that takes time and effort to traverse, even with stables (horse-paths) and a couple travel maps at your disposal.
By the time that you are deep into the snowy landscape of the Misty Mountains or the dangerous underdark of Moria, you will -- like Frodo and Sam -- look fondly upon your days in the lush Shire as one of the last "safe" places in the world and grasp that you are going on an actual adventure, not just ping-ponging between theme park hubs.
4. The Role-Player's Paradise
Role-playing is sometimes seen as a niche activity in MMOs that's been waning over the past decade or so, but it has never been stronger than in LotRO. The setting helps greatly, of course, but so does Turbine's support of the RP community in providing cosmetic outfits, places in the world to stage events, allowing players to link to each other in family trees, and highlighting RP events from time to time, such as the weekly "Ales and Tales" hour.
While role-playing occurs across all servers, Landroval is seen as the "unofficial RP server", which draws a disproportionate amount of serious RPers and RP kinships.
5. The Epic Questline
MMO gamers occasionally grumble about the "death of story" in their games, and how we tend to quickly skip past the quest text to hit "accept" to streamline leveling. LotRO, however, has stood up for story since day one by making their epic questline one of the centerpieces of the title, involving players in the quest of the One Ring, various associated characters and the impact of the Enemy's advance on the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.
Starting with the tutorial, the epic questline currently spans three "volumes", each consisting of several "books" (typically one per zone) which have a number of "chapters" (quests). These books are now fully soloable, thanks to a recent patch, and offer a continuous storytelling experience, voice acting, scripted events, special instances, and incredibly nice rewards. Turbine's newer book quests even feature "alternate drama sequences" that change based on your past actions.
6. The Beauty
I don't have any scientific data to back this up, but I'd wager that if per player per minute, LotRO is one of the most heavily-screencaptured games in the online space. There's a reason for that -- Turbine's artists did a knock-out job of creating vistas, creatures and models that are truly beautiful. It's a game that's easy on the eyes, and offers a visual reward for explorers and reluctant burglars as they progress.
7. The Neat Little Touches
Whether it be a bear's roar that literally shakes the screen, mobs that come out at night but hide during the day, or even the subtle distinction of "morale" instead of generic health/hit points, this is a game that continually delights the observant gamer with clever touches and ideas. While it's familiar enough to players of other MMORPGs to pick up, the joy is in the details that set this title apart in a thousand tiny ways.
8. A Journey and a Destination
LotRO is unique among MMORPGs in that its source strongly features a journey from A to B, advancing the timeline as Frodo nears Mt. Doom for his final destination. The game is built around this journey, and while there are several offshoot zones and locations that Frodo and Co. didn't directly pass through, the sense of progressing through the world toward a specific point is undeniable. It's hard to explain why this changes the feel of playing LotRO as it slowly expands toward Mordor, but it does, and there's a sense of purpose for the journey that comes more naturally to this game than in others.
9. Three Years' Worth of Stability and Content
It's an undeniable fact that any new MMO that launches will result in a wake of players complaining about missing content, buggy features and instability. More established titles like LotRO have weathered this storm and continually strengthened and built up their game to where it towers over new releases by virtue of age and experience. So if you're frustrated by jumping on board everything new that comes out these days and being let down by the result, take a spin in a slightly older but more reliable vehicle.
10. It Has A Little Something For Everyone
Want to play freeze tag in the ruins? Bet on horse races? Own your own house? Go fishing in the Brandywine? Collect rare titles? Engage in Monster Play? Experience a day in the life of a chicken? Grow your own crops? Jump in a random skirmish? Team up for an epic raid? Mix and match outfits? Level up special items? Don't worry -- it's all here. LotRO is more of a "generalist" MMO than a specialist, offering something for everyone, no matter where your interests may lie.
Tavern Talk
Tavern Talk is the part of the column when we kick back with a pint of ale and highlight what's going on in the LotRO community this week:
- A relatively new site called The LOTRO Network hit the scene with a great idea -- collecting LotRO videos of all kinds and hosting them in one place, as well as streaming live LotRO events.
- A Casual Stroll to Mordor pokes at the lone hobby in the game -- Fishing -- and brainstorms other hobby ideas. Creative dance could rock, I agree.
- LotRO-Europe is throwing an irresistible "Welcome Back Week" from March 8-15 to all former EU players. Bonus incentives included!
- Player Versus Developer samples the cooking changes with the newest patch -- were they half-baked or scrumptious?
One of the new features to The Road to Mordor is a weekly poll that I'll use for the next week's topic -- and so, in a way, you're getting an (not so) exclusive preview of the future! I know, contain your excitement, please. If there are any specific topics or questions you'd like to see addressed in the coming weeks, don't be shy in the comments section!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
kwramm said on 12:03PM 3-05-2010
Thanks for posting this. I think lotro is really a small gem in the current MMO landscape. Although I sometimes wish it were less like WoW with it's levels I'm still amazed at the polish of all the small details and the lovingly crafted world and that with some of its system it tries to distance itself from the many 1:1 WoW clones.
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Hans Gruber said on 11:17AM 3-05-2010
It's solid and always expanding and being refined, but to be honest, it's still a pretty brutal march at times to get to the newer, better content - especially if you're a casual player: it's going to be a long, long time before you ever get a mount and get into their "modern" content.
Not that other established MMOs are any better in this regard, mind you. Though the big dog is doing their best right now to refine the new user experience, and Bioware will (and I'm making a big assumption here, though I see little reason to think otherwise given their track record) create the first MMO that's as fun to play from the outset as it is through the middle and "end game". Fully voiced and story driven and all, and being able to learn from all of the mistakes of their peers over the last five-or-so years.
So if I were offering advice to a newcomer of "should I try LOTRO or the new shiny?", I might just suggest the shiny, since it might actually provide a more compelling and enjoyable experience for the first month. Hell, to be truthful, until SW:TOR or Cataclysm goes live, I'd probably just tell them to try Mass Effect 2/Dragon Age/Batman/Assassin's Creed 2/Heavy Rain/any of the other awesome games that have come out in the last year. The MMO scene has been pretty stagnant for years now.
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tanek said on 1:01PM 3-05-2010
"it's still a pretty brutal march at times to get to the newer, better content"
If the potential player you are talking to is only looking to race to the level cap, raid, etc, then you may be right that LotRO is not the place they should start. If, however, the player wants to take the time to enjoy the journey, I think LotRO can be just as much fun at level 5 (although these days you are at level 5 for approximately 2.7 seconds ;) ) as it is at 65.
Plus, the Turbine developers have even gone back to older content to revise here and there where they felt it was needed. So I never get the impression from them that they let parts of the game gather dust just because there is something new at the top.
Generic Hero said on 11:18AM 3-05-2010
Aside from convincing friends to play, this article may have just convinced *me* to go back and give it a solid effort. Having hopped on at launch and been (somewhat unwittingly) dragged back into WoW before I could dive too deep, I've admired LotRO for quite some time now. It's just so solid, and every time I go back in for the numerous Welcome Back weekends (of which I've taken too little advantage), there just seems like so much content that can be lovingly sifted through.
My only concern is the classic "showing up horribly late to the party" syndrome at this point, in addition to just not knowing what class I want (Champion or Minstrel?!) The change to make the older books soloable is a lovely turn, though.
For anyone who's been on the fence about this game, I highly recommend the trial. While at its core it's a traditional MMO through and through, I almost see it as the NPR to WoW's wacky morning show. Sure, one's a lot flashier, and don't get me wrong, it's fun, but LotRO just feels classier in a lot of ways.
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aurickle said on 11:27AM 3-05-2010
There are two games for which I've purchased lifetime subscriptions. This is the one I have no regrets over. I will occasionally go play something else for a while, but LotRO always brings me back.
Great list! But you forgot to mention one of the most impressive ways in which they've catered to the RP community: the very robust music system! I don't know any other MMO where your character can play a song with one of a choice of instruments, or where you'll occasionally walk into the auction house and discover a small band of minstrels playing together.
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photics said on 11:56AM 3-05-2010
The lifetime subscription is probably the main reason why I haven't tried Lord of the Rings Online. When the game first came out, I wasn't sure if I would play the game enough to justify the expense. As the game went on, I kept reading more and more about how people liked the game. It wasn't a WoW killer... but it was a good game.
Then, it was a series of me missing other opportunities to get the lifetime subscription. I either didn't have the time/money to waste or the lifetime subscription wasn't available to me.
See... Guild Wars ruined other MMORPGs for me. I like the idea of not having a subscription fee. There's less pressure to justify the game's entertainment value. So, if I was going to play LotRO, it was going to be with the lifetime membership. I didn't take the plunge. I'm not regretting that choice. But for you, congratulations! Your reaction seems to be common. There seems to be lots of satisfied lifetime subscribers.
nevin said on 2:33PM 3-05-2010
Is the user generated music (playing) anything like Turbine did with AC2?
aurickle said on 3:03PM 3-05-2010
I never played AC2 so can't speak to that, but here are the generalities:
At level 5 (or around there) any character can learn to play two instruments. Minstrels get access to many more during their career. Around level 30 they can also teach other characters how to play instruments that they know.
You equip an instrument and enter music mode. This turns your keyboard into a keyboard of another sort. So you can play a song by pressing the appropriate keys on your keyboard.
They have also implemented ABC support. You can put ABC files into your directory and then call them by name from within the game. Your character will then auto-play the song. TONS of songs are available at http://www.thefatlute.com/ -- it's a modding community in and of itself, although it specializes in music for LotRO rather than interfaces.
In addition, they have added a synchronization feature. All characters in a band load up the appropriate ABC file. (For example, a song might have different parts of clarinet, lute and flute.) The band leader then issues a command so that everyone plays in synch, with their selected instruments. The results are spectacular.
Enjoy!
Grendel said on 7:16PM 3-07-2010
"I don't know any other MMO where your character can play a song with one of a choice of instruments,"
So you should take a look at Mabinogi.
Wisdomandlore said on 11:37AM 3-05-2010
Don't listen to some of the posters on here. LOTRO is the newbie-friendlist P2P MMO around. Leveling from 1-35 (when you can get your mount) is virtually painless. Turbine has toned down the content and upped the XP so much. Reaching a comparable level of content and power in WoW takes 2-3 times as long. There's still tons of people doing the Moria group-content as well.
My biggest problem with LOTRO, and why I'm letting my subscription expire (finally) in April, is Turbine's continued instancing of the world. Something this article points out as a strength is the expansive, story-filled world. Playing LOTRO in its prime was as an adventure. Today, you're just sitting in a pretty lobby waiting to load another instance. Once you get to max level, there's no difference between LOTRO and DDO...except DDO has better instances (and is F2P).
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Cinnamoon said on 12:37PM 3-05-2010
I loved LOTRO, but it's a far cry from being newbie-friendly, and a mad dash from being the "newbie-friendliest MMO around". You don't even need a large sample size of MMOs to know that's hyperbole.
I'd *still* recommend it to MMO veterans looking for something new to try. It has a really nice feel, it's been improved significantly since launch, and is a nice, slow, cozy "retirement" MMO for those sick of the rat race in other games.
Tyler Steven Smith said on 1:34PM 3-05-2010
I don't want to post comments against game but since the last patch I have really bad feeling about this game has become.
1. Population has dropped (no one can disprove this) Brandywire is heavy in population, but such servers as Ladvoal are low.
2. Lack of content as of late, Mirkwood was the last area added, and before/after that content was slow coming in. Before Moria new books (areas were often), after moria it was almost 90 days before a patches came out to fix issues from Mirkwood.
3. Resetting of lendary weapons all the time (my weapon been reset several times)
4. First series of books are suppose to be soloable now (good luck), Book 1 Chapter 8 is impossible without a healer to help the NPC escort.
5. Groups are very hard to find.
6. The game word is massive and hard to get around, Book 1 Chapter 7 quests have you traveling almost all over the entire world twice for one item.
7. Turbine has given up on it, patches are so long inbetween in makes you wonder if they do care.
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Nandini said on 12:13PM 3-05-2010
I do not have a favorite skirmish. Why isn't there a "none of the above" option?
That said, this article focuses on some very strong points of the game. Having played for almost 3 years now, I would agree with each of those points.
Also, Re: Hans Gruber:
"It's solid and always expanding and being refined, but to be honest, it's still a pretty brutal march at times to get to the newer, better content - especially if you're a casual player: it's going to be a long, long time before you ever get a mount and get into their "modern" content."
The journey in this game is much more enjoyable than the destination. If you are just in a rush to level 65, you're really missing out on the best parts of the game. The newer content isn't necessarily "better"; in fact, many players agree that the original content from 3 years ago is still the best developed and most coherent.
P.S. -- You can get a mount at level 20 now. For new players, this may take a few days, but not "a long, long time".
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Soln said on 12:04PM 3-05-2010
LotRO is a superb game BUT the end-game and path to the end-game 55-65 is woefully broken. LotRO has minimal LFG tools and with 99% of the user base at the cap and running instances or alts, it makes for running group quests nigh impossible. The work to solo most of the game continues, but be warned you will have a hard hike after lvl50. The end-game grinding of tokens for armor is pretty much as bad (if not worst) than badges in WoW at the moment.
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Starie said on 2:26PM 3-05-2010
Agreed on the LFG tools. The player-created channel, GLFF, mirrors what the WoW community had to work with until the LFG system was revamped. For a while I had hoped that LOTRO would mirror WoW's history in this regard, but it seems they are more interested in creating soloable content as an alternative to the ones that require groups.
But, I have to disagree with you regarding post-50 leveling. Moria has enough zones that in combination with some skirmishes and daily instances (to progress your legendary weapons or crafting), it is *very* easy to level to cap before you even explore *half* of the mountain, and before even having to set foot in Lothlorien.
The "end-game grinding" for armor tokens is most certainly not even half as bad as WoW. In LOTRO, player competency plays a much larger part of the equation. End-game grinding for gear is really only for radiance. It is arguably an annoying gating system, but LOTRO provides multiple ways for you to acquire radiance: a player who invested time to acquire level 60 radiance gear can spend less time upgrading to level 65-quality radiance. For a new level 65 player with zero radiance that decides to skip level 60 raiding, they can run several 3-man (level 60) instances to get lesser radiance pieces in combination with the greater radiance pieces from the newer level 65 instances (of which there are also 3-man ones).
The only way I can imagine it being harder than in WoW is if the player community you play with is dogmatic about class composition, and refuse to run the instances outside their safety envelope. And that is unfortunate, because in LOTRO, classes are robust, instance content is capable of rewarding strategy over brute force, and unlike the WoW heroic gameplay, the combat is not split-second survival-by-coincidence.
LotRO is a superb game BUT the end-game and path to the end-game 55-65 is woefully broken. LotRO has minimal LFG tools and with 99% of the user base at the cap and running instances or alts, it makes for running group quests nigh impossible. The work to solo most of the game continues, but be warned you will have a hard hike after lvl50. The end-game grinding of tokens for armor is pretty much as bad (if not worst) than badges in WoW at the moment
Tigress74 said on 12:10PM 3-05-2010
As a former LOTRO player I agree on the top 10 reasons. Its a wonderful game for RP'ers and older more mature gamers that want a laid back very casual atmosphere for gaming.
Unfortunately, that is not me. I eat through the content way too fast and find myself with all the best shinies and nothing to do.
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Seffrid said on 12:30PM 3-05-2010
A good article, about an increasingly impressive game.
The only criticism I would make is that your American bias is coming across in the article, you should have made it clear that your "unofficial" role-play server is for the American version and that Laurelin is the official European role-play server.
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bhima said on 12:51PM 3-05-2010
As a 5 year WoW vet I have to admit, LoTRO was the ONLY free trial I played that got me extremely close to buying another sub. (but the wife wouldn't let me have 2 sub games at once). The game environment feels very polished and all the details regarding lore, and unique items like musical instruments will excite most MMO players that enjoy story. The game play is good overall but doesn't quite feel as tight to me as WoW. Maybe this is also because the character animations aren't as exciting as the rest of the world is. Another minor quibble: The skill icons are waaaay too detailed. It can be hard to differentiate one skill from another because there is just too much going on in just a 60x60 pixel image. Truly small issues though for an otherwise great gaming experience. Either way, if you haven't tried this game you absolutely should.
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Hans Gruber said on 12:52PM 3-05-2010
Well, you can't fault a brother for living in the US and speaking from that point of view :)
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Iokthemonkey said on 1:02PM 3-05-2010
LOTRO is currently the best MMO out there, period. When was the last time you were actually moved by an in-game cinematic or sequence? When was the last time you saw landscapes so impressive they literally stopped you in your tracks? When was the last time you played a Boss encounter that wasn't just a hackfest? LOTRO is simply outstanding in its execution and development. And Turbine are without a doubt the best MMO developer AND supporter out there.
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