mines-of-moria posts

Server merges in LotRO? Heck no!

by Brooke Pilley Jun 21st 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, News items

The longer you are exposed to the One Ring, the stronger the hold it begins to have over you. It would appear Turbine has been able to harness this magic and set it loose upon the unsuspecting gaming population because The Lord of the Rings Online is continuing to grow even two years after its release.

When VG247 caught up with Live Producer Aaron Campbell and asked him about any potential server merges, he had this to say: "If anything, The Lord of the Rings Online is growing. We have no plans to merge servers." Since Turbine nefariously refuses to release subscription numbers for any of their MMOs, I guess we'll have to take his word for it.

Is it really that difficult to believe though when you consider the steady stream of content Turbine releases in the form of new Books? They also launched a strong second anniversary campaign, which included a digital download of the original game plus the Mines of Moria expansion for only $9.99. This pricing is still available.

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Tags: aaron-campbell, book-8, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, lotro-book-8, mines-of-moria, turbine, vg247

Codemasters releases trailer for LotRO Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-Dûm

by James Egan Jun 1st 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches

Things are looking pretty good for fans of Lord of the Rings Online with the frequent content updates that Turbine has been cranking out. Codemasters has just released a teaser trailer for Lord of the Rings Online Volume II Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-Dûm that shows what awaits your Fellowship in the Mines of Moria this summer.

Massively recently had the opportunity to go on a dev tour of the new content and get some info about the quest revamps, 3-, 6,- and 12-man instances, and a preview of the Summer Festival, which is well worth a look if we don't say so ourselves. LotRO's Volume II Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-Dûm is slated for a June release and we've got a video embed of the Book 8 teaser trailer for you after the jump.

Gallery: LotRO Volume 2: Book 8 Dev Tour

Gallery: LotRO Volume 2: Book 8

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Tags: book-8, codemasters, fantasy, khazad-dum, lotro, lotro-book-2.8, mines-of-moria, patches, turbine

Latest LotRO test realm patch notes released

by Lesley Smith May 22nd 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Patches, News items

There's something really exciting about a new set of patch notes, especially when it's for a fantasy MMO like Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine have just released the latest patch notes for the Bullroarer test server for volume 2 of book eight. These notes will hit live servers -- barring the usual changes, updates and revisions -- in June.

The notes themselves are quite comprehensive with plenty of class-specific alterations across the board. There will also be two new events added to the Summer Festival, one taking place in the Shire and another near Thorin's Hall. Lothlorien Gift Boxes are among some of the items being changed, as are the cost of First Age Legendary items. Indeed it seems there's something for everyone, whatever the class or level. You can check out the full patch notes here.

Tags: lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, lothlorien, lotr-book2.8, lotro, mines-of-moria, patch-notes, test-realm, test-realm-patch-notes

The Isengard Private Preview Program needs you

by Lesley Smith May 16th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, Forums

Lord of the Rings Online CM and Senior Quality Assurance Analyst Kehleyr popped on the forums yesterday to let players know they are reopening applications for the Isengard Private Preview Program. A bit like City of Heroes' Training Room test server or WoW's PTR, Isengard is a lot more private but you will get the chance to try new content and help the QA folks iron out bugs.

Kehleyr explains that applicants will have to have an active account, be over 18 and sign an NDA but if you're a huge fan of LotRO in good standing (as in never received a temporary ban), then you can apply. Head over to the forums to see the full details.

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Tags: isengard, isengard-private-preview-program, isengard-programme, lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, mines-of-moria

Help stress test LotRO to win cool prizes and meet devs

by Brooke Pilley May 12th 2009 at 10:30AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Contests, News items

Isn't it funny? People are always clamoring to get into closed betas but once an MMO launches, test servers are usually pretty empty, even for special events. Turbine has decided to offer some great incentives for players to participate in their upcoming Lord of the Rings Online performance test and is giving away several high-powered computer accessories and making sure the devs are online to interact with.

Subscribers and even trial-account holders can log into the Bullroarer public test server between 9:00PM and 11:00PM Eastern on Thursday, May 14 and have a shot at winning:

Two (2) first prizes - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU + OCZ Platinum 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
Five (5) second prizes - OCZ Vertex 60GB MLC Solid State SATA II Hard Drive
Ten (10) third prizes - ATI Radeon HD 4890 Video Card
Twenty (20) fourth prizes - Signed copy of The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria

In order to qualify, you must play the entire two hours of the event and be a resident of the United States. Disconnects will not disqualify you as long as you log back in immediately. You can download the Bullroarer client here. Good luck!

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Tags: ati, bullroarer, contest, incentives, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, mines-of-moria, performance-test, play-test, prizes, test, turbine

Lord of the Rings Online launches in Korea and Russia

by William Dobson Apr 23rd 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Launches, MMO industry, News items

Turbine has issued an announcement regarding the regional availability of their number one title. Just ahead of Lord of the Rings Online's second birthday, the folks over in Russia and Korea are now able to join in the Tolkien-inspired fun with new localized versions of the game. Pictured above are the logos for the two new regions, Korean on top and Russian underneath. Noticeably, the Korean logo is in the Mines of Moria format that we've all become used to now, whereas the Russian logo takes after the original logo from vanilla LotRO (Shadows of Angmar). We aren't sure whether this means that Korea's LotRO is Moria enabled and Russia's is not. Perhaps a couple of our readers could translate the sub-headings and shed some light on the issue (and yes, they did! See the comments for info).

Korean company NHN is handling their region's version following a deal from December of 2007, and IT Territory made a similar agreement to bring the game to Russia in January of 2008. Both of these companies made statements emphasizing their high expectations for the success of LotRO in their respective markets, but the real test of that begins now.

Tags: it-territory, itt, korea, korean, localization, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, mines-of-moria, nhn, russia, russian, turbine

Several new crafting instance screenshots for Lord of the Rings Online

by Kyle Horner Apr 1st 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Crafting, News items

The new crafting instances are certainly a big part of the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online Volume 2, Book 7 update, which is why Turbine has released several new screens showing off the content. We're fairly certain that we're not missing the point when we get excited about shiny, pretty swords and images of a Dwarf mining with a mighty pick axe.

That's normal, right? We're not entirely certain, but it seems like the kind of thing a balanced person would get all hot and bothered over. In any case, you can find plenty of sweetly sized images to salivate over (or is that still just us?) in our gallery just below. Enjoy!

Gallery: LotRO Volume 2: Book 7

Tags: crafting, dwarf, dwarves, instances, lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, lotro-book-2.7, mines-of-moria, mining, turbine

Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel on implementing LotRO's lore

by Kyle Horner Mar 16th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Lore, News items

Lore is something that can engross a person anywhere from several minutes to several hours. In the case of Lord of the Rings fans, it probably leans towards hours and hours. The core books written by Tolkien alone are quite exhaustive in detail.

With Mines of Moria's release well behind us on the calendar, Kill Ten Rats interviewed Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel about how the expansion's team took Tolkien's lore and crafted it into what now exists within the game world. It's an enriching read for anybody interested in adapting lore into MMOs, or anything Lord of the Rings related in general.

Of course, KTR and Steefel aren't the only Lord of the Rings Online fans addicted to extensive storytelling. We've got our own regular column dedicated to the very subject of all things lore related, with a huge focus on the virtual Middle-earth and its backstory.

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Tags: jeffrey-steefel, kill-ten-rats, know-your-lore, know-your-lotro-lore, lord-of-the-rings, lord-of-the-rings-online, lore, lotro, mines-of-moria, mora, tolkien, turbine

LotRO dev diary, "Solving Problems and Making Friends, Part II" live

by Joe Blancato Mar 14th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Game mechanics, PvE

Earlier this week Matt "Scenario" Elliott posted part 2 of his "Solving Problems and Making Friends" dev diary on the Lord of the Rings Online official site. Right after Mines of Moria released, Elliott took a break from management and returned to the design trenches for a month. The second installment picks up in the fourth week of his life as a live designer.

It's a short read, but an interesting one for anyone interested in how a design goes from concept to execution on a live MMOG. At one point, Elliot admits that time management is as important as the idea itself: "Nearly everything we dream up has to be scaled down to fit realistically within our schedules," he wrote. "In my case, I had a couple of ideas that either fell on the floor during planning or were cut due to the unnecessary complexity they added."

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Tags: dev-diary, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, matt-elliott, mines-of-moria, scenario, turbine

Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?

by Brooke Pilley Mar 8th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Opinion

Tipa is wondering if the upcoming 2009 MMO titles will make this year the best yet for MMOs. EVE Online will be receiving its highly anticipated Apocrypha expansion pleasing the "impact PvP" crowd. Free Realms will soon launch to the delight of families around the world, providing another option in the "kid friendly" category. Champions Online will be zipping up its latex suit to compete in the superhero sub-genre. Cryptic has another potential hit on their hands with Star Trek Online, which may ride the hype wave generated by the blockbuster film coming out this summer.

And those are just the big titles we're pretty certain are releasing in 2009. There could be even more (Darkfall Online is already out and doing fairly well)! Many people thought 2008 would be the best year for MMOs but the new titles fell somewhat short of expectations. Pirates of the Burning Sea never really left port and while Warhammer Online and Age of Conan sold nearly 1M copies each, their subscription retention rate was quite dismal. It seems expansions were the biggest winners last year with Wrath of the Lich King for WoW and the Mines of Moria for LotRO.

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Tags: age-of-conan, apocrypha, champions-online, darkfall-online, eve-online, free-realms, lord-of-the-rings-online, mines-of-moria, pirates-of-the-burning-sea, star-trek-online, tipa, warhammer-online, world-of-warcraft, wrath-of-the-lich-king

Explaining LotRO Volume II: Book 7 crafting instances

by Kyle Horner Mar 5th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Crafting, News items

If, as a Lord of the Rings Online player, you're either confused or completely in the dark where it concerns the upcoming Volume II: Book 7 crafting instances for Lord of the Rings Online, LotroLife has got you covered. The guide is pretty in-depth about everything an aspiring crafts-person needs to know about running the six different crafting instances being added to the game.

Thankfully, it looks as though an explanation about the timers for these instances was also added after multiple inquiries on the topic. So if for some reason you're still left with a question or two, you may just get it. Although since author KatashiTakishiro figured this whole thing out via trial and error, that may be the best course to figuring every in and out in the end.

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Tags: crafting, crafting-instances, katashi-takishiro, katashitakishiro, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, lotro-book-2.7, lotro-life, mines-of-moria, moria-book-7, turbine

Ten days with Mines of Moria

by Shawn Schuster Feb 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Hands-on

Last week, Zubon at Kill Ten Rats had taken a comprehensive look at Lord of the Rings Online's Mines of Moria as more and more people are rediscovering the Turbine fantasy MMO. This 10-day exploration touches on many aspects of the game beyond simple back-of-the-box facts and features. It's an experienced and opinionated journal that points out the good and bad, which may be quite helpful to those looking to spend the extra cash for that expansion.

Not only does Zubon touch on the experiences with Book quests, his impressions of the Rune-keeper and the mines themselves, but there's also a helpful "Seven Favorites" post which gives a no-nonsense look at what he enjoys most from the game. Check back through the entire series of posts, and take heed to his closing thought: "I have not nearly seen it all."

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Tags: journal, kill-ten-rats, lotro, mines-of-moria, opinion, turbine, zubon

LotRO's Hero's Guide series reaches Lothlorien

by Shawn Schuster Feb 5th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Education

If you're lucky enough -- and skilled enough -- to make it through the depths of Moria's great mines, your reward is something quite spectacular waiting for you on the other side. Discovering Lothlórien in Lord of the RIngs Online's Mines of Moria is truly an awe-inspired experience, as you're seeing the side of the mines that were first discovered by Durin in the First Age. From the intricately-carved East Gate to the flowing waters of the Nimrodel and into Lady Galadriel's garden, Lothlórien is certainly a welcome sight.

Turbine punctuates this with their newest developer diary for the Elven area. This five-page article describes the look and feel of the zone, as well as what monsters you can expect to encounter and what quests you will take on. As always, be sure to check out the previous Hero's Guide articles for more on the Mines of Moria's locations.

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Tags: galadriel, heros-guide, lord-of-the-rings-online, lothlorien, lotro, mines-of-moria, turbine

LotRO's Refer-a-Friend program rewards you with Amazon vouchers

by Shawn Schuster Jan 29th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry

The Lord of the Rings Online promotions just keep flowing as Codemasters announces a new one involving Amazon gift vouchers. This Refer-a-Friend program rewards current players who can successfully sign up five friends with a £5 or 5 € Amazon voucher.

Here's how it works: enter your friends' details, they play the 14-day free trial and if they like it, they sign up for a full subscription. For each five who sign up, you'll get the voucher. Seems easy enough, but keep in mind that this promotion is through Codemasters, so it's not for the North American or Oceanic players at this time.

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Tags: 14-day-trial, amazon.com, codemasters, gift, lotro, mines-of-moria, refer-a-friend, voucher

LotRO: Hero's Guide to the Great Delving

by William Dobson Jan 28th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Guides, Lore, PvE

The Hero's Guide series has received another chapter over at the Lord of the Rings Online official site, and we haven't moved too far from the last outing at Zelem-melek; this time around, the guide covers the expansive Great Delving, fleshing out the lore of the area and describing it for those that are planning on visiting. The Delving in fact consists of three main areas, including Durin's Threshold, Dolven-view, and Lamâb-dûm, and it's almost certain that you'll spend time in them as you work your way through the expansion.

As with much of Moria, the formerly friendly territory now plays host to all sorts of foul inhabitants -- among them, camps of odd white Goblins, and "poison-spitting centipedes the size of horses" -- but that should be music to the ears of any brave adventurer looking for work, right? We continue to be impressed with the amount of quality lore that gets crammed into the articles from the Hero's Guide series, and if you're at all a fan of what you see here, do yourself a favor and have a look at some of the other entries that Turbine has previously posted.

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Tags: dolven-view, durins-threshold, great-delving, heros-guide, lamab-dum, lord-of-the-rings-online, lore, lotro, mines-of-moria, moria, turbine

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