I’ve always had a large interest in enemy types in LotRO. There are quite a bit of them and grabbing decent shots of them has been a bit of fun for me. I don’t get anything for it, but it adds a bit of a Pokemon flair to the title. It’s just yet another thing you can do with MMORPGs that isn’t really part of the actual game.
I figured I’d write a bit about my experiences with various enemy types. Don’t expect an insanely in-depth analysis, but if you have anything to add feel free.
If you’ve been playing LotRO for even a short time, sickle-flies are familiar to you. There is usually some variation flying around no matter what your level might be. I always thought it was interesting that MMORPGs reuse enemy types to this degree. I don’t want to say that it’s an annoyance (it’s not), but it is funny to be fighting a relatively small, flying insect that is stronger than a bear.
Sickle-flies tend to live near water. They’re present in the revamp of the Elven starter zone, but most people will likely have their first big encounter with the insects in the Midgewater Marsh. This area is on the Eastern side of Bree-town proper and stands between you and your first excursions into the Lone Lands. You can avoid it entirely by following the main road, but what fun is that?
I think Sickle-flies were one of the first enemy types I outright hated. This was because killing the things was attached to a deed that gave you a new Virtue. In and of itself, not so bad. The problem is that there really aren’t that many of these things flying around Bree-land in general, even within the Marsh. I think this is really the first potential “grind” of the game. Sure, you can say that about any Deed, but this is the first one where actively hunting down your prey takes more time than it is worth to many people. Still, I did it. At times there is something relaxing about vegging out in combat against a minor enemy.
Sickle-flies appear throughout the game, pretty much capping out in the early 50s. You’ll meet their cousins, the Prehistorically large Fire-flies. These tend to be a bit more aggressive, in my experience. I believe my first encounter with these friendly fellows was back in Evendim, but variations of them will appear all the way up to the 60s.
The real-world inspiration for Fire-flies is fairly obvious. Sickle-flies, I imagine, are some sort of an amalgamation of prehistoric insects and predatory flying insects of today. There is no such thing as a “sickle fly” per se, which I’m very happy about. I imagine the name itself comes from the sickle-like appearance of their stinger. They may just be a bug, but I still don’t want a six inch long spike thrust through my chest.
