I’ve noticed there’s been a bit of a lull in LotRO blogging across the board. In some ways I am glad that I’m not the only one relaxing and neglecting my “duties”. I’m in Chicago, so when the nice weather finally hits it’s really hard to ignore it.
I’ve spent some time reflecting on things that created something of an uproar in LotRO–land. “Uproar” is probably an exaggeration, but it was certainly more heated than most discussions related to this game. Aside from specific class concerns, the things that come to mind are the new self resurrection ability and the Quest Guide.
I’ve given my opinions on them before and my thoughts are largely unchanged. For me, the self resurrection skill has been more of a bandage for dumb deaths than anything game breaking. The dread you get after using it is generally too crippling to allow you to go right back into the thick of things. Most of my mob-related deaths are within aggro range, so as soon as I come back I have ten Goblins on my butt. Needless to say, I don’t get very far.
I always welcomed the Quest Guide and overall I think it’s worked out pretty well. I like that it shows you the vicinity for many search quests, as opposed to the exact location. I also like that it is selectively controlled by Turbine … For example, in Evendim there’s a quest where you have to find a hidden treasure. The Quest Guide points you in the right direction for the first part, but for the rest of the chain you have to use the quest text’s clues to get you where you need to go. I think this is one benefit of it being developer handled.
I’m sure your mileage may vary with both of these. I am interested in hearing if anyone’s opinion changed one way or another on these now that we’ve had a good amount of time with them.
I’m torn on the Quest Guide. I love that it’s in the game, but I worry that especially now it’s on by default that new players (and even existing players) will start expecting “easy mode” handouts from here on. Such as (topic shift alert) the news that they’re revamping some of the Bree quests so the Shade quest no longer requires you visit him only at night. I mean, c’mon… that was flavor and it was appropriate. I could easily be snarky and predict that this time next year there will be enough complaints about being locked out of Lothlorien that they’ll remove the reputation restriction… /sigh
Anyway, I use the Quest Guide for alts because let’s face it, it’s no longer “discovery” or “new” when you’ve already done it. Sometimes I prefer the “area blob” that’s puts you in the general location then you’re on your own. Age of Conan and Warhammer do it that way, and I’m fine with that. Other times it nods to Guild Wars and points to the exact location. That’s less adventuresome but I’ll admit to its usefulness on those quests that send you gathering specific items. But it definitely takes a “means to an end” approach to the whole story/quest to just get it over with, get the XP, and move on.
I do rather wish it wasn’t limited to the five quests contained on the Quest Tracker, though. My captain has recently been in Angmar but still has some Trollshaws quests as well. I took him to Trollshaws last night and it would have been nice if the map had at least given some indication that he had quests in that zone. Maybe highlight the area and let me click or right-click the blob to re-add that quest to the Tracker?
The self-revive is a great feature fraught (rightfully so) with many, many limitations. I’ve only had the opportunity to use it a few times, and only once did I actually escape the situation after reviving to survive. Every other time, I revived and was defeated again almost immediately. I suspect that once I stop forgetting that feature is in the game, I will have to teach myself to look for an escape route so I can revive safely. Right now the problem is a) it’s a new feature that I keep forgetting, and b) looking for a safe self-revive spot isn’t part of my soloing thought process because that has never been an option; it just isn’t natural yet.
But it isn’t a game-breaking feature, not even close. There are so many limitations to when and where it can be used, and in an open-world group scenario (because it doesn’t work in instances) how often is that content difficult enough that players are defeated enough to use it? How often are people running that content without any healing/revive whatsoever? Probably not much. I’d have to say it’s mostly useful to very careful solo players.
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I actually stepped away from LOTRO for a year. I had reached level 48 but even as close to 50 as I was, I could not motivate myself to get there. While I was away from LOTRO I played a bit of WoW and WAR. In WoW I had come to rely on Questhelper and in WAR quest guiding was built in. So moving back to LOTRO was actually going to be quite hard.
With book 7, the introduction of the quest guide (and the improved Xp curve) has made me come back to LOTRO and even better made me want to stay. By removing one of the most frustrating things (for me), not being able to find things, I no longer feel I am fighting the environment and can now enjoy the game much more.
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I like both. But I only started a few weeks ago, so I don’t have much relation to how it was “before”.
You’re right, if I self rez, it generally ends up with a second death followed shortly after anyway. I can see how it would be very useful in a more group oriented situation though.
I love that the quest helper doesn’t give a precise location. I got lazy using the QuestHelper in WoW and I prefer this a great deal. The only time I seem to have problems is when I’m in Bree, it doesn’t always point me in the right direction. Also, I’d love a way to turn off crafting quests on my mini-map. I don’t have much interest in crafting, and would rather not see those at all. Though I doubt that is related to the quest helper.
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Joshua: Without the quest guide, you still by default will see little ring icons for new quests that are in your level range… Crafting quests are really common in the starting areas, but they fall off heavily once you leave Bree. I doubt they’ll bother you much longer
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I on;ly use the self-rez for falling damage, was quite useful the two times I’ve used it.
And I love the quest guide, I don’t always switch it on, but it’s nice to have it there
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My opinions on self-rez are the same as they were before, the timer keeps it sane.
My opinions on the quest guide haven’t changed much either. I think the map hints are great, but the arrows pointing people is too much and IMHO detrimental to the playerbase as more players stop looking around themselves and let the interface lead them around.
I’ve come to realize that too much convenience is a Bad Thing ™. Yeah sure, I can turn it off, but the part I dislike is not whether I’m being led by the nose in quests– it’s the catering to our culture’s already over-the-top impatience and expectations of just being handed the prize. When you’ve got arrows pointing you down the path, you’ve stopped enjoying the questing and exploration and you’re more likely to be just happy to get the quest done and over with.
It hasn’t affected LOTRO yet as much as it did WAR (where player impatience seems to be the norm), probably because the game has so many other reasons that attract players who like to smell the roses.
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I love the rez feature, it’s especially useful in those “Nooo! I did not want to fall down this mountain!” moments. I’ve been killed in Goblin Town and Sarnur as well, where it came in quite handy. Nice feature, definitely nothing to complain about.
The quest tracker is great as well. I think if there are people who love to search the map without using hints or Google and be a true explorer they can still do so by turning the thing off. For the other crowd (I am among those people) who don’t like to look for stuff and would just check the internet for where quest locations are, it just got a lot more convenient. Great move by Turbine.
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I have to be honest, I keep forgetting I have the new self revive option. On my new lowbie Rune Keeper I die lots (still working with a champ mentality) and keep pressing retreat out of habit.
As for the new quest guide. I can see how it is pretty beneficial, but I feel it detracts from the overall experience. Admittedly the advice / OOC channel has calmed down since book 7, which is nice, but I feel the tracker kinda spoils the fun.
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Sorry for the lack of posting at the moment, exam season is upon me and I have four for my degree to revise for…not to mention the two bits of coursework I just finished. Ergh, anyway should have some posts up very soon ^^
As for the Quest Guide I think it’s fantastic and really has helped me get into the game. As Tony said, its selective usefulness makes it a little more cryptic than just telling the player exactly where to go.
Self reviving is very useful and takes the edge off of dying when soloing, whilst still punishing you with equipment damage etc. I like it overall, though i’d manage fine without it.
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“Sorry for the lack of posting at the moment, exam season is upon me and I have four for my degree to revise for…not to mention the two bits of coursework I just finished.”
Ouch. Good luck. “Real life” comes first always!
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