Home » Archive by category 'Editorials and Thoughts'
MMeOw is currently down for the count, but please visit the LOTRO Combo Blog. It aggregates content from some of the best LOTRO-related blogs and podcasts on the net.
By now I imagine many of you have tried out the new Skirmish system. I purposely avoided a lot of the more detailed information on Skirmishes and was able to go in pretty fresh. My general thought? They’re awesome.
In a lot of ways many of them feel almost like a Tower Defense game. You have areas to protect, while random groups of enemies and leaders make their way in to push you back. It’s quite action packed and I think it finally gives PvE players a sense of being in an actual war. Plus, it’s just awesome to see familiar areas in different situations. Bree covered in tons of snow and being invaded by brigands is not something you’re used to seeing.
I especially like the amount of control you’re given over the system. Once you complete the entry quest (which is relatively simple, but kind of a downer) and the tutorial, you can join a skirmish at pretty much any point. These can be adjusted by area, level, difficulty (there’s three tiers of this). The way it’s designed, there’s almost no real way to get tired of it aside from overexposure. Considering there are some additional skirmishes that were in the beta but are still being worked on (as noted at CStM), I think we’ll have a good amount to do for a while.
The Skirmish Marks you receive during these battles are barter tokens. You’re given a soldier to help you out and these tokens can give them new abilities. You can trade for all sorts of items for your characters as well, including class quest items. There’s some unique items as well, some of which I’ve got my eye on. Even so, I’d certainly recommend making your soldier as strong as possible early on. The stronger the soldier is, the easier it’ll be to amass those marks.
Casual Stroll to Mordor also has an excellent post with answers to common Skirmish questions. I really suggest you check it out if you find yourself confused.
How has everyone else’s experience with this been so far?
MMeOw is currently down for the count, but please visit the LOTRO Combo Blog. It aggregates content from some of the best LOTRO-related blogs and podcasts on the net.
I have a tendancy to walk off cliffs in LotRO. Most of this time this on accident, like when I don’t realize the ground is suddenly going to give out under me and turn into a 90 degree drop. Angmar!!!
I’m very familiar with the nasty “snap!” sound and walking debuff, unfortunately.
Every so often, though, it’s on purpose. There are reasons. A handful of them are arguably good. There’s that gold node you just need to get to before you sign off. Or maybe it’s a gigantic time saver compared to running down the side of a mountain and enraging four hundred wargs.
If you’ve done this, you’re likely also aware that there’s a point where you’re just going to die instead of just messing up your leg. Dying in this case is still not so great; you get Dread just like you would if an enemy kills you.
I’ve slowly developed ways to minimize this.
Avoid charging a drop head-on at full speed. I tend to take a few smaller steps. It makes it easier to see what you should do next.
Avoid slightly angled drops. These tend to be impossible to get any footing on. Your momentum will send you sliding and you’ll be launched off an edge, sending you too far from any platforms. You’re screwed in this case.
Run parallel to the cliff once you start falling. More than likely if you hug a cliff side, you’ll slide down it. Walking parallel to the cliff at this point seems to heighten the chance that you’ll actually get some footing on a platform on the way.
Do your best to hit smaller platforms on the way down. Even if you don’t stop on these entirely, they can slow you down and decrease the chance that you’ll die.
Is this helpful or sad? I report, you decide.
MMeOw is currently down for the count, but please visit the LOTRO Combo Blog. It aggregates content from some of the best LOTRO-related blogs and podcasts on the net.
About time I resurrected this relic of a category, eh? I’ve been playing a bit more as of late and my interest in the creatures of LotRO has been rekindled. One creature that has caught my eye was the barghest. You’ll likely first run into these beasts in the Barrow-downs, although different varieties roam most of the areas that follow.
Interestingly, there doesn’t appear to be any mention of the barghest in Tolkien’s writings. From what I can gather, Turbine included the creature based upon other fiction and folk–lore that seemed applicable. Barghests are an English creation; given that much of the Lord of the Rings pulls from similar sources, I think this was a pretty informed choice. Wikipedia has an entry on the creature with the following details:
Barghest, Bargtjest, Bo-guest, Bargest or Barguest is the name often given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a legendary monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or Household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham (see Cauld Lad of Hylton). One is said to frequent a remote gorge named Troller’s Gill.
There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally, where, according to legend, it preys on lone travellers in the city’s narrow Snickelways. Whitby is also associated with the spectre. A famous Barghest was said to live near Darlington who was said to take the form of a headless man (who would vanish in flames), a headless lady, a white cat, a dog, rabbit and black dog. Another was said to live in an “uncannie-looking” dale between Darlington and Houghton, near Throstlenest.
Barghests are rendered in game as a sort of large, wild dog. They come in different colors and patterns, although all are similar. Barghests can’t take any additional forms in LotRO, but I suppose their natural form is hideous enough.
Battling a super powerful rabbit might be interesting though.
MMeOw is currently down for the count, but please visit the LOTRO Combo Blog. It aggregates content from some of the best LOTRO-related blogs and podcasts on the net.
LotroLife has outstanding screenshots in NEW SIEGE OF MIRKWOOD SCREENSHOTS CHAMBERS INSTANCE (all caps, really?). I am looking forward to seeing the Eye of Sauron for myself in that instance.
But there is something familiar, something nagging about the poses of the combatants. I sense something; a presence I’ve not felt since…
MMeOw is currently down for the count, but please visit the LOTRO Combo Blog. It aggregates content from some of the best LOTRO-related blogs and podcasts on the net.
Lately I have often caught myself daydreaming of Arda, specifically, the Arda of Turbine’s LOTRO.
This is especially noticeable at work where I listen to in-my-head music throughout the day. LOTRO has so many memorable musical passages. The Shire is probably the best region for music, but few regions are weak.
I also daydream of places and people. Today I found myself touring the Shire, visiting southern Evendim near the Brandywine, fighting wolves as a female Hobbit (the “ugh, ugh” sounds they make stick in my memory), and resting in Lothlorien.
Sometimes my daydreams are so vivid, they are distracting. I have to remind myself I’m at work, not enjoying my new Captain, or exploring Eregion, or raiding with friends. But I wish I were.
I’m not sure what other MMOs are like, but that Turbine’s LOTRO digs deeply into my daydreams is a good sign its staying power.
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