So here in Europe, Book 8: Patch 1 was released today, and as can be expected, within seconds of logging in, the trade channel was being spammed with the newly craftable ‘reforged’ 2nd Aged items, while the advice channel was full of frantic messages from players desperately seeking those all important new crafting recipes! (Note: For those who still need to know, the Lothlorien Vineyards is where you will find a Lothlorien Craft Guild representative for Guild recipes, while single-use recipes are traded by an Elf at the docks nearby). All of this crafting drama inevitably ended with the Auction House flooded with all the new craftables (with a hefty price-tag attached), and a drastic price-increase for mithril flakes.
After the excitement of crafting my own 2nd age for the first time and helping a small group out with a Carn Dum castle boss, I was advised by a kinnie to head towards Esteldin. With a Level 60, there is not normally any need to head towards the North Downs (despite spending so much time there during the middle-portions of the levelling experience), but a return visit is now highly recommended: hidden behind a pillar near the stable-master in Esteldin is a quest-giver, who provides access to five bounty-quests, (which I can only assume is new with the Book 8 patch but wasn’t mentioned in the patch notes!?). Each of these quests is designed for a Level 60 in a small fellowship, is repeatable every 5 hours, and, for each quest completed, rewards you with extremely valuable Item Experience (IXP) runes with IXP values far exceeding those normally found in Moria.
Firstly, a quick introduction! My name is Isy (another of Tony’s new MMeOw writers!), and in-game, I am part of the relatively quiet EU server of Gilrain. I have been playing for over a year, and while in the past I have deemed myself to be a ‘casual’ player, I would probably now be better described as a “casual/hardcore” hybrid, having recently joined a more raid-active kin, owning a Level 60, full-radiance Captain, and a Level 60 Rune-keeper. Like many in the player-base who have reached the so-called “end-game” content (and are getting just a wee bit miffed with repeatedly running instances to possibly win some radiance armour, just to access a raid in the hope of getting lucky on even better radiance armour), I like to know what is around the corner. Call it spoilers, call it curiosity… for me, tracking down information or speculating over rumours whets my appetite for LotRO’s future and gives me something to look forward to.
As such, I wanted to share some information that should interest high-level characters who enjoy crafting — especially those of you who can’t stand the radiance gating! Introducing: 2nd Age Legendary crafting!
The title tells you pretty much everything you need to know.
Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dûm will be going live on the EU servers tomorrow! about 2 hours agofrom web
This was posted on the official LotRO Europe Twitter page. Europe lucks out a bit as this patch includes the recent instancing and stuck character “hotfixes” that the US received.
I’m sure many are aware of the Bree-land revamp that came along with Book 8. I’ve not had a chance to play yet, but this is something that really caught my interest. I never thought Bree-land was bad, but it sounds like these adjustments make it a lot more fun.
Doyce has a great post about this on his site that I encourage everyone to read. He hits upon all of the areas and quests that have frustrated people over the past couple of years. Interestingly, they also made another pass at the Old Forest, which was surprising to me as well:
They revised the Old Forest (which I didn’t think they’d bother messing with, as it’s already seen one revision) and somehow – magically – found the perfect sweet spot between the original Old Forest (horrible death trap, but cool) and the more recent version (sadly, laughably harmless).
Whenever I finally get to go in game again, I’ll be interested in seeing how all of this played out for myself.
My Response to "Tell the Community Team":
Turbine's "Tell the Community Team" is now on its second set of questions (thanks to Tirnel for pointing out that EU...
Tip Time: Armour Aggravation:
I was talking with another player recently about armour. Most specifically that he wasn't sure which class could u...
