One of the nice things about the search function on MMeOw is that I can tell what people look for once they get to our site. I thought it’d be smart to base some of our Tip Time entries on these searches.
Shadowfoot is a named wolf that wanders around the Old Forest. For most he’ll be a push over: he’s only level 13 and doesn’t have any obvious strengths. What’s unusual about him is that he consistently drops multiple [Shadowfoot’s Paw]s. These are not grayed out as vendor trash.
A while back, items used for critical success chances while crafting were largely gathered from mobs. Some of these were extremely specific and came from certain notable enemies. Things have been streamlined since then. You might still have some of these items, but they can be traded in for the current critical crafting items with various NPC traders. I spent some time looking at what they offered and Shadowfoot’s Paw wasn’t on the menu.
It’s not for crafting. I’ve yet to find a quest that specifically asks for [Shadowfoot’s Paw] either. I thought that perhaps this was one that managed to slip by unnoticed; however, I also found a thread on the European LOTRO forums from 2008 that discusses the general uselessness of this item.
Maybe it’s just playing off our assumption that everything in a MMORPG has to have a real use. Someone wants barghest eyes, after all. Don’t ask me.
Has anyone found out something about this I’ve missed?
Tipped off by my kinnie Havborn, I have come across an exclusive album of Siege of Mirkwood screenshots at The Madhouse Tavern (a European LotRO fansite). I strongly recommend heading over to the site to peruse the pictures yourself as they reveal a lot of small but relevant tidbits relating to the Mirkwood region and skirmishes! Some of the most relevant information includes:
Hunters and Wardens will be able to port/muster to Mirkeaves if they gain acquaintance reputation with the Malladhrim.
Carn Dum and Urugath class items (e.g. Putrid Slime of Helchgam) is tradeable with Skirmish Marks
Skirmish marks can also get you a lot of crafting materials including shards (e.g. Mithril Flakes and Ruby Shards). The crafting section also includes ‘Tomes of Middle Earth’ which may be new crit-items or ingredients for crafting items between Lvls 60 – 65.
The in-game menu has been updated and includes a more colourful layout with more options. Our character panels will also be subdivided into tabs based upon our mitigations and damage-output. Minor but positive changes!
At least 3 skirmishes will be based in Mirkwood / Dol Guldur, and are designed for those at the new level cap of 65.
Q: Why are the loading times so crazy for crafting panel? I have 8GB of ram, Core 2 overclocked at 4+GHz and I still get a few seconds of frozen game every time I access the crafting panel for the first time after starting the game.
A: We have changed how the crafting panel is loaded and displayed with Siege of Mirkwood. You should see much better performance as a result.
Q: With the up and coming DirectX 11 with Windows 7 — Are there any plans to incorporate some of its specific tech like you had with the DirectX 10 features that are optional?
A: AMD’s recent announcement of their first DirectX 11 video cards included a mention that LOTRO was adding DX11 support. You will not see it with Siege of Mirkwood, but you should expect it to arrive sometime next year.
Q: Where does Mirkwood fit, size wise, with previously released regions?
A: Mirkwood is roughly 75 – 80% of the size of the Northdowns.
Q: Do you ever use auction prices to determine whether there is enough of an item? Or, alternatively, do you note if something never appears at the auction house?
A: We often run reports for specific types of items, if we want to gain some insight into rarity – that usually includes how many of that item are up for sale in the AH.
Be sure to check out the full post for even more details.
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!
Until fairly recently I had no idea what a consignment quest was. I’ve asked a few people about these and they hadn’t heard of them either. They’re pretty useful at times and it’s definitely worth finding out a bit about them.
My first exposure to these quests was purely accidental. I talked to a vendor at the Combe Lumber-yard and noticed he was selling some usual items. These were called “Work Orders”.
