LOTRO 3rd Anniversary

[Morreion]

The Road to Mordor: Happy 3rd anniversary LotRO! (Massively)

As we celebrate LotRO's third anniversary this week -- don't forget to log on to get your Writ of Virtue -- it's amazing to reflect on just how far this game has come. It may not be the multi-million subscriber hit that some had hoped for, but it's more than respectable in player numbers, community growth and general respect in the field of MMOs. Two expansions and several content patches later, we've walked with the Fellowship of the Ring from Bag End to Weathertop, down the long road to Rivendell, through the dangerous Mines of Moria, and out into the beauty of Lothlórien. We've experienced two new classes, housing, fishing, the skirmish system, crafting dungeons, a new player experience overhaul, the Lone-lands revamp, several major holidays, and the successful reestablishment of the Shire's postal service.

It's been a terrific three years, and I sincerely hope the next three will be even greater. As a way to celebrate this milestone, I trekked over to the official LotRO forums and put forth a simple question: what is your favorite memory from this MMO? Six pages later, I have a wealth of personal anecdotes to share with you (and a header graphic, courtesy of Jadzi). So sit back with your favorite Inn League-approved beverage, and enjoy a trip down memory lane:

* "My favorite memory has to be riding down the hill and seeing Rivendell for the first time." (KouklaGirl)

* "I was just beside myself with joy the first time I met with Strider (and then Gandalf) at the Prancing Pony as part of the epic quest line." (Dori Bolger)

* "The RL feeling of Fear, when entering Carn Dum for the first time." (StoneGaijin)

* "Running to Rivendell at a very young level. When I finally arrived, I looked down on that valley and knew I found a new home. I stayed there quite a while." (Doronlas)

* "Frankly Moria was the most amazing time in this game for me -- seeing all those iconic locations as they would have been from the books. Simply awesome! Finding Gandalf's hat, seeing the Balrog's corpse, etc etc etc." (Musicman 2000)

* "On a rainy day I walked up a hillside in North Downs and looked out upon the Fields of Fornost for the first time. I was so enthralled I had to sit there for like 5 minutes or more just taking it all in." (Clovenshield)

Starting Fresh in Middle-earth Three Years Later (Ancient Gaming Noob)

With all that, getting into the game and feeling like you’re moving ahead is certainly more tangible. A completionist like myself ends up chasing down more than a few green or grey quests. For me, this is especially try with the book-ordered epic quests, which I always try to run. Traditionally, massively multiplier online games have been about three basic gameplay pillars – combat, exploration and character progression. But with LOTRO, in addition to these they’ve added the fourth pillar to the equation; a story. That story leads you along with the action taking place in Tolkien’s books and helps to make the game seem more like Lord of the Rings and less like Kill Ten Rats Boars.

Now, is this speed up a good thing?

I think so. I have been a very casual LOTRO player, but this makes me feel like Moria and Mirkwood are not totally beyond my reach, even starting again from scratch.

Some people, however, view askance any easing up on the difficulty of a game.