LORTO NDA has been lifted.

[imported_Shivetya]

I'm going to pass, I cannot get past having to zone to enter buildings, or worse in some buildings having to zone to enter another room. Combined with lifeless NPCs and a otherwise dull but beautiful world it just kind or ruins the hopes I had for a game based on Middle Earth.

Besides, could they have picked a worse time period to have the game take place in?

 

[KeithTalent]

Where did you see the NDA has been lifted?

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Where did you see the NDA has been lifted?

like, their homepage?

http://lotro.turbine.com/


sheesh

 

[Reckoner]

I pre-ordered anyways, just because the perks for pre-ordering are so good.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Shivetya

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Where did you see the NDA has been lifted?

like, their homepage?

http://lotro.turbine.com/


sheesh

Wow, sorry for asking.:roll: I'm at work and can't check a lot of sites, but thanks for the info.

Anyway, I plan on pre-ordering this week. Great perks and I love the game overall. The graphics look really nice (way better than WOW from what I have seen) and I just lke how everything works.

I am on my third (and favourite) character right now, a dwarf minstrel, but I guess I will have to restart him once the open beta begins; does anyone remember when that is? I can't remember and I can't look at the site right now.

Cheers,
KT

 

[hans030390]

I don't necessarily mind having to enter buildings like you do in the game, only because I'm used to that in most games.

I don't really expect the NPCs to be much fun either.

Overall I've enjoyed playing it, but I'm not sure if I want to buy it or not. For $10 a month, that's a good deal for pre-ordering, but not if they don't get the bugs worked out. It's a buggy game...

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: hans030390
I don't necessarily mind having to enter buildings like you do in the game, only because I'm used to that in most games.

I don't really expect the NPCs to be much fun either.

Overall I've enjoyed playing it, but I'm not sure if I want to buy it or not. For $10 a month, that's a good deal for pre-ordering, but not if they don't get the bugs worked out. It's a buggy game...

I have not really found it to be that buggy, though I have never gone past a 14th level character, so maybe once you get farther things are buggier.

The only real bug I encountered was one quest guy being stuck in the wall so you could not talk to him. Other than that I found it to be relatively bug & pain free.

 

[alm4rr]

was too choppy on my older machine so i uninstalled after 15 mins...
was meh
im not much for mmporgs

 

[Reckoner]

I've heard combat in this game is too easy, and dull monsters to grind xp against. Any comments on this?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I've heard combat in this game is too easy, and dull monsters to grind xp against. Any comments on this?

I have very little experience with MMOs in general, so take what I say with that in mind.

However, I found there was a lot of xp to be gotten from all of the little quests and side quests without having to spend too much time killing boars or whatever, plus there are a lot of different areas to run around and kill things so you don't have to keep murdering the same wolf/boar/bear over and over.

Combat is pretty easy, but I found it was the quests themselves that were fun (not so much the killing things part) and I did die a few times in the beginning trying to get the hang of things so it can't be that easy.

 

[jdport]

It's true that the game is very easy, but no moreso than WoW. I personally find the game to be a lot of fun. The gameplay itself is nearly identical to WoW... and the things that are different are fairly small. The storyline though is far better than WoW... there are fewer races and classes of course but the ones they have fit the world well, fit the storyline of course, and you don't have half of the playerbase that you aren't allowed to interact with, which is something i always hated about WoW. Ideally if I had all the time in the world to play, I'd prefer the game to be a lot more challenging... but my playtime is pretty limited and I just want to be able to log in for a couple of hours with a friend of mine and play for a bit.... and this game is perfect for that. I also haven't found the game to be terribly buggy, but the lag in town and cities is really terrible at times. One thing I liked about WoW was the quest driven nature of it... and LOTRO works the same way. There is prehaps even more emphasis on questing than mindless grinding because the xp that you get from killing is really pittiful compared to the xp you get for completing a quest. I really like how they have an "epic" quest line that takes you through the major storyline of the game, that is separate from all of the other quests that you can choose to do along the way..

All in all, it's well worth the pre-order considering the reduced monthly fee, or if you have the money to pay upfront $200 for a lifetime membership is a pretty good deal.... if I wasn't so broke that's the way I'd go.

 

[Reckoner]

Sounds good guys. I can't wait to give it a try in March

 

[Hadsus]

Vanguard is a good contrast. If you want a real challenging grind where you'll need to be grouping most of the time, go Vanguard. I'm beginning to think that despite the earlier appeal it had for me, I've become a lazy MMORPGer and probably won't stick with it long. LOTR is more casual and you can definitely solo easier. I've rolled up a Minstrel, Burgler, and Champion and have enjoyed each but maybe the Minstrel most. I know graphics are very subjective but IMO there has not been a more appealing game graphically than LOTR. It's got the catchy colors of WoW but it doesn't look as cartoony. And the environments are immersive....I especially thought the Shire/Hobbiton was done pretty cool.

 

[Oakenfold]

I'm lazy and haven't read the lotr site so forgive me for asking but is there PVP?

I stopped being lazy...
See below fellow pvp'ers.

Is there PvP in LOTRO?

While there is some (but very little) precedent for PvP in the lore, it doesn't fit into Tolkien's world in the usual way that PvP fits into MMORPG's. In light of this, the design team is looking at PvP alternatives that will satisfy those who enjoy competitive play, while preventing scenarios such as Elves "ganking" Hobbits in the Shire.

 

[Feneant2]

200$ for a lifetime membership? That might be good but with Turbines track record following Asheron's Call 1, that amounts to around 11$ a month before the game goes under.

Sorry, I did not mean to flame but Turbine has a bad record when it comes to games. Asheron's Call 2 lasted maybe 1.5 years and Mythica never even got to open beta. If it wasn't them I might look into this game but I made a promise to kill myself if I ever bought another Turbine MMOG because unfortunately, even though the game might look great, their development teams will cripple it within 6 months and let it bleed to death.

Edited to add : Before anyone yells WoW fanboy, I don't play that game. *Whew* crisis averted.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: hans030390
I don't necessarily mind having to enter buildings like you do in the game, only because I'm used to that in most games.

I don't really expect the NPCs to be much fun either.

Overall I've enjoyed playing it, but I'm not sure if I want to buy it or not. For $10 a month, that's a good deal for pre-ordering, but not if they don't get the bugs worked out. It's a buggy game...

I have not really found it to be that buggy, though I have never gone past a 14th level character, so maybe once you get farther things are buggier.

The only real bug I encountered was one quest guy being stuck in the wall so you could not talk to him. Other than that I found it to be relatively bug & pain free.

Really? I've had all sorts of weird bugs and I'm only level 8. I mean, it's not like BIG things, but it's annoying.

As far as the game being easy, it starts off really easy, but it can be challenging at times. The combat doesn't feel as fun or solid as Guild War's combat, but it works fine.

I also like how the game is quest driven...way better than grinding to level up.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: hans030390

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: hans030390
I don't necessarily mind having to enter buildings like you do in the game, only because I'm used to that in most games.

I don't really expect the NPCs to be much fun either.

Overall I've enjoyed playing it, but I'm not sure if I want to buy it or not. For $10 a month, that's a good deal for pre-ordering, but not if they don't get the bugs worked out. It's a buggy game...

I have not really found it to be that buggy, though I have never gone past a 14th level character, so maybe once you get farther things are buggier.

The only real bug I encountered was one quest guy being stuck in the wall so you could not talk to him. Other than that I found it to be relatively bug & pain free.

Really? I've had all sorts of weird bugs and I'm only level 8. I mean, it's not like BIG things, but it's annoying.

As far as the game being easy, it starts off really easy, but it can be challenging at times. The combat doesn't feel as fun or solid as Guild War's combat, but it works fine.

I also like how the game is quest driven...way better than grinding to level up.

The bolded part of your statement is the reason why I like this game so much. In addition I actually find the quests fun, entertaining, and even pretty challenging (some more than others of course).

As far as the bugs go, I did not encounter anything that would make me not play the game, unlike BF2142 which was so buggy for me as to be unplayable.

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

The bolded part of your statement is the reason why I like this game so much. In addition I actually find the quests fun, entertaining, and even pretty challenging (some more than others of course).

As far as the bugs go, I did not encounter anything that would make me not play the game, unlike BF2142 which was so buggy for me as to be unplayable.

The problem with questing in LOTR is that many times quests are huge long chains which makes picking up friends to go along more difficult as they may be elsewhere in the chain.

plus the real grind is in traits...

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Shivetya

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

The bolded part of your statement is the reason why I like this game so much. In addition I actually find the quests fun, entertaining, and even pretty challenging (some more than others of course).

As far as the bugs go, I did not encounter anything that would make me not play the game, unlike BF2142 which was so buggy for me as to be unplayable.

The problem with questing in LOTR is that many times quests are huge long chains which makes picking up friends to go along more difficult as they may be elsewhere in the chain.

plus the real grind is in traits...

I never really had that problem. Most of the times when I actually felt I needed help on a larger quest I would just say 'LFF for whatever quest' and someone would usually join me.

Even in the long chain quests, there are ususally only certain parts that you actually need help, plus when I play with my friends I don't mind following them around while they finish off a part of the quest to catch up with me, and they do the same for me in return.

Not too sure about the traits, I have always been lacking in that area

 

[Feldenak]

I've enjoyed it so far and if my old DAoC guild signs on with LOTRO then I may pick up it up. It's been a long time since I quit DAoC and I could see LOTRO pulling me back into mmorpgs. The quests have really drawn me in.

 

[Tegeril]

I'm probably going to pre-order it just to lock in the low price. I agree that traits are the real grind, but I think that's a far more interesting way of placing something far out and hard to obtain as a challenge. I've got a 19 Hunter and I've died a fair few times at this point in hard areas and there is definitely challenging gameplay but it's also possible to just login and bang out a quest or two solo.

 

[KeithTalent]

Hey has anyone tried monster play yet? I was thinking about giving it a try, but I have limited time to play to play each week, so don't want to waste my short amount of time if it is no fun.

 

[Feldenak]

I haven't tried monster play yet because I've been having a good time just exploring the world.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Feldenak
I haven't tried monster play yet because I've been having a good time just exploring the world.

Same here, I am actually surprised at how much fun I have playing this game. I have not found it to be a grind or boring at any point (so far anyway).

Even when I did not have enough cash to rent a horse and had to take a verrrry long walk back to Thorin's Hall, I just enjoyed the journey and looking at all the scenery.

 

[ITPaladin]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Feldenak
I haven't tried monster play yet because I've been having a good time just exploring the world.

Same here, I am actually surprised at how much fun I have playing this game. I have not found it to be a grind or boring at any point (so far anyway).

Even when I did not have enough cash to rent a horse and had to take a verrrry long walk back to Thorin's Hall, I just enjoyed the journey and looking at all the scenery.

I'm sure after a while that will fade though so it has to rely on gameplay.