Lord of the Rings Online - Now FREE

[Vindekarr]

The engame is pretty sweet but you'll need $30 worth of DLC to get it and a LOT of patience.

 

Immature people bow out of this game pretty quickly-it's not terribly hardcore, but it requires the patience of experience, if you dont mind working for a week for a sizeable power boost, you'll be fine. If you're the sort of moron who says things like "I TRIED FOR TWO F***ING MINUTES BUT THE S****Y GAME STILL SAYS I NEED TO KILL MORE TROLLS!!! I SHOULDNT HAVE TO WORK FOR THIS THIS GAME SUCKS!!!" then you'll be better off playing something more your calibre, like hello kitty world, or crash bandicoot.

 

It's got a system in it called Deeds. These are reqards given out for achievments. Every time you do an in game achievment that character gets a token they can use for a stat boost, diferent tokens give diferent boosts and some are wholely useless, but it's a nice system. Things like Honour and Valour tokens however are incredibly useful-get all ten and it's a gigantic stat boost for virtualy anyone, but they take huge patience to earn them all.

 

The endgame is fun enouh, lots of raids. This game is at heart focused around you making a single, really strong character, rather than a bunch of level cappies. You'll probably only ever get one toon to the level cap AND get all the required Deeds and the top tier raid gear. The raid gear itself looks pretty and is shown off early, but you only get tier one in the vanilla game, and while that's better than the #1 shop bought, it's still very lackluster compared to the gear earned through DLC raids.

 

It's got some real fun to look forward to starting with about level 20 when nyou begin to do group stuff, but the early lvels and 45-55 will burn you out. 65+ is the real fun, but it's DLC access only.

 

You WILL get "go kill 20" quests every now and then, but they're dispersed through with some really epic fun. Group stuff here is mandatory and since so few trollers exist, you wont struggle to find a group. The results are good fun, I'm yet to find a "bad" guild and you dont have to worry about trolls, flamers, or spammers-though you do get the occasional heated argument.

 

It's also a good game if you hate bikini clad women-female avatars here are erring on the side of busty, but there isnt a single bikini armour in the game, most of it is actualy just the male variant configured to their shape.

[Chaosblade02]

The engame is pretty sweet but you'll need $30 worth of DLC to get it and a LOT of patience.

 

Immature people bow out of this game pretty quickly-it's not terribly hardcore, but it requires the patience of experience, if you dont mind working for a week for a sizeable power boost, you'll be fine. If you're the sort of moron who says things like "I TRIED FOR TWO F***ING MINUTES BUT THE S****Y GAME STILL SAYS I NEED TO KILL MORE TROLLS!!! I SHOULDNT HAVE TO WORK FOR THIS THIS GAME SUCKS!!!" then you'll be better off playing something more your calibre, like hello kitty world, or crash bandicoot.

 

This is the textbook remark I hear directed at anyone who doesn't like grinding and putting a lot of work in games. They get told to go play hello kitty island or whatever, I dunno who originally coined that phrase, but they deserve a spot on the troll hall of fame, the difference with me is I just quit and don't whine about it. Its not just immature people, these games are created to be where you pretty much love them or hate them. And honestly, I hate games like this, too much of a chore, and I play to have fun only. DAO wasn't a chore, neither was Oblivion, or FA3.

 

Unless you are a big MMO fan, I wouldn't bother with this game people, it would be a waste of bandwidth to download. And they are trying to pull you in hook line and sinker to get you paying. Think about that, this game really isn't free.

[JimboUK]

I don't think anyone is fool enough to go into this not knowing they will do all they can to part you from your money, I wish them the best of luck, I've been around too long to fall for that. Anyway so far it's not been too bad, there's been some variation in the tasks, there's only been a couple of "go here, kill these" type quests. I don't know if I'll stick with it, if as Vindekarr says there's a lot grinding then that's not for me.

[Vindekarr]

The engame is pretty sweet but you'll need $30 worth of DLC to get it and a LOT of patience.

 

Immature people bow out of this game pretty quickly-it's not terribly hardcore, but it requires the patience of experience, if you dont mind working for a week for a sizeable power boost, you'll be fine. If you're the sort of moron who says things like "I TRIED FOR TWO F***ING MINUTES BUT THE S****Y GAME STILL SAYS I NEED TO KILL MORE TROLLS!!! I SHOULDNT HAVE TO WORK FOR THIS THIS GAME SUCKS!!!" then you'll be better off playing something more your calibre, like hello kitty world, or crash bandicoot.

 

This is the textbook remark I hear directed at anyone who doesn't like grinding and putting a lot of work in games. They get told to go play hello kitty island or whatever, I dunno who originally coined that phrase, but they deserve a spot on the troll hall of fame, the difference with me is I just quit and don't whine about it. Its not just immature people, these games are created to be where you pretty much love them or hate them. And honestly, I hate games like this, too much of a chore, and I play to have fun only. DAO wasn't a chore, neither was Oblivion, or FA3.

 

Unless you are a big MMO fan, I wouldn't bother with this game people, it would be a waste of bandwidth to download. And they are trying to pull you in hook line and sinker to get you paying. Think about that, this game really isn't free.

 

And to answer you Jim, it's not grindy until the very end. You'll always have quests to do unless you go very, very very hardcore for Deeds, but those are intended as group content anyway.

 

You embarris yourself Chaosblade.

 

Accusing me of being a troll is one thing, spouting ignorant remarks such as this is quite another.

 

Before you post again Chaosblade let me give you some very important advice: make sure you know what you are talking about, because to be blunt, in this case you really dont.

 

It is foolish to compare an MMO to a plug n play RPG game such as those you seem to enjoy. The main diference is that in a an MMO, you dont always get your hand held. This game will make you work. And work hard. But that's how life is, your mother isnt going to feed you forever, so get used to actualy having to work-it's how real life works.

 

You have to work especialy hard in LOTRO because the items you find are absolute rubbish, you've got to make things to go anywhere and that usualy also means buying before selling. Now, I understand that for many... younger players that's not fun. Food does not arrive on your plate by magic child, it's grown, killed, processed and then sold in a store, someone buys it, cooks it, you eat it. Likewise you've got to actualy work in LOTRO if you want to live.

 

But the thing that it's players like the most and children like the least is that you cant just win by having good gear. So now Im going to give you a quote from a agem more your type: Sure it matters who's got the biogger stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it.

 

If you dont have an A grade character, you're stuffed. Recustomisation is very limited. If you dont actualy work to rank up your Deeds then you're a corpse, You cant win without a proper character, gear be damned, Ofcourse a sharp sword is an advantage, but it's not a huge advantage. Having average gear is all you need if you have a badass character.

 

This game is worth a try, regardless of what you think. And do me a favour, if you're going to make an argument against playing a game, actualy play it yourself first, otherwise you'll only embarris yourself and anger me.

[evilneko]

ChaosBlade is absolutely, completely right though. There's not an MMO alive that's not grind-tastic. No one's complaining about a lack of "hand-holding" here, just pointing out an intrinsic fact of MMO gaming.

[Vindekarr]

Well said-and sad but true. Nonetheless this atleast tries to bury the grinding under a sea of genuine multiplayer content.

 

If you're doing the soul destroying solo grind that ruins so many mmos, you're just playing it wrong. The game is designed around a squad system, every kill while in a squad goes for everyone, so you can fan out in pairs and slaughter a whole zone quickly instead of endlessly collecting boar teeth, It's a small thing, but it makes a diference I assure you. Even a small attempt at improvment beats nothing when you've got the level 65 deeds to do: kill 40 boss strength Wyverns and not die.,= (yes, that's one of em, and a real doozy too)

[LHammonds]

The point is that anyone wanting to try out an MMO game for free can do it with this game. The only thing it will cost is bandwidth, hard drive storage and your time. If you like it, great, if not, then you learned something about MMO's without losing any cash.

 

I however, cannot really play online anymore. There are too many young children in my household that require constant attention and online games don't have pause buttons (really bad when you have a team depending on you). The last game I played online with teams was the Battlefield 1942 series (** thinks back....ah...those were the days...no children...no worries...plenty of time to do whatever and whenever)

 

LHammonds

[Chaosblade02]

The engame is pretty sweet but you'll need $30 worth of DLC to get it and a LOT of patience.

 

Immature people bow out of this game pretty quickly-it's not terribly hardcore, but it requires the patience of experience, if you dont mind working for a week for a sizeable power boost, you'll be fine. If you're the sort of moron who says things like "I TRIED FOR TWO F***ING MINUTES BUT THE S****Y GAME STILL SAYS I NEED TO KILL MORE TROLLS!!! I SHOULDNT HAVE TO WORK FOR THIS THIS GAME SUCKS!!!" then you'll be better off playing something more your calibre, like hello kitty world, or crash bandicoot.

 

This is the textbook remark I hear directed at anyone who doesn't like grinding and putting a lot of work in games. They get told to go play hello kitty island or whatever, I dunno who originally coined that phrase, but they deserve a spot on the troll hall of fame, the difference with me is I just quit and don't whine about it. Its not just immature people, these games are created to be where you pretty much love them or hate them. And honestly, I hate games like this, too much of a chore, and I play to have fun only. DAO wasn't a chore, neither was Oblivion, or FA3.

 

Unless you are a big MMO fan, I wouldn't bother with this game people, it would be a waste of bandwidth to download. And they are trying to pull you in hook line and sinker to get you paying. Think about that, this game really isn't free.

 

And to answer you Jim, it's not grindy until the very end. You'll always have quests to do unless you go very, very very hardcore for Deeds, but those are intended as group content anyway.

 

You embarris yourself Chaosblade.

 

Accusing me of being a troll is one thing, spouting ignorant remarks such as this is quite another.

 

Before you post again Chaosblade let me give you some very important advice: make sure you know what you are talking about, because to be blunt, in this case you really dont.

 

It is foolish to compare an MMO to a plug n play RPG game such as those you seem to enjoy. The main diference is that in a an MMO, you dont always get your hand held. This game will make you work. And work hard. But that's how life is, your mother isnt going to feed you forever, so get used to actualy having to work-it's how real life works.

 

You have to work especialy hard in LOTRO because the items you find are absolute rubbish, you've got to make things to go anywhere and that usualy also means buying before selling. Now, I understand that for many... younger players that's not fun. Food does not arrive on your plate by magic child, it's grown, killed, processed and then sold in a store, someone buys it, cooks it, you eat it. Likewise you've got to actualy work in LOTRO if you want to live.

 

But the thing that it's players like the most and children like the least is that you cant just win by having good gear. So now Im going to give you a quote from a agem more your type: Sure it matters who's got the biogger stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it.

 

If you dont have an A grade character, you're stuffed. Recustomisation is very limited. If you dont actualy work to rank up your Deeds then you're a corpse, You cant win without a proper character, gear be damned, Ofcourse a sharp sword is an advantage, but it's not a huge advantage. Having average gear is all you need if you have a badass character.

 

This game is worth a try, regardless of what you think. And do me a favour, if you're going to make an argument against playing a game, actualy play it yourself first, otherwise you'll only embarris yourself and anger me.

 

You don't understand that most people don't like putting work into video games, I don't have the time in my life to dump that much time into one video game, most younger people like teenagers do. I work hard enough in real life, that is where you get something for working hard, not wasting it on a video game. I play them for recreation only, that is the difference between me and you. And if you get upset over a simple opinion about a video game, then you are the one that is looking like a child here, I am just stating my opinion, and your comment about telling people to go play hello kitty whatever if they don't like MMOs was an obvious troll remark. And just look at all those typos, you are the one that should be embarrassed. You can't even use proper English to get your point across.

 

Bottom line is, I find ANY game that makes me feel like I am doing a chore makes it either no fun or less fun. Some people call it replay value, I call it "no thanks". There used to be no grind in old school games, before the MMO era. It was just solid game play that kept you interested without making you do repetitive tasks.

[Vindekarr]

Incase you missed it, the point of this debate is this particular MMORPG, not your personal likes or dislikes.

 

I dont especialy care what you think Chaos, all you are doing is trying to anger me and steer this thread off topic...

 

Right, back to the business at hand: I had a look through this myself tonight. If you want to try and MMO, you really cant get much better an offer than this. It's free, but even better, it fully represents the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. If you want to see what it's like, start here.

 

The gameplay is really pretty good, some of the moves are a bit bland, especaly on the DLC class, the Warden, but that problem ends when you un equip your spear in favour of a sword, then it's awesome, and abnormaly cool. The group stuff is good too, the first major group event is Great Barrows at level 20 ish, and you'll have a lot of fun with that. The good thing is though, you'll have no problem getting a group, this isnt a game to play alone. If you've got MMO playing buddies, bring them in. There is mou8ntains of solo content, but friends make it a ton better and a ton easier when you're doing Deed runs.

 

The aesethtic is a little limited-you do get quite OK visual customisation, but the gear itself below level 30 looks horrible, especialy the human gear, which looks like cast off from Mass Effect, tights, tights, and more tights. Once you start to get into the higher tiers however it really starts to look nice, the level of detail is nice too, but it's a bit demanding compared to other MMOs on your PC.

 

IF you want to start playing MMO games, start here, nuff said.