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The Road to Mordor: 10 things to do in the Shire before you die

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, Humor, The Road to Mordor, Guides

A couple of weeks ago I decided to embark on a long-planned project to play through the entirety of Lord of the Rings Online -- or at least a whole heck of a lot more than I ever have previously. My thought was that in the rush to level and progress, I had been skipping much of the content that makes LotRO so unique, and I wanted to force myself to slow down, take it all in, and get over the desire to hit endgame as quickly as possible.

Thus, I created Slyppi, a brand-new level 1 Hobbit Burglar with the intention of experiencing the game in full. My rules with Slyppi are thus: She will clear out every solo quest in a zone (including the epic storyline but excluding tasks) before moving elsewhere. She will go through all three newbie zones and ignore the fact that the quests aren't giving her much XP. She will take detailed notes, package them up, and send them back to me for the purposes of turning them into a guide to the interesting out-of-the-way quests and places in Middle-earth.

If you're anything like me, you probably die a lot, usually in very embarrassing ways (hey, that cliff wasn't there a minute ago...). Since we all have a death warrant on our heads, we might as well get the most out of our journeys, which is why I've come up with 10 things that you should do in the Shire before the inevitable occurs. Why 10? Because it's two in computer-speak!

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The Road to Mordor: 10 things to do in the Shire before you die originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Frolicking in Forochel

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, The Road to Mordor

Call me weird, but I am an absolute sucker for winter zones in MMORPGs. For me, the season of winter always evokes a lot of powerful feelings as the landscape is transformed, homes are a sanctuaries for warmth, and hardiness becomes a desirable trait. A zone filled with ice and snow screams to me desolation and death -- more so than a fire or volcano one -- but in a beautiful way.

It's no wonder, then, that I've become entranced with Forochel in Lord of the Rings Online.

Added to the game in April of 2008, Forochel became a bit of an anomaly in the LotRO experience. It was a (then) max-level area that was off the beaten path, created to cater to solo players seeking adventure. In fact, if the epic story hadn't taken us to Forochel in Volume 1 Book 13, I doubt many players would have sought it out on their own. It's a shame if that's the case, because Forochel offers both breathtaking vistas and a unique questing experience that should be encountered at least once in your LotRO career.

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The Road to Mordor: Frolicking in Forochel originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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April Fools' Day 09: Running afowl in LotRO

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Quests, Humor

What could possibly top the Battle of Amon Hen "content upgrade" from last year's April Fools' Day in Lord of the Rings Online? How about another chicken-themed prank for this year? That's right, for today's festivities, players get the chance to participate in more Chicken Play activities with a small quest line entitled "The Fox in the Hen House".

The quest will start with a piece of mail you'll receive from a concerned farmer. You will then speak to a Town Crier to assume the role of a chicken and run yourself from Gramsfoot to Glan Vraig in the Ettenmoors. Once you've completed this task, you'll earn the esteemed title of "Fool". That's not all though. The day is sure to be filled with various other tricks, so be aware!

[UPDATE: Seems they've closed the quest, according to lotro.com: Due to the load on our servers caused by the April Fool's chicken session play, we are disabling the quest. Please note if you receive a mail, you cannot turn it in with the quest disabled. We hope you had fun while it was open, and we're sorry the quest bawked!]

April Fools' Day 09: Running afowl in LotRO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A LotRO chicken's adventure in Forochel

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Exploits, Forums, Game mechanics, Roleplaying

What's so great about a chicken running around the snowy lands of Forochel? Well, if you're even a moderate Lord of the Rings Online player, you're aware of what Chicken Play is, and how advanced the Forochel area is. Put the two together and you'll realize that running a chicken with 64 Morale all the way from The Shire to the icy Suri Kyla while keeping all your nuggets intact is quite an amazing feat.

Not only that, but the player who did this realized that the instant icy death that happens to players when they enter the water around Forochel doesn't affect you while in Chicken Play, so they were able to explore some areas that perhaps have never been seen before. Check out the entire recap in the LotRO forums, complete with loads of screenshots to document this accomplishment.

A LotRO chicken's adventure in Forochel originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO, A Look Back: Books 10 & 11

Lindsey Phillips — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Player Housing

On August 21, 2007, Book 10: The City of Kings was released and opened up the city of Ann ú minas was for players to experience. Unfortunately, the city had been invaded by the forces of Angmar, and players had to fight to keep certain points of the city friendly to them. If they failed, the entire area will fall under the Witch-king's control.

Hunters and Captains both received class reviews, and a new mechanic was introduced called Critter Play. Different than PvMP, Critter Play allowed players to take on new forms in a PvE setting. The first form introduced was that of a chicken. Not to be outdone, Trolls, and Rangers were introduced into PvMP as well as a very large polish pass on PvMP as a whole.

Other new features brought to the game were factions with the major races (with rewards for increasing said faction) and the bartering system which allowed players to turn in certain monster drops for armor rewards. And of course, no Book is complete without a raft of new quests introduced for high level players to grind through.

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LotRO, A Look Back: Books 10 & 11 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Bwak!

Elizabeth Harper — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, One Shots

When Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine announced their new "session play" feature which would allow players to play as a character other than their normal character. Said Turbine, "You could play as a Ranger, a Troll, or... a chicken. It's an opportunity to explore Middle-earth from a different -- and sometimes unexpected -- viewpoint." Though many players thought this to be some sort of belated April Fools' joke, Turbine actually did introduce chicken play into the game with Book 9. And in this shot we join reader Julien exploring the dangerous world of the Shire in chicken form. All we can say is: bwak?

Do you have any screenshots in your collection that show off your favorite game from an unexpected point of view? One Shots wants to see them all, especially the ones highlighting your chickeny adventures! We only post what you send us -- so send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it featured here tomorrow, same time, same place.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Bwak! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Book 12 details revealed in new LotRO dev chat

Dan O'Halloran — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:32:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Interviews, Patches, Player Housing

The German Lord of the Rings Online fansite LotRO-Welten held its regular end of the month chat with LotRO devs, community managers and players. Today they posted the transcripts and, boy howdy, it's a treasure trove of Book 12 goodness.

The Burglar and Guardian revamp revelations weren't too extensive as the class dev didn't make it to the chat. But Burglars were promised a stealth that can be extended to a group member and a set of skills that can be used after a successful Fellowship Maneuver.

Though two classes get the spotlight for revamps, all classes are going to get small adjustments. Devs hinted that the recently revamped Hunter class make get a few of their skills improved and Champions will get some love as well, but nothing specific was mentioned.

Continue reading Book 12 details revealed in new LotRO dev chat

Book 12 details revealed in new LotRO dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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