Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: An Update 6 play date with Turbine]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/10/the-road-to-mordor-an-update-6-play-date-with-turbine/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/10/the-road-to-mordor-an-update-6-play-date-with-turbine/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/10/the-road-to-mordor-an-update-6-play-date-with-turbine/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

LotRO
This past week, Turbine called my parents and asked if I could come over to play Lord of the Rings Online. "Sure he can," my mother replied. "As long as he wears his galoshes. What? It's wet outside!"

And thus I ended up hanging out with the Turbine crew -- Aaron Campbell, Jared Pruett, and Jeff Libby -- as they walked me through Update 6 with the optional developer commentary mode set to "on." I highly recommend you rent a developer for the same experience, as it helps to have someone giving you a Cliff's Notes version of the game's complicated lore.

Pruett first caught me up on the major PvMP changes of this coming Monday's update. The team wanted to increase rewards and turn progression into a seasonal mechanic to keep players coming to the Ettenmoors. As such, PvMP now has a universal currency -- that's account-wide, by the way -- that will allow players to purchase top-end gear. The team also tweaked down what the devs saw as a DPS race in order to give players time to deliberate and make strategic choices during fights.

Beyond PvMP, the devs marched me right into the next epic storyline book that whisked us away to a strange new land: The Great River. What did I find waiting for me there?

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: An Update 6 play date with Turbine

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: An Update 6 play date with Turbine originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aaron-campbellanduinbarter-walletentsf2pfantasyfeaturedfellowshipfree-to-playgondorjared-pruettjeff-libbylandrovallandscape-soldierslord-of-the-ringslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotroopinionpatchplay-dateriders-of-rohanroad-to-mordorrohanrohirrimshadows-of-angmarsoldiers-on-landscapestangardthe-great-riverthe-road-to-mordorturbineturbine-entertainmentupdateupdate-6Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/the-road-to-mordor-a-look-back-at-volume-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/the-road-to-mordor-a-look-back-at-volume-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/the-road-to-mordor-a-look-back-at-volume-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Last year, I spent a column giving my reflections, thoughts, and observations on the entirety of Volume 1 of Lord of the Rings Online's epic storyline, and today I'd like to do the same for Volume 2. Since these stories are at the center of LotRO's player experience, it's important to see how they function and hold up in today's increasingly story-centric MMO environment.

I've gone through Volume 2 twice, once before the "solofication" of the recent update and once after. The second journey was, by far, much more enjoyable since I didn't have to sit there for weeks hoping to find enough players on the same part of the Fellowship portions to continue the tale. Being able to go through it at my own pace was vastly more enjoyable, especially when I could dedicate huge chunks of time to knock out several chapters in one go.

And this is a good thing, as this volume of the epic story not only gives you one of your legendary traits but greatly helps you build reputation toward a faction that will give you another one (the Iron Garrison Guards). As such, Volume 2 will continue to be an important part of any character's journey.

So let's dig into this puppy (not... a literal puppy, you understand) and see what Volume 2 has to offer. If you haven't yet gone through this part of the epic story, beware: Here be spoilers!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 2

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 May 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>balrogdwarfdwarveselfelvesepic-storyfeaturedfellowshipfellowship-of-the-ringflashbackflashbacksfrodogandalfiron-garrison-guardslegendary-itemslegendary-traitslord-of-the-rings-onlinelothlorienlotromazgogmines-of-moriamirkwoodsauronsiege-of-mirkwoodskirmishskirmishessoloficationspoilersturbineturbine-entertainmentvolume-1volume-2volume-ivolume-iiwatcherwatcher-in-the-waterFri, 06 May 2011 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Re-evaluating Moria]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/the-road-to-mordor-re-evaluating-moria/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/the-road-to-mordor-re-evaluating-moria/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/the-road-to-mordor-re-evaluating-moria/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

When I first left Lord of the Rings Online, it was early in 2008 and we were constrained to Eriador and Eriador alone. Angmar was the most dangerous spot on the map, level 50 was the cap, and getting your legendary traits was an almost inhuman feat. When I returned in 2010, I discovered I had missed out on the release of not one but two expansions and a huge amount of new content in the world. As a previous player, I felt as though everything I had known was completely different, and there was nothing as unknown or intriguing as the Mines of Moria.

Expansions have a funny way of making or breaking MMOs, you see. They can exemplify some of the best qualities of the genre: they represent the persistent growing world; they give our characters new challenges to overcome; and they can introduce new features that significantly change how the game is played. Of course, they can damage the game's reputation by creating a worse endgame than before, by screwing up the good aspects of the game, or simply by being unpopular.

So how does Mines of Moria fare two-plus years after its release? Today, I want to take a look back at what will probably be the single largest expansion that LotRO will ever see and examine how its purpose has changed from 2008 to 2011. Also, we'll probably make fun of Dwarves.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Re-evaluating Moria

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Re-evaluating Moria originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angmarbattle-instancesDwarrowdelfdwarvesechoes-of-the-deadenedwaitheregioneriadorfeaturedfellowshipfellowship-of-the-ringfrodoKhazad-dûmlord-of-the-rings-onlinelothlorienlotromines-of-moriarivendellshadows-of-angmarsiege-of-mirkwoodskirmishessoloficationthe-road-to-mordorturbineturbine-entertainmenttwenty-first-hallvolume-iiFri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Finding the Fellowship]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/01/the-road-to-mordor-finding-the-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/01/the-road-to-mordor-finding-the-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/01/the-road-to-mordor-finding-the-fellowship/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's not uncommon for new players to come to Lord of the Rings Online with the full expectation that they'll be treated to a front-row seat of the Fellowship's adventures. The movies, the books and even other Lord of the Rings video games certainly feature Aragorn, Legolas and Gandalf practically non-stop, which is why LotRO's approach to showing these famous characters takes some getting used to.

Instead of bending the lore so hard it breaks by shoehorning players into the Fellowship itself, Turbine decided to have the players go on their own epic quests that sometimes parallel the main story of the books. In effect, we the players are on the periphery of the Fellowship, and the Fellowship is on the periphery of us. Sometimes we cross paths, sometimes our actions influence each other, and sometimes we simply go our separate ways.

Still, players may get frustrated when they spend a lot of time in the game without seeing any of these major characters, wondering whether some of them even exist at all. This is complicated by the fact that these characters appear in different places relative to the player's own journey through the story.

So if you've ever been curious where your favorite character is and how you can go on adventures with him or her, hit the jump and I'll hook you up!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Finding the Fellowship

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Finding the Fellowship originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aragornbilboboromircharactersfeaturedfellowshipfellowship-of-the-ringfrodogandalfgimligollumiconic-characterslegolaslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromeredocmerrypippinsamsamwisestriderturbineturbine-entertainmentFri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: How did you find your guild?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/the-daily-grind-how-did-you-find-your-guild/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/the-daily-grind-how-did-you-find-your-guild/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/07/the-daily-grind-how-did-you-find-your-guild/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Guilds, fellowships, corporations, group of rum-soaked adventurers; whatever your core gaming group decides to call itself, many of us have people that we tend to play with in our different MMOs. For example, I joined an EVE Online Corp last night that an old RL friend of mine is a director in. In my last game, a few friends started a loose group, we merged into a guild of like-minded folks we met in game which split, so then we reformed again. Before that I was in supergroups based on themes (TaxiBots, for example) with a small core group of MMO and RL friends in another, primary group. And so on, and so on, and so on. Most of the team here has had wide experiences from blind invites to guilds they'd never heard of, to joining up with other bloggers, to getting local RL friends to game with them.

This morning we thought it would be fun to ask where you picked up your core group of people you play with? Did you happen to meet them in game? Was it several games ago and you've been together ever since? Did you meet via blogs? IRC? A particular website or forum? Or were they meatspace friends first, then you started running around in MMOs together?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: How did you find your guild? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>corpeve-onlinefellowshipfriendsguildmeeting-peoplesupergrouptdgthe-daily-grindTue, 07 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LotRO Dev Diary: Moving the Fellowship]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/lotro-dev-diary-moving-the-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/lotro-dev-diary-moving-the-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/17/lotro-dev-diary-moving-the-fellowship/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


As we reported last week from our Lord of the Rings Online Book 14 tour, the time has arrived for the Fellowship to finally leave Rivendell. For the players who enjoy the game's connection to Tolkien's work, this is truly an exciting time. For the game developers, it's a fairly unique challenge.

In a recent dev diary entitled Moving the Fellowship, Jeff "MadeOfLions" Libby discusses the problems faced by the development team in regards to this challenge, and how they solved them. For example, throughout the game as it stands today, the nine Fellowship members are not all together waiting for their big move. Some are in various locations throughout Rivendell, while Gimli is in the Misty Mountains. Each member is simultaneously involved in dozens of quests throughout the game, which poses its own set of challenges. Check out the complete dev diary to find out how they overcame these obstacles, and how they will continue to implement these ideas in the future of the game.

MassivelyLotRO Dev Diary: Moving the Fellowship originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dev-diaryfellowshipjeff-libbylord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-book-14Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New LotRO Book 13 developer diary video is released]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/new-lotro-book-13-developer-diary-video-is-released/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/new-lotro-book-13-developer-diary-video-is-released/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/18/new-lotro-book-13-developer-diary-video-is-released/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


If you feel you've missed out on some of the features from the recently-released Book 13: Doom of the Last-king for Lord of the Rings Online, where the heck have you been? Well, not to fret because we have a new developer diary in video form starring LotRO's Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel. In it, he talks about their fifth major update since launch, and some of the new features that have been introduced.

The details of their newest region is discussed a bit, including the new environmental effects and creatures you'll encounter there. Plus, now you'll know the proper way to pronounce Forochel without embarrassing yourself on voice chat! Fishing is also discussed, as is the new fellowship enhancements to the quest log and the mustering horn which is used to summon group members quickly. Be sure to check out this new video below for all the exciting information.

Continue reading New LotRO Book 13 developer diary video is released

MassivelyNew LotRO Book 13 developer diary video is released originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developer-diaryfellowshipfishingforocheljeffrey-steefellotrolotro-book-13mustering-hornvideoWed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Fellowships versus soloing in LotRO epic storylines]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/09/fellowships-versus-soloing-in-lotro-epic-storylines/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/09/fellowships-versus-soloing-in-lotro-epic-storylines/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/09/fellowships-versus-soloing-in-lotro-epic-storylines/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Many of you will have completed Lord of the Rings Online's latest epic storyline from Book 11 by now, and you may have found that you could accomplish this task all on your lonesome. This topic was raised on LotRO's official forums, and whilst the initial poster was against the idea of a solo-able epic quest, the overwhelming response of the thread was that of people who had finished soloing it and loved it, or those that didn't realize it could be done alone and were keen to log in and get started.

To date, most of the Books have been composed of a mix of solo and fellowship portions, and this was reinforced for future books later in the thread by a member of Turbine's LotRO team, MadeOfLions (fantastic name by the way), who said, "we're letting the needs of the story dictate the group sizes, rather than the other way around", and also that Book 12 should be a return to a more fellowship-oriented quest line.

It's nice to have a mix between the two formats, solo and grouped, because let's face it -- a fellowship isn't always available -- and with Book 11 giving my class of choice, the Minstrel, a little more solo-power, I enjoy having only one life bar to watch over for a change.

MassivelyFellowships versus soloing in LotRO epic storylines originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>book-11book-12epic-questepic-storylinefellowshipgrouplotrosolosoloableturbineFri, 09 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST