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: A day at the festival]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-at-the-festival/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-at-the-festival/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-at-the-festival/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis.

It's a well-known fact that whenever the country fair or spring festival comes around to Middle-earth, even big bad Sauron takes a day off from pestering hobbits, disguises himself as a schoolmarm, and enjoys the sights, sounds and tastes of these celebrations. I'm telling you, the dude has a cotton candy craving that is insatiable!

As such, I feel perfectly justified in also taking my union-approved break from being a mass-murder machine to take in the wonders of LotRO's spring festival. After packing three light lunches (I am one of the Little Folk, after all) and equipping myself with A Casual Stroll to Mordor's excellent Spring Festival guide, I was off, giddy as a little schoolgirl.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: A day at the festival

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: A day at the festival originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even the most dour dwarf or happy hobbit must take a break now and then from questing for a time of merriment, games and celebration. After all, we're pretty sure that the Enemy is a big killjoy, so what better way to spit in his eye than celebrate the life and beauty of the season with LotRO's Spring Festival?

Starting today, LotRO players can hop around to this expanded festival, which includes group dancing, a mysterious hedge maze, shrew stomping, food, drink and more! There's a lot of great rewards for the dedicated party-goer, including the opportunity to grab a fish and slap a friend.

Hit the jump for help in navigating this festival, as well as brand-new pictures of the event!

Continue reading LotRO Spring Festival 2010: Shrewmageddon

MassivelyLotRO Spring Festival 2010: Shrewmageddon originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>festivalguidehedge-mazelord-of-the-rings-onlinelord-of-the-rings-online-spring-festivallord-of-the-rings-online-spring-festival-guidelotrolotro-guidelotro-hedge-mazelotro-shrew-stompinglotro-spring-festivallotro-spring-festival-2010lotro-spring-festival-guidemazeshrew-stompingspring-festivalspring-festival-guideturbineturbine-spring-festivalTue, 23 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LotRO tames the shrew in a new dev diary]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/19/lotro-tames-the-shrew-in-a-new-dev-diary/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/19/lotro-tames-the-shrew-in-a-new-dev-diary/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/19/lotro-tames-the-shrew-in-a-new-dev-diary/#commentsFiled under: , ,


"Festivals are surprisingly brutal to make!" confesses Turbine's Lauren Salk. It turns out that she loves doing them anyway, and in a recent Lord of the Rings Online dev diary, she opens up on the process of creating and adding on to one of the game's landmark holidays.

Ever since 2008, LotRO's Spring Festival has added more casual content for players to romp through and enjoy. Last year it was a hedge maze -- this year, it's all about the Shew Stomping. Lauren is careful to note that no shrews are actually killed as players step on them with special boots (they're just knocked out!), so don't feel too bad for these garden invaders. She laments how difficult it was to program shrews that attack and could be attacked by players of any level.

If shrew stompin' isn't your thing, there are plenty of other activities in which to partake. "Between the shrews, the Hedge Maze, the Feast of the Greenfields, and all the other games, you should have plenty to keep you occupied for the next month," Lauren promises. LotRO's Spring Festival runs from March 23-April 6.

Gallery: LotRO Spring Festival Housing Items

MassivelyLotRO tames the shrew in a new dev diary originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Festivals come and festivals go, but how many games feature something as neat as a hedge maze for their spring festival event? A hedge maze with quests even!

Tony over at MMeOw has put together a pretty nice overview of what the hedge maze in Lord of the Rings Online is all about. He goes over exactly why you want to chase chickens through the bushes, how to get through the maze in the fastest time possible, and the enjoyable parts of putting up signs of misdirection throughout the maze.

Even if none of this sounds like it interests you, one of the possible prizes you can get is the fish slap emote, /fishslap. We are 100% confident on our side of the fence that none of you out there can turn down getting access to /fishslap.

The maze isn't the only part of the spring festival, as all of the original trappings of last year have returned. The quests for the Inn-League, the eating contest in the festival grounds, and the other events are still making their yearly appearance. But if you're looking for a nice write-up of the hedge maze, look no further than MMeOw.

MassivelyWandering through the hedge maze of Lord of the Rings Online's spring festival originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Lord of the Rings Online Spring Festival is now in full swing, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the fact that this festival offers a few differences from previous festival events. Sure there's the new(ish) horse, and the other usual suspects in Hobbiton, Thorin's Hall, Duillond, and Bree's Horsefields, but this season we have a maze!

Detailed in a recent developer diary, the Hedge Maze is "intended to bring players together for a new challenge that will take place in a more close-quartered public instance than we've seen previously in the game. There are chickens to be caught, Elves to be scolded, signs to be posted, records to be beat, and a very sinister surprise at the center of it all." This festival also brings a new notification system for these events, getting the word out to those who may not read the official LotRO forums. Check out the complete dev diary and the official forums for more on this year's Spring Festival.

MassivelyLotRO's Spring Festival features aMAZEing new content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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