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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: Fishing frenzy

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

Way back in the olden times of yore, henceforth referred to as "2008," Lord of the Rings Online released its first -- and to date, only -- hobby in the game: fishing. While we wait for a second hobby to make its way into the game (the popular rumor is golf), I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at this interesting side activity in LotRO.

I'll admit that fishing bores me, both in real life and in virtual games. In both, it's a lot of waiting, a ton of non-interaction, and the occasional flashes of activity. The end result is edible and odd but nevertheless compelling to some folks. MMOs have a long history of incorporating fishing as a minigame or side activity, usually given to players as something to do when they're waiting on something else. I've noticed that roleplayers are big fans of the rod-and-reel, probably because it's defiantly against the grain. In a world of power-levelers, danger-seekers, and quest-undergoers, taking large chunks of time to stand in one spot and watch for a couple of pixels to bob shows that you walk a path less traveled.

I get the impression that there are many people in the game who don't even know that fishing exists or perhaps who dabbled once and never gave it another thought. Even if fishing isn't typically your bag, Turbine's dangled a few tempting rewards from the hooks of fishermen's labors -- enough that it prompted me to take a closer look this week.

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The Road to Mordor: Fishing frenzy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you ashamed of being a gamer?

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

This past week, blogger Tobold dusted off the issue of gamer pride -- and more specifically, gamer shame. While we have strong affection for our beloved hobby, gaming has a stigma that's yet to completely wear off, even though our ranks swell every month. It's a frustrating double standard when friends openly chat about sports, movies and TV, and yet give you an odd look when you gush about your favorite game.

While I'm not shy about being a gamer, I don't exactly go about broadcasting it, either. For one thing, a lot of people still associate video games with either mindless violence or childish play. For another, it's simply hard to explain the attraction of games to those who have limited or zero experience with them.

As a result of this stigma, there's a temptation to keep your gaming persona on the down-low, or "DL" as kids a decade ago put it. Do you hide your identity as a gamer from friends, loved ones and co-workers? Are you cautious about bringing it up in conversation until you know you're among like minds?

The Daily Grind: Are you ashamed of being a gamer? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Enedwaith Exploration Expo

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST

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

E3 is always an exciting time full of announcements, reveals and hundreds of journalists attempting to leech every last drop of information from crafty studios. It's pretty much insane, and if your head isn't exploding from all of the news, trailers, screenshots and surprises, then I'm going to have to ask you to hand in your gamer card.

For Turbine, this year's E3 has been a crucial moment in the company's history. Not only are we seeing them under the Warner Bros. banner in public, but they had to step up and both defend and build off of the revelation of Lord of the Ring Online's new business model. They were smart not to save the announcement itself for E3, because the gaming public and the press needed a bit of time to both digest the news and get past the initial emotional reaction so they could bring the studio thoughtful questions. Turbine's undoubtedly enjoying its fair share of press coverage at E3 because of this, and that's saying something considering all of the other heavy-hitters like Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIV and Warhammer 40K that are making appearances.

No matter what your feelings are on the F2P model, Turbine's got a lot more for LotRO gamers than just that -- in fact, they've been bombarding us with so much good new stuff that it's hard to know where to start. So let's take a quick tour through 10 exciting additions and updates to the game that they've revealed.

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The Road to Mordor: Enedwaith Exploration Expo originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: 10 reasons why LotRO is worth picking up over shiny new MMOs

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

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

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

Hey dol merry dol, Lord of the Rings Online fans! My name is Justin Olivetti, and I have the pleasure of joining you on this winding, epic road to Mordor. I play a Captain on the Gladden server, and some of my favorite activities in LotRO include wandering accidentally into signature mob camps, exterminating the local fauna in the name of Deeds, and trying to cobble together the perfect pirate costume for show.

So I know that LotRO is one of the best MMORPGs out there, and you know that as well, but with all the newer MMOs bursting out of the gate on what seems like a weekly basis, how can you convince your friends, loved ones and everyone in your social network that a three-year-old title is worth giving a try if they missed it the first time around?

Never fear -- I am on your side, and ready to equip you with ten terrific reasons why the lovechild of Turbine and Tolkien deserve an even greater number of folks exploring the lands of Middle-earth. So hit the jump and let's spread the word!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: 10 reasons why LotRO is worth picking up over shiny new MMOs

The Road to Mordor: 10 reasons why LotRO is worth picking up over shiny new MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grinding: The world's newest hobby?

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion

Kill Ten Rats just put up an interesting, if not verging on controversial, take on some of the more repetitive and mundane parts of our MMO experiences. The main point of the article looks at MMOs not from the standpoint of a game, but rather that of a hobby.

Ravious, the article's author, defines a hobby element of an MMO as something we may do in our gameplay that's not fun, but aids you having fun in future gameplay. Things like grinding to get that awesome new sword, all the looting you do to make potions for that next big raid, or perhaps just sitting in battlegrounds and getting all the honor points you can take.

Ravious makes one important part at the end of the article -- too much "hobby element" in your game just makes for a sour game. He uses salt for his metaphor in this context. Salt makes food taste better, but too much salt or salting the wrong thing leads to ghastly consequences.

Grinding: The world's newest hobby? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamer Interrupted: Battle of the hobbies

Robin Torres — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Real life, Culture, Opinion, Gamer Interrupted

Every other week, Robin Torres contributes Gamer Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with MMOs. I know, it used to be weekly and then it disappeared again. But I mean it this time.

This year, WoW Insider had all of their bloggers write an About the Bloggers post. When I wrote mine, I got the following comment from Supernoob:

Robin, my wife loves knitting but hates me playing Warcraft. Any advice on how to pacify a warcraft widow?

This surprised me, being a knitter, because I have found that the knitting community in general is pretty respectful of other people's hobbies. Knitters don't get a lot of respect from other hobbyists, so we are pretty understanding of people in similar situations. In fact, one of my first recommendations for guys with non-gamer significant others is to encourage them to get their own hobby.

There are a few things that could possibly cause this Battle of the Hobbies, and I will go over some of them and suggest solutions. But it is important to remember that in all relationships, communication is key. If you are in a similar situation, asking your MMO Widow what her specific concerns are about your gaming activities is the best way to start to solve the problem.

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Gamer Interrupted: Battle of the hobbies originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO, A Look Back: Books 12 & 13

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

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, PvP

The new year brought Book 12: The Ashen Wastes on February 13, 2008. This was the first major update that didn't include the introduction of a new region. What it did bring to the table is a mix of revamps and new features.

The high level adventuring area Angmar received a major overhaul, making it significantly more solo friendly. many elite mobs were taken out of the solo area population. And the boars, oh the boars, were mostly removed in favor of more menacing mobs. Finally, the questlines were smoothed out to move players along to area more appropriate to their leve.

PvMP players received a new PvE dungeon, the Delving of Frór. The Creeps and Freeps battle for control of the dungeon and should one gain access while the other was battling a raid target within, well, that's when the real fun begins. New armor and items were also made available to the player side.

Cosmetic enhancements were introduced to the game in Book 12 as well. The outfit system allowed players to choose one set of armor for stats and another for display. The barber system allowed players to change their hairstyle and facial choices, even adding a few new hairstyles to the game.

Finally, three classes got a revamp this time. Guardians received a mix bag as their defenses were both nerfed and buffed, they received a dps stance and gained some utility. Burglars got a buff to nearly all their functions including damage, debuffing, trickery and crowd control. Champions also got an extra pass that gave them a stance that was part offensive and part defensive. This round concluded the class revamps planned by Turbine.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online Book 12 Gallery

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online Book 12 Tour

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LotRO, A Look Back: Books 12 & 13 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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Massively hands-on with LotRO's Book 13 gallery

Dan O'Halloran — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Previews, PvP, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on

Before the Lord of the Rings Online team rolls out their first expansion, there are still two more free content patches coming down the pike. The first one of those two is Book 13, Doom of the Last King being released later this week. It introduces not only a new part of Middle-earth, Forochel, but also a healing class to Player vs Monster Play, the Orc Defiler, and the first Hobby in the game, Fishing.

Click on the first image below to join us for a walkthrough of Forochel, meet the ice people of the area, the Lossoth and get a look at the new features and monsters coming to the game. And after you're done, don't miss the video of our tour we posted a few days back.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online Book 13 Tour

Massively hands-on with LotRO's Book 13 gallery originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: How do you justify spending time in an MMO?

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Kids

For every gamer couple, where the duo is composed of two people who both play games, there are at least 5 non-gamer couples, and probably more. Of these, a good portion are likely composed of a gamer and a non-gamer. In stereotypical fashion, the non-gamer might feel resentful of the time the gamer spends 'playing that stupid game'. Or worse, the gamer herself feels guilty for enjoying her hobby, and spends more time not playing, but wishing she were.

Those of us with the great fortune to be professional game bloggers have an easy out: if we don't play, we can't write -- if we don't write, we don't get paid. "Sorry, honey, I have to spend the next couple of hours leveling up; my next feature depends on it, and I'm on a deadline!" But for the rest of you, is it enough to tell your significant other that you work hard, and need your alone time with your favorite MMO? Do you manage to make equal time for your children and spouse? Do you ever suddenly stop to count the days and weeks of game labor, with nothing physically substantial to show for it except for repetitive strain injury? How do you justify your game time?

The Daily Grind: How do you justify spending time in an MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teach a man to fish ...

William Dobson — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews

A new preview for the Lord of the Rings Online Fishing hobby has been posted to the official site. When Book 13 goes live, players will be able to begin their angling education by visiting one of the four new Hobby Masters. After you've received a fishing pole, simply head to any body of water and cast your line -- there won't be skill requirements stopping you from fishing anywhere, but there will be fish that can only be found in certain locations. You'll be able to purchase bait from fishing suppliers to entice fish on to your waiting hook as well.

Undoubtedly, this will be a fun little endeavor, but there are some tangible incentives to cast the line too. Some fish will be used in Cooking recipes, and others will be able to be brought to the Fishing Taxidermist and turned into house trophies to show off your angling prowess. There will also be fishing quests and deeds, and even titles to earn. To find out a wee bit more about LotRO's first Hobby, check out the most recent dev chat, in which fishing and other Book 13 features are discussed in detail.

Teach a man to fish ... originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Book 13 preview offers new screens and avatars

William Dobson — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST

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

We're halfway through April, and Lord of the Rings Online's next content patch, Book 13, will be released before the end of the month. To tantalize players just a bit more before the free update is out, a new preview page devoted to Book 13 is now available at the official site.

The preview looks at some of the previously discussed big features of the patch, including the Forochel area, the Orc Defiler PvMP monster class, the Fishing hobby, and the enhanced fellowing features. As well as this, the bottom of the page leads through to a gallery that has some new screens, and a large selection of avatars for use with forums, messenger programs and the like -- a nice touch! We've updated our own Book 13 gallery with the new pictures for you to take a look at.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online Book 13 Gallery

Book 13 preview offers new screens and avatars originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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