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LotRO Update 9 launches today, Yule Festival begins [Updated]

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dungeons, Crafting

Over the past week, you've heard about the upcoming features in Lord of the Rings Online's next update, including three new level-scaling three-man instances and a travel to quest-giver feature. Today, you can experience them for yourself! Update 9 is now live, offering players these new features and more.

Besides some combat revisions and a graphical update to Bree-town and Archet, players will also find that open tapping and remote looting are available throughout all of Middle-earth, not just Rohan. Chests in the new instances will also reward loot to players independently of others in the group and based on their class. More changes include getting experience for using craft nodes and completing recipes and the ability to turn off XP gain. For more details, check out the official patch notes.

Along with the launch of the update, the annual Yule Festival has begun; denizens of Middle-earth can jump in and enjoy the usual festival activities. Once change players will note is that currencies from all the various festivals will now convert to a single currency to be used throughout all the different celebrations.

[Updated: The team has now released a dev diary about the festival.]

LotRO Update 9 launches today, Yule Festival begins [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO talks Update 9 instance cluster

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Dungeons

The first half of Riders of Rohan's instance cluster is arriving with Lord of the Rings Online's Update 9, and the devs are excited to talk about the variety of experiences and challenges that went into making the trio of three-man dungeons. A new dev diary on the site gives the story overview for Webs of the Scuttledells, Seat of the Great Goblin, and Iorbar's Peak as well as a few behind-the-scenes notes.

Developer Pinion discussed how the team wanted to make the return to Goblin-town special: "I wanted to ensure that this new interpretation stayed true to the source material while still providing a very different experience from our existing instance in the Misty Mountains. With all the different varieties of goblins that make their home here, I felt it greatly important to distinguish them both in appearance and in drastically varied abilities."

A major change coming to these instances deals with loot. Not only is there remote looting for these dungeons, but each treasure chest will automatically reward class-appropriate gear for each player.

LotRO talks Update 9 instance cluster originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From warhorses to hobby horses: A ride through LotRO's Rohan

MJ Guthrie — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Launches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Interviews (Massively's), Hands-On (Massively's)

I have to admit, every bit of news for Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan that has come out has been a little stab in my heart. Is the news that bad? On the contrary, it is too good! But because of my notorious uber-casual gaming style, I had little hope of seeing the content anytime before the 2016 presidential elections; stalled in my low 60s, I am ineligible to participate in LotRO's upcoming content. Suddenly, all of my time spent wandering the beauty of Middle-earth, playing music, visiting player-run events, and participating in festivals seemed a less-than-ideal way to spend my time.

But then fate intervened: I received an invitation to get a first-hand look at Riders of Rohan with a tour guided by Senior Designer Joe Barry and Senior Producer Aaron Campbell. Knowing that participating would be a double-edged sword (getting a taste only to know I couldn't have more), I still jumped at the chance. I'll just deal with the disappointment later, I thought. For a brief time, I got to immerse myself in Rohan and get a look at what awaits players when the expansion launches on October 15th. And between rebuilding an entire town, hobby horse races, and riding warsteeds, I am psyched-up to actually level and take part in all that RoR will offer.

Gallery: LotRO: Riders of Rohan

Continue reading From warhorses to hobby horses: A ride through LotRO's Rohan

From warhorses to hobby horses: A ride through LotRO's Rohan originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Hands-on with Riders of Rohan's mounted combat

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Interviews, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Hands-On (Massively's), First Impressions, The Road to Mordor

I remember the very first thought I had when Turbine announced Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan: If the mounted combat isn't very, very good, this expansion's going to be a big dud. I don't think we've ever had an expansion that leaned so heavily on a core system for not only the bulk of its gameplay but also its style.

Crude my thought may have been, it felt like the truth. I don't know any other successful MMO that utilized mounted combat as anything but a sideshow curiosity. The LotRO team was putting too much emphasis on mounted combat for it to fizzle.

I think I can breathe easier now that I've had a chance to spend an hour fiddling with mounted combat while talking to Senior Producer Aaron Campbell. What I saw was an alpha build of the expansion (the beta is scheduled to start soon, perhaps as soon as next week), but once I got used to careening over the plains at 88 miles per hour, it felt just right.

It felt like LotRO.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Hands-on with Riders of Rohan's mounted combat

The Road to Mordor: Hands-on with Riders of Rohan's mounted combat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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