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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online/" rel="tag">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/previews/" rel="tag">Previews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/races/" rel="tag">Races</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/"><img alt="A tale of Forgotten Realms DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/d1.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.ddo.com"><em>Dungeons and Dragons Online's</em></a> second expansion will not be like the first. In fact, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Shadowfell-Conspiracy/"><em>Shadowfell Conspiracy</em></a> might even be seen as a pseudo-sequel to <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online/"><em>DDO</em></a>, a game-within-a-game that's offering players a fresh start in a favorite land. When the expansion hits on August 19th, players will be able to ignore all of <em>DDO's</em> Eberron content to start a new character at level 15 in the Forgotten Realms. Between the Forgotten Realms content that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine/">Turbine's</a> added to the game in the past year and the new missions coming with <em>Shadowfell Conspiracy</em>, players could conceivably level solely in this setting.<br />
<br />
It's obvious that Turbine's a little Forgotten-Realms-mad right now, although that's not a bad thing. The setting is a favorite among D&amp;D fans, and while Eberron has its supporters, the studio obviously sees the Forgotten Realms as the future of this long-running MMO. While the expansion is still a couple of months away, today's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/update-18">Update 18: Disciples of Shadow</a> update will serve as a prologue so that players can get started on their journey through this fresh land.<br />
<br />
We sat down with <em>DDO's </em>team to talk <a href="http://www.ddo.com/en/update-18-release-notes">about Update 18</a>, the new races coming with <em>Shadowfell Conspiracy</em>, and the pre-purchase program that promises to give you head start. Read on, or else the wrath of the owl bear will be upon thee!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/">A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20574281/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/22/a-tale-of-forgotten-realms-ddos-update-18-and-the-shadowfell-c/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bladeforged</category><category>class</category><category>classes</category><category>collectors-edition</category><category>ddo</category><category>disciples-of-shadow</category><category>dnd</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons-online</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>forgotten-realms</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>paladin</category><category>pre-order</category><category>pre-purchase</category><category>race</category><category>races</category><category>release-date</category><category>shadar-kai</category><category>shadow-of-a-doubt</category><category>shadowfell-conspiracy</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-18</category><category>warforged</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Six reasons LotRO's Lore-masters rock]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Six reasons why Loremasters rock" data-src-height="348" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/lm1.jpg" /></a></div>
In my <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> career, I've played two classes far more than any others: the Captain and the Lore-master. Both scratch that "pet class" itch that I have in MMOs, both are quite group-friendly, and both seem to be somewhat unorthodox picks (at least compared to the plague of Hunters and Champions infecting the game).<br />
<br />
I'll leave a discussion about Captains for another time, but today I felt like talking about the strangeness that is the Lore-master. It's such a unique class in feel and execution, and it's captivated me such that I'm actually leveling up my second Lore-master because I was dissatisfied with the way I handled my first one.<br />
<br />
Maybe you've never tried one. Maybe you picked one up and just couldn't get a feel for what it was supposed to do. I'll admit that the LM is an acquired taste, partially because its skillset is all over the map and it doesn't settle into an expected template. However, it may just be the coolest class in the game. Here are six reasons why.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Six reasons LotRO's Lore-masters rock</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/">The Road to Mordor: Six reasons LotRO's Lore-masters rock</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 18 May 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20547728/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/18/the-road-to-mordor-six-reasons-lotros-lore-masters-rock/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>class</category><category>class-review</category><category>classes</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lm</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lore-master</category><category>lore-masters</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>pet</category><category>pet-class</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO patching to Update 11 today]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/"><img alt="LotRO patching to Update 11 today" data-src-height="331" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lalia.jpg" style="margin:4px" /></a></div>
Turbine has released the official patch notes for <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Lord-of-the-Rings-Online/">Lord of the Rings Online</a></em>'s Update 11: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Treachery-of-the-White-Hand/">Treachery of the White Hand</a> this morning, and in them, you'll find an explanation of the changes coming to the game with today's update.<br />
<br />
In addition to a new launcher, new <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/">Wildermore region</a>, continuation of the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/">epic storyline</a> with Volume III: Book 10, and an improvement to mounted combat, the most important thing to come to any <em>LotRO</em> patch since launch is the removal of Lalia from the cursed Barrow-downs. Seriously. Bob's aggro-magnet daughter and her cloak have retired from <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Quest:Lalia%27s_Safe_Passage">frustrating players</a> and she now owns her own shop in Bree. Where she sells MISERY. Just kidding. I think she sells Beanie Babies or something.<br />
<br />
Be sure to check out the <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?511377-Update-11-Treachery-of-the-White-Hand-Release-Notes-Official">entire patch notes</a> in the official forums.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/">LotRO patching to Update 11 today</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20566541/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/lotro-patching-to-update-11-today/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>book-10</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lalia</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mounted-combat</category><category>patch</category><category>Treachery-of-the-White-Hand</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update</category><category>update-11</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: A Wildermore dev chat]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor A Wildermore dev chat" data-src-height="276" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/road1.jpg" /></a></div>
Snow-covered zones aren't exactly new to <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a>, but the upcoming region of Wildermore is a little bit different than the normal Misty Mountain ski resorts. How so? Well, for one thing, it's not supposed to be snowy at all. So what's up with the premature winter in this area of Rohan -- and what are you, the player, going to do about it?<br />
<br />
That's the basic setup for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/update-11/">Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand</a>. The update, which should be going live next week, is what I call the intermission zone: It's the region that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine/">Turbine</a> adds between expansions to keep veteran players from bouncing off the walls due to boredom. Lothlorien, Enedwaith, and the Great River are past intermission zones, but Wildermore might be the most fascinating one yet.<br />
<br />
Thanks to technical issues, I wasn't able to get a first-hand tour of the new region. Instead, I nabbed a heart-to-heart chat with the devs about the intricacies of Wildermore, the next step of the epic story, and plenty of assorted goodies coming with the update!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: A Wildermore dev chat</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/">The Road to Mordor: A Wildermore dev chat</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 11 May 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20564157/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-road-to-mordor-a-wildermore-dev-chat/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>dev-chat</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>helms-deep</category><category>interview</category><category>interviews</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>ror</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><category>wildermore</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO Update 11 dev diaries feature epic story, mounted combat 2.0]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/"><img alt="LotRO Update 11 dev diaries feature epic story, mounted combat 20" data-src-height="308" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/devdiary.jpg" /></a></div>
Hark! Is that a new update for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> on the horizon? It is indeed, my chums. And with any fresh <em>LotRO </em>patch comes an expected slew of developer diaries.<br />
<br />
Today we have two dev diaries to report about for players getting ready for next week's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Update-11/">Update 11</a>. The first talks about the next addition to the epic story, <a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/update-11-volume-iii-book-10-quest-notes">Volume III, Book 10</a>. The diary discusses the 15-chapter storyline as well as the optional "interlude" Ranger episodes that may be played in sequence or out of order. There's even a funny behind-the-scenes moment when the devs show how badly they messed up an NPC model.<br />
<br />
Then there's a diary on what <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> is calling "<a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/mounted-combat-20-tale-problems-solutions">Mounted Combat 2.0</a>." Sweeping changes are coming to mounted combat with Update 11, including retooling the movement tree into a class-specific one, the addition of more class-specific skills, and a ton of polish and iteration.<br />
<br />
Massively will take a deeper look at Update 11 tomorrow, so stay tuned!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/">LotRO Update 11 dev diaries feature epic story, mounted combat 2.0</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 10 May 2013 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20565253/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/lotro-update-11-dev-diaries-feature-epic-story-mounted-combat-2/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>epic-story</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mounted-combat</category><category>mounted-combat-2.0</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><category>volume-iii-book-10</category><category>wildermore</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/"><img alt="Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone" data-src-height="289" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/whitehand.jpg" /></a></div>
When <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>Lord of the Rings Online's</em></a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/">Update 11</a> drops next week, it will open the paths to a brand-new zone: Wildermore. While it's part of the Wold, Wildermore is definitely unlike anything seen in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/riders-of-rohan/"><em>Riders of Rohan</em></a>; for starters, the area is inexplicably covered in snow and jagged ice crystals.<br />
<br />
So what's up with this area? <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine/">Turbine's</a> developers have put together a video to introduce the zone and explain the main storyhook behind it. It appears that Saruman has fused an ancient relic with a giant, creating a nasty foe that will be the main antagonist as players travel through Wildermore. Don't fret, as there are good guys as well attempting to fight the snow powers that be.<br />
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Check out the dev tour after the jump, and if you use the <em>LotRO </em>forums regularly, you may want <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?510761-Forums-Consolidation-and-Streamlining">to read up on the forum consolidation</a> that's about to take place.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/">Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 07 May 2013 14:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20560831/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/watch-the-backstory-of-lotros-wildermore-zone/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>dev-diary</category><category>dev-tour</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>ror</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><category>wildermore</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO Update 11 brings five new areas on May 13]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/galleries/" rel="tag">Galleries</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/screenshots/" rel="tag">Screenshots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/"><img alt="LotRO Update 11 brings five new areas on May 13" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/11-header.jpg" /></a></div>
Come next week, denizens of Middle-earth will have five new areas to explore and adventure in; <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> launches <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/update-11/"><em>Update 11: Treachery of the White Hand</em></a> on Monday, May 13th. The epic story will continue in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/">Wildermore</a>, the remote area of Eastern Rohan, where players will attempt to restore the region from the icy destruction brought by the stone giant N&uacute;rzum.<br />
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The journey will take players through Writhendowns, The Fallows, Whitshaws, High Knolls, and Balewood where they will face Uruk-hai threats, marauding Warbands, violent Huorns, and Wood-trolls in an effort to protect the people and fight against growing evil and corruption.<br />
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Update 11 also includes a mounted combat revamp, daily Silver Hobbit Presents for logging in, and improved VIP benefits including an improved bonus experience system. The Wildermore Quest pack is free to VIPs. Check out the adventure that awaits in the gallery below.<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/">LotRO Update 11</a></strong></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/#5861341"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lotro---fallows-01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/#5861342"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lotro---fallows-02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/#5861343"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lotro---fallows-03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/#5861344"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lotro---fallows-04_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/lotro-update-11/#5861345"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/lotro---fallows-05_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> press release]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/">LotRO Update 11 brings five new areas on May 13</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 06 May 2013 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20559283/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/lotro-update-11-brings-five-new-areas-on-may-13/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Balewood</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>High-Knolls</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>The-Fallows</category><category>Treachery-of-the-White-Hand</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update</category><category>Update-11</category><category>Update-11-Treachery-of-the-White-Hand</category><category>Whitshaws</category><category>Wildermore</category><category>Writhendowns</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[MJ Guthrie]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 13:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Could Lord of the Rings Online end in 2014?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/legal/" rel="tag">Legal</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sunsets/" rel="tag">Sunsets</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Could Lord of the Rings Online end in 2014" data-src-height="331" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/r1.jpg" /></a></div>
Almost two years ago, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-galaxies/"><em>Star Wars Galaxies</em></a> players were rocked to their core by the news that their virtual world was to be sunsetted at the end of the year. Despite obvious <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/SOE">SOE</a> love for the title and player petitions, the call was already made: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/exclusive-smedley-on-the-sunsetting-of-star-wars-galaxies/">LucasArts didn't want to renew the contract with SOE</a>, and that was that. Because of an IP, an entire galaxy was lost.<br />
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It's one of the "cons" of IP-based MMOs. Because there is licensing and contracts and other legal mumbo-jumbo involved, an online game that is completely wedded to an intellectual property has the added danger of being shut down completely if the IP is denied to the studio. <em>SWG </em>is a sobering lesson as to how this can happen to an otherwise healthy game.<br />
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If you haven't noticed already, <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> is somewhat inspired by a certain IP. This IP can survive without the game, but the opposite is not true. So the scary question that we'd rather not ask is this: What if <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> loses the rights have its game set in the Lord of the Rings universe?<br />
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It's not an unreasonable question. And what makes it even scarier is that it could conceivably happen as early as next year.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Could Lord of the Rings Online end in 2014?</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/">The Road to Mordor: Could Lord of the Rings Online end in 2014?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 04 May 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20535258/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>legal</category><category>license</category><category>licensing</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>lucasarts</category><category>middle-earth-enterprises</category><category>opinion</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>star-wars-galaxies</category><category>swg</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>tolkien-enterprises</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>warner-bros</category><category>wb</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero/" rel="tag">Super-hero</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/city-of-heroes/" rel="tag">City of Heroes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/marvel-heroes/" rel="tag">Marvel Heroes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dc-universe-online/" rel="tag">DC Universe Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/a-mild-mannered-reporter/" rel="tag">A Mild-Mannered Reporter</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/infinite-crisis/" rel="tag">Infinite Crisis</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/"><img alt="Incidentally, I want to visit a screen door factory." data-src-height="319" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/mmr-mh.jpg" /></a></div>
It's been a fairly quiet month on the superhero front, which is the way of things. Some months it seems as if you can't go a day without a new launch; others you realize belatedly that it's the end of the month because another round of bills are due. Possibly including subscription fees. It all ties together.<br />
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Of course, the superhero arena has been quiet for a little while now, but we're seeing signs of life cropping up once again. There are titles in development, new content approaching, and a launch in about a month that should really be getting a bit more marketing support. That's a topic for another article.<br />
<br />
So as we do once per month at <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/A-Mild-Mannered-Reporter/">A Mild-Mannered Reporter</a>, it's time to look back over the past month or so and talk about the news stories that have cropped up relating to the genre of men and women in spandex punching robots.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/">A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20552418/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/01/a-mild-mannered-reporter-super-news-super-review/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>a-mild-mannered-reporter</category><category>action</category><category>action-mmo</category><category>city-of-heroes</category><category>city-of-villains</category><category>coh</category><category>console</category><category>consoles</category><category>cov</category><category>cox</category><category>dc-universe</category><category>dc-universe-online</category><category>dcuo</category><category>f2p</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>freedom</category><category>gazillion</category><category>gazillion-entertainment</category><category>heroes-and-villains</category><category>infinite-crisis</category><category>marvel</category><category>marvel-heroes</category><category>marvel-universe</category><category>marvel-universe-online</category><category>mild-mannered-reporter</category><category>muo</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>opinion</category><category>paragon</category><category>paragon-studios</category><category>plan-z-virtual-studio</category><category>playstation-3</category><category>playstation3</category><category>ps3</category><category>secret-identity</category><category>soe</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>superhero</category><category>superhero-genre</category><category>superheroes</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What plugin(s) can you not live without?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/"><img alt="Lord of the Rings Online - UI with TonicBars" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/tonicbars.jpg" /></a></div>
I recently returned to <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a>, and one of the first things I did after reinstalling was hunt down all the old plugins I had a couple of years ago. Some are more important than others, but one is basically indispensable.<br />
<br />
Without <a href="http://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/info370-TonicBars.html">TonicBars</a>, the <em>LotRO</em> interface is a horrific jumble of 27,000 hotbars and 127,000 abilities, but with TonicBars these abilities are kept neatly off my screen until I roll over the appropriate button and unfurl the underlying bar. You can also configure the plugin to display a hotbar only when various gameplay conditions are met, like, say, your health dropping below a certain percentage.<br />
<br />
So that's my indispensable add-on. What's yours?<br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2010/09/coffee.jpg" style="padding-right: 10px;" vspace="0" /><em>Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's <a href="http://www.massively.com/category/the-daily-grind/">Daily Grind</a>!</em><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/">The Daily Grind: What plugin(s) can you not live without?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20549582/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/29/the-daily-grind-what-plugin-s-can-you-not-live-without/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>daily-grind</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>plugins</category><category>tdg</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><category>tonic-bars</category><category>tonicbars</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>ui</category><category>ui-addons</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Helm's Deep calls!]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Helm's Deep" data-src-height="337" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/helms1.jpg" /></a></div>
While I'm quite excited <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/">to hear the news</a> of this year's <em><a href="http://www.lotro.com">Lord of the Rings Online</a></em> expansion, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/helms-deep/"><em>Helm's Deep</em></a>, there are two small nits that I must pick, two little peeves that I must pet before moving onward. The first is that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> could not have worse timing; I've been prepping for a vacation and pre-written a couple of weeks of this column, and now this announcement's forced me to scramble last-minute to write a new one.<br />
<br />
The other issue is that Turbine's abandoned the "[something] of [place]" title structure it's had ever since <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/shadows-of-angmar"><em>Shadows of Angmar</em></a>. A vain, egocentric part of me thinks that this might've happened because a developer read <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/08/11/the-road-to-mordor-lotros-next-four-expansions/">my expansion prediction column</a> and decided to spite me.<br />
<br />
With that out of the way, let's digest the official announcement and see what we'll be doing this fall when <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>LotRO's</em></a> fifth expansion hits!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Helm's Deep calls!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/">The Road to Mordor: Helm's Deep calls!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548465/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/27/the-road-to-mordor-helms-deep-calls/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>helms-deep</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>rise-of-isengard</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>ror</category><category>shadows-of-angmar</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO player council selected]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/"><img alt="LotRO player council selected" data-src-height="269" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/councilofelrond-fotr.jpg" style="margin:4px" /></a></div>
The <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Lord-of-the-Rings-Online/">Lord of the Rings Online</a></em> player council members have been chosen for 2013 and <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?509600-Introducing-the-2013-LOTRO-Player-Council">a post on the official forums</a> names each of the 69 players who have been selected.<br />
<br />
These players are said to represent "many play styles, countries, and walks of life" and will work to facilitate feedback between the dev team and the rest of the playerbase. But as community manager Rick "Sapience" Heaton reminds us, these council members "cannot discuss their actions or activity as a member of the council."<br />
<br />
We'd like to throw out a hearty congratulations to everyone selected!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/">LotRO player council selected</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20550163/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/26/lotro-player-council-selected/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Take a casual stroll through LotRO Update 11]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/previews/" rel="tag">Previews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hands-on/" rel="tag">Hands-On</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/"><img alt="Take a casual stroll through LotRO Update 11" data-src-height="289" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/wildermore.jpg" style="margin:4px" /></a></div>
Over at <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Lord-of-the-rings-online">Lord of the Rings Online</a></em> fansite <a href="http://casualstrolltomordor.com/2013/04/bullroarer-update-11-wildermore-overview/">A Casual Stroll to Mordor</a>, Andang gives us <a href="http://casualstrolltomordor.com/2013/04/bullroarer-update-11-wildermore-overview/">a nifty walkthrough video</a> of the incoming Wildermore region for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/update-11/">Update 11</a>. The 19-minute video shows off the snowy mountainous region near Dunfast down to the plains near Norcrofts.<br />
<br />
Take note that this tour is done on the public test Bullroarer server, so things may change before the update is officially launched. Still, it's worth watching the whole video if you're a <em>LotRO</em> fan anticipating the new content.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Take a casual stroll through LotRO Update 11</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/">Take a casual stroll through LotRO Update 11</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548957/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/take-a-casual-stroll-through-lotro-update-11/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Will Helm's Deep bring you back to LotRO?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/"><img alt="Legolas and Gimli at Helm's Deep by John Howe" data-src-height="203" data-src-width="225" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/legolasgimli.jpg" style="float: left; padding-right: 10px;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> is one of <em>those</em> MMOs, at least for me. You know the ones I mean. They're great games for the most part, but for whatever reason you've quit and returned and quit and returned to them more times than you can count.<br />
<br />
With yesterday's announcement of the forthcoming <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/helms-deep"><em>Helm's Deep</em></a> expansion, I'm finding it harder than ever to keep to my pledge of staying away from <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine's</a> Middle-earth.<br />
<br />
What about you, morning crew? Assuming you're a <em>LotRO</em> expatriate, will <em>Helm's Deep</em> bring you back?<br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2010/09/coffee.jpg" style="padding-right: 10px;" vspace="0" /><em>Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's <a href="http://www.massively.com/category/the-daily-grind/">Daily Grind</a>!</em><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/">The Daily Grind: Will Helm's Deep bring you back to LotRO?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548257/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-daily-grind-will-helms-deep-bring-you-back-to-lotro/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>daily-grind</category><category>expansion</category><category>expatriate</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>helms-deep</category><category>helms-deep-expansion</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>lotro-expansion</category><category>mmo-expatriate</category><category>opinion</category><category>tdg</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Update 11 hits LotRO's public test server]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/"><img alt="LotRO Update 11 notes" data-src-height="310" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/lotropatch.png" /></a></div>
<div>
	It's not quite yet time for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/update-11">Update 11</a> to hit<em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"> Lord of the Rings Online</a></em> officially, but it <em>is</em> time for folks to start testing it out on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/bullroarer">Bullroarer</a>, the public test server. The testing patch notes have been posted, so let's take a look at what we may see in Update 11.<br />
	<br />
	There's a new <em>LotRO</em> launcher with several changes. A new region, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/wildermore">Wildermore</a>, has new quests, warbands, and endgame activities. The story is pushing players into Wildermore with Book 10: Snows of Wildermore. Mounted combat is getting a big update which will give players a class-specific trait tree for optimal maneuverability. The UI is getting worked over a bit to change the way players can view alerts. Players will now be able to pay for their housing further in advance, which will now go into foreclosure six months after they stop paying for upkeep.<br />
	<br />
	Read the full update notes for Update 11 on the <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?&amp;postid=6759857#post6759857">official forum</a>.</div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/">Update 11 hits LotRO's public test server</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548585/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/update-11-hits-lotros-public-test-server/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bullroarer</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>patch-notes</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><category>wildermore</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Elisabeth Cardy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Turbine billing system has attained sentience (not really)]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online/" rel="tag">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/bugs/" rel="tag">Bugs</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business Models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events (Real-World)</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/"><img alt="Turbine" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2012/10/turbinegames.jpg" /></a></div>
We hope you've got a little extra money squirreled away in your bank account because the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Turbine/">Turbine</a> billing system is <em>hungry</em>. It seems that some players were charged a bit more than usual for their <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Online/">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a></em> accounts this week, some of them as many as 100 times their normal VIP fee.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=4994559&amp;postcount=32">TurbineTolero took to the forums</a> to clarify the issue:
<blockquote class="bq-standard">
	This impacted a limited number of players after the maintenance work, and we have a list of the affected users. We're working with our partners to make sure that over charges are reversed. You do not need to contact us to receive help, but if you have any questions you are welcome to call or send a ticket (phone is 1-855-WBGAMES and tickets contact can be done via http://support.turbine.com).</blockquote>
Our sympathies extend to those affected more than passingly by the bug.<br />
<br />
[Thanks to Marc for the tip!]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/">The Turbine billing system has attained sentience (not really)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548406/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/the-turbine-billing-system-has-attained-sentience-not-really/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>billing</category><category>bug</category><category>bugs</category><category>ddo</category><category>dnd</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons-online</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>tolero</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>turbine-tolero</category><category>vip</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brianna Royce]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Choose My Adventure: Extreme DIY makeover edition]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/polls/" rel="tag">Polls</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/choose-my-adventure/" rel="tag">Choose My Adventure</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/"><img alt="Choose My Adventure Extreme DIY makeover edition" data-src-height="233" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/cma-construct-header-1366740958.jpg" /></a></div>
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but gaming is like a Do-It-Yourself project. It may not be as mouth-watering an analogy, but it is certainly fitting: MMOs are a giant construction zone where players build their own experiences in a virtual world using tools from the game and their own imagination.<br />
<br />
Each project is a unique undertaking, bearing the personal touches of the builder, whether the builder is an individual or a group like a guild. Some players prefer to build a single residence and settle in, while others enjoy moving from project to project, exploring new territory and testing new tools. Me? I tend toward the former; I'm the kind who tinkers around in one place over a long period of time. But all that's about to change. Again.<br />
<br />
That's right, folks; it's my turn to break ground on yet another <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/choose-my-adventure/">Choose My Adventure</a>! For the next six weeks I am leaving the comfy confines of my familiar surroundings and allowing you to direct my next MMO project. Yes, my dear Massively friends, you will be the foreman of this endeavor, determining every step of the construction, from where I'll build my newest experience to what tools I'll get to use.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Choose My Adventure: Extreme DIY makeover edition</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/">Choose My Adventure: Extreme DIY makeover edition</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20544347/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/choose-my-adventure-extreme-diy-makeover-edition/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>action-mmo</category><category>age-of-conan</category><category>age-of-conan-unchained</category><category>age-of-wulin</category><category>age-of-wushu</category><category>agon</category><category>allods</category><category>allods-online</category><category>aoc</category><category>aoc-unchained</category><category>ark</category><category>ark-hunter</category><category>arkfall</category><category>asia</category><category>astrum-nival</category><category>aventurine</category><category>browser</category><category>browser-based</category><category>china</category><category>chinese</category><category>chinese-mmo</category><category>choose-my-adventure</category><category>choose-my-adventure-mj-guthrie</category><category>clone-wars</category><category>clone-wars-adventures</category><category>cma</category><category>conan</category><category>console</category><category>consoles</category><category>cryptic</category><category>cryptic-studios</category><category>cwa</category><category>darkfall</category><category>darkfall-unholy-wars</category><category>dc-universe</category><category>dc-universe-online</category><category>dcuo</category><category>defiance</category><category>df</category><category>dnd</category><category>f2p</category><category>family</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>funcom</category><category>gala-net</category><category>gpotato</category><category>gvg</category><category>hands-on</category><category>historical</category><category>hyboria</category><category>kid-friendly</category><category>kidnapping</category><category>kids</category><category>kids-mmo</category><category>kingsisle</category><category>kingsisle-entertainment</category><category>lobby</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mail-ru-games</category><category>mail.ru-games</category><category>mailru-games</category><category>martial-arts</category><category>ming-dynasty</category><category>minigame</category><category>mmo-shooter</category><category>neverwinter</category><category>open-pvp</category><category>opinion</category><category>perfect-world</category><category>perfect-world-entertainment</category><category>pirate</category><category>pirate101</category><category>pirates</category><category>plane</category><category>planes</category><category>playstation-3</category><category>playstation3</category><category>poll</category><category>polls</category><category>ps3</category><category>pvp</category><category>pwe</category><category>readers-choice</category><category>sandbox</category><category>sci-fantasy</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>shooter</category><category>snail-games</category><category>snail-games-usa</category><category>soe</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>star-wars</category><category>superhero</category><category>superheroes</category><category>syfy</category><category>third-person-shooter</category><category>tps</category><category>transmedia-synergy</category><category>trion</category><category>trion-worlds</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>tv</category><category>unchained</category><category>unholy-wars</category><category>Vendetta-Online</category><category>vote</category><category>voting</category><category>war</category><category>wargaming.net</category><category>warplane</category><category>warplanes</category><category>world-of-warplanes</category><category>wowp</category><category>wushu</category><category>wuxia</category><category>xbox</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[MJ Guthrie]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO's Helms Deep expansion coming this Fall]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/"><img alt="LotRO's Helms Deep expansion coming this Fall" data-src-height="193" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/hdlogo.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online's</em></a> fifth expansion has been announced, and Middle-earth explorers will travel to <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/helms-deep"><em>Helm's Deep</em></a> sometime in the Fall of 2013. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> is raising the game's level cap to 95, while the epic storyline will continue through the western plains of Rohan and allow players to directly participate in the battle at Helm's Deep.<br />
<br />
Additionally, Turbine's press release mentions new skills and "completely updated class specializations," as well as locations including Edoras, Dunharrow, and the fortress of the Hornburg.<br />
<br />
[Source: Turbine press release]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/">LotRO's Helms Deep expansion coming this Fall</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20548234/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/lotros-helms-deep-expansion-coming-this-fall/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>breaking</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>forth-eorlingas</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>helms-deep</category><category>helms-deep-expansion</category><category>hornburg</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>lotro-expansion</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jukebox Heroes: Battle music!]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/anarchy-online/" rel="tag">Anarchy Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dark-age-of-camelot/" rel="tag">Dark Age of Camelot</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/everquest/" rel="tag">EverQuest</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/final-fantasy-xiv/" rel="tag">Final Fantasy XIV</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/jukebox-heroes/" rel="tag">Jukebox Heroes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/music/" rel="tag">Music</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<img alt="Jukebox Heroes Battle music!" data-src-height="328" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/battlemusic.jpg" style="margin:4px" /></div>
It's time once again to take a week off from looking at specific MMO soundtracks and open ourselves up to a theme instead. The topic? Battle music. Yeah, it can be some of the most obnoxious music in the game, especially after hearing it for the 3,000th time, but every once in a while I hear a piece that has some merit to it. These are the ones we want to examine today.<br />
<br />
What makes for a good battle music track? I think it has to get you excited without being annoying or grating and not so loud or incredibly noticeable that you can't help but get tired of it sooner rather than later. It was actually pretty tricky to pull together six such tracks for this column, but I managed to do with with the help of Colonel Bugle up there. He's got the best MP3 collection around.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Jukebox Heroes: Battle music!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/">Jukebox Heroes: Battle music!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20536636/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/23/jukebox-heroes-battle-music/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>anarchy-online</category><category>ao</category><category>atlantica</category><category>atlantica-online</category><category>bioware</category><category>camelot</category><category>classic-mmo</category><category>composer</category><category>composers</category><category>console</category><category>consoles</category><category>daoc</category><category>dark-age-of-camelot</category><category>ea</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>eq</category><category>eq1</category><category>everquest</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>ff</category><category>ff14</category><category>ffxiv</category><category>final-fantasy</category><category>final-fantasy-14</category><category>final-fantasy-xiv</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>funcom</category><category>game-music</category><category>jukebox</category><category>jukebox-heroes</category><category>justin-olivetti</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mmo-jukebox</category><category>mmo-music</category><category>music</category><category>mythic</category><category>mythic-entertainment</category><category>mythology</category><category>nexon</category><category>nexon-america</category><category>nexon-korea</category><category>opinion</category><category>pvp</category><category>rvr</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>soe</category><category>sony</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>soundtrack</category><category>soundtracks</category><category>square</category><category>square-enix</category><category>tactical-mmo</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Happy sixth birthday, LotRO!]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/anniversary/" rel="tag">Anniversaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Happy 6th birthday, LotRO!" data-src-height="260" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/6th.jpg" /></a></div>
Uh, seriously guys, it was just <em>yesterday </em>that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/23/the-road-to-mordor-happy-3rd-anniversary-lotro/">I was celebrating the third anniversary</a> of <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> with you in this column. At least it felt like yesterday. Really, has it been six years already? I guess it must be. It just seems like time moves so rapidly in MMOs, especially ones you've been in for years.<br />
<br />
Even if you don't count my first six months in the game prior to and after the game's launch, my current stint in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>LotRO</em></a> is the longest period of time that I've ever played an MMO. It's been a little over three years now that I've been playing and covering this game for Massively, and my interest in it has yet to wane. That amazes me; just when I think I might burn out on it, I find something about <em>LotRO </em>to rekindle my interest and passion.<br />
<br />
There's something special about this game world that I haven't found elsewhere, I've concluded. Perhaps it's the IP restrictions and continuity that makes Middle-earth more "real" to me than other virtual worlds. Maybe it's the sheer breadth of content or the goofy hats. I can't decide. But I'm happy to raise a glass to <em>LotRO </em>as it turns six and look back at some of my favorite moments over the years.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Happy sixth birthday, LotRO!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/">The Road to Mordor: Happy sixth birthday, LotRO!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20537308/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/20/the-road-to-mordor-happy-sixth-birthday-lotro/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>6th-anniversary</category><category>anniversary</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>ror</category><category>sixth-anniversary</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO hands out daily 'Hobbit presents']]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/giveaways/" rel="tag">Giveaways</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/"><img alt="LotRO hands out daily 'Hobbit presents'" data-src-height="159" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/presents.jpg" /></a></div>
Hobbits love getting gifts, and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Turbine/">Turbine</a> loves players being in its game, so now everyone will be rewarded with daily and weekly presents for logging into <a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/faq-hobbit-presents-2"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a>. The so-called <a href="http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/faq-hobbit-presents-2">Hobbit Presents</a> will be awarded daily, with VIP players getting a better version once a week. Each present is held only for 24 hours, after which it is gone forever (but don't cry, Argentina; a new day brings a new present).<br />
<br />
The Hobbit Presents will drop a variety of goods, including gear, gold, boosts, and food. The weekly presents have a higher chance of dropping rare rewards. Turbine says that the system will factor in a character's class and level when generating the reward and that only one free present per account will be given daily.<br />
<br />
A double-XP weekend began today to celebrate the game's sixth anniversary, and Update 11 <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?508741-Hobbit-Presents-Discussion&amp;p=6753731#post6753731">is scheduled to go on the test server tomorrow</a>.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/">LotRO hands out daily 'Hobbit presents'</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20545214/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/18/lotro-hands-out-daily-hobbit-presents/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>daily-rewards</category><category>double-xp</category><category>double-xp-weekend</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>giveaway</category><category>hobbit-presents</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>presents</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Shots: Soggy beginnings]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/screenshots/" rel="tag">Screenshots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online/" rel="tag">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/one-shots/" rel="tag">One Shots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rift/" rel="tag">RIFT</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/"><img alt="One Shots Soggy beginnings" data-src-height="321" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/o1.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.ddo.com"><em>Dungeons and Dragons Online</em></a> newcomers and veterans alike are quite familiar with the waterlogged Sahuagin and all of their wacky antics. Basically think "level 1 mermaids from hell" and you're right with the rest of us. It's a good thing that the game doesn't have smell-o-vision because the tutorial would be reeking of a fishery, that's all I'm saying.<br />
<br />
Reader Sharvis photographed his initial journey through the game and delivered this familiar image of an odd cellar. "Oh great, the Wavecrest Tavern's basement has flooded," he writes. "And who let the Sahuagin in? They're making everything look tacky again!"<br />
<br />
We'll get the sump pump working while you check out the rest of today's player-submitted screenshots!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>One Shots: Soggy beginnings</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/">One Shots: Soggy beginnings</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20532141/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/14/one-shots-soggy-beginnings/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>back-to-beta</category><category>beta</category><category>bioware</category><category>bring-back-one-shots</category><category>browser</category><category>browser-based</category><category>casual</category><category>conquest</category><category>ddo</category><category>dnd</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons-online</category><category>ea</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>flash</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>galleries</category><category>gallery</category><category>glitch</category><category>hipster</category><category>lucasarts</category><category>one-shots</category><category>pics-or-it-didnt-happen</category><category>pvp</category><category>reader-screenshots</category><category>reader-submissions</category><category>rift</category><category>rift-lite</category><category>rift-planes-of-telara</category><category>rvr</category><category>sandbox</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>screenshot</category><category>screenshots</category><category>star-wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>three-faction-pvp</category><category>three-way-pvp</category><category>tinyspeck</category><category>tor</category><category>trion</category><category>trion-worlds</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>ultima-online</category><category>unlaunchening</category><category>uo</category><category>user-submissions</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: A day in LotRO's Forochel]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel"><img alt="The Road to Mordor A day in Forochel" data-src-height="349" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/for1.jpg" /></a></div>
The snow crunches angrily beneath my boots. It's a hard snow, beaten down by the winds and the constant sub-arctic temperatures. On top of it is a light powder that stings when it is whipped into my eyes. Fortunately all is calm and quiet at the moment, and I move on.<br />
<br />
I'm a pioneer in Forochel, or so my title tells me, but I still feel as if I don't know this untamed land. It's the roof of the world, or so they say, with odd peoples, strange languages, and frozen ruins. I see sights there that I never would anywhere else in Middle-earth, and it almost feels like an alien world removed from all I've known because of that.<br />
<br />
I walk toward a distant fire while the snow falls behind me and covers my footprints. Too often I think of how far away I am from the safety and warmth of home, and it frightens me. Am I a fool to forge into this land? To go in the opposite direction of the One Ring? Or is this my destined path?<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: A day in LotRO's Forochel</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/">The Road to Mordor: A day in LotRO's Forochel</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20530775/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/13/the-road-to-mordor-a-day-in-lotros-forochel/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>forochel</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lore</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>story</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO rewards dedicated players for the game's sixth anniversary]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/giveaways/" rel="tag">Giveaways</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/promotions/" rel="tag">Promotions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/anniversary/" rel="tag">Anniversaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/"><img alt="LotRO awards dedicated players for the game's sicth anniversary" data-src-height="282" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/rewards-header.jpg" style="margin:4px" /></a></div>
<em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Lord-of-the-Rings-Online/">Lord of the Rings Online</a></em> is celebrating its sixth birthday this month, and to honor the occasion, the game is holding an anniversary festival from April 16th to April 30th. To say thank you to its loyal fans, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Turbine/">Turbine</a> is giving away special gifts based on each player's account status. These gifts will range from a set of fireworks for everyone to more exclusive items for VIP players, depending on how long they've maintained VIP status.<br />
<br />
Be sure to log in to the game during the festival to claim your prize, and check out the <a href="https://www.lotro.com/en/6anniversary-rewards">official FAQ</a> to learn more about each gift.<br />
<br />
[Source: Turbine press release]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/">LotRO rewards dedicated players for the game's sixth anniversary</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20535533/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/lotro-awards-dedicated-players-for-the-games-sixth-anniversary/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>6th-anniversary</category><category>anniversary</category><category>birthday</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>sixth</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Not So Massively: Jumping on the MOBA bandwagon]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business Models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New Titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/pvp/" rel="tag">PvP</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/pve/" rel="tag">PvE</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/not-so-massively/" rel="tag">Not So Massively</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/moba/" rel="tag">MOBA</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/league-of-legends/" rel="tag">League of Legends</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/diablo-iii/" rel="tag">Diablo III</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/player-generated-content/" rel="tag">Player-Generated Content</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/infinite-crisis/" rel="tag">Infinite Crisis</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/path-of-exile/" rel="tag">Path of Exile</a></p><div style="text-align: center">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/"><img alt="Not So Massively title image" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/infinitecrisis-title.jpg" style="border-bottom: 0px solid; border-left: 0px solid; margin: 4px; border-top: 0px solid; border-right: 0px solid" /></a></div>
It seems as if everyone is jumping on the MOBA bandwagon lately and trying to cut a slice of the action for himself. Creative Assembly announced that the next game in the Total War series will be a MOBA with RTS elements named <a href="http://www.totalwar.com/en_gb/arena/"><em>Total War: Arena</em></a>. MMO developer <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> has also thrown its hat in the ring, teaming up with Warner Bros. and DC comics to develop a MOBA based on the <a href="https://www.infinitecrisis.com/en"><em>Infinite Crisis</em></a> DC storyline.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://leagueoflegends.com/"><em>League of Legends</em></a> continued its plans to revamp old characters with overhauls to Sejuani and Trundle. Developers also revealed upcoming Ice Witch champion Lissandra, a crowd-controlling mage who can cast some of her spells mana-free. <a href="http://www.guardiansofmiddleearth.com/"><em>Guardians of Middle-Earth</em></a> finally released Frodo Baggins as a DLC character, and <a href="http://heroesofnewerth.com/"><em>Heroes of Newerth</em></a> announced that the $60,000 grand final of HonTour Season One will take place later this month in Las Vegas.<br />
<br />
In a new <a href="http://diablo3.com/"><em>Diablo III</em></a> developer journal, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/blizzard-entertainment">Blizzard</a> discussed its efforts to get players into multiplayer and public games, including some gameplay improvements and a new matchmaking tag system. <a href="http://pathofexile.com/"><em>Path of Exile</em></a>'s Patch 0.10.5 went live today, adding three powerful new support gems, four new unique items, and several balance changes and bug-fixes. And <a href="http://www.torchlight2game.com/"><em>Torchlight II</em></a> gave modders a huge gift this week by releasing its in-house development tools to the public and officially adding <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/steam">Steam</a> Workshop support to the game.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Not So Massively: Jumping on the MOBA bandwagon</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/">Not So Massively: Jumping on the MOBA bandwagon</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20532871/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/08/not-so-massively-jumping-on-the-moba-bandwagon/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>action-mmo</category><category>action-rpg</category><category>archon</category><category>bandwagon</category><category>batman</category><category>battlenet</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-entertainment</category><category>cargo-cult</category><category>competitive-gaming</category><category>console</category><category>creative-assembly</category><category>d3</category><category>dc</category><category>dc-comics</category><category>diablo</category><category>diablo-2</category><category>diablo-3</category><category>diablo-ii</category><category>diablo-iii</category><category>dominion</category><category>dota</category><category>e-sport</category><category>e-sports</category><category>editor</category><category>esport</category><category>esports</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>frodo</category><category>frodo-baggins</category><category>gothic-fantasy</category><category>grinding-gear</category><category>grinding-gear-games</category><category>guardians-of-middle-earth</category><category>guts</category><category>guts-editor</category><category>heroes-of-newerth</category><category>hon</category><category>hon-tour</category><category>honcast</category><category>hontour</category><category>ice-witch</category><category>infinite-crisis</category><category>joker</category><category>league-of-legends</category><category>Lissandra</category><category>lol</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lotr</category><category>matchmaking</category><category>melee</category><category>middle-earth</category><category>moba</category><category>mod</category><category>modder</category><category>modding</category><category>modding-community</category><category>modding-tools</category><category>mods</category><category>monolith</category><category>monolith-studios</category><category>multiplayer</category><category>multiplayer-online-battle-arena</category><category>news</category><category>nightmare-batman</category><category>not-so-massively</category><category>nsm</category><category>online-multiplayer</category><category>path-of-exile</category><category>playstation-network</category><category>poe</category><category>ps3</category><category>psn</category><category>pvp</category><category>riot</category><category>riot-games</category><category>round-up</category><category>roundup</category><category>rpg</category><category>runic-games</category><category>s2</category><category>s2-games</category><category>sega</category><category>Sejuani</category><category>steam</category><category>steam-workshop</category><category>superman</category><category>the-joker</category><category>the-one-ring</category><category>total-war</category><category>total-war-arena</category><category>trundle</category><category>turbine</category><category>Turbine-Entertainment</category><category>video</category><category>warner-bros</category><category>wizard</category><category>wonder-woman</category><category>wyatt-cheng</category><category>xbox</category><category>xbox-360</category><category>xbox-live</category><category>xbox360</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brendan Drain]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Shots: Paging the burn ward]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/screenshots/" rel="tag">Screenshots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/asherons-call/" rel="tag">Asheron's Call</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guild-wars/" rel="tag">Guild Wars</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/tabula-rasa/" rel="tag">Tabula Rasa</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/one-shots/" rel="tag">One Shots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/vindictus/" rel="tag">Vindictus</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/27/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/"><img alt="One Shots Great balls o' fire!" data-src-height="334" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/o1-1364409738.jpg" /></a></div>
It's a little amazing, when you think about it, that all of these magic-users who prance around in extremely flammable robes don't suffer from third-degree burns more than we see. Or maybe the game is hiding the awful, scarred truth from us. In any case, our opening screenshot this week should have resulted in a quick trip to the ER for both parties.<br />
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"This is a simple yet fun battle in <a href="http://vindictus.nexon.net/"><em>Vindictus'</em></a> early levels," reader Carolina says. "I love the detail of the damaged shoe on my spellcaster character."<br />
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Forget the human element; now the shoes are the ones suffering for our casual disregard of fiery magic! If you can get past the misery of the moment, we've got plenty of other great <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/one-shots/">one shots</a> this week for you to admire.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>One Shots: Paging the burn ward</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/">One Shots: Paging the burn ward</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 07 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20520611/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/one-shots-paging-the-burn-ward/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>ac</category><category>ac2</category><category>action-mmo</category><category>anet</category><category>arenanet</category><category>asherons-call</category><category>asherons-call-2</category><category>bring-back-one-shots</category><category>classic-mmo</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>galleries</category><category>gallery</category><category>guild-wars</category><category>gw</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>nexon</category><category>nexon-america</category><category>nexon-entertainment</category><category>one-shots</category><category>pics-or-it-didnt-happen</category><category>reader-screenshots</category><category>reader-submissions</category><category>sandbox</category><category>screenshot</category><category>screenshots</category><category>tabula-rasa</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>user-submissions</category><category>vindictus</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 07 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Stepping into Fangorn Forest]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Stepping into Fangorn Forest" data-src-height="331" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/fangorn1.jpg" style="width: 530px; height: 331px;" /></a></div>
Without a doubt, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/riders-of-rohan/"><em>Riders of Rohan</em></a> is one of the best expansions <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> has delivered to date. True, it's not without its rough spots, but overall I'm impressed. The storytelling is excellent, the landscape is engaging, the mounted combat is pretty fun, the music is incredible, and the amount of stuff to do is mind-boggling.<br />
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But it wasn't until a week ago when my slow-but-steady Captain finally encountered my favorite aspect of this expansion: the Eves of Fangorn. I wasn't expecting to be so enchanted and engaged, but <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>LotRO</em></a> threw me for a loop and there I was -- grinning at the zone design and happy that the game can still produce a sense of wonder and adventure in my soul.<br />
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Why is it so good? What won me over? If you're thinking, "He's got a tree fetish, he does," then you might not be too far off base.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Stepping into Fangorn Forest</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/">The Road to Mordor: Stepping into Fangorn Forest</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20491663/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/06/the-road-to-mordor-stepping-into-fangorn-forest/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>eves-of-fangorn</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fangorn</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lore</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>ror</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>tree-fetish</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>zone-design</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet the newest Infinite Crisis champions: Nightmare Batman and Wonder Woman]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero/" rel="tag">Super-hero</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/moba/" rel="tag">MOBA</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/"><img alt="Meet the newest Infinite Crisis champions Nightmare Batman and Wonder Woman" data-src-height="289" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/nightmaresohgodnomakeitstop.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
	You know what your problem is? You've been getting too much sleep. Don't worry, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/infinite-crisis"><em>Infinite Crisis</em></a> has got your back. The team introduced two new champions today, one of which is Nightmare Batman. Living up to his name, Nightmare Batman is pretty much the scariest thing we've seen all week. He's described as a "feral hunter" who ravages his opponents and whose life skill is "eternal hunger."<br />
	<br />
	It's not all creepy claw-feet and soulless eyes, though: <em>Infinite Crisis</em> is also bringing in Wonder Woman. She's armed with godlike regeneration, a golden lasso, and an inherent tanky je ne sais quoi.<br />
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	Skip below the cut to check out the champions' intro videos.<br />
	<br />
	[Source: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/wb-games">WB Games</a> press release]</div><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Meet the newest Infinite Crisis champions: Nightmare Batman and Wonder Woman</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/">Meet the newest Infinite Crisis champions: Nightmare Batman and Wonder Woman</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20532050/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/05/meet-the-newest-infinite-crisis-champions-nightmare-batman-and/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>champions</category><category>f2p</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>ic</category><category>infinite-crisis</category><category>moba</category><category>new</category><category>nightmare-batman</category><category>not-going-to-sleep-for-a-week</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>video</category><category>videos</category><category>warner-bros-entertainment</category><category>wonder-woman</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Elisabeth Cardy]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A super month in super news]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero/" rel="tag">Super-hero</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/marvel-heroes/" rel="tag">Marvel Heroes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/champions-online/" rel="tag">Champions Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/a-mild-mannered-reporter/" rel="tag">A Mild-Mannered Reporter</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<img alt="For the record, I was disappointed by the 4/1 jokes this year." data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/04/dcuo-mmr-monthimpressions-epl-127.jpg" /></div>
Having spent the last couple of weeks systematically irritating the makers of every superheroic MMO currently on the market, I think now seems like a perfect time to go trawling for recent news and views. Especially since I am writing this on April 1st to meet my deadline, so there's a day-long moratorium on any real news being posted. (That <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/01/support-massively-online-a-kickstarter-mmo/">Kickstarter of ours</a> is very real, though. You need to give us money right now.)<br />
<br />
Of course, the big news was a completely unexpected announcement that came out right after <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/PAX-East-2013/">PAX East</a> concluded: Another challenger is entering the arena, and it's something no one could have seen coming without insider information. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.marvelheroes.com"><em>Marvel Heroes</em></a> announced its launch date days after I had speculated on what that might be, and <a href="http://www.champions-online.com"><em>Champions Online</em></a> is gearing up to kick off another event. So let's get talking about all the superhero news that's been going down since the last roundup.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A super month in super news</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/">A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A super month in super news</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20525589/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/a-mild-mannered-reporter-a-super-month-in-super-news/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>a-mild-mannered-reporter</category><category>action</category><category>action-mmo</category><category>champions</category><category>champions-online</category><category>champs</category><category>co</category><category>cryptic</category><category>cryptic-studios</category><category>f2p</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>gazillion</category><category>gazillion-entertainment</category><category>infinite-crisis</category><category>marvel</category><category>marvel-heroes</category><category>marvel-universe</category><category>marvel-universe-online</category><category>mild-mannered-reporter</category><category>moba</category><category>muo</category><category>opinion</category><category>perfect-world</category><category>perfect-world-entertainment</category><category>pwe</category><category>secret-identity</category><category>superhero</category><category>superhero-genre</category><category>superheroes</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>warner-bros</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: The coming LotRO class apocalypse and how you can survive it]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo"><img alt="The Road to Mordor The coming class apocalypse and how you can survive it" data-src-height="309" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/r1.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/lotro-commits-to-housing-revamp-player-council-and-more-rohan/">Out of the four primary goals</a> that the <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> team has stated for 2013, the promise of class revamps has proven to be the most nerve-wracking -- and intriguing -- among the populace. After all, when you say that "significant changes" are coming to classes and don't follow up with any sort of significant details, speculation and worry is going to run amok.<br />
<br />
Last September <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/29/the-road-to-mordor-why-classes-need-a-shakeup/">I argued that classes did need a shakeup</a>. While the whole structure isn't without its redeeming (ahem) virtues, I believed that it wasn't intuitive for new players, that there wasn't really any growth in the abilities or builds of characters post-Moria, and that much of the deed system was simply too grindy.<br />
<br />
That's why I'm cautiously optimistic about the "coming class apocalypse" in 2013 -- I'm tired of the status quo. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>LotRO</em></a> has an opportunity to cut the dead weight and make leveling interesting all over again. Let's take a look at a few statements by the dev team to deduce what we'll be looking at when it happens.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: The coming LotRO class apocalypse and how you can survive it</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/">The Road to Mordor: The coming LotRO class apocalypse and how you can survive it</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20514452/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/30/the-road-to-mordor-the-coming-lotro-class-apocalypse-and-how-yo/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>class</category><category>class-revamp</category><category>class-trees</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>kate-paiz</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>Matt-Zimmitti</category><category>opinion</category><category>riders-of-rohan</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>ror</category><category>skill-trees</category><category>talent-trees</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Perfect Ten: Cutest creatures]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/anarchy-online/" rel="tag">Anarchy Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-trek-online/" rel="tag">Star Trek Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guild-wars-2/" rel="tag">Guild Wars 2</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/wizard101/" rel="tag">Wizard101</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rift/" rel="tag">RIFT</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/final-fantasy-xiv/" rel="tag">Final Fantasy XIV</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/perfect-ten/" rel="tag">Perfect Ten</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/"><img alt="The Perfect Ten Cutest creatures" data-src-height="321" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/p10.jpg" /></a></div>
I vividly remember a conversation I had with my then-girlfriend's parents back in 1996 about the potential of this growing "internet" phenomenon. With my limited understanding, I made it sound downright noble, a Library of Congress available at the fingertips of the average Joe or Jane. What I really should have said that it would be a tool for the distribution of pornography, nerd rage, and cute animal pictures.<br />
<br />
I have no idea how big the cute animal picture industry is, but there have got to be millions of aspiring photographers daily who prod little baby critters with encouragement sticks in the hopes of eliciting a few "awws" out of strangers. Even when the serious business of MMOs came a-calling, cuteness infested fantasy lands near and far.<br />
<br />
Whenever I see something absurdly cute in an MMO, I always smile because I know that somewhere, some uber-elite, way-too-serious player is developing facial tics from being in the same game world as it. So twitch away, as here are 10 of the cutest critters as seen in-game!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Perfect Ten: Cutest creatures</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/">The Perfect Ten: Cutest creatures</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20501125/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-perfect-ten-cutest-creatures/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>activision</category><category>anarchy-online</category><category>anet</category><category>ao</category><category>arenanet</category><category>back-to-beta</category><category>beta</category><category>bioware</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-entertainment</category><category>browser</category><category>browser-based</category><category>buy-to-play</category><category>casual</category><category>classic-mmo</category><category>conquest</category><category>console</category><category>consoles</category><category>cryptic</category><category>cryptic-studios</category><category>ea</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>f2p</category><category>family</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>ff</category><category>ff14</category><category>ffxiv</category><category>final-fantasy</category><category>final-fantasy-14</category><category>final-fantasy-xiv</category><category>flash</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>funcom</category><category>glitch</category><category>guild-wars-2</category><category>gw2</category><category>hipster</category><category>humor</category><category>kid-friendly</category><category>kids-mmo</category><category>kingsisle</category><category>kingsisle-entertainment</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>lucasarts</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>opinion</category><category>p10</category><category>perfect-10</category><category>perfect-ten</category><category>perfect-world</category><category>perfect-world-entertainment</category><category>pvp</category><category>pwe</category><category>rift</category><category>rift-lite</category><category>rift-planes-of-telara</category><category>roundup</category><category>rvr</category><category>sandbox</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>square</category><category>square-enix</category><category>star-trek</category><category>star-trek-mmo</category><category>star-trek-online</category><category>star-wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>sto</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>the-perfect-10</category><category>the-perfect-ten</category><category>three-faction-pvp</category><category>three-way-pvp</category><category>tinyspeck</category><category>top-10</category><category>top-10-list</category><category>top-ten</category><category>top-ten-list</category><category>tor</category><category>trion</category><category>trion-worlds</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>unlaunchening</category><category>warcraft</category><category>wizard101</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><category>wow</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Turbine Entertainment unveils Infinite Crisis, a DC Universe MOBA]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero/" rel="tag">Super-hero</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New Titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News Items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/moba/" rel="tag">MOBA</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/"><img alt="It's a good start, but I'm hoping we see Red Son Superman." data-src-height="306" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/infinite-announcement-epl-325.jpg" /></a></div>
Ready to unleash your own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_on_Infinite_Earths">Crisis on Infinite Earths</a>? <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/WarnerBrosInteractive/">Warner Bros. Interactive</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/TurbineEntertainment/">Turbine Entertainment</a>, and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/DCComics/">DC Comics</a> are teaming up to let you do just that with the upcoming <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Infinite-Crisis/">Infinite Crisis,</a></em> a MOBA set against the backdrop of the DC multiverse. If you ever wanted to know who would win in a matchup between normal Batman and steampunk Batman, <a href="http://www.infinitecrisis.com/en/content/warner-bros-interactive-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis">you'll have the opportunity to find out here</a>.<br />
<br />
<em>Infinite Crisis</em> isn't in beta yet, but the launch trailer (embedded past the break) makes it clear that there are already several alternate versions of iconic heroes planned for inclusion. Players can also look forward to destructible environments, major events, and even an overall story arc. If you're worried about breaking your wallet, the game is already planning on launching as a free-to-play title, so everyone can jump in for all of the DC-related antics. You can sign up for beta testing now on <a href="http://www.infinitecrisis.com/en">the official site</a>.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Turbine Entertainment unveils Infinite Crisis, a DC Universe MOBA</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/">Turbine Entertainment unveils Infinite Crisis, a DC Universe MOBA</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:45:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20516584/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/turbine-entertainment-unveils-infinite-crisis-a-dc-universe-mob/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>announcements</category><category>dc-comics</category><category>f2p</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>ic</category><category>infinite-crisis</category><category>moba</category><category>new-titles</category><category>news</category><category>news-items</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>video</category><category>videos</category><category>warner-bros-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:45:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Game Archaeologist: When sequels attack!]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/asherons-call/" rel="tag">Asheron's Call</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/darkfall/" rel="tag">Darkfall</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/everquest/" rel="tag">EverQuest</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/everquest-ii/" rel="tag">EverQuest II</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guild-wars/" rel="tag">Guild Wars</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lineage/" rel="tag">Lineage</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lineage-2/" rel="tag">Lineage 2</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/neocron-2/" rel="tag">Neocron 2</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/planetside/" rel="tag">PlanetSide</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/runescape/" rel="tag">RuneScape</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guild-wars-2/" rel="tag">Guild Wars 2</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/global-agenda/" rel="tag">Global Agenda</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/final-fantasy-xiv/" rel="tag">Final Fantasy XIV</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-game-archaeologist/" rel="tag">The Game Archaeologist</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/planetside-2/" rel="tag">PlanetSide 2</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/"><img alt="The Game Archaeologist When sequels attack!" data-src-height="315" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/sequels-1363285226.jpg" /></a></div>
Sequels are both the bane of and a fact of life for movies and video games. Well, "bane" is a strong word, and you're probably thinking of Batman right now anyway, but personally, I'm always willing to give the benefit of doubt to any continuation of a favorite franchise. While we don't see sequels pop up as often in MMOs, they do exist and have significant effects upon the original title that bears the same name.<br />
<br />
It's here that MMOs diverge from movies and other video games. With those, the original is not in any sort of danger, other than the perception of having its legacy dragged down into the muck (Caddyshack II, anyone?) and perhaps overstaying its welcome. An MMO sequel, on the other hand, can cause serious consequences to its ancestor.<br />
<br />
Here at <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-game-archaeologist/">Game Archaeologist</a>, we look at classic games that have often seen their time come and go. But what happens to one of these titles <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/the-perfect-ten-sequelitis/">when a sequel attacks</a>? Almost anything, it turns out.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Game Archaeologist: When sequels attack!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/">The Game Archaeologist: When sequels attack!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20499889/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/the-game-archaeologist-when-sequels-attack/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>ac</category><category>ac2</category><category>agon</category><category>anet</category><category>arenanet</category><category>asherons-call</category><category>asherons-call-2</category><category>aventurine</category><category>browser</category><category>browser-based</category><category>buy-to-play</category><category>classic</category><category>classic-mmo</category><category>classic-mmos</category><category>classics</category><category>console</category><category>consoles</category><category>darkfall</category><category>df</category><category>eq</category><category>eq-2</category><category>eq-ii</category><category>eq1</category><category>eq2</category><category>eqii</category><category>everquest</category><category>everquest-2</category><category>everquest-ii</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>ff</category><category>ff14</category><category>ffxiv</category><category>final-fantasy</category><category>final-fantasy-14</category><category>final-fantasy-xiv</category><category>fps</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>ga</category><category>game-archaelogist</category><category>global agenda</category><category>guild-wars</category><category>guild-wars-2</category><category>gw</category><category>gw2</category><category>hi-rez</category><category>hi-rez-studios</category><category>jagex</category><category>jagex-games-studio</category><category>jumpgate</category><category>jumpgate-evolution</category><category>l1</category><category>lineage</category><category>lineage-1</category><category>lineage-2</category><category>lineage-ii</category><category>mmofps</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>neocron</category><category>neocron-2</category><category>nostalgia</category><category>open-pvp</category><category>opinion</category><category>pvp</category><category>rs</category><category>runescape</category><category>sandbox</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>shooter</category><category>soe</category><category>sony</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>spy-fi</category><category>square</category><category>square-enix</category><category>the-game-archaeologist</category><category>third-person-shooter</category><category>tps</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>ultima-online-2</category><category>ultima-x-odyssey</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LOTRO confirms player skill trees, expansion in the works]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/expansions/" rel="tag">Expansions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/previews/" rel="tag">Previews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/community-qanda/" rel="tag">Community Q&amp;A</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/"><img alt="LOTRO confirms player skill trees, expansion in the works" data-src-height="339" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/dwarf.jpg" /></a></div>
While it didn't take much reading <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/lotro-commits-to-housing-revamp-player-council-and-more-rohan/">between the lines</a> to realize that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/turbine">Turbine</a> has an expansion in the works for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> this year, the team confirmed the terminology <a href="http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?&amp;postid=6721372#post6721372">in a dev chat</a>. The devs hinted that the full announcement would come around the game's sixth anniversary next month.<br />
<br />
Players had many questions regarding the promised but vaguely detailed revamp coming to characters. Turbine revealed a few more details in the chat: "Three trees per class. Some degree of blending at a higher cost than sticking with a pure build. Bonuses granted based on an early-level specialization choice that grows as points are spent. You can have multiple specs. You can respec."<br />
<br />
Other interesting nuggets to chew on from the Q&amp;A session include the news that player housing will include crafting facilities, virtue acquisition may see a significant change, and that applications for the player council will begin tomorrow.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/">LOTRO confirms player skill trees, expansion in the works</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20513701/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/lotro-confirms-player-skill-trees-expansion-in-the-works/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>character-revamp</category><category>community-q-and-a</category><category>crafting</category><category>dev-chat</category><category>developer-q-and-a</category><category>expansion</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>helms-deep</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>player-housing</category><category>q-and-a</category><category>rohan</category><category>skill-trees</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update-11</category><category>virtues</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Neverwinter Days: The DDO connection]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online/" rel="tag">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO Industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/neverwinter/" rel="tag">Neverwinter</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/neverwinter-days/" rel="tag">Neverwinter Days</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/"><img alt="Neverwinter Days The DDO connection" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/never1.jpg" /></a></div>
You know what's something I didn't think I'd be saying about <a href="http://nw.perfectworld.com"><em>Neverwinter</em></a> prior to getting my hands on the beta? It shares <em>way </em>more in common with <a href="http://www.ddo.com"><em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons Online</em></a> than I'd assumed.<br />
<br />
Yeah yeah, they're both D&amp;D games and MMOs, and there's bound to be similarities on a basic level. But what I'm talking about is more than that: an uncanny connection between the games and a deliberate design philosophy that both seem to share. As a player who's done a couple of tours of duty in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dungeons-and-dragons-online"><em>DDO</em></a>, I think I have enough experience to claim this.<br />
<br />
Besides, everyone's already thinking about "the Dice Duel of 2013" as the papers are calling it. Two D&amp;D MMOs will be facing off against each other, one with a new expansion and the other with a game launch, and both are gunning for the same piece of the pie. So let's deal with this situation now rather than later and look at why <em>DDO </em>and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/neverwinter/"><em>Neverwinter</em></a> are more than kissing cousins.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Neverwinter Days: The DDO connection</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/">Neverwinter Days: The DDO connection</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20499320/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/20/neverwinter-days-the-ddo-connection/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>beta</category><category>cryptic</category><category>cryptic-studios</category><category>ddo</category><category>dnd</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons</category><category>dungeons-and-dragons-online</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>foundry</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>neverwinter</category><category>neverwinter-days</category><category>neverwinter-nights</category><category>opinion</category><category>perfect-world</category><category>perfect-world-entertainment</category><category>PGC</category><category>player-generated-content</category><category>pwe</category><category>the-foundry</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you still love the traditional questing model?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/"><img alt="The Daily Grind Do you still love the traditional questing model" data-src-height="312" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/bilbo.jpg" /></a></div>
Lately I've been enjoying somewhat of a gaming renaissance in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a>. I've been gaming in both high- and low-level areas, chewing through quest lines, and actually reading all of the story text. It struck me that in this day and age when MMOs are attempting to bring storytelling and questing to new levels, there's still something attractive and addicting about "old-fashioned" <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/quest">questing models</a>.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it's the straight-forward presentation, the promise of "do this and get rewarded." Maybe it's still satisfying to vacuum up eight quests at once and check them off, one by one. And I think that great tales can still be told through such models.<br />
<br />
But enough about what I think -- what's your opinion? Do you still (or ever) love the traditional questing model?<br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2010/09/coffee.jpg" style="padding-right: 10px;" vspace="0" /><em>Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's <a href="http://www.massively.com/category/the-daily-grind/">Daily Grind</a>!</em><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/">The Daily Grind: Do you still love the traditional questing model?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20489005/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/17/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-love-the-traditional-questing-mode/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>daily-grind</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>opinion</category><category>quest</category><category>questing</category><category>quests</category><category>tdg</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><category>traditional-questing-model</category><category>traditional-quests</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Ten virtues strategies for LotRO players]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guides/" rel="tag">Guides</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players"><img alt="The Road to Mordor Ten virtues strategies" data-src-height="331" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/virtues1.jpg" /></a></div>
Virtues are never far from my mind in <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a>, although recently they've been more a concern as I've been dithering around with several alts in a reality TV show-type vetting of a backup character. While not very sexy in comparison to class, race, and legendary traits, virtues are essential to bolstering your character's stats. As I've said in the past, not pursuing and equipping virtues is akin to ditching a very useful set of armor; you can do it, but it's not recommended.<br />
<br />
As <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>LotRO</em></a> really does not go out of its way to explain virtues and particularly which deeds you'll need to pursue to rank each one up, you'll have to go out of the game and do some basic homework or else be left behind.<br />
<br />
While I'm not an expert on all things virtue-related, I've certainly been around the block a few times and would like to share 10 strategies that help me to choose and acquire a good set of virtues over the long haul. And getting 16 ranks in five virtues is a long haul, make no mistake.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: Ten virtues strategies for LotRO players</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/">The Road to Mordor: Ten virtues strategies for LotRO players</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20465390/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/16/the-road-to-mordor-ten-virtues-strategies-for-lotro-players/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>character-build</category><category>character-building</category><category>character-builds</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>guide</category><category>guides</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>lotro-store</category><category>opinion</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>virtue</category><category>virtues</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[LotRO's Update 10 springs into action]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/"><img alt="LotRO's Update 10 springs into action" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/03/u10.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> raiders rejoice: Today marks the end of a very long wait for <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/riders-of-rohan">Riders of Rohan</a> </em>raids. <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Update_10,_Against_the_Shadow,Part_II_Official">Update 10: Against the Shadow, Part II</a> ushers in the second half of the expansion's instance cluster as well as some fairly significant stat changes as the dev team prepares for wide-sweeping class revamps.<br />
<br />
The new instances include a six-person fight, The Bells of Dale, plus a trio of 12-person raids: Flight to the Lonely Mountain, the Fires of Smaug, and the Battle for Erebor.<br />
<br />
Update 10 has beefed up fate's effects and made agility the Warden's primary stat. Also included with the patch are <a href="http://casualstrolltomordor.com/2013/03/update-10-store-updates/">several new store options</a>, the ability to turn off forced emoting, the removal of dread upon defeat on the landscape, and new scaling for all of the In Their Absence instances. You can read <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Update_10,_Against_the_Shadow,Part_II_Official">the patch notes</a> on the official site.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/">LotRO's Update 10 springs into action</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20491641/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/06/lotros-update-10-springs-into-action/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>against-the-shadow-part-ii</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>instance-cluster</category><category>lonely-mountain</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>patch</category><category>patch-notes</category><category>raid</category><category>raid-cluster</category><category>raids</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>update</category><category>update-10</category><category>update-notes</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Shots: Back in the day...]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/screenshots/" rel="tag">Screenshots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/ultima-online/" rel="tag">Ultima Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guild-wars-2/" rel="tag">Guild Wars 2</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/one-shots/" rel="tag">One Shots</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/"><img alt="One Shots Back in the day" data-src-height="348" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/02/one1.jpg" /></a></div>
A few weeks ago I asked everyone to send me in screenshots of pre-2004 MMOs... and only Brad delivered. Seriously, people, you've been shown up by Brad. Brad gets the gold star. Brad gets the golden ticket and can come on a once-in-a-lifetime visit to see the fabled Massively word factory. Brad is my hero.<br />
<br />
Brad (if you didn't catch his name) sent us in this shot of <a href="http://uo.com/"><em>Ultima Online</em></a>: "So much fun with vendors! This is a shot of Angelica's on the Chesapeake Server -- a popular shopping spot in Felucca to grab gear on the go. It was one of the few player-owned vendor spots in a protected zone near Lord British's Castle. This would have been taken around 2002. Notice the detail of the fish tank made from stacked cloth and the flowers made with an onion and two cooked eggs!"<br />
<br />
Yes. Notice Brad's eggs, people. In them you can see the reflection of your <em>failure</em>. Aw, just kidding!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>One Shots: Back in the day...</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/">One Shots: Back in the day...</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 03 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20474022/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/03/one-shots-back-in-the-day/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>anet</category><category>arenanet</category><category>back-to-beta</category><category>beta</category><category>bring-back-one-shots</category><category>browser</category><category>browser-based</category><category>buy-to-play</category><category>casual</category><category>classic-mmo</category><category>ea</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>flash</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>galleries</category><category>gallery</category><category>glitch</category><category>guild-wars-2</category><category>gw2</category><category>hipster</category><category>lord-british</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mythic</category><category>mythic-entertainment</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>one-shots</category><category>pics-or-it-didnt-happen</category><category>reader-screenshots</category><category>reader-submissions</category><category>sandbox</category><category>screenshot</category><category>screenshots</category><category>tinyspeck</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><category>ultima</category><category>ultima online</category><category>unlaunchening</category><category>uo</category><category>user-submissions</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: A fresh perspective from two newbies]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-Play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/community-qanda/" rel="tag">Community Q&amp;A</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-road-to-mordor/" rel="tag">The Road to Mordor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/"><img alt="The Road to Mordor A fresh perspective from two newbies" data-src-height="333" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/02/new1.jpg" /></a></div>
In addition to my tried-and-true kinship home on Landroval with <a href="http://www.councilofthesecretfire.com/forum/index.php">The Council of the Secret Fire</a>, I'm part of several other guilds in various MMOs. One of them, <a href="http://mercygaming.com/">Mercy Gaming</a>, went from a <a href="http://www.swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> guild to a multi-game guild as our interests expanded and shifted. A few weeks back, I discovered that several roaming members of the guild had decided to set up camp in <a href="http://www.lotro.com"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> and found it a great spot to make a game home.<br />
<br />
As someone who's been playing <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online"><em>LotRO</em></a> on and off since launch, I think it's downright refreshing to get to experience the game through a whole set of newcomers' eyes. You remember how it was when you were just a low-level Hobbit skipping through the Shire and ignorant of the larger world. It does wonderful things to cleaning off the crusty familiarization that builds up on veterans, I tell you.<br />
<br />
I thought it'd be a good learning experience to talk to two of my guildies -- David and Mark -- to show you their perspective as <em>LotRO </em>newbies in 2013. Yes, it's true: New players do come into this game all the time.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>The Road to Mordor: A fresh perspective from two newbies</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/">The Road to Mordor: A fresh perspective from two newbies</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20441908/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/02/the-road-to-mordor-a-fresh-perspective-from-two-newbies/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>community</category><category>f2p</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>interview</category><category>interviews</category><category>lord-of-the-rings</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>lotro</category><category>mercy-gaming</category><category>opinion</category><category>road-to-mordor</category><category>the-road-to-mordor</category><category>turbine</category><category>turbine-entertainment</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>