My beta testing thoughts so far

Athela

Hi there!  I've been in LOTRO's beta since Alpha 2 and I love the game.  I've been looking for something to replace my formerly beloved Galaxies for a long time and this is without a doubt it.  I've tried DDO, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, WOW and just a bit of Vanguard (can't drag myself away from LOTRO to play that one, sorry).    Since I can't type worth beanies, here are my thoughts in answer to questions posed on the main LOTRO forums (http://lotro.turbine.com/forums/index.php)  so far:

 

Classes:

I have tried all of the classes, and for me, Hunter is best. I love the ranged fighting and damage. You have to pick your fights with care since at your level or above you're going to have alot of trouble with more than one beastie at a time. You have traps and stances to help you out. How you arrange your class traits makes a big difference. The animations for hunters are the best I have seen anywhere, looking very realistic and powerful. You can play this class solo very well, again if you pick your fights carefully. In a group you can pull the mob and have the best dps, especially with a nice trait arrangement and a good bow.



Minstrel is the primary healer, they've done alot with this class and they are now both a very decent fighter as well as healer class. The healing animations and sound effects that go with heals make this class seem powerful. Everyone loves a minstrel. If you are a very social person, this is ideal because of your usefulness in groups and your musical abilities!



Captain, I played just a bit, they also have some healing abilities, plus they add to the abilities of the group and can keep everyone going. Their "pet" Herald has undergone a nice transformation visually. Captains are good solo or in a group, though lots of Captain fans feel they got changed downwards in abilities last round of changes.



Guardians, I didn't think too much of at first, but I created a new one and...sort of a head butting brute. In a good way. Very useful tank, very popular.



Burglar great class for the sneak in all of us. An up close and personal fighter, they can sneak up and mez the bad guys, start conjunctions, grab stuff out of bad guys pockets...



Champions are another melee class. Very powerful characters, good tanks, they do alot of area damage. They are very cool looking in battle. Sort of noble somehow.



Loremaster is the "magical" class, like it or not, though it doesn't play out as being overly magical.  Very powerful character which has first a raven companion, then a bear.  The pet can be named and is a great fighter.  You have alot of ability to customize this character with traits and accomplishments to emphasize either the bears abilities or you own up close fighting abilities.  Animations for the Loremaster are very appropriate (they wield a book in battle! enguard!).  You can combine it with any crafting profession but I like it rp wise with Historian best.  Has a combination of melee and area attacks.

Loot:

I have to add that what you loot where makes good sense. You will not loot a sword from a boar. (In fact boars are notably fiendish about having a wide variety of body parts, but *not* always the body part you seek /whap boars).



Animals yield hides (useful in crafting) and other logical parts (which you can sell for coinage).



NPCs typically have odd bits of clothing, armor, weaponry and some crafting recipes in their pockets and in chests in their camps.



Goblins are lovely little things that have recipes, jewels, some weapons...



Orcs have recipes, weapons, armor, and other items you can sell off.



Birds of various types are numerous and they typically yield nothing! Steenking birds!!!!!



You can find in the landscape randomly, berries, onion, cabbages, yarrow.



When you find ore nodes you can have a chance of also finding sienna for dyes, jewels for crafting, etc.



There are treasures everywhere, as they say in Calvin and Hobbes.

Do I like it?

Been playing since Alpha 2, and I love the game. It has been a privelige to watch the game evolve over time. Even in its early stages, the game was very polished. All the elements of world and questing and story were hung together like a fine tapestry. As the game has progressed, the tapestry has grown and now covers most of Eriador.



There are new things added all of the time, new places to explore.



There is an amazing music system in game where players can play instruments and play real world tunes or compose their own music. All classes can play some instrument, Minstrels can play them all.



I've been working on a Tailoring guide, and color choices aside *cough* I find Tailoring to be a fun craft that suits my Hunter/Explorer character really well. Tailors craft light and medium armors, very useful since currently it seems Heavy Armor drops more frequently as loot.



The next most fun craft is Tinker, my Hobbits inventory is the most colorful in the game, full of blueberry muffins and sapphires (Tinker has Jeweller and Cook). I think this character combines really well with the Burglar profession, because burglars can "Track Treasure". They can be little magpies just gathering everything of beauty and value in the landscape.



I'll be glad when beta is over in a way, so I can play the game, explore everywhere, and perhaps, sometime try Monster Play. Monster play was really well received among the community when it came out and I think that is an indicator that it will have a broad appeal in the larger gaming community as well.



Questing

For a long time I ran around collecting rings like they were chocolate, couldn't resist them

 I've now finally finally tried to hone my questing to try to complete an area and all its quests and accomplishments, always with an eye on my Lorebook.  I think this is a good way to go, and it really gives you a feel for the different game areas and their storylines better than hopping around.

 Story is indeed the thing in Middle Earth. It is all about the world behind the story we know.  You will enjoy the game immensely if you take the time to read the quests and you will know and enjoy the world far more if you immerse yourself.  The game is very immersive.  It is a clone of nothing you know, but an opportunity to explore the world of Middle Earth and know its peoples, and eventually, somewhere down the development road, join in the fight to save a world you will truly care about.

Lukain

Nice read , can't wait for this one to come out ...

Razorback

Ive been playing a human burglar. Im impressed and I do really like the game.

Im reserving my judgement about pre-ordering for a little while yet.