Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Thinking about coming back... looking for some advice
Cammy
Member Posts: 864
Hey everyone,
Im a little tired of WoW (isn't everyone?) and Im on the prowl for a new MMO... I played LOTRO WAYYYY back in the day when it first came out and Im thinking about coming back. For some reason the world didn't really "grasp" me. I didn't care for the professions, and for some reason the elven zones just didn't do anything for me....
At any rate, I'm looking for a very PVE oriented game, and I've heard many good things recently about LOTRO. I only got myself to level 10-15 range, so I still have lots to look at.
A few questions though (And don't worry, one of them is not... hows the PVP?) 
1) What is a good/heathly population server to roll on? American side (if that matters)
2) What is a good class that's easy leveling. Leveling bores me to tears - so the "hunter" equilivant is perfectly acceptable.
3) I've heard that there's a new xpac. How is it so far? I also read there's new classes, are these accessable without the trail?
4) I know each race starts in a different area. Is there a recommended starting race/zone I should choose?
5) Hows the instances/raiding and end game content right now? I know when I left, most people complained there wasn't much to do at high level. I'm curious if this has changed.
Any other tips, general opinions of the game, etc would be very appreciated!
Thanks all!
Comments
If you don't like Wow, I really don't see you liking this. Basically it's Wow set in Middle Earth, but with maybe 1/4 the quests?
The best part of the game is the first part (the starting area), then quests trickle down to almost none,
There are 540 quests from 1-15 (and really, probably 4-15, since the first few levels happen almost immediately). Arguing with someone about the pace of leveling in the game and how many quests there are, I sat down with the lorebook and wrote down how many quests there are per level
(Book quests are story ones, but sometimes not doable because they are in a chain that frequently needs a group, which are hard to find in game. I personally have only done a few past Book 1. The Level up quests are just some sort of placeholder every 10 or so, I think they give the player a message)
Level - Number of Quests
16 - 12 (1 Book)
17 - 6
18 - 14 (3 Book)
19 - 1
20 - 27 (7 Level up, 4 crafting)
21 - 9
22 - 14
23 - 18
24 - 9
25 - 29 (6 Crafting, 2 Class, 1 Inn League)
26 - 16 (2 book)
27 - 11 (1 book)
28 - 23 (4 book)
29 - 35 (14 Book)
30 - 50 (8 class, 12 crafting, 7 level up, 4 Book)
31 - 17
32 - 32
33 - 17
34 - 20
35 - 55 (15 Horse related, 4 Festival Related)
36 - 24
37 - 22
38 - 23 (3 Book)
39 - 14
40 - 36 (6 level up, 6 crafting, 2 in league)
41 - 18
42 - 26
43 - 43 (4 Book)
44 - 45
45 - 64 (12 Book)
46 - 29 (1 repeat, 1 Book)
47 - 54 (1 Book)
48 - 66
49 - 78
50 - 334 (!)
This is also not counting how many quests are just killing boars or bears. They are so common that even Turbine realized how ridiculous it was, and in on region there's a quest that has you looking for boars to kill but you can't find any.
That said, now that I've finally reached 41 thing have really picked up (as you can see by my table). But it's a really long slog from 20-40. The new XP table has helped though.
The Elven starting area is also probably the worst (the best is the Man or Hobbit, both of which really are fun) and was actually redesigned in the latest patch.
R.I.P. City of Heroes and my 17 characters there
heh.. funny I got a very different viewpoint from other forums I visited...
are you max level? I've head its also pretty fast to level up.. 5-6 weeks total. IMO pretty easy grind... (playing moderately - 15-20 hours a week)
heh.. funny I got a very different viewpoint from other forums I visited...
are you max level? I've head its also pretty fast to level up.. 5-6 weeks total. IMO pretty easy grind... (playing moderately - 15-20 hours a week)
I have never seen anyone agree with any of Trancejeremys post so I would take what he says with a grain of salt. Most of us here dont know if he is trolling or if he is actually seriouse (same thing on the offical forum)
Here is my answers to your questions:
1. I dont play in US but they say Brandywine, Landroval and Elendelmir are the most populated (or even over populated). Landroval is unoffical RP server and Elendelmi is the unoffical oceanic server.
2. All classes solo pretty good. Hunter or maybe Warden is probably the easiest to level.
3. Moria is Moria, either you love it or hate it
Not sure if the classes are available but I think so.
4. I like the starting area for men and hate the one for Hobbits but some think differnt. They recently revamped the area for Elfs/Dwarfs.
5. Instances/Raiding is ok right now. There was only 1 raid boss in Moria at launch but they are adding a new one in book 7 and and large raid coming in book 8 so there will be plenty for you to do when you get there.
And yes its easy to level up .They changed the xp curve in to latest book so lvl 1-50 is abit faster and 50-60 is slower. Personally I dont enjoy lvl 35-40 very much but the rest of leveling is great. After 40 you have alot of options where to level and you wont have any problems fining qests both solo and group.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
Best bet is to re install and log into your old account, you will find that it's most likly active, due to a welcome back return players week, best way to find out if you will like it is to try it.
Welcome Back Weekend with Bonus XP!
Mar 27, 2009 17:55 EST To help celebrate our latest free update for LOTRO we'd like to welcome back all of our former subscribers for an extended weekend of free gameplay from March 26-31, 2009. In addition, there is a +25% bonus experience boost on mob kills* for everyone playing on those days!
So patch up, jump in, and start playing your old characters. Lórien is here!
heh.. funny I got a very different viewpoint from other forums I visited...
are you max level? I've head its also pretty fast to level up.. 5-6 weeks total. IMO pretty easy grind... (playing moderately - 15-20 hours a week)
I have never seen anyone agree with any of Trancejeremys post so I would take what he says with a grain of salt. Most of us here dont know if he is trolling or if he is actually seriouse (same thing on the offical forum)
Here is my answers to your questions:
1. I dont play in US but they say Brandywine, Landroval and Elendelmir are the most populated (or even over populated). Landroval is unoffical RP server and Elendelmi is the unoffical oceanic server.
2. All classes solo pretty good. Hunter or maybe Warden is probably the easiest to level.
3. Moria is Moria, either you love it or hate it
Not sure if the classes are available but I think so.
4. I like the starting area for men and hate the one for Hobbits but some think differnt. They recently revamped the area for Elfs/Dwarfs.
5. Instances/Raiding is ok right now. There was only 1 raid boss in Moria at launch but they are adding a new one in book 7 and and large raid coming in book 8 so there will be plenty for you to do when you get there.
And yes its easy to level up .They changed the xp curve in to latest book so lvl 1-50 is abit faster and 50-60 is slower. Personally I dont enjoy lvl 35-40 very much but the rest of leveling is great. After 40 you have alot of options where to level and you wont have any problems fining qests both solo and group.
Just wanted to add that Silverlode has pretty many peeps as well, I mean I always see others around no matter where I am in any zone.
Leveling is very easy, especially for casual play now that they revamped the xp curve. I find it to be a great game as long as you forget what you used to do in WoW... race to max level. Instead Lotro is more about the journey so dont rush to get to max level just enjoy the game as you play and you will find it is a great game. I find myself not even realising that I have leveled because I enjoy where I am at and what I am doing, there just doesnt feel like I have to rush and that is a welcomed thing for me.
Out of every 100 men, 10 should not be there,
80 are nothing but targets, 9 are the real fighters.
Ah, but one, ONE of them is a warrior,
and he will bring the others home.
-Heraclitus 500BC
Thank you guys for the great replies!
The XP Bonus is very cool... I don't have a ton of time to play this weekend but Ill definitely try to plug in some hours and see where it takes me.
Basically... I'm really looking for a very PVE oriented game, where I can go have fun, meet some folks to group up with and then eventually do some raiding/bosses at high level. So I think LOTRO is what Im looking for.
Also excellent news on the xp grind. It isn't that I "need to rush to top level" or anything... but games like FFXI and Lineage just drove me absolutely crazy. It felt like FOREVER just to get a level. I can't handle that, I much prefer the fast pace games where I can level up in 2 months or so (give or take).
Im on the setup page now.. just waiting for it to finish installing! woo hoo!
Thanks for all the tips, I think Ill roll with a hunter. Hopefully it doesn't have the same WoW petigree and is useless at cap 
For any WoW players pre-WOTLK know what Im talkin about...
Cheers!
hmmm, well I think that TranceJeremy isn't completely wrong. I do think he sometimes focuses a bit too much on the negative (one of the reasons I love his avatar on this site as it fits his posts ; ) sorry Jeremy all in good fun) but he is not too far off. (though taking time to write down all the quests per level does seem to be a bit intense to me)
Look, Lotro is a fun game and has a lot to it that is different from WoW. It plays in a similar fashion to WoW but having tried both games it is very apparent that it is different.
But they are similar enough.
It does have its issues. Yes, there are a few too many "kill x" quests. And in Lothlorien it seems that some of these are recycled a bit too much.
My guess is that if you didn't like it before you are not going to like it now.
Oh sure, the leveling curve is evened out a bit for one level range but it's had always been an easier game to level in than other games.
If you find that it isn't then that could be a problem.
The game is just a better version (arguably) of the game that was released. There is "more" to it.
But if you didn't like the game at first I don't see why it would appeal to you now. I do disagree with Jeremy in that the Efl Lands were horrible. To me they are my favorite. Absoutely beautiful.
This game really is about the journey, though there are a few things that belie that fact such as the added radiance runs or the grinding of traits and deeds.
Still, there is story woven everywhere, even in some of the more mundane quests.
If this type of thing appeals to you then it can be a good game.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo