Originally posted by patrikd23 I would say AoC is much better than Lotro. I just bought the game after playing 2 trials and its definetly worth it.
You got fooled into thinking AoC was going to be like 1-20 Tortage. You will find out the rest of the game is much less complete. LOTRO remains as a pve mmorpg fixed and polished from level 1-end game (coming from me that's a high compliment since I loathe games that depend on AI and pixel programming for combat - vs fighting actual players over something epical - i.e. Dark Age of Camelot).
I myself is a Lord of the rings fan, books and the movies. Yet I still think the game is boring.I bought lotro when it came out. Its still in my shelf somewhere. If only someone else made the game it might be fun. And also if they made it less "Hello Kitty" and more raw.
Originally posted by patrikd23 I would say AoC is much better than Lotro. I just bought the game after playing 2 trials and its definetly worth it.
You got fooled into thinking AoC was going to be like 1-20 Tortage. You will find out the rest of the game is much less complete. LOTRO remains as a pve mmorpg fixed and polished from level 1-end game (coming from me that's a high compliment since I loathe games that depend on AI and pixel programming for combat - vs fighting actual players over something epical - i.e. Dark Age of Camelot).
I bought the AOC for $19 long time ago and sitting tight among of the other games, one day when I searching for some old game to play with, I found AOC is unopened so I give it a try, until Lv 79.
The game lacking the combat engine like Lotro, it is like you were playing mathmatics, -200, -850, the mobs seems very dead even when its alive. It is not only AOC but many other games. Many people if not having much experiences may not notice this trivial details. Games like Lotro and WOW provides combat with more fun. Even I feel Aion combat is also mathmatics.
Some people like the landscape of Aion, but I think both Aion and AOC are too localization for certain countries.
Mmorpg is grouping game, so if you want to make sure you could play more contents, be sured you will find a good guild, but not from AOC or Aion. Both communities are just like any F2P community.
I would say AoC is much better than Lotro. I just bought the game after playing 2 trials and its definetly worth it.
Well due to all the persuasive info in this post I have quit Lotro and decided to play AOC(sarcasm). I hear it is the most improved game but from the last time I played it that is an easy feat considering where it started. AOC is still the only game and Funcom the only developer to to make me question a video game purchase.
All I keep hearing is how improved the game is and how everyone should come back and see it now yet no one provides any relevant info on why and what. I would really like to hear from someone what this game has now (not something it should and or promised to have at launch) that is worth it.
I find Lotro and AOC being mentioned in the same topic insulting and hope that the shills from Funcom stop their trickery to get people to resub.
And also why 2 trials? From what I can remember 1-20 is the same starting zone and a very linear one at that. Super Mario had more options.
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LotR excels over AoC in every facet except for two. PvP and graphics. If either of those are your mainstay than AoC. Don't get me wrong graphics aren't bad in LotR but between the two Aoc's are better. As for PvP, LotR is rather pitiful. Pretty much the same as it has always been really. If PvE, lore, story arcs, crafting, etc. are your thing than definitely Rings. The game has just so much more to offer and is done at such a higher level of quality than in AoC in all other areas of gameplay.
AOC has better graphics than Lotro?. Now that is a BIG laugh of the day. You are smoking allot of crack if you think AOC's graphics are better than Lotro. And Lotro is a pve game not a pvp game, you are a idiot.
mmorpg's flop faster then mcdonalds cheese burgers these days.
He's right AoC graphics are clearly superior, that is unless your system sucks. In which case LOTRO graphics will be better if you either blind or do not have the computer to run AoC in all it's glory.
But that isn't my beef with LOTRO. My concern is the combat, LOTRO combat is boring as hell with the animations to match.
But that isn't my beef with LOTRO. My concern is the combat, LOTRO combat is boring as hell with the animations to match.
LOL in AOC the the buttons light up to tell you what you need to hit next. It is like paint by the numbers. Do they even have a death penalty now? Last time I played it your stats would turn red but the numbers did not change at all. Fanbois said there was a death penalty but the numbers just did not change....yeah sure. AoC is a beginner MMO, LoTRO light LOL
AoC graphics is more my taste. Doesn't mean LotRO looks bad, but characters and environments are a bit more artificial in LotRO.
Combat animations are really really nice in AoC. Especially 2handed and dual wield animations. Combat in general is fun. Even though combos are "predefined" timing and position does matter a lot in order to succeeed in a fight.
More PvP options - if you want to. If you play on a PvE server you stil have the chance to enter various PvP settings, from PvP Team games, over Open Area PvP up to Guild City Sieges and fights. If you don't want to, you don't have to, but it is a welcome alternative.
Very nice Quest design. Quests are challenging and fun. Mixed tasks and challenges beside mob slashing make them fun to play.
Bottom line, even though i am a great LotR fan, i prefer the AoC atmosphere. And that is what a mmoRPG is all about IMHO.
I think AoC is out there for some 7 € 30 days playing ... no big invest for a "field test". :-)
I would say AoC is much better than Lotro. I just bought the game after playing 2 trials and its definetly worth it.
Well due to all the persuasive info in this post I have quit Lotro and decided to play AOC(sarcasm). I hear it is the most improved game but from the last time I played it that is an easy feat considering where it started. AOC is still the only game and Funcom the only developer to to make me question a video game purchase.
All I keep hearing is how improved the game is and how everyone should come back and see it now yet no one provides any relevant info on why and what. I would really like to hear from someone what this game has now (not something it should and or promised to have at launch) that is worth it.
I find Lotro and AOC being mentioned in the same topic insulting and hope that the shills from Funcom stop their trickery to get people to resub.
And also why 2 trials? From what I can remember 1-20 is the same starting zone and a very linear one at that. Super Mario had more options.
I played LOTRO to 65 on three classes, got all radiance, maxed out numerous second age weapons (never found a decent first age one, but did get them). After that, which was a good run, I had nothing to do..bored bored bored.. I litereally put the game on and had nothing to do. So i left. Some time after I picked up AoC:
Heres what I'll say are the plus points for AoC over LOTRO (I'm not certain what was included at launch cos I wasn't playing then):
Repeatable Quests that scale with your level, with scaled loot dropped (the skirmish system in LOTRO is 'ok' but you get nothing from it, it also feels like a way for the devs to stick in extra content easily without actually making more engaging content, skirmishes were a big dissappoint for me)
Currently two leveling systems (PvE and PvP) and another to be added with expansion.
Waaay better graphics.. only game i've ever stopped to look at the scenery, LOTRO is a joke compared to this on medium settings.
Hands down the best combat system in any MMO so far, IMO anyone who doesn't like it is either lazy (wanting a slower paced sytem) or not very good at it.
There are more classes, and much more interesting ones at that (Races are a dissappointment though)
Better skill (feat) system, you have much more control over what your charcter becomes and what they can do (these options are very limited in LOTRO and semi-random in the legendary system)
Solo level 80 Dungeons (and an amazing one at that)
LOTRO no longer seems to cater for big raids, its all about 3, 6 and 12. AoC has PvE content suitable for 3,6,12 and 24
PVP with nice rewards, LOTRO basically has no PvP worth talking about, I'm not a PvPer but at least I know that once I am done with the PvE content I have that to fall back on until the next update.
You don't have to spend weeks or even months in a dark, mudane dungeon killing orcs and goblins over and over (yes I'm talking about Moria). Moria was good for added playtime, but it was all the same.. looked the same, killed the same things..in fact.. in LOTRO you are always killing mainly orcs and goblins...always.. and they all look the same. The starter area in AOC is compact and seemingly linear but so is Moria.. you HAVE to do it... and you HAVE to do loth and Mirkwood. At least you can skip the starter area in AoC (the starter area IMO is really good tbh, but you do tire of it after doing it more than twice)....
Mini PvP battles (similar to Warhammer Mini battles) are a refeshing change of pace from time to time and can be accessed from anywhere at any time.
AoC is the one to play IMO, with the expansion in sight (which ain't guna be some poor 'skirmish' replacement for real content) and the great content updates recently it's a clear winner. Funcom have always impressed with expansions, Anarchy online had the best expansions I've ever seen, they basically added a new game's worth of content each time.
Both are good though, I just think AoC has more lasting appeal. So, the one I would recommend is.. get this.. LOTRO.. lol. I say this because both are worth playing and you will be done with LOTRO much faster than AoC. If you start playing AoC and get into it you may not get the chance to try LOTRO.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
I recently resubbed to Age of Conan and really loving it. I have thought about resubbing to LOTRO again too and giving it another go. I must say though with AoC I don't get bored. I mean even after seeing the same fatalities time and again they never get old. But with LOTRO I usually get bored within a couple weeks of resubbing. Not to mention that with LOTRO I have to keep the sound off because I can't stand the combat sounds. Hearing a Mini strum the same tunes over and over gets old.
I will say though that even from launch I felt that LOTRO was a stable game. Turbine really set the standard with LOTRO I felt, while Funcom (AkA FailCom) almost managed to kill AoC at launch. That being said AoC is lightyears ahead of where it was at launch. If it had launched in the state it is today and had more people had the machines needed to fully run and enjoy the graphics engine WoW might have actually had a real challenge a year and a half ago. That isn't to say LOTRO hasn't improved, it has. It still pound for pound is one of the prettiest games on the market.
The bottom line is that they are both great games these days. LOTRO is more of the RPers type of game and AoC is more of the PvPers game. But if you are in the middle as far as the RP aspect and PvP aspect you really can't go wrong with either. While I haven't played LOTRO since Moria released it sounds like the population is still great. And at least as far as the server SET in AoC there is a very active community. At low levels you can always find a group and at higher end game there are plenty of raids going on. I am in the 9th or 10th ranked guild on SET and even at that ranking my guild is constantly running raids as well has has 35-50 people on during prime time of all levels. Heck even in WoW I hardly ever saw 35-50 people on at any given time.
One more cool think about AoC. Once you hit level 50 you can roll up another level 50 of your choice (one time only). So that is a big plus to me.
-------------------------------- Currently Playing: Guild Wars 2 and Path of Exile
To those that say AoC graphics are superior they really aren't. They are slightly better than LotRO but not by much. I have both games active currently and both running on max settings in DX10. Don't worry my system isn't gimping any of the graphics I have a i7 920 CPU, 6gb of DDR 1600 in triple channel and a radeon 5870. The water graphics in AoC are superior to that of LotRO but the grass in LotRO to me looks better than in AoC.
Don't confuse a really good character creater in AoC with having great graphics. LotRO has an average character creater.
The combat system in AoC is quite a bit of fun for Melee but if you plan on playing a caster it still point an click. Unless you are a bear shaman getting into the mix of things and healing.
I really enjoy both games and have read books and lore over both of these fantasy worlds. They are both great choices like a few have said. I just wanted to clear up the graphics thing. If you can run LotRO in DX 10 it looks pretty sharp and pretty close to AoC.
I honestly think when it comes to P2P games for the time being you are choosing between the two best games out.
I think AoC is out there for some 7 € 30 days playing ... no big invest for a "field test". :-)
I just created a trial account and now downloading the game , i got an offer in my account page which is 20 euros to upgrade into a normal account + 30 days of free gametime , are u sure i can get it for ~ 7 euros ? Including those 30 days of gametime?
OK, I am not playing either game right now and both have their strong points.
-I do think that AOC has an edge over Lord of the Rings Online in terms of Graphics and maybe a bigger edge in terms of animations. The graphics in Lord of the Rings are good though and far superior to games like WOW, Warhammer, or EQ2. Animations in Lord of the Rings have improved, but are WAY off where they should be. If they ever had Aion like animations, I think the game would be right up there with AOC. Both have great water effects, but AOCs was the best :-)
-Lord of the Rings is still better in the Performance area with everything on Max even though AOC has made large gains in this area.
-Lord of the Rings wins BIG TIME in that the world is MUCH MORE open then AOC. AOC is more like Everquest II with every area being instanced. You think you can run to something in the distance and then poof...another load screen breaking the immersion. I think both WOW and Lord of the Rings Online are much better in this area. Some zones though in AOC are quite large, others way too small, but its that loading screen every time you just want to keep on running to that building in the distance that kills it. Yes, there are loading screens in Lord of the Rings and WOW, but not nearly as much and they seem much more appropriate. You can run for hours in Lord of the Rings and not hit a loading screen. Its no Vanguard, but its very open.
-Story. This is a no brainer. Lord of the Rings is much better in making you feel part of an evolving story, a story that most can relate to and continues to grow. The story in AOC feels less necessary. In fact, you can pretty much ignore it and it feels exactly the same. I think to me this is the single biggest reason why I quit AOC. I just didnt feel connected to the world. I quit Lord of the Rings Online because I reached the end and it was just too difficult to get a group West Coast Time at night on my server or in the guild I was in. I personally like WOWs ability to draw groups across servers, or the way Warhammer drew people into Scenarios.
-Community: I found both were pretty good. You are going to find bad seeds everywhere, but I had no issues with the community in either. I was on PVE servers in both. PVP servers tend to draw more immature crowds lol.
Please Bioware do something special with Star Wars lol.
OK, I am not playing either game right now and both have their strong points. -I do think that AOC has an edge over Lord of the Rings Online in terms of Graphics and maybe a bigger edge in terms of animations. The graphics in Lord of the Rings are good though and far superior to games like WOW, Warhammer, or EQ2. Animations in Lord of the Rings have improved, but are WAY off where they should be. If they ever had Aion like animations, I think the game would be right up there with AOC. Both have great water effects, but AOCs was the best :-) -Lord of the Rings is still better in the Performance area with everything on Max even though AOC has made large gains in this area. -Lord of the Rings wins BIG TIME in that the world is MUCH MORE open then AOC. AOC is more like Everquest II with every area being instanced. You think you can run to something in the distance and then poof...another load screen breaking the immersion. I think both WOW and Lord of the Rings Online are much better in this area. Some zones though in AOC are quite large, others way too small, but its that loading screen every time you just want to keep on running to that building in the distance that kills it. Yes, there are loading screens in Lord of the Rings and WOW, but not nearly as much and they seem much more appropriate. You can run for hours in Lord of the Rings and not hit a loading screen. Its no Vanguard, but its very open. -Story. This is a no brainer. Lord of the Rings is much better in making you feel part of an evolving story, a story that most can relate to and continues to grow. The story in AOC feels less necessary. In fact, you can pretty much ignore it and it feels exactly the same. I think to me this is the single biggest reason why I quit AOC. I just didnt feel connected to the world. I quit Lord of the Rings Online because I reached the end and it was just too difficult to get a group West Coast Time at night on my server or in the guild I was in. I personally like WOWs ability to draw groups across servers, or the way Warhammer drew people into Scenarios. -Community: I found both were pretty good. You are going to find bad seeds everywhere, but I had no issues with the community in either. I was on PVE servers in both. PVP servers tend to draw more immature crowds lol. Please Bioware do something special with Star Wars lol.
I do play both.
This post pretty much nails it. The gfx in AoC are by far better if you have the hardware for it. I would only add that AoC has lots of content incoming (expansion will blow people away) and probably will for a few years but LOTRO's patches are getting smaller so it feels in decline.
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I think AoC is out there for some 7 € 30 days playing ... no big invest for a "field test". :-)
I just created a trial account and now downloading the game , i got an offer in my account page which is 20 euros to upgrade into a normal account + 30 days of free gametime , are u sure i can get it for ~ 7 euros ? Including those 30 days of gametime?
HMV sell it for £9 and if you take up the 12 mon sub from them, well it was £68 for mine with 12 months sub, TSW beta, epic item and RotG expansion included - great deal!!!!
THE SECRET WORLD - PAY ONCE PLAY FOREVER - Give it a go!
I always come back to LOTRO. It is such a well operated game. I plan on trying AoC and STO soon just for fun (buddy pass and trial). Really though I am waiting for GW2 and possibly FF14. No more Korean games for me unless they start writing decent quests past the entry levels.
I honestly like both games but going to have to agree that AoC looks better and feels better ATM. Both games have it's pros and cons, best way to decide for yourself is try the trials.
I haven't played AoC for quite a while but have dabbled in lots of MMOs and always come back to LotRO. There has been so much effort put in to the quests and epic storyline that there is no desire to rush to endgame, more to experience the world in which you're in. Others have said it before that the graphics aren't as good, and I'd agree, but try going in to first-person mode, removing all of the HUD clutter and just walking around somewhere you may know from the films or books. Special.
As I mentioned prior I think both are good games. However I decided to give LOTRO another try before I put down a years subscription to AoC. While the game is still nice, after a couple days I found myself back into AoC and not really missing LOTRO.
It really just depends on what you are looking for. Both are beautiful games, but if you are looking for a more realistic look then I think AoC has LOTRO beat by just a very thin hair.
Game play I personally think that AoC is more fun. With Melee you have to keep so active accounting for a MOBs shields and working on Combos. The closest thing to this in LOTRO is Conjunctions and the Warden's Gambits.
I think both have good communities to group with. Though I see a lot more people playing on the AoC server I play on (Set) than I do on the LOTRO server I play on (Firefoot).
I think both have plenty of quest and different zones to keep you busy. Though after your six or seventh toon past Tortage you start dreading making another alt. But after Tortage you really have 3 ways you can go. Personally I do Khemi and C. Valley.
As far as paying in advance for a discount. LOTRO is fairly cheap but you can't beat a year of AoC for under $100.
Some of the things that I think help edge AoC over LOTRO is:
1) Free Level 50 alt once you hit 50 on a character (only a one time deal though).
2) Vet. Rewards via tokens that you get for each month you pay for AoC. = stacks of +XP, Mounts, etc.
3) More mature game as far as the story
4) PvP is better than MvP PvP.
Pros for LOTRO over AoC:
1) More interesting race combinations.
2) Very well known Lore and background.
3) Runs great on much lower end machines than AoC.
4) More regular updates than AoC.
Cons of LOTRO:
1) The sound. OMG I can't stand the screams in the game.
2) As someone that likes Casters, I don't really care for the Caters (RK/LM) in LOTRO
Cons of AoC:
1) Not a family game. Also while there are many women that play AoC, LOTRO is more likely to be a game your wife or GF would want to play.
2) High System Requirements
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I still think lotro has the graphics over AoC. I guess this may be because AoC took a large amount of time to fix, performance wise (among otehr things), and I remember the day of upping the graphics past "stick figures" and having the game completely crap out. Also, turbine has already stated dx11 will be in lotro for quarter 1 of 2010. Honestly, both games have their cool things, but in the past years, lotro has been much more stable content, community and company wise. I know AoC has made tremendous strides in the right direction since release, but it dosn't change the shifty things that happened, and the tendency they have to have them happen in the future.
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I myself is a Lord of the rings fan, books and the movies. Yet I still think the game is boring.I bought lotro when it came out. Its still in my shelf somewhere. If only someone else made the game it might be fun. And also if they made it less "Hello Kitty" and more raw.
Are they going to improve in PvP in Riders of Rohan in your opinion?
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I bought the AOC for $19 long time ago and sitting tight among of the other games, one day when I searching for some old game to play with, I found AOC is unopened so I give it a try, until Lv 79.
The game lacking the combat engine like Lotro, it is like you were playing mathmatics, -200, -850, the mobs seems very dead even when its alive. It is not only AOC but many other games. Many people if not having much experiences may not notice this trivial details. Games like Lotro and WOW provides combat with more fun. Even I feel Aion combat is also mathmatics.
Some people like the landscape of Aion, but I think both Aion and AOC are too localization for certain countries.
Mmorpg is grouping game, so if you want to make sure you could play more contents, be sured you will find a good guild, but not from AOC or Aion. Both communities are just like any F2P community.
yea, lotro hands down.
AoC is just arse.
Well due to all the persuasive info in this post I have quit Lotro and decided to play AOC(sarcasm). I hear it is the most improved game but from the last time I played it that is an easy feat considering where it started. AOC is still the only game and Funcom the only developer to to make me question a video game purchase.
All I keep hearing is how improved the game is and how everyone should come back and see it now yet no one provides any relevant info on why and what. I would really like to hear from someone what this game has now (not something it should and or promised to have at launch) that is worth it.
I find Lotro and AOC being mentioned in the same topic insulting and hope that the shills from Funcom stop their trickery to get people to resub.
And also why 2 trials? From what I can remember 1-20 is the same starting zone and a very linear one at that. Super Mario had more options.
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lotro if you like wow rpg servers
aoc if you like wow pvp servers
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AOC has better graphics than Lotro?. Now that is a BIG laugh of the day. You are smoking allot of crack if you think AOC's graphics are better than Lotro. And Lotro is a pve game not a pvp game, you are a idiot.
mmorpg's flop faster then mcdonalds cheese burgers these days.
He's right AoC graphics are clearly superior, that is unless your system sucks. In which case LOTRO graphics will be better if you either blind or do not have the computer to run AoC in all it's glory.
But that isn't my beef with LOTRO. My concern is the combat, LOTRO combat is boring as hell with the animations to match.
LOL in AOC the the buttons light up to tell you what you need to hit next. It is like paint by the numbers. Do they even have a death penalty now? Last time I played it your stats would turn red but the numbers did not change at all. Fanbois said there was a death penalty but the numbers just did not change....yeah sure. AoC is a beginner MMO, LoTRO light LOL
I miss DAoC
If you like looking at nude boobies on your toon, AoC.
For immersion in a great fantasy game, LoTR.
I chose LoTR but don't think I don't like looking at naked boobies. Search engines on the net are a cheaper option.
Why i prefer AoC over LotRO:
AoC graphics is more my taste. Doesn't mean LotRO looks bad, but characters and environments are a bit more artificial in LotRO.
Combat animations are really really nice in AoC. Especially 2handed and dual wield animations. Combat in general is fun. Even though combos are "predefined" timing and position does matter a lot in order to succeeed in a fight.
More PvP options - if you want to. If you play on a PvE server you stil have the chance to enter various PvP settings, from PvP Team games, over Open Area PvP up to Guild City Sieges and fights. If you don't want to, you don't have to, but it is a welcome alternative.
Very nice Quest design. Quests are challenging and fun. Mixed tasks and challenges beside mob slashing make them fun to play.
Bottom line, even though i am a great LotR fan, i prefer the AoC atmosphere. And that is what a mmoRPG is all about IMHO.
I think AoC is out there for some 7 € 30 days playing ... no big invest for a "field test". :-)
Have fun in whatever you will play!
Well due to all the persuasive info in this post I have quit Lotro and decided to play AOC(sarcasm). I hear it is the most improved game but from the last time I played it that is an easy feat considering where it started. AOC is still the only game and Funcom the only developer to to make me question a video game purchase.
All I keep hearing is how improved the game is and how everyone should come back and see it now yet no one provides any relevant info on why and what. I would really like to hear from someone what this game has now (not something it should and or promised to have at launch) that is worth it.
I find Lotro and AOC being mentioned in the same topic insulting and hope that the shills from Funcom stop their trickery to get people to resub.
And also why 2 trials? From what I can remember 1-20 is the same starting zone and a very linear one at that. Super Mario had more options.
I played LOTRO to 65 on three classes, got all radiance, maxed out numerous second age weapons (never found a decent first age one, but did get them). After that, which was a good run, I had nothing to do..bored bored bored.. I litereally put the game on and had nothing to do. So i left. Some time after I picked up AoC:
Heres what I'll say are the plus points for AoC over LOTRO (I'm not certain what was included at launch cos I wasn't playing then):
AoC is the one to play IMO, with the expansion in sight (which ain't guna be some poor 'skirmish' replacement for real content) and the great content updates recently it's a clear winner. Funcom have always impressed with expansions, Anarchy online had the best expansions I've ever seen, they basically added a new game's worth of content each time.
Both are good though, I just think AoC has more lasting appeal. So, the one I would recommend is.. get this.. LOTRO.. lol. I say this because both are worth playing and you will be done with LOTRO much faster than AoC. If you start playing AoC and get into it you may not get the chance to try LOTRO.
I recently resubbed to Age of Conan and really loving it. I have thought about resubbing to LOTRO again too and giving it another go. I must say though with AoC I don't get bored. I mean even after seeing the same fatalities time and again they never get old. But with LOTRO I usually get bored within a couple weeks of resubbing. Not to mention that with LOTRO I have to keep the sound off because I can't stand the combat sounds. Hearing a Mini strum the same tunes over and over gets old.
I will say though that even from launch I felt that LOTRO was a stable game. Turbine really set the standard with LOTRO I felt, while Funcom (AkA FailCom) almost managed to kill AoC at launch. That being said AoC is lightyears ahead of where it was at launch. If it had launched in the state it is today and had more people had the machines needed to fully run and enjoy the graphics engine WoW might have actually had a real challenge a year and a half ago. That isn't to say LOTRO hasn't improved, it has. It still pound for pound is one of the prettiest games on the market.
The bottom line is that they are both great games these days. LOTRO is more of the RPers type of game and AoC is more of the PvPers game. But if you are in the middle as far as the RP aspect and PvP aspect you really can't go wrong with either. While I haven't played LOTRO since Moria released it sounds like the population is still great. And at least as far as the server SET in AoC there is a very active community. At low levels you can always find a group and at higher end game there are plenty of raids going on. I am in the 9th or 10th ranked guild on SET and even at that ranking my guild is constantly running raids as well has has 35-50 people on during prime time of all levels. Heck even in WoW I hardly ever saw 35-50 people on at any given time.
One more cool think about AoC. Once you hit level 50 you can roll up another level 50 of your choice (one time only). So that is a big plus to me.
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Currently Playing: Guild Wars 2 and Path of Exile
Quit: Eden Eternal, Wakfu, DDO, STO, DCUO, Sword 2, Atlantica Online, LOTRO, SWTOR, RIFT, Earthrise, FFXIV, RoM, Allods Online, GA,WAR,CO,V:SoH,POTBS,TR,COH/COV, WOW, DDO,AL, EQ, Eve, L2, AA, Mx0, SWG, SoR, AO, RFO, DAoC, and others.
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To those that say AoC graphics are superior they really aren't. They are slightly better than LotRO but not by much. I have both games active currently and both running on max settings in DX10. Don't worry my system isn't gimping any of the graphics I have a i7 920 CPU, 6gb of DDR 1600 in triple channel and a radeon 5870. The water graphics in AoC are superior to that of LotRO but the grass in LotRO to me looks better than in AoC.
Don't confuse a really good character creater in AoC with having great graphics. LotRO has an average character creater.
The combat system in AoC is quite a bit of fun for Melee but if you plan on playing a caster it still point an click. Unless you are a bear shaman getting into the mix of things and healing.
I really enjoy both games and have read books and lore over both of these fantasy worlds. They are both great choices like a few have said. I just wanted to clear up the graphics thing. If you can run LotRO in DX 10 it looks pretty sharp and pretty close to AoC.
I honestly think when it comes to P2P games for the time being you are choosing between the two best games out.
I just created a trial account and now downloading the game , i got an offer in my account page which is 20 euros to upgrade into a normal account + 30 days of free gametime , are u sure i can get it for ~ 7 euros ? Including those 30 days of gametime?
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Yeah, just buy the game at play.com for example, instead of buying it from funcom
OK, I am not playing either game right now and both have their strong points.
-I do think that AOC has an edge over Lord of the Rings Online in terms of Graphics and maybe a bigger edge in terms of animations. The graphics in Lord of the Rings are good though and far superior to games like WOW, Warhammer, or EQ2. Animations in Lord of the Rings have improved, but are WAY off where they should be. If they ever had Aion like animations, I think the game would be right up there with AOC. Both have great water effects, but AOCs was the best :-)
-Lord of the Rings is still better in the Performance area with everything on Max even though AOC has made large gains in this area.
-Lord of the Rings wins BIG TIME in that the world is MUCH MORE open then AOC. AOC is more like Everquest II with every area being instanced. You think you can run to something in the distance and then poof...another load screen breaking the immersion. I think both WOW and Lord of the Rings Online are much better in this area. Some zones though in AOC are quite large, others way too small, but its that loading screen every time you just want to keep on running to that building in the distance that kills it. Yes, there are loading screens in Lord of the Rings and WOW, but not nearly as much and they seem much more appropriate. You can run for hours in Lord of the Rings and not hit a loading screen. Its no Vanguard, but its very open.
-Story. This is a no brainer. Lord of the Rings is much better in making you feel part of an evolving story, a story that most can relate to and continues to grow. The story in AOC feels less necessary. In fact, you can pretty much ignore it and it feels exactly the same. I think to me this is the single biggest reason why I quit AOC. I just didnt feel connected to the world. I quit Lord of the Rings Online because I reached the end and it was just too difficult to get a group West Coast Time at night on my server or in the guild I was in. I personally like WOWs ability to draw groups across servers, or the way Warhammer drew people into Scenarios.
-Community: I found both were pretty good. You are going to find bad seeds everywhere, but I had no issues with the community in either. I was on PVE servers in both. PVP servers tend to draw more immature crowds lol.
Please Bioware do something special with Star Wars lol.
There Is Always Hope!
I do play both.
This post pretty much nails it. The gfx in AoC are by far better if you have the hardware for it. I would only add that AoC has lots of content incoming (expansion will blow people away) and probably will for a few years but LOTRO's patches are getting smaller so it feels in decline.
THE SECRET WORLD - PAY ONCE PLAY FOREVER - Give it a go!
http://www.thesecretworld.com/buy/
OR PM ME FOR A BUDDY KEY (need your email address).
I just created a trial account and now downloading the game , i got an offer in my account page which is 20 euros to upgrade into a normal account + 30 days of free gametime , are u sure i can get it for ~ 7 euros ? Including those 30 days of gametime?
HMV sell it for £9 and if you take up the 12 mon sub from them, well it was £68 for mine with 12 months sub, TSW beta, epic item and RotG expansion included - great deal!!!!
THE SECRET WORLD - PAY ONCE PLAY FOREVER - Give it a go!
http://www.thesecretworld.com/buy/
OR PM ME FOR A BUDDY KEY (need your email address).
I always come back to LOTRO. It is such a well operated game. I plan on trying AoC and STO soon just for fun (buddy pass and trial). Really though I am waiting for GW2 and possibly FF14. No more Korean games for me unless they start writing decent quests past the entry levels.
I honestly like both games but going to have to agree that AoC looks better and feels better ATM. Both games have it's pros and cons, best way to decide for yourself is try the trials.
Both game boxes are cheap too.
I haven't played AoC for quite a while but have dabbled in lots of MMOs and always come back to LotRO. There has been so much effort put in to the quests and epic storyline that there is no desire to rush to endgame, more to experience the world in which you're in. Others have said it before that the graphics aren't as good, and I'd agree, but try going in to first-person mode, removing all of the HUD clutter and just walking around somewhere you may know from the films or books. Special.
As I mentioned prior I think both are good games. However I decided to give LOTRO another try before I put down a years subscription to AoC. While the game is still nice, after a couple days I found myself back into AoC and not really missing LOTRO.
It really just depends on what you are looking for. Both are beautiful games, but if you are looking for a more realistic look then I think AoC has LOTRO beat by just a very thin hair.
Game play I personally think that AoC is more fun. With Melee you have to keep so active accounting for a MOBs shields and working on Combos. The closest thing to this in LOTRO is Conjunctions and the Warden's Gambits.
I think both have good communities to group with. Though I see a lot more people playing on the AoC server I play on (Set) than I do on the LOTRO server I play on (Firefoot).
I think both have plenty of quest and different zones to keep you busy. Though after your six or seventh toon past Tortage you start dreading making another alt. But after Tortage you really have 3 ways you can go. Personally I do Khemi and C. Valley.
As far as paying in advance for a discount. LOTRO is fairly cheap but you can't beat a year of AoC for under $100.
Some of the things that I think help edge AoC over LOTRO is:
1) Free Level 50 alt once you hit 50 on a character (only a one time deal though).
2) Vet. Rewards via tokens that you get for each month you pay for AoC. = stacks of +XP, Mounts, etc.
3) More mature game as far as the story
4) PvP is better than MvP PvP.
Pros for LOTRO over AoC:
1) More interesting race combinations.
2) Very well known Lore and background.
3) Runs great on much lower end machines than AoC.
4) More regular updates than AoC.
Cons of LOTRO:
1) The sound. OMG I can't stand the screams in the game.
2) As someone that likes Casters, I don't really care for the Caters (RK/LM) in LOTRO
Cons of AoC:
1) Not a family game. Also while there are many women that play AoC, LOTRO is more likely to be a game your wife or GF would want to play.
2) High System Requirements
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Currently Playing: Guild Wars 2 and Path of Exile
Quit: Eden Eternal, Wakfu, DDO, STO, DCUO, Sword 2, Atlantica Online, LOTRO, SWTOR, RIFT, Earthrise, FFXIV, RoM, Allods Online, GA,WAR,CO,V:SoH,POTBS,TR,COH/COV, WOW, DDO,AL, EQ, Eve, L2, AA, Mx0, SWG, SoR, AO, RFO, DAoC, and others.
www.twitter.com/mlwhitt
www.michaelwhitt.com
I still think lotro has the graphics over AoC. I guess this may be because AoC took a large amount of time to fix, performance wise (among otehr things), and I remember the day of upping the graphics past "stick figures" and having the game completely crap out. Also, turbine has already stated dx11 will be in lotro for quarter 1 of 2010. Honestly, both games have their cool things, but in the past years, lotro has been much more stable content, community and company wise. I know AoC has made tremendous strides in the right direction since release, but it dosn't change the shifty things that happened, and the tendency they have to have them happen in the future.
Leader of Knights Templar
GW2 IGN: Damarus
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AOC all the way I am afraid.
Pros of AOC- everything.
Cons of AOC- Funcom, biggest idiots ever.
No wait, I forgot about the Funcom part, go with LOTRO.