i have discoverd LOTRO. not sure what took me so long but, better late then never; right?
5) the questing is fun. seems almost open world, where i can just go anywhere i want. the reviews i read said there were WAY too many quests for each level and region, so i just wonder off and quest anywhere i want. i don't follow any set pattern yet. except for levels 1 and 2 - which are tutorials.
having fun! hope it lasts! did i mention that it is F2P
sz
Hate to burst your bubble but this isn't true, and its the main reason I've left the game so many times. The zones are all very boxed in and linear, and there are strict paths you're supposed to follow. The only way to advance is by questing so if you go in an area you don't have the right quest chain for, you're screwed.
There are tons of instances, most of which require a quest to enter. You run against a wall and it says "You do not have the right quest to enter here".
You will keep doing essentially the same quest in every hub. There are so many reskinned wolves that NPCs want you to get paws or tails or hides from. Over and over. Boars too.
And if you try to just explore sometimes the game will just insta kill you because you're not supposed to be there. I tried going to Angmar once, I avoided all the agro and as soon as I zoned in... the game just killed me. Because I didn't complete the level 50 quest you need to do before you're supposed to go in.
I don't know what Turbine was thinking when they decided to make a WoW clone when they had such a good sandbox game in alpha.
This is just plain wrong i'm afraid. It might have been fairly linear five years ago when it launched but not now, there are at least two regions for every ten levels and if you are within five levels of the region you can pick up any quests in the region and follow the thread. I regularly hop around picking up quests where I want and doing the Rep quests I want, only restricted by level.
It's a bit bizarre that you describe it as a sandbox in Alpha, it never was a sandbox game, but it certainly is closer to that ideal now than it ever was. I've played it since launch and it's better now than it ever was, including the fact that many crafted items are now better than drops and even quest rewards. How many games give you that?
SaunZ had it right, I guess you haven't played for a long time.
And if you try to just explore sometimes the game will just insta kill you because you're not supposed to be there. I tried going to Angmar once, I avoided all the agro and as soon as I zoned in... the game just killed me. Because I didn't complete the level 50 quest you need to do before you're supposed to go in.
There are some truth in it, some questlines are strict, and gating the start of other quests, but it always supported by the story. I guess it's a common thing in mmo's anyway. I just want to comment the insta kill thing since I too love to explore in Middle-earth:
in Eriador, there's only 2 places, where you get insta killed, and both are backed up firmly by the story and lore.
One is the dread line in Angmar (which killed you). There's a book quest line to explore the watching stones, and find a way to 'deactivate' them, so you can cross to East Angmar. The line has it's purpose, and btw it's not 'insta' kill, there are fear debuffs (and a lot of skeletons on the ground) as a warning for turn back and leave...
(Second one is the bay in Forochel, but it also not 'insta' kill, actually at lvl75 and with some help you can swim around... but at lvl50 the cold kills you in a few sec. And it's also fit in the lore)
There used to be a third insta-kill the archers in Lorien, if you didn't have the rep they shot you dead if you crossed the Nimrodel. I always thought that was pretty cool and it was a shame they changed it.
Comments
This is just plain wrong i'm afraid. It might have been fairly linear five years ago when it launched but not now, there are at least two regions for every ten levels and if you are within five levels of the region you can pick up any quests in the region and follow the thread. I regularly hop around picking up quests where I want and doing the Rep quests I want, only restricted by level.
It's a bit bizarre that you describe it as a sandbox in Alpha, it never was a sandbox game, but it certainly is closer to that ideal now than it ever was. I've played it since launch and it's better now than it ever was, including the fact that many crafted items are now better than drops and even quest rewards. How many games give you that?
SaunZ had it right, I guess you haven't played for a long time.
There used to be a third insta-kill the archers in Lorien, if you didn't have the rep they shot you dead if you crossed the Nimrodel. I always thought that was pretty cool and it was a shame they changed it.