Updated character models preview, 5 new zones and more with Mordor

Filbur

Only Man and Elf/High-Elf are going to be in U20. The rest to come later.

https://thebeardedminstrel.blogspot.de/2017/06/whats-new-in-update-21-patch-1.html

New zone Preview: https://thebeardedminstrel.blogspot.de/2017/06/a-brief-tour-of-mordor-udun.html

Expansion TL;DR

• New level cap of 115
• New race: High Elves (all classes except burglar and Beorning, new starting area)
• 5 new areas to explore in Mordor
• Virtue cap increases to 20
• New gearing mechanics
• Avatar updates (Elves/Men first, Hobbits/Dwarves second, Beornings last)
• New barber options
• New crafting tier, no new crafting guild updates
• Allegiance system for the four races
• Post-launch updates: PvMP, new group instances and raid

http://www.mmo-central.com/2017/06/22/standing-stone-games-previews-mordor/

Dragnelus

Which one is before and after?

I like the left better.

immodium

Dragnelus said:

Which one is before and after?

I like the left better.

Left is the update.

shetlandslarsen

Well thats great news.

I play lotro on and off , great game with a great community.

postlarval

Nyctelios said:

I'm sorry. This doesn't look that better.

Dragnelus said:

Which one is before and after?

I like the left better.

You can't tell? I'm half-blind and I can tell the difference.

lahnmir

Never thought this would actually happen. One of my favorite MMOs but a long time since I played.

unbelievable and seriously awesome. Will probably play again if some old guildies are up for it.

/Cheers,
Lahnmir

postlarval

lahnmir said:

Never thought this would actually happen. One of my favorite MMOs but a long time since I played.

unbelievable and seriously awesome. Will probably play again if some old guildies are up for it.

/Cheers,
Lahnmir

Same here.

The best thing about the game is the sheer amount of content. I'm tempted to start a new character and play all the way the way through, since it's been such a long time.

My guild was on Nimrodel and I hoping they moved to Landroval, were I moved my characters. It will be nice to catch up with old guildies again.

I've only purchased two lifetime subs over the years, one was a waste (TSW) and this one definitely paid back in spades.

Halibrand

Mordor expansion is also adding Erebor and Lindon to the game.  As a Tolkien nut, I'm very excited about that!  I'm hoping Erebor gets the same treatment they gave to Minas Tirith.

Beyorn

I like it but the one on the left looks he has had to much caffeine.

Filbur

Nyctelios said:

postlarval said:

Nyctelios said:

I'm sorry. This doesn't look that better.

Dragnelus said:

Which one is before and after?

I like the left better.

You can't tell? I'm half-blind and I can tell the difference.

I'm sorry but they both look like they could co-exist within the same game. 

It does not look as an upgrade. Looks like another character created within the same game but with beard number 8, face shape number 14 and hair number 9 - if you get what I mean.

Apart from the eyes, the hair, face and beard are clearly better looking.

Asheram

postlarval said:

Nyctelios said:

I'm sorry. This doesn't look that better.

Dragnelus said:

Which one is before and after?

I like the left better.

You can't tell? I'm half-blind and I can tell the difference.

I can tell that it looks like two different chars wearing the same armor type. I wouldnt say one looks worse or better than the other more like they look like two different people.

Po_gg

It was discussed during the stream Friday, there was even a news piece, but still a great link, OP.
Bearded Minstrel is great, and his list is pretty awesome.
Anyone interested in the current stage can check it first hand, on Bullroarer (or on youtube and streams).

High elf is not in yet, only added to the character selection screen but you can't actually make one.
The new stances look nice, but for the faces I prefer the old ones (true, never was in the "fix the animations" camp, spoke against the previous changes too ).
Mordor looks pretty... mordor-ish, dark and ugly, without the sophistication of Angmar (I liked the architecture there... guilty pleasure ).

Lithuanian

As far as I heard - barber could change skin colour. Yes, plastic surgery does wonders in our world: it really does mega-wonders in Middle Earth.  Not sure about eye colour though.
Info on region proper for me is very pessimistic. Monsters are very hard, the weakiest hit from "trash mob" was reported to be 7,000. My Minstrel would be killed with 5 hits. Crafting nodes - seems to be heavily guarded. For crafting, you may need things only monsters can (occasionally) drop and monsters are very hard to kill. For recipes - you need quest pack/expansion, because access to recipes is given only by completing certain quests. At least one laggy region reported.
For me these are just grave news. Unable to craft (don't have millions of in-game gold, sorry), unable to fight, say, 2 mobs at one (2 hits, I'm dead...) - what options am I left with?