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LOTRO Review.
freakomar
Member Posts: 415
Well it's been a month of me playing LOTRO now and my time just ended, I wont recharge it for some personal reasons but this has nothing to do with the game.
Okay so when I first started, the quest line got me really excited, see'ing the cinematics and all.
So I got out of the Tutorial thingy, and into the Shire - I have to say the shire is BEAUTIFULly made...
Ive been playing WoW and got bored of it, started GW and got bored of that and was waiting for WAR but thought it sucked looking at the community it has made on the forums already and have lost interest, the only game I look forward to is Aion but that wont be out till next year, So I bought LOTRO.
PROs:
1) Great graphics
2) Unique and fun classes
3) Great community
4) A fair amount of Role-Playing, which can be avoided if you want
5) AMAZING Questing
6) Absolutely NO grind at all
7) Limited, but VERY interesting PvP
8) Great gameplay overall
9) Interesting trait system
10) I just love the titles :P
CONs:
1) NO grind at all, which can be bad at times, you might just wanna kill some stuff - but for that you got the destiny point buffs so its okay I guess
2) TOO many quests, for a person like me I wont leave till all the quests are done! But hey not really a con 
3) At lower levels atleast, everyone ends up looking like each other no matter what class, Not good armour variety
4) Im sure they need new and more weapon/armour models, which im sure will be done soon
Thats about it!
Let me comment on PVP a bit more, everyone keeps argueing that LOTRO has "no" pvp and thats what I thought till I tried it out myself, The monster players versus the players (Creeps VS Freeps) has always been an interesting time off for me, You may get bored of leveling up all day so at the end of the day why not go eat some hobbits? TRUST ME it may not be good like DAoC etc, and it does not have open world PvP but the PvP here is ALWAYS large scale and FUN.
Just bored till I recharge my account, thought this may help.
P.S. Yay this was my 100th post 
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
Comments
Let me start out by saying I like the game. Heck, I will be playing tonight. That said, I'm beginning to hate reviews.
Freakomar, you list thinkgs but don't tell why you believe them, that is absolutely useless. For emample, you say it has an amazing quest system, yet you don't say why you think this is so. You need to give more detail. Heck, you need to give SOME detail.
I'm only going to take issue with one thing you said. No grind at all? What if you get a deed to kill 60 of whatever and you decide you really want the trait you get at the end? Yes, you might eventually fill the deed through questing, but if you want it quicker, then you get to grind and often without any worthwhile experience gain. Then there is the quest grinding to get X number of such and such. So how can you say there is no grinding?
That said, this is a well put together game that is worth any casual gamers time. It hasn't addicted me the way so many other games have, but that is probably due to there being no reason for me to max out my levels. I still play several nights a week for a couple hours or so and I enjoy the time I spend which is all that really matters.
As for "no" grind, I'll just say that for me, any grinding is optional. I'm referring specifically to the Deed system. Much like titles in Guild Wars, no one is forcing me to complete these deeds. It's there if I want to, and yes it involves grinding mobs more often than not, but it totally optional.
On the flip side, people who enjoy grinding mobs don't always consider that grinding, but they do consider LOTRO to be a quest grind. I don't understand that mentality -- I'd rather have a reason to go out and play whack-a-mole -- but hey, diversity makes the world go 'round, eh?
Oh come on, this game really doesn't have a grind in comparison to other MMORPGs. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. But seriously, compared to anything except for perhaps Guild Wars, this game has a very, very easy and small grind.
Killing 360 Wargs to get a title is a semi-steep grind IMO.
Its nothing compared to the likes of Lineage II. But as most people will compare the game to WoW, I would say its a substantial (optional) grind overall.
Funny you whine about no grind and too many quests. Developers can't win.
"3) At lower levels atleast, everyone ends up looking like each other no matter what class, Not good armour variety"
That's one of the reasons I hated DDO and LotRO beta (never played retail). That's also why I love Turbine's other game, AC. The random loot system makes everyone look very different. You can actually develop your own unique fashion.
I didn't say the grind was bad, I just said that it exists when the OP said there isn't one.
Yet, I'll take this a step further. Grinding 60 swamp creatures that burrow into the ground making it take longer so I can get the deed completed, trait be worth it or not, is annoying when I am getting 10 exp per. Then it is a near worthless grind that gets old fast. No, it doesn't take hours, but that doesn't make the process of doing ii any more enjoyable for me.
Even if it was less grind then any other MMO, even if you don't do it, if you want to do all the quests and deeds, there is grind.
If you are not enjoying what it takes to get that title, you should skip it. Titles aren't important in this game and no game is worth playing if you aren't enjoying it, period. I am only lvl 16, but I haven't felt one bit of grind at all. I don't have all of my titles or all of my traits, like some people that grind them, but I have the traits that matter. You can wait for the natural quest progression to get your traits, you don't need to have it now. That is just instant gratification talking. Now, maybe you are going to another land and are trying to get the traits there where the quests are too low to do. If that is so, I fall back on the first thing I said. Don't do it if it isn't enjoyable. I will never be able to figure out why people choose to do something unenjoyable in a game, when they can choose to do something enjoyable in real life or somewhere else in-game.
MMORPG's w/ Max level characters: DAoC, SWG, & WoW
Currently Playing: WAR
Preferred Playstyle: Roleplay/adventurous, in a sandbox game.
If you are not enjoying what it takes to get that title, you should skip it. Titles aren't important in this game and no game is worth playing if you aren't enjoying it, period. I am only lvl 16, but I haven't felt one bit of grind at all. I don't have all of my titles or all of my traits, like some people that grind them, but I have the traits that matter. You can wait for the natural quest progression to get your traits, you don't need to have it now. That is just instant gratification talking. Now, maybe you are going to another land and are trying to get the traits there where the quests are too low to do. If that is so, I fall back on the first thing I said. Don't do it if it isn't enjoyable. I will never be able to figure out why people choose to do something unenjoyable in a game, when they can choose to do something enjoyable in real life or somewhere else in-game.
All I'm doing is trying to get across that there is GRIND. Not that it is really bad, just that it EXISTS!!! I realize that I don't have to do it. That doesn't mean that doing it isn't annyoing! I realize its not as bad as other games but that doesn't mean I enjoy it or that it doesn't exist.
*starts smashing his head against the wall* You all win, I won't post in this thread again. The OP is right, there is no grind. The next one is right, I don't have to do it, how can I since it doesn't exist! The next one is right, too, that the grind isn't as bad as other games, again, how can it be, it doesn't exist??? This post is right because since it doesn't exist there is no reason to do them.
Lets just take this all a step further.
Lotro is the best MMO, no, wait, Lotro is the best thing in the world. Period.
Pro stuff:
1. Everything and anyone who disagrees is wrong.
Con stuff
1. What? How dare you suggest there are cons. You are a bad person. Die.
There, this is my review, best anything ever so I will no be posting again since I can go do the best anything ever. What are you reading this for? Go play Lotro. You don't own it? Go buy it. Then play it. Your firends aren't playing? Then tell them to play and if they don't they are bad people and you should make new friends. Then flame your old friends until they play Lotro.
This is not a review; it is a list.
You don't start seeing the grind until the late 40's. Anyway if you don't ewant or think you need the trait, then it is optional. I am a [erfectionist. Right now I am grinding all my traits to level 6 and 7, but I don't feel it is imperitive that I do so and take frequent breaks minstrel for guildies and friends when they ask. No need to stress over a trait the way I see it.
To the OP , enjoy the game. Take your time it is not a race to 50. Lots of things to see and do along the way and it is a lot more fun if you get in a good kinship.
I miss DAoC
Are you guys serious? If you don't get certain traits and deeds, you're totally gimping your character. Therefore, it is not optional to skip them. No serious raiding guilds or groups are going to want you. Welcome to the grind.
Dont post when you dont know what the meaning of the thing you're saying is, its a review I.E it tells the pro's and cons of the game. Whats a review? Answer me this question.
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
ALSO what I mean by grind in this case is grinding for exp and to level up, its comparitively slower as you dont get much experience...
Take WoW for example, a guy can get from 1-70 within a few weeks just by grinding
In LOTRO you HAVE to do quests, which isnt really bad.
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
You dont grind mobs for levels, you grind quests. Big difference - not... Actually, I MISS being able to grind mobs and feel like it's worth it. In LOTRO you kill mobs because the quests tell you to do it - you do quests because that is how you LEVEL.
So there you have it - OF COURSE there is a grind in LOTRO. It's quest based and luckily it's pretty varied. But I like more sandboxy things - sometimes I like getting into the knitty gritty of it with a good group and fight off enemies for hours! In lotro you're lucky if you get one person to stay behind with you after youve done your 1 quest togtether ('cause of bad quest tools).
So, I'm confused... grinding is repetitive play right? Doing the same thing over and over again in order to eventually gain some sort of reward. So I'm trying to make sense of the last post which states in LOTR that you grind quests.
I have to admit that the nature of the quests does become familiar. At level 23 I can see they fall into one of the following categories; you have to rescue someone, find something, collect a number of something, kill a number of something, kill a unique, or find someone. BUT the location changes, some are solo, some can be done with just one other player, some require a large group, you can go for quests above your level to make things harder, or below if you are feeling like something easy, the monsters change and the rewards change. There are also the storyline quests, not to mention the occasional crafting quest, and I have done one quest specific to my class. On top of this the quests are not isolated, they are typically part of a quest line... and who gives you the quest does create some variation too. If you bother to read the text.
As for deeds.... I find that I complete or almost complete deeds without intending to... just from exploring and taking delight in fighting a particular monster. Wargs for example... they are just fun to fight.
So... for those people that are so jaded by playing that they call this grinding, well this is what the rest of us mean when we say LOTR has next to no grind.
Every MMO has a grind. Anyone who says otherwise has simply found something in the game they enjoy enough to mask it. That's not a bad thing, of course.
LotR hasn't broken any molds. To me, it plays almost exactly like EQ2. The combat model is the same, but there are subtle differences that make the game more enjoyable to me. For one, the graphics and art style are more appealing, and even when cranking up the settings all the way the performance hit on my aging machine is negligible. I can't go more than halfway on EQ2 without my framerates chugging.
The Deeds and the Chapter storyline quests help keep things interesting for me, taking my mind off my XP bar while I just enjoy the content, but nothing holds my attention like just exploring and taking in the scenery. I love having a big, seamless world where I can see for miles.
Dont post when you dont know what the meaning of the thing you're saying is, its a review I.E it tells the pro's and cons of the game. Whats a review? Answer me this question.
You'd have been better off calling it a Pros/Cons list.A review generally takes the time to explain the reasoning behind the pro's and con's.... which you didn't provide.......
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'd love to know how getting a group and grinding mobs "just because we can" equates to sandbox. Because you thought of it rather than an NPC telling you to? Gee, couldn't I decide to do that even in the most linear style of MMO too? Lineage2 is a sandbox? Who knew? </sarcasm>
The "quest tools" are just fine. I do wish they'd have implemented an improved version of DDO's LFG tools however. That said, this isn't EQ1 anymore. For better or for worse, we just don't group up and camp/farm/grind mobs all day because there's nothing else to do. These days, there are actually quests and stuff to do for a change. Even in EQ1 we were all selfish and self-centered, but we *had* to be in a group. Now we have a choice.
Yes, but (to me) it's only "grinding" if that repetitive play isn't fun. "Fun" is subjective. To some, the Asian mob grind is fun. To some, they'd rather have quests. To some, only PvP is fun. Ya can't make everyone happy, and there's no one single magical game that is everything to everyone. I was a hardcore-ish raider in WoW for quite some time, but I still consider raiding to be grinding. You're just doing the same thing over and over; it's only "fun" the first few times through when everything you see and do is new. Once the newness wears thin and it becomes a "play by numbers" experience, it's grinding to me.
yeah ok whatever, its a list :P
You guys still dont get what I mean, theres no point grinding to level up in LOTRO... you're better off questing, in WoW you're better off grinding as its faster.
And in no way is LOTRO a sandboxy game, just the same ol' stuff - put into the LOTR theme, but still a good game.
Played almost everything...
Currently playing nothing...
Waiting for: Darkfall, WAR, Guild Wars 2.
My fastest time to 60 was around 4 days 11 hours /played using Joana's guide, and the record currently is 3-4days something to 70. I forgot the actual number though.
If you want to level up fast, get all your traits and be rich. Do the quests and kill everything that moves on your way. We dont even do quests really. Just kill everything. If we complete a quest doing it..great. Never grind really..and have everything we want.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
QFT - I have made a quarter to half a level in my 30's and 40's in 2 or 3 hours of group hunting this way. Great for those traits also as Fiskus pointed out.
I miss DAoC