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SKdragon
Member Posts: 101
Hello all.
some time ago i've played the Open Beta of LOTRO but wasn't very pleased with it. Right now iam thinking to play this game. first going to trial and if i like it, then subscribing it.
BUT!
i want to know the following:
How's the lvling? is it much of a grind?
Is the community great?
Can you do fun things like setting up a camp in the beautifull forest and chilling there with friends?
And would my computer handle this game?
Amd Athlon 3000+ 1,5GB ddr1, Geforce 6600 GT 128 mb (gonna upgrade my comp later but that will be in 5 months)
Thanks in advance. 
Comments
>>>How's the lvling? is it much of a grind?<<<
Well, this depends entirely on what you consider grinding. Most experience comes from questing, so any "traditional" grind is disguised, but it'll feel like a grind if you dislike questing for some reason. Additionally, that traditional grind does exist in the game, as many traits and virtues are unlocked via repeating the same action over and over or killing the same sort of mob over and over.
That said, there are enough different activities available to keep you busy in a variety of ways, so you'll only feel a grind if you're prone to seeking them out. You could stand in one place and grind on orcs all day to complete a trait, or you could just go around questing and kill any orcs you happen to see. Whether or not it's a grind is a matter of the way you play the game.
>>>Is the community great?<<<
I've never really known how to answer this question, but it comes up in just about every game. The community changes because it's made up of gamers who drift from game to game, just like every other MMO. The community changes based on which server you're playing on, at what time of day you play, whether you're playing on the US or Euro servers, whether you spend most of your time pvping in the Ettenmoors or whether you spend it playing music in a tavern.
There are so many variables that it's impossible to give a simple answer. Are there good people in the game on every server? Yes. Are there jerks on every server? Yes. The best answer I can give you is that there are plenty of tools in place to find the good people and filter out the bad ones.
>>>Can you do fun things like setting up a camp in the beautifull forest and chilling there with friends?<<<
Yes, you can make campfires pretty much anywhere you like if you have the skill and/or the tools. Assuming you have friends who don't mind sitting around in the woods for awhile, you can certainly do that. Like most goal-oriented games, though, the average player seems to be driven to achieve specific goals as quickly as possible, so finding people who are willing to walk instead of run may be something of a challenge. I'm sure they're out there, but they're not the average.
>>>And would my computer handle this game?
Amd Athlon 3000+ 1,5GB ddr1, Geforce 6600 GT 128 mb (gonna upgrade my comp later but that will be in 5 months)<<<
It'll run it, but not at the "Ultra High" settings. The game is very much like WoW in that it runs well and looks pretty good on just about anything. The high-end settings on the game are an order of magnitude beyond WoWs, though; they're nowhere near as demanding as games like EQ2 or Vanguard, either, but I think they're right up there in terms of quality, if not superior. Turbine's done a good job of optimizing the engine and client, however they still need to do a little more tweaking on the DX10 features (though a lot of the problems there are driver-related, too).
most of the questions can be answered by giving the 7d free trial a go. Honestly I think its a game that has a lot of potential and a good community.
Good Luck
Torrential
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I would say that its a great idea to sit around a campfire and enjoy the low level game as that is when weathertop is a great thing to talk about and take and adventure too.
One thing you dont want to do is grind to top level as the quests become dull as fellowships form only to do a quest and disband stright after (sometimes without as little as a hello or goodbye).
Once at top level the game looses its magic, in fact i would say that the magic goes once you hit around 35ish and you have to experience the serious quest grinding dilemas of Dol dinen.
I have noticed a decrease in the community on the game as of late as a lot of people have got to top level and dont know what to do. Some get to the rift and others start alts but once they do hit 50 you rarely see them around.
The game is very enjoyable but i would say not to rush to gain level and enjoy the low level interactions.
For one, your PC can handle this game. Even raiding, just tone down some settings, there are loads.
The community is loads better then my last mmo, WoW, people are more friendly and helpful. Less "omg get epix or lief my party lolz" Which is good.
You can do loads of emotes and other things like playing musical instruments(you can actually play them yourself) So yeah, you can just chill and or roleplay with friends.
Lotro has so much more quests then my former mmo WoW, that I never felt like I was grinding. AT ALL. I can imagine you have to grind at some point for recipes and so on, but there are enough quests. Trust me lol
O, and don't play to lvl8 and say it sucks like most people. Play at least to the epic story quest start. Which is where the game begins if you ask me. Really.
Can't speak for your framerate at higher settings with the 6600GT, but I run an Athlon 3200+ and have no issues in that department. So you should be fine there.
My biggest problem is that, with only 1 GB of RAM, I get a lot of swapping in crowded or highly detailed areas. Your extra half GIG should really help you there.
Overall, should run fine. How high you can set the graphics and still get a good FR will depend on a lot of factors, not the least of which is the resolution you intend to run it at.
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im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good