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LotrO: Book 8 and beyond!

Here are some new and intersting articles on whats coming up later this year in LotrO

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173904

Mirkwood and Dol Gudlur coming up :) Not sure if I like that the lvl cap is getting raised again.

http://www.massively.com/2009/04/24/lotro-two-year-anniversary-book-8-details-announced/#continued

This part get me really excited, sounds like a very cool and unique feature!

"A major game mechanic being introduced later this year will be known as Skirmishes. This name may change, Steefel points out, but it's their working title throughout production. They're described as dynamic instances that are aware of the party's size, and they respond accordingly, in relation to how big or small the party is. They are also repeatable, and will have multiple objectives that will give you enough incentive to do them multiple times with different sized groups. "It's the natural evolution from the focus on small party dynamic instanced experiences, and it takes it to a whole new level," Steefel says. Plus, we were teased with a bit of exciting information regarding customizable soldiers that you can train and bring into these skirmishes. Unfortunately, that's all we got on that."

 

If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd

Comments

  • MrbloodworthMrbloodworth Member Posts: 5,615

    In a nutshell, the LvL cap is going up, how much is not said. They are indeed going to expand into southern Mirkwood this year. They are adding Dol Guldor this year.

    Notable is a bit about the "Skirmish System," some detail is given in this Massive article (second quote of this post).


    Turbine Talks the Future of LOTRO on the Eve of Its Second Anniversary



    April 24 marks the two year anniversary of the release of The Lord of the Rings Online. Ahead of the celebrations and benefits that fans can expect to see coming soon (more on that later), a number of staff members from developer Turbine held a conference call on Thursday to take a look at where LOTRO has been and where it's now headed as it enters its third year on the market. For the impatient fans who are wondering: Yes, the level cap will be raised again. And it'll happen this year.

    With two years in the book, Turbine is being mindful of a number of types of growth the game is experiencing, LOTRO executive producer Jeffrey Steefel said. As the audience grows and existing players mature, the game needs to compensate by evolving right along with players. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Rings license has attracted many players who have never played an MMO before, and MMOs as a genre have become more popular. With the game's popularity growing -- they wouldn't cite specific subscription numbers, but claimed that the figure was growing while pointing to things like My LOTRO as evidence that the community is strong and that subscription numbers don't tell the whole story -- there are a lot of bases to cover with any future content.

    Beyond what the next update, Book 8, has to offer, Turbine has been notoriously tight-lipped. In addition to letting us know the level cap will raise at some point in the latter half of this year, we learned that not only is LOTRO headed to southern Mirkwood, but to Sauron's old fortress, Dol Guldur, too. There's also a major addition coming called the "skirmish system" though, like almost everything else about the future, details weren't forthcoming other than to say it'll help to put a heavier focus on the ongoing wars taking place.

    Moving on to what we can expect in the much more immediate future, plans to celebrate the game's second anniversary kick off on Friday with a temporary anniversary pricing plan for subscriptions. Anyone who locks into a multi-month subscription (which start with a minimum of 90 days) will pay just $10 per month for as long as they keep their subscription active. Former players can pick up the game and play for free from April 24 - April 30. During that period, experience gains will be boosted by 25%. To make combat potentially even sweeter, during the celebration enemies will drop rare item that can then be cashed in for a special gift box that can contain anything -- cosmetic rewards, general trophy items, or any number of other things.

    Newcomers who don't own the game can pick it up for the bargain bin price of $10 -- a hell of a deal, considering it includes the original game and the Mines of Moria expansion (in other words, every bit of content to-date), plus 30 days of free game time. And as one more additional bonus, anyone with an active subscription as of June 30 will receive a passive, in-game gift known as the "Writ of Passage" which will treat players to a permanent 20% discount at stable masters.

    With all of the discounts and bonuses you can start enjoying, it seems like the perfect time to hop in and give LOTRO a try for new and former players alike. You'd be hard-pressed to find a cheaper price for a copy of the game and its expansion, and you can bet that subscriptions won't end up dropping below the $10/month price anytime soon.


    LotRO two-year anniversary: Book 8 details announced

    [quote]
    As our LotRO 2nd anniversary coverage continues, we're pleased to bring you some of the latest news from a recent conference call we had with Turbine. This call involved Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of LotRO, Harry Teasley, Art Director for LotRO and Adam Mersky, Director of Communications for Turbine to provide us with a rundown of the last two years with the game and what the future holds.

    Perhaps the most exciting part of this call came when a teaser was given for the upcoming Book 8 content. We were also treated to some more info on the 2nd Anniversary Welcome Back in-game promotion for former players, new discounted subscription pricing for new players and much more! Follow along after the cut below for a summary of this exciting new information from Turbine.

    Anniversary Bonuses
    To help promote LotRO for new players, Turbine is offering a special anniversary pricing plan for all subscriptions of 3 months or more. From April 24th through June 30th, players can choose any multi-month plan (90 days or longer) and lock in a monthly price of $9.99 for as long as they maintain that plan. Plus, the game itself is $9.99 on the company's e-store through this promotional period.

    During the anniversary celebration, monsters throughout Middle-earth will drop special rare items that can be exchanged for a gift box that will reward them with a variety of in-game items to aid in their adventures in Middle-earth. (<---- That's what those silver coins are for it seems) Plus, anyone with an active subscription on June 30th will receive a special in-game gift called the Writ of Passage which provides 20% discounts at stable masters throughout Middle-earth.

    Upcoming content for Volume 2, Book 8
    So now we get into the good stuff. According to Jeffrey Steefel, the new Book 8 content patch will bring players many new small party-based instances and more player enhancements similar to what was done with Book 7.

    Later on in the year, players will get the opportunity to explore deeper into the southern Mirkwood area, focusing mainly on the city of Dol Guldur, previously known to the Elves as Amon Lanc. You may remember Dol Guldur as Sauron's stronghold where he retreated after the One Ring was lost. It became a key fortress that allowed Sauron to regain his strength and rebuild his armies.

    We specifically asked just how far north we would reach into Mirkwood -- if we would get to see as far as The Old Forest Road -- but were told that the new content won't reach quite that far this year. That said, southern Mirkwood is not the only new area content coming this year. We're also told that the Dwarves and Elves were asked to come back to Moria because of an "unrest" that is happening within the mines. A return to Khazad-dûm!

    [size=15pt]A major game mechanic being introduced later this year will be known as Skirmishes. This name may change, Steefel points out, but it's their working title throughout production. They're described as dynamic instances that are aware of the party's size, and they respond accordingly, in relation to how big or small the party is. They are also repeatable, and will have multiple objectives that will give you enough incentive to do them multiple times with different sized groups. "It's the natural evolution from the focus on small party dynamic instanced experiences, and it takes it to a whole new level," Steefel says. Plus, we were teased with a bit of exciting information regarding customizable soldiers that you can train and bring into these skirmishes. Unfortunately, that's all we got on that.[/size]

    On top of all of this, we're also told that the level cap will increase by year's end, and a new Summer Festival will be coming with Book 8. All of this brand new info should be enough to keep you fired up until Book 8's launch, slotted for June of this year. Keep your eyes on Massively for the latest info on Book 8 and beyond!

    [Edit: A few points were clarified by Turbine and the original post was edited to show the clarification. Apologies for the misunderstanding. Mirkwood is coming later this year, not with Book 8 in June][/quote]


    All I can say is, holy fucking shit, Turbine "The content gods". That's 3 entire zones and about 4 new features just this year (Not including the expansion).

    ----------
    "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me

    "No, your wrong.." - Random user #123

    "Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.

    How are you?" -Me

  • ValentinaValentina Member RarePosts: 2,077

    bleh......another level cap increase...

  • Redline65Redline65 Member Posts: 486

    I was thinking just the opposite - level cap increase yay!

  • MrbloodworthMrbloodworth Member Posts: 5,615
    Originally posted by Valentina


    bleh......another level cap increase...



    I don't know what you guys are talking about, that's a **** ton of content, AND a level cap.

    Not some arbitrary level cap increasing and a reach around: "See yah later".

    The Expansion comes AFTER all that stuff. We don't even know what it is yet, the rest of that, is free updates.

     

     

    ----------
    "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me

    "No, your wrong.." - Random user #123

    "Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.

    How are you?" -Me

  • ThradarThradar Member Posts: 949

     Cool.  More content = better.  Everyone is happy then:  raiders, instance grinders, solos, casuals.  This is the only true way to keep everyone happy.  Consistent expansions/content.

    Note:  You can't literally make everyone happy.  There is always a vocal minority that will whine about anything.  /ignore

  • leinad312leinad312 Member UncommonPosts: 319

    Level cap increase already? @_@

    Been over 4 months and I still haven't hit the cap yet. On the up side, I guess that means there will always be content for me.

    Playing - FFXIV,  ESO
    Played - FFXI, WoW, Lineage 2, Guild Wars, Aion, SWToR, LotRO, GW2, TERA, Rift, ArcheAge, TSW

  • MrbloodworthMrbloodworth Member Posts: 5,615
    Originally posted by leinad312


    Level cap increase already? @_@

     

    No, at the end of the year.

    ----------
    "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me

    "No, your wrong.." - Random user #123

    "Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.

    How are you?" -Me

  • DeeweDeewe Member UncommonPosts: 1,980

     Thanks for the infos.

     

    The customizable soldiers looks like the mercs system they added in DDO.

  • ThradarThradar Member Posts: 949
    Originally posted by leinad312


    Level cap increase already? @_@
    Been over 4 months and I still haven't hit the cap yet. On the up side, I guess that means there will always be content for me.

     

    "already" if you mean 6-8 months.  O_o

  • trancejeremytrancejeremy Member UncommonPosts: 1,222

    I would be shocked if the level cap increase wasn't in the expansion pack. Both are later this year.  Usually that's a pretty good carrot in terms of selling one.

    R.I.P. City of Heroes and my 17 characters there

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