I just started a minstrel, and the game seems decently interested. I'd like more info about how it goes along. Is there PvP? Are there dungeons? How group focused is the game? I hate soloing and I'm not a big fan of questing. I love healing. Just trying to get a feel from people that have played it.
"God, please help us sinful children of Ivalice.."
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Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Run down is - great story , great character customization , but really dull and slow combat system. PvP can only be done through monster play system I believe.
If you find a guild and can do the group content it's not too bad, but solo it gets really boring really quick.
Hate what they did to the old forest now it's a corridor with tree wallpaper.
Moria is well done but again, I don't like how they did it with quest hubs.
I think the game is still worth playing but again, join a guild that does the group content.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
A starting levels (up to Angmar) - almost no dunegons. Dungeons are called "instances".
St the begining (presuming you are free player) you won;t have much choice. Great Barrows, Tuckoborough, few others.
Angmar offers Carn Dum, Urugarthj with many grindy deds. Yiu would visit these often. Also, located in Angmar, gated behind elite mobs is Rift - a 12-man raid instance.
Moria is where instances shine. Many of them, giving Lotro points, loot items.
Rise of Isengard expansion offers instances too, they may be difficult. Some old-fashioned playeras like them..
Lothlorien, Mirkwood have some instances too.
We have Roving Threats - super elite top-level mobs in almost all game areas. These are degined for 3-12 players group and may take some time to kill. Also, since Rohan, we have Warbands: named monster and his guards. These too are fellowshipo/raid type, if on-level.
Up to Rohan (except Angmar and maybe Moria) quests can be soloed, deeds (like "kill NN rats') too.
We, minstrels, are moslty supposed to do either dps (nuking screaming machine) or heal like mad. For healing - blue trait tree, blue mode. For dps - typically red tree, red mode. I see ads from time to time, like "Instance ABCD, healer / dps required".
Group content - it is also Featured instances, designed for groups. Yoiu may be asked to act as healer.
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I like healing too, I bought the quad pack expansion set for $10 ( on sale now, not sure how long ) With this you can play a Ruin Keeper. Found that you can dual spec so you can dps when soloing and heal when in a group.
I haven't really searched for that great guild yet, but the one I'm is very helpful.
For the rest, pvp is there, on the side. Called PvMP (against Monster Players), it is one of the last semi-perk VIPs still has. You can start it from level 40, but if you're not subbed, you need to purchase the "pass" from the Store. The other side starts as soon as you reach level 10 with a character, then a button becomes active in the character selection screen to switch the whole screen and giving you a monster character login screen. Reaver (melee orc footsoldier) is available to everyone, free players should purchase the other monster classes, subscribers have all of them. The rest maybe @cameltosis will detail, I don't like pvp
Group focus, I'd say it's up to you. It's an old game, designed by that mindset, so it is very group-friendly, with tools and mechanics to bring friends every part of the game (which option lacks from a lot of newer games). It also had a lot of forced grouping, etc. Of course times are changing, so they removed all the forced stuff, and made everything solo-able. So, as I said at the start, it is up to you. If you want (and also if you have friends for it) you can play the entire game while grouped. Or, you can solo the whole, except the toughest raids and instances. The tools and the possibilities are there for both ways.
Hate questing, that could be an issue, as Sovrath said above, it is a quest-heavy game But if you want, you can ignore that and level up entirely by skirmishes (and some crafting and events).
For heal, minstrel is is still the best option for a start, closely followed by RK if you like the more challenging gameplay. Cappy and LM can also heal, but as a main healer they're not advised at the very end - lower dungeons they can heal easily.
I agree,
The community is their, but the mechanics are not at least into the mid twenties.
World questing is short drop something off, and kill 10 of them. Lots of running back and forth around a zone that you can't expect others to do YOUR quick stops.....However, if fighting was more tactical it would be a different story, but it's not. Even mini bosses seem to have a lot of defense but don't hit very hard....Their still easy to take down.
EASY GAMES KILL DYNAMICS !
I still love the game anyway:)
I talked my friend into playing LOTRO and we had our first chance to play together last night. He was a Hunter and I played my Ruin Keeper, both were level 14.
Sure were still both in the starter zone, but the encounters were crazy easy to the point we were laughing how easy it was to kill things, even world bosses were simple....Deepness of quest were extremely short, good thing we were on voice because the turn in for quest were constant.
We had fun anyway, we both love the game, and will do it often. The good news is the game will get a little harder, thank God.
EASY is stopping LOTRO from being excellent.
I don't see this as a good match. Lots of solo and quests. You might be able to join a guild to group with but you might end up being that guy asking for people to level you if you know what I mean.
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All I know, it's a real pain to discover you 55th level Hunter really needed to finish that deed in Bree. Backtracking is boring.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
What are these skirmishes you mentioned? It's not necessarily that I hate all questing, but I hate single player mmos. I like healing, and I don't have any friends that play the game, so I'm not sure how grouping works in the game.
"God, please help us sinful children of Ivalice.."
Crafting used to be a nightmare back in the day, but now it is pretty standard (WoW like). You used to have to camp rare spawns for a crafting item they would drop. I remember running around in the old forest for hours trying to find this stupid bat!
Skirmish itself is a short(ish) instance, with very high tweaking options. You can go in from solo till raid (1, 2, 3, 6 or 12man versions), you can set it's level, it's difficulty. You can go (port) in from anywhere, so you don't even need to leave the vicinity of the holy trinity (bank / AH / mail post )
It rewards you with tons of xp, and some barter currency tokens, with which you can get near-best gear for your current level (so skirmishes not only level you up, but keep you geared as well, without wandering off to the world), and you get a skirmish soldier to your liking, whom you can level up too (like TOR's companions, just without the cutscenes - and much earlier). If you're a healer, you can take a tank or a dps soldier for faster leveling. Also, for the no-friend issue, you can take your skirm soldier to the open, so you can get them to help you on more difficult quests. (if you ever feel the mood for some questing, I mean )
I really don't like the system, but oddly it is very popular (I blame the diablo mindset ), you can easily get groups for skirm runs. Basically it's the total opposite of story and questing, just port in, kill stuff, get the loot, leave, repeat, ad nauseam, hello level cap. Free players have only 2 (one offense and one defense version), so for them it's easier to get bored with it.
Sure not the Shire, but you can raid Hoarhallow in the Ettenmoors... I think there are even creep missions for that, ripping the legs of the hobbits in there. I don't really get the urge of slapping around hobbits, but it seems fairly common... (I had a buddy who never rolled hobbits, and when got in group with one, constantly run them over with horse while laughed on voice. Simpleton )
If you were 14 then those must've been simple signature bosses, at most. The first world boss you can meet is in ND, and I'm sure two level14 characters won't beat it (in your earlier thread, the size of them: http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/comment/6587038/#Comment_6587038 )
Skirmishes are set battles; one of several different types of instance in LotR. Most can be scaled to level and party size; some - like Big Battles - have additional mechanics.
Skirmishes involve either capturing a number of objectives (flags) and then defending against counter-attacks before moving on to the next objective or defending a series of positions / people from waves of attacks. In both cases there are optional boss mobs that can be killed.
Basically the starter area lets you become familiar with how things function - since most of the mobs don't aggro. Then the first zone + extended Bree / Old Forest / Downs constitutes the rest of the tutorial. You are not expected to die below level 20.
Great information! Are there queues or group finders for skirmishes? Or do you have to form the groups yourself? I wouldn't mind a mix of both.
"God, please help us sinful children of Ivalice.."
So, you can start a skirmish a regular way, by visiting a skirmish camp solo or with a group, or you can set the parameters on the IF panel and join the queue (or, in the latter case, if you set it for 1 person, then it teleports you inside right away, thus spare yourself the ride to the camp )
I can talk a little about the PvP as I used to do it a lot, but its been a few years since I played so my information will be out of date.
The PvP in LotRO only occurs in specific zones, the Ettenmoors and Ostgiliath (I think, I haven't played since the second zone came out). This keeps it confined and away from the PvErs so there is no mixing, but it is still "open world", meaning there are no restrictions on number of players. The PvP occurs between the "freeps" (free peoples - the characters you level up) and the "creeps" (monster players).
Due to licensing restrictions, Turbine were not allowed to create a proper evil side to the game, so you're not able to level up from 1-to-cap as a creep in the same way you can as a freep. Instead, when you start a new creep, you are instantly max level and can only play in the PvP zones. The life of a creep is fun, but PvP is all you got.
As with a lot of open world PvP, most of your time will be spent fighting over keeps and objectives. These dont have doors to bash down or any siege fighting, but they are protected by NPCs which is why the fighting tends to congregate there. The side with smaller numbers will use the NPCs for protection so there are usually fair fights to be found.
Now, to the actual fighting. I've always loved LotROs combat system and I really believe it has the most depth of any MMO I've played. Between the amount of skills, the class interdependency and the resource management it takes a lot of skill to master LotRO. It is less about gear and more about player skill. The combat is slower paced than most MMOs but this makes for more tense, tactical fights. For example, there are enough skills to allow a single player to escape a raid if used right, whilst in the same vein a co-ordinated group can wipe out a larger group of solo players through best use of AoE and CC.
In terms of classes, I always preferred PvPing as a creep simply because there is more progression involved. Whilst you start at max level, you are rank 0 and have minimal skills, traits and perks. Every time you rank up, you get a little better. You unlock new skills, new skins, more stat improvements etc. For the creeps I played, it usually sucked to start with but somewhere around rank 4-6 you start to reach similar power levels to the freeps. By rank 6 you'll have enough morale/power and some decent skills and resistances to be able to 1v1 an average freep.
On the freep side, PvP is still a lot of fun. I wouldn't recommend PvPing until you are capped and have some OK gear. Any sort of level difference means you'll just get slaughtered. It can take a bit of getting used to as you'll have leveled 1-105 (or whatever cap is now) in PvE, so you'll need to rethink toolbar layouts, skill usage etc. A lot of PvErs get their asses kicked for a while until they relearn their class. One of the main drags was I found I needed an entirely different set of legendary items (the weapons that level up with you) to get the most out of my classes. This meant a lot of extra grinding to get the perfect gear setup.
Finally, last time I returned to LotRO they had introduced something called audacity. This was a PvP only stat that got higher as you ranked up (creep) or geared up (freep). It reduces CC duration and increases damage output. It absolutely sucked. It is pointless vertical progression at its worst. It unbalances the PvP in favour of veterans, so as a newbie it will be even harder for you. The main thing is that your CC will expire sooner on them, and they will get bonus damage against you. It is less noticeable if you're joining in raid v raid fights, but if you solo or small group as a newbie then it becomes very obvious and painful.
I hope you enjoy the game. Whilst it is dated and the quality of the content dropped off a long time ago, Turbine were really great at creating mechanics and systems. It takes a little while before you start discovering the true joy of the game. On the surface it can appear like just another dull themepark, full of endless questing and gear grinds, but after a while you start noticing the great things that set it apart. Around level 40ish, the classes have enough skills to start showing the depth of the combat system but it is really in group content where the combat shines. All the little bits of fluff (like hobbies, emotes, gestures, some class skills, pipeweed, food and ale) serve to create a really friendly, relaxed community with great roleplaying opportunities. Sadly, the game has mostly been soloified but there should still be challenging group content to find. You should be able to find group content throughout most of the game, either through regular dungeons or more likely through skirmishes.
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Still, most of the times it is overlooked by the kill-oriented players... "if you want to quest, get outta here and do that in the world, this is the place of player killing" they say
I suppose it is worth mentioning the Delving of Fror for @dreamer05 whilst we're on the subject.
The delving of fror is an open dungeon that sits beneath the ettenmoors. It is quite an extensive dungeon with a ton of interesting bosses in it. There are some parts you can solo, but there are plenty of bosses in there, some designed for 6mans and some designed for 24+. If you're in a group, it is the best place to farm items needed to buy the pvp armour or creep upgrades (or, was when i was playing).
There are 2 entrances to the delving - one on the west of the Ettens near DG and one on the east near OR. The team that owns 3+ keeps in the Ettens can enter the delving, the other side is locked out. The idea is that each side fights their ass off to gain entrance to the delving and thus access to valuable loot. This should stimulate the PvP, but also act as a self-balancing mechanism as the dominating side will lose players to the delving. The balance of power would shift, the losers become the winners until they gain access and the balance shifts again.
For the first 6 months after the delving was released, this is how it worked and it was awesome. Practically every 30 minutes the balance of power would shift ensuring constant pvp and decent balance (at least in terms of numbers). Each time a new side gained access, there would be a lovely 10 minutes or so when both teams would have players in the delving. I have some great memories of farming the delving of fror with my guild, only to be jumped halfway through a boss. You'd get some great PvP down there, made even more tense as you'd be tanking a boss whilst trying to kill the enemy!
Sadly, after about 6 months the demand for the loot in the delving dropped off so it stopped working as a balancing mechanism as nobody cared. Players might disappear for an hour a week or something to farm it, but beyond that it wasn't necessary.
Basically both sides have the option, for one player (or, if the other side is over-dominating the field, a second player as well) took the role of a powerful, world-boss like character, Troll for creeps and a Ranger for freeps. Massive hp, large damage, when used well and working alongside their fellow players, these characters could easily flip the balance of the zone - and in turn allow the other side to call forth their own
Since it is really powerful, a player can switch to Troll or Ranger only for an hour, and only once in a day (I think, don't remember but there is a long cooldown). It is a fun mechanics, if I remember right the Troll gets more powerful in combat with every killed enemy player and has huge AoE attacks for raising the kill count.
(a year ago, when CO added Onslaught, I compared it to the Troll / Ranger play in LotRO for example. Playing the world boss is fun )