i fail to see the comparison.... LOTRO is WAY more boring to play then WoW :P
and no, im not playing either one of these games, im playing EQ2 to kill time atm, but cmon WoW people, your game didn't invent the genre so stop treating it like everythings a copy of it.
Yes, but its still fair to say, given WoW's domination of the market, that anyone coming after WoW looks to it, not EQ as the standard to be compared to, if your goal is making a mainstream mmo.
yeah, too bad EQ1 did it first... i guess we could all say that WoW is an EQ clone!
Its not too bad, its just irrelevant. Ya, you can say it but it means nothing. In the context its used in, the phrase 'WoW clone' clearly refers to a set of game characteristics that WoW was more successful than EQ in developing. Yes, WoW was inspired by, copied from, etc... from EQ, but when WoW surpassed EQ in terms of its monstrous (and imo, industry ruining) success, it stood up as its own. It became its own standard.
When you quit wow and select the "quiting for another game" reason, they actually state they have everything other games have to offer. If that isn't wow cloning everything else i don't know what it is.
-Would you like cheddar or swiss cheese? -Yes. -...
WoW might be a very good game but hasnt invented anything new but took the elements of existing MMOs and became a major success. If anything you may want to call WoW an Everquest clone. Every MMO available on the market is targeted at a playerbase. LOTRO for one is targeted on the casual player, WoW is targeted at a more hardcore (through time investment) crowd.
I read this from time to time that WoW has not invented anything new.
I disagree.
Compared to EQ and DAoC which where the only big competitors when WoW came out it invented quite some new stuff. For example was it remarkably easy to get to max level solo in WoW whereas in EQ you needed to group after level 15-20 with most classes to get exp at a noticable rate. Raised eyebrows everywhere when people came back to EQ to report: ive played WoW some weeks and got 2 chars to 50 solo mostly. Then compared to the complex mix of factions in EQ there where only 2 main factions in WoW Good and Evil. Simple and easy to understand for every new player. PvP Battlefields for casual PvP gaming and that extra adrenalin kick in between. Another thing WoW managed to introduce to MMO's was humour. I had a good laugh when those cartoonish dwarfen hunters shot their shotguns and there was lots of humour and joking inside the quests.
WoW invented accessability to MMO's.
It did so by simplifying the complex demands games like EQ had.
Unfortunatly most dev-teams after WoW thought cool, do less, get more! Look at Lotro for example its a simplified WoW which was a simplified EQ.
I read this from time to time that WoW has not invented anything new. I disagree. Compared to EQ and DAoC which where the only big competitors when WoW came out it invented quite some new stuff. For example was it remarkably easy to get to max level solo in WoW whereas in EQ you needed to group after level 15-20 with most classes to get exp at a noticable rate. Raised eyebrows everywhere when people came back to EQ to report: ive played WoW some weeks and got 2 chars to 50 solo mostly. Then compared to the complex mix of factions in EQ there where only 2 main factions in WoW Good and Evil. Simple and easy to understand for every new player. PvP Battlefields for casual PvP gaming and that extra adrenalin kick in between. Another thing WoW managed to introduce to MMO's was humour. I had a good laugh when those cartoonish dwarfen hunters shot their shotguns and there was lots of humour and joking inside the quests. WoW invented accessability to MMO's. It did so by simplifying the complex demands games like EQ had. Unfortunatly most dev-teams after WoW thought cool, do less, get more! Look at Lotro for example its a simplified WoW which was a simplified EQ.
I disagree on a few things I really don't think WoW simplified anything, WoW is just adaptable to a wide variety of play styles and levels of computers.
As far as LoTRO being a simplified WOW you obviously have never played LoTRO. The combat and crafting is much much more in depth than anything in WoW. I would say LoTRO is a just a more sophisticated game than WOW will ever be. Sort of what WoW will be if it ever grows up.
I read this from time to time that WoW has not invented anything new. I disagree. Compared to EQ and DAoC which where the only big competitors when WoW came out it invented quite some new stuff. For example was it remarkably easy to get to max level solo in WoW whereas in EQ you needed to group after level 15-20 with most classes to get exp at a noticable rate. Raised eyebrows everywhere when people came back to EQ to report: ive played WoW some weeks and got 2 chars to 50 solo mostly. Then compared to the complex mix of factions in EQ there where only 2 main factions in WoW Good and Evil. Simple and easy to understand for every new player. PvP Battlefields for casual PvP gaming and that extra adrenalin kick in between. Another thing WoW managed to introduce to MMO's was humour. I had a good laugh when those cartoonish dwarfen hunters shot their shotguns and there was lots of humour and joking inside the quests. WoW invented accessability to MMO's. It did so by simplifying the complex demands games like EQ had. Unfortunatly most dev-teams after WoW thought cool, do less, get more! Look at Lotro for example its a simplified WoW which was a simplified EQ.
I disagree on a few things I really don't think WoW simplified anything, WoW is just adaptable to a wide variety of play styles and levels of computers.
As far as LoTRO being a simplified WOW you obviously have never played LoTRO. The combat and crafting is much much more in depth than anything in WoW. I would say LoTRO is a just a more sophisticated game than WOW will ever be. Sort of what WoW will be if it ever grows up.
I'm sure some asshat is going to flame you for saying that the combat in LoTRO is more in depth than WoW, but I agree with you. Not only are many of the classes more technical than anything WoW has on offer to begin with, but the FMs on top of that add another layer of complexity. You'd need to hit up DAoC or FFXI to find turn based combat as technical as LoTRO in my experience.
The one area where LoTRO is noticably easier is healing. Tons of classes have healing abilities, so you can get by in most PuGs even if you don't have a dedicated healer. And the Minnie is one of the easiest classes to keep a party up with I've ever played in an MMO. A combat minnie does get pretty technical. And keeping the party buffed while healing can be a handfull, since you have to go though three step comboes to get to your better buffs (and do it while jumping out of the combo chains to heal as needed). But still, I'd argue that from a pure healing throughput perspective, a Minnie is easy to play in a party compared to healers in many MMOs (WoW included).
The crafting I agree 100%. The recipes are laid out much more logically in the first place. Many items are simply missing from various tiers in WoW. Want to craft good dagger for your mid twenties rogue? Nope sorry, no such thing. Want to get a full set of green iron mail together? Sure, OK..but half the set will be low level crap before you can wear the last piece. Want to dye some pieces to match your outfit? Sorry, no dye system. On top of that, the whole system for critting items for superior products is entirely absent from WoW.
Of course to say loTRO has a better crafting system then WoW is not really to pay LoTRO a huge complement. The only MMO I know of that has a shittier crafting system then WoW is WAR, or possibly CoH. On the other hand, you'd have to go to an MMO that lets you level as a pure crafter such as EQ II or EVE to find a crafting system much better than LoTRO (imo).
All that said, if a deep soul sucking end game designed for shut ins is your thing, WoW does have a much deeper raiding game than LoTRO. Also arguably better PvP. Though I personally can't stand the PvP in WoW, what is there is tons more varied than the one zone we get in LoTRO.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
with simplified i meant the invisible "silver plate" everything is handed to you by the "modern" game mechanics.
The sheer proof for this is the time it took a (more or less ambitious) player to finish the journey to max level:
In EQ after launch it took people like 3+ months.
In WoW after launch it took them 3-4+ weeks.
In Lotro someone playing it as ambitious as the above examples would be max level in less than 2 weeks and get insulted as elitist and level rusher. We all have read hundreds of threads where exactly this dispute happened.
The game experience was simplified in many ways:
traveling the world, finding quest mobs, smaller and smaller death penalty, less group demand, more healer access, almost infinite manapool, little to no downtime between fights, automated loot rolling, automated auction houses, double and triple experience for not having played, and so on. Today you get significant experience for reaching a new area or from saying hi to 2 NPC's that almost stand next to each other.
If you look ignorant at these things you may say, taking away downtime and death penalty is an improvement. For me it is a simplification and takes away all the thrill and atmosphere that MMO's used to have. They packed so many points of success into the new games that the feeling of achievement got lost.
with simplified i meant the invisible "silver plate" everything is handed to you by the "modern" game mechanics. The sheer proof for this is the time it took a (more or less ambitious) player to finish the journey to max level: In EQ after launch it took people like 3+ months. In WoW after launch it took them 3-4+ weeks. In Lotro someone playing it as ambitious as the above examples would be max level in less than 2 weeks and get insulted as elitist and level rusher. We all have read hundreds of threads where exactly this dispute happened. The game experience was simplified in many ways: traveling the world, finding quest mobs, smaller and smaller death penalty, less group demand, more healer access, almost infinite manapool, little to no downtime between fights, automated loot rolling, automated auction houses, double and triple experience for not having played, and so on. Today you get significant experience for reaching a new area or from saying hi to 2 NPC's that almost stand next to each other. If you look ignorant at these things you may say, taking away downtime and death penalty is an improvement. For me it is a simplification and takes away all the thrill and atmosphere that MMO's used to have. They packed so many points of success into the new games that the feeling of achievement got lost.
The only way you are hitting the cap in two weeks LoTRO is if you play 24/7. Most players take 2+ months to do it from what I've seen. Even the ultra-hardcore mostly took about a month to hit 50 after the game launched. I know from experience that you can hit the cap faster in WoW than you can in LoTRO. When WoW launched there were players at 60 literally within a few days (48 hours if I recall correctly...certainly within the first week). The first Blood Elf paladin hit 70 within ten days of TBC launch. And that was before they added triple XP that applies to kills and quest turn ins on a linked account, and nerfed the Xp needed to level pre-60 (LoTRO has never had triple XP btw...I'm not sure where you got that idea). You can even start a DeathKnight and just skip the first 50 levels.
So if the time it takes a shut-in to hit the cap is your measure of whether a game "sucks" or not I guess LoTRO is "better" than WoW. Of course whether or not a game is impossible to make progress in solo, has horrific arbitrary downtime, and takes months for even an ultra-hardcore 24/7 shut-in to hit the cap is a pretty stupid yard stick along which to rank MMOs, imo.
I played launch EQ. And to my tastes it frankly bit. It wasn't so much a "game" as "paying to be bored out of your skull most of the time you were on." When a good group came together it was decent fun, but at least half of of your playtime was spent standing around with your thumb up your butt trying to get a group together unless you could be on all day. Even when you did have a group, mana regen was so idiotically slow that you would have to stand around twiddling your thumbs for something like half of each play session. So that's like what 3/4 of each play session wishing you could do something or staring at your power bar in between pulls? No thanks.
And heaven forbid your tank or your healer not know what they were doing. A naked corpse run to retrieve your already meager possessions (in launch EQ a normal steel axe was "uber") is kind of funny the first time, but gets old very quick. Losing a level on top of that is just a kick in the nuts. Looking back, the only reason most of us put up with that crap is that EQ and UO were about the only options back then.
I'm sure you are one of these sadists that thinks MMOs have been in a steady decline from DAoC on (you certainly sound like one), but I personally wouldn't play launch EQ again unless I were getting paid for it.
Even the fans of EQ wouldn't play it, apparently. Current EQ is one hell of a lot more forgiving than the bum pounding grindfest that EQ was at launch. Racial XP penalties have been abolished, casters gain new spells every level, NPCs can set your bindpoints, there are in game maps, you know what direction you are going without having to practice the direction skill, ect. Power regen is tons faster, and you can even hire out NPCs to help you solo.
And it's not as if any of these changes make EQ any where near as fast paced or solo freindly as is the norm among modern MMOs. I interpret it largely as the developers of EQ being forced to reduce the time needed to progress to "sane" now that the game has competition.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Hehe i knew someone would jump out of the woods and yell "but but but, i know in WoW you could level faster" well from my experience that was not the case. A friend of mine and i got to 44 in Lotro in 2 ambitious weekends and one casual week with maybe 50-60 houers played i suppose someone playing it 24/7 could have been much faster than the two of us.
With the rest of your post you completely missed my points since you mixed up games at their current state with what was there at launch. I actually have no clue how WoW looks like, i havent played it for 2-3 years.
That is why i compared the games near their launch time.
Anyway, thanks for sharing those intresting points.
First off, I'd like to mention that all I've done is the 14-day trial, so I'm in no way an expert on LOTRO. I may not have played enough to be fully immersed in the game, but I felt like sharing my thoughts nonetheless.
As the title states, I don't think this game should have such a high rating. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against it (I've been a Tolkien fan ever since I learned to read, and felt that the game perfectly complemented the books and movies); however, I don't think LOTRO is anything special. I could spend all day listing the similarities it has with WoW, but that would get boring, and most of you probably noticed them anyway. Mostly, though, I just thought LOTRO quickly got boring. The graphics are great; they're what drew me in initially. But for anyone who has ever played WoW, or any of its seemingly infinite clones, everything about this game will seem very redundant. In my 14 days of playing, I found absolutely nothing new or innovative. There was definitely nothing worth another $15 a month. So, does anyone out there agree with me? Feel free to share your thoughts.
It is an Everquest copy, not a Wow clone. Wow did few things for themselves. And BTW did Wow copy LOTROs system of instancing a place after something has happened to it in WOTLK.
Still, LOTRO do look a lot better than Wow but it ain't my favorite MMO. Mostly because I feel like an npc to Aragon and the last from the books, they should have done like TOR and put the game a lot earlier instead. That and the fact that you can't play evil is a turn down for me. But Wow is not my favorite game either, it is just too easy and I don't really like the lore.
Wow have sold a lot of copies but I actually believes that it is a combo of better art and the fact that you can choose sides (and do at least semi real PvP) that made Wow a lot bigger.
But Everquest was a lot better game for it's time than Wow ever was, EQ was influenced by Meridian 59 and really changed the genre, Wow just added polish to it, and the huge Blizzard fanbase.
Hehe i knew someone would jump out of the woods and yell "but but but, i know in WoW you could level faster" well from my experience that was not the case. A friend of mine and i got to 44 in Lotro in 2 ambitious weekends and one casual week with maybe 50-60 houers played i suppose someone playing it 24/7 could have been much faster than the two of us. With the rest of your post you completely missed my points since you mixed up games at their current state with what was there at launch. I actually have no clue how WoW looks like, i havent played it for 2-3 years. That is why i compared the games near their launch time. Anyway, thanks for sharing those intresting points.
44 is not the same as 50, the XP curved ramped up considerably in LoTRO during the last ten levels near launch. The last 5 were pretty major grinds back then. And even by your estimate you put in 50-60 hours to hit 44. My first toon in WoW hit 60 with 72 hours played, at launch. And that was with a hell of a lot of dicking around with my tailoring, fishing, cooking, helping guildies ect. If I were "ambitious" about it I'm certain I could have done it in around 50 hours played.
You also claim that LoTRO is "easier" than WoW. That was not true at launch, it is not true now. In launch LoTRO, there was very little solo content after around level 35. So you were forced to either group or grind out levels on mobs, just like in those older MMOs you seem to adore. Players bitched up a storm about it, and the first major update added a new 35 to low 40 levelling zone. In launch WoW you could very easilly solo straight to the cap on quests.
In modern LoTRO versus modern WoW, there is simply no comparison. Triple XP that applies to both mobs and quest XP, start a deathknight at 50, the vast majority fo group quests nerfed to be soloable...ridiculous. Beleive me , if you tried WoW these days you would be bored out of your skull by it.
Edit: I have one guy at 51 in LoTRO currently, I started him in the open beta and I didn't hit 50 until a few months before MoM launched. Only guy that seemed relevent to estimating what the time to cap near launch would have been. He is not my main, so haven't played him a ton at 50. However, I spent a hell of a lot of time crafting with him (he is my scholar... and maxed out), and I also took out the time to get my rep up to kindred in Foreschel with him when the cap was still 50. So clearly not all played time was spent leveling. Nonetheless, I just did did a "played" on him and the time was 2 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 35 minutes.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Look Yeebo, maybe you are right and ambitious players could level a tad small percentage faster in WoW than in LOTRO, it was not my impression. On the official forums 3 weeks after launch a massive thread with over 1000 positings appeared where the so called "hardcore and elitist" players left the game since they had reached level cap with one or more toons and found no endgame waiting. In my kinship where everyone was like 20 when i joined with a few exceptions being alread 35+ everyone was 50 or playing alts when i left. The players at 50 where so bored they came to help my friend and me and spoiled even the last rest of thrill.
It is still missing the point - the silver plate factor is massive in the modern games and it surprised me that there was no button in LOTRO that said: "teleport to quest reward" and "teleport to bonus quest reward" From 1 - 35 there was no game at all, they just as well could have let me choose my starting level at char creation. And as you said, after 35 they had no ideas anymore how to spoil players with exp presents so they fell back to the old grind grind grind mantra.
The result of such shallow meaningless gameplay was this:
I had no problems deleting my burglar before leaving LOTRO. It was a throw-away toon in a throw-away mmo. In my opinion. And that it was this license that was abused for such a mainstream throw away game doubled the disappointment.
First off, I'd like to mention that all I've done is the 14-day trial, so I'm in no way an expert on LOTRO. I may not have played enough to be fully immersed in the game, but I felt like sharing my thoughts nonetheless.
As the title states, I don't think this game should have such a high rating. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against it (I've been a Tolkien fan ever since I learned to read, and felt that the game perfectly complemented the books and movies); however, I don't think LOTRO is anything special. I could spend all day listing the similarities it has with WoW, but that would get boring, and most of you probably noticed them anyway. Mostly, though, I just thought LOTRO quickly got boring. The graphics are great; they're what drew me in initially. But for anyone who has ever played WoW, or any of its seemingly infinite clones, everything about this game will seem very redundant. In my 14 days of playing, I found absolutely nothing new or innovative. There was definitely nothing worth another $15 a month. So, does anyone out there agree with me? Feel free to share your thoughts.
I know many have said it before, and many will say it again but I feel the need to say it now also.
WOW is also a clone. Those who believe that there is anything original in WOW are fooling themselves. All has been borrowed from older games.
There, I said it. Now you can continue this discussion.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
It is still missing the point - the silver plate factor is massive in the modern games and it surprised me that there was no button in LOTRO that said: "teleport to quest reward" and "teleport to bonus quest reward" From 1 - 35 there was no game at all, they just as well could have let me choose my starting level at char creation. And as you said, after 35 they had no ideas anymore how to spoil players with exp presents so they fell back to the old grind grind grind mantra. The result of such shallow meaningless gameplay was this: I had no problems deleting my burglar before leaving LOTRO. It was a throw-away toon in a throw-away mmo. In my opinion. And that it was this license that was abused for such a mainstream throw away game doubled the disappointment.
I don't get where you think there was "no game at all" from 1-35. The thing that attracted me to this game was the main quest line and dungeons like Great Barrows were a lot of fun to me. I will say at the higher levels, back then, I agree with your sentiment but they've really added a lot to the game in reference to different types of quests with story arcs and some other zones.
I quit myself a ways back due to a ridiculous shortage of players on my server and at the high end at the time I was playing there was a serious lack of quests. The game has come a long way though. Hate the game or love the game, you can't really deny that Turbine has been rather good at adding content. This game has some rather interesting story lines and dungeon type material if you choose to utilize it.
As to the OP, no point in discussing the matter because it's ridiculous. All of these games at this point can be accused of being clones of other ones. Personally, I think this is an excellent game in many areas. My one gripe with this game is its PvP. Because lets be frank, it's rather weak especially compared to how well the rest of the game is done. Truly dissappointing more effort wasn't put into that aspect of the game. Other than that, I think it's a rather damn good game.
Well, actually I have two gripes but my other one has nothing to do with the game itself just how Turbine is handling and monitoring the population of the game.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
The very simple reason LotRO is at the top of the ratings is that it's a solid game that was not miss-marketed and hyped beyond its capabilities. Thus is doesn't have (semi-)"haters" who ruin its rating, like most other games. The people rating LotRO are generally fair in their ratings, not giving it lower scores than it deserves because they were abysmally disappointed due to a hype the game couldn't deliver on.
Other games are probably equally good (I haven't tried them all, and played LotRO for 3 weeks only), but promised too much, were too big-mouthed, and didn't deliver or correct that image fast enough - or is WoW, which everyone loves to pick on anyway.
just because LotRO fits the MMO structure does not make it a WoW clone. WoW also stuck to the MMO structure. Some people are so stupid... but continue thinking what you want... and LotRO will just continue to do well. So any complaints on here do nothing really lol.
Why would we "haters" feel bitter about that? I feel bitter because both the books and movies are amazing and groundbreaking where as the MMORPG is just another WoW clone targetted towards the casual player (where as the trilogy with its combined 3000 or so pages certainly does not). LotR does not deserve to have the name Lord of the Rings in it, it is nothing like the books or the movies, except from the looks. For example, Tolkien created a whole LANGUAGE for the middle earth world that he built up. What the hell has LotR done beside take the basic concept of WoW, tack on a high performance gfx engine and have quests that has some resemblance to the LotR world but nowhere near the depth or atmosphere. And oh yeah, the conflict between good and evil is between Human vs AI. LOL
Are you trying to say that the movies were a piece of art not targetted at mass market? I can hardly think of more mass market popcorn director than Peter Jackson. (NO! Michael Bay IS NOT A DIRECTOR).
The movies were a piece of art targetted towards mass market. However with their 3 hour running time they certainly are not your run of the mill popcorn movie and it did an excellent job reducing the vastness of the books into a movie.
This MMORPG on the other hand is your run of the mill MMORPG with massive instancing and linear advancement and questing. There isn't a single thing in this game that shows the brilliancy of Tolkien books and how he weaved together a dozens of different mytologies into creating something unique and groundbreaking. This MMORPG, however, is WoW in Tolkien clothing. There is nothing complex or amazing about it, but rather it takes the tested and tried concepts of WoW and polishes them and barely tries to create the conflict between good and evil that is so central in Tolkien lore.
It is a disgrace and I am sure if Tolkien if he was alive would get disgusted to see what his brilliant work has been reduced to.
Let me start out by saying I've only played LOTRO for a few days, and I've played WoW for over a year.
1. "combat system is different" Really? The only difference is that the pretty little squares on your toolbar look different. The combat system could not be any more similar. 2. "Classes are different" I'm pretty sure that if LOTRO came out with the same exact classes, Blizzard would have grounds for a lawsuit. You can make a tank, mage, rouge, healer-DPS guy, hunter, it's all the same 3. "Graphics are totally different style" This is true. WoW is slightly cartoon-ish, while LOTRO attempts realism. I don't count this as a significant difference though.
As far as housing, pvp and endgame, I have not gotten to those parts of the game yet.
Even so, nearly every aspect being identical to WoW definitely makes it a WoW clone. Sorry.
1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
[Mod Edit]
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
But for anyone who has ever played WoW, or any of its seemingly infinite clones, everything about this game will seem very redundant.
Does that mean anyone who hasn't played WoW or any of its seemingly infinite clones would probably consider LoTRO a very good game worthy of high poll numbers?
To me, LoTRO is sort of a polished WoW in Middle-Earth. It's similar in some ways, but different. They could make a WoW clone for Star Trek, but that doesn't mean I'd care to play it, ya know? I thoroughly enjoyed the Lord of the Rings books and movies but never had much interest in playing a game of it. But, LoTRO looks good and is pretty fun. It's hard to find many faults with the actual game, it's put together very well, it mainly depends on if you like the style of controls and play and the Lord of the Rings environment or not.
If someone wants something in the fantasy genre but different, Dungeons and Dragons Online awaits. People who complain about WoW clones but haven't tried DDO in the past while should give it a shot. LoTRO is a fine game, but, like them or not, DDO has those certain somethings that simply can't be found in any other MMO I know of. Kinda surprised Turbine doesn't do a PassStation thing for both games.
Let me start out by saying I've only played LOTRO for a few days, and I've played WoW for over a year.
1. "combat system is different" Really? The only difference is that the pretty little squares on your toolbar look different. The combat system could not be any more similar. 2. "Classes are different" I'm pretty sure that if LOTRO came out with the same exact classes, Blizzard would have grounds for a lawsuit. You can make a tank, mage, rouge, healer-DPS guy, hunter, it's all the same 3. "Graphics are totally different style" This is true. WoW is slightly cartoon-ish, while LOTRO attempts realism. I don't count this as a significant difference though.
As far as housing, pvp and endgame, I have not gotten to those parts of the game yet.
Even so, nearly every aspect being identical to WoW definitely makes it a WoW clone. Sorry.
Omg, are you really that stupid?
1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
Retard.
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
Awesome, since you don't have anyway of forming a good argument your last resort is to call "stupid" and "retard"...
Clap, Clap... kudos to you and your magnificent reasoning.
1. Yes, to anyone who has played the game, LotRO's combat system is alot different from most fantasy based MMO's. Its slower place, tactical and complex. I won't compare it to any other game because i don't think its better or worst. I prefer tactical combat to fast paced combat, but that's me.
Combat systems like the Guardian's Reactive Skills, Crit Chains from the Burglar, Battle-Readied from the Captain, War-speech and balad weaving from the minstrel, Gambit system from the Warden or Attunement from the Rune-Keeper makes it very much tactical and you actually have to think in what you are doing a few moves ahead. Reminds me of Chess.
If you seem to fail at acknowledging that... well, I'll stop wasting my time because you are obviously here for trolling instead of making a statement.
2. LotrO has, has most of the fantasy and non-fantasy games, the holy trinity. Their approach is a little different... but not that different. But lotro has 9 classes (Free-Peoples side). The other support classes are rather unique. Be it the Burglar or the Lore-Master (one of the best classes I've played on any game) or the gambit Warden. A lot of unique classes and roles for a lot of different tastes.
3. Heavy and detailed textures, realistic armours, stable DirectX 10, Landscape with a great affinity with the lore, spectacular detailing... LotrO has the best graphics in a MMO. Landscape wise it cant be beaten by any other. AoC has arguably better detailing on the avatars... but LotrO is much more scalable (runs on a Acer Aspire One Netbook).
Its easy to offent and shun... but giving content and depth to your discussion and reasons really helps.
P.E. Burglar is nothing like a Rogue. The only thing they have in combat is stealth. Cleary and beyond any doubt you never played a minute of Lotro.
Let me start out by saying I've only played LOTRO for a few days, and I've played WoW for over a year.
1. "combat system is different" Really? The only difference is that the pretty little squares on your toolbar look different. The combat system could not be any more similar. 2. "Classes are different" I'm pretty sure that if LOTRO came out with the same exact classes, Blizzard would have grounds for a lawsuit. You can make a tank, mage, rouge, healer-DPS guy, hunter, it's all the same 3. "Graphics are totally different style" This is true. WoW is slightly cartoon-ish, while LOTRO attempts realism. I don't count this as a significant difference though.
As far as housing, pvp and endgame, I have not gotten to those parts of the game yet.
Even so, nearly every aspect being identical to WoW definitely makes it a WoW clone. Sorry.
Omg, are you really that stupid?
1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
Retard.
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
Awesome, since you don't have anyway of forming a good argument your last resort is to call "stupid" and "retard"...
Clap, Clap... kudos to you and your magnificent reasoning.
1. Yes, to anyone who has played the game, LotRO's combat system is alot different from most fantasy based MMO's. Its slower place, tactical and complex. I won't compare it to any other game because i don't think its better or worst. I prefer tactical combat to fast paced combat, but that's me.
Combat systems like the Guardian's Reactive Skills, Crit Chains from the Burglar, Battle-Readied from the Captain, War-speech and balad weaving from the minstrel, Gambit system from the Warden or Attunement from the Rune-Keeper makes it very much tactical and you actually have to think in what you are doing a few moves ahead. Reminds me of Chess.
If you seem to fail at acknowledging that... well, I'll stop wasting my time because you are obviously here for trolling instead of making a statement.
2. LotrO has, has most of the fantasy and non-fantasy games, the holy trinity. Their approach is a little different... but not that different. But lotro has 9 classes (Free-Peoples side). The other support classes are rather unique. Be it the Burglar or the Lore-Master (one of the best classes I've played on any game) or the gambit Warden. A lot of unique classes and roles for a lot of different tastes.
3. Heavy and detailed textures, realistic armours, stable DirectX 10, Landscape with a great affinity with the lore, spectacular detailing... LotrO has the best graphics in a MMO. Landscape wise it cant be beaten by any other. AoC has arguably better detailing on the avatars... but LotrO is much more scalable (runs on a Acer Aspire One Netbook).
Its easy to offent and shun... but giving content and depth to your discussion and reasons really helps.
P.E. Burglar is nothing like a Rogue. The only thing they have in combat is stealth. Cleary and beyond any doubt you never played a minute of Lotro.
excellent post and well said but I do have to argue this one point. Go up to a NPC like the one in this pic
and watch the expressions change on their faces, the eyes move, they smile and frown, they blink and turn their heads when another NPC or PC goes by. The first time I noticed it I sat there and watched for about five minutes and was completely amazed.
also it is hard to see in this small pic but the detail on the armor is great also. Buttons on the clothes, rivets and engraving on the armor etc.
LoTROs finest quality in my opinion is that they seem to pay a lot of attention to details, and as my old mentor pointed out on my first job
"take care of the little things and the big things will never be a problem"
The best looking armours in LotrO are heavy armours. Specialy if you are a crafter you can see where all the little materials you used went to, like the leader bidings and the pieces of chainmail.
Thats why i said arguably. The best looking armours in LotrO are heavy armours. Specialy if you are a crafter you can see where all the little materials you used went to, like the leader bidings and the pieces of chainmail.
, yeah a lot of the stuff is pretty good, I think up close the NPC's are pretty amazing, but there is a few things that are pretty bad. My 2 big complaints are the PC's walking down a sloping road look like Night of the Living Dead rejects and most of the hats and helms are historically accurate but ugly as sin.
ure, there will always be some similarities, but there are also games that go off and do new and exciting things (Guild Wars, for example). Obviously, not every game will be that much different from the rest, but I prefer to see MMORPGs that actually try. I still don't see what makes LOTRO the number 1 game on the site. It's possible that I never will.
I used to play GW and agree it is one of the few games that dared to be different, but then again the game is more of a CRPG with PvE thrown in. I really appreciated the uniqueness of the skill system, and the gameplay mechanics. After GW I went to WoW and played for over a year. IMO Blizzard got so many things in that game. The classes are diverse all the major elements of gameplay are there for exceptional PvE, and decent PvP. I too like the factions system. After leveling my druid to 70 it all sort of felt meaningless. I didn't want to raid, and although PvP was fun it wasn't as good as GvG was in GW. My biggest issue though was the lack of cohesiveness in the world itsself. Each zone is uniqu and fun with lots to do but they seem randomly mashed together. For example leaving duskwook for Stranglethorn vale takes you from dark and mirky western europeon forest to a tropical jungle.
After a bit of reading about LoTRO I found that there was a complete and cohesive world to explore, not just random zones. I'll admit that the early levels didn't do much for me, but at level 20 it all changed, and I haven't looked back. The lore, quest content, and feel of the game have kept me rolling in fun for nearly 7 months now. The community is the very best, and I definitely don't miss the kiddies from WoW. Yes there are simularites in gameplay between WoW and LoTRO, but enough differeces to set it apart. You know all books are comprised of words, sentences, and paragraphs. It is how those elements are put together that makes it an original.
Comments
Yes, but its still fair to say, given WoW's domination of the market, that anyone coming after WoW looks to it, not EQ as the standard to be compared to, if your goal is making a mainstream mmo.
yeah, too bad EQ1 did it first... i guess we could all say that WoW is an EQ clone!
Its not too bad, its just irrelevant. Ya, you can say it but it means nothing. In the context its used in, the phrase 'WoW clone' clearly refers to a set of game characteristics that WoW was more successful than EQ in developing. Yes, WoW was inspired by, copied from, etc... from EQ, but when WoW surpassed EQ in terms of its monstrous (and imo, industry ruining) success, it stood up as its own. It became its own standard.
When you quit wow and select the "quiting for another game" reason, they actually state they have everything other games have to offer. If that isn't wow cloning everything else i don't know what it is.
-Would you like cheddar or swiss cheese?
-Yes.
-...
I read this from time to time that WoW has not invented anything new.
I disagree.
Compared to EQ and DAoC which where the only big competitors when WoW came out it invented quite some new stuff. For example was it remarkably easy to get to max level solo in WoW whereas in EQ you needed to group after level 15-20 with most classes to get exp at a noticable rate. Raised eyebrows everywhere when people came back to EQ to report: ive played WoW some weeks and got 2 chars to 50 solo mostly. Then compared to the complex mix of factions in EQ there where only 2 main factions in WoW Good and Evil. Simple and easy to understand for every new player. PvP Battlefields for casual PvP gaming and that extra adrenalin kick in between. Another thing WoW managed to introduce to MMO's was humour. I had a good laugh when those cartoonish dwarfen hunters shot their shotguns and there was lots of humour and joking inside the quests.
WoW invented accessability to MMO's.
It did so by simplifying the complex demands games like EQ had.
Unfortunatly most dev-teams after WoW thought cool, do less, get more! Look at Lotro for example its a simplified WoW which was a simplified EQ.
I disagree on a few things I really don't think WoW simplified anything, WoW is just adaptable to a wide variety of play styles and levels of computers.
As far as LoTRO being a simplified WOW you obviously have never played LoTRO. The combat and crafting is much much more in depth than anything in WoW. I would say LoTRO is a just a more sophisticated game than WOW will ever be. Sort of what WoW will be if it ever grows up.
I miss DAoC
I disagree on a few things I really don't think WoW simplified anything, WoW is just adaptable to a wide variety of play styles and levels of computers.
As far as LoTRO being a simplified WOW you obviously have never played LoTRO. The combat and crafting is much much more in depth than anything in WoW. I would say LoTRO is a just a more sophisticated game than WOW will ever be. Sort of what WoW will be if it ever grows up.
I'm sure some asshat is going to flame you for saying that the combat in LoTRO is more in depth than WoW, but I agree with you. Not only are many of the classes more technical than anything WoW has on offer to begin with, but the FMs on top of that add another layer of complexity. You'd need to hit up DAoC or FFXI to find turn based combat as technical as LoTRO in my experience.
The one area where LoTRO is noticably easier is healing. Tons of classes have healing abilities, so you can get by in most PuGs even if you don't have a dedicated healer. And the Minnie is one of the easiest classes to keep a party up with I've ever played in an MMO. A combat minnie does get pretty technical. And keeping the party buffed while healing can be a handfull, since you have to go though three step comboes to get to your better buffs (and do it while jumping out of the combo chains to heal as needed). But still, I'd argue that from a pure healing throughput perspective, a Minnie is easy to play in a party compared to healers in many MMOs (WoW included).
The crafting I agree 100%. The recipes are laid out much more logically in the first place. Many items are simply missing from various tiers in WoW. Want to craft good dagger for your mid twenties rogue? Nope sorry, no such thing. Want to get a full set of green iron mail together? Sure, OK..but half the set will be low level crap before you can wear the last piece. Want to dye some pieces to match your outfit? Sorry, no dye system. On top of that, the whole system for critting items for superior products is entirely absent from WoW.
Of course to say loTRO has a better crafting system then WoW is not really to pay LoTRO a huge complement. The only MMO I know of that has a shittier crafting system then WoW is WAR, or possibly CoH. On the other hand, you'd have to go to an MMO that lets you level as a pure crafter such as EQ II or EVE to find a crafting system much better than LoTRO (imo).
All that said, if a deep soul sucking end game designed for shut ins is your thing, WoW does have a much deeper raiding game than LoTRO. Also arguably better PvP. Though I personally can't stand the PvP in WoW, what is there is tons more varied than the one zone we get in LoTRO.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
with simplified i meant the invisible "silver plate" everything is handed to you by the "modern" game mechanics.
The sheer proof for this is the time it took a (more or less ambitious) player to finish the journey to max level:
In EQ after launch it took people like 3+ months.
In WoW after launch it took them 3-4+ weeks.
In Lotro someone playing it as ambitious as the above examples would be max level in less than 2 weeks and get insulted as elitist and level rusher. We all have read hundreds of threads where exactly this dispute happened.
The game experience was simplified in many ways:
traveling the world, finding quest mobs, smaller and smaller death penalty, less group demand, more healer access, almost infinite manapool, little to no downtime between fights, automated loot rolling, automated auction houses, double and triple experience for not having played, and so on. Today you get significant experience for reaching a new area or from saying hi to 2 NPC's that almost stand next to each other.
If you look ignorant at these things you may say, taking away downtime and death penalty is an improvement. For me it is a simplification and takes away all the thrill and atmosphere that MMO's used to have. They packed so many points of success into the new games that the feeling of achievement got lost.
The only way you are hitting the cap in two weeks LoTRO is if you play 24/7. Most players take 2+ months to do it from what I've seen. Even the ultra-hardcore mostly took about a month to hit 50 after the game launched. I know from experience that you can hit the cap faster in WoW than you can in LoTRO. When WoW launched there were players at 60 literally within a few days (48 hours if I recall correctly...certainly within the first week). The first Blood Elf paladin hit 70 within ten days of TBC launch. And that was before they added triple XP that applies to kills and quest turn ins on a linked account, and nerfed the Xp needed to level pre-60 (LoTRO has never had triple XP btw...I'm not sure where you got that idea). You can even start a DeathKnight and just skip the first 50 levels.
So if the time it takes a shut-in to hit the cap is your measure of whether a game "sucks" or not I guess LoTRO is "better" than WoW. Of course whether or not a game is impossible to make progress in solo, has horrific arbitrary downtime, and takes months for even an ultra-hardcore 24/7 shut-in to hit the cap is a pretty stupid yard stick along which to rank MMOs, imo.
I played launch EQ. And to my tastes it frankly bit. It wasn't so much a "game" as "paying to be bored out of your skull most of the time you were on." When a good group came together it was decent fun, but at least half of of your playtime was spent standing around with your thumb up your butt trying to get a group together unless you could be on all day. Even when you did have a group, mana regen was so idiotically slow that you would have to stand around twiddling your thumbs for something like half of each play session. So that's like what 3/4 of each play session wishing you could do something or staring at your power bar in between pulls? No thanks.
And heaven forbid your tank or your healer not know what they were doing. A naked corpse run to retrieve your already meager possessions (in launch EQ a normal steel axe was "uber") is kind of funny the first time, but gets old very quick. Losing a level on top of that is just a kick in the nuts. Looking back, the only reason most of us put up with that crap is that EQ and UO were about the only options back then.
I'm sure you are one of these sadists that thinks MMOs have been in a steady decline from DAoC on (you certainly sound like one), but I personally wouldn't play launch EQ again unless I were getting paid for it.
Even the fans of EQ wouldn't play it, apparently. Current EQ is one hell of a lot more forgiving than the bum pounding grindfest that EQ was at launch. Racial XP penalties have been abolished, casters gain new spells every level, NPCs can set your bindpoints, there are in game maps, you know what direction you are going without having to practice the direction skill, ect. Power regen is tons faster, and you can even hire out NPCs to help you solo.
And it's not as if any of these changes make EQ any where near as fast paced or solo freindly as is the norm among modern MMOs. I interpret it largely as the developers of EQ being forced to reduce the time needed to progress to "sane" now that the game has competition.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Hehe i knew someone would jump out of the woods and yell "but but but, i know in WoW you could level faster" well from my experience that was not the case. A friend of mine and i got to 44 in Lotro in 2 ambitious weekends and one casual week with maybe 50-60 houers played i suppose someone playing it 24/7 could have been much faster than the two of us.
With the rest of your post you completely missed my points since you mixed up games at their current state with what was there at launch. I actually have no clue how WoW looks like, i havent played it for 2-3 years.
That is why i compared the games near their launch time.
Anyway, thanks for sharing those intresting points.
Far as i know this wow clone isnt number one it dosnt have 11.5 million subscriptions it's all opinions
It is an Everquest copy, not a Wow clone. Wow did few things for themselves. And BTW did Wow copy LOTROs system of instancing a place after something has happened to it in WOTLK.
Still, LOTRO do look a lot better than Wow but it ain't my favorite MMO. Mostly because I feel like an npc to Aragon and the last from the books, they should have done like TOR and put the game a lot earlier instead. That and the fact that you can't play evil is a turn down for me. But Wow is not my favorite game either, it is just too easy and I don't really like the lore.
Wow have sold a lot of copies but I actually believes that it is a combo of better art and the fact that you can choose sides (and do at least semi real PvP) that made Wow a lot bigger.
But Everquest was a lot better game for it's time than Wow ever was, EQ was influenced by Meridian 59 and really changed the genre, Wow just added polish to it, and the huge Blizzard fanbase.
44 is not the same as 50, the XP curved ramped up considerably in LoTRO during the last ten levels near launch. The last 5 were pretty major grinds back then. And even by your estimate you put in 50-60 hours to hit 44. My first toon in WoW hit 60 with 72 hours played, at launch. And that was with a hell of a lot of dicking around with my tailoring, fishing, cooking, helping guildies ect. If I were "ambitious" about it I'm certain I could have done it in around 50 hours played.
You also claim that LoTRO is "easier" than WoW. That was not true at launch, it is not true now. In launch LoTRO, there was very little solo content after around level 35. So you were forced to either group or grind out levels on mobs, just like in those older MMOs you seem to adore. Players bitched up a storm about it, and the first major update added a new 35 to low 40 levelling zone. In launch WoW you could very easilly solo straight to the cap on quests.
In modern LoTRO versus modern WoW, there is simply no comparison. Triple XP that applies to both mobs and quest XP, start a deathknight at 50, the vast majority fo group quests nerfed to be soloable...ridiculous. Beleive me , if you tried WoW these days you would be bored out of your skull by it.
Edit: I have one guy at 51 in LoTRO currently, I started him in the open beta and I didn't hit 50 until a few months before MoM launched. Only guy that seemed relevent to estimating what the time to cap near launch would have been. He is not my main, so haven't played him a ton at 50. However, I spent a hell of a lot of time crafting with him (he is my scholar... and maxed out), and I also took out the time to get my rep up to kindred in Foreschel with him when the cap was still 50. So clearly not all played time was spent leveling. Nonetheless, I just did did a "played" on him and the time was 2 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 35 minutes.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Look Yeebo, maybe you are right and ambitious players could level a tad small percentage faster in WoW than in LOTRO, it was not my impression. On the official forums 3 weeks after launch a massive thread with over 1000 positings appeared where the so called "hardcore and elitist" players left the game since they had reached level cap with one or more toons and found no endgame waiting. In my kinship where everyone was like 20 when i joined with a few exceptions being alread 35+ everyone was 50 or playing alts when i left. The players at 50 where so bored they came to help my friend and me and spoiled even the last rest of thrill.
It is still missing the point - the silver plate factor is massive in the modern games and it surprised me that there was no button in LOTRO that said: "teleport to quest reward" and "teleport to bonus quest reward" From 1 - 35 there was no game at all, they just as well could have let me choose my starting level at char creation. And as you said, after 35 they had no ideas anymore how to spoil players with exp presents so they fell back to the old grind grind grind mantra.
The result of such shallow meaningless gameplay was this:
I had no problems deleting my burglar before leaving LOTRO. It was a throw-away toon in a throw-away mmo. In my opinion. And that it was this license that was abused for such a mainstream throw away game doubled the disappointment.
I know many have said it before, and many will say it again but I feel the need to say it now also.
WOW is also a clone. Those who believe that there is anything original in WOW are fooling themselves. All has been borrowed from older games.
There, I said it. Now you can continue this discussion.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
I don't get where you think there was "no game at all" from 1-35. The thing that attracted me to this game was the main quest line and dungeons like Great Barrows were a lot of fun to me. I will say at the higher levels, back then, I agree with your sentiment but they've really added a lot to the game in reference to different types of quests with story arcs and some other zones.
I quit myself a ways back due to a ridiculous shortage of players on my server and at the high end at the time I was playing there was a serious lack of quests. The game has come a long way though. Hate the game or love the game, you can't really deny that Turbine has been rather good at adding content. This game has some rather interesting story lines and dungeon type material if you choose to utilize it.
As to the OP, no point in discussing the matter because it's ridiculous. All of these games at this point can be accused of being clones of other ones. Personally, I think this is an excellent game in many areas. My one gripe with this game is its PvP. Because lets be frank, it's rather weak especially compared to how well the rest of the game is done. Truly dissappointing more effort wasn't put into that aspect of the game. Other than that, I think it's a rather damn good game.
Well, actually I have two gripes but my other one has nothing to do with the game itself just how Turbine is handling and monitoring the population of the game.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
The very simple reason LotRO is at the top of the ratings is that it's a solid game that was not miss-marketed and hyped beyond its capabilities. Thus is doesn't have (semi-)"haters" who ruin its rating, like most other games. The people rating LotRO are generally fair in their ratings, not giving it lower scores than it deserves because they were abysmally disappointed due to a hype the game couldn't deliver on.
Other games are probably equally good (I haven't tried them all, and played LotRO for 3 weeks only), but promised too much, were too big-mouthed, and didn't deliver or correct that image fast enough - or is WoW, which everyone loves to pick on anyway.
just because LotRO fits the MMO structure does not make it a WoW clone. WoW also stuck to the MMO structure. Some people are so stupid... but continue thinking what you want... and LotRO will just continue to do well. So any complaints on here do nothing really lol.
Please read this article:
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Are you trying to say that the movies were a piece of art not targetted at mass market? I can hardly think of more mass market popcorn director than Peter Jackson. (NO! Michael Bay IS NOT A DIRECTOR).
The movies were a piece of art targetted towards mass market. However with their 3 hour running time they certainly are not your run of the mill popcorn movie and it did an excellent job reducing the vastness of the books into a movie.
This MMORPG on the other hand is your run of the mill MMORPG with massive instancing and linear advancement and questing. There isn't a single thing in this game that shows the brilliancy of Tolkien books and how he weaved together a dozens of different mytologies into creating something unique and groundbreaking. This MMORPG, however, is WoW in Tolkien clothing. There is nothing complex or amazing about it, but rather it takes the tested and tried concepts of WoW and polishes them and barely tries to create the conflict between good and evil that is so central in Tolkien lore.
It is a disgrace and I am sure if Tolkien if he was alive would get disgusted to see what his brilliant work has been reduced to.
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1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
[Mod Edit]
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
Does that mean anyone who hasn't played WoW or any of its seemingly infinite clones would probably consider LoTRO a very good game worthy of high poll numbers?
To me, LoTRO is sort of a polished WoW in Middle-Earth. It's similar in some ways, but different. They could make a WoW clone for Star Trek, but that doesn't mean I'd care to play it, ya know? I thoroughly enjoyed the Lord of the Rings books and movies but never had much interest in playing a game of it. But, LoTRO looks good and is pretty fun. It's hard to find many faults with the actual game, it's put together very well, it mainly depends on if you like the style of controls and play and the Lord of the Rings environment or not.
If someone wants something in the fantasy genre but different, Dungeons and Dragons Online awaits. People who complain about WoW clones but haven't tried DDO in the past while should give it a shot. LoTRO is a fine game, but, like them or not, DDO has those certain somethings that simply can't be found in any other MMO I know of. Kinda surprised Turbine doesn't do a PassStation thing for both games.
Omg, are you really that stupid?
1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
Retard.
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
Awesome, since you don't have anyway of forming a good argument your last resort is to call "stupid" and "retard"...
Clap, Clap... kudos to you and your magnificent reasoning.
1. Yes, to anyone who has played the game, LotRO's combat system is alot different from most fantasy based MMO's. Its slower place, tactical and complex. I won't compare it to any other game because i don't think its better or worst. I prefer tactical combat to fast paced combat, but that's me.
Combat systems like the Guardian's Reactive Skills, Crit Chains from the Burglar, Battle-Readied from the Captain, War-speech and balad weaving from the minstrel, Gambit system from the Warden or Attunement from the Rune-Keeper makes it very much tactical and you actually have to think in what you are doing a few moves ahead. Reminds me of Chess.
If you seem to fail at acknowledging that... well, I'll stop wasting my time because you are obviously here for trolling instead of making a statement.
2. LotrO has, has most of the fantasy and non-fantasy games, the holy trinity. Their approach is a little different... but not that different. But lotro has 9 classes (Free-Peoples side). The other support classes are rather unique. Be it the Burglar or the Lore-Master (one of the best classes I've played on any game) or the gambit Warden. A lot of unique classes and roles for a lot of different tastes.
3. Heavy and detailed textures, realistic armours, stable DirectX 10, Landscape with a great affinity with the lore, spectacular detailing... LotrO has the best graphics in a MMO. Landscape wise it cant be beaten by any other. AoC has arguably better detailing on the avatars... but LotrO is much more scalable (runs on a Acer Aspire One Netbook).
Its easy to offent and shun... but giving content and depth to your discussion and reasons really helps.
P.E. Burglar is nothing like a Rogue. The only thing they have in combat is stealth. Cleary and beyond any doubt you never played a minute of Lotro.
Omg, are you really that stupid?
1) Can you please tell me, what's 'a different' combat system, then?
2) WoW copied all of those classes from Everquest, and Everquest copied (most of) them from REAL LIFE. Yeh, there has been Swordmen and Archers etc. in real life.
+, I havent played WoW ever, and never will (Just cause of the fact that most of the players are fags like you who think they own the world and WoW was the first MMO ever and every game after it copies it) BUT Im pretty sure that WoW doesnt have classes like Minstrel, Warden and Rune Keeper? Obviously all of the MMORPG's have Melee Fighters and Magicians, they just give them different class-names. (For example Lotro Burglar - Rogue WoW)
3) Again, can I ask, then what you count as a 'significant difference' in graphics?
Retard.
Edit: Almost forgot. On the topic, I never got into LOTRO; I really hoped that I'd love it cause I love the books and the movies, but got disappointed. May be cause Im more of a PvP player and Lotro doesnt offer much of it. I believe it's a good game if you're into the PvE genre, tho.
Awesome, since you don't have anyway of forming a good argument your last resort is to call "stupid" and "retard"...
Clap, Clap... kudos to you and your magnificent reasoning.
1. Yes, to anyone who has played the game, LotRO's combat system is alot different from most fantasy based MMO's. Its slower place, tactical and complex. I won't compare it to any other game because i don't think its better or worst. I prefer tactical combat to fast paced combat, but that's me.
Combat systems like the Guardian's Reactive Skills, Crit Chains from the Burglar, Battle-Readied from the Captain, War-speech and balad weaving from the minstrel, Gambit system from the Warden or Attunement from the Rune-Keeper makes it very much tactical and you actually have to think in what you are doing a few moves ahead. Reminds me of Chess.
If you seem to fail at acknowledging that... well, I'll stop wasting my time because you are obviously here for trolling instead of making a statement.
2. LotrO has, has most of the fantasy and non-fantasy games, the holy trinity. Their approach is a little different... but not that different. But lotro has 9 classes (Free-Peoples side). The other support classes are rather unique. Be it the Burglar or the Lore-Master (one of the best classes I've played on any game) or the gambit Warden. A lot of unique classes and roles for a lot of different tastes.
3. Heavy and detailed textures, realistic armours, stable DirectX 10, Landscape with a great affinity with the lore, spectacular detailing... LotrO has the best graphics in a MMO. Landscape wise it cant be beaten by any other. AoC has arguably better detailing on the avatars... but LotrO is much more scalable (runs on a Acer Aspire One Netbook).
Its easy to offent and shun... but giving content and depth to your discussion and reasons really helps.
P.E. Burglar is nothing like a Rogue. The only thing they have in combat is stealth. Cleary and beyond any doubt you never played a minute of Lotro.
excellent post and well said but I do have to argue this one point. Go up to a NPC like the one in this pic
and watch the expressions change on their faces, the eyes move, they smile and frown, they blink and turn their heads when another NPC or PC goes by. The first time I noticed it I sat there and watched for about five minutes and was completely amazed.
also it is hard to see in this small pic but the detail on the armor is great also. Buttons on the clothes, rivets and engraving on the armor etc.
LoTROs finest quality in my opinion is that they seem to pay a lot of attention to details, and as my old mentor pointed out on my first job
"take care of the little things and the big things will never be a problem"
I miss DAoC
Thats why i said arguably.
The best looking armours in LotrO are heavy armours. Specialy if you are a crafter you can see where all the little materials you used went to, like the leader bidings and the pieces of chainmail.
I miss DAoC
I used to play GW and agree it is one of the few games that dared to be different, but then again the game is more of a CRPG with PvE thrown in. I really appreciated the uniqueness of the skill system, and the gameplay mechanics. After GW I went to WoW and played for over a year. IMO Blizzard got so many things in that game. The classes are diverse all the major elements of gameplay are there for exceptional PvE, and decent PvP. I too like the factions system. After leveling my druid to 70 it all sort of felt meaningless. I didn't want to raid, and although PvP was fun it wasn't as good as GvG was in GW. My biggest issue though was the lack of cohesiveness in the world itsself. Each zone is uniqu and fun with lots to do but they seem randomly mashed together. For example leaving duskwook for Stranglethorn vale takes you from dark and mirky western europeon forest to a tropical jungle.
After a bit of reading about LoTRO I found that there was a complete and cohesive world to explore, not just random zones. I'll admit that the early levels didn't do much for me, but at level 20 it all changed, and I haven't looked back. The lore, quest content, and feel of the game have kept me rolling in fun for nearly 7 months now. The community is the very best, and I definitely don't miss the kiddies from WoW.
Yes there are simularites in gameplay between WoW and LoTRO, but enough differeces to set it apart. You know all books are comprised of words, sentences, and paragraphs. It is how those elements are put together that makes it an original.