It has a great atmosphere but the gameplay is really lacking, I gave up at lv38 because I did the same boring routine to every mob for about 3 hours... looked back and asked myself why am I playing a boring game.
Unsubbed that night and am never gonna return.
The housing was great, good crafting, excellent graphics, but just really really boring combat that was seemed very stiff, the icons were also small and I didn't like the UI much.
I just started playing Lord of The Rings this week and i have yet to have any trouble what so ever finding fellowships to complete the tougher quests not sure what server you are on but on brandywine there is no issue finding groups if you are looking.
Wait till you hit your high 30's. There are a lot more people to group with at lower levels.
So what you're saying is that once people hit 30, they leave the game?
Strangely enough, that's exactly the level my Guardian was when I left the game.
In all fairness, it was witihin the first 3 months of launch and it just wasn't the sort of game playing experience I was looking for at the time. (I went on to join EVE at that time, and the rest is history)
But it was a nice game world, I felt the player base was more mature than most, and it seems to be going strong.
Sure, its PVP limits its appeal to some, but I think the people who enjoy the game would say they are better for it.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
It has a great atmosphere but the gameplay is really lacking, I gave up at lv38 because I did the same boring routine to every mob for about 3 hours... looked back and asked myself why am I playing a boring game.
Unsubbed that night and am never gonna return.
The housing was great, good crafting, excellent graphics, but just really really boring combat that was seemed very stiff, the icons were also small and I didn't like the UI much.
Yeah, that was an issue before they fixed the possibility to scale the UI, but that was actually quite a while back...
The combat is neither better or worse than any other MMORPG IMO. Well, a little bit better since we the game have the cool feature of 'fellowship maneuvers' when battling a signature or elite enemy when in a group. The response in the combat might feel a bit sluggish, especially if you come from an arcade game like f.x. WoW where the game takes small or no consideration to real life physics.
For example, if I make a big swing with a doublehanded axe, it is impossible for me to break that swing in the middle of execution just because I feel like it. I have to follow through. Also, after having performed the swing, it takes a little time to actually reset the body to ready-status before being able to execute another blow or move.
It all comes down to what gamer you are. Are you more in favour of arcade gaming, then you would want lightning fast executions in battle, and if you are an RPG'er, like me , you understand that everything must take it's time and actually likes the pacing of LOTRO combat.
As for the boring routine when fighting... well, that's MMORPG for ya'. It is always possible to take a break from fighting, skip present quest or postpone it until later, go harvest or crafting, quaff a few ales with the buddies in Prancing Pony or whatever floats ones boat.
Hopefully futuer MMORPG's will do away with the repetitiveness (is there sush a word - I am not native English) of combat, but looking in hindsight, I would not hold my breath for it.
The game was good till new expansion came out. Now its just add 10 more levels with every expansion and add more raid instances. I am not one of those players who like to run after carrot on a stick.
I really like LOTRO, however I found I could never play more than 3-4 weeks consecutively. I was baffled for a long time as to why this was, but I finally came to a conclusion, please note this is my opinion, and I realize it is not everyone's.
It's always more of the same. The questing feels the same most of the time. Crafting is really fun at first but very quickly becomes more of a chore than enjoyable experience. Fishing and housing which I had high hopes for, fell very, very flat. So the "fluff" elements that give you more to do than just quest grinding, just didn't cut it.
I found that I would stop logging in because I simply wasn't in the mood to go grind quests. I wanted to spend a little time doing something else, and sadly, the options that were available just didn't cut it for me.
I want very much to be in love with this game, it has a lot going for it, but it always felt more like a "spring fling" of me going, "Ooooh shiny!" rather than the long-term relationship I was looking for in a game.
I really like LOTRO, however I found I could never play more than 3-4 weeks consecutively. I was baffled for a long time as to why this was, but I finally came to a conclusion, please note this is my opinion, and I realize it is not everyone's. It's always more of the same. The questing feels the same most of the time. Crafting is really fun at first but very quickly becomes more of a chore than enjoyable experience. Fishing and housing which I had high hopes for, fell very, very flat. So the "fluff" elements that give you more to do than just quest grinding, just didn't cut it. I found that I would stop logging in because I simply wasn't in the mood to go grind quests. I wanted to spend a little time doing something else, and sadly, the options that were available just didn't cut it for me. I want very much to be in love with this game, it has a lot going for it, but it always felt more like a "spring fling" of me going, "Ooooh shiny!" rather than the long-term relationship I was looking for in a game.
^This^
I feel the same- Great explorable world but very limited... Housing is just a glorified Storage bin with very little customization and it just get.... Well.... Boring.
Even with a good guilld you can only play freeze tag and do limited raids so much before its just...Boring. The Crafting looks promising but you soon realize- Its not. Its just- Boring.
On the plus side, great community, great lands to explore, great IP (but the IP really limits it as well)
parasitehillWorld of Warcraft CorrespondentMemberUncommonPosts: 10
I read the OP and the last page of posts, so forgive me if i say something repetitive, but this is a matter of opinion anyway. For me - the big killer was the classes, combat, and skills mixed. My main game of choice is wow (no flames plz) mainly because the combat is super fluid. I prefer a mage which has a huge arsenal of skills at their disposal and actually takes some getting used to use all skills at the rights times (especially in pvp when pressure is on). The closest thing to a mage in lotro was the rune keeper and the lore master (i think it was). neither really felt right for me and after reaching 25 or so with the rune keeper - I just got horribly bored of the combat. I find I have a lot of trouble with just the fluidity of movement and how much more depth wow combat has compared to other games. Even WAR i remember feeling wasn't really enough even with the collision detection - but then again - a lot of the skills didn't work past 20-30 back then!
Lotro does a lot right though. I have met some of the friendliest people ever on this game..sometimes just standing around in town playing a song on my lute. People will come up and play with you and chat with you and next thing you know you have a friend. Wow used to be like this - but sadly it seems everyone is a know it all jerk anymore in the game. The environment is gorgeous and I really liked the idea of the way they kept the story going through the 'books.' Housing was another awesome thing..as well as guild houses. There is a reason the game has a huge player base already. it's just not my cup of tea in the long run. Although I have told my husband countless times that I wish we could get a game like wow that had lotro's community.
Heh, well page 14 already, not sure there is a point, but my 2-cents:
First off, it *is* "very popular" by any reasonable definition. Arguably the 2nd largest "western" MMO out there currently, definately bigger than EQ2, VG or the older ones and at least equal to if not larger than AoC and WAR (probably was briefly lower when they launched and is much higher now)
It has a lot to recommend it: I love the graphics, great storyline, good pve systems for the most part and a great community.
As for why it isn't bigger:
It's not the lack of PvP, the pvmp system is no more worthless or pointless than the pvp in WoW.
Part of it *is* definately that it is a themepark MMO, as far from a sandbox as you can get. You go along for the ride and not a lot more.
Some of it is probably that it is isn't even vaguely true to Tolkien's vision. Don't get me wrong, it's well done and a great world but all it shares with the "real" Middle-Earth is a lot of common language and geography. Middle-earth is really supposed to be a much lower magic, less D&Dish world...LotRO is a Monty Haul D&D "ego" game taken to extremes...so no "purist" is going to tolerate it.
Part of it is the community and the design itself. I'm not trying to be elitist or slam WoW, but WoW is definately designed to attract and keep the lowest common denominator, LotRO comes off more than a bit elitist and tends to keep a more mature (and thus smaller) player base.
Lastly, I think part of it is simply the diversification of the market. There are way too many "fantasy" MMOs compared to others. The fantasy market is glutted and canibalistic. Last-gen games like LotRO, WAR and AoC didn't grow the market...they stripped off fans who prefer that "flavor" of fantasy over the others.
(edit - added for the last poster: playing anything in LotRO to 25th is like playing something in WoW to 10th and declaring that you know the class. LotRO classes build in skillset and diversity as they level, this kicks in massively past 39th, at 25th you simply have no concept of how the class actually plays in the endgame. )
I think you need to define popular...popular as WoW popular or popular as most other MMORPG's are popular. I think the LOTR is right up there with most MMORPG's. WoW offers something that most games do not and it bring in a bigger crowd I think. Most mmo's are like a stragtegy game...slow paced need planning can bore people. WoW is more like an action arcade game fast paced, some button mashing strategies, and can get people excited, but in the long run can be boring.
I think the fast paced build of WoW gives it its numbers. You can log in any time and get into something fast. In many other games you have to build up a character for weeks or months to get to the fun in established games. The character grind to get up to high level in a game where most of the population is high level kills games. WoW I think saw this and increased the rate of leveling so people do not have as long if they just start to get up to their friends or guilds.
Hmmmm, having played both to endgame I havta say WOW is certainly harder. I know the Flames are coming but...
LOTRO was just too much on rails (WOW as well) and when you got the Endgame there really wasnt anything left. I liked LOTR combat better (seemed less "spammy") but the Raids were just really short and easy and with no real PVP- Being "skiled" at LOTR combat didnt really mean much (as it could have)
Crafting is broken and all the armor looks the same (thats my personal opinion) so theres really no "standing out" if you do have an uber toon. Also, most of the really good ideals (housing, appearance tab, etc.) were done by EQ2 but much better. Everyones house looked the same, neighborhoods are empty and theres no real customization.
Also, the hardcore "lore" people can be a little much in forgetting that its a game and should be fun.
Now, a Sandbox middle Earth without an "epic" plotline that everyone follows on rails- That would be Gold (to me) but as it stands its just a quest driven, story driven linear game where all the "epic" quests of everyone on your "book" are excactly the same.
Just to add to my earlier comment the trick with lord of the rings online is to get into a decent fellowship and make as many friends as possible . If you come into this game with an attitude you ll have a hard time of it . Be friendly and you ll find the game really comes alive . I too found the game really was slower to get into than say WoW or War but its the most in depth fantasy mmo you ll find if you stick with it . I sometimes think the mmos that seam slower and more boring at the start end up being far more interesting . I m really going to have to give that EVE three week trial a go soon .
I LOVED Lord of the Rings, but there was no end game content when I played. I seriously did, was a great quest and fun game. I loved being a priest because I could feign death while the raid wiped and pull them all back up at the same spot. Too bad other games dont have that, such a great tool. The graphics are phenomenal better than any other game and I have played all of them starting with EQ1. Anyway, my 2 cents.
From what i gather the end game content is pretty much pvping around the etten moors at the moment , raiding and playing the chapters that are released in each patch .I think theres ment to be a new pvp area and a randomised skirmish system in the coming digital expansion . I ve not got there yet but i m having a good time dipping in and out of middle earth . Its a perfect 2 nd mmo to play on the side of whatever your main one is and well worth the life time sub when they offer it at half price as they sometimes do .
Yet again, we have post by people for whome WoW must be their first MMO. LOTRO is very much like AC2, which was also made by Turbine, and which pre-dates WoW by about 2 years. LOTRO is definitely not a WoW clone. One of the biggest reasons for LOTRo to not have bigger numbers was marketting. Atari was a terrible publisher. LOTRO never had the shelf presence of WoW because they didnèt have Blizzard's huge marketting muscle. But it didnèt even have the shelf space of fricken Tabula Rasa, and that game bombed. And now that Turbine is in a legal battle with Atari, the newest expansion is digital download only, which doesn't get it on store shelves. The hordes of WoW players that don't even know there are other MMOs won't discover it that way.
LotRO is not more popular because for the most part the PC armour is uninspired, combat is a little slow compared to other MMOs, the grind for traits is mind numbingly boring, next to no content for capped toons(pre MoM) and with some exceptions the big draw of the epic story line is pretty dull.
I like it, I capped out my champ and have high level burglar and guard but just couldn't stick it out long enough for MoM to release. Will I return? Probably. Really come down to what comes down the pipe. But LotRO to me is like WoW, great game that I've had my fill of.
Lack of real PvP , lack of a second faction, the fact that it's a story game, and not GO GOGOGOGOGOGOGGO to 60.
this
P v P is important. Even in PvE games. Look at WoW. Imagine how many players would be pisted if WoW got rid of PvP. (Even though you see a lot of Hate towards WoW's PvP in forums like this)
1) lotro seemed very sectioned off when I tried it during beta. Makes me feel boxed in and on rails. Doesn't seem like an explorer's game.
2) I don't like games that are heavy handed on story, particularly in the mmo genre. Its trying to be a book or a movie rather than a game and an interactive world. I prefer to find my own story in a virtual world, or at least have the official story be a little more nebulous and less forced.
3) I have no interest in the world or its creatures. Its cliche. Yes, Tolkien did it first, but after his basic layout of a fantasy universe was regurgitated for 50 years it doesn't matter who was first. The fact remains that it is uninteresting. I've seen it a billion times before. Its kind of like classical music that is used over and over in commercials, it becomes something else. It gets ruined and tiresome. I hate Copeland because all I can think of when I hear his music are those "BEEF! Its whats for dinner!" commercials.
4) Tubine has a better franchise called Asherons Call. Why they abandoned their own material for over-used outside IPs I have no idea.
Just doesn't seem like an interesting and engaging game to me.
it is popular...it's population is just (thankfully) not over the top like most of the other games. You don't hear people frothing at the mouth screaming how awesome the game is. If i am not mistaken its the 2nd most popular Western MMO on the market atm.
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds -Solid non level based game -Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
I think that the mistake was doing the game about The Lord of the Rings in the first place. A game couldve been set on a diferent time frame in Tolkiens chronology, giving you a chance to spare you fan criticism (some time periods are only roughly described in the Silmarilion) and a better chance to introduce new elements. Those wars in which Sauron was nothing but a lieutenant and which dwarfed Bilbos and Frodos story to no more than a footnote in elven history would make for epic action.
In general terms it seems like something of a mistake to focus so much on an IPs better known references. SWTOR seems to me a move in the right direction, it allows for a universe in which both Sith and Jedi number armies while giving players a storyline in which their characters actions could feel more trascendent than SWGs setting.
Just to make things clear... I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
I have never played LOTR because of one simple fact; There is only one faction. I will never play the homo elf, the boring human, the baby hobbit or the unoroginal dwarf. I cant play an orc, an horoukai(sp?) or troll... F#$& that. No way I will join the pussy ''good guys''.
Comments
It has a great atmosphere but the gameplay is really lacking, I gave up at lv38 because I did the same boring routine to every mob for about 3 hours... looked back and asked myself why am I playing a boring game.
Unsubbed that night and am never gonna return.
The housing was great, good crafting, excellent graphics, but just really really boring combat that was seemed very stiff, the icons were also small and I didn't like the UI much.
Wait till you hit your high 30's. There are a lot more people to group with at lower levels.
So what you're saying is that once people hit 30, they leave the game?
Strangely enough, that's exactly the level my Guardian was when I left the game.
In all fairness, it was witihin the first 3 months of launch and it just wasn't the sort of game playing experience I was looking for at the time. (I went on to join EVE at that time, and the rest is history)
But it was a nice game world, I felt the player base was more mature than most, and it seems to be going strong.
Sure, its PVP limits its appeal to some, but I think the people who enjoy the game would say they are better for it.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
It has a great atmosphere but the gameplay is really lacking, I gave up at lv38 because I did the same boring routine to every mob for about 3 hours... looked back and asked myself why am I playing a boring game.
Unsubbed that night and am never gonna return.
The housing was great, good crafting, excellent graphics, but just really really boring combat that was seemed very stiff, the icons were also small and I didn't like the UI much.
Yeah, that was an issue before they fixed the possibility to scale the UI, but that was actually quite a while back...
The combat is neither better or worse than any other MMORPG IMO. Well, a little bit better since we the game have the cool feature of 'fellowship maneuvers' when battling a signature or elite enemy when in a group. The response in the combat might feel a bit sluggish, especially if you come from an arcade game like f.x. WoW where the game takes small or no consideration to real life physics.
For example, if I make a big swing with a doublehanded axe, it is impossible for me to break that swing in the middle of execution just because I feel like it. I have to follow through. Also, after having performed the swing, it takes a little time to actually reset the body to ready-status before being able to execute another blow or move.
It all comes down to what gamer you are. Are you more in favour of arcade gaming, then you would want lightning fast executions in battle, and if you are an RPG'er, like me
, you understand that everything must take it's time and actually likes the pacing of LOTRO combat.
As for the boring routine when fighting... well, that's MMORPG for ya'. It is always possible to take a break from fighting, skip present quest or postpone it until later, go harvest or crafting, quaff a few ales with the buddies in Prancing Pony or whatever floats ones boat.
Hopefully futuer MMORPG's will do away with the repetitiveness (is there sush a word - I am not native English) of combat, but looking in hindsight, I would not hold my breath for it.
The game was good till new expansion came out. Now its just add 10 more levels with every expansion and add more raid instances. I am not one of those players who like to run after carrot on a stick.
I really like LOTRO, however I found I could never play more than 3-4 weeks consecutively. I was baffled for a long time as to why this was, but I finally came to a conclusion, please note this is my opinion, and I realize it is not everyone's.
It's always more of the same. The questing feels the same most of the time. Crafting is really fun at first but very quickly becomes more of a chore than enjoyable experience. Fishing and housing which I had high hopes for, fell very, very flat. So the "fluff" elements that give you more to do than just quest grinding, just didn't cut it.
I found that I would stop logging in because I simply wasn't in the mood to go grind quests. I wanted to spend a little time doing something else, and sadly, the options that were available just didn't cut it for me.
I want very much to be in love with this game, it has a lot going for it, but it always felt more like a "spring fling" of me going, "Ooooh shiny!" rather than the long-term relationship I was looking for in a game.
It's not popular, because most people could use it to cure insomnia. The game bores me to tears.
Katsma is Lithuanian for 'he who drinks used douche fluid'.
^This^
I feel the same- Great explorable world but very limited... Housing is just a glorified Storage bin with very little customization and it just get.... Well.... Boring.
Even with a good guilld you can only play freeze tag and do limited raids so much before its just...Boring. The Crafting looks promising but you soon realize- Its not. Its just- Boring.
On the plus side, great community, great lands to explore, great IP (but the IP really limits it as well)
I read the OP and the last page of posts, so forgive me if i say something repetitive, but this is a matter of opinion anyway. For me - the big killer was the classes, combat, and skills mixed. My main game of choice is wow (no flames plz) mainly because the combat is super fluid. I prefer a mage which has a huge arsenal of skills at their disposal and actually takes some getting used to use all skills at the rights times (especially in pvp when pressure is on). The closest thing to a mage in lotro was the rune keeper and the lore master (i think it was). neither really felt right for me and after reaching 25 or so with the rune keeper - I just got horribly bored of the combat. I find I have a lot of trouble with just the fluidity of movement and how much more depth wow combat has compared to other games. Even WAR i remember feeling wasn't really enough even with the collision detection - but then again - a lot of the skills didn't work past 20-30 back then!
Lotro does a lot right though. I have met some of the friendliest people ever on this game..sometimes just standing around in town playing a song on my lute. People will come up and play with you and chat with you and next thing you know you have a friend. Wow used to be like this - but sadly it seems everyone is a know it all jerk anymore in the game. The environment is gorgeous and I really liked the idea of the way they kept the story going through the 'books.' Housing was another awesome thing..as well as guild houses. There is a reason the game has a huge player base already. it's just not my cup of tea in the long run. Although I have told my husband countless times that I wish we could get a game like wow that had lotro's community.
Heh, well page 14 already, not sure there is a point, but my 2-cents:
First off, it *is* "very popular" by any reasonable definition. Arguably the 2nd largest "western" MMO out there currently, definately bigger than EQ2, VG or the older ones and at least equal to if not larger than AoC and WAR (probably was briefly lower when they launched and is much higher now)
It has a lot to recommend it: I love the graphics, great storyline, good pve systems for the most part and a great community.
As for why it isn't bigger:
It's not the lack of PvP, the pvmp system is no more worthless or pointless than the pvp in WoW.
Part of it *is* definately that it is a themepark MMO, as far from a sandbox as you can get. You go along for the ride and not a lot more.
Some of it is probably that it is isn't even vaguely true to Tolkien's vision. Don't get me wrong, it's well done and a great world but all it shares with the "real" Middle-Earth is a lot of common language and geography. Middle-earth is really supposed to be a much lower magic, less D&Dish world...LotRO is a Monty Haul D&D "ego" game taken to extremes...so no "purist" is going to tolerate it.
Part of it is the community and the design itself. I'm not trying to be elitist or slam WoW, but WoW is definately designed to attract and keep the lowest common denominator, LotRO comes off more than a bit elitist and tends to keep a more mature (and thus smaller) player base.
Lastly, I think part of it is simply the diversification of the market. There are way too many "fantasy" MMOs compared to others. The fantasy market is glutted and canibalistic. Last-gen games like LotRO, WAR and AoC didn't grow the market...they stripped off fans who prefer that "flavor" of fantasy over the others.
(edit - added for the last poster: playing anything in LotRO to 25th is like playing something in WoW to 10th and declaring that you know the class. LotRO classes build in skillset and diversity as they level, this kicks in massively past 39th, at 25th you simply have no concept of how the class actually plays in the endgame. )
After not quite a month of Aion, I will be going back to LotRO.
I think you need to define popular...popular as WoW popular or popular as most other MMORPG's are popular. I think the LOTR is right up there with most MMORPG's. WoW offers something that most games do not and it bring in a bigger crowd I think. Most mmo's are like a stragtegy game...slow paced need planning can bore people. WoW is more like an action arcade game fast paced, some button mashing strategies, and can get people excited, but in the long run can be boring.
I think the fast paced build of WoW gives it its numbers. You can log in any time and get into something fast. In many other games you have to build up a character for weeks or months to get to the fun in established games. The character grind to get up to high level in a game where most of the population is high level kills games. WoW I think saw this and increased the rate of leveling so people do not have as long if they just start to get up to their friends or guilds.
Hmmmm, having played both to endgame I havta say WOW is certainly harder. I know the Flames are coming but...
LOTRO was just too much on rails (WOW as well) and when you got the Endgame there really wasnt anything left. I liked LOTR combat better (seemed less "spammy") but the Raids were just really short and easy and with no real PVP- Being "skiled" at LOTR combat didnt really mean much (as it could have)
Crafting is broken and all the armor looks the same (thats my personal opinion) so theres really no "standing out" if you do have an uber toon. Also, most of the really good ideals (housing, appearance tab, etc.) were done by EQ2 but much better. Everyones house looked the same, neighborhoods are empty and theres no real customization.
Also, the hardcore "lore" people can be a little much in forgetting that its a game and should be fun.
Now, a Sandbox middle Earth without an "epic" plotline that everyone follows on rails- That would be Gold (to me) but as it stands its just a quest driven, story driven linear game where all the "epic" quests of everyone on your "book" are excactly the same.
Just to add to my earlier comment the trick with lord of the rings online is to get into a decent fellowship and make as many friends as possible . If you come into this game with an attitude you ll have a hard time of it . Be friendly and you ll find the game really comes alive . I too found the game really was slower to get into than say WoW or War but its the most in depth fantasy mmo you ll find if you stick with it . I sometimes think the mmos that seam slower and more boring at the start end up being far more interesting . I m really going to have to give that EVE three week trial a go soon .
I LOVED Lord of the Rings, but there was no end game content when I played. I seriously did, was a great quest and fun game. I loved being a priest because I could feign death while the raid wiped and pull them all back up at the same spot. Too bad other games dont have that, such a great tool. The graphics are phenomenal better than any other game and I have played all of them starting with EQ1. Anyway, my 2 cents.
From what i gather the end game content is pretty much pvping around the etten moors at the moment , raiding and playing the chapters that are released in each patch .I think theres ment to be a new pvp area and a randomised skirmish system in the coming digital expansion . I ve not got there yet but i m having a good time dipping in and out of middle earth . Its a perfect 2 nd mmo to play on the side of whatever your main one is and well worth the life time sub when they offer it at half price as they sometimes do .
Yet again, we have post by people for whome WoW must be their first MMO. LOTRO is very much like AC2, which was also made by Turbine, and which pre-dates WoW by about 2 years. LOTRO is definitely not a WoW clone. One of the biggest reasons for LOTRo to not have bigger numbers was marketting. Atari was a terrible publisher. LOTRO never had the shelf presence of WoW because they didnèt have Blizzard's huge marketting muscle. But it didnèt even have the shelf space of fricken Tabula Rasa, and that game bombed. And now that Turbine is in a legal battle with Atari, the newest expansion is digital download only, which doesn't get it on store shelves. The hordes of WoW players that don't even know there are other MMOs won't discover it that way.
LotRO is not more popular because for the most part the PC armour is uninspired, combat is a little slow compared to other MMOs, the grind for traits is mind numbingly boring, next to no content for capped toons(pre MoM) and with some exceptions the big draw of the epic story line is pretty dull.
I like it, I capped out my champ and have high level burglar and guard but just couldn't stick it out long enough for MoM to release. Will I return? Probably. Really come down to what comes down the pipe. But LotRO to me is like WoW, great game that I've had my fill of.
this
P v P is important. Even in PvE games. Look at WoW. Imagine how many players would be pisted if WoW got rid of PvP. (Even though you see a lot of Hate towards WoW's PvP in forums like this)
Well I'm uninterested because:
1) lotro seemed very sectioned off when I tried it during beta. Makes me feel boxed in and on rails. Doesn't seem like an explorer's game.
2) I don't like games that are heavy handed on story, particularly in the mmo genre. Its trying to be a book or a movie rather than a game and an interactive world. I prefer to find my own story in a virtual world, or at least have the official story be a little more nebulous and less forced.
3) I have no interest in the world or its creatures. Its cliche. Yes, Tolkien did it first, but after his basic layout of a fantasy universe was regurgitated for 50 years it doesn't matter who was first. The fact remains that it is uninteresting. I've seen it a billion times before. Its kind of like classical music that is used over and over in commercials, it becomes something else. It gets ruined and tiresome. I hate Copeland because all I can think of when I hear his music are those "BEEF! Its whats for dinner!" commercials.
4) Tubine has a better franchise called Asherons Call. Why they abandoned their own material for over-used outside IPs I have no idea.
Just doesn't seem like an interesting and engaging game to me.
it is popular...it's population is just (thankfully) not over the top like most of the other games. You don't hear people frothing at the mouth screaming how awesome the game is. If i am not mistaken its the 2nd most popular Western MMO on the market atm.
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
It's a bit slower than most games and it's main focus is story.
The franchise had a few historical issues, it was in development by two prior seperate companies both now defunct.
It released to late ie the movie hype was over.
It was another fantasy MMO in a market saturated with fantasy.
I think that the mistake was doing the game about The Lord of the Rings in the first place. A game couldve been set on a diferent time frame in Tolkiens chronology, giving you a chance to spare you fan criticism (some time periods are only roughly described in the Silmarilion) and a better chance to introduce new elements. Those wars in which Sauron was nothing but a lieutenant and which dwarfed Bilbos and Frodos story to no more than a footnote in elven history would make for epic action.
In general terms it seems like something of a mistake to focus so much on an IPs better known references. SWTOR seems to me a move in the right direction, it allows for a universe in which both Sith and Jedi number armies while giving players a storyline in which their characters actions could feel more trascendent than SWGs setting.
Just to make things clear...
I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
I have never played LOTR because of one simple fact; There is only one faction. I will never play the homo elf, the boring human, the baby hobbit or the unoroginal dwarf. I cant play an orc, an horoukai(sp?) or troll... F#$& that. No way I will join the pussy ''good guys''.
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Before: developers loved games and made money.
Now: developers love money and make games.
What drove me away was that avatars were butt ugly and most of all, combat was mind numbingly boring.