http://www.lotro-europe.com/
£25 to buy the game online and first 30 days are free.
Anyone else going to give it ago.
edit: I thought it meant buy and download but thats incorrect. Game are selling it for £25.
Lunares is playing it. I am considering getting a copy.
TL.
Just got the game.
I will write something when i got a bit a playtime in.
Lunares
I got a bit of playtime in LOTRO now and will try to write something that actually makes sense. I wil look at LOTRO in comparison to wow so a lot of ppl can put it into the right light.
I played the first 10 lvls (of the 50 cap atm) and i am positively surprised about the game. It has an epic questline which is the red wire through the game. It kept me wanting to quest more to see more of it thats a good sign.
The skills and classes seem to be more balanced then wow. Which is a big plus. Also skill seems to be more important then gear due to it doesnt add so much stats when you lvl.
Environment: Its less crowded then wow and more empty but it looks graphically a lot more advanced (as it should). Combat system and UI interface are as wow.
Crafting: The basic ideas are better then wow, you need to become an apprentice to be able to make journeyman stuff. However you also can master the apprentice class then you will be able to master the journeyman things (which makes you able to add random things to get more stats on it)
Community: It seems a lot better then the wow "teenagers".
Cons
- I do not have a good feeling about end game content atm, i cannot be sure since i havent been there nor do i know when turbine updates the content.
- Crafting is a pro aswell as a con. I like the idea you actually need each other (more then wow) but dont make shitloads of quests who need to be done by other crafters thats kinda lame imo.
-travelling by horse is far to expensive (for example its 60S to get to bree(the IF of LOTRO) which is more then i currently have).
An overal summary would be its better then wow for me but thats also due to i am kinda tired of the game. If you still love wow i am not sure if you should try this. Also i will update this when i see more and get a better impression.
Lunares
I would buy it... but at the moment I think i'm skint :sideways:
I played a bit on a guestpass provided by luna, and allthough the game play is decent, the graphics are excelent, i aint too sure about it. It lacks some feeling, but that might be mostly due to the fact i dont paticulary fancy the combat system.
Also, the intro's are pritty exciting, and after that you get tossed into the first proper zone and its back to kill wolfs and stuff.
As luna also mentioned, there is a lot quest involving trading with others, and some improvements that require you to slay wolfs, or goblins by the dozens (basic level 30, advanced another 60) to aquire Traits to improve your character. Optional yes, but some are pritty massive improvements, that are hard to pass on.
out of interest, have you ever played ddo in the recent months luna?
if not, you ought to give that a try, its been massively improved since its launch
I have never tried that Gorion.
And tbh i wont try it fast anytime soon.
I am having a lot of fun with LOTRO atm and in terms of wow its a small upgrade not a big 1 but it keeps me happily playing.
Lunares
well, i played for a couple of days in the lotro beta, and from my personal experiance, it doesnt even start to compare itself with ddo, depends highly if you like dnd or adnd
Just Installing it now.
I'm all wow'ed out at the moment. So i hope it will make a nice change.