Dr Zaius
Chief Defender of the Faith
- Joined
- May 1, 2001
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- 8,902
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- Location
- The Forbidden Zone
- First name
- Don
- Country
Is there a big difference in the gameplay in LOTRO and, say, WoW? Or are the differences merely cosmetic?
Palantir said:My take- long & very rambling:
Well, being a massive LotR fan (for over 35 yrs... including D&D) I was extremely hesitant to play LotRO and have it destroy the world Tolkien created in my mind: I need not have worried.
After leveling several characters in WOW, to lvl 70, and now having a 52nd level Hunter in LotRO (and several other classes) I can say with complete confidence that LotRO is better than WoW, I would never go back. I played WoW for years then dropped it like that. (But then if you don't like Tolkien's world you will probably not like the game either.) WOW is about PVP which it does well, LotRO is about immersing yourself in the world & questing.
I believe WoW is designed for the twitchy & pushy teen/ pre-teen crowd while LotRO has been designed for adults. If you doubt this just try & find a "Goldshire" (WoW) location in LotRO - you won't. For the non-WoW'ers Goldshire is a location in WoW where 24/7 every obscene emote/action/conversation/thing you can imagine goes on- I kid you not (I told my sons they had to avoid that area & made repeated complaints to the moderators = no response.) Unlike WoW in LotRO you can't undress down to your panties and perform animated sex acts (yes it can be done in WoW). Your LotRO characters also look like "real" people & dress that way and not like a cheap peep show.
In comparison I have seen/read almost NO questionable activity in my entire gaming experience in LotRO. WOW was fun but scheech no moderation. In LotRO I've seen players have their name's "altered" within minutes of a complaint to "newname," even such benign but copyrighted names like "Gandalf'sfire" are required to be changed. The quick moderation response is impressive.
Weapons/armor look "real" in LotRO & do not resemble ones that are bigger than a horse. WoW is a fantasy game of course so if that's what the players want then fine but you will not see that in LotRO (so far).
The terrain/graphic's in LotRO are great and are "realistic," the view from Weather Top will knock your socks off (go to the top in good weather!). I bought a lifetime subscription when I saw that panorama. It's exciting just to turn the next corner, I enjoy exploring just to see what comes into view next.
Grinding is not encouraged in LotRO, questing is. The points you get from killing a "mob" are small compared to completing & turning in quests. There are ton's & ton's of quests that can be solo'd and there are over 50 quests in a zone to do- they seem to never run out. The quests are also very engaging, fun and Middle Earth oriented. There are many that directly follow the books / Fellowship that you get to be involved in. I run with my wife mostly- (more below) and we've had to visit the Old Forest & talk to Tom Bombadil, save Bill the Pony and are now covering up the trail of the Fellowship near Moria. The quests are simply a blast to do.
PVP is limited to a specific area called the "Ettenmoors" where you can go or not. This area is not required to ever be entered if you don't want to PVP. Inside you can be the "enemy" (Orc/spider/wolf) or "Free People" or take your own character inside to play at upper lvls.
There are only a few instances / quests that take hours to complete & like WoW there are some special ones that you can only enter after a set time. At lvl 52 (60 is max) I've not yet been required to enter those, although I have done a few quests requiring a group (fellowship) that took 2-3 hours max.
My wife and I are in a Kinship (Guild) made up of nearly all adults & married couples (& some of their kids). The players we've met while gaming almost without exception have been respectful, good natured, mature and fun. I'm sure some players are not, as in all MMO's, but we have not encountered them.
The music sets the tone of an area and just pulls you in. Some players never turn it off as it's not intrusive or wearisome. Personally I now have the LOTR sound track playing behind me...
My biggest gripe about the game- they have allowed players to ride "rams" as mounts outside of Moria. Yep, after 6 months of playing a mount type allowed is my main complaint. (You shouldn't ride a horse in a mine so they came up with a ram.) I understand it's fantasy & the designers had to "create" stuff to kill & do so you want to keep playing (there are only so many monsters Tolkien mentioned & orcs you can kill)- fine.
All in all you never feel like you are outside of Middle Earth or things don't fit. The story lines are worth reading & following as you do them. Each quest line one makes sense for the area you are in. As in WoW having to retrace your steps and go back & destroy say, drake eggs on one quest after you have already skinned the drakes in the preceding quest can be frustrating: at least in LotRO all the creatures have livers!).
After watching one of my sons play it and becoming a training officer for a corporation I agree completely....EVE is absolutely brutal....
That describes most PvP, you have to enjoy doing that kind of stuff.Sometimes you just want to have fun without someone else kicking over your sand castle.
That game flared like a match then died just as fast.. I have tried Conan as well.
If you like Tolkien & getting involved in more than just "getting stuff" you might enjoy it. You know there has to be something to a game where groups of players organize and travel around the world giving concerts & visiting local inn's to taste the different beers" and you have fun delivering mail! Oh ya, don't forget the quests & combat..LOTRO sounds like it might have possibilities.
It's also relatively easy to make money back if one tracks where the premium regions are for the various levels; I know if I want to make some coin right now I can head to Fornost and get a silver coin for every victory over the shades there with my Hunter who is in the mid-30s as far as level. In Evendim, there are plenty of Tomb Robbers who not only have silver coins but also the occasional healing essence as well as other items and even offer up mild XP rewards, and if you go far enough south into the sunken city, there are monsters that offer greater XP rewards and challenges. One can go back to the Barrow Downs and fight til the cows come home without even getting a scratch and pick up all kinds of loot, but there are is no XP reward and the monetary gain is slower as the money there is in coppers rather than silver - but is literally endless if you have the time. etc. etc.It's interesting how many times I can come out of a LotRO quest saying "that was a blast" and discover I've lost money in the endeavor (item repair/healing's used etc) and not care. For me being in a quest driven game is so much better than a gear driven game.