Hello all, I wish to ask a simple question as im going to make a decision on what game to play for the next few years real soon.  Theres vanguard, which ive been following for years, and this one.  I like some of what i see in Lord of the Rings Online but im not sure if theres anything that really makes me want to play it.  Is there something that lotr will do that vanguard wont? I hear that lotr has farming, and i dont know why but that seems really cool to me. I mean like growing crops that is :) not "farming" like we know it.  I know this seems like a attempt at a flame fest but im honestly asking.  Thanks for any info!

P.S. I know that SOE is involved, i dont care :p

ok cool, thanks for the info, what ya think the age group would be? im looking for a older crowd---33 here

The only way to make an informed decision will be to either beta them or wait till they are released and try each.

I think the hype level is too low on this game given the number of people who gave it a low score without adequate info.

Short answer:

Boromir. 

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Originally posted by johnhartson
Not alot of kids will play this game cause its monthly payement, but still older people are the biggest kids most of the time. stuborness grows with age

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Yeah thats true , after all it stopped World of Warcraft becoming full of kiddies and prepubescent idiots. Uhu.

/sarcasm off

LotRO has better graphics.

Vanguard is seamless (no zones), which is the major reason I like it.

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Originally posted by BesCirga

I can't say this for certain because i haven't tried it yet, but i have tried every other turbine game released. what you (prolly) will experience in Lotro is very well thought through quests with a strong story with fun objectives. no kill X10 quests, or fedex delivery quest.

Try AC1 or DDO, the quests are amazing...

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tomfred81, I can easily turn that around from your biased opinion of making Vanguard looking superior. Fact is, just about all of us have biased opinions on the two of these games becaue we've already chosen which one we're going to play. Therefore, I'll give my comparison.

Lord of the Rings Online has real lore and a well-defined story. Lord of the Rings was built to last, and already over 50 years since its creation, it's still going strong. This isn't your "average joe' kind of lore for an MMO. This is the best story you could possibly have with multiple layers of well thought out lore loved by fans across the globe. Vanguard story and lore was just made up to fit their needs. It follows no absolute path, so just like the lore in WoW, it will no doubt be warped multiple times throughout the game's lifespan which doesn't bode well for many fans.

Classes

Just because LotRO only has seven classes and Vanguard has 15 doesn't make Vanguard better. In fact, it just means more problems. Think about how difficult it will be to balance all those classes so no class overshadows another, and even then it sounds A LOT like EQ...and that is an extremely BAD thing. LotRO, on the other hand, has 7 well thought out CORE classes. This being every class has a direct purpose, and in groups, you will have a need for all of them. Each class in LOTRO will have much more time spent in each one making for much better story and lore for each class. So, do you want 15 hastily made look-alike classes comparable to EQ, or 7 well thought out, core classes resembling the true feel of Middle-Earth?

Continents

Vanguard can make all these promises about a bigger world, but that doesn't mean anything. One continent on Middle-Earth will be absolutely enormous. It is said that it will take 45 minutes just to get across the shire. Now that's a big world! Vanguard beta has been extremely negative, and they're having all kinds of problems, LoTRO seems to be having a very clean beta. This means to me that Turbine was prepared a lot more than its opponents.

Game Life-Span

This really has no place on a comparison chart. You cannot determine how long a game will last. If the game is a flop do you seriously think Vanguard will still go along with its supposedly 7 year plan? Of course not! They would be losing money! That's ridiculous to think that you're gauranteed 7 years. LotRO has no set plan because Turbine is practical. What we DO know is that there will be many expansions invovling the realeasing of the entire world of Middle-Earth little by little. This way they can put great detail into every inch of your game screen when you tread the plains of Rohan, venture through the thick forest of Mirkwood, and march through the great gate of Minas Tirith. It will certainly take a very long time to do this, and Turbine is determined to release all of this awesome content to us in due time allowing them to give us the highest quality product that they can create.

Travel

You cannot compare travel. Just because you get a mount earlier on doesn't mean anything. The reason mounts won't be coming at the release of LotRO is because Turbine is going to be devote a LOT of time into it to make the horses very well thought out. When you get mounts in LotRO you will be amazed at the work that Turbine put into it, and you'll be glad you waited too. There will be quick travel in LotRO as well, but you have to visit each place first, so you can't just skip all of the world that Turbine created (and why would you want to?)

Character Creation

I won't go in-depth here, but character creation for LotRO is not your average creation. It's extremely well thought out. It even includes sub-races! Check out beta videos for more info on this, and you'll be stunned.

Crafting

The Devs of LotRO have stated that crafting will be vital to the world of Middle-Earth. I'm not sure if this still stands, but they also said a while back that the best items won't be aquired from raids, but from crafting. Now I don't know about you, but that sounds promising!

PvP

Turbine put much more thought into PvP that Sigil Games did to Vanguard. Turbine created a unique never-before-seen PvP gameplay to fit the Lord of the Rings lore and storyline. It's definitely not something you'll want to pass by. Vanguard will just have your average PvP mode which once you've done it once, you've done it a million times. I'll be happy to see something new in the PvP department to spice things up, while not creating a 1337 13-yr old environment that WoW's PvP system attracted.

Gameplay

You can't say one is harder than the other until you try it. Of course, LotRO reports have said that it's very basic early on so people can get a feel for the skills, but after that is escalates into more advanced gaming. I can't say anything for Vanguard since I haven't looked into this department much, but I"ll take timfred81's word for it that it's "challenging gameplay harder for a noob". Even if that's true, it doesn't sound very inviting for people just now getting started in MMO's, or the older crowd which won't be as familiar with MMO controls.

And just because Vanguard keys go for more doesn't mean a thing. I would never buy a beta key for LotRO because Turbine has already said that everyone is going to get in that has signed up. So why bother? Plus, there's the matter of inflation. The cost of the beta keys probably has to do with how many people have been invited. It's all about supply and demand. So due to this easy equation, you can deduce that more beta keys have been released for LotRO. Perhaps because Turbine's servers are much more stable than Sygil's?

Well, only time will tell which one is better I suppose. 

the last two posts were very excellent and i enjoyed reading them though the latter seemed to have a little more sense (just a little). True the Vanguard looks amazing and i wouldnt want to pass it up but i think the game people will choose will be based on their opinion of which one is more appealing to them. I am thinking most people who are fans of Lord of the Rings no matter whether they read or watched the movies are going to try the MMORPG for LoTR because they love the way JRR tolkien and The movies are. But the non fans are most likely going to go for Vanguard cause it probly wont have all the lore and storyline that LoTR has. Its just a matter of opinion.

Im going to play LoTR because i have read all the books watched the movies and just love everything about them. Its just an opinion.

Their both going to be great games

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Originally posted by Solon22

tomfred81, I can easily turn that around from your biased opinion of making Vanguard looking superior. Fact is, just about all of us have biased opinions on the two of these games becaue we've already chosen which one we're going to play. Therefore, I'll give my comparison.

Lord of the Rings Online has real lore and a well-defined story. Lord of the Rings was built to last, and already over 50 years since its creation, it's still going strong. This isn't your "average joe' kind of lore for an MMO. This is the best story you could possibly have with multiple layers of well thought out lore loved by fans across the globe. Vanguard story and lore was just made up to fit their needs. It follows no absolute path, so just like the lore in WoW, it will no doubt be warped multiple times throughout the game's lifespan which doesn't bode well for many fans.

*The story is done. It ended with the ring falling at mount doom. You can play in a little time bubble, but that's it. The game will never move forward. Five years from now it will still be 'So I hear some hobbit is making his way to Mount Doom." "Wow he sure is taking his time."*
*So built to last? No. Do you want to tell your own story or do quests to unlock little moives and watch someone else's story?*

Classes

Just because LotRO only has seven classes and Vanguard has 15 doesn't make Vanguard better. In fact, it just means more problems. Think about how difficult it will be to balance all those classes so no class overshadows another, and even then it sounds A LOT like EQ...and that is an extremely BAD thing. LotRO, on the other hand, has 7 well thought out CORE classes. This being every class has a direct purpose, and in groups, you will have a need for all of them. Each class in LOTRO will have much more time spent in each one making for much better story and lore for each class. So, do you want 15 hastily made look-alike classes comparable to EQ, or 7 well thought out, core classes resembling the true feel of Middle-Earth?

*Look at Lotro classes on their site. There are ones that overshadow each other. Now maybe if they had 7 non-typcial classes that would be okay, but they aren't. There is nothing very special about them from what I have read.*
*Vanguard is more like CoH, in that they have X number of core 'role' classes then many sub-classes within each. In CoH you can be a fire or ice tank. In vanguard you can be different types of warriors. They do they same role, but your game play in filling that role is different for each sub-class. That means its not as hard to balance and gives you more choices for making a unique character. How unique do you think your avatar is going to be in Lotro?*

Continents

Vanguard can make all these promises about a bigger world, but that doesn't mean anything. One continent on Middle-Earth will be absolutely enormous. It is said that it will take 45 minutes just to get across the shire. Now that's a big world! Vanguard beta has been extremely negative, and they're having all kinds of problems, LoTRO seems to be having a very clean beta. This means to me that Turbine was prepared a lot more than its opponents.

*Of course it means something.  You can make a 5'x5' area take 45 mins to cross if you use pathing and force people to walk the whole thing. It also means Vanguard has 3 continents. You like asian theme? You are covered. Maybe you like the basic european flare or maybe you'd like to try something egyption. You can do that. When you have a very simple game its a lot easier to be 'clean'. I'll give yout that.*

Game Life-Span

This really has no place on a comparison chart. You cannot determine how long a game will last. If the game is a flop do you seriously think Vanguard will still go along with its supposedly 7 year plan? Of course not! They would be losing money! That's ridiculous to think that you're gauranteed 7 years. LotRO has no set plan because Turbine is practical. What we DO know is that there will be many expansions invovling the realeasing of the entire world of Middle-Earth little by little. This way they can put great detail into every inch of your game screen when you tread the plains of Rohan, venture through the thick forest of Mirkwood, and march through the great gate of Minas Tirith. It will certainly take a very long time to do this, and Turbine is determined to release all of this awesome content to us in due time allowing them to give us the highest quality product that they
 can create.

*Sounds great doing things that characters in a book have already done. As for lifespan. The most content, the most depth a players who started out of beta is ever going to have is at launch. You think they can make in 6 months would be equal to what they did in 3-6 years and without having to support a live game? How long has DDO been out? They got one new race that is just a color and stat adjustment from elves. Where are half-orcs and half-elves and monks and druids?*
*Maybe years later with a bunch of expansions the game will have a lot more stuff. What do you while you wait?*

Travel

You cannot compare travel. Just because you get a mount earlier on doesn't mean anything. The reason mounts won't be coming at the release of LotRO is because Turbine is going to be devote a LOT of time into it to make the horses very well thought out. When you get mounts in LotRO you will be amazed at the work that Turbine put into it, and you'll be glad you waited too. There will be quick travel in LotRO as well, but you have to visit each place first, so you can't just skip all of the world that Turbine created (and why would you want to?)

*Trying to make a pitfall sound nice, doesn't change what it is. We know mounts will be in vanguard. We have no idea if or when mounts will be in lotro. I guess what you are saying is people should wait until turbine gets around to adding all this great stuff years from now before playing. What's the point of a great mount 3 years from now if I started playing from the start?*
*oh and walking there first and then being able to zone there, is crap. At least in wow you can get on a ship or balloon before it zones or better yet ride a griffon across the world. I haven't heard that you get on a horse and it runs to your location. Its more like click and you are there right?*

Character Creation

I won't go in-depth here, but character creation for LotRO is not your average creation. It's extremely well thought out. It even includes sub-races! Check out beta videos for more info on this, and you'll be stunned.

*I checked out the video, I wasn't stunned. Are you saying those sub-races have any appearence effort besides your typcial hair color choices or simple crap like that? Do they have stat differences? If I play a Took hobbit will be taller than other hobbits? Will people be able to glance at him and say, oh a Took? How is it not like your average 4 slider, hair, beard, scar crap that is in WoW? The review done makes it sounds pretty bland. I believe he said you can't change size and you use a "Mr. Patato head" slider choice. Sounds like you aren't going in-depth because there is no depth.*

Crafting

The Devs of LotRO have stated that crafting will be vital to the world of Middle-Earth. I'm not sure if this still stands, but they also said a while back that the best items won't be aquired from raids, but from crafting. Now I don't know about you, but that sounds promising!

*It sounds promising in Vanguard too. So at best its a draw.*

PvP

Turbine put much more thought into PvP that Sigil Games did to Vanguard. Turbine created a unique never-before-seen PvP gameplay to fit the Lord of the Rings lore and storyline. It's definitely not something you'll want to pass by. Vanguard will just have your average PvP mode which once you've done it once, you've done it a million times. I'll be happy to see something new in the PvP department to spice things up, while not creating a 1337 13-yr old environment that WoW's PvP system attracted.

*Granted mpvp might be fun. However you have no attachment to your monster. You didn't pick what it looks like or its name even. Will you even be able to play or will the npcs be camped? At best its a cute little toy to play with when you get bored.*

Gameplay

You can't say one is harder than the other until you try it. Of course, LotRO reports have said that it's very basic early on so people can get a feel for the skills, but after that is escalates into more advanced gaming. I can't say anything for Vanguard since I haven't looked into this department much, but I"ll take timfred81's word for it that it's "challenging gameplay harder for a noob". Even if that's true, it doesn't sound very inviting for people just now getting started in MMO's, or the older crowd which won't be as familiar with MMO controls.

*Gameplay is hard to judge. In fact from the sounds of it I'd take Conan's game play over either of these 'click a special' crap fest.
*The biggest down side to Vangurd which you didn't mention is the death pentalty. Although from what I have read the more reward a monster might give the worse the death pentalty is. But still you get debt or lose exp. Whereas with Lotro you just have to pay for gear repair I believe was said. I like Spellborns approach by rewarding you for staying alive.*

 

And just because Vanguard keys go for more doesn't mean a thing. I would never buy a beta key for LotRO because Turbine has already said that everyone is going to get in that has signed up. So why bother? Plus, there's the matter of inflation. The cost of the beta keys probably has to do with how many people have been invited. It's all about supply and demand. So due to this easy equation, you can deduce that more beta keys have been released for LotRO. Perhaps because Turbine's servers are much more stable than Sygil's?

Well, only time will tell which one is better I suppose. 

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I would much rather play LOTRO than Everquest: Saga of Heroes. After watching the videos and the info we have LOTRO sounds and looks like it will be fun to play and Vanguard sounds and looks will be a chore to play just like EQ was. From what I have seen there is no distinct difference between Vanguard and EQ except for a few cosmetic differences such as housing and flying mounts which dont really have any impact on gameplay.