MMORPG.com Lord of the Rings Online Correspondent Allie Springett writes this look at the kinship feature in Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online.

What is a kinship?

Kinships are essentially a group of players, possibly with a common interest, that join together to achieve mutual benefit. These will be discussed in more detail below. Kinships can range in number of players from a minimum of six to one thousand five hundred, depending on its lifespan rank. The lifespan rank is simply a measure of how long the kinship has been in existence, with different bonuses available dependant on rank. For example, a rank four kinship has a chat channel for officers only and a rank seven kinship as the option to purchase a kinship house.

Take a Look at Kinships.

Allie covers kinships in LotRO well with this article, leaving no stone unturned.

There's not a whole lot that's unique about kinships in LotRO when comparing them to guilds in other MMOs -- in fact, I can't think of anything in the LotRO kinship (guild) system that stands out as unique or innovative.  In fact, quite the opposite.

Silly me, (no offense, Allie), but I clicked on this new story alert in my inbox hoping that this article would be about, or at least hint at, new and improved kinship stuff for Volume 2, Mines of Moria.  But sadly, it's not. 

We beat up Age of Conan pretty badly, but at least FunCom's focus on guilds has been an ongoing thing showing that the folks in Oslo understand the critical importance of having a vibrant active guild system. 

In LotRO, great game as it is, things like Kinships (guilds), Housing, Hobbies (I should say "hobby" because fishing is the only one) and yes, even Crafting all seem like they were created half-baked in a hurried fashion and all remain pretty much unfinished and uninspired. 

Yet, as true as this all is, a lot of us are *STILL* hoping that Turbine will turn their focus toward polishing these -- if they can take their attention away from such "important" projects such as "improving" the female elf's jumping, personal mount summoning animations and other such inane endeavors.

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Most of the kinships you see advertising for players seem to be mixed. This may be because single race kinships severely limit your recruitment pool, however it does mean that you suffer from the same limitations and enjoy the same benefits as the others, for example racial characteristics such as Agility of the Woods giving Elves +15 Agility.

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This is a fallacy, the only difference between kinship types is the titles bestowed upon different ranks of Kinship membership and a kinship has the option to change the "type" of kinship at any time.
 

Another point is several things are changing for Mines of Moria such as the min amount of players.

Yes agreed that the whole kinship aspect of the game fits with , crafting housing and hobby ..... a bit half baked.  

They got the content down but I wish they would Hire 2-3 more people to work on those areas and others. 

Thanks for the article, it's a good introduction to the pros and cons of joining a kinship/guild (valid for all mmorpgs) but it could/should be more specific about LOTRO, a listing of kinship ranks with their benefits would be nice for instance, talking about the house and the chests, the price of these, if you get a tabard, if 5 silver is much in LOTRO economy, etc. Remember non-LOTRO players can read your article too.

As for guys demanding improvements in the kinship system, what features would you like added?

I love the private guild territory in Guild Wars: you can choose different environments for your guild hall and you'll get a small territory around with useful npcs.

Turbine have said that they will make a "month of the kinship" update after Mines of Moria so hopefully we will get alot of new features then!

lol Lizante, I loved the last paragraph. This is my first MMORPG that I joined a kin/clan/Guild but I'm not sure I see any reeally nifty features they can add to kins that they don't already have.......

Turbine has promised to do something better for Kinships in LotrO after Moria, and I really hope they do. Kinship tools are very poor in LotrO, surprisingly one of its weakest areas - in a game which is meant to be based around the 'fellowship' of others.

If Turbine need ideas, just look to Warhammer Online, which has some nifty features for Kin officers - Kin tax, kin specific skills and improvements, kin banners and cloaks, and a lot more.