Lord of the Rings Online

I have really tried to love LOTR but something is missing from the game.

I cant put my finger on it either.

The game has fantastic graphics and great attention to detail. The first time I saw a flock of birds fly over me I thought wow thats something I dont recall ever seeing in an MMO. The water is simply awesome to look at. Its the perfect blend of detail and fantasy effects. In my opinion, LOTR has the absolute best graphics of any MMO period.

There are fun quests. I enjoyed those silly pie delivery quests.

The game is clean and bug-free. I dont really recall any bugs or issues.

Growing crops and cooking is a nice diversion.

Yet even after I list all those wonderful qualities, I cant bring myself to enjoy this game.

I dont know if its the classes (i find them rather unappealing). Maybe its the strong linear design. I also find the combat and its animations rather uninspiring.

Each time I subscribe to LOTR I find myself completely disinterested in playing. It feels like work with all the quests. I cant just go out and explore the game and progress unless Im constantly doing quests. And I dont get any feeling of accomplishment because once I complete a quest, there are 5 more quests to follow it. And some of those quests lead to other areas with still more quests. Its too much.

Dont take this as critical because I respect what Turbine has accomplished here. I was previously critical of LOTR back in beta but turbine really turned it around and launched a decent product. And they pump out a lot of free content apparently (i havent personally experienced it). I just wish the game would click for me. I have been without an enjoyable MMO home since the NGE revamp for Star Wars Galaxies.

I played from launch for 1 month. I re-subscribed 2 more times since then for 1 month each. Ive played several classes but I always get bored around lvl 25.

Same here...I feel like I try soo hard to like Lotro but about level 25, the game just gets deadly boring and I unsub....then i go back a few months later bored and try out a different class and same thing but like you, I can't seem to pinpoint what I don't like about it. There is just something missing.

Ditto. I think part of it is the linier feel to the zones. Maybe the tiny detail on the characters makes them unremarkable and unnoticable. Every building is a fascade with no interior. I don't know if it's art per say, but the lack of energy in the animations also lends itself to the rather bland feeling I get also. Wish i could enjoy it, so many people are, but it just lacks some sort of visceral quality.

Maybe it's the small shapes and busy textures, or lack of radial flora in some areas. Maybe it's the lack of large details on the characters to make one pop from the other.

I remember I and a few other people complaining about the lackluster music during the beta. Perhaps that could be it.

All mmos are missing that "something" we're looking for. We wouldnt keep on buying the next batch if they did. Get it?

Atleast you admit you don't like it.    The thing that I dislike about the game is that the quests fill up so fast you feel over burden sometime, I have yet been with 0 quests , and right now at 35 I am filled wwith 40 quests spanning many zones, but it is just that hardcore gamer in me that won't given to the pain of not coompleting them.

Think the ammount of quest turns people off cause they have to actuyally do something instead of just pking noobs ..

Originally posted by Arioc

Ditto. I think part of it is the linier feel to the zones. Maybe the tiny detail on the characters makes them unremarkable and unnoticable. Every building is a fascade with no interior. I don't know if it's art per say, but the lack of energy in the animations also lends itself to the rather bland feeling I get also. Wish i could enjoy it, so many people are, but it just lacks some sort of visceral quality.

Maybe it's the small shapes and busy textures, or lack of radial flora in some areas. Maybe it's the lack of large details on the characters to make one pop from the other.

Not all buildings are simple artwork.  The big house in RV, for instance, is full of famous NPCs to interact with.  Actually, one thing I have issue with Bree is, every building is an instance.  I hate the accidental zoning in if I run too close to a door that was suddenly opened.

As for the quests, I am not really upset by them.  There are many of them, too many, so I only finish those I like to, and move on.  Some of the big quests are really challenging, fornost, misty mountains (the 3 named giants) ...  Yeah and the pie deliveries and many odd quests, they are fun when played for the first time.

Maybe, its the lack of a bad side, maybe I am just the bad boy looking for a chance to play an ogre.  I still miss my EQ ogre.

Wow, that's pretty much in a nutshell exactly how I feel about LOTRO. I was very enthusiastic when I started playing at launch, but none of my characters really grew on me, I just found them unappealing and boring. The champion was the only class I enjoyed somewhat, but at that time at least, it seemed like we were in abundance and not very sought after when groups were forming. At level 32, the game became a second job and so I quit.

When I recently saw new screenshots, read about new content and the MoM expansion, my enthusiasm returned. Now my new champion is level 14, and I'm starting to grow tired of the game again. I don't understand it. I like everything about the game (except maybe for animations, armor appearance and classes) so much better than WoW and EQ2, but I just can't seem to stick to it. Except for the 3 areas I already mentioned, I just can't put a finger on it. Graphics, landscapes, atmosphere, sound, quests, housing... it's all really cool.

Took a break from LotrO , played Shadowbane, and recently resubbed to Eve online, I can say after playing Eve online, I was running back to lotro. Eve for me just is awesome for about 3 days, and then it just becomes boring. I think I feel the same thing you guys feel , but I feel it in Eve. Maybe you guys should try Eve online since we have opposite reactions .