Hey guys/girls i posted on the LF forum a few days ago and came to the conclusion lotr was the game for me. Im still waiting for my new computer (20th april) so can't try the trial just yet. But my main issues at the moment are that a lot of players seem to be very upset with the game status at the present time. Are alot of these problems fact or fiction? are they really game breaking? or is it just a case of a few people who have gotten bored with the game from playing to much? I just really want to get a good understanding of the current sittuation of the game.

Tnx in advance G

Originally posted by gaznolan

Hey guys/girls i posted on the LF forum a few days ago and came to the conclusion lotr was the game for me. Im still waiting for my new computer (20th april) so can't try the trial just yet. But my main issues at the moment are that a lot of players seem to be very upset with the game status at the present time. Are alot of these problems fact or fiction? are they really game breaking? or is it just a case of a few people who have gotten bored with the game from playing to much? I just really want to get a good understanding of the current sittuation of the game.

Tnx in advance G

They are concerned with lore-breaking changes and shift in end-game to more gear-dependant encounters. So unless you're lore fanatic you shouldnt really care.

Originally posted by gaznolan

Hey guys/girls i posted on the LF forum a few days ago and came to the conclusion lotr was the game for me. Im still waiting for my new computer (20th april) so can't try the trial just yet. But my main issues at the moment are that a lot of players seem to be very upset with the game status at the present time. Are alot of these problems fact or fiction? are they really game breaking? or is it just a case of a few people who have gotten bored with the game from playing to much? I just really want to get a good understanding of the current sittuation of the game.

Tnx in advance G

It depends upon how you look at it.

There was a convergence of issues which seemed to exacerbate some players.

For instance.

We were trying to do a watcher run 2 weeks ago but kept getting a lot of lag as the server is a very populated one (Brandywine). Now, depending on what you will hear, some will tell you the server is unplayable. Hardly the case. However if you lose our mind over a little lag here and there then you might want to stay away...

Anyway, we could't do the watcher because it takes a lot of timing. So we headed over to the new raid that opened up. No  biggie. We were all mature about it.

But some people ranted and raved because they had difficultiy doing the watcher. this also happened to coincide witha Welcome back offer that Turbine had. So you have a new raid opened a welcome back offer and a crowded server on a Saturday night and you are going to get issues. Oh, and some sort of spring festival as well. It's a lot to get at the same time. Then a bug was discovered in one of the games so they shut that down.

That on top of the fact tha tthe locks were broken in the new raid which apparently didn't happen on the closed server while testing and you have players going mental because other players could run the instance over and over again. Turbine shut it down to fix it.

Then the new area, lothlorien, which is very lovely has a lot of rep grind. But to be honest, it really isn't a big deal. I'm halfway through to the top  level and it really was no skin off of my nose. So players who don't find lothlorien fun go back to the mines but then some complain because it's dark and they want to be outdoors.

Can't win for losing.

The game is fine, very playable and if it is the type of game you are looking for, very fun. It has had some recent issues but quite frankly they don't phase me as they will be fixed.

I don't know for certain but because these are bad economic times maybe Turbine let some QA go and they are suffering for it. However, for a new player you will run into virtually none of this and it will all be sorted out by the time you get there.

things in the game are a bit easier now since the last patch. you might have to explore a bit now to be challenged but the game is still great. If you havent played the game since the last patch you won't know any different. Basically long time players of a game always bitch and complain when anything changes, it's just human nature. Play the game have fun you will love it most likely!

Can you be a bit more specific in what kinds of problems you are seeing?

If you are talking about the log-in/server issues then yes Turbine has had problems with this as of lately.  Perhaps due to the release of Book 7, or moving their Data Center or the mass influx of players because of the returning/extra experience special they are promoting.

This is just a bit of a speed-bump in the highway that is LoTRO.  Just about every game has server issues at one time or another.  And Turbine is aware of the problem and are working diligently to fix it.  So I wouldn't let that issue discourage you from playing.

I would recommend waiting a bit for Turbine to fix the problem (which shouldn't take long) and then give the game a try.  They are offering a free trial, so no harm in at least trying it.  If you don't like you can always move on to something else.

But as far as I have been playing (since beta) this is the only issue I've seen.

In what ways is it lore breaking? I mean if they make so hobbits can fly or rangers have guns yeah id problay not enjoy it. But if it ways just small things i could deal with it. I dont reakon endgame would be a problem surely it takes a while to get there? lol

Originally posted by Thillian

Originally posted by gaznolan

Hey guys/girls i posted on the LF forum a few days ago and came to the conclusion lotr was the game for me. Im still waiting for my new computer (20th april) so can't try the trial just yet. But my main issues at the moment are that a lot of players seem to be very upset with the game status at the present time. Are alot of these problems fact or fiction? are they really game breaking? or is it just a case of a few people who have gotten bored with the game from playing to much? I just really want to get a good understanding of the current sittuation of the game.

Tnx in advance G

 

They are concerned with lore-breaking changes and shift in end-game to more gear-dependant encounters. So unless you're lore fanatic you shouldnt really care.

Well, that's another issue and I can see why players would be upset at that. Before Moria there were people complaining because there was no end game. Things became quiet and then Moria hit and Turbine added some things in order to give people more to do. but some people don't like working on the legendary items or getting radiance gear, etc.

I'm never one to start adding things that don't belong or at least don't fit within the world. However, I can see, a little why some would be upest because conent has been added that some people will be closed out of if they are not part of a kin or are not proactive. Which of course then begs the discussions between "casual" and "hardcore".

Most of the unhappy people are the super hardcore players because the new 12 man raid was delayed. The dont lorebreak crowd is starting to learn that respecting lore fully will kill the game very fast.

Most non hardcore players are vry happy with the new update, lorien is gorgeous.

Originally posted by gaznolan

In what ways is it lore breaking? I mean if they make so hobbits can fly or rangers have guns yeah id problay not enjoy it. But if it ways just small things i could deal with it. I dont reakon endgame would be a problem surely it takes a while to get there? lol

Let's say runekeepers are not very lore-based - which is a new class in Moria. Nor are loremaster new pets - bog thingies and panthers or captain's new pet - ghost. And also one Moria zone was a target of huge flame on forums. But still the pets and the zone are all like level 55+ and it might be also considered as a part of the end game. Yes they might seem like a small unimportant things, but that's what majority of old players have been bitching about on forums, and that's what caused that feeling that players are not satisfied with the changes.

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

Well, that's another issue and I can see why players would be upset at that. Before Moria there were people complaining because there was no end game. Things became quiet and then Moria hit and Turbine added some things in order to give people more to do. but some people don't like working on the legendary items or getting radiance gear, etc.

I'm never one to start adding things that don't belong or at least don't fit within the world. However, I can see, a little why some would be upest because conent has been added that some people will be closed out of if they are not part of a kin or are not proactive. Which of course then begs the discussions between "casual" and "hardcore".

I dont rekon that sort of stuff would bother me to be honest. Each to his own, the games got to have a bit for everyone. Ill probley be more intrested with the story and the adventure and try to to a bit of everything.But dont get me wrong leveling and items are good (loved diablo 1+2) And this will be my first mmorpg anyway. Tried to play wow and my with my old computer was to slow lol.

Originally posted by gaznolan

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

Well, that's another issue and I can see why players would be upset at that. Before Moria there were people complaining because there was no end game. Things became quiet and then Moria hit and Turbine added some things in order to give people more to do. but some people don't like working on the legendary items or getting radiance gear, etc.

I'm never one to start adding things that don't belong or at least don't fit within the world. However, I can see, a little why some would be upest because conent has been added that some people will be closed out of if they are not part of a kin or are not proactive. Which of course then begs the discussions between "casual" and "hardcore".

 

I dont rekon that sort of stuff would bother me to be honest. Each to his own, the games got to have a bit for everyone. Ill probley be more intrested with the story and the adventure and try to to a bit of everything.But dont get me wrong leveling and items are good (loved diablo 1+2) And this will be my first mmorpg anyway. Tried to play wow and my with my old computer was to slow lol.

er, you might want to beef up your computer. LOTRO has higher requirements than WoW. Not to say it doesn't scale, but it won't look so great if you put everything on low.

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

er, you might want to beef up your computer. LOTRO has higher requirements than WoW. Not to say it doesn't scale, but it won't look so great if you put everything on low.

Yeah I know i said in my first post im getting an new computer on the 20th.

Amd quadcore 2.2gig, 4 gig ddr2, Nivada gts 250, 650 gig hd and other bits and bobs.

I was told this computer should run most modern day games by a relative and people on theses forums.

I had played for several months at release and returned about three months ago.  Here are just a few of my observations for what they are worth.

At release the game ran wonderfully for me.  I had zero issues.  Since resubscribing, I've been experiencing rubberbanding, freeze-ups, blue screens and lag.  This might be a server issue as I'm on a busier server (Landroval).  So I would either wait until they've worked some of this stuff out or start on a less populated server.

Much of the complaints do revolve around 50+ gameplay.  But they've recently polished up some of the lower level quest areas and made leveling pre-50 flow a little better.  So for someone just starting, I think the game can offer a lot of fun.  The money sinks might seem a little harsh relative to other games, but avoid repairing your armor and horse travel early on and you should be fine.

I would definitely at least give the free trial a go.  The game is not for everyone, but you won't know until you try.

Whatever these "game breaking" issues are, I doubt you'd notice them until endgame. I've been playing for 3.5 months now, level 47, and I've been having a blast. The only issues I've noticed have been the recent server stability problems, on Landroval anyway. Of course problems such as these are only temporary, so you shouldn't pay too much heed to them in your decision making.

Originally posted by Cherise

I had played for several months at release and returned about three months ago.  Here are just a few of my observations for what they are worth.

At release the game ran wonderfully for me.  I had zero issues.  Since resubscribing, I've been experiencing rubberbanding, freeze-ups, blue screens and lag.  This might be a server issue as I'm on a busier server (Landroval).  So I would either wait until they've worked some of this stuff out or start on a less populated server.

Much of the complaints do revolve around 50+ gameplay.  But they've recently polished up some of the lower level quest areas and made leveling pre-50 flow a little better.  So for someone just starting, I think the game can offer a lot of fun.  The money sinks might seem a little harsh relative to other games, but avoid repairing your armor and horse travel early on and you should be fine.

I would definitely at least give the free trial a go.  The game is not for everyone, but you won't know until you try.

hmmm I wonder if that is your computer or Video card. If anything the game is running better for me. But I keep up on my drivers and such.

Other than the large lag spikes at top times during festivals and recently opened raids, I haven't really known of anyone having any issues.

maybe send in a support ticket.

Originally posted by leinad312

Whatever these "game breaking" issues are, I doubt you'd notice them until endgame. I've been playing for 3.5 months now, level 47, and I've been having a blast. The only issues I've noticed have been the recent server stability problems, on Landroval anyway. Of course problems such as these are only temporary, so you shouldn't pay too much heed to them in your decision making.

This.

@ OP

The game is a mess (This is the first time since launch).

It has developed numerous bugs, a massive (and mostly unwarranted) class change. (If they do it once, they can do it again).

Endless downtime (which continued this morning when they added 2 hours on to the "scheduled downtime")

Turbine dont seem to be interested in fixing existing problems. 7 hours of "scheduled downtime" and not a fix for any of the multiple problems. No doubt there will be more new (and broken) content soon without any attempt to fix the glaring issues.

It's a shame that this has happened as Turbine had managed to keep this game virtually bug free for almost two years. Sadly, it seems they have made the mistake that so many other games have made and are trying to go head to head with WoW with raiding and daily quests (repeatable because they cant be bothered to think up anything original).

Even the rep has become cookie cutter in Lorien. No longer do you need rep items - just grind out the same shitty quests for rep.

Im probably going to cancel my sub(s) tbh. LotRo went from the best game on the market by far, to distinctly average.

It still looks great (minus the graphical bugs).

Originally posted by Sharkypal

@ OP

The game is a mess (This is the first time since launch).

It has developed numerous bugs, a massive (and mostly unwarranted) class change. (If they do it once, they can do it again).

Endless downtime (which continued this morning when they added 2 hours on to the "scheduled downtime")

Turbine dont seem to be interested in fixing existing problems. 7 hours of "scheduled downtime" and not a fix for any of the multiple problems. No doubt there will be more new (and broken) content soon without any attempt to fix the glaring issues.

It's a shame that this has happened as Turbine had managed to keep this game virtually bug free for almost two years. Sadly, it seems they have made the mistake that so many other games have made and are trying to go head to head with WoW with raiding and daily quests (repeatable because they cant be bothered to think up anything original).

Even the rep has become cookie cutter in Lorien. No longer do you need rep items - just grind out the same shitty quests for rep.

Im probably going to cancel my sub(s) tbh. LotRo went from the best game on the market by far, to distinctly average.

It still looks great (minus the graphical bugs).

I think almost the opposite from this. In EU the servers have been very stable since book 7 and Ive not seen many bugs so far. They fixed the end-game instances and med the Watcher fight alot more fun and they changed the game from "HUnters nuke everything" to "All classes are good and usefull". Repeatable contetnt is great IMO since LotrOs biggest problems have always been that it takes a couple of hours to finssih the new quests then you are done. If you dont want to grind any repeatables you are not going to miss out on anything. ITs pretty funny that I havent done ANY grinding since MoM launch even if I play almost everyday... Pre-Moria was alot of grinding because there was nothing else to do.

The only thing to complain about is that the new big reaid isnt coming untill book 8, the game really needs it!

Originally posted by Sharkypal

@ OP

The game is a mess (This is the first time since launch).

It has developed numerous bugs, a massive (and mostly unwarranted) class change. (If they do it once, they can do it again).

Endless downtime (which continued this morning when they added 2 hours on to the "scheduled downtime")

Turbine dont seem to be interested in fixing existing problems. 7 hours of "scheduled downtime" and not a fix for any of the multiple problems. No doubt there will be more new (and broken) content soon without any attempt to fix the glaring issues.

It's a shame that this has happened as Turbine had managed to keep this game virtually bug free for almost two years. Sadly, it seems they have made the mistake that so many other games have made and are trying to go head to head with WoW with raiding and daily quests (repeatable because they cant be bothered to think up anything original).

Even the rep has become cookie cutter in Lorien. No longer do you need rep items - just grind out the same shitty quests for rep.

Im probably going to cancel my sub(s) tbh. LotRo went from the best game on the market by far, to distinctly average.

It still looks great (minus the graphical bugs).

The "trying to go head to head with WoW on repeatable quests" was interesting, since Turbine's game Asheron's Call (that has been out since years before WoW) launched with repeatable content and continues to add repeatable content monthly. But yes every idea came from WoW.........

Originally posted by Papadam

Originally posted by Sharkypal

@ OP

The game is a mess (This is the first time since launch).

It has developed numerous bugs, a massive (and mostly unwarranted) class change. (If they do it once, they can do it again).

Endless downtime (which continued this morning when they added 2 hours on to the "scheduled downtime")

Turbine dont seem to be interested in fixing existing problems. 7 hours of "scheduled downtime" and not a fix for any of the multiple problems. No doubt there will be more new (and broken) content soon without any attempt to fix the glaring issues.

It's a shame that this has happened as Turbine had managed to keep this game virtually bug free for almost two years. Sadly, it seems they have made the mistake that so many other games have made and are trying to go head to head with WoW with raiding and daily quests (repeatable because they cant be bothered to think up anything original).

Even the rep has become cookie cutter in Lorien. No longer do you need rep items - just grind out the same shitty quests for rep.

Im probably going to cancel my sub(s) tbh. LotRo went from the best game on the market by far, to distinctly average.

It still looks great (minus the graphical bugs).

 

I think almost the opposite from this. In EU the servers have been very stable since book 7 and Ive not seen many bugs so far. They fixed the end-game instances and med the Watcher fight alot more fun and they changed the game from "HUnters nuke everything" to "All classes are good and usefull". Repeatable contetnt is great IMO since LotrOs biggest problems have always been that it takes a couple of hours to finssih the new quests then you are done. If you dont want to grind any repeatables you are not going to miss out on anything. ITs pretty funny that I havent done ANY grinding since MoM launch even if I play almost everyday... Pre-Moria was alot of grinding because there was nothing else to do.

The only thing to complain about is that the new big reaid isnt coming untill book 8, the game really needs it!

Hardware Sound on X-Fi - BSOD (This has been around since the beginning but is MUCH worse now).

Graphical problems (DX10 lighting, flickering textures).

Anti Exploit bullshit resetting encounters all the time.

Far too much downtime.

Broken instances - The Forges often will have you "combat locked" which makes it virtually impossible to finish. (Thats just one I can think of)

Thats just a few game-breakers in a game that use to have no issues.

S

PS : There was no forced grinding pre-Moria. You just didnt know what you were doing :)