Originally posted by KaitarBesh

I've tried to like that game. Three times I've tried. But the combat is just so sluggish with the abilities queue system, the character models are junk and frankly I didn't like the fact that half the backgrounds were just...painted backdrops. I couldn't even go into the forest part of the old forest, because you couldn't go between the trees. Coupled with the fact that it was just a really boring game in general since I'm not a huge Tolkien fan? Yeah... I'm not really missing out.  Some people like it. I thought it was dull beyond belief.

I hear ya. I gave it about 3 good shots before I quit playing, though the little I did play had some really good points. I'd say starting off as a Hobbit was the most enjoyable, because the Shire was, in my opinion, the best representation of a sprawling community in a game that I've ever seen. Being able to check out all the various neighborhoods mentioned in the books made the explorer in me giggle like a schoolgirl. I only wish you could enter all the structures, even if they're just NPC homes with nothing much different from one to the other. I'm still a bit perplexed that you can't enter Brandy Hall.

But then, you leave the Shire, and it's that same dullness you speak of. I was also really disappointed in the "corridor" nature of the Old Forest. We've gone beyond the need to similate thick foliage. Walls of trees is so generation-before-last. The first thing that came to my mind when I discovered how the Old Forest was done was that abomination, Fable.

I see LOTRO as a holodeck program of Middle Earth, of sorts. Hardcore Tolkien fans may take the ability to walk around in this world as reason enough to pay the subscription price, but I'm not a hardcore fan. I like Tolkien's works, don't get me wrong, but I can't sit and quote long passages from the Simarillion. All due respect to those who can, of course.

A WoW clone? Why does everyone fuckin say, "Its going to kill WoW." "Its better than WoW." "This games just like WoW but better.", Why compare your game to anouther game that is way different? WoW isnt even that great of a game, it just had alot of publicity over the years and word spread quick. Quit comparing MMORPGs to other MMORPGs. Its not the correct way to apply comparisons.

***Sorry for my shitty spelling lol***

Originally posted by BamBam021

You are missing out.

That's all.

It's good, but it's just another fantasy genre mmog.  Been there, done that.

That's all.

LOTRO is great, if what you're looking for is WoW 1.5. It doesn't innovate in any significant regard, it just takes the proven formula of WoW and executes it with a high degree of polish. At least WoW was original in the sense that it had successfully brought together so many good elements from several other games, whereas all LOTRO had to do was copy the WoW template.

It's classes are same old same old. It's combat is nothing we haven't seen before. It's quests are like flashbacks to stuff you've already done in WOW a dozen times before.

What makes it feel even more like WoW is the semi-cartoony and low end in it's character model graphics like WoW, and the animations leave to be desired.

Cheers guys,

   seeing the date of this thread and the content of it ... I was deciding whether or not to start up my account again after a year of being away.

So looks like the little Dwarf Guardian who could is going to live again :)

  Thanks again

I bought three months of sub to LOTRO, and I'm having fun with it (when I'm not playing EvE), and I will admit it is a very well made game, but I won't be renewing when my sub is up.  It has the same problems inherent in every MMO based on classes and levels and I'm not going to continue to support a broken paradigm.

• Having to grind up sixty levels before I can do any substantial group content.  Why am I paying a sub fee to play a single player game?
• A story dictated by the developers.  Even if it is Lord of the Rings, I want my story to be my story, not the same story as everyone else with a few minor twists.
• Levels as an arbitrary method of tracking your power.  Why are goblins in the Shire so much weaker than goblins in the North Downs?  Lore-wise, they're the same damn goblins.  The whole concept of levels does nothing but add a bunch of pointless grind and keep people from playing together.  Levels are great in pen-and-paper games.  Levels are great in single player RPGs.  They have no place in MMOs.

Things I like about LOTRO:

• The whole 'deeds' system.  It adds a way to flesh out your characters that's completely self-directed.  You can do the deeds, or not.  It's up to you, though you might want to pick up certain ones depending on your class and what you like to do.
• Crafting.  From what I've seen so far crafted gear seems on par with the drops and quest rewards you get.
• The artwork - it's very immersive.  Hard to describe.

LotR is still a fine game, the best example I know of old game MMORPG style fused with new MMO conventions. We have so few really decent games out there, this is certainly one of them.

I played 2 accounts at same time until Turbine nerfed player's stats. You might think every game done that as well as WOW. I agreed. That was also reason I quit WOW after being nerfed and I also played 2 account of WOW. 

Compare WOW and LOTRO, LOTRO is not a fun game, and the entire design is just bored. Grinding is okay with me  but not that kind of grinding in LOTRO. Unlike other game, LOTRO is really terrible to grind and the game has so many slay quests required to kill a few hundred mobs of each type. And the mobs is designed in a group of 16 numbers, you could imagine how you going to grind 480 of the sam type.

However, the game quality is better than the contents quality. I think Turbine makes a hell lot of money from LOTRO. Since there are not many good quality game on the market, if you never play LOTRO before, it is worthy to try. Anyway, I am playing Warhammer just now, the game quality is very poor, and the contents is terrible as well, the only fun is PVP or Group PVP.

As a lifer let me give my piece of advice:

If you are after game play dont bother with lotro. It offers nothing unique in combat, game play and quests variety. Play only if you like or interested in Lord of the Ring fantasy setting and atmosphere. 

I played LotRO for some 6 months (before MoM), I got to "endgame" with one toon, tried several other classes to mid-teens.

I cant point my finger but there is something horribly lacking for me in that game..... I simply lost interest very fast.

I played AO as my first MMORPG for over 5 years now with breaks, I always go back to it at some point but there is not much to do once you get completely geared 220/30/70. I am not PvP freak, it starts to bore me after a while, I love my org there but I cant play the game just to have a chatroom, and I certainly dont feel like leveling another TL7..... too much grind.

I made few twinks but once they are done I am just not interested to play them much. The process of twinking is fun, the actual playing them meh for me.

I tried WoW, played 2 years, made 2 endgame toons. I cant stand community and overall moral attitude of the game. It seems to cater too high level of selfishness for me. None needs anyone for anything in that game, and most players see other people just as means to get pixel gear easier. Not my cup of tea.

I tried AoC from EA until few months after release. It was fun, I liked the combat, I liked the graphics..... but what the game was back then can only be described as shallow. After leveling 80, 70 and 40 of each archetype I had nothing to do anymore. The usual FC incapability to balance classes turned me down totally.

I tried Vanguard but it only took me 2 days to uninstall it - I couldnt stand overall feel of that game.

I fell in love with Spellborn last month but that game has prematurely died. R.I.P.

Now I am looking for another game that would give me that "hooked" feeling like I had with AO, Spellborn, AoC, even WoW at the start.

LotRO is just not that.

Its pretty game, combat and character development are not bad really, crafting is bearable, housing is entertaining, community is decent. But I so totally lack something, and what is worse I have no idea what with that game. After very short time I just feel bored. No sparks.

I bought MoM and its collecting dust in my drawer, never got to reactivating and installing it. I am sorry about that since I really  want to have some nice easy-go game to play while I search for my "perfect" MMO which I will, of course, never find.

Its a shame. Such a lovely and totally not attractive game :(

It's a great game but there came a time when I just couldn't stomach the slayer deeds any longer.  That's what killed it for me.

Also played back in the beginning.  Slow combat, generic classes, BORING traditional race selection, generally uninspired environments.  Coming from WOW, I only needed to ask myself,  "what is better about LOTR that interests me?"  The answer was, nothing at all.   A music system didn't matter.  The lore didn't matter.  Besides those what did it really add?

Sure its probably a good MMO now.  It was pretty average at the start though.  And it added nothing interesting over others out there.  Why play the same game, but in a worse package? 

If you aren't playing LoTRO:

A. You might have not played it.

B. You might have played it but it didn't suite you.

C. You might be playing something else.

D. You might simply be not intrested in it.

E: What's LoTRO?

Meh......

Originally posted by Trenchgun

LOTRO is great, if what you're looking for is WoW 1.5. It doesn't innovate in any significant regard, it just takes the proven formula of WoW and executes it with a high degree of polish. At least WoW was original in the sense that it had successfully brought together so many good elements from several other games, whereas all LOTRO had to do was copy the WoW template.

It's classes are same old same old. It's combat is nothing we haven't seen before. It's quests are like flashbacks to stuff you've already done in WOW a dozen times before.

What makes it feel even more like WoW is the semi-cartoony and low end in it's character model graphics like WoW, and the animations leave to be desired.

 

The only problem I find with your comments are that you assume everyone has played / is playing / will play WoW.  As one who never has / isn't / won't .......
 

You are correct that LotRO isn't innovative or has anything new, which the same could (and probably was) said about WoW when it came out.  For someone who has never played WoW or isn't into such a high Pvp opmh factor, LotRO stands on it's own very well.

Yeah I've never played WoW either, and I've been enjoying LOTRO since closed beta. The fact that it is or isn't a WoW clone makes no difference to me.

Actually WoW is the best DAoC clone out there!

You want PvP DAoC was the best.

I can't stand how slow the combat is and how clunky the play control is.

I don't like how nearly every ability is a "wait until next action" type ability.  As in there seems to be about 5 instant spells in the game. 

For instance in most games you have some abilities that wait for the next action, some abilities that are instant use, and some abilities that have cast times.

I see almost none that are instant use and the play control is so clunky I feel like it really hurts the depth of the game.

Originally posted by Laughing-man

I can't stand how slow the combat is and how clunky the play control is.

I don't like how nearly every ability is a "wait until next action" type ability.  As in there seems to be about 5 instant spells in the game. 

For instance in most games you have some abilities that wait for the next action, some abilities that are instant use, and some abilities that have cast times.

I see almost none that are instant use and the play control is so clunky I feel like it really hurts the depth of the game.

Yeah, the combat pace in this game takes some getting used to.  Frankly, I don't even notice it anymore and I think most don't after some time but at first it can be pretty awkward.  Heh, when I first started playing again I thought I was having pc issues or something was wrong with my internet connection.

Definitely can make you go, "Wtf?", especially depending on waht game you're coming from.  After a few weeks though you don't even notice anything anymore though and in the whole scheme of things it doesn't effect anything gameplay wise.