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Lord of the Rings Online: Looking at the Shores of Evendim
With MMORPG.com's review published yesterday, we thought it would be a good idea to have Staff Writer Donna Desborough take a look at the recently launched free content expansion for Lord of the Rings Online. Titled The Shores of Evendim, the new addition adds quests, a new area, and tons of small bug fixes and tweaks.
The Shores of Evendim is the first free content addition that Turbine has introduced to Lord of the Rings Online. Evendim introduces the full new area of Eriador for the players to explore. In addition to the new area there are new quests and the first 24-player raid.
As one would expect, the landscape of the Evendim region is as spectacular as the rest of the world. The accompanying ambient music helps to set the feel for the region and make it distinct from the other areas of the game. There have been no major changes to the sound and graphics in this update other than some small improvement fixes.
;)
As you travel through Evendim, you will very quickly notice the new creatures that have been added to the region. The choice to make one of the new creatures a set of humanoids was brilliant. It seems like a simple thing, but not knowing if you can approach someone safely or not adds a lot to the discovery of the new area.
The region boasts its own set of deeds and quests. The deeds are similar to the other regions and are found in the same way as well. The quests found in Evendim are of the same calibre as we've come to expect from LotRO. The fellowship instances are of the same high quality as the others scattered throughout Middle Earth. The time and energy put into these quests is as evident here as it is in the high and low areas of the other regions. Evendim also boasts the game's first 24-player raid.
In addition to adding a whole new region, Turbine has taken this opportunity to make some needed changes to the game and the client. The list of bug fixes is way too long to list here, but it would seem that Turbine has been saving them up for a while now. From graphics to gameplay, they've fixed many problems that were lurking just under the surface.
;)
There were many tweaks made to the gameplay overall. Like the list of bug fixes, I could never go over them all here. One worth mentioning though is the visual change to the use of skills. When you activate a skill to use on your quickslot bar a visual animated outline now shows around the activated skill slot. There is a different outline for when a skill has been queued behind another skill. The reason I mention this is because I've seen many comments on the fact that you cannot tell what action you're taking. To make it easier to tell what skill is queued, an additional UI window has been added called Skill Queue. This UI window is exactly what it promises on the tin, the little window shows the icon of the skill you're using and an hourglass timer showing its use. So between these two additions, it is now a lot easier to see what is happening during combat.
There have also been several changes made to the classes. A majority of these changes seem to amount to the tweaking that is needed to balance and improve them. One of the additions that has been brought in for all of the classes is a set of epic, custom armor for each class. As you gather pieces of the set, it unlocks additional bonuses for your character. These armor pieces are supposed to be available to characters between levels 30 to 50 and look very nice. Now, we can have a nice looking set of armour and not sacrifice our stats.
;)
As mentioned earlier, there haven't been a lot of changes to the sound in this update other than their removal from some skills. There was one audio change though that doesn't fit into that category. Turbine has been tinkering with their unique player-made music, and a few improvements have been made including the ability to sustain notes (play them longer) and the addition of two new instruments.
Turbine has taken the opportunity of a free update to fix and change the game in places they felt change was needed. The Shores of Evendim is a much-wanted addition to Eriador and Middle Earth, but the fixes and tweaks are also a welcome sight. The release of LotRO was very good overall and had only minor problems; this update has fixed many of the small annoyances that have been around since release and before.
Thank you Turbine for this update, which was more than just a small bit of content to make us content.
Thanks for the article.
Evendim is a great expansion though I haven't gotten to explore the area too thoroughly. Being only Level 26, I entered and explored a little bit and then mapped out when I was overcome and surrounded. Beautiful scenery and very mood setting.
Yeah, I hear the people calling out that its just like every other game, but I happen to like it very much. Since 'every game is the same', I guess it comes down to picking the game you enjoy. And this one is it for me. I must also say I enjoy WoW and EQ2 and hope for Vanguard to make a comeback.
I am pretty disappointed with the current writer assigned to cover this game. Her statements are redundant and repetitive. She could've said what she said in 5 sentences. All of her articles on LOTR:O seem to have been written in the same manner. There is no "meat" to the article. Why not just say: "I love the game" and be done with it? All of her rhetoric is unnecessary and, frankly, boring.
Additionally, the writer does not give this game a well written and non-biased review. The writer fails to point out problems associated with the Shores of Evendim. The nerfing of the Minstrel class and their outcry to restore some level of reasonable playability to them would be a point I would certainly make when making a fully, non-biased review of a game. I must state that I personally love the game and do NOT intend on cancelling my subscription any time soon. I would hope a writer from your grand crew will take the bull by the horns and give us an update worth reading.
Hasta.
Nieves
Yeah, but if you go in there with a full group of mid 20's you should be ok at the beginning.
*GASP*
The SAME writer? Writing SIMILAR sounding articles in a SIMILAR style on a SIMILAR topic? With consistency?
What EVER next!
Tell you what love, we want you to write your next LOTRO article in the style of... Tolstoy, we've had some complaints that you do things in a similar way when you write articles on the same subject that are reviews. Perish the blummin thought...
The patch notes for Evendim were huge, you can't really expect an overview article to go into massive depth. I haven't seen much of a fuss (at all) over any of the class adjustments so you can't assume what you see or say is universal. As an overview of the patch content this is fiiiine.
What about that article is critical in nature? And you mentioned rebalanced? I am sorry, but the changes to the minstrel class were NOT a rebalancing. They were a lowering of the power level of a class that seemed to work just fine pre-Evendim. Oh, before you say it, I don’t play minstrels. I don’t like them. I have a Lore Master and a Hunter.
The SAME writer? Writing SIMILAR sounding articles in a SIMILAR style on a SIMILAR topic? With consistency?
What EVER next!
Tell you what love, we want you to write your next LOTRO article in the style of... Tolstoy, we've had some complaints that you do things in a similar way when you write articles on the same subject that are reviews. Perish the blummin thought...
The patch notes for Evendim were huge, you can't really expect an overview article to go into massive depth. I haven't seen much of a fuss (at all) over any of the class adjustments so you can't assume what you see or say is universal. As an overview of the patch content this is fiiiine.[/quote]
1: 50% of the zone is water " so its not as big a zone as people make out & the water takes 5 times as long to cross than running on land
2: Horse nerf " yet another screw the 98% of the player base to stop the 2% of farmers
3: Shout removed "No reason given & boy are guardians pissed"
4: 50% of solo quests can't be soloed ..with some requiring you to kill elite mobs with 6k Morale
5: Lets see how many Mobs we can cram in the zone & on the roads " way to crowded"
6: Chat Bug got worse " been in the game since day one "
7: same old quest " go kill X number of mobs or Kill "Insert Mob name here " only savior in regards to quest is the Riddles
8: you die on the far east side of zone & it puts you on the far west with a 10-15 min trip back to your fellowship/spot
9: Only 9 new mobs & some theres only ONE of ...
10: Nothing exciting , no new character slot , more bank space , better lff tools , improvment to the UI "worst UI of any major MMO"
11: losing your buffs every time you come of your mount ..
I could go on but its lunch time :)
My Score 6/10
I would have to concure with SNieves ,
While I did the beta and didn't go full into the main game, I had no real interest to go back and try this till some descent reviews have come out on updates and more. This article says what? Anything other then an opinion that is repeated. Sadly MMORPG has just fallen less and less into the abyss of writing. Not just this article, but also many sadly. Anyone know of any other MMO sites out there are decent? If so send me a PM, time to look elsewhere for real news and reviews.
Do you understand that a huge number of these things are entirely subjective? If I want a frothing and highly opinionated editorial, I'll buy The Daily Mail and read their articles on immigration and how we should bring back hanging and flogging. When it comes to games just give me the facts. Even the facts aren't necessary or necessarily a good idea when they would turn a review into a post of patch notes. Concise summaristion is better.
Look at the fuss over the original review (now called EU preview or somesuch) where even just a little opinion and scores that used the full scale were used. Is it any wonder there's been a shift in emphasis when the reaction to that review is so much stronger than a mere one or two whining people on the current ones?
What about that article is critical in nature? And you mentioned rebalanced? I am sorry, but the changes to the minstrel class were NOT a rebalancing. They were a lowering of the power level of a class that seemed to work just fine pre-Evendim. Oh, before you say it, I don’t play minstrels. I don’t like them. I have a Lore Master and a Hunter.
Meanwhile I've heard no wailing or gnashing of teeth from people of any class really, besides the usual background murmur that's been going on since beta. Not being PvP based rebalancing and power alterations seem to be less important to most people leading to less fuss, which is another positive selling point IMO.
They have an attack that throws sticky tar that causes more damage to you when you burn!” would hurt the game. On top of that, discussing some of the quests wouldn’t have hurt either. Even though tedius (Rivendel and back again!), assisting Aragorn with the reforging of Narsil has been great!
Spoilers anyone? Besides which this isn't so much a review article - note it isn't posted as a review - but more of a general update/information.
All milk and cookies without truly saying what the game is about, and what, if any flaws the game may have. Did I mention she's repetitive? Just checking.
I refer the honourable gentleman to the 'owning' he got some moments ago. I should also like to reiterate that I'd rather have such reviews than the overopinionatedm snark or hype that one gets in many other reviews. Compared to that this approach is refreshing and more informative.
Some of the best gaming mag writers will be honest to point out flaws in a game even if they loved the game. That’s called being UNBIASED. That’s called being HONEST without throwing away you’re your integrity as a writer.
Now who's being naive? Magazines are the worst culprits of the 'editorialising' disease when it comes to reviews. Unbiased and honest comes from minimising allowing ones own biases and preferences to colour a review.
It does seem like there's always some tosser waiting in the wings to diss a writer/reviewer here and while that isn't trolling necessarily it certainly isn't pleasant and probably qualifies as flaming. An articulate troll perhaps, but still a green-skinned, regenerating, goat eater.
GRIMACHU ,
Coming on here (which is your own site) and telling your members that having an actual opinion is a bad thing does what? I don't see how you can just write it's ok to be stupid to not offend anyone and expect your membership to stick around. Get a hint and start actually writing real articles that have actual useful information were people could make decisions on their own.
"You don't have to be opinionated to relay good detailed information about a title, you just have to actually work at it"
X
What ARE you talking about?
This isn't my site, these aren't my members and I don't write for MMORPG (unless they'd like a tabletopper's perspective on some games and are willing to pay at least three cents a word). I think you have mistaken me for a staff writer or something here and thereby made yourself look a touch silly.
I love the patch, but I have to agree with Snieves about the writer. You shouldn't end a review with "Thank you Turbine for this update, which was more than just a small bit of content to make us content." That just shows how biased this is. This review was far too editorialized and doesn't adequately review the new content. The language is dripping with bias, and I think this is evident to anyone who read the piece.
The writer did seem a tad bit biased but it wasnt bad. I've enjoyed the shores of Evendim. I have not heard a complaint from a minstrel yet, and I've been grouped with a couple since the update. They seem perfectly content and they didnt complain. The new areas are really well done, like the Gauradan, I enjoyed them a lot. I was suprised how she didnt mention the fix to rain and snow, (good fix).
Now to point out a post...
Lukain - "
1: 50% of the zone is water " so its not as big a zone as people make out & the water takes 5 times as long to cross than running on land
1. Your point? I dont care if its big or small, its free and its wonderfully designed, the large lake, its islands and the beauty of it. The only part I dont like is they need a boat service :p
2: Horse nerf " yet another screw the 98% of the player base to stop the 2% of farmers
2. Im not really aware of this "nerf" and havent heard people complain about it, but seeing as how I dont know much about it I cant say ur true or not.
3: Shout removed "No reason given & boy are guardians pissed"
3. Again, not real sure about this, I have a bunch of guardian friends who havent complained during missions, etc...
4: 50% of solo quests can't be soloed ..with some requiring you to kill elite mobs with 6k Morale
4. Umm, what level are you doing them at and what level are the quests? Ive been able to solo just about every mission that doesnt have a fellowship thing on it, actually Im having trouble thinking of a mission that wasnt soloable and was supposed to be solable.
5: Lets see how many Mobs we can cram in the zone & on the roads " way to crowded"
5.This part I sort of agree with, although its easier to find your mobs, it does seem they crammed in everything on the Eastern side.
6: Chat Bug got worse " been in the game since day one "
6. They said they are and will be fixing this, to be honest I dont even know what this bug is, my chat has been fine since a couple days before launch.
7: same old quest " go kill X number of mobs or Kill "Insert Mob name here " only savior in regards to quest is the Riddles
7. There do seem to be a bit of X number quests, but Ive noticed a lot of other types, like killing a type of person, searching encampents on the Western shores, tricking giants, etc.... I'd say the non-X quests outnumber the X quests, but again, I hate killing X number of things so every mission that does this pisses me off :p
8: you die on the far east side of zone & it puts you on the far west with a 10-15 min trip back to your fellowship/spot
8. I've noticed this also, however there is a respawn point on the East side, I've seen people respawn on the East bu I remember I died a couple times and spawned on the West, so it is a bug they need to fix.
9: Only 9 new mobs & some theres only ONE of ...
9. Its an update...............
10: Nothing exciting , no new character slot , more bank space , better lff tools , improvment to the UI "worst UI of any major MMO"
Do you even know what the heck an update is? Its not an expansion, again...NOT AN EXPANSION, its set on one major thing. Each big update in an update focuses on a major thing, if they are gonna put character slots in an update!!! wow...well have 10 character slots by the time they finish Eriador!!!! Character slots is for expansions....
11: losing your buffs every time you come of your mount ..
11. I havent encountered this problem, but I am aware of it and it does need to be fixed...kinda annoying for my fellowship.
"
Considering it was a free up date and contained a lot of good changes and quests I can certainly say I got my moneys worth out of it.
My biggest complaints are too crowded with mobs, the change in my minstrels shout and ummm thats about it. Oh and out of over 80 quests I did in that area I found about 5 that were supposed to be solo that required a second or third person.