LotRO has started to ramp up its marketing for its upcoming expansion, Legacy of Morgoth, showing off one of the new zones coming later this year on a recent dev stream.
Legacy of Morgoth, which seemingly continues our trek through some of the lesser explored areas of Middle-earth, is due out sometime this Fall, and the latest Casual Stroll devstream by Senior World Designer Matt "Scenario" Elliot took viewers on a tour of the first zone: Ambarûl.
Ambarûl is described as a combination between an arid foothill region and marshland, and has been tantalizing Corsairs of Umbar players who have been obfuscated by the invisible wall in the east of Umbar. Scenario describes the new region as interesting because the team has to build up the structures and societies of four different cultures, including the Ambarûli people who are a farming society that helped cultivate the bread basket that kept the armies of the region fed.
Since we're talking about a region in the southern part of Middle-earth where, in the Second Age, would have come into contact with the Numenorean explorers and, at one point, may have fallen under the rule of the Gondorian Kings, and later Stewards, we will see some influences there as well.
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Ambarûl also features something pretty unique in The Lord of the Rings Online: sandstorms. While you do have rain and a full day and night cycle, I honestly can't remember a moment where another biome-specific weather system blew through a region(but please correct me in the comments if I'm wrong - there is a ton of content in LotRO leading into its Legacy of Morgoth expansion, and I can't say I remember everything perfectly).
The landscape on display in the Legacy of Morgoth preview reminded me less of the harsh desert climate that we typically associate with Harad, and more of an arid biome where some things grow, such as palm trees and wisps of grass here and there - much like the western regions of the Eurasian Steppe and less like the sands of the Gobi in our world - and it's certainly a distinct look in LotRO's 17-year history. Ambarûl is also looking to house new enemy types, such as a Jackal-style creature, which Scenario describes more like a "coyote" than anything else.
This isn't the only Legacy of Morgoth preview the team has planned either, with an entire list of streams with Scenario showcasing the four new regions coming with the expansion each week over the next month. Additionally, the LotRO developers will be showcasing the Legacy of Morgoth instances as well, so there's plenty for players to look forward to as we head towards the next expansion's launch.
In the meantime, make sure to check out the full stream in the embed below.
