The Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating the father of the Dwarves with its Durin's Day event hitting game servers today, while its Forester event in Combe has hit yet another snag. And one of the banner features of The Corsairs of Umbar seems to have foundered before it crossed the finish line.
The Durin's Day event marks the time of year in Middle-earth where both the Sun and Moon can be seen in the sky together, and marks the first day of the new year for the Dwarves. The event, which takes place in Erebor, is available now through October 23rd, and will give players the chance to experience this phenomenon with the Dwarves in the Northern reaches of Rhovanion.
The Durin's Day Upon Erebor event has arrived! Available in-game until 3:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on October 23rd. #LOTRO pic.twitter.com/Otso4n3bhh
— LOTRO (@lotro) October 17, 2023
You don't need to have reached the content up in the north either to make it to the event, as LotRO content creator (and friend of the site) Druidsfire points out on Twitter. Lowbie characters can use a stable-master to the Erebor missions to get most of the way there. Or, as Druidsfire mentions, use a Captain.
Just as a note for lowbies wanting to do the Durin's Day event in @lotro, the stable-master to Erebor missions (level 20+/MC) will get you most of the way safely. Or cappies can summon you to the Erebor theatre.You're on your own once you step outside. Watch out for moose. :)
— Phoenix (@druidsfire) October 17, 2023
While the Dwarves have much to celebrate today, the same can't be said for the Men of Combe, as the Forester event has been pulled down thanks to bugs persisting. This is after the crafting event was delayed multiple times due to issues preventing it from launching in August and September. Community Manager Cordovan posted on the official forums that the Standing Stone Games team will inform players of a reopening date for the event when there is one.
The Lord of the Rings Online is gearing up for its Corsairs of Umbar expansion, yet one of the major features - a full crafting rework - seems to have been scuttled thanks to ancient code in the system. Lead Systems Designer Allan "Orion" Maki took to the LotRO forums to share the bad news about the Forester event and the status of the crafting rework.
"Second and more important, we have some unwanted news about Umbar crafting. As I have stated, we intended to uncouple and grant Umbar recipes at the outset of the expansion, making the Umbar crafting tier independent from all previous craft tiers. While diligently working to bring this to fruition behind the scenes, we've hit an unfortunate wall of ancient code that firmly stated, "You shall not pass!""
Initially, the plan was to allow players access to Umbar crafting from the get-go, making it easier for lapsed crafters (like myself) to get back into the swing of things. However, as Maki mentions in his post, the old code is making it impossible for this to happen now, and it doesn't look like it'll ever be something the team can implement.
Maki mentions in a reply on the forum thread that to do so would require "a system rewrite."
"In a nutshell, the craft system is one of the first systems created for the game. It's over twenty years old, and the integration weaves through the game like an intricate spider's web. Uncoupling the tiers would take time incommensurate with the gain from making the change."
