The Lord of the Rings Online brings the world of J.R.R. Tolkien to the MMO community. Middle-earth is represented accurately in this game, with the majority of locations from the books found throughout the game world. The original release of this game comes with the lands of Eriador, where the Shire and Rivendell are located. Players will have the chance to meet many characters from the books, from Gandalf and Bilbo to Frodo and Samwise.
Players can choose from 4 races - hobbit, elf, dwarf, or human and seven classes. The classes range from the warrior class of Guardian to the archer class of Hunter and the wizard class of Lore-Master. Although the classes appear to be similar to classes in other games, they have unique qualities to them in this one. For example, the wizard class (Lore-Master) uses pets and the rogue class (Burglar) isn’t a DPS class.
Similar to other MMORPG games, this game has players travelling the game world, doing quests, killing creatures, and crafting things. However, rather than making grinding a requirement to level up, quests are where the experience is located. Killing creatures gives very little experience in an effort to decrease the amount of grinding done in the game. Crafting is also somewhat unique. Players choose a vocation that includes 3 professions. Two of the professions will go together, such as prospecting and weaponsmithing, but the third profession will require working with other players to obtain the necessary materials for the profession. This design was chosen to get players working together in the game.
Beyond questing, there is also a Deed system, where you complete Deeds by doing certain things such as killing a certain number of goblins, or locating certain places, or delivering the mail. When a Deed is completed, the player earns either a Trait or a Title. Titles are just names for your character to use. Other players will see whichever Title you use, such as Brewmaster or Honorary Shiriff. Traits are bonuses to attributes, skills, resistances, etc. There are only a limited number of slots available for Traits, so each player will need to choose the Traits that are most useful to them.
PvP in the game is limited to a single location of the world, the Ettenmoors. It is here that you have PvMP (Player vs. Monster Player). At level 10, players can start playing as 5 different monsters within the Ettenmoors. Players choosing this option will start at the maximum level of 50 and will not level up, but will gain Destiny Points, by killing things and doing quests, to upgrade the monster’s skills. Once a player’s regular character gets to level 40, it can also enter the Ettenmoors to do battle against the Monsters and try to hold the various locations against the Monsters.
Gameplay is the same as other RPGs. Control is through the mouse or keyboard and players use weapons and magic that fits with the LOTR story. The camera can be rotated and tilted as well as zoomed out or all of the way in to first-person view. Armor and weapons change your appearance as well.
