Beta

[Velox]

Anyone else in the beta? First thoughts? I love the mini instance when you first get in. Seems to turn into the standard grind after that though. Only played it to about level 2 though so not really in a position to judge yet.

[Nico]

What character did you go for? I'm thinking of trying this when the new PC arrives (Wednesday :D).

[Hooters]

Theres a multitude of other aspects that don't involve grind,farm,grind,farm. I have played a Dwarf Guardian to level 11 and a Hobbit Burglar to level 8. Your starting point in the game depends on your character race and class, so characters will start at opposite ends of the current maps invariably, with different start instances. It's really too soon to place a verdict on LoTRO but it is my first real MMO outside of Guildwars (which in my view is prettymuch bows and arrows against the lightening if you are putting the two MMO's head to head). Graphically the game excells and the environments are as true to those that you'd picture through the reading of Tolkiens tomes. There are a few annoyances that I suspect will be ironed out by the 24th and some glaringly obvious flaws, but again these are mainly cosmetic and will have no doubt been identified by the Beta players, over a million of them. I am in NO doubt where my immediate future in gaming lies and I think a few others here are of the same opinion, no names mentioned Wooky. Next weekend see's the official start of the 10 day early access and the founders packs go live for those that have payed for them. I guess the resl test is in LoTRO's longevity and we are assured of expansions covering the further races, events and geography of Middle Earth (I read someplace that the next expansion will be 'Rohan', thus introducing a whole new aspect with mounts (remember the days before vehicles hit the CoD scene?)). Sadly the Beta ends tonight, or so I'm informed, which means a short wait untill the 14th and the game starts proper. All beta characters will be wiped,lol. Characters formed in the 10 day early access period will be allowed to carry over into the full release, the 10 day early access being played on the current beta client which you need to install, be it from the download sites or from beta client disc. All said and done I am delighted that LoTRO has finally come to fruition and look forward to many, many hours discovering, exploring and manipulating Tolkiens world. See you there boys n girls..|inlove|

[wOOky]

yepp its good fun, it really starts to get interesting after lvl10 tbh - which does not take ages to get to. From there you can start following the EPIC quests, which are inline to the book. One char was an Elf, and i had to find the peices of the sword that was broken and deliver them to a ranger for safe keeping :D

1 thing that i've not tried yet is the monster control bit, you get to control monsters with the main army at higher lvls remotly - should be quite fun, also the reflection pools are quite cool, they allow you to look at your recent battles!

[DeadStar]

So this game is certainly worth getting and how much is it a month?

[Velox]

If you buy the £4.99 starter pack I think I remember reading the monthly charge is less? Like £5.99 I *think* (if you let it lapse it goes back up though)

I also read that the graphics (nice as they are) will get better as they only supplied a low level version to keep the download smaller. I read that the game size goes up to 6GB when you load up the full game with all the high-res textures.

I tried a ranger, minstrel & loremaster. Would have played minstrel as I like a healer, but to hit things you play a guitar at them (when dealing with the average street criminal, playing a guitar is a popular way of dispatching with them of course) which, I dunno, just didn't seem right some how. It would get worse as you get further in the game i'd imagine - "Arrgghh it's a huge Dragon. Better break out the Banjo! The Ukulele just isn't going to cut it" - just doesn't feel right to me. Will probs stick with a ranger if I stick with it.

[Hooters]

lol, playing a ukelele and wearing one of them damned dandy feathered hats...groovy.

[JonnyThunder]

bows and arrows against the lightening

I like the use of the (almost) War of the Worlds quote. Very nice.

[FudgeUK]

haha! wat a cool weapon :-)

[wOOky]

ok im bored now! how long till the game is released???

On a side note, I can see why the WoW lot run so much, I decided to help hooters with a quest and had to run half way across middle earth to get to him, took about 45 mins!!! RUNNING FOR 45 MINS!!! and the boss was a wuss, a real waste of energy lol.

Once you've discovered places, you can go to a stable and hitch a lift on a horse, I dont know what was more anoying, running across middle earth or being overtaken by people on horseback every 2 mins!

[Hooters]

Having some level 28 twunt want to spar my lowly level 8 Hobbit is MORE annoying,the nig headed twunt of twunts.

Lets take this opportunity to put the record straight on a few things then...

1) You CANNOT register your 10-day early access until the 12th of April, it WILL activate for you at 8.00 GMT on the 14th April (next Saturday)

2) When you register your FOUNDER MEMBER activation key you will recieve your in-game extras. At the time you register this key you will be presented with your payment options which are discounted options available to FOUNDER MEMBERS ONLY!

3) At this point in time a lot of us are thinking "where the feck is my early access key? I still don't have the email that I am supposed to recieve!" DON'T PANIC!!!!! The keys are scheduled to be emailed 'just before' the 14th, that means you may not get your key until JUST BEFORE the 14th, not now, not tomorrow, not the day after,kapiche?

4) The BETA client we have been playing is a LOW RES version of the final release. The retail version has at least 1.7GB extra content that is the 'high res' coding that the beta does not have, which explains why the characters and some of the scenery didn't look as good as similar releases like that old game...whassit called again?

5) Your BETA version will work as the full retail version once it has been adequatley patched and updated accordingly.Your early access client will be the current beta client that you have installed.

6) You MUST apply a FINAL RETAIL KEY for the full game to work on or after the 24th APRIL, your 10 day access key will become invalid on the 24th Aril.

7) You CAN roll an early access character into the full version on the 24th, though at this point in time there is a level cap of 15 on this rule.

8) It would be advisable to have several different classes of character in your account and each with a specific crafting vocation. The reason I am doing this is to allow for advanced crafting without having to rely on other players to do some of the dirty work for you aswell as charge whatever they feel like for the privelage. LoTRO has a full-on auction system that all players have access to in certain areas of the map that do just that...public auction..how cool is that?

9) Enjoy.

[wOOky]

I've not got my early access key yet??? WHY IS IT NOT HERE!!!!

Will I get it tomorrow, or the day after???? when when when ????























:P

[Hooters]

|rant2| |rant| |flamedanc |shutup|

[DeadStar]

haha lol wooky :)