Gaming Signal: Preview: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Preview: Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

That is one long title for the game. This is a massively multiplayer game from the folks over at Turbine and Midway using the using the Lord of the Rings license (which should be obvious from the name.) Turbine was the developer for Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call 2 (which is closed now), and most recently Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach. From February 23 through February 26, Gamespot helped Turbine run a stress test event to allow folks a view of the game. It was also an opportunity to get a better idea of how well the infrastructure they are building will handle the large influx of players when the beta officially launches on April 7 (although preordering will allow folks access on March 30 - along with other Founder privileges.) I took part in this stress test along with some other folks (who I hope will offer their experiences in the comments) and wanted to share my opinions and impressions of the game. I tried to experience as much of the game as I could within that very short period of time. I also did not play as every character and class since that again would not allow me to experience some elements of the game - Monster play for example is only open to characters level 10 or higher. With this in mind, I entered the game to play as a single character/class combination to allow me to reach level 10 and experience the other side. I did create some other characters to walk through the movies that are offered and play with the character creation engine.

Character Creation

This for many gamers is a key feature since everybody wishes to look unique, and that is not a bad thing. Character creation works here much like it does in every other MMO in that you choose your character race and gender (elf, dwarf, man, hobbit). Dwarves only have a single option here since Tolkienesque female dwarves are almost indistinguishable from male dwarves (well except if you are a dwarf). With your race and gender selected, the player can move directly into class selection but can also watch a short movie that introduces the race with a narrator describing them. The movies are all well done and being optional is nice for players who are already familiar with the races in question. Class creation works exactly the same with the player's race limiting the options (and I won't repeat what is available on the LOTRO website since it is better presented there). Again a player has the option to watch a short movie that describes the character class in all its glory. With these options selected, the player then goes about the process of customizing the look of their avatar from body shape to home region. The options are well done although its not nearly as customizable as Star Wars Galaxies which pretty much allowed the ability to change almost any aspect of the face. The home region selection was very interesting since it helped define a color palette for the skin, eye and hair color choices. I do not believe they affect any other statistics at this point, but it was nice to be able to choose to be a Man (or woman) of Rohan for example.

For me, it was all about creating a dwarf champion named Nhorgi hailing from the Iron Hills.

Game Play

Upon creation of my dwarven avatar, I entered the world of Middle Earth. Every new character enters into a sort of new player island similar to that found in Everquest 2 and Guild Wars. I call it an island since the area is limited in scope and is meant to give the player some instruction on how to play and accomplish quests while setting up the Epic quest that each race has. This is very similar to the main story quest that flows through each race in World of Warcraft.

In the dwarven case, I was in the region of Eriador called Erud Luin, and next to me Gandalf was explaining to Thorin the merits of taking a burglar on his journey - which I was totally entertained by. After getting past the "ooooh Gandalf" moment, I proceeded to perform a series of quests that introduced the game, and gave me a fair amount of starting equipment. At about level 5 or 6, the player will have completed all these quests and is basically taken on a scripted instance. In my case, it was a quest with Dwalin against the Dourhands who were consipiring with Goblins. Furthermore, they captured an elf, and were going to sacrifice him. This event was very well done and is somewhat unique in that it is an instance for only a single player.

Upon completion of this prologue, the character returns to Middle Earth but has entered "general population". That is probably not the best term, but at this point the player has entered a world that has changed from the prologue which for the dwarves took place before the hobbit. The time frame also has advanced to the point at which Frodo has left the Shire with the One Ring. This is the world in which your character will spend the rest of his time in Middle Earth, and it is presented in great detail.

The paradigm is generally the same as any other MMO that is out today. Obtain quests, kill stuff, get loot, and level up. This is not what make the game interesting and as an evolutionary title it simply grabs what works for other games in this genre. The concept that experience is best obtained from quests and that experience can be increased by taking time off between playing sessions (rest experience). So right about now folks are thinking that this is WOW with Gandalf right? Well not exactly, and I hope to illustrate how the game is different.

The first is that each race has a quest that is marked as "Epic" and is only available to your race. The dwarven one deals with the Dourhands, their dealings with Goblins, and the rebuilding of the Halls of Thorin. I spoke to JP, who played as a human, and his quest was different. This epic quest is intended to lead your character through the world and is not really intended to be ignored. The experience and story progresses for you through this quest. The other supplementary quests are open to almost every character, but they are all used to help provide gear and experience to your character.

Another unique gameplay element is the concept of goals or achievements. These are somewhat secret things that can offer attributes, skills, or titles to your character. They are uncovered by you as the game progresses. My first achievement was to complete 10 quests on behalf of the citizens of Erud Luin, and that would give me an trait that I could use to customize my character. A trait is a skill or statistic bump that is passive. In some ways they are like the Talents found in WOW, but as with most of Middle Earth are more subtle. Another achievement occurred when I killed some amount of goblins, and I unlocked the title "Defender of Erud Luin." This was what folks who had titles turned on would see my character named as. Admittedly, this is not a big deal, but I found that there were many titles that could be acquired and I would often spend time trying to acquire them to make my dwarf different from the other folks running around. And this is where I think the strength of LOTRO is at, the customization of your character from your choice of race and character class to the attributes you apply to the title you choose to have for yourself. It all makes your character feel somewhat unique, and very much a part of Middle Earth.

Crafting was something I barely touched, but exists in the game. You have the option of a number of vocations or jobs that your character can "apprentice" in. This job has a number of subjobs or crafting areas associated with them. For me, I went with Historian who could craft weapons, create scrolls via scholarly research, and farming. That's right I said farming, and I wish I had a chance to try it out - as such all I did was create a couple of low level scrolls that improved my combat skills for a short period of time. Apparently farmers can grow food and tobacco and that is just touching the surface. I really look forward to seeing what the system turns out as characters rise in skill and items start flowing out. There is a newer post over on the LOTRO website that gives a better introduction than I can to the crafting system.

Upon reaching level 10, players have access to a feature called Monster Play, and that feature is available via an altar in Bree. Now if you look at your map of Middle Earth, Erud Luin is quite some way from Bree and unfortunately the only way to get there is on foot and that will open up some new travel routes via horseback. Therefore in the interest of experiencing as much as possible, I commenced my trek to Bree from the Halls of Thorin in the Blue Mountains. That meant travel through The Shire and then on across the Brandywine Bridge into the Breelands. And this was one area that was not as pleasant since the run to Bree (while being able to see the fantastic scenery) was quite a trek. The good news is that once I arrived I was able to unlock a horse route that would return me to the Halls of Thorin a lot faster than my trip to Bree. One other element I enjoyed about horse travel was the ability to dismount mid-travel. It was a thing that we used in the Dark Age of Camelot to travel to between areas that may not have a stable.

Monster Play

Effectively, this represents the Player vs. Player (PVP) element of the game. Players can enter the monster play element and can select from a list of 5 possible evil characters. They are a Mordor Orc bezerker (melee), a Uruk Hai Archer (ranged), a Worg (rogue), a Spider (caster) and an Uruk Hai Captain (healer). I have listed the class types with them, but they are not pure classes in any case, and they are all level 50. They are members of Sauron's army fighting in the Ettinmoors.

These characters also have quests and goals that can be accomplished, but receive points instead of experience (they are level 50). These points can be used to buy unique skills and capabilities for the evil folks that allow for customization from any other of Sauron's grunts (other players). These characters are somewhat persistent too, but are more like facets upon your "good" character. These points are not restricted to your evil side, but can also be spent for rewards on your player avatar as well. One of the available rewards is bonus experience for a certain period of time.

One element I liked about Monster Play is that players can engage in raid level encounters starting at level 10 as long as its playing an evil character. Our adventures in Monster Play consisted of an assault on the fortress of Tol Ascarnan which would allow the collection of things like dwarf beards, elf ears and human parts. Sounds like a soup recipe for the orcs, but really they are used for quest rewards. This element played very much like raids in other games but since we were all level 50, but with less concern about gear and more about raw carnage. As I said before, the classes here are not exact and you will not see the captain throwing out big heals but he does get the ability to resurrect up to 5 folks close to him simultaneously - which would not be good for morale if you ask me. I really would have liked to see how this element will play out with normal player characters being involved in the fight, but it was still great to be an orc laying siege to the fortress of the humans.

Final Thoughts

I am hooked, and while I cannot claim that the game is perfect nor can I claim I experienced everything there is in the game - I did not notice any instances beyond the initial one I entered to transition from the new player area. The game looks very good and plays much like any other MMO should play at this point. They seem be building upon the positive elements of games like WOW and EQ2 and attempting to remove the negative elements of those games. I will be intrigued to see how things like smoking are handled since that is definitely something the characters in this world do. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings both speak about Gandalf's skill with blowing smoke rings. And with that, look for me in Middle Earth somewhere around March 30 as a champion against the armies of Sauron!!!