is lotro fun?

[ChaosBuddha]

fun or no?

[Baahb3]

fun or no?

I played both DDO and Lotro quite a bit over the years.

If you enjoy the world and the story, I think that part of Lotro is very enjoyable. You get to experience the epic story from the books in a peripheral way that I found fun. And the continuation of the story in the Black Book epic quests was also very good.

They have 2 major problems from my point of view:

One is the unbelievable grind of dailies. You need to run months, not days or even weeks, but months of dailies to get even a modicum of gear. Which usually leads you to getting halfway there before the next mini-expansion or expansion hits and you have to start over again.

Two is the legendary item (LI) system. It started with having to reconstruct it every 5 levels or so. Scroll, crystal and legacy farming. And unless you had a dedicated instance group, you ended up buying quite a bit from the store once that rolled out.

Then they found a good way of doing things I thought that allowed the LI to level up with you. You just had to farm out some scrolls to keep updating the Legacy level. All they needed to do was to adjust that and add more ways to farm scrolls of empowerment and they would have had a simple and good way to keep these items leveling up with your character.

Instead, just like DDO, they made major changes for the sake of change and made a convoluted system where you have to rebuild your item again every 5 or so levels. They broke up the legacies into 4 different types of traceries of 4 different quality types, each of which can be pipped up by another thing you have to farm, enhancement runes.

All in all, it is this regression in LI progression that led me to leave that game. The time it would take to make an upgraded LI every 5 levels would make my eyes bleed. Let alone all the dailies to get decent level appropriate gear.

[ChaosBuddha]

I played both DDO and Lotro quite a bit over the years.

If you enjoy the world and the story, I think that part of Lotro is very enjoyable. You get to experience the epic story from the books in a peripheral way that I found fun. And the continuation of the story in the Black Book epic quests was also very good.

They have 2 major problems from my point of view:

One is the unbelievable grind of dailies. You need to run months, not days or even weeks, but months of dailies to get even a modicum of gear. Which usually leads you to getting halfway there before the next mini-expansion or expansion hits and you have to start over again.

Two is the legendary item (LI) system. It started with having to reconstruct it every 5 levels or so. Scroll, crystal and legacy farming. And unless you had a dedicated instance group, you ended up buying quite a bit from the store once that rolled out.

Then they found a good way of doing things I thought that allowed the LI to level up with you. You just had to farm out some scrolls to keep updating the Legacy level. All they needed to do was to adjust that and add more ways to farm scrolls of empowerment and they would have had a simple and good way to keep these items leveling up with your character.

Instead, just like DDO, they made major changes for the sake of change and made a convoluted system where you have to rebuild your item again every 5 or so levels. They broke up the legacies into 4 different types of traceries of 4 different quality types, each of which can be pipped up by another thing you have to farm, enhancement runes.

All in all, it is this regression in LI progression that led me to leave that game. The time it would take to make an upgraded LI every 5 levels would make my eyes bleed. Let alone all the dailies to get decent level appropriate gear.

thanks you for the info

[systemshaker1941]

The bigger question is: does SSG treat the LOTRO fan-base as poorly as they treat us DDOers? I'm all for grass is greener but I sure as heck am not giving SSG any more of my money after I cancel my sub tomorrow.

[Elfishski]

fun or no?

I tried it a while back when there was the "all content for free with a code" thing going on.

LOTRO is great as a super relaxing exploration of middle earth, with loads of flavour, scenery. If I find a lot of spare time sometime while the game is still going, would love to go back and play a lot more of LOTRO just to look around much much more of the world, as at least the early game feels like DDO's 'casual' difficulty or a wilderness zone but full of lore.

As an MMO - quests are mostly "kill 10 wolves" type stuff which are pretty tedious but that shouldn't be why you're there. I can't speak at all about endgame/raids/playing with others but apparently there is one and it gets way more serious in terms of difficulty and might appeal to a different kind of player (who could I'm sure accelerate through early levels and skip the endless opportunities for flower sniffing).

Same inventory management nightmare as DDO if you come in fresh. Piles and piles of "stuff" accumulated over 15+ years of the game existing that you can collect and some of it is useful and some of it is garbage but you don't know what's what.

[ChaosBuddha]

Piles and piles of "stuff" accumulated over 15+ years of the game existing that you can collect and some of it is useful and some of it is garbage but you don't know what's what.

**** thats why i quit path of exile

[Wizard1406]

If it is a bog-standard WOW-type game with dailies/weeklies (ewww dailies....) and standard fetch/collect/kill quests I have zero interest in it. I'm not a big LOTOR fan though - book and films are great but I'm not huge into the lore.

Endgame sounds even more grindy than DDO.

For that type of game, aka "WOW-clone", engine wise and population wise WoW and FFXIV are far better I think. Inventory nearly as bad as DDO sounds unbearable. I only put up with it in DDO since it has such great and unique gameplay.

[Nebless]

Is LotRO fun or no?

Depends on if you're into LotR lore or not; did you like the books (games based on them) or the movies? If yes, than you should like the game. If not, well it's a pretty standard MMO with a slow combat system.

F2p area has expanded up to Helm's Deep (lvl 95) so lots to do. A very generous free store point system so you can 'buy' more content without spending money if you wish and if willing to really work at it you can do the entire game free just from the free store points you farm.

It's a great looking game and very easy to forget about the quest you're heading to and just wander off exploring. Quests are the same as everywhere else, but it's the quest write up's that make it doable. Plan on reading everything since if all you do is jump to the 'kill 10 wolves over there' you'll get bored fast.

It is laggy and some of the decisions SSG have made aren't the best. I pretty much hit burn out when I got to Mordor (lvl 105) and haven't done much with it since except on some lower level alts.

It's one of those games where it's all about the journey and NOT the end game.

[Nebless]

They have 2 major problems from my point of view:

One is the unbelievable grind of dailies. You need to run months, not days or even weeks, but months of dailies to get even a modicum of gear. Which usually leads you to getting halfway there before the next mini-expansion or expansion hits and you have to start over again.

You must be talking about the end game grind or raiding, since I'm almost done with Mordor (lvl 125 now?) and have NEVER had to do a daily for gear.

For normal questing the game gives you everything you need and if not what you want, shopping on the Auction House fills in the blanks.

[Nebless]

The bigger question is: does SSG treat the LOTRO fan-base as poorly as they treat us DDOers? I'm all for grass is greener but I sure as heck am not giving SSG any more of my money after I cancel my sub tomorrow.

I'd say NO they don't and that LotRO players get more love. If nothing else SSG has done almost all content give aways coupons each year since the big Covid lockdown.

[Jaxtan]

Up to level 30 it's great, up to level 60 it's good, up to level 90 it's ok, beyond level 90 its a grind. At cap it is a grind, grind, grind that will kill your LOTR loving soul. Also, it does have periods of great lag and rubber-banding around the landscape to the point it is unplayable. That's when you log off for a little while and log back on later once it has settled down.

If you enjoy LOTR, play it for free up to level 30 and you will enjoy it, especially the story-line quests associated with the book.

[shores11]

The bigger question is: does SSG treat the LOTRO fan-base as poorly as they treat us DDOers? I'm all for grass is greener but I sure as heck am not giving SSG any more of my money after I cancel my sub tomorrow.

I have played many other MMO's that ended up not liking. You know what I did, I stopped playing them or giving them my time much less money. SSG in my opinion and several others is one of the very top MMOs in the fantasy genre. I am a VIP and love DDO a lot.

[LavidDynch]

fun or no?

No.. tried it several times and just got stuck with too much stuff that I had no clue if it was good or not, zones are easy but empty. Never reached end game level.. despite having 2x tripple all in DDO and estimated 200+ capped WoW characters -- and I´m just casual gaming there -- as I´ve done in Lotro. It bored me. some nice areas thou if you are into the lore...

[erethizon]

You must be talking about the end game grind or raiding, since I'm almost done with Mordor (lvl 125 now?) and have NEVER had to do a daily for gear.

For normal questing the game gives you everything you need and if not what you want, shopping on the Auction House fills in the blanks.

Yes, exactly. Most of the complaints about LOTRO I've seen so far are complaints about end game (and let's face it, end game is pretty terrible in most games).

As for the original question of the thread. Yes, the game is fun. If you get bored at the level cap, then make a new character or come back to DDO.

[GoldyGopher]

fun or no?

It depends.

If you like (or are fascinated) by the lore of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, you will probably enjoy playing he game for some time.
If you are looking for a new hard core game to replace DDO, you probably won't enjoy LOTRO.

For me the biggest worry I have for new casual players is the sudden difficult spikes that occur in LOTRO. The content below level 35 is fairly straight forward, but that next step into the Evendim and the Trollshaws is a fairly substantial increase in difficulty. Same goes when you step into Moria, Dunland, West Rohan and ... It really puts an emphasis on grinding before taking those steps.

[Tyrande]

fun or no?

I have two characters on LoTRO. One is a hunter and the other a lore-master. i.e. The LoTRO version of the DDO bow ranger and sorcerer.

Spell casting and special bow (mostly one shot kill stuff) attacks are very low. Some spells can take up to 5 seconds to cast.

Overall, I like the scenary and lore. I think the graphics, engine and story are done better than DDO.

In 4K it looks much better than DDO in 4K graphics.

At least on the server I was playing, there was NO LAG AT ALL.

It also is not as fast paced as DDO. LoTRO is a traditional MMO while DDO feels like a FPS in that regard.

The fan merchandise is also better. They have a better hoodie than DDO's to wear. DDO only has the black dragonmarked sweater.


Also, as for leveling; I believe there is a LoTRO version of the DDO Ottos box that takes you direcly to maximum level; if you are sick of grinding...
I just do not want to use it as I never played the basic leveling before.

[Grindflayer]

"Fun" is a subjective unit, so I'll just mention a few of the things that are different in these 2 games, and why I recently quit Lotro after 10+ years of playing. Well, not totally quit, I still log in occasionally to explore the new regions, but I can't even remember when I last completed a quest there. Anyway:

Things that Lotro does better:
- Open world, which in my opinion is also a bit better-looking. Not so flashy (because "magic" works in a different manner in that universe), and the textures, assets etc. are more realistic.
- Quest quality and quantity. The writers, lore-keepers and world builders in Lotro are top notch, and I often admired how much content they come up with compared to DDO. One area pack can contain many times more quests, with hundreds of lines of more story, tied with lore, than any expansion I have seen in DDO yet.
- Cosmetics. Basically every event/festival/expansion/quest pack has new cosmetics or house decorations. Also, you can use regular equipment as cosmetics too, without any extra items or unnecessary steps. Plus, lots of cosmetics storage.
- Housing.
- Active "world chat". Can also be a negative, depending on what you like. I personally would like more general messages on chat, just normal everyday banter. Makes the server feel more alive, especially for a solo player, but I know very well how in can be hijacked by insufferable fools, which then cause a chain reaction even amongst the decent people. So it's a double-edged sword.


Things DDO does better:
- Non-braindead content. One of the main reasons I grew tired of Lotro was that the "danger" of adventuring, which was a huge part of the LotR books and the whole lore, disappeared, and moved on to instances. Since then, they have tried to retcon that by creating some sort of a tiered difficulty system for landscape too, but for me it was a bit too little a bit too late.
- Interacting with your environment. In Lotro, you can't properly climb, swim underwater, not even break stuff. There are no traps (or disarming them) like we have here. And so on. The many skills of D&D & DDO make this game far superior when it comes to situational things.
- Classes, races and builds. DDO is very versatile in this area. One thing I don't like is that it has led in to this wheel of reincarnation, which I haven't taken part in, yet. I have reincarnated a couple of characters so far, just to see what it's like, but so far I have refused to bother myself too much about that.


Things that are about equal in my eyes, or are not that important to me:

- Guilds/Kinships. There are no "guild buffs" in lotro kinships, and while I never wanted them anyway, some people might find that noteworthy.
- Lore. Tolkien's world is, and always will be the no.1 for me, but I have also grown up under the influence of Forgotten Realms, and have started to accept Eberron, too.
- Lag & other performance issues. It seems to be the number 1 complaint on both games.
- Battle pace. Lotro's pace is generally a bit slower, and it feels right for the game, in my opinion. There are no universal cooldowns on skills, but the auto-attacks are fixed, and skill animations are sometimes very slow. DDO feels more hack-and-slashy type of game, and while I didn't like that at first, I have gotten used to it now.
- Crafting. Lotro's crafting is more .. "authentic". You gather ore, wood, gemstones and whatnot, and craft objects made of wood, steel etc. And since you can gather mats on landscape, you don't have to farm certain instances hours upon hours, just so you get lucky and find that last piece of ingredient you need. On the other hand, the effects you can craft in DDO are very powerful and unique, so I kinda understand the difference in crafting mechanics and resource types here.

Just to mention a couple of more thing that made me quit Lotro, in case you find the notions useful:
- Few years ago, they decided to concentrate on bite-sized content. They started dropping "Missions" everywhere, which meant x number of repeats on a quest so that you could gather currency to buy something you used to get as a quest reward. The game already had skirmishes, epic battles, dailies, regular instances, featured instances and a whole bunch of other repeatable stuff, but they decided to assign their dev power to some more.
- They kept on creating more systems, more "new", when we the players seemed very content on wanting them fixing/updating the older stuff first. Now that I've been here more regularly for a year or so, it's starting to feel very familiar.
- Fundamental class changes that were not necessary.
- Straying a bit too far in many lore aspects, just to please a part of the player base. I'm not a lore purist by any means, but without going in to the details, there were a number of occasions where they did a total disservice to the wonderful world Tolkien created.


Sorry, this post came up a bit longer than I anticipated, but this is one of the topics here that I have a good insight on!
Cheers

[DocHawkeye]

While early on in LOTRO you'll grind out LOTRO points faster than you do in DDO, you will not believe how much LOTRO will absolutely nickle-and-dime you for literally everything in the game. It's insane how much of your character is locked behind the store, and while not terrifically expensive, you'll soon grow tired of "hey I have to go back and do all the lore in this area 30 levels below me because I need points for this one unlock".

Minstrel weapons are also rep-locked. You need a level 75 drum? Complete the level 80 area, and now you need a 95 drum you can't get untll you do the level 100 area. Still ****ed.

Also, housing is hot garbage. If you don't regularly log in and pay grinded out currency you'll lose your house and create an ungodly logistical nightmare.

Finally, if you're into grouping up, be prepared to break group every three quests in some areas for solo-only garbage.

If you aren't totally invested, if you don't love grind, and you're not willing to sub, it's not great.

[Grindflayer]

While early on in LOTRO you'll grind out LOTRO points faster than you do in DDO, you will not believe how much LOTRO will absolutely nickle-and-dime you for literally everything in the game. It's insane how much of your character is locked behind the store, and while not terrifically expensive, you'll soon grow tired of "hey I have to go back and do all the lore in this area 30 levels below me because I need points for this one unlock".

Minstrel weapons are also rep-locked. You need a level 75 drum? Complete the level 80 area, and now you need a 95 drum you can't get untll you do the level 100 area. Still ****ed.

Also, housing is hot garbage. If you don't regularly log in and pay grinded out currency you'll lose your house and create an ungodly logistical nightmare.

Finally, if you're into grouping up, be prepared to break group every three quests in some areas for solo-only garbage.

If you aren't totally invested, if you don't love grind, and you're not willing to sub, it's not great.

I'll address the issues I know something about.

You definitely grind out more Lotro points faster than here, that's true. Everyone who has played that game for more than just a few days knows how to grind a couple of hundred points every few hours. What that accounts for you depends on what you are wanting to do in that game, obviously. It can get tiring.

About drums ... I don't remember what the actual stats are for those, but I recall there are many minstrel instruments that have pretty miniscule improvements. Meaning, if you got your good instrument at lvl X, you only get a +2.5% improvement if you get a lvl x+10 instrument. That one is a really specific issue.

Housing can be paid, what, 6 months (?) in advance? Gold is almost as common there as platinum is here (you get it regularly from hobbit presents, too) so that's not an issue.

[LavidDynch]

- Quest quality and quantity. The writers, lore-keepers and world builders in Lotro are top notch, and I often admired how much content they come up with compared to DDO. One area pack can contain many times more quests, with hundreds of lines of more story, tied with lore, than any expansion I have seen in DDO yet.

really? They are all super same - fetch 10 wolf and return mechanic.... this is one thing that DDO does WAAAAAY better then all others. The worst quest in DDO is better than the best one in WoW(lotro wanna be idol).. (they have better raids but ya ya)