THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE: SHADOWS OF ANGMAR

'''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar''' (commonly abbreviated as '''LOTRO''') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows set in a fictional fantasy universe based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It takes place during the time period of ''The Lord of the Rings'', the author's most famous novel.
''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' was developed by Turbine, Inc and is a subscription-based game which requires an internet connection. It launched in the United States, Australia, Japan and Europe on April 24 2007. Also, CDC Games holds exclusive rights to LOTRO in China, and has started beta testing on July 16 2007 and plans to release it by the end of year.^[1]

Gameplay

Common to other games in this genre, the player controls a character avatar which can move around anywhere in the game world and interact with other player characters. When the player exits the game, the game world continues to exist and other players around the globe continue to interact, making it a persistent world. The main emphasis of the game is to improve your character by increasing in level, which simultaneously increases character skills and other abilities. The method of increasing character level in ''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' is commonly referred to as player versus environment (PvE) combat and storyline adventures. This refers to the type of play in which the player character interacts within the game by defeating monsters or collecting items and returning them to computer characters, as opposed to a player versus player (PvP) type of interaction.
In fact there is a form of PvP combat included called "Player versus Monster-Player (PvMP)". Monster Play is unlocked at level 10, when players can automatically become level 50 monsters that are restricted to one area of the game. Players temporarily control playable monster characters which can complete quests and attack other non-monster player characters within the area designated for Monster Play. These monster characters may be enhanced by the use of Destiny Points, which are awarded while leveling and completing quests as your monster character as well as your normal character.
Unlike many other fantasy settings, Tolkien's Middle-earth features more subtle, if not less widespread use of magic and that has been carried over into this game. There are only five "Wizards" in the fictional world and the player cannot play as one of them. This has instead been replaced with the "Lore" system where objects and artifacts are used to create effects seen in other fantasy games. In addition to physical or magical item effects, there is also the 'Power' system. The power system is equivalent of mana, energy or rage systeam in other MMORPGs, in that you have a power bar, and power is used by all classes to perform their special attacks. The Minstrel and Lore-master class skills behave much like magic in other games, for example healing a friend, or throwing burning ember at an enemy.^[2]
The game is based on, but is not limited to, ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit''. However, Turbine does ''not'' have rights to ''The Silmarillion''. There are seven crafting professions and three gathering professions bundled in pre-made groups of three professions called vocations. Turbine currently does not plan to release any expansion in which evil races are fully playable. Camera angles can be switched between first-person and third-person options by simply rotating the scroll wheel to adjust the camera zoom level.
Other features include a fast travel system, which links both the larger cities and smaller outposts, and a quest history and tracking feature which allows the player to review the history of the quest in case they have forgotten.

Deeds

Characters obtain traits or titles by completing deeds within the game, such as killing so many spiders, using a certain ability a set number of times, completing a number of quests in a given time period or finding a set number of locations on a map will result in completing deeds. Deeds can grant either titles or traits upon completion.

Titles

Titles in ''LOTRO'' are largely cosmetic and have no direct impact on game play. Instead, they provide another means of customization for your character by adding additional information to your name. Some titles are common whilst others can be very difficult to obtain. Each character starts off with one title that indicates their origin. Characters gain titles by completing deeds and quests, as well as by completing or mastering tiers in your given profession. Only one title can be active at a time.
Examples of titles include:

★ of Gondor (One of the many origin titles that players start with)

★ the Undying (received by attaining level 20 without being defeated)

★ , Spider-Foe (received by defeating 30 spiders in the Bree-lands)

★ , Pie-eating Champion (received after winning a pie-eating contest)

★ , Master Apprentice Woodworker (received after finishing both the basic and master-level tiers of Apprentice Woodworking)

Traits

Each character has the ability to equip traits that they have earned while playing the game. These traits are fairly free-form, and give the character a myriad of different bonuses or abilities. Any trait combination can be equipped as long as they have enough trait slots. The number of trait slots a character has is dependent on level. The first virtue trait slot is available at level 7 for example. Traits can be easily switched and changed by visiting a bard found in most towns, however that will cost certain amount of in-game money, depending of on traits you want to equip.
Virtue traits are common amongst all races and classes, and can be earned by completing general goals such as killing enough spiders, or completing enough quests in an area. These Traits generally improve Stats, resistances, as well as total morale and power, including regeneration. There is a large variety of these traits, and they have multiple levels that can be earned as you progress through the game.
Class Traits are traits specific to a certain class. These are generally earned by using a class skill or power often enough, or meeting certain conditions with these skills often enough. (Such as achieving enough critical strikes with a certain skill.) These skills tend to improve the power of certain abilities, generally making them more effective.
Racial Traits are traits that are specific to each of the races. These traits confer special abilities or improvements to the user though there are several traits in this category per race, only a relatively limited number can be used at one time. However, since the traits vary based on how useful they are for the players class, this is not an issue.
Legendary Traits are rare and much harder to obtain, as a result, they confer stronger bonuses to the user than general traits do. They are obtained by collecting class-specific books and pages from high-level enemies, which, when completed, confer a Legendary Trait. They also cost a lot more to equip at a bard than Virtue, Racial or Class traits. You can also have far less Legendary Traits equipped than other Traits - with only two Legendary Trait slots available compared to 5 of each of the other types of Traits.

Music System

There also exists a music system. Characters that have reached level 5 can learn to play a lute and one other instrument depending on their class (Minstrels may learn to play any or all of the instruments in the game). Using a command, the player can play the instrument in real time on three octaves, with the music broadcast to nearby players.
After the Shores of Evendim update, the music system now makes it possible to play songs in ABC notation.

Setting

''The Lord of the Rings Online'' is set during ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' after Frodo and company leave The Shire. Players are able to meet the characters from Tolkien's story, including all of the Fellowship at varying points in-game. There are four playable races with seven different classes.
In the initial release, only the following regions of Middle Earth are playable: Eriador including Blue Mountains, the Shire (Old Forest included), South Downs (located east of the Old Forest and south of Bree), Breeland, North Downs (Fornost included in this area), Trollshaws (the forests surrounding Rivendell) and Angmar. The player is even able to travel into the ghostly Barrow Downs, an old set of hills inhabited by the spirits of dead soldiers. The Shores of Evendim update added the region surrounding Lake Evendim, about 100 miles north of the Shire. Expansion packs will follow the journey of the Fellowship: Rhovanion, Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor.

Development

Sierra On-Line first announced the development of a licensed Middle-earth MMORPG in 1998. This caused some excitement among fans, who were awaiting New Line Cinema's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, and was also slightly controversial for a few design decisions. The most debated design idea was the planned use of "permadeath": When a player character would die in the game, that character would be permanently dead (most MMORPGs resurrect a dead character with minor penalties). Sierra had financial troubles in 1999 and replaced the staff working on the game.
Sierra continued to confirm development on the MMORPG was progressing, but did not release any development details over the next few years. Vivendi Universal Games, the parent company of Sierra, secured eight-year rights to produce computer and video games based on ''The Lord of the Rings'' book in 2001. Finally, Vivendi announced an agreement with Turbine in 2003 to produce ''Middle-earth Online'' (at that time expected to be released in 2004). In March 2005, Turbine announced that it had bought the rights to make massively multiplayer games based on Tolkien's literature and that Turbine would assume publishing duties on ''The Lord of the Rings Online'' from Vivendi. A closed beta was announced on September 8 2006, and rumored to have begun on September 12, 2006.
An open beta began on March 30 2007, and was open to all who had pre-ordered the game's Founders Club edition. On April 6 2007 the beta opened to the public and could be downloaded for free and used until release. The game eventually launched on April 24 2007, following the completion of beta testing.

Free Updates

The latest login screen for Book 10, The City of Kings.''

Book 9: Shores of Evendim

The first free content update was released on June 14 2007.^[3] New features included:

★ Discovery of Evendim.

★ Addition of over 100 new quests.

★ Raid in the Battle for Helegrod.

★ Nine New Monsters.

★ Music System Update.

★ Collectible Armor Sets.

Book 10: The City of the Kings

The second free content update for subscribers was released in the United States on August 21 2007, and on August 24 2007 for European players.^[4]
Updates included:

★ Continuation of the Story Line.

★ Legendary Play - Players can now use Destiny Points to play as a Ranger of the North or as a Troll.

★ Critter Play - Players can now explore Middle-earth from a different viewpoint as a chicken.

★ New Reputation and Bartering Systems - The Reputation system enables players to earn positive and negative standing with different races and groups in Middle-earth based on both monster kills and quest completions. The Bartering system allows players to trade trophies earned in battle for rewards, such as armor sets or mounts.

★ Addition of over 100 new quests.

★ An Enhanced User Interface - The game’s UI is now customizable.

Future Updates

Book 11

The third free content update is planned for released in October/November 2007.^[5] Some of the proposed additions include:

★ Player and Kinship Housing - Both player and kinship housing is planned to be introduced within instanced neighbourhoods. Players will be able to customise their houses with items such as furniture and doormats.

★ A new area will be added which will hold the majority of the keeps in Monster Play.^[6]

★ Balrogs - This will be the first appearance of balrogs in the game. Balrogs will be rare epic creatures not confined to a given instance, though Turbine has stressed that the Balrogs in Book 11 will not include the the Balrog of Kazad-dum.^[7]

★ Ettendeep - A new Monster Play area will be introduced: An expanse of caves and catacombs located beneath the Ettenmoor.

★ Extreme Misty Mountains - High level expansion of the Misty Mountains is planned. The area's content will be based on the Hobbit, with suggestions that players might encounter Gollum.

Book 12

The fourth free content update's release has not been announced.

★ Character customization - Increased character customization "ranging from haircuts, to some (possible) additions to the trait-system." ^[5]

★ Orc Shamans - a new Monster Play class - may be added.

Races

There are four playable races in ''Lord of the Rings Online''.^[9] Players can choose a male or female gender for each race except for Dwarves. They include:

★ Man

★ Elf

★ Dwarf

★ Hobbit

Classes

Class	Races	Armor	Shields	Weapons	Role
Burglar	Man, Hobbit	Light, Medium		Daggers, 1H Swords, 1H Maces, Dual Wielding	Debuffer
Captain	Man	Light, Medium, Heavy	Light	Daggers, 1H Axes, 1H Clubs, 1H Hammers, 1H Maces, 1H Swords, 2H Axes, 2H Clubs, 2H Hammers, 2H Swords, Spears, Halberds	Buffer / Pets / Off-Tank
Champion	Man, Elf, Dwarf	Light, Medium, Heavy	Light, Heavy	Daggers, 1H Axes, 1H Clubs, 1H Hammers, 1H Maces, 1H Swords, 2H Axes, 2H Hammers, 2H Swords, Spears, Bows, Crossbows, Dual Wielding	AOE / Mêlée DPS / Off-Tank
Guardian	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Light, Medium, Heavy	Light, Heavy	Daggers, 1H Axes, 1H Clubs, 1H Hammers, 1H Maces, 1H Swords, 2H Axes, 2H Clubs, 2H Hammers, 2H Swords, Spears, Bows, Crossbows	Tank
Hunter	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Light, Medium		Daggers, 1H Axes, 1H Clubs, 1H Hammers, 1H Maces, 1H Swords, Spears, Bows, Crossbows, Dual Wielding	Ranged DPS / Utility
Lore-Master	Man, Elf	Light		Staves, (1H Swords, Dual Wielding with Legendary Trait)	CC / Pets
Minstrel	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Light, (Medium with Class Trait)	Light	Daggers, 1H Swords, 1H Maces, 1H Clubs, (1H Axes with Dwarf Base Passive Skill)	Healer

Burglar

The Burglar is a group support character, with a variety of moves that weaken or expose an opponent, are very effective against single enemies (where the burglar can use his debuffs to his advantage), but weak against multiple foes. The burglar's damage is very front loaded, in fact against a single target they are the third highest in dps, they have the ability to do extra damage when striking from stealth, and also have a chain of skills that depend on the burglar getting a critical strike and a skill (Aim) that can guarantee a critical. Because of this the primary weapon for burglars is the dagger (which slightly increases your chance of getting a critical). The burglar gains a form of stealth (Sneak) and the ability to pickpocket humanoid enemies. Burglars are also able to initiate fellowship combinations for their party (special group-only combinations of abilities and attacks).^[10]

Captain

The Captain is a well balanced class, with the ability to both solo and group effectively. A captain's strength lies in beneficial effects for his party. A major focus in group combat is the captain's herald, a combat "pet" who also carries a banner that buffs the fellowship, colloquially known as "mansam". The captain has many reactive abilities; she or he designates the main target, uses beneficial cries when enemies fall and can heal and protect her fellows. The captain also has minor healing abilities and can resurrect during combat.^[11]

Champion

The Champion is a master of offense. Champions specialize in dual-wielding or two-handed combat and emphasize on dealing consistent damage. They can also grab a shield and play off-tank, since they possess almost as much morale as a Guardian. Some champion skills are best for one versus one fighting, others "Engage the Tide" ("area of effect" skills). His fervour can increase the damage he does, but leaves him open for any attacks. In the end, a Champion's best defense is a strong offense.^[12]

Guardian

The Guardian is the sturdy defensive warrior, able to taunt monsters into attacking them over their more vulnerable team mates. A Guardian's more advanced skills are based on response events, specifically Block and Parry. For instance, when a Guardian blocks an enemy blow, a shield swipe can be played during a small window of opportunity. Such skills, and the skills that chain off of them, are what makes the Guardian so effective. Parry skills tend to do higher damage, while Block skills are better for defense.^[13]

Hunter

Hunter is a ranged combatant, with powerful damaging abilities at range but very limited in close combat. The hunter also has wilderness skills such as traps and tracking. Special traps can be purchased or made by crafters. Due to their ability to use traps Hunters are excellent at soloing against a single target, even of higher level. They can also benefit from various abilities that will 'snare' an enemy. However because their main damage dealing abilities are highly interruptable, Hunters have difficulty dealing with large groups of opponents even of slightly lower levels. The Hunter's inventory is not cluttered with arrows, due to the usual inventory hassle. Hunters may choose to carry particular consumables for special shots (flame arrows, for example). The Hunter has an aiming system called Focus, which can be used to fire special shots. Focus is gained by using special ranged attacks that give focus points. As long as the Hunter stays in one place, the focus level will not decrease. Another way of gaining focus is through the use of certain skills either just before or during combat, or use of special trait that adds one focus point every 10 seconds. The Hunter and the Champion share the titles of main damage dealers.^[14]

Lore-Master

Lore-master is considered to be the party's main buffer/de-buffer and also the best crowd controller in game. With his knowledge of nature and lore he can befriend animals amongst which include Ravens (useful for distracting, and can make a ranged foe switch to melee), Bears, and an Eagle after a special trait is acquired. The Lore-master can use his mastery of ancient lore to produce simple magical and quasi-magical effects. He knows the ancient names and sings the ancient songs. The Lore-Master has a emergency heal known as "Beacon of Hope" which transfers morale from his Morale pool to another player's, but has a long cooldown. He can also use "Share the Power" to transfer some of his power to another player.^[15]

Minstrel

Minstrel, although initially thought only to be a support character, can solo well due to their damaging shouts and support skills (the main being healing). At higher levels they are unable to solo very quickly due to a low offensive capability, however they remain one of the only classes that can take down an elite mob of their level or 1 or 2 levels above, without assitance. Minstrels have beneficial songs to buff group members and harmful songs which debuff foes. They can sing ballads which unlock higher level songs and anthems if done in sequence during battle. The Minstrel can play the widest variety of musical instruments, and can also "revive" a fallen fellow - out of combat at lower levels, but in combat once they have attained this 'ledgendary trait'.^[16]

Crafting

Unlike most other MMORPGs, in LotRO, characters cannot choose a single profession, instead they choose a vocation which is comprised of 3 professions that in most cases work together in some way, but are incomplete in such a way as to foster interdependence on others of a different vocation.

Vocations

Professions are bundled into groups of three called vocations. Most vocations include a gathering profession and two crafting professions that complement each other. Vocations create interdependence in the economy, requiring players to trade for resources. A given character can only specialize in one vocation at a time.

★ 'Armorer': Contains the Prospector, Metalsmith, and Tailor professions.

★ 'Armsman': Contains the Prospector, Weaponsmith, and Woodworker professions.

★ 'Explorer': Contains the Forester, Tailor, and Prospector professions.

★ 'Historian': Contains the Farmer, Scholar, and Weaponsmith professions.

★ 'Tinker': Contains the Prospector, Jeweller, and Cook professions.

★ 'Woodsman': Contains the Forester, Woodworker, and Farmer professions.

★ 'Yeoman': Contains the Farmer, Cook, and Tailor professions.

Professions

Professions can either be a gathering profession or a crafting profession. Gathering professions are used to harvest raw materials, which in turn are used to create items using a crafting profession. Players cannot choose a particular profession, instead they choose a vocation.

★ 'Cook'
:Cooks create food items that can be consumed to recover morale and power in between fights, to reduce down time, and can give temporary stat bonuses. This is very useful in difficult quests, and especially while soloing. Materials for this skill are harvested by Farmers.

★ 'Farmer'
:Farmers use farming tools to grow food items in patches of farmable land found throughout Middle Earth. The food can then be used by the cooks to make food. This skill differs from the other harvesting professions in that it requires seeds to grow items, which must be purchased before growing food. Farmers can also provide Scholars with special rare harvests used to make colored dyes.
Since the 1.2 update farming has been changed to become more dependant on the rating of the farmer. If the farmer is not a master then when they get seeds from a poor plant, they will only receive 1 seed. However if the farmer is a master then they will receive 3 seeds. Also many more plants have been included for use by cooks (hops and grain plants)

★ 'Forester'
:Foresters obtain wood from wood nodes throughout Middle Earth, which are used to create items by the woodworking profession. They are also able to treat leather found as loot from monsters for use by a tailor. The higher your level in this skill, the more advanced the wood and leather you can harvest and make.

★ 'Jeweller'
:Jewellers create various pieces of jewelry. After sufficient levels of this skill are obtained, the crafter can make jewelry that confers benefits to the wearer, such as additional stats. Jewellers get their materials from Prospectors.

★ 'Metalsmith'
:Metalsmiths create heavy armor and shields made of metal. As the skill of the metalsmith increases, so does the quality of these items, though even basic items can be useful to the crafter or lower-level characters. Metalsmiths get their materials from Prospectors.

★ 'Prospector'
:Prospectors mine metals from various 'nodes' found throughout Middle Earth. The raw ore can then be turned into metal ingots, which are used by jewellers, weaponsmiths, and metalsmiths. The higher your level in this skill, the more advanced metals you can mine and smelt.

★ 'Scholar'
:A unique profession, in that it combines both harvesting and crafting. The scholar harvests lore from lore nodes found throughout Middle Earth. He then uses lore and other ingredients to make potions, and scrolls that improve other professions. The scholar is also the profession that allows dropped recipes to be converted for use by other professions.

★ 'Tailor'
:Tailors make light and medium armor as well as clothing. Cloth armor requires cloth to be bought or found, while medium armor requires leather from foresters.

★ 'Weaponsmith'
:Weaponsmiths craft weapons such as swords, axes, and maces, but not all weapons, since woodworkers craft bows and other wooden armaments.

★ 'Woodworker'
:Woodworking is the profession concerned with making wooden weapons, primarily bows, but also spears, hammers, and some other crafting components that may be needed by some other profession. The woodworking skill requires treated wood harvested and treated by foresters.

Reception

''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' has been received very positively thus far, as reviews continue to appear since the game's initial release.^[17] The game has also had more success than the two other Lord of the Rings games developed by Sierra; '' and ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''.
GameDaily awarded the product a 9.0/10, praising its rich, fantasy-themed universe, well-integrated trait and title system, and a story that remains true to the works of Tolkien.
Yahoo! Video Games wrote a review with few negative mentions, awarding the game a score of 4/5,^[18] while ''Computer and Video Games'' called the game an essential purchase for ''Lord of the Rings'' fans, scoring the game a 9.2/10.^[19]
Eurogamer scored the game a 9.0/10, calling it tough to resist.^[20] Gamespy gave it 4.5/5 stars, claiming the game "opened up Middle-Earth to the masses" but commented negatively on its weak PvP content,^[21] while GameTrailers awarded it 8.5/10,^[22] citing its interesting tweaks to the MMO genre. IGN.com ranked it a similar 8.6/10, praising it for its solid experience, though criticizing it for its lack of major improvements to the genre.^[23] GamerNode.com awarded the game an 8.8/10, calling it the best MMO launch experience since ''Ultima Online''.^[24]
The New York Times called the game: In a GameSpot review, the product was awarded an 8.3/10, praising its appealing polish and intriguing Monster Play feature. ^[25] Gamepro.com's review gave it an overall 4.25/5, pointing out how engaging the epic quests are, as well as how faithful to the novels the game managed to stay.^[26]
On May 10 2007 Codemasters, and Turbine inc. released a statement declaring that the game was ranked number one in North America & Europe in terms of sales, according to Industry Reports.^[27]
On June 8 2007 GameSpy announced that ''Lord of the Rings Online'' was its Game of the Month for May 2007.^[28]
On August 1 2007 Codemasters announced that ''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' had swept the boards at the forthcoming 2007 Golden Joystick Awards with five nominations from the five applicable categories for the game.^[29]
On August 2 2007 Gamespot quoted from publisher Midway Games that ''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' had sold over 172,000 copies in North America for Q2.^[30]

Trivia

★ In North America, players who pre-ordered the game were granted access to the Open Beta on March 30 2007, while others had to wait until April 6 2007. Those who pre-ordered before the official launch on April 24 2007 were also offered a special founding member offer (lifetime subscription for $199 USD or reduced cost of $9.99 USD per month), and also received two special in-game items (a cloak of regeneration and ring of agility). Those who purchased the game after the release pay a standard $14.99 per month charge (three, six and twelve month discounts are available for all members, founder or not). European players had a similar though slightly different program from Codemasters.

★ A Special Edition of the game was made available which included a full color manual, an exclusive item called "Glass of Aglarel" (when activated it gives the bearer a +1 to their Hope for 5 minutes with a 2-hour cool down) and a cloak of regeneration that was visually different to the one in the regular edition. A "Making of" DVD, a soundtrack featuring some of the tunes and melodies from throughout Middle-earth, and a free 10 day buddy key were also included in the Special Edition, which was priced an additional $10 more than the regular edition.

★ Included in the June issue of ''PC Gamer'' magazine #162 volume 14 was an activation code, when used unlocked two special in-game items, a bauble: The Fallen Star of Gil-Galad and a Cloak: War-Cloak of Isildur for all of the code users characters.

★ In the preview server of Roheryn, players could complete a quest to become level 30 in the "Eyes and Guard" tavern, a pun on Saruman's Isengard.^[31]

★ It was suggested on the official forum that the difficulty in finding an ingame fellowship was based on The Lord of the Rings lore; whereby Gandalf claimed "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone".^[32]

References

External links

★ US ''LOTRO'' Official Website / Lorebook / Forums / Fansites

★ European Community ''LOTRO'' Official Website / Forums / Fansites

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