Shamus Plays: LOTRO, Part 22

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Creator of the Rings Online is moving to free-to-play this fall. A lot of people let been nudging ME, asking ME what I think near this. So here's my take:

Moving to a free model is usually through with by small, aging, or otherwise struggling MMO's that need to bolster their userbase. But LOTRO doesn't strike Pine Tree State arsenic a "troubled" MMO. Lulzy here is on the Silverlode server, which is purportedly the lowest population server in the gamy. (I did this by choice, indeed that I wouldn't have random people wandering through spell I'm trying to take screenshots.) But still on Silverlode the place seems fairly counteractive and vibrant once you chaffer one of the town centers. A year ago they were priding themselves on how their userbase was even growing.

Judging purely on the basis of population density, I'm upright not eyesight the need for this move. I have played "hagridden" MMO games before, and LOTRO is non extraordinary of them. This is a game with stable mechanism, regular updates, a happy (by MMO standards) player basal, a large supply of placid, a firm community, and solid name recognition. Compare this series to my Champions Online series if you want to see what a dysfunctional online game is like.

Musical note that LOTRO is run aside Turbine, the society behind Dungeons and Dragons Online. DDO went free-to-play early in its troubled lifespan. IT's altogether possible that free to play is right a more profitable occupation model for them.

My only concern is what effect this will have on the lineament of the residential area. Free to play games seem to have more trolls, jerks, and griefers. (Because IT costs nothing for these types to just create new accounts when they are exposed OR prohibited.) The players in LOTRO are uncharacteristically friendly for MMO players, and I'd hate to see this change. Then again, maybe the air and polish is a leave of the informant material. Perhaps Tolkien is too dry or cerebral to attract "teh hardcorez"?

Anyhow, IT's an unanticipated move. I'll be interesting to see how IT all plays exterior when free-to-swordplay goes live this fall.

We at present return you to the adventures of Lulzy…

Ellie Cutleaf is sending me to Chetwood to attack the brigand hideout. I secure (lied) that I'd take some friends on. I don't really let any friends, but I'm pretty sure I can look of the bandits anyway. The place is likewise cautious by killer guard dogs. I have a bottle of toxicant that I collected at great pains*, which Ellie tells ME I'll be able to drop into the wienerwurst's food supply so I don't have to fight them altogether.

* The pains were actually versed by the bears and wolves I had to kill to get it and not by me, only the point stands.

To get to their base, I just require to go to…

Trips to Chetwood: 4

Chetwood. AGAIN.

And now that I'm on the doorstep of the bandit base, I realize a fatal flaw with Ellie's plan which we some should undergo realized right ahead coming up with a new plan and right on after slapping ourselves in the os frontale: The food is inside the base. I receive to move in there to poison the food, but to generate to the food I have to fight the dogs.

Well, the only matter worse than having a dopey and self-defeating plan is doing it halfway. Let's make with the puppycide.

I kill my way through the base and thrashing dogs until I come through to their food supply, which is actually just a big pile of deadened sheep. I infer these dogs don't eat hay like the ones at the trail farm yesterday? It seems stupid to poison the intellectual nourishment provide now that the dogs are already dead, but and then I realize that one way or another, the poisonous substance is well-bound make IT into the nutrient chain and kill something. And I have to use the poisonous substance. If I threw it away, then all those bears and wolves I killed yesterday will have died for nothing, which I'm pretty sure would be unjust.

There's some rather bandit bossman standing present named Mick Jagger Mariner. He jumps me while I'm right in the middle of poisoning his dead dogs, so I put on't even have time to blackguard of his name before I kill him.

So this has been a good effort. I've cleaned out the bandit hideout, killed their leader, killed their dogs, killed a bunch of misrelated animals, and and so tainted the ecosystem of Chetwood with deucedly poison.

"Now," Ellie says after I return and news report my achiever. "I'll see some getting you in to see their drawing card."

There is a really foresighted pause. I have a question, which I am cowed to ask, "What drawing card?"

Ellie looks at me funny, "The brigand leader, ye urchin! Who brawl ye think?"

"I thought…" my spokesperson tails off. I do kind of remember her saying something about a hidden station or knickknackery, but I hadn't really been following precise closely.

"So, who did I just pour down," I ask quietly. "And many importantly: Why?"

"Ye killed the brigands what was breeding the dogs. I felt unhealthy about helping them get those dogs if you remember."

"I guess, yeah," I lie down.

"And this net ball me set things right."

I sigh: "So… all this work… the humourous, the warg, the poisonous substance, the wolves and bears, Mick Jagger Jack… completely of that was fair-and-square to satisfy your guilty sense of right and wrong?"

"Aye, and ye done right by me."

"So your idea of penitence is to hire a stranger to slaughter a bunch together of innocent animals?"

"And in real time it's time to go afterwards the bandit leader!"

"Simply why didn't you send me to kill the bandit leader first!?! The dogs wouldn't be a problem if the bandits were unsound and distributed. What were they departure to do, elect a young overcome and invade town on their ain?"

"Well, this is also your chance to rescue that ranger friend of yours," she shoots back.

Ohio yeah. Forgot about that guy. Yea. I guess I give to rescue him or admit I'm only in this for the fashion. Thus checkmated, I have no choice merely to get the job.

Ellie Cutleaf gives me the super-hole-and-corner directions on how to get to the bandit den. The real hideaway. The independent hideaway. The hideout which, as it turns proscribed, is right outside the pound pack in Chetwood.

Trips to Chetwood: 5

Whoops. I wasn't supposed to make this touch of. My quest log up says to go talk to Toradan first, which I didn't notice until I got to the bandit den, realized my misapprehension, and had to hike back. You might think IT's unfair to matter this trip since it was my fault, simply you would represent wrongfulness for the following reasons:

1) Closed up.

So in any case, back to town…

Earlier I go charging off to assault the place all by my lonesome, I should stop by and speak with Toradan because apparently I detest myself.

"Information technology is good that you've returned," he says in a low whisper after he's stirred away from the window and ready-made sure I wasn't followed.

"Look, I think I experience where the bandits are-" Toradan cuts ME off with a hiss. I retaliate with the loudest possible eyeroll.

"You found Amdir?" atomic number 2 mouths.

I nod.

"Good. I induce fatigued the last few days formulating a plan."

I nod. It will be courteous to take up a plan for at one time. I'm not crazy more or less walking into a bandit hideout without well-educated what I'm up against.

He continues, "After careful retainer, I think the unexcelled architectural plan is for you to live to the den."

There is a pause. After a few moments a gesture for him to preserve.

"Once in that location, you should free Amdir."

"That's it?" I say unsuccessful loud. "That's your whole plan. Just go in and free him? You don't cause anything else to whir?"

He shrugs, "After you free him, you should probably DO your scoop to escape."

"Brilliant," I say arsenic I storm unsuccessful.

"I'll be along to help you shortly!" He rasps as I slam the door.

And with that, I'm inactive to…

Trips to Chetwood: 6

The brigand base is built into the side of a drop beside a waterfall, which is circumpolar from the lumber camp.

This is the illegitimate? This is the super-hush-hush basal that nobody could find? I guessing IT's a good thing the townspeople never bother look things like spectacular scenic waterfalls, or they mightiness have noticed this.

You can't enter the doorway unless you have this quest.

A fewer dozen people live therein cave. Somehow they managed to pull in, get supplies, furnish the place, recruit from the nearby township, and install a room access, all without a one-woman towny winning notice.

Rent out's recapitulation:

Ellie used to work with these brigands breeding dogs, and she's contacted them (I guess the post office must deliver Here?) and let them eff that I'm a new recruit. This will get me in the front entrance.

Rumour has IT Amdir is being held prisoner here. If possible, I should try and break him prohibited of the filthy brigand prison and take him gage to town to glucinium set out into one of our prisons, which are much nicer. Helium's been injured by unmatched of those Morgul sword thingies, which is bit by bit poisoning his listen and devising him a servant of the Dark Lord. Amdir is a magnificent dullard and if I was the Brunette Lord I wouldn't let him do anything more challenging than tangle the floors of my doom fortress, but we still involve to keep an eye connected him.

Inside, the door humankind welcomes ME to the bend and tells me to go see the party boss. Don't mind if I execute, give thanks you.

Inside, the cavern out is a hellhole of filth and squalor. These guys are obviously living the dream. They've worked their way busy the highest echelons of the bandit edict so that they privy live in in a dampish spelunk, eat out cold food, sleep along Rock, and contain a dump in a bucket. I can see why they would want all unused recruits to come here. Hey kid, work hard, kill much of innocent people, and someday you too can sleep in a smelly dark hole until you buy the farm of dysentery.

There are a ton of guards posted around, and I will be very, really surprised if I don't finish up fighting the lot of them in front I leave this place. As I passing play through the surviving area I find a couplet of brigand minstrels having a highwayman sing-a-long. I bring come out my lute an fall in right in:

We sleep in a hole,
with the stuff that we stole,
We might smell like moles
but we'atomic number 75 fearsome as trolls!

We're the workforce of Blackwold!

Let's go to the village
and wholly rob and pillage.
Soh to the townspeople proper!
And bring all their coppers!

We're the men of Blackwold!

We're up to no good
and we experience here in Chetwoo-

The perch of the song gets drowned out aside my improvised lyrics that don't really rhyme operating theatre anything and consist for the most part of swear words orientated at the idiot who brought up Chetwood.

Jerk!

Well, let's go foregather the bandit bossman.

At last I come personal with the forbidding leader of the brigands, the dread captain of these fell criminals. It's the dreaded…

Skunkwood?

William Skunkwood!?!

Bwahaha!

Helium's not as funny as my old friend Dirk Mudbrick, just then Dirk wasn't posing as the big gun of Brigands, Inc.

At first I'm worried atomic number 2's going to suspect me of being a spy on account of me existence a Hobbit. But Skunkwood thinks nothing of information technology and welcomes me with a grand gesture, "You are instantly set off of the Blackwold brigands! Information technology's good that you've come. We've suffered some losings newly."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know anything about that," I say nervously. "So… I heard bruit that you've got a ranger here?"

"Yes! He's an incredibly important prisoner. Since you're new, I'll grant you access to his cell immediately."

"I can just go see him?" I ask in surprise. "You don't have whatsoever duties for me, the unweathered recruit?"

"Are you however Here?"

"No. Bye," I state over my shoulder as I jog out.

Countenance's go see how Amdir is doing.

Next Time: Atomic number 2's non gettin' whatsoever more handsome, that's for sure.

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Shamus Inexperienced is the guy behind Reset Button, Twenty Sided, DM of the Rings, and Stolen Pixels.

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/shamus-plays-lotro-part-22/

Source: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/shamus-plays-lotro-part-22/

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