In the days before the Mirkwood expansion, if you tried to swim across the Anduin from the western shore in Lothlórien, you could usually get to about a hundred meters or so from the eastern shore before a Felarrow orcish archer one-shotted you: "Aaargh! Glug!"... Some us would try and sneak past them, and a few players actually managed to set foot on the forbidden shore long before they were supposed to. Come the expansion, of course, those cany elves set up a water-taxi to get us across, and the Felarrows were redeployed in North Mirkwood.
A couple of days ago, feeling the need for some cooling exercise, I set of on a leisurely swim across the Anduin from the point on the western shore where the abandoned boat has been pulled up the bank. Imagine my surprise when, about halfway across, I suddenly and unconditionally died: "Aaargh! Glug!", and not a Felarrow in sight. Instant death by game designer fiat, and no option to withdraw. What the hell? I was swimming from friendly territory to recently reconquered (and fully explored) territory. Why the bolt from heaven? And if for some reason you musn't now swim across the Anduin at a point where you were once perfectly able to do so, what's wrong with a good old invisible wall, or a sudden rapid?
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PROTECTIONISM IN LOTHLORIEN?
Kairos posted this on August 18th, 2010.
Categorized as Anduin, Felarrows, Lothlórien.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/protectionism-in-lothlorien.html
Preparing to Raid – Radiance Gear
DocHoliday posted this on July 25th, 2010.
Categorized as BG, captain, End Game, epic line, Equipment, gear, group, hard-mode, Lothlórien, lotro, Minstral, Minstrel, Mirkwood, moria, podcast, radiance, Raid, Raids and End-game, screenshots, Warden.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://docholidayj.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/preparing-to-raid-radiance-gear/
A combination of a few things got me thinking that it might be a good idea to actually post some of the specifics on how to prepare for raiding. I cover some of the general topics on Episode 47 of the LOTRO Reporter Podcast but didn’t go into too many of the specifics. The other piece that got me thinking on this subject was listening to the View from the Top Podcast (Episode 12 to be specific) where they were talking about gear progression in Everquest 2. I’ve posted on armor sets previously (Warden and Captain Post and Minstrel Sets) but that was covering their stats, this post will purely talk about the radiance aspects of the sets and how you obtain them.
There is actually a pretty good page on the Lorebook covering the Radiance Armour which has many of the same specifics I’ll be posting here. Also on the Lorebook you can find all the non-set pieces that have Radiance on them. The nice part about sticking to just the Radiance aspect as it applies to everyone who wants to run the 12-man content and works exactly the same for every class.
Read the rest of this entry »Poll: Kia’s Next Cake
Goldenstar posted this on July 10th, 2010.
Categorized as cake, Edoras, Lothlórien, moria, poll, Weekly Poll.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cstmfeed/~3/ETPATXiJC2Q/
Last month Kia made a fabulous Baby Hobbit’s First Hole cake that we loved. Kia is looking for some feedback on what special cake she should attempt to make next.
She has four options for you to chose from and also will accept other suggestions. Three of the items can be found in game and she provided screenshots for you to get an idea of what she’s envisioning.
Click on the photos to see larger images.
Read the rest of this entry »A Casual Stroll to Mordor #18: Merric is OK
Goldenstar posted this on January 4th, 2010.
Categorized as cookbook, episode, Episodes, gamer, growing-up, Lothlórien, lotto, Mirkwood, old, podcast, voicemail.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cstmfeed/~3/JLMJuIopop4/
In this episode of CStM, Merric and Goldenstar talk about their journey out of the darkness of Moria and into the glorious light of Lothlórien. Goldenstar of course roamed out of the boundaries for new comers to the Golden Wood and was shot several times. Azz even tried and showed me the borders and I still wandered. Silly Hobbit!
We were also able to make it into Mirkwood and take a bit of time to complain about the spawn rate issues they were experiencing. We are through the beginner instance and starting to quest in the “Mirkwood Proper” as people have told us it’s called.
Read the rest of this entry »Book 9 Screens
Tony posted this on November 19th, 2009.
Categorized as Book 9, Lothlórien, Mirkwood, News, screenshots, siege of mirkwood, Volume 2.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://combo.mmeow.net/2009/11/book-9-screens/
I’m sure you’re all ready for the Epic Story to continue in Book 9, right? I’m nowhere near caught up, honestly. Don’t judge me too harshly!
There’s a bit of Lothlórien in here, which is kind of nice since it contrasts against the grimness of Mirkwood.
Lothlorien gets some love: new quests with expansion
Isy posted this on September 15th, 2009.
Categorized as Berephon, Fanuidhol, ixp, Lothlórien, MyLotRO, quests, siege of mirkwood.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://combo.mmeow.net/2009/09/lothlorien-gets-some-love-new-quests-with-expansion/
Since PAX there has been relatively little new news regarding the upcoming ‘Siege of Mirkwood’ expansion. However, today I came across a little nugget of new information while trawling through the LOTRO.com forums. The juice comes from the resident LotRO lore-monkey Berephon and his MyLotRO blog — which can be found here.
The blog explains how in his downtime (from fixing typos and checking the lore used in the new Mirkwood quests), he was given the opportunity to do an Orion style update on a small corner of Middle Earth. Berephon goes on to explain his choice of Fanuidhol — the orc-infested war-zone north of Lothlorien, where there are currently just a few quests. His overhaul will include 14 new tasks which include several repeatable quests to gain Lothlorien reputation, IXP, cash and silver branches. A comment in the discussion, which follows the blog entry indicates that highly-prized Lothlorien gold leaves may also be included as a quest reward, should the rewards guru permit it!
COMING SOON: THE NECROMANCER’S FORTRESS?
Kairos posted this on April 12th, 2009.
Categorized as Book 8, design, Dol Guldur, Lothlórien, Nazgûl, Thráin.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/04/coming-soon-necromancers-fortress.html
After Lothlórien, what? There has been much conjecture and scratching of heads over this one, and Lotro Follower, for one, has posted a longish entry discussing possible destinations; he finally, if speculatively, comes down in favour of a journey south along the river Anduin, following in the tracks on the Fellowship.I have to say I disagree, because the conclusion of Book 7 seems to me quite unambiguous: our next mission will be to enter Mirkwood, rescue the captive dwarves from the fortress of Dol Guldur, and destroy that standing threat to the safety of Lothlórien. At the conclusion of Chapter 9, Celeborn himself announces that "... its power is growing. We cannot wait for the force of Dol Guldur to come forth in strength". And Haldir, before he hands over the reward for completing Book 7, warns the player in the starkest possible terms: "The winds of change are blowing, and I fear they carry with them the onset of war. Lothlórien cannot remain isolated and in safety forever. Lord Celeborn's gaze must turn toward Mirkwood and the great shadow that lies over Dol Guldur. When the time comes to cross the river and fight, as it seems we must, I will call for you". Could anything be clearer? I would hazard a guess that Haldir's promise will be fulfilled no later than Book 8, since there is not all that much left to do in Lorien itself.
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A DEARTH OF FIRST AGE LEGENDARIES?
Kairos posted this on April 11th, 2009.
Categorized as First Age, gift boxes, legendary items, Lothlórien.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/04/dearth-of-first-age-legendaries.html
Just before Book 7 arrived, the forums were buzzing with rumours that the much sought-after First Age Legendaries would suddenly become relatively more common, what with drops from the new 12-man raid and from Lothlórien elven gift boxes as well as from the Watcher.
Well, in practice the opposite seems to have happened, at least on the European servers. How can one tell? Simply by the fact that for the last seven days, not a single First Age legendary has been on offer on the Laurelin Auction House - not even those relatively unpopular, or at least not much in demand, Runecaster and Warden items which had been most in evidence earlier.
This confirms the widely remarked fact that the (very expensive) gift boxes usually, if not nearly always, prove a disappointment. They do, however, sometimes come across; I recently witnessed the jubilant discovery of a l.60 Captain's greatsword by one lucky player. But a poor drop rate from the new gift boxes doesn't explain why fewer items overall should be turning up compared to pre-Book 7 days. The answer, I think, must lie in the fact that the Watcher raid has been modified and made considerably harder - the result being that Watcher (Mark II) kills are still extremely rare, resulting in few if any First Age legendaries from that source. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, in practice the opposite seems to have happened, at least on the European servers. How can one tell? Simply by the fact that for the last seven days, not a single First Age legendary has been on offer on the Laurelin Auction House - not even those relatively unpopular, or at least not much in demand, Runecaster and Warden items which had been most in evidence earlier.
This confirms the widely remarked fact that the (very expensive) gift boxes usually, if not nearly always, prove a disappointment. They do, however, sometimes come across; I recently witnessed the jubilant discovery of a l.60 Captain's greatsword by one lucky player. But a poor drop rate from the new gift boxes doesn't explain why fewer items overall should be turning up compared to pre-Book 7 days. The answer, I think, must lie in the fact that the Watcher raid has been modified and made considerably harder - the result being that Watcher (Mark II) kills are still extremely rare, resulting in few if any First Age legendaries from that source. Read the rest of this entry »
UNDER THE EAVES OF LOTHLORIEN
Kairos posted this on April 6th, 2009.
Categorized as Book 7, epic story, Galadhrim, grinding, Lothlórien, visual design.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/04/under-eaves-of-lothlorien.html
What of Lothlórien? First of all, of course, it is visually stunning, above all the forest itself: impressively unlike anything we've seen so far, and, as it ought to be, ever so slightly spooky both by day and by night. The contrast with the gloom of Moria makes it that much more effective. I would also rate the epic storyline of Volume II, Book 7 very highly; it can easily be completed solo by anybody who has reached level 60, has a good, strong plot line and maintains its interest to the end (though I admit to finding the ultimate fate of the book's principal villain excessively tame, even rather wishy-washy).
On the other hand, I am disappointed by many of the quests which must be completed in order to gain favour with the Galadhrim, far too many of which are ridiculously trivial and even foolish. This is, I concede, a standing problem with all computer role-playing games, whether online or not, and one which becomes particularly acute in our case, where we are all playing notional second fiddle to the Fellowship: on the one hand the individual player is involved in events of epic scope and grandeur, but on the other, he or she must constantly be brought back down to earth lest he become too big for his boots (and for the lore).
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