The Lord of the Rings Online

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Developer(s)	Turbine, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Turbine, Inc., Midway Games, Codemasters
Engine	Turbine G3
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	Expected April 24, 2007
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (LotRO) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth during the time of The Lord of the Rings. It is being developed by Turbine and is expected to launch April 24, 2007. It was previously called Middle-earth Online, and was a joint production with Vivendi Universal Games.

Setting

The Lord of the Rings Online is set during The Fellowship of the Ring after Frodo and company leave The Shire. Players will be able to meet the characters from Tolkien's story, including some of the Fellowship.

As of now, there are four playable races with seven different classes.

In the initial release, only the following regions of Middle Earth will be playable: Eriador including Blue Mountains (there is some speculation about Lindon being included in that region), 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, with rumours of the ruins of Annúminas also), and Trollshaws (the forests surrounding Rivendell) and Angmar. The player will even be able to travel into the ghostly Barrow Downs, an old set of hills inhabited by the spirits of dead soldiers.

Expansion packs will follow the journey of the Ringbearer: Rhovanion, Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor.

Gameplay features

The main emphasis of the game will be PvE combat and storyline adventures. Solo play is supported, as well as six-character group play (called "fellowships") and multi-group 24 character raiding. Additionally, Turbine plans to introduce a form of PvP combat called "Player versus Monster-Player (PvMP)" into the game in which players will temporarily control playable Monster Characters. Turbine has said that players will have multiple options for obtaining "end-game" gear, including Solo play, Group play, Raiding, Crafting and PvMP combat, with no particular method providing better rewards than any of the others.

Unlike most fantasy MMORPGs there will be no magic system involved due to the lack of widespread magic use in the Lord of The Rings books. There are only five wizards in the LoTR world and the player cannot play as one of them. This has instead been replaced with "Lore" system where objects and artifacts are used to create effects seen in other fantasy games. For example, a flask of oil and a rag lets the player effectively create a fireball.

The game will be 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 will be seven crafting professions and three gathering professions (which will also be 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.

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 The Lord of the Rings movies, 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 books 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 will assume publishing duties on The Lord of the Rings Online from Vivendi. Closed Beta was announced on September 8 2006, and rumored to have begun on September 12, 2006, and is expected to launch April 24, 2007.

Open beta begins on March 30, 2007, is restricted to US citizens, and is open to all who have pre-ordered the game. On April 6, 2007 the beta becomes open to the public and can be downloaded for free and used until the release. Once testing in open beta is completed, the game is expected to launch April 24, 2007.

Playable classes

Class	Races	Armor	Weapons	Role
Burglar	Man, Hobbit	Light, Medium*	Daggers, 1H Swords, 1H Maces, Dual Wield*	Sneak/Debuff/Conjunction Starter
Captain	Man	Light, Medium, Heavy*	All 1H and 2H weapons.	Buffer
Champion	Man, Elf, Dwarf	Light, Medium, Heavy Armor & Light Shields*	Most 1H weapons with dual wield, two handed weapons* and bows*	Damage dealer/Area-of-effect
Guardian	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Heavy Armor and Heavy shield*	Almost all weapons except Staffs/Halbred. Cannot Dual Wield. Skills are built for shield use.	Tank
Hunter	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Light, Medium*	Bow and Melee weapons. Dual Wield*	Nuker
Lore-Master	Man, Elf	Light	Staff	Pet-master/spellcaster/CC
Minstrel	Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit	Light, Medium* / Light Shield	Dagger, 1H sword, mace, 1H club	Buffer/Healer

^*Class feature unlocked through leveling/unlocking traits.

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 gains a form of stealth (Sneak) and, presumably the ability to open locked items. Burglar is the major conjunction starter. The Burglar's skill Trip, which is used while sneak appears to be their main conjunction starter(Powerfull attack used in groups). Burglars have a skill called "Riddle". Riddle is a skill that works on humanoid targets; it's a stun that turns into mesmerise, you ask an Orc "What have I got in my pockets?" and he ponders this point, if you do not attack but simply walk away he will continue to ponder it for a while.

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 a lot of things in combat that it can react to; it designates the main target, uses beneficial cries when enemies fall and can heal and protect its fellows. The captain is effectively the group leader.

Champion

The Champion is a master of offence. Champions specialize in dual-wielding or two-handed combat and emphasize on consistent dealing damage. They can also grab a shield and play off-tank, since he possesses 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 offence.

Guardian

The Guardian is the sturdy defensive warrior, able to taunt monsters into attacking them over their more vulnerable team mates. A Guardians more advanced skills are based off of 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.

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. However because their main damage dealing abilities are highly interpretable Hunters have difficulty dealing with large groups of opponents even of slightly lower levels. Hunters 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 an example). The Hunter has an aiming system called Focus. As long as the Hunter stays in one place, each shot of his bow increases his Focus, which can then be used to fire special shots. Another way of gaining focus is through the use of certain skills either just before or during combat. The Hunter and the Champion share the titles of main damage dealers.

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 eventually an Eagle. 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 major heal known as "Lend Hope" which transfers morale from his Morale pool to another player's.

Minstrel

Minstrel, although initially thought only to be a support character, can solo very well due to their damaging shouts and support skills (the main being healing.) Minstrels have beneficial songs to buff group members and harmful songs which debuff foes. They can sing ballads which unlock higher level songs if done in sequence during battle. The Minstrel also can play the widest variety of musical instruments.

External links

• Turbine's official LotRO site
• LotRO official European community site
• LotRO Allakhazam: Extensive Databases, News, and Editorial Content