A Casual Stroll to Mordor

Volume I concludes with the tale of the Daughter of Strife.

Inspired by Merric’s Epic Dilemma this week I thought this would be a fun poll. From the comments it seems there are several folks who haven’t or have limited finishing volume 1.

The penultimate book in Volume I brings danger and doom like never before. Will Narchuil be remade in the Ring-Forges of Eregion? What will happen to the Free People? Find out in Volume I: Book 14.

Blizzards rage between us and the missing ring fragment, but we must brave the cold before Angmar regains its strength in Volume I Book 13.

What truths are to be found in Angmar? Has the enemy regained its power, or are there new discoveries yet to be made in The Ashen Wastes?

We meditate on the memories of the fallen, lost, and fated Volume I Book 11. May we always remember the sacrifices paid and choices made by those who have gone before.

Volume I Book 10 begins the battle against the Angmarim over the City of Kings. Will we survive the Amarthiel’s lies and cunning to gain control of Annúminas?

The fight against the forces of Angmar comes to a head in Volume I Book 9. Are we capable of halting the enemy?

We attempt to help Golodir deal with his anguish during Volume I Book 8.

A rescue attempt brings us to the foreboding gates of Carn Dûm in Volume I Book 7.

Our journey continues in a new direction, entering the dark and unforgiving dangers of Angmar in Volume I Book 6.

Volume I reaches a climax as we battle two major villains in the freezing heights of the Misty Mountains.

LEAD guides you in the search for a missing Nazgûl in Volume I, Book 4: Chasing Shadows.

I am very pleased to announce that this afternoon I was able to complete Volume 1 and earn the Grey Steed.

This past weekend I set myself to the task of working on Volume I and I found myself very frustrated in Forochel (Book 13). I am only talking about the travel issues I’m having so don’t worry, I won’t be giving away spoilers (unless you consider travel routes spoilers I guess).

This week we duo The Battle in the Tower and have issues with the Frigid Squall lieutenant. Yes, I understands that the Frigid Squall is supposed to switch targets but chasing me around the room isn’t exactly “switching targets” and so I blame Merric.

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Today, Orion posted a much-anticipated (at least by me!) developer diary concerning his revisions of the rest of Volume 1 that will be released with Volume 3, Book 1. Using scenes from The Lord of the Rings such as “…Aragorn’s stand against the Nazgûl, Boromir’s stand against the Uruk-hai, Sam’s resolve both against Shelob and in Cirith Ungo” Orion wishes the players to have an “epic” journey and a story through LOTRO that they can experience.

A look at the latest blog post by Orion, in which he both declares his dedication to the revamp of Volume I as well as his plan of attack.

I was reading a post in the forums where the discussion revolved around the changes with Mirkwood that have turned previously group activities such as the Lone Land changes that removed the eliteness of some of the monsters so they are easier for an on-level person to solo them. There of course are also the changes to the Volume I: Book 2 epic quests allowing you to complete them solo.

Is Turbine turning their massive multi-player game into massive solo-player?

It seems for the most part that the Siege of Mirkwood launch went very smoothly. Apart from Landroval and Brandywine having server issues, there have been very few complaints I’ve heard. Perhaps part of this is due to some parts that were planned to be released being purposely held back. There are at least two items that are not in the current release that I’ve read about.

Merric and I have been working with Brynulf to try and complete Volume One. Merric and I were stuck on the last part of book 7 and our friends Kymli and Smashey helped us finish that part. We started on Book 8 with Brynor. We were able do make it through chapter 5 with just the three of us (Brynulf is level 60 which helps a lot).

A look at two posts by Turbine Developers from the last couple of days. One concerning a new feature of the Mount 2.0 system coming into place with Seige of Mirkwood, and another focused on Turbine’s effort to assist players attempting to get through Volume 1′s group-based content.