Despite being a huge fan of both computers and games I’ve never really got into playing MMORPGs. Remember when World of Warcraft came out and everyone and their uncle was playing it religiously?
I never even tried it.
It wasn’t until Lord of the Rings Online became free to play curiosity finally got the best of me. Naturally, I was rather confused at first, but then I started figuring things out and now I’m really hooked! I even went as far as buying a subscription since I love it so much.
Reasons to play LOTRO:
1. Middle-Earth FFS! This alone makes it infinitely more interesting than any other game out there. What’s also great is that they’ve based the game on the books, not the movies.
2. I haven’t had much to do with other players as I don’t know anyone who plays it and I’m too shy and too much of a n00b to just approach someone at random – but I have spent a lot of time lurking around the message board and other related forums and it seem like a really nice community. From what I can tell there are lots of older players and people like me who are huge Tolkien fans and are there mostly because they want to get involved in the story and explore Middle-Earth and not necessarily to “win”. People in general seem laid-back and friendly, even the most stupid newbie questions get helpful replies.
3. The graphics are really nice. It’s not as breathtaking as Skyrim, I imagine that would make the game too demanding for many computers, but it’s still beautiful. There has been plenty of times when I’ve had to stop what I’m doing and just admire the landscape for a while.
4. It’s free to play and you don’t have to buy anything unless you really want to. The reason I bought a subscription was because I found myself playing it so much I felt the extra stuff a subscription will get you would come in handy. I also want to support the game.
5. Did I mention it’s based in Middle-Earth!? The awesome feeling when you stroll into The Prancing Pony and find Strider lurking in a corner is… let’s just say I go into full fangirl mode every time I play.
I play on the Snowbourn server and have 2 characters so far.
Tallind (to the left) is a level 24 elven guardian and Rothryn (to the right) is a level 10 human hunter.
I can’t really decide which one to use as my main, but I’m leaning towards Tallind. Guardians are tanks and I like how she’s all strong and fearless. 8)
My adventures in Middle-Earth have sparked my interest in MMORPGs so I downloaded World of Warcraft now that it’s free to play. I mean… that game is like legendary, it feels like I have to play it.
I’m on the Silvermoon server and my first character is a Tauren hunter named Muirenn (to the left if there’s any confusion about that…) because Taurens look freakin’ badass! Although it took me a good 10 minutes to realize the weird turkey-thing following her around was her pet! I was so confused, I never even realized hunters start with a pet! XD
I also activated a free subscription trial last night and made a Worgen warrior named Asbjörn. :love: I will try not to get too attached to him as he’ll probably disappear when the trial ends… Or I’ll just buy a subscription. As you know I LOVE werewolves so if there’s anything that would make me buy a game it would be the possibility to play as one.
I’ve also played a bit of Skyrim (as a Nord of course!) on Xbox but I keep quitting it since I can’t get over the controls. I can’t for the life of me handle that I have to use one stick to control the character’s movements and one stick to control the camera. I just want the camera fixed behind me! Gaah! Pity though as it’s a beautiful game…
Markus bought Guild Wars 2 a while ago and I made two characters on it (a Charr and an Asura), but I haven’t played it much. Extremely pretty game though. Unfortunately my time isn’t unlimited and I rather direct most of my attention towards LOTRO.
Does anyone else play any of these games or similar? Of course I’ll be thrilled if you say LOTRO. ;)
I’m currently hooked on The Secret World (http://www.thesecretworld.com) :D The setting is completely different from what I’m used to, everyone plays as humans in the modern world instead of as fantasy creatures in a fantasy world. It was strange in the beginning, but I really like it now that I’m used to it. I have always been a fireball-caster-type, but now I’m running around with rifles and shotguns and swords and rocket launchers, hah :D It’s only 4 months old and there’s not enough content yet (compared to the older, larger MMOs), but the developers release new content patches each month which is great. What I most enjoy about it are the investigation missions/quests that require a lot of thinking, googling and puzzle-solving. (I’ve had to learn basic arabic, hebrew, morse code and bible stuff, for instance). I currently play with a bunch of crazy scandinavians which makes it even more fun! :D
That actually sounds really interesting. Thanks for the tip, I might have to check it out!
Aww I haven’t played LOTRO in ages! The game world looks so lovely in your screenshot. :D I’ve also been interested in TSW as well, it’s good to hear it’s fun!! Maybe I’ll pick it up at some point.
Oh yeah and don’t worry about your characters in WoW disappearing! Even for a starter trial, they will ALWAYS exist. WoW never deletes characters as far as I am aware, because that would probably make people mad and not want to play the game anymore. xD I play mostly Horde characters but I do LOVE the worgen!!! Their starting zone is so cool and gothic. :D
Not that I know what the other starting zones looks like, but the worgen zone really is great! I love how it rains all the time too, haha!
Hunters start with pets now in WoW?! You used to have to get to level 10 first and then go out and tame an animal of your choosing. I used to be addicted to WoW. I started it back when it was in beta, played for several years, and got to the level cap with several different characters. I also played Guild Wars and it’s taking everything in me not to cave and get Guild Wars 2, but I’m too afraid to get back into MMORPGs. They’re such a time drainer for me and I want to do other important things…like watch TV. ;)
Skyrim is my current addiction. I can’t stop playing that game. The graphics are breathtaking and the world has so much depth. Did you know you can be a werewolf in it too? My character has the ability to change into one. :) I play Skyrim in 3rd person instead of 1st and I think that makes the camera a lot more bearable. I also just prefer 3rd person in video games. Apparently, The Elder Scrolls Online is coming out next year. That might be when I cave and get back into playing an MMORPG. :P
Well they gave me a pet anyway. XD But I’d rather have something else so the idea of taming something sounds good.
Yeah, I know you can be a werewolf in Skyrim. My boyfriend plays a werewolf character and every time I see it I get green with envy. :P Oooh, Elder Scrolls Online you say… that might be a better idea :)
I did try LOTRO, however I just couldn’t get into the game play despite my love of LoTR. I also tried Star Wars: The Old Republic. The only MMORPG I play and love is World of Warcraft, which has been one of our gaming hobbies since 2006! We’re on the Moonglade EU server. ^_^
Åhh jag saknar verkligen att spela när jag läser det här! Jag började spela WoW när det kom ut och ägnade större delen av ett och ett halvt år till spelet. Eftersom jag var arbetslös, bodde hemma och vi precis flyttat till ett samhälle där jag inte kände en enda person så blev WoW mitt liv. Sedan fick jag vänner och jobb och slutade spela. Jag skulle verkligen vilja spela något MMORPG igen men då skulle alla mina andra intressen samt mitt sociala liv bli lidande då jag sedan min tid som hardcore WoW-spelare inte riktigt är den som kan spela lite sådär casual då och då. Jag går all-in för att bli bäst. Det är synd. LOTR-spelet är något som verkar intressant. Likaså Guild Wars 2 eftersom jag spelade Guild Wars 1 ett tag.
Ja alltså… jag märker ju att det skulle hjälpa oerhört mycket om jag var arbetslös. :oops: Timmarna springer lätt iväg.
Ah, I miss playing WoW so, so badly. I haven’t played in almost a full year since I’ve moved out on my own with my boyfriend. Been having a tough time trying to afford buying time and such for the game. I hope you enjoy your time in Azeroth – I played religiously (and I will once I get the time and $$ to play again! :P ) from 2006 until early 2012!
I’ve never tried or played LOTRO, it looks like an awesome game though. I heard it’s amazing from a few friends who have ventured out from Wow.