Did you miss out on the dev-led preview livestream of the Swanfleet region that’s coming to Lord of the Rings Online in its Before the Shadow mini-expansion? Well, that’s what YouTube and our own reporting is for. However, if you’d also like some pretty pictures of the zone and some lore-soaked background details, then Standing Stone Games has that base covered as well.
Much of this Swanfleet preview contextualizes the region, noting how the location has been part of some of Middle-earth’s more significant historical moments. Most notably, Swanfleet was the backdrop for Sauron’s deception of Celebrimbor to craft the Rings of Power back when the region housed the Noldor city of Caras Gelebren in the Second Age.
Of course, things have fallen into disrepair since then, and there are more imminent dangers to worry about. “The tumbled stones that once were home to the Elves stand as silent reminders of yesteryear’s glories, and the rivers’ turbulent waters swirl among Tharbad’s bones,” the post warns. “Trolls lurk in the marshes, Orcs haunt the pools’ dark shores, and far more ominous figures have been rumoured among the shadows of late…”
