Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys – that is, if you’re a fan of PvP in your Lord of the Rings Online. Standing Stone Games’ Allan “Orion” Maki posted a big thread last night intended to rectify what he said was “not a lot of meat” on the bone of last week’s roadmap, starting with a post on the game’s PvMP system, i.e., monster play. The highlights:
- Keep defenders are stronger and towers and keeps will eventually have upgradeable doors and siege equipment (ballistae, catapults, battering rams) to impede progress, resulting in fewer NPCs (and less lag). Ruins-scaling will also be possible.
- The monster play intro tutorials are getting revamps.
- PvMP quests are getting a revamp for ease of completion, LI experience, better rewards, random rare spawns, cool skins, a new pet, weekly wrapper quests, and bonus events. Expect fixes to consumables too.
- The Ettenmoors will see the return of Ettendeep bosses, starting with Grodris. “The matriarch will assert control over her brood and begin nurturing the next generation of hatchlings. Which of course means she will be available to summon through some means. Defeating her will grant the successful side with bonuses to earning infamy/renown, commendation, and provide a bonus to damage at the keeps for a period of time. She will not reappear until that bonus is expired and then the battle for her bonus can begin again.”
“This touches on some of the updates that we want to make to the Ettenmoors,” Orion concludes. “Some of this is rather broad stroke ideas and some are more formulated and further along. This is, by no means, a comprehensive list of updates that we are planning over the course of the year. I didn’t even touch on the enhancements and inclusion of potential ‘Allegiances’ to the monster players as it is something that will support the monster player only community through the period when the players are moving to the next level cap. There are a host of ideas – these are just the portions of the iceberg that have buoyed above the surface.”
Orion says the thread will be open a few days for feedback, so if monster play is your jam, get at it.
