Minas Tirith: The White City and the bane of server-side lag. The place of a thousand side quests and of a thousand-and-one times that you forgot where to go to ascend or descend the seven tiers. It gets a lot of (fair) criticism, but this place is far more than that. It may be the finest and most intricate city that SSG ever designed in Lord of the Rings Online.
Believe it or not, this is a column that I’ve been planning to write for going on two years now. I’ve long been fascinated with the many interesting locales and establishments tucked inside of Minas Tirith, and when my Minstrel finally reached the giant fortress, I knew it was time to take you along with me on a tour of the lesser-known spots that should be seen. So let’s head off with the first part of this series!
Worker’s Tier: The Stone Theater
All the way at the north end of the lengthy Worker’s Tier is this nifty outdoor theater that’s about to play host to the Cloudyheads (a troupe from the Shire!). It’s clearly a space that SSG intended for players to use for their own outdoor roleplay and concerts, although its remote status probably thwarted that. I liked all of the musical instruments nailed above the stage, though!
Worker’s Tier: Chicken coops
I thought it was a really nice touch that in the middle of this city, they crammed in these smaller chicken coops and even a cattle barn. It makes sense if you’ve got to continually feed a city this big to at least have some food production take place inside its walls!
Worker’s Tier: City Stables
This surprisingly large building is absolutely stocked with horses and everything needed to support them — including a grassy square, individual stalls, lots of hay, and even a forge for horseshoeing.
Worker’s Tier: Old Guesthouse
Like so many of these city structures, the Old Guesthouse is absolutely massive inside. It’s kind of an inn, with a library, main hall, its own tavern, and bedrooms.
Worker’s Tier: The Laughing Halfling
There’s a touch o’ the Shire in the lowest tier of the city with this Hobbit-themed outdoor bar. Sadly, there’s not much to it aside from a couple of distinctive arches and a few paintings that you’d otherwise see in Hobbit holes, but I thought it was cool even so.
Worker’s / Player’s Tier: Cisterns
This may be the biggest indoor structure in the entire city. It’s a sprawling maze of waterways, platforms, and rooms populated by an infestation of orcs and lizards. You can go in on the Worker’s Tier and end up coming out three tiers higher. It’s a weird place.
Soldier’s Tier: The Mumak and Keep
Finally moving up from the ground floor to the second level, our first stop is in the popular soldier’s tavern starring everyone’s favorite dead mammoth (which takes up center stage in the hall). I get a kick how someone’s put pumpkins in its skull for “eyes” and target practice.
Soldier’s Tier: The Splintered Shield
This inn/tavern is notable for a couple of rooms sporting these strange cubicle sleeping pods. I haven’t seen these kind of wall dividers elsewhere in the game, and for the life of me, this looks like a player housing project more than a dev creation. It’s not bad, just strange.
Soldier’s Tier: Training Ground
This is a simple sparring pit of a room, yet it’s more interactive thanks to a quest where you can try to smack down several waves of Gondorian soldiers. I was expecting a really big boss for the finale, but nothing doing.
Craftsmen’s Tier: Egalmoth’s Green
If you’re starving for some green space after bouncing off of the confining stone walls of the city, then head to this little park on the third tier. There’s nothing really of note here other than some grass and statues, but it’s still a nice little refuge tucked out of the way.
Craftsmen’s Tier: Forges of Cirion
Every fantasy city needs a forge, and oh boy does Minas Tirith have one to rival any you might’ve seen in MMOs. It’s very spacious and equipped with the standard lava-flowing fountain. Free fondue on the weekend!
Craftsmen’s Tier: House of Craft
If you need a one-stop crafting emporium, here you go. It’s a pretty spacious hall that has every single crafting station you could want in this game. Plus a very large and cozy fireplace.
Craftsmen’s Tier: Clothier’s Fellow-hall
I’m not exactly sure what this place is supposed to be. It’s not really a crafting nexus, but instead it sort of exudes a marketplace. With a band. And a lot of flowers. It’s a place, it’s pretty, but it’s seemingly purposeless.
Craftsmen’s Tier: The Haven
If I were going to place a reservation for lunch in Minas Tirith, it might very well be at The Haven. This airy restaurant is bathed in blue lights from its huge windows and features several communal tables loaded with yummy food. We’ve come a long way since the first tier!
Craftsmen’s Tier: Middle Stores
At first I read this as “Middle Stories” and I got excited that it was some sort of storytelling emporium. But no, it’s a warehouse of stuff. At least there’s a quest in here!
Craftsmen’s Tier: The Merry Swan
Aside from a really neat circular bar in the middle, I’m not that impressed with this dingy tavern. Let’s head back to The Haven, yeah?
Craftsmen’s Tier: Hostellers’ Fellow-hall
At the southern end of the Craftsmen’s Tier is a rather unusual sight. There’s a small vineyard followed by several odd structures — huts and cabins that look very much out of place in this city. It’s kind of groovy.
And that’s the first three tiers of Minas Tirith! I’ll save the final four for next week, so stay tuned as this tour heads onward and upward!
Every two weeks, the LOTRO Legendarium goes on an adventure (horrid things, those) through the wondrous, terrifying, inspiring, and, well, legendary online world of Middle-earth. Justin has been playing LOTRO since its launch in 2007! If you have a topic for the column, send it to him at justin@massivelyop.com.
