Like many other players, I’ve recently returned to the game to transfer my characters to the new 64-bit servers, only to find myself pulled back into the world of Middle-earth. From 2012 to 2015, I was an everyday player. But as happens with so many MMOs, my noticing all the little imperfections and over-familiarity and boredom that come with that much repeated exposure eventually wore me out. I burned out hard, to the tune of a 10-year absence, with only occasional returns to transfer servers, play with the updated Legendary Item system, and bask in the classic musical score for a few days. In the end, the nostalgia wasn’t enough to hold me.
But something feels different this time. As I logged into each of my characters, none of the bad feelings that had driven me from the game nearly a decade ago returned. Was my storage still overwhelming? Yes, but I had no emotional attachment to the items in my vault, so I simply trashed them or put them up for auction. Was the conversion to the new Legendary Item system overwhelming? Yes, but I solved that issue by deciding to roll a brand-new character so I could ease myself into it gradually. Starting fresh turned out to have other benefits, too! I was not aware that the new(ish) River Hobbit race came with its own starter area, which continues through beautiful new 1-30 leveling areas, so I’m experiencing that content as well.
Returning to LOTRO after so many years has put me in a place to enjoy the best of both worlds. I understand the basic mechanics of the game, remember how to navigate the early-game areas, and feel a tinge of nostalgia when I come across things that have not changed in the past decade. But many things have changed. In a way, I’m also discovering a new, more interesting, and (at times) improved game.
When I was playing previously, the VIP subscription did a couple of things: It unlocked all content, and it provided a monthly stipend of LOTRO points (then called Turbine points). That was pretty much it. I think VIP was also supposed to give priority queue time, but I don’t believe I’ve ever waited in a queue to play LOTRO, VIP, or otherwise. Nowadays, VIP status provides additional benefits, with more on the way. In addition to the old advantages, VIP now decreases crafting time significantly while allowing for remote access to mail, auction house, vendors, storage, and legendary item forge. It also removes item and gear wear completely. If the latest roadmap update holds, VIPs will shortly be able to reduce reputation grind on alts playing through a region multiple times. Overall, the increased value Standing Stone Games (SSG) has added for VIPs is pretty good. I subbed this month, and quite honestly, I don’t want to go back.
There’s no way around it, the difficulty of LOTRO is lower in 2025 than in 2012. I can remember struggling through an on-level Great Barrow run with a full six-person group back in the day. Just a few days ago, three of us in a non-standard configuration (red Champ, red Cappy, and red Burg) completed the run with little difficulty. Whether it’s the introduction of trait trees, the power revamp, the LI revamp, or the countless class retools, the game as a whole is just easier now – at least by default.
Enter landscape difficulty settings. Players in the intro areas and at select hub locations can now select a quest from the “hardened traveler” that will debuff their own abilities, increase incoming damage, and trigger the chance for a massive damage event courtesy of a pillar of fire from the sky. As a player chooses higher levels of difficulty, benefits such as XP and virtue XP gain also increase – to a point, anyway. Specifically, at difficulty level 3, leaving the benefits of levels 4-9 limited to the internal satisfaction gained by completing content on levels 4-9. There are also unique titles available for completing content at higher levels. While it’s not the most elegant solution, I applaud Standing Stone for trying to appease the entire playerbase by providing a choice for how landscape content will be experienced.
I have yet to fully digest all the housing system changes that have occurred over the past ten years. I owned a house at one point, as did my old kinship. There used to be three primary locations for houses. I understand there are quite a few more now! I will have to dig into this at some point. I guess there are multiple ways to purchase a house, and it seems strange that premium houses (purchased with real money) still require a monthly upkeep cost, though it’s also negated by the VIP sub. I may have more to say about housing once I have a little more experience with it.
Back in 2015, we had only just been treated to LOTRO’s first new race (Beorning) and first new class (also Beorning) since the Runekeeper came out with the Mirkwood expansion. I’m glad to report that Standing Stone is not standing still in this department! Since my last serious play session a decade ago, we now have High Elves, Stout-Axe Dwarves, and River Hobbits to choose from, as well as the Brawler and Mariner classes. Granted, some of these still sit behind a paywall due to their newness, but it’s great to see LOTRO being creative with new races and classes. The new-to-me Mariner looks like an interesting mishmash of the Runekeeper and Warden classes. Somewhat more surprisingly, SSG has even added new starter/tutorial areas for the three new races.
One thing that has changed quite a bit has little to do with the game itself. When I walked away back in 2015, conversations about LOTRO generally happened in the official forums, in the comments of popular MMO websites, on podcasts, and Twitter. But time stands still for no one, and as I was quick to discover, LOTRO now has an official Discord server. Surprisingly, it’s not that bad. Naturally, there are loads of player complaints flying around at all hours, but for the most part, the mood is pleasant. SSG devs are, compared to devs in other Discord channels I follow, very active and as responsive as can be expected. We’ve often talked about the game being a labor of love for SSG’s devs, and I think that comes through in seeing how they interact with players and do their best to provide concise, accurate answers. I still prefer the searchable permanency of forum communication, but as Discord goes, I’ve seen a lot worse.
Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that, yes, there are still issues with the game. I know some players have been waiting for a month for housing-related transfer issues to be fixed, including one of our own writers. It also seems that the devs have “sold” us a solution to the game’s self-inflicted inventory problems in the form of carry-all boxes. Occasional lag still plagues the newest and busiest servers, and scheduled downtimes frequently take longer than expected. I feel for those impacted by these issues. But as I’m still in my second honeymoon phase, I’ll choose to focus on the enjoyable aspects for as long as I possibly can.
MMOs are constantly changing, and our opinions naturally change with them. That’s why we’re here to give some beloved (or not) games a second (or third) look. Has that game that was a wreck at launch finally pulled itself together? How do the hits of yesteryear hold up today? Let’s find out as MassivelyOP gets its Second Wind!
