Middle-earth Feedback: Othrongroth

[Saffron]

In the southern reaches of the Barrow-downs lies the Great Barrow, Othrongroth, one of the oldest and largest of the Edain mounds. As the Witch-king’s power has grown, fell spirits have taken possession of the rotting remains of the dead in his name. What was once a sacred place of solemnity is now the home to evil lurking in the shadows.

Read more about Othrongroth, then post your comments below!

[Dean340]

this was the first time in game i was glad to have a scented candle...LOL

[Oweyn_of_Rohan]

What a great instance. The atmosphere was gloomy and creepy. You never knew what was around the corner. The spiders decending from the ceiling and watching the Dour Dwarf meet his untimely end was very exciting. Also, you have to love animated hands.
An Ancient Story of Evil added even more chills as this is the first place where we see so many elites together. If your Fellowship didn't work together here, they were sunk.

This was the classic dungeon crawl with a LOTR flavour. Loved it. And I still go back to help others out on it just for fun.

[emz66us68]

this was the big leagues at level 20 or so. was a great experience and my 1st ever . nice job!

[Dwarflord]

The Great Barrow was the first place that was challenging with a fellowship. Ah, good (and bad) time...

[dw2007]

The great barrow was when i really started getting caught in lotro's storyline. added a sense of fear and despair...the two twin wrights were the best though

[LOTRFan101]

I like this place much better than the Red Swamp... don't know why... it's just cool .

[Sigram]

Sick and tired of it, I've been in there 4-5 times in the last week or so and still have not won the roll for Sambrog's helm! =(


And seriously,
It is an awesome instance. Love the fact that it can instill fear in you as you're moving around the tunnels.

[Donnamira]

I remember with my first character, I must have gone in there at least three times, not including Bk1Ch11. I remember walking around for a while with one half of the key, then walking around with the whole thing until joining a group that carried it all the way to Sambrog. I remember dying over and over again, and my first repair bill over 100s -- and this was from the grocer in the town hall in Bree, when he was doing repairs for half off.

A friend of mine, the one who told me about this game and got me hooked, got a character up to the mid 20s in closed beta, and he remembers GB as the hardest, most frustrating, most ***-kicking thing he'd ever seen. He almost doesn't want to start playing again because he's afraid of that place.

Now I've been through all the quests in there five times, each with a different class. I've gone in there a couple times as a high-level character to help out kinmates. I have a decent map of the place. So it's lost some of its original creepyness through familiarity. Although, one of the more recent times I was in there, we wandered into some of the back passages in search of chalices, and I'd never seen some of those rooms . . . it's still claustrophobic and creepy, all right.

It's also the place where you either learn how to function in a fellowship or you die. The fellowship quests before this are not that hard or that long. Most of them can be done with two people, if they are experienced in the game and in playing with each other. In GB, if the hunter doesn't know why he keeps getting shot at by both archers and the champion breaks the mez the minstrel just tried to put on one of them, if the loremaster's pet drags back three gaunt men, or if the minstrel insists on leading the way around that blind corner, your party is going to be ground up like mincemeat.

With my first alt, when I didn't know what I was doing, and nobody else did either, it probably took me 12 hours total in there. With my last alt, with one highish level character but an underpowered group in general, we did most of it in four. With my guardian, who didn't go in until level 30, we did the whole thing in two hours. I'm kicking myself that my hunter tossed out the skull key, back when you could do that, because I want to go back and see if I can solo the whole thing. Heartseeker puts quite a dent in Sambrog. Also, I want the helmet for my house.

There are a lot of good memories in GB. I'm pleased that you added a campfire outside. That was the tedious part, waiting for everyone to run back from Bree after turning in and getting the key.

It would be cool if there were a reason for higher level characters to go back. I recently did book 9, with the knights of Moridrith hanging out in low-level places, and it was neat to get sent back to locations I'd "left behind".

I'm trying to think of some constructive criticism, something that could be tweaked or improved. Nothing comes to mind. I think GB is pretty nifty. Please do not ever nerf the GB. I was very disappointed at the nerfing of Thief-Taker's Bane, which was another quest I really liked because it showed what you were made of, as a party and also in playing your character. Balancing and tuning is one thing -- I thought the revamp of the Angmar quests went great -- but don't make it too easy for the people who just don't want to think.

[Beornling]

how the hell do you pronounce that.

o.O

hehe

[NomNom]

how the hell do you pronounce that.

o.O

hehe

Listen to Gandalf narrate it as you walk in!

[d00dguy]

I remember going there for the first time with my Guardian main. I was feeling pretty cocky. I had soloed nearly everything else up to that point. Heck, I was wearing heavy armor! What could hurt me?

I went into the instance by myself the first time thinking I would have a look at the place. I got smacked down by the 2 elites waiting outside.

Ooooooooookay...

Next, I went in with a friend (read: 1 friend). Deja vu. Hey, sometimes I'm a slow learner.

Finally hooked up with a full Fellowship. Did I mention that I'd pretty much soloed everything up to this point? I wasn't very good at working with a group. I wasn't the only one. Even with the help of a Min30, there were a couple of times we got our butts handed to us. I got too far ahead of the rest of the Fellowship and got ganked. Someone in the back kept trying to loot the bodies while we were in combat, and I couldn't see what I was doing for all the loot pop-ups. Critters charged past me, because the Hunter got trigger-happy. And we didn't have a Burgler...

I think it took us an entire afternoon to get thru 1.11 and the first half of Ancient Story of Evil. By that time, I was tired and hungry and feeling almost as if I had really been in that stygian barrow the whole time. I never did go back for the second half of ASoE.

So, now I have started bringing my Hunter up. She's at level 22, now. She's also staring at the GB with the proper amount of dread, I think. Maybe I can use the knowledge I've gained over the last year to help her make it thru without dying a half-dozen times.

That Gandalf; he can pronounce anything!

[Xoxxon]

I've never been there. Is there pie?

[ClassicAviar]

I've never been there. Is there pie?

Well, there is a chicken stone right outside the entrance to Othrongroth. And the first quest reward for the chicken quest series is a Prized Pie! So, I suppose I could have my chicken bring you some pie while he's there! (lets just hope its not chicken pot pie...)

[Gumawerian]

I still run this instance on occasion... not the Book 1, chapter 11 instance, but the actual instanced dungeon itself. You can literally walk into Othrongroth -- having a key helps, in order to access the most treasure -- but it's not neccessary in order to go in and see if you can get out alive with some old relics. There's plenty to do down there, and I still find myself going back with younger fellowships. It's dangerous -- even with a level 50 in the group there's no guarantee younger players won't get killed -- but the treasure and excitement are well worth it.

[ararax2]

I know people who still go there every other day. After I finished GB i said wow I'm never going back there.... Then came GA... Wow I missed GB. GB has some of the best atmosphere and layouts of any dungeon in the game.
Ranking of Instances.
GB(the best)
Fornost (would be great if not for those stupid spirits that take forever to collect)
Tomb of Elindil (very fun)
CD (longgggggg)
URU (better length but not as cool as CD)
GA(I hate this place. I dont know why, but I think its because you need to do book 2 before you can get half the quests so you wind up doing it 10 times.)

I havent spent enough time in rift yet

Havent tried Annuminas Helgrod or BG yet.

But everyone else is right, In GB you learn how to be a fellowship, because you cant solo in there. Champs learn to not AOE everything Mins learn to hang back and heal the tank. Guardians learn aggro control Hunters learn to hangback and assist the tank. Captains and LMs learn how to buff and control pets. Lms and Mins learn mezzing.

Its the tutorial for the rest of the game. Its not to hard, its alot easier to wipe in GA or Fornost.