I Remember When...

...I vowed to complete all the deeds in each zone before I moved onto the next zone because I wanted to get my money's worth out of the game :)

...I did the Shire postman deed out of order and it took me forever.

...I first hit the Lone Lands and happened upon a group of people heading for Weathertop. I joined them for my first real fellowship instance. That group of people (Fingerpuppet, Anoradan, Shadowthir, Rhodos) had such a good time that Fingerpuppet decided to create a kinship (Flight of the Nazgul) that I happily joined.

...I hit 35 and ran for the Bree horse-fields for my pony.

...I found the signal fire hill in the North Downs. Haven't seen another location with one.. have you?

...I saw the Angmar sky for the first time.

...I finished v2.1 to get my first 3rd Age Items.

I ran to Rivendell the first month after the game went live. It was so beautiful I had to leave that character there because she refused to go any further, she still sits on top of the hill looking down at the Last Homely House

finding Bag End and the Party Tree

seeing the Stone Trolls and a birds nest in their hair

looking into Mirrormere in the daytime and seeing stars

jumping off the broken bridge to see how Gandalf felt

running through Moria at 50 just to get out the other side

Thank you Turbine for letting me wander through my favorite novel and making it feel so right.

Recent, but meaningful: when my kin-mates and I got to the end of the First Hall and exited into daylight for the first time in who-knows-how-long. After we let our eyes adjust, we ran straight to the goal we'd been questing toward since June of 2007--Kheled-Zaram. Our kinship's name, agreed upon two days after we entered the game: The Mirrormere Companions.

And then a couple of days later, I caught my 50-pound salmon in it :).

My first fellowship in game. We were all RL friends that live many miles apart. We went into the midgawater marshes and pulled a whole camp on ourselves. We were all level 5 or 6 so the mobs were quite a bit higher than us. We didn't survive that encounter, but it was still a lot of fun. :)

-I remember when I set foot in Glan Vraig
-I remember when there was a 4v4 Raid on BW.. EPIC
-I remember when I entered Bree-Towne in the Rain for the first time.
-I remember seeing the Balrog in the Rift for the first time.
-I remember meeting my in game best friend, and our early adventures together.*long live erkenhelm!*
-I remember when I got my first kill 10 boars quest in archet, and every one after.
-I remember when I crossed the Ford in the High Moor.
-I remember when I got r7-Epic battle in TR, and the four hours that followed there.

I had no clue what was going on when my equipment first broke

Thinking that Old Bloodtusk was the end-all-be-all of monsters.

Thinking that Bronwe's Folly was the coolest piece of architecture I had ever seen.


... I was a newb to all online games.

I remember doing the the final cooking quest at level 30ish. I had a high-level friend who got another high friend to help get me safely to the spot where the huge boars roamed. So I was slowly turning, looking for a boar & saw a dragon. Long mental pause before I could collect my wits enough to ask my companions, "Is that... a dragon?" I completely forgot about the boar & just stared at the dragon, watching it move & praying it wouldn't look at me.

I remember seeing Elrond in the elf tutorial & squealing at my husband. And then Elrond killed the troll & I squealed so loud that everyone in my husband's office (where we play) came over to see what the excitement was.

I remember getting hit by my first tree in the Old Forest & flying backward. I laughed so hard, even though my husband & I died shortly afterward.

I remember the first time I made it through the GB & Tom Bombadil arrived & I was like, "But we can kill this guy!! We can do it!!!"

I remember, having never played a MMORPG before, creating my first character, a hunter, based on the clothes they wore in the character creation screen. My husband & his friends just laughed.

I remember getting the second level of prospecting & eagerly looking to see what types of ore I needed. I saw "Barrow-iron" & was telling my husband, "Oh no! I have to go to the Barrow-downs!"

. . . . for a month I made all of my friends drool and whine because I had been accepted into the Closed Beta of LOTRO!

. . . . I found all of my favorite sites from the books, by reading the books and following along. Though the distances weren't all quite right, Turbine nailed every hill, turn, and description. I could always find what I was looking for.

. . . . my kinship didn't have any minstrels. All of the founding members were around lvl. 40 before we had our first one join, but it made us all very good at playing our classes to their fullest potential.

. . . . I saw my first neeker-breeker! I called everyone I knew because I had found them, and they weren't just from Hobbit fairy tails after all.

. . . . you could see that the wall behind the horse picture in Bag End was a false wall . . . . and I still wonder if they'll ever do something with it. There's gold hidden in there you know ;).

. . . . I ran around Rivendell and took pictures with every member of the fellowship, and made that my screensaver for months.

. . . . I saved every useless piece of armour or weapons because it had some obscure piece of lore in the description. Wait . . . . I still do that . . . . and I NEED more storage space!!!!! I still think that Bard's Gloves are my favorite item in the game, but I won't spoil them by putting them on!

. . . . I got soooooooo angry that I couldn't sell, drop, destroy, trade, or get rid of in any way at all that stupid key from the Great Barrows. For months and months I whined about it taking up my precious storage space, and then the great "Keyring" update!! Thank you Turbine!! You are the Kings and Queens of MMORPG's once again.

. . . . I had many of the same feelings of awe that others have expressed, and won't bother to recollect them all here.

. . . . I hoped to see a Dev in-game masquerading as one of the Valar . . . . like Ulmo coming out of the water, etc. - - - Don't know if it could be done with copyright issues, but it would sure be memorable. Just a thought Turbine ;).

...just innocently standing around in Ost Guruth, when an army of creeps charge in and start murdering lowbies.

I remember when I first saw the waterfall near the bog in the shire. That area sold me to the rest of the game.The music/scenary was just beautiful. I still go there to just relax.

I remember when I first started playing, and I looked up the Rift and all the bosses there. I took a look at Shadow eater and thought "That thing looks evil. I can't wait to fight him." I get to him, finally, and I am on Stone bitter. both tanks went down, so I Eldar's graced and pulled them both. Lasted a minute before getting killed, and the party wiped. I was defeated and Shawdow Biter was bugged out still hitting me, so I had to retreat. I go back, and as soon as the gate opened, he made a mad dash for me. Despite Rubbing ire, and even not attacking, he was on me for the mass majority of the fight. And I got the finishing blow :D It was as if it were a fateful battle.

I remember getting Thornleys Bow at level 11 and thinking OMG!

I remember when I got Chief Watchers Bow at level 18... I was ready for anything!

That being said...

I remember when quests were "rewarding".

But... Crafted gear has to be "the best in the game"!!! :rolleyes: Now, I just run though quests for the XP and vendor everthing I get from them.

Thank GOD the best end game items are NOT CRAFTED! And the day they ARE, I'm outta here...

I remember....

...taking screenshots of me on a horse as I rode out of Gondamon.

...when you could /smoke and then /sit, and doing so on a rock overlooking Bree.

...making a Dwarf character, and seeing Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf having a chat.

...watching the troll get turned to stone.

...running around Rivendel to find a light/medium armorsmith so I could buy some gloves to give to Bilbo.

...seeing the constellations in the sky. I still see "The Sickle" as a sign of the Valar's judgement.

...getting Dread and expecting to die when I tried swimming across the Black Pool.

...getting peppered by arrows on the outskirts of Lorien trying to avoid aggro from a Buck.

...seeing the Anduin for the first time.


...jumping into the well at the Chamber of Crossroads.

...waking up on top of the Giant's Needle.

...saving my pie from the hungry Hobbits.

...my first Balrog kill.

I remember...

...Running from Thorin's Hall all the way to Bree on my first character, a Level 6 Elf Champion, back in May of 2007. (R.I.P., Ulderban)

...When there was no reputation.

...When "Goldie's" den in the 'Moors was a spider den and MP's had to go there to kill them for a quest.

...When there were no Freeps in the 'Moors for a really long time.

...When every item on the ground looked the same, so you weren't sure if you were picking up a potato or honey.

...When you couldn't move things around on your UI.

...When I came up over the hill and saw Rivendell for the first time.

...When our group defeated Thaurlach for the first time.

...When we didn't have XP curves, quest guides or lowered NPC morale.

...When there were always two or more raids in the 'Moors and when taking a keep actually meant something.

...When you could actually have several full raids fighting each other in the 'Moors and, aside from frame rate issues, not have any lag.

I remember:

...developing a genuine hatred for Pamprush!

...discovering some random place in Ered Luin, getting the explorer deed, and thinking "Wow, you can improve your character just by exploring!!"

...thinking that 50th level was really unobtainable and uber!

...finding the Wardspire and that breathtaking view down the river.

...thinking I'll *never* use all that initial vault space. (ROFL)

...hanging out with Goldberry in the Old Forest for the first time. And then being astounded and thoroughly impressed upon logging in after a patch to find the Old Forest had reconfigured itself (making the few simple maps we had obsolete)!

...thinking that I needed to do each virtue deed in each area to maximize my character (Hunter's use Zeal, right?!?)

...how insufferably tough defeating Sambrog was and how proud our Kin felt after a few successful runs!

...exploring the Party Tree and Bag-End for the first time.

...using Desperate Flight for the first time in a fellow and thinking all that time that it was a group evacuation spell (similar to the EQ Druid days). Much to my surprise I ended up at the Rez circle alone and helplessly watched my fellows die!

...thinking the Bear Helm was cool! (/facepalm)

...how flipping scary the Troll was in Retake Weathertop.

...seeing Aragorn that first time in Bree and waiting forever for people to leave the room so I could get the golden screenshot!

...being scared and then laughing at myself thanks to Ghost Bear (./RAWR!) and how quickly annoying the horse summoning whistle became after it was introduced (imagine a whole Moors raid swiftly mounting up!)

...freaking out the first time a bear stood up on it's hind legs and roared during it's death throes! Talk about scary!

...being tricked (more than once) into thinking I was fighting multiple wargs because of the amazing surround-sound in their growl attacks! I thought I was surrounded by a whole pack!

...the great sense of accomplishment after *finally* finding a PUG good enough to down the General in Dol Dinen (such a horrible place!)

...picking the wrong option on Need/Greed/Pass and getting burned down for it in fellowship chat (with no real explanation) the day after it was introduced!

...when my hunter acquired the Ferchu, Thuderhead, Flightsong, and Bane of Forvengwath bows and how uber they made my hunter! (I still have Forvgy in the vault to this day)!

...dying of "Misadventure" for the first time while trying to cross the Dread Wall in Angmar! (It's still a dirty trick to play on newbies!)

...how cool the drake fight in Urugarth was the first time (seeing her fly over the bridge).

...getting Heartseeker at 50th and thinking it was the coolest thing EVER!

...dipping a toe into the green water of Carn Dum the first time. :/

...being so surprised to see Sam sitting out on the porch of the Last Homely House.

...being happy to see Gimli and Gloin at the camp in the Misty Mountains and how cool it was to hunt for the Antlered King in a blizzard.

...having a BLAST grinding salamanders with a Champ for the +Determination deed in Evendim!

...wiping so many times in the brand-new Rift and then having a *real* nightmare, complete with "No power is stronger than Barz!" ROFL. Had to unplug a little bit after that one....

...the first time I soloed a turtle in Angmar.

...seeing the Auroras for the first time in Forchel and just standing in amazement!

...running the intro quests for Moria, seeing the dwarves plinking rocks in the water and thinking "Don't do that!!"

...discovering Zirakzigil and seeing Durin's Bane dead in the snow for the first time. Epic.

...laughing so hard at the crazy antics of Varz the Cook in Fil Gashan that I had trouble finishing the fight: "Would you like that pan-seared!" Then promptly becoming annoyed with dreaded "Warband Manoeuver!" LOL

...questing and leveling so long in Moria, that it actually had a huge impact on me to come out of the First Hall and back into the sunlight! (Now that's what a game OUGHT to feel like!)

...working so hard on repeatable Lorien rep. just so I could see Galadriel!!

I remember when on my first toon, a champion, I tried to solo 1.1.11: Othrongroth at 15.

*smiles and remembers good times*

I was healing Dol Dinen on my RK and the group agroing about what seemed like 20 orcs and how good it felt at the end of the battle when everyone was all right.

Thinking Sambrog had a lot of morale.

I was co-healing the Rift with a mini and getting through one of my hardest fights in the game during Barz, then having the group not be able to down Zurm.

Hunter bows went as high as 120g- oh wait they still do.

I finally completed all of GA for the first time at 51, and feeling smart that I held on to the Red Maid quest :D

I first did Dol Dinen on my hunter... with 4 other hunters and a mini. Well I can assure you, I still hate DD to this day.

Recent but important: I tanked Fornost (on my hunter) and vowed to never go again.

I walked into Hollin Gate for the first time and thought: "im here! endgame! im finally uber!"*


*MoM came out when I was about level 24

... you could run around Bree and a mysterious invisible Bear would roar at you!

My first adventure into CD at Ultimate Res settings with kinmates and a friend or two. Most of all getting knocked into the green water and watching as one by one other fellowship memebers took one step to many and did a high dive while attempting to mount a rescue. One of the funniest moments in game to date.

I first entered the Old Forest at night on my hunter and being scared to death and lost out of my mind.

Taking down Thaurlach for the first time.

Seeing the Aurora in Forochel for the first time and being amazed (I'm from the south).

Rolling a Warden and discovering the class built "just for me."

Recently: Hearing my Kin/Raid leader tell me to bring my Warden instead of my Hunter so that I could tank the Balrog for the first time and being scared and frightened of screwing up and wiping the raid with all the other top players in the Kin watching.

I remember playing my first character a couple of years ago and being in the Chetwood and wondering if I could wander over the hill to the other side. I ran into some orc near the top that I had never seen before. At that time, I thought I could kill everything and was quite confused when this orc (whose name was colored red for some reason) defeated me quite easily. It was a while before I figured out the color coding on mobs' names and that I should avoid the ones that were red and purple.

I remember being a lvl 25-ish guardian and getting help killing drakes in the Ram Duath from two of my kin mates who were around lvl 40 and being in awe of them.

I played my first character, a guardian, up to lvl 33 and then switched to a champion because I wanted to kill things faster. Two years later, my guardian is still only lvl 37 (he gained two levels with the XP curve adjustment). I never play him, but I don't have the heart to delete him because he will always be my first character. Maybe someday I'll get back to him. After getting my champ up to lvl 50 I logged back into my guardian one day and was shocked at how bad he was. His traits were bad and all his equipment was vendor trash from quest drops or random drops. I really didn't know what I was doing those first couple of months of playing.

I remember killing myself trying to save up enough money to get a horse when I got my champion up to lvl 35. Getting 4.2g seemed like an impossible task. I mined ore and farmed wood like crazy and finally got a horse at lvl 37. It was my proudest moment in the game for a long time.

I remember when a friend of mine and I got invited to closed beta and spent two hours just trying to hook up in the instance.

I remember the death horses to Celondim and paying people to ride the horses so I could get screen shots of them dying

The awesome lagfest that was the battle of Rivendell at the end of the closed beta,

The running of the gauntlet to Est during doomsday to help a friend complete a crafting quest.

The first time I rolled a dwarf

The pipeweed saints which was a awesome kin.

Being busted by the lore police for my kin's name

I remember when you could ride a horse off of a cliff and get the 'broken leg' effect, but this didn't translate to the horse which continued on at the normal pace!

I also recall the first attempt to fix this when a fall of any sort that hurt would dump you off of your horse.

The first time I went into the South Barrows was traumatic. I was with another Hunter and the first time I got close to one of the wights that flashed up the Eye startled me and creeped me out.

Then there was Minstrel combat BEFORE War-speech came out.

Or Guardian combat before Overpower.

Very memorable was logging in with my new graphics card after the old one (ATI 9600 Pro) fried itself. My kinmates were snickering as most of what all I would say in voice chat was 'wooooow'

I remember wandering around up in the NE corner of Bree Land and going a step to far into North Downs. That was when I saw my first Troll! I almost "Soiled my britches!"

I remember the first time I saw the bridge over the Brandywine in Evendim. The statue of the kings was amazing! I took screenshots of it to try and convince my brother to come over from EQ2.

....Ohhh, and the Old Forest still scares me! ;-)