I Remember When...

[lledrae]

...it was hard to find Old Sally, and had to backtrack others doing the quest until I found her start location.

I remember that it was never hard to find Old Sally but that in Beta and then in Open Beta she was often bugged and wouldn't let you continue the quest

[AgamemnonV1]

I remember when the LFF and Advice channel in Bree wasn't full of gold adverts.

[Arandriel]

I remember the suicidal rental horse between Duillond and Celondim in beta that would first smash you into the side of a mountain, then run right off the cliff, plunging you both to your deaths!

[Dralon]

I remember going with some kinsmen into Bag end for the first time looking at the decor, and getting pics in front of the fireplace.

I remember my first foray into the Great Barrows, and how lost we kept getting (since I can't think 3 dimensionally anyway). I still don't like that place as I will just get lost again.

I remember duoing trolls in the trollshaws back in beta with Swiss as his burglar, and I on my guardian. Yeah it can still be done, but I have a specific recollection of having a ton of fun participating in conjunctions for my first times really.

I remember the first time I exited Archet, and seeing all these quests in Combe. Thinking to myself "wow". then heading down the road to Staddle and thinking, "What more quests", How will I ever do all these

[elwen2]

I remember when Archet was the whole world too. Way back in Alpha 0.

I remember having so many wolves aggro on you that you would die before you got half way to the hunter's lodge. Then, after they fixed it, I remember having 6 to 8 or more people waiting to jump on the next poor wolf that spawned. You HAD to fellowship just to get your wolf kills! You also took your life in your hands to visit Cal Sprigley, you were nothing more than spider food.

I remember when the quilted armour looked so much like fishnet stockings that my sister-in-law wouldn't play because that was so NOT LOTR. (She is a lifer now )

I also remember when Old Sally wasn't even a pig. She was a pony!

I remember my first trip to Rivendell. It was when they had first put it in the game and right before they were going to wipe all of our characters again. I took my level 14 Champion all the way there. The whole way looked more like the Lonelands than the Trollshaws of today, and all the creatures were "delete me" or "fix me". I got killed by a "delete me" but that was the only time I died. About all that was in Rivendell was Elrond's house and a few trees. I thought it was beautiful then. Imagine how it blew my mind when I got back there after it was finished!

[MAWorking]

I remember MEO

and I remember LOTRO closed Alpha, Alpha 2, closed Beta, Beta 2... and so on.

Oh those were the days.

[Lohi]

...it was hard to find Old Sally, and had to backtrack others doing the quest until I found her start location.

First had to find her on the chicken quest. Didn't know who it was, but after a couple of hours (more than 1 session) I gave up and checked the web. Then I made a beeline to Sally, and she wasn't there. And she wasn't along the path to the farm either. I went back with my real character too to check. She appeared to just be missing. But she reappeared the next day.

[psyclum]

Sneaking my way to Rivendell AT NIGHT as a level 6 burg nothing since has matched the total rush of trying get pass trolls that are 6 or 7 times your own level too bad the newer players cant experience that level of excitement anymore with the new aggro code.

[Lonya]

I remember when yellow armor/weapons were good but purple was the best!

I remember when Bree was THE place to be.

I remember when rain was introduced... and how the sound would glitch out

I remember a long Conga line in Bree with +Nod the last night before open beta began.

I remember Patience and her instant touch turning us all level 50 for one night... so we had half a chance against the Devs

I remember the first time I saw the troll in the shire... NOT stone but walking!

Like others, I too remember thinking how rich I was when I had my first 100 silver.

Lots of good memories, many more to come I hope.

[Phibbus]

Everybody keeps mentioning the Rivendell run. I did it with my level 10 utility jeweler a day or so after 13 released, and it still was no treat. Took me four tries. I was still aggroing every cave claw, boar, bear, and crawler in and out of sight, and I think I may have pulled a few from other zones.

No aurochs pulled however (which were the biggest pain because of the stun charge), but stags did (which I don't remember doing so before). True, the wandering stone trolls now have a 5-second threat, but the old 2-second timer wasn't really all that hard to beat. Also, there seem to be more stealthed lynxes now along the path where it picks up on the High Moor.

In comparison, when I ran my first character to Rivendell at level 8 back last May, I made it on the first try without much difficulty. Back then, though, I think there were alot more players in the area soaking up aggro.

On the other hand, from all the posts I've read, I just haven't had the heart to go into the Old Forest since 13.

[homsarsar]

I remember when I first found Bilbo, after doing my own Rivendell run at about lv 25 (squishy hunter). seeing him, my eyes welled up with tears and I took several screenshots. it was like meeting an old friend, or maybe a childhood hero.

then I couldn't find that darn first riddle item for literally months.

[Nymphonic]

I remember being in Combe for 2 days and thinking that I was in Bree that every one was talking about. Then I was amazed at how big the real Bree was!

[OldBlueDragon]

I remember Alpha, Closed Beta & Open Beta. And I remember the day they announced that as beta testers and founding members we would have an option to take a lifetime subscription. I remember thinking that it was a no brainer!

I remember not telling ANYONE what I was doing for fear of violating the NDA and losing the chance to beta test this game!

I remember server wipe after server wipe sometimes having to start over from scratch after less than a week and wondering if I was EVER gonna manage to keep any of the cool drops I was getting.

I remember them telling us (at the end of closed beta) that we would be able to take characters forward into launch instead of having to start from scratch yet again. And I remember mapping out what I was going to roll and how I was going to cap all those characters so I could hit launch day running! (There sure were a lot of lvl 15s running around that first day!)

I remember when it seemed like I would never have a gold to my name... it was just SO MUCH money!

I remember discovering that you could actually SIT DOWN in a chair or on a bed. This discovery was followed by my sitting in every chair I came across and taking a photo of myself in most of them!

I remember smoking for what seemed like hours on end... just because I could!

I remember when there was no information available anywhere on the internet regarding where to go or how to complete a quest. And how cool it felt to solve the puzzles and complete them on my own... without spoilers!

I remember taking countless screen caps of doors/windows without building walls, floating grass, holes in the world, mis-matched textures and stuck mobs that I submitted to the bug team (along with coordinates) so they could get things squared away. (I still think that allowing us to attach pictures to bug reports was a brilliant move!)

I remember spending entire play sessions exploring just because the chances were good that I would find a place of indescribable beauty that I had never seen before. (One of these times I wandered through the gap between two hills and came upon a small wooded area with a large pond, the surface of which was covered in water lilies. Simply amazing! I stood there and thought "they made this just so folks like me could wander in and discover it."

I remember being utterly lost in the Old Forest (and in closed beta, yeah, it was that scary) and coming across Tom Bombadil's house (quite by accident) and being awestruck by the fact that it was there and that I was there!!!

I remember the phantom bear and almost being scared off a rental pony when he roared at me on my way to Lone Lands.

I remember when the cost of a rental pony was very dear (sometime half or more of all the money you had) and you could get knocked off your ride just by opening your inventory or character screen during the trip. It felt like such a rip off to lose a good chunk of the only money you had AND get left standing in the dust midway through the trip.

I remember when the ore nodes in Lone Lands were almost flat to the ground and were really hard to find.

I remember the first time I fellowed for "Retaking Weathertop". It was (and in my mind remains) the best instance run I've ever been a part of!

I remember making my way to the Ford of Brennen and standing there in ankle deep water looking around 360 degrees and thinking "well, here's another thing they got right!"

I remember the first time I saw a "living" troll during my first run to Rivendell. I remember going there (that first time) at night, even though my kin warned me repeatedly (in kin chat) that there were trolls on the road that were purple to me and would have me for lunch... (I know... I can see one now...)

I remember heaving a sigh of relief heading down the path in that last stretch before you know that you are out of the mountains, safe and almost to Rivendell.

I remember seeing Rivendell stretched out below me for the first tine and how it was so beautiful it took my breath away.

I remember finally making it to Trestlebridge and feeling saddened by the fires and the desolation of the area. But uplifted by the determination of the NPCs that "lived" there.

I remember moving on into North Downs and being blown away by how BIG the game was... how the zones seemed to go on forever!

I remember my first pony ride from Estelden back to Trestlebridge and taking about a hundred screenshots during the ride.

I remember duoing almost every day with another hunter (during closed beta) and then finding out that she was one of the developers!

And every time I think back about how much we've seen so far, I smile and remember that the 1st expansion is coming and that we ain't seen nothing yet!

[Laire]

Great response.

I remember spending entire play sessions exploring just because the chances were good that I would find a place of indescribable beauty that I had never seen before. (One of these times I wandered through the gap between two hills and came upon a small wooded area with a large pond, the surface of which was covered in water lilies. Simply amazing! I stood there and thought "they made this just so folks like me could wander in and discover it."

Is this place still around? If so, where?

I remember being utterly lost in the Old Forest (and in closed beta, yeah, it was that scary) and coming across Tom Bombadil's house (quite by accident) and being awestruck by the fact that it was there and that I was there!!!

Hah! you reminded me of my first time in Bombadil's house. After I fell into Goldberry's spring, I ran around the forest, stumbled in the spider's area, was webbed, and died. I ended up rezzing at Bombadil's place for the first time... and I was so happy to be there. It was definitely one of the best deaths in the game for me. So awesome.

I remember the first time I saw a "living" troll during my first run to Rivendell. I remember going there (that first time) at night, even though my kin warned me repeatedly (in kin chat) that there were trolls on the road that were purple to me and would have me for lunch... (I know... I can see one now...)

LOL, I remember this! I freaked out *so* much when I first saw the troll wandering right outside of Thorenhad- and running through the Ford and up the High Moor... oh, that was the time!


I forgot to add this, but I also remember my first time running through Imlad Balchorth and Nan Gurth, before they nerfed both places... such a long time ago. Anyways, after dying a rather miserable death in IB and ending back up in the dwarf place, I was still determined to find GF, so went through Nan Gurth. I was *so* lost in there, and it took me about 10 minutes of wandering to find my way out- but it was completely worth it! I think it was more terrifying through there, looking for the exit out of there, than the trip to Rivendell. At least there was a very clear road in the Trollshaws XD

I also remember the 6G conj runs I would do with PUG groups to Uru and CD. Oh man, those were the days.

And I remember my first time in the Tomb of Elendil, my favorite instance. We had a 6-man group, but the minstrel went LD and never came back about a third of the way through. Nonetheless, we decided to stick it through, and got all the way to the end with no deaths. With Nornagol two of our guys died, but we still managed to defeat the instance. Definitely one of my most memorable moments in the game. I just did the instance again tonight, though we had two 50s in the group, which made it much easier. I loveee that instance.

And I remember first doing Thief-Taker's Bane! Oh God, that was the most difficult instance. Very much nerfed now, thankfully... but I'd admit the feeling of accomplishment after wiping over half a dozen times was pretty nice.

Memories, memories...

[ahdidiahz15]

I forgot to add this, but I also remember my first time running through Imlad Balchorth and Nan Gurth, before they nerfed both places... such a long time ago. Anyways, after dying a rather miserable death in IB and ending back up in the dwarf place, I was still determined to find GF, so went through Nan Gurth. I was *so* lost in there, and it took me about 10 minutes of wandering to find my way out- but it was completely worth it! I think it was more terrifying through there, looking for the exit out of there, than the trip to Rivendell. At least there was a very clear road in the Trollshaws XD

..snip..

And I remember first doing Thief-Taker's Bane! Oh God, that was the most difficult instance. Very much nerfed now, thankfully... but I'd admit the feeling of accomplishment after wiping over half a dozen times was pretty nice.

Memories, memories...

Hah, that was a great feeling, back in closed beta when they first opened East Angmar. I remember crossing the bridge into Imlad Balchorth and about peeing myself. Soon after, my breath was literally taken away when I came up over the ridge into Nan Gurth and saw the many towers of Barad Gularan. I literally stared at my screen in awe of this mighty fortress I found. I was so scared I immediately turned back and went to somewhere much safer.

Ah yes, Thief Taker's Bane, was such a fun quest to work on. It took strategy and coordination to complete, and yes it was hard. I loved the feeling I got when we finally beat it.

[skataneric]

Ghost Bear!!!

When you were able to run Stable horses off the cliff in Erid Luin.

Hrm....

When the stable horses could jump.

When farming pipweed would net you 1 gold in under an hour.

[skorpion352]

I remember thinking I was rich when I passed the 100 silver mark.

when i first passed the 100 silver mark, i felt liek the richest player ever, how times have changed in the last 13 months

Trying to do the "Fresh Water" quest

the water carrying quests in bree annoyed me too. not because i had trouble completing them, but because everyone was complaining about them in ooc. then when i got to them, i passed them all first go with my hunter. i remember thinking ### was everyone complaining about, lol

Thief Takers Bane. When it was a challenge. The feeling of accomplishment when we finally beat it after 9 attempts.

good times, good times. i remeber failing it several times when i was helping kin, then we finally got it, and about 10 minutes later, i needed to do it myself. we got it first time.

I remember my first time in the game. My first MMO ever, too, so I was very confused

lotro was my first mmo too. the first character i ever created was on silverlode. i didnt understand how servers worked so on my second day playing back in open beta, i click on nimrodel expecting to seen my character from the previous days session there. boy did i get a shock. i just though, stuff it, and i made a new character on nimrodel, an elf hunter named Skorp. the rest is history. my silverlode character is still there to this day (too lazy to log on and delete him or actually play him, lol

i remember questing in erid luin and agates and amethysts being so rare, you could sell them for 50s each cause everyone was looking for them

i remember being killed at level 4 by frostmantle in the elf/dwarf starter instance, then learning a month later about the undying titles by which time it was too late to reroll. im still not sure if i would have rerolled if i had the chance

i remeber hanging around helping people kill frostmantle in open beta.

i remember not having a clue in the worl what any of the acronyms that people were using meant, but by carefully paying attention to what was being said along with them, i soon learnt what such acronyms and wts, pst, lff, wtb and many more meant.

i remember going to the far chetwood with a gaurd kinmate at lvl 20ish to kill tabrurz, and then the 2 of us staying there for several hours farming him cause he droped "uber loot". of course, its not so uber now, but back then we thought we had hit the jack pot

[redviolin06]

Wow, great thread.

Like others, this is also my first MMO. Not only that, but I had vowed to not play MMOs, because I thought the monthly fee was stupid. Then I discovered ME and the wealth of content here. And once I joined my kin, I really felt at home. Now I hardly plan any other game, and I understand why the money is worth it for a serious gamer.

I haven't been around nearly as long as some of you guys, but I definitely remember vividly the OF prenerfs and the barrow downs. Both scared the **** out of me. I hated going in the OF sooo much. It seems like they've even changed the atmosphere in there, not just the aggro and mobs.

Barrow downs were seriously creepy to me. My first encounter with wights, and when they popped out of the ground! Yikes!

I remember hating chetwood, because I died so much there. Didn't really have a grasp of what was going on yet.

One of my happiest experiences was exploring Ered Luin, and getting to see the dwarves. I have a fascination with dwarves, and running my silly looking captain through those beautiful mountains in the snow, and coming up to Thorin's was one of my favourite experiences! And seeing the beauty of his hall. That was breathtaking to me.

I loved Weathertop prenerf. I had wanted to see a troll so bad in the game, and hadn't noticed it in the pre troll chaos. I was very surprised.

I remember my first really bad pug in the great barrow. I left when my weapon was about to break. I remember having repair costs of 60ish silver and only have 32s and being really depressed for awhile.

And my favourite memory of ALL was when I was wondering around the gates of Fornost and noticed that my halberd, which had +dmg to orcs, was glowing blue just like Sting. I was so excited I had to call my girlfriend (who also likes Tolkien) to tell her. It made my freaking week, and for a long time after I had a deference to +dmg to orc weapons when I could find them. (I'm hoping its one of the thing we can do with weapons in MoM. )

[Jeffor]

Hehe the Rivendell run stories are always funny. I made my first trip at level 8 in CB. I finally made it through the Trollshaws as it was getting dark. I absolutely couldn't find any paths up throught the High Moor. I would run up look around and some scary mob would chase me back down. I had to stand in the ford all night until daylight to finish my trip. It was very fun and felt very adventurous.

I also loved landing in the Shire for the first time. I couldn't explore things fast enough.

The last night of closed was fun too. Turbine peeps controling crazy monsters with ridiculously high morale. Drakes infesting Rivendell and Boromir wouldn't help me! I played all night until they shut the server down(and I did finally make it past the drakes to the mm without Boromir's help).

[Felon]

In closed beta when we were capped at 15 I remember

-making the run to Rivendell the first time.

-mining and wood harvesting while trying to avoid purple and elite purple mobs to GM before release in LL, ND and Trollshaw.

-getting a fellowship of 15's together to go into the instance in Barrow Downs just to get owned by red and purple mobs. We were trying to do those quests that were really meant for level 20ish inside there.

-Not ever using pay ponies because the price was so dang high.

-Getting lost in Old Forest until I mapped or death warped out.

[Doronlas]

Great response.



I forgot to add this, but I also remember my first time running through Imlad Balchorth and Nan Gurth, before they nerfed both places... such a long time ago. Anyways, after dying a rather miserable death in IB and ending back up in the dwarf place, I was still determined to find GF, so went through Nan Gurth. I was *so* lost in there, and it took me about 10 minutes of wandering to find my way out- but it was completely worth it! I think it was more terrifying through there, looking for the exit out of there, than the trip to Rivendell. At least there was a very clear road in the Trollshaws XD

Memories, memories...

LOL I forgot about IB - I think I ran around there and Nan Gurth forever with numerous deaths before I finally found GF :P It took several play sessions but I was determined to find it. My play session would start out "which way to try today..."

[Arness]

Everybody keeps mentioning the Rivendell run. I did it with my level 10 utility jeweler a day or so after 13 released, and it still was no treat. Took me four tries. I was still aggroing every cave claw, boar, bear, and crawler in and out of sight, and I think I may have pulled a few from other zones.

No aurochs pulled however (which were the biggest pain because of the stun charge), but stags did (which I don't remember doing so before). True, the wandering stone trolls now have a 5-second threat, but the old 2-second timer wasn't really all that hard to beat. Also, there seem to be more stealthed lynxes now along the path where it picks up on the High Moor.

In comparison, when I ran my first character to Rivendell at level 8 back last May, I made it on the first try without much difficulty. Back then, though, I think there were alot more players in the area soaking up aggro.

On the other hand, from all the posts I've read, I just haven't had the heart to go into the Old Forest since 13.

Back then, you didn't get a huge aggro radius just because you were under level 17 (or maybe it's level 15). They added in the larger aggro radius a couple of books in.

[Lohi]

Actually, I was about level 44 I think, when I rode my horse down from Rivendell, then thought "wow, this is the first time I've made it to the bottom without being knocked off!"

[TheScyphozoa]

I remember when I tried to solo Jagger Jack when it was yellow...... I died so many times, then got mad and left and went and played Call of Duty multiplayer and kept running into the mines and shooting at the sky while I ran, and if anyone killed me before I reached the mines and blew up I would yell at them, and then I got banned from that server lol.

[Baebarri_LC]

I remember running from the Shire to the bridge at Buckland to meet up with my friend who had started in Bree ... I thought that was the longest, most confusing run I'd ever make.

Until ...

... that same friend and I decided to try to run to Rivendell, not having any idea where to go or how to avoid mobs (and EVERYTHING was purple). We ended up in the rez circle near Thorenhad with a bear spawning well within aggro range, so it took us 4-5 defeats before we could escape the circle.

Every time I go back to the Shire, I get flashbacks to those first days of exploring Middle-Earth. It's still the most peaceful place I know