Hobbits to Isengard - Q/A with Sapience notes on what was said

[frickinmuck]

Thanks, everyone, for your patience and kind words!

The Sirannon transcript is up and it's worth the wait. EP Aaron Campbell stopped by and there were a lot of interesting topics discussed.

[Warmutkan]

Huge thank you to Frick, and obviously Sapience/Rowan, for the questions and answers during this latest stream. I wasn't able to make this one, and what's posted above addresses a lot of scuttlebutt that's been floating around. Thank you.

[Tirian-Hammerfist]

[*]Why was the cosmetic pet based on RNG drop
That’s just the mechanic for this particular pet. It was largely used as a test to see how players receive the whole concept of cosmetic pets, and it seems they’ve been received very very well. There will be more ways to acquire different pets, but they are meant to be a reward for hard work. Everyone wants the rare thing because it’s rare, but not everyone can have the rare thing or it wouldn’t be rare anymore.

This fails to acknowledge that the RNG doesn't take account of however much 'hard work' someone puts in - someone can just as easily win the pet on their first attempt than they could only their 50th. Many of my kinnies (as a sample) have been doing these quests since the launch of u13, and none of them have received the tree pet yet, but on global it was shouted that someone had won it on their first attempt. To me, that's not a reward for hard work.

[Danchir]

A logical explanation for why more and more rewards get RNG-based in the context of 'rarity', 'effort', 'gameplay' etc. does not and can not exist.
I'd understand if one such primitive loot system is easy to implement on the tech side and this justifies it, but every other 'explanation' is sand in the face.

[Mar-Evayave]

This fails to acknowledge that the RNG doesn't take account of however much 'hard work' someone puts in - someone can just as easily win the pet on their first attempt than they could only their 50th. Many of my kinnies (as a sample) have been doing these quests since the launch of u13, and none of them have received the tree pet yet, but on global it was shouted that someone had won it on their first attempt. To me, that's not a reward for hard work.

I agree. A friend and I have (on our three duos that we are running every day) opened perhaps 8 boxes total so far, between the two of us. Each and every one had 10 tokens in it.

If the RNG has to stay, PLEASE make the quest shorter. Make it a genuine daily quest, where we get a box every day.

And this may not matter to Turbine, but I despise the very concept of starting at level 50 on a Beorning -- or really on any class for any reason. The Gift of the Valar was introduced for players who wanted to instantly get past the first half of the game, but other players genuinely enjoy the early content, and skipping all of that will make this feel exactly like half a class. I do not want to start at 50, I want to take my own path right from level 1. The argument that "oh, well, they came from the Misties" is not valid. Even with the four races we have already, we can choose homelands as near as right there in the area, or as far as Gondor, the Lonely Mountain, Dale, or Mirkwood/Lorien. Our characters originating in a far-out land did NOT change the fact that they traveled a great distance and found themselves involved in events in Ered Luin, the Shire or Bree. The Beorning is a race of man originating from the Misties/Rhovanion area, and they start at level 1 in Bree. Anything else is just an excuse to skip the first 50 levels of content.

[Rowan]

Thanks, everyone, for your patience and kind words!

The Sirannon transcript is up and it's worth the wait. EP Aaron Campbell stopped by and there were a lot of interesting topics discussed.

As always, thank you frickinmuck for the transcript. This looks great. (I won't confirm Rick's section, I wasn't online for the whole session.)

[Tirian-Hammerfist]

And this may not matter to Turbine, but I despise the very concept of starting at level 50 on a Beorning -- or really on any class for any reason. The Gift of the Valar was introduced for players who wanted to instantly get past the first half of the game, but other players genuinely enjoy the early content, and skipping all of that will make this feel exactly like half a class. I do not want to start at 50, I want to take my own path right from level 1. The argument that "oh, well, they came from the Misties" is not valid. Even with the four races we have already, we can choose homelands as near as right there in the area, or as far as Gondor, the Lonely Mountain, Dale, or Mirkwood/Lorien. Our characters originating in a far-out land did NOT change the fact that they traveled a great distance and found themselves involved in events in Ered Luin, the Shire or Bree. The Beorning is a race of man originating from the Misties/Rhovanion area, and they start at level 1 in Bree. Anything else is just an excuse to skip the first 50 levels of content.

I'm not that enthusiastic about the new class being a Beorning, especially the fact that its intended as a light tactical class and I feel it should be heavy. However, if it means that we get access to the Carrock and surrounding lands as an intro region for the Beornings, then I can put up with it being level 50. Though I'm not sure how much sense it makes for our Beorning characters to start our journey in the 'real' LOTRO world by going straight into Moria.

[Warmutkan]

And this may not matter to Turbine, but I despise the very concept of starting at level 50 on a Beorning -- or really on any class for any reason. The Gift of the Valar was introduced for players who wanted to instantly get past the first half of the game, but other players genuinely enjoy the early content, and skipping all of that will make this feel exactly like half a class. I do not want to start at 50, I want to take my own path right from level 1. The argument that "oh, well, they came from the Misties" is not valid. Even with the four races we have already, we can choose homelands as near as right there in the area, or as far as Gondor, the Lonely Mountain, Dale, or Mirkwood/Lorien. Our characters originating in a far-out land did NOT change the fact that they traveled a great distance and found themselves involved in events in Ered Luin, the Shire or Bree. The Beorning is a race of man originating from the Misties/Rhovanion area, and they start at level 1 in Bree. Anything else is just an excuse to skip the first 50 levels of content.

As I understand it the idea of starting the class at Level 50 is so that newcomers to the game aren't Sisyphus-ing their way up a 105 level hill. That's understandable, and I can appreciate having Gift of the Valar out there for people who want to avoid so much slog when they go questing. But as Mar has said above, it's not for everyone. I love the lower level zones. "Below 50" is where I pay most attention to backstory, details, and trying things in different ways. I'm almost certainly going to roll a Beorning when they're released, and I want to be able to compare them with the other classes that I play. How does this class hold up soloing in the Barrows? How does it handle Garth Aragwen? How many kin Beornings does it take to grapple with Angmar? Lots of these are questions of skill: skill I'm concerned players like me won't develop if they're tossed into the class at Level 50. The first time I faced the Watcher I nearly died. Now that I know what I'm doing, it's a cakewalk. I wouldn't want to face the Watcher as one of my first quests on a class. The Watcher is a pretty respectable foe lore-wise, and taking it down right out of the gate doesn't match other classes having to spend a dozen levels hitting wolves with sticks.

I'm all for addressing the 105 level mountain new players face. Provide players with the option - start at Level 1, or Level 50. If it's not too complicated, give players who are willing to do the extra 49 levels a boost. Perhaps a title or racial trait; "Ranges far and wide," to quote Gandalf, that boosts a virtue or adds +10 Fate much like some existing Racial deeds do. I'd say that's a small enough gain for those folks willing to spend the extra time with the class.

[Namesse]

[*]Why was the cosmetic pet based on RNG drop
That’s just the mechanic for this particular pet. It was largely used as a test to see how players receive the whole concept of cosmetic pets, and it seems they’ve been received very very well. There will be more ways to acquire different pets, but they are meant to be a reward for hard work. Everyone wants the rare thing because it’s rare, but not everyone can have the rare thing or it wouldn’t be rare anymore.

Interesting that they've made a cosmetic pet harder to get than a game-enhancing First Age. I would have preferred that FA be the rare item, not a cosmetic, but that's just me.

[Valamar]

This fails to acknowledge that the RNG doesn't take account of however much 'hard work' someone puts in - someone can just as easily win the pet on their first attempt than they could only their 50th. Many of my kinnies (as a sample) have been doing these quests since the launch of u13, and none of them have received the tree pet yet, but on global it was shouted that someone had won it on their first attempt. To me, that's not a reward for hard work.

I'm not aware of anyone on Gladden (and definately not in my kin) who has gotten a cosmetic pet.

[SouthernBelle0927]

As I understand it the idea of starting the class at Level 50 is so that newcomers to the game aren't Sisyphus-ing their way up a 105 level hill. That's understandable, and I can appreciate having Gift of the Valar out there for people who want to avoid so much slog when they go questing. But as Mar has said above, it's not for everyone. I love the lower level zones. "Below 50" is where I pay most attention to backstory, details, and trying things in different ways. I'm almost certainly going to roll a Beorning when they're released, and I want to be able to compare them with the other classes that I play. How does this class hold up soloing in the Barrows? How does it handle Garth Aragwen? How many kin Beornings does it take to grapple with Angmar? Lots of these are questions of skill: skill I'm concerned players like me won't develop if they're tossed into the class at Level 50. The first time I faced the Watcher I nearly died. Now that I know what I'm doing, it's a cakewalk. I wouldn't want to face the Watcher as one of my first quests on a class. The Watcher is a pretty respectable foe lore-wise, and taking it down right out of the gate doesn't match other classes having to spend a dozen levels hitting wolves with sticks.

I'm all for addressing the 105 level mountain new players face. Provide players with the option - start at Level 1, or Level 50. If it's not too complicated, give players who are willing to do the extra 49 levels a boost. Perhaps a title or racial trait; "Ranges far and wide," to quote Gandalf, that boosts a virtue or adds +10 Fate much like some existing Racial deeds do. I'd say that's a small enough gain for those folks willing to spend the extra time with the class.

I have to agree, at least from the standpoint of a relatively new player (still in first year, on second PC, two different classes, neither one at level cap yet). I personally need those lower levels to get to know a new class. Starting a new class at level 50, without that opportunity to gradually get used to the class traits and skills is going to be difficult, and I think we're going to see a lot of players struggling to find their footing.

The Gift of the Valar is a slightly different situation, I think. For people who have 6 PCs in a class already--they know what they're doing with that class and may want to skip those first 49 levels. That's a logical level-skip situation to me. It's not something I personally find appealing (yet, anyway), but I can understand the motivation. There's a little bit of Spock in me that says "That's illogical" when it comes to doing the same with a completely new class that's never been played. Learning curves have their uses.

[Mystarr]

I'm not aware of anyone on Gladden (and definately not in my kin) who has gotten a cosmetic pet.

Actually... I got it in the first box I opened.

https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...t=#post7147528

[Sapience]

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Imladris

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Sirannon

Both look pretty accurate to me. Though I may have to take back that plane comment. I can stack them, right?

[ChromiteSwiftpaw]

Why was the cosmetic pet based on RNG drop

That’s just the mechanic for this particular pet. It was largely used as a test to see how players receive the whole concept of cosmetic pets, and it seems they’ve been received very very well. There will be more ways to acquire different pets, but they are meant to be a reward for hard work. Everyone wants the rare thing because it’s rare, but not everyone can have the rare thing or it wouldn’t be rare anymore.

Some people got these rewards on their FIRST try. How is that hard work?

[Mystarr]

I was sad to see Sapience say that the devs are not even discussing the mechanics of loot distribution. In my mind the random loot distribution system is one of the biggest sources of frustration for players. Whether it is frustration over the new pets, or getting useless drops of rare gold items in big battles. COMPLETELY RANDOM is BAD. I understand the need for rarity, but COMPLETELY RANDOM leads to things like:

- Finally getting a rare drop and its not really useful for your preferred build

- Grinding for months on your main with no luck and then logging in your alt minstrel to help some friends on a run and thats when the random number generator finally decides to give you a gold item drop...

- Getting your second ever gold drop and its the exact same item as your first drop (Exciting game play moment becomes vendor trash rant moment)

- Feeling like there is no point in playing because the random number generator hates you while some other lucky person has already gotten 5 rare rewards

RARE loot drops should be exciting and fun moments for players. Unfortunately the current implementation can turn these moments into frustrating disappointments. (From a purely anecdotal perspective these disappointing moments happen A LOT. Even if they aren't really the majority of occurrences, the frustration they cause makes them stand out in players mind so they ARE the cases that determine the players feelings about the rewards mechanics.)

Replacing rare equipemnt drops with a rare bind to account drop that you could barter for the item you want would fix a lot of this. Making it possible to earn the rare barter item for an obnoxiously high number of seals would also give players a way to feel like they are at least making progress even if the random number generator hates them. (Besides... What else are we going to use seals for?)

[Beaniemooch]

I was sad to see Sapience say that the devs are not even discussing the mechanics of loot distribution. In my mind the random loot distribution system is one of the biggest sources of frustration for players. Whether it is frustration over the new pets, or getting useless drops of rare gold items in big battles. COMPLETELY RANDOM is BAD. I understand the need for rarity, but COMPLETELY RANDOM leads to things like:

I've looked but I missed where it was said they weren't looking at loot distribution. Can you link it please? There are many of us frustrated by the RNG in loot handling. Right now one of my biggest frustrations is I can't even do the quests to try for the cosmetic pet.

[frickinmuck]

Both look pretty accurate to me. Though I may have to take back that plane comment. I can stack them, right?

When you gave that answer I assumed that you already had a packed Japanese pod hotel approach to storing them. If not, that might be worth considering!

I've looked but I missed where it was said they weren't looking at loot distribution. Can you link it please? There are many of us frustrated by the RNG in loot handling. Right now one of my biggest frustrations is I can't even do the quests to try for the cosmetic pet.

Here's the quote I think Mystarr was probably referring to.

• Question about whether loot mechanics or drop rates will be changing
  To the best of his knowledge there have been no discussions about that among the team, so he’s going to say probably no.

[Mystarr]

11. Question about whether loot mechanics or drop rates will be changing
To the best of his knowledge there have been no discussions about that among the team, so he’s going to say probably no.

[cdq1958]

I've looked but I missed where it was said they weren't looking at loot distribution. Can you link it please? There are many of us frustrated by the RNG in loot handling. Right now one of my biggest frustrations is I can't even do the quests to try for the cosmetic pet.

One of the recent TTHTI streams said, I think, that they were looking at loot distribution. Personally, they need to keep the pRNG and add one or more guaranteed methods. I will look back at the transcripts Frick has put up. Update: Okay, I saw nothing really definitive, but the BR one dropped a hint, indirectly. HoarseDev seems to be the go-to guy for itemization/loot currently. Update 2: I just saw the posts made while I was writing and editing mine. No change to drop mechanics or rates still allows for bartering, since bartering is also currently used as a mechanic.

[J_Howell]

Making it possible to earn the rare barter item for an obnoxiously high number of seals would also give players a way to feel like they are at least making progress even if the random number generator hates them. (Besides... What else are we going to use seals for?)

Agreed entirely. The random drops are the #2 reason I've never even bothered trying to get BB jewelry (#1 reason = I hate BBs). Trying to get gold drops, let alone a specific one, never even crossed my mind.

Though based on past experience if Turbine did this, they'd set the price so ridiculously high that only east coast or European players could ever hope to grind enough for a single piece. From a west coast perspective, the cyan BB jewelry barter prices are already "obnoxiously high". I've been on Brandywine since late December, have joined every raid group during the hours that I play, and have 375 seals - i.e. I'm one seal short of being able to barter for two cyan jewelry pieces if I so desired. Which I don't, in large part because the price is so insanely high and the only potential benefit is the set bonus since the base stats are the same as any other cyan piece. If anything, matters have gotten worse in the last few weeks - skraids are happening again, but since that's only WoS that's a maximum of 6 seals/week/character. And sadly my kin (the largest and most active on the server, as far as I know) has stopped running raids on weekends, so those of us who can't play games on weekday afternoons no longer have a way to gain seals via true raids.

I've long thought that those jewelry barter prices should be reduced by about a factor of four. Seems fair that one BG run should be enough to pay for a single piece of a jewelry set. Maybe people would actually run BG, or Helegrod, or non-WoS skraids, if we actually had reasonably priced goodies to spend seals on.

Since this is a tangent off of the "cosmetic pet = reward for hard work" remark, I agree with the others that as implemented it most certainly isn't. Should be on the barter npcs for a number of barter tokens that actually reflects hard work - a month's worth? Two months? Since the level cap increase was announced the same day the Entwood grind launched, I didn't see the point even starting the grind so I don't know what the actual numbers would be. But think ahead to a year from now; we'll be at level 105 (or 110?), and the only reason for anyone to spend time in the Entwood would be if they wanted the cosmetic pet. I don't think they'll do that if it's a random drop, but they might if it was a "barter 1000 tokens" thing where they could have a clear end point to work towards.

[Mar-Evayave]

I'm not that enthusiastic about the new class being a Beorning, especially the fact that its intended as a light tactical class and I feel it should be heavy. However, if it means that we get access to the Carrock and surrounding lands as an intro region for the Beornings, then I can put up with it being level 50. Though I'm not sure how much sense it makes for our Beorning characters to start our journey in the 'real' LOTRO world by going straight into Moria.

That seems a bit impossible. It sounded to me that the Beorning would be put into the existing Misty Mountains, which are positioned on the west side, whereas the Carrock is on the east side (and a fair bit south, I believe). And as you say, they'd be going through Moria, which puts them even more firmly on the west side (a good ways away from the Carrock and really all of Rhovanion).

I was opposed to the Gift of the Valar to begin with because I strongly feel people cannot learn their classes and gain significant experience by cutting out half the leveling experience. Less is not more in this. But I can tolerate the GotV being in the game. What I do NOT want is for it to be forced down my throat. And consider this -- if it's set at level 50, how do we know the cost isn't going to be 1000 TP (roughly that of a new class?) + several Ks (whatever the cost of the GotV is)? It could be some whopping 5k TP total, for half the experience.

As I understand it the idea of starting the class at Level 50 is so that newcomers to the game aren't Sisyphus-ing their way up a 105 level hill. That's understandable, and I can appreciate having Gift of the Valar out there for people who want to avoid so much slog when they go questing. But as Mar has said above, it's not for everyone. I love the lower level zones. "Below 50" is where I pay most attention to backstory, details, and trying things in different ways. I'm almost certainly going to roll a Beorning when they're released, and I want to be able to compare them with the other classes that I play. How does this class hold up soloing in the Barrows? How does it handle Garth Aragwen? How many kin Beornings does it take to grapple with Angmar? Lots of these are questions of skill: skill I'm concerned players like me won't develop if they're tossed into the class at Level 50. The first time I faced the Watcher I nearly died. Now that I know what I'm doing, it's a cakewalk. I wouldn't want to face the Watcher as one of my first quests on a class. The Watcher is a pretty respectable foe lore-wise, and taking it down right out of the gate doesn't match other classes having to spend a dozen levels hitting wolves with sticks.

I'm all for addressing the 105 level mountain new players face. Provide players with the option - start at Level 1, or Level 50. If it's not too complicated, give players who are willing to do the extra 49 levels a boost. Perhaps a title or racial trait; "Ranges far and wide," to quote Gandalf, that boosts a virtue or adds +10 Fate much like some existing Racial deeds do. I'd say that's a small enough gain for those folks willing to spend the extra time with the class.

Exactly. To get all mysterious for so long, to announce a new class and then have more mystery, to announce its a Beorning and add more mystery, piling suspense and anticipation high, only to pull the rug out from under a lot of players and cater specifically to those players who power-level, want only end-game, or just have done the starter stuff so much that they want to skip it for a change... it just really stings for those who enjoy the journey, who like to stop and smell the roses. I realize that progression is very important, but I believe Sapience or Rowan or someone said that the journey is the most important element of the entire game. So please, Turbine, do not take the journey away from us.

Small side-note: Disappointed about the lotteries. Instead of having either a small chance to win (if lots of people entered vs available winnings) or a big chance to win (if few enter vs winnings), now it sounds like we'll always have a small chance to win no matter what.

[frickinmuck]

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Firefoot

Please note: I am paraphrasing here. Anything said here is coming through my interpretation of what was said, and is subject to being corrected, so don't take all this as the final word.

If anyone who was present has any additions or corrections, feel free to post.

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Firefoot
Video available here.

1. Question about the secret meeting Sapience just said he was in
   Really high level meeting on what can be done to replace the lottery system. Don’t expect anything soon, but it’s being discussed and hasn’t been forgotten.
2. Does zooming out the view contribute to lag
   It does, but not as much as being on a mounts, wearing cloaks, etc. because those things are animated and contribute to load.
3. Question about cosmetic pets hinted at in the BR 13.1 patch notes
   He won’t give any details, but he will say that the huorns are just the start. More cosmetic pets will be coming, along with more ways to earn them.
4. Sapience mentions that the new BR installer is ready for download and use.
5. There's a thread on the forums about an Orders tab for the auction house. Can you comment on how feasible this is
   He isn’t an engineer and so can’t comment on the feasibility of things like that.
6. Suggestion about adding a tombstone near the bridge where Hadacar often dies
   He loves this idea, he's going to have to bug someone about it.
7. Question about yule map, where does it take you
   [After some discussion it’s made clear that those old maps take you to Winterhome, but there’s no one there and no quests active. You can take a stable horse from there to Bree or other starter towns. – Frick]
8. When is the date for the next festival
   Spring festival – soon, probably after 13.1, which is coming really soon. There is a date, he just doesn’t know off the top of his head.
9. Question about horses being dismounted in water during festival races
   Standard mounts should dismount in water, it's a water hazard. but if you feel it’s not behaving properly, /bug it.
10. Question about the new class
    It’s a Beorning, they will be able to turn into a bear, and they’ll be talking about it more later in the year. There is a little bit of information that has been shared about it, and Rowan mentioned in the last livestream that they are considering a level 50 start for that class. But beyond that he can’t really discuss it. Those conversations will happen closer to the time.
11. Question about Sapience being involved in an Extra Life Boston guild
    Yes, he’s a part of that guild. Turbine also has its own team and he’s the captain of that team as well.
12. Question about crafting icons
    He doesn’t know, he knows it’s on the list, but the list is long and there are higher priorities ahead of it on the list.
13. Is there a specific release date for Hobnanigans
    Not at the moment. Probably sooner rather than later. It’s close, but they are still doing some tweaks. If they can get it in for 13.1 they will, but it’s more important that everything is working properly than that it get in quicker.
14. Can LotRO players join Team Turbine for Extra Life
    Yes, you can, and you can still play for your local hospital but the total will be added to the team’s result. If you want him to get a tattoo you will have to donate directly on his page, but you can still join Team Turbine as well and help with the team total.
15. What is the tattoo
    The Extra Life logo on shoulder or arm, if we help him raise $100,000.
16. Would it be your first tattoo
    Yes, it would.
17. How come we never see GMs or mods playing an active role in the game
    Their role is to help with in-game issues, not to be interactive in the game.
18. Have any discussions come about for getting the Fashion Maven titles back in the game
    He’s trying to find a way that doesn’t rely on the in-game event – screenshot contests, etc.
19. Will we do a revisit to Bullroarer at the end of this year’s hobbit runs
    Hadn’t thought of it, but that could be fun.
20. Will horseplay ever be available for all players or purchasable in the store
    It was intended to be an exclusive for pre-orders, so he thinks not, but never say never.
21. Are there plans to open new areas a few days early for the VIP players as was done a long time ago
    He hasn’t heard anything that would lead him to believe that would happen
22. Any new VIP perks being discussed
    They’re always talking about how to improve the VIP service, so there are definitely always discussions going on, but nothing set in stone yet.
23. Will mail in the wild ever become something available in store
    It was developed especially as a VIP perk, so he highly doubts it
24. Anything at stake in these runs
    It’s just bragging rights. He may try to get something turned on for a day or two – a festival or lootbox weekend or something – but for now it’s just bragging rights.
25. What about treasure hunts, can we turn those on soon
    He doesn’t know but he’ll pass the request along
26. Can you give us any information on the size of the landmass coming with U14
    When it gets closer to U14 they’ll be able to talk about that stuff, but right now the focus is on U13.1
27. Question about how catapults might be implemented in the Moors
    He’d recommend directing that question to Jinjaah in the forums
28. Have you had the chance to play Infinite Crisis, if so do you recommend it to someone who’s never played a MOBA
    He does. There are a lot of helpful players, and the IC staff plays a lot, and sometimes you can jump into the game. So it’s a good place to start if you haven’t played a MOBA before. Especially if you’re a DC fan because who doesn’t want to be Batman, and different versions of Batman? Or if you’re a pro – he would recommend it to pros as well, there are a lot of pro teams.
29. How often do you play LOTRO on your personal account for fun? Does playing it seem like work
    He plays more often than people think, but not as often as he’d like. It doesn’t seem like work to him unless he pays a lot of attention to GLFF.
30. Does your job require you to play
    No, but he came to the job because he played the game a lot.
31. What do you love most about your job
    Meeting and interacting with players online and IRL. Seeing a change that he’s championed for awhile finally end up in the game. But for everyone on the team, their favourite thing is always meeting with other players.
32. Would you make a tour of the office with interviews with the devs
    It’s been suggested before. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but the challenge is logistical in getting everyone on camera and getting it filmed and edited without it taking forever.
33. Do you know if the character models for male elves is still being tweaked
    Not that he’s aware of.
34. Question about auto-fellowing mentioned in the U13.1 notes
    You can mark someone to auto-fellow and if they mark you, you both will automatically be put in a fellowship as long as you're both eligible to be in a fellowship.
35. Any discussion about downscaling
    jwbarry actually recently said that it’s harder to do than upscaling, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong with it. So it’s not something they are currently looking at. But that doesn’t mean they’ll never consider it or never do it, it’s just not something they are currently working on.
36. What headset are you using
    It’s a Tritton headset, full surround. Really nice, comfortable headset. They’ve given them away at IRL player events in the past.
37. In the 13.1 Notes on BR there is no mention of the Quieting quest bug
    Its absence from the BR notes doesn’t mean it will be absent from the final U13.1 release. One of the engineers mentions later on in the stream that it appears to have been fixed and will be in U13.1 release.
38. Question about giving away headsets
    That might be a way to get more people in the stream – to have some giveaways. He’ll think about that.
39. Sapience comments on how many women play LotRO and how he thinks that’s great, and the more women in gaming there are, that’s a great thing for the industry as a whole.
40. Are there going to be more epic battles available with the next update, or are you only updating the current ones
    Not sure whether there will be any updates or changes to the system in the next update, but you shouldn’t look for a new battle until later in the year
41. Question about having a “voice this character” contest
    He can’t go into it too deeply, but there are issues with voice actors, and limitations they have to work within, so that’s probably not something they could do.
42. Have there been occasions where players contribute to content through contests
    Yes, in the form of items. Players have contributed cloak designs and other things. The Wig-feld cloak, which drops in the Rift, was player designed. There are a couple of festival mounts that were player designed. The Cremello steed was originally player designed, and they tweaked the colors a bit to match with each of the Pax East and Pax West shows, to match the color schemes of the shows they were given out at. But the original design was player-created.
43. Will the One Fund cloak ever be dyeable
    No. It was specifically designed to match the One Fund for Boston Marathon victims.
44. Will there be other forms for Beorning besides bear
    Not likely, but it’s too early to talk about that in any detail.
45. Question about level 95 armour sets
    No word on that
46. Any chance for a war goat
    No plans for a war goat, sorry
47. Can we get a combine all button for relics
    It’s been suggested to the team, but he has no other information about it.
48. Do Turbine employees each have their own work computer and desk
    Yes, everyone has their own machine. Some of the devs have two machines. He shares a desk area with the ecommerce manager so can get quick answers on store-related questions. Everyone is in a good proximity to communicate with each other.
49. Will you continue to support mounted combat
    He would be very surprised indeed if they ever stopped supporting mounted combat.
50. Question about changing the look of legendary weapons
    He isn’t aware of any plans to do so, but he thinks it’s a good suggestion to bring to the forums, and the devs will take a look at it.
51. Question about making a proper fat lady character
    Suggestions like that should be made in the suggestions forums
52. If you could plant an Easter Egg in the game for any major fandom what would it be
    An equippable browncoat from Firefly that was cosmetic. Since he’s not in charge of adding things like that, we’re probably safe from an invasion of browncoats. Since there are so many Lord of the Rings references in Big Bang Theory that it might be appropriate to have something from that show. Based on comments from people in chat he concludes that perhaps the best thing would be a quest that rewards a housing item that allows you to play the “Soft Kitty” song from the show in your house.
53. Is there any one thing brought up by the 2013 PC that you wish could be implemented but know it can't be
    There’s a long list of stuff that was suggested, so picking one thing would be hard. All the suggestions and conversations have been archived, so it’s possible that something might still come out of those discussions. But to answer the question – he can’t think of anything off the top of his head.
54. Will there be actual endgame raids and group content something unlocked via grouping and not accessible by the casuals
    He could get into a big discussion about what constitutes a “casual” but that’s not the point of the question. Anytime you tell a player “you can’t play this regardless of whether you paid for it or not” it’s not a good idea. So no, he doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
55. The person clarifies that they just mean will there be any new raids
    No, that’s been made pretty clear with EP Aaron “Rowan” Campbell’s producer’s letter and many times been reiterated by the team.
56. Is there a release timeframe for the new class and U14
    Yes to both, but he can’t share those dates. Also, they’re separate things, and are not on the same timeframe.
57. Can Devs make players bow to them
    Not unless they are captains. Devs don’t have any special forced emotes.
58. Does this event take place every year
    The event is new this year. Some players have asked that it return. Which he thinks is a great idea.
59. Is there really a LOTRO "jail" to send trouble-some trolls
    Yes there really is an in game jail GMs can send you to. There is actually a jail. Like you cannot get out of it until they release you. No maps, no ports, no summons. You stay until they let you go. Assuming they let you go. And if you log out, the next time you log in...still in jail.
60. Is it ever used to discipline trolls?
    It has been in the past, yes.

[frickinmuck]

Since this is a tangent off of the "cosmetic pet = reward for hard work" remark, I agree with the others that as implemented it most certainly isn't.

I agree it's not accurate to say it's hard work. I don't know if that's literally what was said or if that's my transcription, or where that came from. I think it would be more accurate to say that it's rare - and that's a good thing in my eyes. For a couple of reasons. For one thing, it means that when someone gets it, it feels more special and exciting - to me surprise is always more exciting than expectation. Something can't be rare if everyone has the ability to get it whenever they want. This is why I am glad it's random. I will be doing those dailies on all my 95s, and it will be more exciting to me to get it if it's rare. The other benefit to it being random is it also means we don't have 500 huorns running around Bree, which would not be cool on any level. And there's another reason I don't mind the huorns being random: because I hate the RNG for stuff that matters, and if the RNG is going to be used, I'd rather it be used for stuff like this than for gear or weapons or things that affect gameplay in meaningful ways.

I recognize that other people want a different mechanic for this, but at least it's been made clear that other pets will be made available in other ways.

[Tirian-Hammerfist]

That seems a bit impossible. It sounded to me that the Beorning would be put into the existing Misty Mountains, which are positioned on the west side, whereas the Carrock is on the east side (and a fair bit south, I believe). And as you say, they'd be going through Moria, which puts them even more firmly on the west side (a good ways away from the Carrock and really all of Rhovanion).

I was opposed to the Gift of the Valar to begin with because I strongly feel people cannot learn their classes and gain significant experience by cutting out half the leveling experience. Less is not more in this. But I can tolerate the GotV being in the game. What I do NOT want is for it to be forced down my throat. And consider this -- if it's set at level 50, how do we know the cost isn't going to be 1000 TP (roughly that of a new class?) + several Ks (whatever the cost of the GotV is)? It could be some whopping 5k TP total, for half the experience.

I'm not sure the geographical locations necessarily make a new start region unfeasible. While we access the Misties from the West, that doesn't necessarily mean we're only in the Western portion of them. While Rowan mentioned that the Misties was being considered as a starter region, I don't see why the Carrock and the surrounding lands (which are actually roughly in line with our part of the Misties) couldn't be added as a starter zone.

[Schinderhannes]

...
Is it ever used to discipline trolls?

1. It has been in the past, yes.

And not just for beeing a troll.

Back when Moria came out my dwarf was sentenced to death in the prison. Thank valar we can be resurrected!