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  1. #1
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    A Look at LOTRO's 2023

    A Look at LOTRO’s 2023

    Welcome to the first Letter to the Players for 2023. For those that may not know me, I am Allan “Orion” Maki, the Lead Systems Designer on The Lord of the Rings: Online. Severlin and Cordovan graciously allowed me to put pen to paper for this important update and roadmap for our 16th year!

    Before we dive into the changes for 2023, I wanted to take a brief moment and look at the year that was. 2022 was a great year for The Lord of the Rings Online. We celebrated 15 years of development, released the Before the Shadow mini-expansion, which introduced a new starter area to the game, the delving system, a new 6-player dungeon, skirmish, and much more. We saw new players and returning players and continued to expand on our living Middle-earth.

    But let’s be honest – that’s old news and you don’t want to read about last year. You want to read about 2023.

    Ambitious. This is the single word that I would use to describe the goals for The Lord of the Rings: Online in 2023. Reflecting on where we are in the development of the game, we recognize that there are some areas, systems, and experiences that need attention and sprucing up. We also understand that there is a need for level cap content and new things for you to do. Our focus in 2023 is bringing some of those experiences up to more modern expectations and the expansion of the game world, story, and direction as we begin the next 15 years of our journey together.

    You can see that we are planning on four content patches throughout 2023, each building toward our next major expansion release by the end of the year:



    Our journey through 2023 begins with a visit to the distant and familiar land of Angmar. More specifically, the iron city in the poisonous wastes of northern Middle-earth, Carn Dûm. There, in the shadow of a great citadel, a power vacuum draws from the diaspora of evil denizens looking for any semblance of leadership and guidance. New enemies scrabble to seize power, and it falls to the Free People to stop the rise of a single leader in the ravaged city.



    The Return to Carn Dûm features a new end game instance cluster with two 3-player instances, a 6-player instance, a new raid, and all of the spoils and rewards that you expect to find in a new space. Additionally, we are expanding the Delving system into the Library and School at Tham Mírdain and revising the reward system slightly to make the repeatable nature and rewards of the Delving system more appealing. We are also making some more balance tweaks to the Delving system in an effort to smooth the difficulty transitions as you progress toward the higher tiers.



    We will also be focusing on more targeted changes for classes in the first release of the New Year, with Captain and Warden getting their first updates. On a more general systems note, we are revisiting Power; how it is used, how it is recovered, and its importance as a main statistic. The impact here will be less on the moment-to-moment experience on the landscape and more on the management of this resource in dungeons and raids.

    We are also planning to begin a revision to the crafting system that will continue throughout the year. Our expressed end goal includes breaking apart vocations to allow players to choose which profession they want to learn, providing crafters with the ability to make some best in slot or equally competitive items through their professions, expanding upon existing crafting systems that may have been overlooked for a long time (I’m looking at you, essences) and expanding the system for the future.

    Another focus will be on the continued importance of festivals and events. Along with the return of Ill Omens, we will expand the rewards for the Spring festival, introduce new direct Player versus Monster Player events inside of the Ettenmoors, and work toward providing a new set of cyclical events that revolve around the different crafting professions.

    As we move into the spring and summer months, our focus will shift to the growing threat posed by the enemies soon to be unleashed in our next major expansion. Gondor, now experiencing relative peace, needs assistance in rebuilding and assessing strange goings on. We will be introducing a new version of Gondor, no longer dawnless and harried by enemies on all sides. Yet still, threats linger that must be opposed. From a game systems side, we will continue to work on targeted class updates, crafting changes, monster play updates, and further adjustments to combat statistics as we move forward to the expansion, new festival rewards for Midsummer, and much more.

    As spring turns to summer, the tentatively-titled "Watching the Wing" will fill your days with Further Adventures, new festival rewards for the Farmer's Faire, new rewards with the Treasure Bugan event, and an expansion of the Delving system to higher difficulty tiers. We will also make additions to the 3-player Instances added with "The Return to Carn Dûm". Crafting changes will continue and more enhancements to Monster Play will take place as we drive toward the expansion in the last quarter of the year.

    As I said, ambitious!

    Now, we are reaching the end of this inaugural Letter to the Players of 2023, and we want to tease a little bit about the expansion that we have planned for the latter part of the year. We are not fully prepared to release many details, but we do want to provide you with a little tease of what is to come.

    As we wrapped Before the Shadow, and began looking toward the future, we asked ourselves where we wanted to take the story and the game next. There was an overwhelming consensus that we wanted to head south to less traveled shores. Across the salty sea, beyond the Bay of Belfalas to the shore of the Corsair Kings, Umbar. And that, dear readers, is a tale for another day.

    Until next time, I remain Orion.

  2. #2
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    Did I read that right.... a new class? What is it?

    And... did you say you are breaking the professions apart? Do you mean that like instead of Tinker I can just be Jewerly Crafter?
    Pharone the Gnome
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  3. #3
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    is this instance cluster replacing the usual new region? or the new region is the landscape update in spring? because sacrificing a region for some instances is honestly.... bad. the writing on the roadmap is a bit ambiguous

  4. #4
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    Thank you, Orion, for posting it here too!

    First things first, ambitious indeed! But I'm happy for you guys, I wish LOTRO & the Dev Team a great 2023.

    A return to Carn Dum, a continuation of the post-Destruction of the Ring story in Gondor and a future in Umbar, sounds pretty awesome, ngl.

    I'm also glad to hear festival madness is gonna get spread to the Moors and Crafting, in whatever flavour that takes. Can't wait to see that.

    Oh, and I'd like to thank you all for bringing Ill Omens back!

    I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that despite it not being on the letter, I wholeheartedly hope there's more performance work in the background. I'm sure we'd all love to get back those friends of ours who left due to lag ruining their experience. Personally, I've noticed an improvement on Gladden regarding the Housing bug (our decorations have been loading consistently).

    Again, best wishes for 2023!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by elvenes View Post
    is this instance cluster replacing the usual new region? or the new region is the landscape update in spring? because sacrificing a region for some instances is honestly.... bad. the writing on the roadmap is a bit ambiguous
    Return to Carn Dum is specifically an instance cluster (the region itself already exists, thus the "Return"). We definitely have ambitious landscape plans, though, for 2023.
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  6. #6
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    Power revamp kind of concerns me. Don't like the way he's talking about it. Honestly power reliance needs to be turned down.

    Most games have global CDs for skills/abilities, so power/mana mechanics makes sense as a form of combat resource management.

    In lotro though, the skill rotation and CD management is the resource management. Some classes even have a secondary resource management in the form of ferver, or focus, or mettle, or fortifications, or even battle ready/hardened.

    Over complicating power usage as a third layer of combat resource management is a bad idea. Fun and engaging game play relies in some part to a flow. Giving us a plethora of skills we may not be able to use because of power problems is bad design. No one wants to just sit on their hands doing nothing while power regens.

    Be nice if we had a little more info about their plans for it.

    New class seems a little soon too, especially with the speed class balances now are proceeding. I recognize slower is better when making changes to classes that will effect the overall meta, but throwing another new class in the mix seems ill adviced at this point. Lotro doesn't have to keep up with something like ffxiv with a new class every expansion.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by theultimatekyle View Post
    Power revamp kind of concerns me. Don't like the way he's talking about it. Honestly power reliance needs to be turned down.
    There is a dev diary that will be released to explain the changes to power. The goal is to not impact the moment-to-moment gameplay on landscape. For instances and Raids, there would be more emphasis on controlling your power consumption and recovery. Ultimately, the goal here is to restore power as a stat that a) matters to you as a player, and b) is something that we can effectively itemize and develop more gameplay around.

    Quote Originally Posted by theultimatekyle View Post
    Be nice if we had a little more info about their plans for it.
    There will be a Dev Diary to explain this in greater detail.

  8. #8
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    Sounds exciting, and can't wait to hear/see more in the coming months, And new New Class? wasn't expecting to read that in a list of things, feels like we just got Brawler, but will be interesting to learn more.

    Also excited we going to Umbar, always wanted to see those lands.
    Pontin Level 140 Hobbit Burglar Leader of Second Breakfast Crickhollow Server.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by theultimatekyle View Post
    Power revamp kind of concerns me. Don't like the way he's talking about it. Honestly power reliance needs to be turned down.

    Most games have global CDs for skills/abilities, so power/mana mechanics makes sense as a form of combat resource management.

    In lotro though, the skill rotation and CD management is the resource management. Some classes even have a secondary resource management in the form of ferver, or focus, or mettle, or fortifications, or even battle ready/hardened.

    Over complicating power usage as a third layer of combat resource management is a bad idea. Fun and engaging game play relies in some part to a flow. Giving us a plethora of skills we may not be able to use because of power problems is bad design. No one wants to just sit on their hands doing nothing while power regens.

    Be nice if we had a little more info about their plans for it.

    New class seems a little soon too, especially with the speed class balances now are proceeding. I recognize slower is better when making changes to classes that will effect the overall meta, but throwing another new class in the mix seems ill adviced at this point. Lotro doesn't have to keep up with something like ffxiv with a new class every expansion.
    As an altaholic, I am personally very excited about having a new class.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cordovan View Post
    We definitely have ambitious landscape plans, though, for 2023.
    I assume you mean besides the expansion at the end of th next year. I kind of felt a bit left out last year, since I was uninterested in creating a lowlevel alt. So I was hoping this year I would get a bit more (and I am not terribly interested in instances)

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pharone View Post
    As an altaholic, I am personally very excited about having a new class.
    IMHO it will be new creep class

  12. #12
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    A fantastic letter, thank you!

    I just have to say, the layout and readability is a huge improvement from the text-wall we normally get. I love that its been divided up into succinct bullet points - very similar to how other games do it. Modern and refreshing, thank you!

    I love everything I'm hearing, (mostly, the power rework is something I detest) but the rest of it is exciting! I love that you're expanding fests and updating rewards, happy to see them not being forgotten :P

    I cant wait to see the new regions we are headed to, Gondor and Umbar (at last!!) As well, the photos linked in the post are stunning. Hey, Scenario....*cough* those plants as housing items pllssss?? *cough*

    New class. This one I gotta admit has me stumped. Hooowwww? Brawler was a STRETCH, and that's putting it gently. Im at a complete loss as to what in the name of Gollum could be another class (is it gollum?? :P ), and actually be valid? Will it have a valid place in a group, contributing something that all the other current classes don't already do better/faster? I struggle to imagine that being possible, but I'm also not creative in that regard XD. My biggest concern/request with the class however, is this: Can we please not have a new class release completely half-baked? Both Beorning and Brawler were honestly in beta stage on release and thats quite disappointing given they are cash purchases. The many changes to Brawlers following their release were great, and I applaud the speed at which they were done (unlike Beorning LOL) but still maybe a little more polish before release would be nice

    Ambitious. Yup, I'll say. Im eager about the coming year and wish you guys all the best with what you've planned for yourselves! I dont envy your job one bit XD, though I sure do look forward to experiencing its result!!

    -Ods

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cordovan View Post
    Return to Carn Dum is specifically an instance cluster (the region itself already exists, thus the "Return"). We definitely have ambitious landscape plans, though, for 2023.
    Oh wait, so is that update just new instance cluster and some story questing back in old Angmar? Or is there as-of-yet unrevealed new landmass attached to it too?

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elmagor View Post
    IMHO it will be new creep class
    Well bah...! I didn't think of that.

    I don't pvp. PvP and me leads to anger. Anger leads to punching walls. Punching walls leads to the dark side. The dark side does not have cookies no matter how much they tell you they do. The cookies are a lie.

    There's still a ton in there for me to look forward to if that is the case.
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  15. #15
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    2023 roadmap excludes the most important change needed to ensure playable PVMP: the disabling of Target Forwarding in the Ettenmoors only.


    HTF (heal target forwarding) will continue to be a plague on the game for years to come if this is not addressed. the fact that it is not on the roadmap despite the overwhelming show of support for its removal in PVMP settings only shows that the genuine concerns of the community are second fiddle to other less impactful changes and personal whims.
    The Black Appendage of Sauron

  16. #16
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    Power management. Good. As an LM it's been many years since I've had to even think about giving out power, other than a few power-drain bosses and the occasional panicking over someone with zero power before I realize they're a beorning.

    A new class... trying to think of something that hasn't been done. Some kind of ranged tank maybe? The Kite class. They could have special kite pets. Might as well make it official! Or a Tradesman class that can have all crafting professions but is pretty weak in combat.

    Is the Return of Carn Dum going to be free to all players, or is it a separate purchase?

    Overall this is sounding pretty cool to me. Thanks Orion!

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by TesalionLortus View Post
    Oh wait, so is that update just new instance cluster and some story questing back in old Angmar? Or is there as-of-yet unrevealed new landmass attached to it too?
    The instance cluster takes place in a re-imagined version of the city and does not replace the original, existing instance. It's a new piece of landscape/dungeons built with modern world design in mind.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scenario View Post
    The instance cluster takes place in a re-imagined version of the city and does not replace the original, existing instance. It's a new piece of landscape/dungeons built with modern world design in mind.
    So, no new area this year until the new Gondor in Autumn. And I can hardly call that new area.

    I can understand the need to cater to new players (Cardolan) and save workhours by not introducing a new area, but I will miss the on level questing for my level cap characters
    Arequain Belechael, Legate of Celosien, Minas Brethil, Lebennin

  19. #19
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    should seriously consider the removal of HTF and STF in the ettenmoors make people select what they want to heal or attack!
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  20. #20
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    For the few asking about the Monster Play, it does say "Ongoing Monster Play Updates" in the roadmap for Q2, just doesn't have the details. Hopefully they will consider your changes in mind, so not all hope is lost...

  21. #21
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    Hello Orion!
    At the beginning of autumn, you started a discussion about the upcoming update for Guardian.
    Should we expect this update towards the end of the year or in the second quarter, following Captain and Warden?

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rino90 View Post
    Hello Orion!
    At the beginning of autumn, you started a discussion about the upcoming update for Guardian.
    Should we expect this update towards the end of the year or in the second quarter, following Captain and Warden?
    Our hope is to address all classes throughout the course of the year as we lead up to the new expansion.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scenario View Post
    The instance cluster takes place in a re-imagined version of the city and does not replace the original, existing instance. It's a new piece of landscape/dungeons built with modern world design in mind.
    Will this version be explorable outside of the instances? Would be cool if it was!
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  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Belechael View Post
    So, no new area this year until the new Gondor in Autumn. And I can hardly call that new area.

    I can understand the need to cater to new players (Cardolan) and save workhours by not introducing a new area, but I will miss the on level questing for my level cap characters
    There will be - details can be found in the spring/Q2 section of the letter. The return to Gondor is not our Autumn offering.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tirian-Hammerfist View Post
    Will this version be explorable outside of the instances? Would be cool if it was!
    Not outside of the instance spaces. But there will be plenty of space to grow in there in the future.

 

 
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