A big thank you to the devs for more customisation options for our characters.

[Neonisys]

Seriously good stuff, more options for characters benefits everyone and is wonderfully includive and a uniformally good move. Keep it up.

[choon_blaze]

Forcefuly taking away the classic look we had for the last 16 years is a good move in what world? It's especially risky since this is an older mmo carried by veteran players who are now leaving by the droves

[TesalionLortus]

Taking legacy things away isn't exactly wrong because games gotta evolve and that won't happen if they just prioritize some stubborn players clinging to outdated things. However... that's not exactly the case here since the old looks were not exactly graphically inferior in any significant way, and I say this as someone obsessed with graphics, and some of the old looks/shapes certainly can't be recreated with new ones, so it's a bit of a hit-and-miss situation - players who liked some of the old shapes are rightfully pissed because the least they could do was to try and recreate the old ones accurately

Now, face it with a hypothetical situation when new avatars are outright graphically superior with brand new models, polygons, animations and a whole different, better, modern feel to them - completely different situation and veteran or not, everyone would recognize said superiority

[Elmagor]

In recent months I talk with one ex-Lotro player, and trying motivate him go back and look how game changes in last 3 years. He download Lotro again, start creating new characters, facepalm and uninstal. Big thanks to devs!

[WhimsicalPacifist]

Inclusion is a wonderful thing. Hardcore Rohirrim kins will be faced with the prospect of including everyone now that origins have zero impact on character creation. And conversely I can have a bearded (maybe leprous? I haven't decided yet) albino princess of Rhun; sealed away in a tomb by her family who considered her an aberration. With the turmoil of Sauron's passing, she escaped from her living tomb and made her way to Bree.

True inclusion would be opening up to texture modding characters; see modding in FFXIV which goes as far as adding androgynous spears. You can make an avatar in Middle Earth and no one else is less immersed. It also opens up a great many pieces of clothing for textural enhancement. Skinny dipping hobbits would be a strict no-no.

[Varmintkiller]

In recent months I talk with one ex-Lotro player, and trying motivate him go back and look how game changes in last 3 years. He download Lotro again, start creating new characters, facepalm and uninstal. Big thanks to devs!

Just last week, I talked to twenty ex-LOTRO players, and they all downloaded it again because they love the new customization options so much. And also they voted me president of Bree. Thank you devs!

[Pontin_Finnberry]

Yeah more options are great, they did a great job with this and I can't wait see this for the other races, especially Hobbits cause they have a few issues that need fixing/updated, would be nice to no longer see my Hobbits head separate from the neck at times seeing clear through (been this way for many years). Anyway thanks to art team for updating the Race of Man.

[Fadil]

Forcefuly taking away the classic look we had for the last 16 years is a good move in what world? It's especially risky since this is an older mmo carried by veteran players who are now leaving by the droves

/chuckle

Veteran players arent leaving, let alone in big numbers.
I'm part of a kin of 600 players, with a lot of Veteran players, and none of them have even said 1 unhappy/ negative word about the new character options.

Its just a handful of people on the mbs, who feel the need to repeat their objections in every thread possible,
even when amidst 20 angry threads , one thread is positive.

Cant have that, can we.

[choon_blaze]

/chuckle

Veteran players arent leaving, let alone in big numbers.
I'm part of a kin of 600 players, with a lot of Veteran players, and none of them have even said 1 unhappy/ negative word about the new character options.

Its just a handful of people on the mbs, who feel the need to repeat their objections in every thread possible,
even when amidst 20 angry threads , one thread is positive.

Cant have that, can we.

Doubtful. You must be playing on a tiny server in a kinship bubble then. On Evernight, tons of people have expressed their plans to leave since the inception of this weak update.

Seems to me that's the general consensus on the forums as well, there are already ongoing threads about the topic but people feel they need to make new threads because they could not accept their opinions are in the minority.

[mr_underfoot]

On Evernight, tons of people have expressed their plans to leave since the inception of this weak update.

i'm geniunely curious about this. can anyone good with numbers grok these graphs?--> http://lotrostats.gefallenehelden.de/r10.html

have logins gone down significantly since the update?

[Trixie_Me]

Yes, thank you so much devs!!

[Fadil]

Doubtful. You must be playing on a tiny server in a kinship bubble then. On Evernight, tons of people have expressed their plans to leave since the inception of this weak update.

I play on Evernight, never heard a single player express they intend to
leave over this, or heard much criticism of the charceters update
in /world.
Except from a few trolls, who also frequently express their ideas that women
are subpar creatures. Yes even Lotro has some 12 year old kiddie trolls.

[Arnenna]

Doubtful. You must be playing on a tiny server in a kinship bubble then. On Evernight, tons of people have expressed their plans to leave since the inception of this weak update.

Seems to me that's the general consensus on the forums as well, there are already ongoing threads about the topic but people feel they need to make new threads because they could not accept their opinions are in the minority.

I play on EN too, and I've not heard it. But if you have, I can guarantee you, that the vast majority of "plans to leave" are bluffs. Anyone feeling strongly about these new options would already be gone.

[Arglenn]

Anyone feeling strongly about these new options would already be gone.

Not true. There are people who try to remain hopeful and hold out for a change because they really like LOTRO and would like some things to stay intact to what they grew to love.


Personally, I'm at about the end of holding out here. But people like me uninstalling and leaving is probably a win for whoever made these options and those who praise them for it.

[infinitewhimsy]

I play on EN too, and I've not heard it. But if you have, I can guarantee you, that the vast majority of "plans to leave" are bluffs. Anyone feeling strongly about these new options would already be gone.

I remember people saying the same thing during the RoR exodus. And during the BB exodus, etc...

It's also dishonest to suggest people leaving are only doing it because of the customization changes, it's one new and big straw on the camel's back. It compounds on top of lag, class revamps, predatory monetization, lack of content, etc... It's not at all unreasonable to suggest Lotro devs can or do alienate players when the history on it is clear.

In recent months I talk with one ex-Lotro player, and trying motivate him go back and look how game changes in last 3 years. He download Lotro again, start creating new characters, facepalm and uninstal. Big thanks to devs!

In some hypothetical world where Lotro gets new players, the new customization options can be off putting. For example, it's very strange that the overwhelming majority of options for hair styles for say a Rohirric character who should resemble something out of Anglo-Saxon history/myth, are instead African or Eastern looking. It's perplexing to say the least. That's independent of the quality of the new options too, which is particularly questionable at lower settings (some hair doesn't render at all and you see way too much scalp), and then you look at the more appropriate options and they are conversely very dated looking.

[infinitewhimsy]

Its just a handful of people on the mbs, who feel the need to repeat their objections in every thread possible,
even when amidst 20 angry threads , one thread is positive.

It's weird because I was about to make this exact same post but in reverse. Everyone feels their respective needs, huh? Particularly to tell people about their respective needs. And they do it over and over.

Funnily enough, so do I. I also remember seeing a large proportion of them, returning.



They are off-putting to you, and most likely to some others too, but some people will like them, as we have seen on the forum and by some of the new characters we are seeing in game. It doesn't matter how many styles of hair there are for a Rohirric character. You only need one to create the character. There are plenty left to choose from for visits to the barber too. Ignore the one's that don't interest you. There are many hairstyles at the barber since before the update, which didn't always suit either. I will agree though that the older hairstyles could do with some love and updating, to bring them in line, quality-wise with the new options.

Yeah there were apologists for big battles and mounted combat too.

I can only speak for my own experience. I used to have a raiding kin that did multiple clears of 12 man raids each week during RoI. Exactly 1 player has come back from that group since then (and left again).

I don't doubt the update makes some people happy, but I don't think they are either the norm, or that their happiness is about the game but is rather some kind of political glee. In fact I think this kind of happiness would be just as joyful if not more if Lotro actually did manage to die (which is probably impossible) because they'd consider that them having the last word. It's hard to see any other kind of logic in these apologists. And they can and do say otherwise, of course, that's part of that logic.

[Sarawenn]

Seriously good stuff, more options for characters benefits everyone and is wonderfully includive and a uniformally good move. Keep it up.

Same! I'm really enjoying the options, especially that new pretty curly hairstyle! I've been playing since 2008 and we've needed more options for awhile. Also makes me happy that as a person of colour I'm able to create characters that look a bit more like me in RL!

[Berret01]

Same! I'm really enjoying the options, especially that new pretty curly hairstyle! I've been playing since 2008 and we've needed more options for awhile. Also makes me happy that as a person of colour I'm able to create characters that look a bit more like me in RL!

Same! I got a couple more character slots just to have fun with all the new options. My old Grandma character finally has her curly hair too!


Been playing as this Fella! Rioberto (Or Rio for short) I do wish the beards matched the hair color better.

[DavidmeetHal]

Seriously good stuff, more options for characters benefits everyone and is wonderfully includive and a uniformally good move. Keep it up.

I love new options, and I understand the the addition of new hairstyles. I'm with you all the way on this. I like it.

But beards on women? That's just wacko.

[Arglenn]

I love new options, and I understand the the addition of new hairstyles. I'm with you all the way on this. I like it.

But beards on women? That's just wacko.

Agreed.