Erebor (and more!) Questions and Requests / Suggestions :)

[Phantion]

First of all: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

The Erebor updates are -fantastic-!!! I love the new sense of Erebor as a lived space as well as more consistency with the raid-version.

I also have a few questions (well and suggestions welded to them) for the Team:

1. Where, precisely, is the room where Bilbo sneaked-in and discovered Smaug? While I'm guessing the pile of gold, after it was divided-up, was moved to the Coffers (which I wish we could have seen inside-of- and I mean the Dwarves' share of the gold)- I'd still like to know just where those famous events from "The Hobbit" took place. If its the same as Thorin's Tomb from a certain quest in the previous update, please do tell, because its not intuitive, hehehe. Also, where is the Armoury where Bilbo received his Coat of Mithril? Where is the collapsed passage leading to what used to be the "Secret Door?" If these spaces are not yet available, will you please consider adding them? Places of lore-importance, as always, make the area feel even more grounded in Middle-earth's history

While I'm at it-

2. Could you please consider making a "Lost Lore of the Hobbit" quest? It could take the premise of: Bilbo had written a shorter account of his journey when he visited the Dale-lands for the final time; sadly, in the battle, the pages got scattered and lost (someone would need, of course, to voice-act for Bilbo's voice, reading snippets of re-worked, imagined versions of his perceptions- in short, make it up like you did with Bilbo's Goblin-Town quests in-game, it doesn't have to be "Hobbit" quotes or paraphrases as much as Bilbo Baggins reflecting, years after the fact, about his adventure apart from what's written in his book; we could find scattered pages throughout the newer parts of Erebor- and perhaps find particular pages in particular places where events actually happened in the story?).

3. Along those lines- Are there any plans to develop Bilbo Baggins' journey to the north of Mirkwood with Gandalf on his journey back toward the Shire? Tolkien left it as ambiguous "adventures" happening and left it at that- so it would be cool for the Game to then explore-there and "find out" exactly what Bilbo and Gandalf were up-to in the "left up to the Reader's imagination" part of Bilbo's return journey from his first adventure- at least in so far as the Ered Mithrin is concerned (Perhaps the new quests and/or the Black Book have addressed this?! I haven't yet spoiled the stories for myself yet.... I always tend to wait and savor all the new stories in each new update- and then immerse myself completely).

4. I'm a bit confused about the Iron Hills- which are breathtaking. Dain Ironfoot came to Erebor with a sizeable force in the Battle of Five Armies. The current main stronghold doesn't feel... like it could house that many soldiers on the inside, let alone their families. Are there any plans to perhaps expand-more on current structures in the Iron Hills or their interior-spaces?

Granted, the following are only my personal perceptions, but I've always imagined the Iron Hills being... more settled and extensive, with a lot more going-on when it comes to Dwarven architecture and culture. The Statue of Dain built into the face of one of the hills is very impressive. But... it could use a larger stronghold around it, perhaps? It feels more like the East Wall, which was largely unsettled and didn't have an army living there at any point other than ancient garrisons at Gondor's north frontier.

Also granted, Erebor's been resettled and repopulated, so I'm not imagining something akin to the size of Dain's mighty force of old still living there. Still, I'd like to imagine that some Dwarves still kept-down their roots. After all, its one of the five heritage choices for Dwarves!

5. Are there plans to adjust the Withered Heath's location on the larger Rhovanion map? Its a bit confusing because, in the game itself, the path leading to Ered Mithrin leads northwest, northwest, northwest, west, northwest, and by the time the part that extends toward the Heath heads northeast, its still more... -directly- above the mountain above the Lonely Mountain rather than farther northeast of it. The Heath is just not geographically directly north of the Iron Hills- which the current Rhovanion Map appears to imply. In fact, in-game, the Withered Heath, per the map itself, is north of part of Mirkwood / Eryn Lasgalen.

Kudos on the Withered Heath by the way. It is by far one of the most foreboding, beautiful yet cold and terrible, frightening yet mysterious regions ever made in the Game's history, it gives Angmar a run for its money, and Forochel, and Wildermore easily (Though- it might be good if.... the sky, perhaps, could have Forochel's aurora at night, as it appears to be -that far north-). In its own, icily, way, it even competes with Foundations of Stone in terms of the creepy factor, at least for me. What's more terrifying than a Balrog? Huge dragons- and a lot of them.

6. On the subject of Erebor's mines- They are interesting. My question is this: Could you please consider... making a large shaft in the heart of those mines? For example, per the map, the tracks loop around in a circle in one part of it. Perhaps... knock-down the cave-walls in the center and dig it deep? I'd love to see that effect in Erebor's mines- perhaps with more Moria-style crystals involved. Would love to see the Dwarves of Erebor trying their hand at what their ancestors tried to do in the Silvertine Lodes. Dwarven mines, at least to me, feel... even more authentic and awe-inspiring when.... they have deep chasms! Hehe.

7. On the subject of Eryn Lasgalen, I have a larger favor to ask. I love landscape continuity. It helps to not only connect the world- but to make the world feel more alive. We now have the northern headwaters of the Forest River in the game. I do not ask for the development of the missing chunk of Northern Mirkwood.

But I do ask for this, if possible: Could you please consider making a path wind down along the Forest River from Oinsbridge down southeast till it reaches the Wood-Troll area of Eryn Lasgalen where the Beorning quests take place- along the Forest River? Pretty please?

It would help provide more than 1 way of reaching Ered Mithrin- and it would also allow for a potentially faster way (say from Tham Taerdol) to ride north, a little east, then north, north, north, cross the river, follow the path all the way up the Forest River's gorge to Oinsbridge, then thus to the far western reaches of the new zone. It would make the landscape feel more unified. It would make sense of where Thranduil and the Elves left Bilbo and Gandalf for their own country / Felegoth. It would also make further sense of Northern Mirkwood's breadth of distance without eliminating the sense of the forest's unknowable vastness (i.e. you wouldn't want to get lost there). Following the Forest River's also a sensible way to do it without having to make much more trees, etc., other than a couple along the path. I'd say that for the same reason the Entwood was necessary to unify Fangorn- this suggestion / question could play a similar role in Eryn Lasgalen and make the new zones feel less railroaded / theme-park-ride. I applaud the Iron Hills for their sense of vast expansiveness- and the Withered Heath for the same reasons. I wish the same for the proposed vector-path from Eryn Lasgalen to Ered Mithrin directly- it could be as narrow as the winding path up to Dunharrow and much narrower than Lhingris on a north - south axis. It would also allow for another imposing view / approach to the Grey Mountains from the forest-perspective.

Thanks for your time and patience in making these updates so fantastic visually and lore-wise- and for listening

[Scenario]

Hi Phantom,
Thank you for you comments. I can't speak to them all, but I am happy to give some insight on some of the more Worldbuildery pieces.

1. Where, precisely, is the room where Bilbo sneaked-in and discovered Smaug? <snip> If its the same as Thorin's Tomb from a certain quest in the previous update, please do tell, because its not intuitive, hehehe. Also, where is the Armoury where Bilbo received his Coat of Mithril? Where is the collapsed passage leading to what used to be the "Secret Door?" If these spaces are not yet available, will you please consider adding them? Places of lore-importance, as always, make the area feel even more grounded in Middle-earth's history

There are several gated passages lining the fringes of residential space of Erebor that could be used for future updates to expand and reveal some of those locations you mentioned. Those places haven't been built yet and aren't on our immediate radar but there's always the possibility in the future that they could be - and we have the room to accommodate that.

4. I'm a bit confused about the Iron Hills- which are breathtaking. Dain Ironfoot came to Erebor with a sizeable force in the Battle of Five Armies. The current main stronghold doesn't feel... like it could house that many soldiers on the inside, let alone their families. Are there any plans to perhaps expand-more on current structures in the Iron Hills or their interior-spaces?

As with anything, there are definitely possibilities. A lot of it depends on time and the needs of the narrative we are telling.

5. Are there plans to adjust the Withered Heath's location on the larger Rhovanion map? Its a bit confusing because, in the game itself, the path leading to Ered Mithrin leads northwest, northwest, northwest, west, northwest, and by the time the part that extends toward the Heath heads northeast, its still more... -directly- above the mountain above the Lonely Mountain rather than farther northeast of it. The Heath is just not geographically directly north of the Iron Hills- which the current Rhovanion Map appears to imply. In fact, in-game, the Withered Heath, per the map itself, is north of part of Mirkwood / Eryn Lasgalen.

This is certainly a suggestion we can bring to our UI artists. That said - the playable space called the Withered Heath in Update 23 is only a portion of what could be considered the entirety of it. If you approach the eastern border of the playable space, there's much more beyond that which offers possibilities for the future growth of the region if it was ever deemed something appropriate to undertake for an update.

Kudos on the Withered Heath by the way. It is by far one of the most foreboding, beautiful yet cold and terrible, frightening yet mysterious regions ever made in the Game's history, it gives Angmar a run for its money, and Forochel, and Wildermore easily (Though- it might be good if.... the sky, perhaps, could have Forochel's aurora at night, as it appears to be -that far north-). In its own, icily, way, it even competes with Foundations of Stone in terms of the creepy factor, at least for me. What's more terrifying than a Balrog? Huge dragons- and a lot of them.

Thank you - this space was a great collaboration between a handful of artists and world designers.

6. On the subject of Erebor's mines- They are interesting. My question is this: Could you please consider... making a large shaft in the heart of those mines? For example, per the map, the tracks loop around in a circle in one part of it. Perhaps... knock-down the cave-walls in the center and dig it deep? I'd love to see that effect in Erebor's mines- perhaps with more Moria-style crystals involved. Would love to see the Dwarves of Erebor trying their hand at what their ancestors tried to do in the Silvertine Lodes. Dwarven mines, at least to me, feel... even more authentic and awe-inspiring when.... they have deep chasms! Hehe.

The mines were built to show a different style of Dwarven mine that we typically do. The goal was to make the tunnels feel smaller, more enclosed and more dug out from the earth in contrast to Moria's vast caverns. In fact, across Erebor, Iron Hills and Ered Mithrin, we spent a lot of time looking for ways to make Dwarven culture and structure standout from what was done in Moria - which was very well tread territory.

[Phantion]

Scenario-

Thank you so much for answering my questions. You're fantastic

I'm glad to here that you are exploring the possibilities for Dwarven culture and architecture. Excellent- the mine-shaft idea wasn't the best, now that I think of it more, the newer mines are interesting. Glad to hear about the gated passages. I highly recommend making those spaces at some point- mainly for those who follow-along with resonances from "The Hobbit." The lore-deed in Eryn Lasgalen that brought Thorin and Company's route into relevance was very well-done. I can imagine that a return to the Bilbo's-journey-to-Erebor would be very much anticipated by many players.

Glad to hear about the Withered Heath also. I see- so its a similar situation to that of the "Brown-lands" in Great River.

I did notice something a tad odd about the new Eriador map- which is amazing overall. Eregion's name... is marked south of Moria and the Glanduin River. In-game, meanwhile, Eregion's north of the Glanduin and roughly parallel to Moria, with Fordirith in Enedwaith being south of the river.