Bingo Boffins bonus: Andrath/Enedwaith swift travel revisited

[Feirlain]

I think it's time to revisit the following idea:

"Say, any chance we could have a swift travel option added to Bert Bartleby in Andrath (south of Bree-town) that would allow swift travel between Andrath and the Kings Way Gate in Enedwaith? (and visa versa?)

I think it would be a really nice reward for completing the entire Bingo quest line."

Made of Lions covered the subject with:

There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

MoL

However... (the following was posted in 2016.... yes, 2016):

"It is now 2016.

The dev team still has Mordor to do (in addition to any other 'east' area expansions) before they return to the 'west' and start filling in gaps. How long (if ever?) will that take? Years, at least. Why not do a simple thing like add in swift travel NOW (the NPC is already in place) for those who have done the quest line as a nice little bonus? It would in NO way preclude the dev team from making these areas later on, nor would it hinder in any way travel to said areas.

Again, it is a nice little bonus that allows use of the King's Road between Andrath and Enedwaith saving gobs of time for people who have already traveled there. (And would be an awesome incentive for folks to play the Bingo quest chain)."



Soooooo, just how much longer are we NOT going to have convenient travel available between Andrath and Enedwaith simply because maybe in another decade or two the Devs might get around to filing in that area? Isn't it high time to include this small bit of travel ability for all the reasons mentioned above?

[OldMadeOfLions]

Soooooo, just how much longer are we NOT going to have convenient travel available between Andrath and Enedwaith simply because maybe in another decade or two the Devs might get around to filing in that area? Isn't it high time to include this small bit of travel ability for all the reasons mentioned above?

I don't feel much differently now than I did then. I'd rather add a zone when we get to it in the natural course of the story (see the recent forum discussion about dissatisfaction with the Dead Marshes, which were originally done *early* and were only accessible from a West Gondor teleport). Given how busy we are with 2021 content (spoiler: very busy!), adding a teleport between Andrath and Enedwaith is super low on the priority list. So nope, not really high time.

MoL

[Thurallor]

I don't know why adding a portal would preclude adding a zone later.

Look what happened in Erebor -- the Hall Under the Mountain used to be connected directly to the exterior of Erebor, before the rest of Erebor was inserted between the two. I didn't hear any complaints.

[wispsong]

I don't know why adding a portal would preclude adding a zone later.

Look what happened in Erebor -- the Hall Under the Mountain used to be connected directly to the exterior of Erebor, before the rest of Erebor was inserted between the two. I didn't hear any complaints.

It destroyed Erebor for me, the steps go directly up to the hall and then by miracle we have to traverse a distance to get there. This addition would have been better added to the sides.

[Feirlain]

I don't feel much differently now than I did then. I'd rather add a zone when we get to it in the natural course of the story (see the recent forum discussion about dissatisfaction with the Dead Marshes, which were originally done *early* and were only accessible from a West Gondor teleport). Given how busy we are with 2021 content (spoiler: very busy!), adding a teleport between Andrath and Enedwaith is super low on the priority list. So nope, not really high time.

MoL

From a gamer's perspective - We've already lost 5 years of convenient, logical, earned travel waiting for an expansion that may or may not ever come....

From a dev's perspective - If we give them swift travel here, the boss will absolutely NEVER approve an expansion into this area since people can already travel through here.


I can certainly see that happening (the expansion possibility getting kiboshed), because I've seen it in other games. The decisions upper management makes are sometimes extremely idiotic - and a case like this fits the bill perfectly. Simply because there is a way (that has to be earned mind you - and only by high level (93+) characters) for folks to get from one place to another, an entire expansion would get nixed forever. I suppose leaving out swift travel then is the right thing to do; better to have some chance of an expansion then none at all. However, if you think about it, by the time an expansion does come out there (if ever), the region will have to be level 210 or so, parked right next to a starter region - lol.

[SingularityNow]

I don't feel much differently now than I did then. I'd rather add a zone when we get to it in the natural course of the story (see the recent forum discussion about dissatisfaction with the Dead Marshes, which were originally done *early* and were only accessible from a West Gondor teleport). Given how busy we are with 2021 content (spoiler: very busy!), adding a teleport between Andrath and Enedwaith is super low on the priority list. So nope, not really high time.

MoL

Agreed 100%. Don't want the skip, I want to go through that region. And yes, Dead Marshes is awful and needs to be touched up in terms of the outbreakers and the landscape link.

[Laurelinarien]

It destroyed Erebor for me, the steps go directly up to the hall and then by miracle we have to traverse a distance to get there. This addition would have been better added to the sides.

Yea I'm utterly unhappy with this addition. But I don't really expect it to change once it's done.

[TearMaker]

(Also, who is Jeff?)

I understand Irony now Thank you

[LeRaginAsian]

I don't really understand this request. At what point in your adventuring has there been a need to travel between that part of Enedwaith and Bree-land that wouldn't be better served by stabling? Other than the lone Bingo quest of course.

Adding that port is a small thing, yes, but there are thousands of small things players have been asking and waiting for for years. They add up. The slippery slope argument gets abused a lot these days, but in a situation like game/software development where scarcity of resources is a very real and tangible thing, it applies. You make one small concession and suddenly it's an avalanche of people asking why that got addressed and not something else (allegedly) far more important? Which is not to say that putting a wall around the landfill of small things and never addressing them is the move... just that it's easier to justify on all fronts when the change coincides with a larger update (i.e. dock-master icons with Wildwood).


On that note, the impending Wildwood update does bode well for the prospect of getting a Red Hills of Cardolan addition in the not-so-distant future. Because of its location beside Eregion and Enedwaith, it would make perfect sense as a level ~50-60 alternative to Moria we've needed for so long, with Missions tech to help bridge the relatively wide level gap for such a small area. Finally opening the Bree-land gate to the area would be fine with a "wall" of level 50 mobs waiting on the other side to encourage you to quest elsewhere!