Helms Deep last chance of Lotro?

[Pelethor]

Last month i did a lot of reading in the forums see how this game goes( currently off game for about 2 months, reason bored and crashes). I have to say though that this thread has nothing to do with gloom and doom scenarios thats was heard the last couple of days so, sorry to some :P

So lets state some facts. And of course i will start by me. I play Lotro almost from when Moria came out so that is almost 5 years now? As i mentioned to other posts i am super huge mega fun of the Lore. And that may be the biggest reason for me to be here, but not the only one. Truth be told that, Lotro is (was) a great game!!
Its a great game for someone who go see a movie or read a book and then want to visit this world!

But, there is a but I have 3 players at lvl 85. My mains are equipped with a 70% percent of the best gear there is. And my problem is this. When the quests end, and when you are at 70% best gear, and you can make fun any raid there is on the game with a decent group, then why should i bother play 100 hours (random number) repeated instances that i play 5 years now just to get a +150might or some shiny items that will only will look pretty?

And so my point is. A new expansion coming up and you do the quest and then the routine, start all over again. The huge problem that Lotro is being charged with are the lack of challenging new content. I m sure Turbine know that. Remove raid locks, put rare gear and scale old instances, and the future change on classes is a try to shuffle the cards. But i must say the future doesn't look promising. Truth be told and no one cant deny that the people are giving up on the game and we might passing the most critical point for the game.

So we come to Helms Deep and we have an amazing Stronghold amazing quest line, amazing story, amazing land views. But all those at some point will end. The big mark is what will make the people stay, or even better, make them come back? I believe that Turbine is kinda lost. And my best advice is if you want to look for a brighter future then go see what made your past successful. What made SOA great or what your people really want!!

On the other hand, if a late scrappy raid cluster comes like the rush "hobbits' one, or if the people must again play the same instances the same way then i am afraid that's like throwing a white towel. What must be done with Helms Deep is when you open the pc the game MUST have a new air around it! That's the only solution for me. Hard (Budget,timeline) maybe, Impossible? possible! Necessary? Definitely!!

Little point of starting the i wish that or this now. I imagine the most decisions has been made. We must forget for now doom scenarios or licenses. Turbine is a student and Helms Deep is the final exam. Will it fail or will it succeed?

[Lashmore]

Warnign, repeat thread, based on mewing of a very vocal minority that have no real evidence.

These threads have been posted over and over and over, we've heard the sound of players pressing the emergency fire alarm enough already, and everyones already posted their thoughts/opinions/speculation but not ever any facts (except turbine has the option to renew to 2017.

So what do you hope to achieve with yet another downhill discussion about the end of the game?

It's not really constructive when its nothing but fear-mongering and speculation.

[Pelethor]

What you see my dear friend is the doom part which i mentioned right in the first line i am not trying to achieve.

I just game my feedback and my thoughts,,and sorry if that seems close to something other written.

But from my point of view, maybe you are the pessimist? To your fellow community at least.

[Lashmore]

It's not pessimistic, the devs, have heard everyone already, if they wanted to say something they would have.

Instead, because these threads are only ever speculation, the devs have to lock them as they usually get out of hand.

it's just best to refer to the old threads and stay mum until we have some actual facts, otherwise we're wasting devs time as they'll have yet another thread to lock when sapience coulda spent that 5 more minutes talking to another dev about the new forum revamp etc.

It's like beating an already dead horse, you're not gonna get anything out of the horse that you haven't already.

[Balcony]

...
So lets state some facts. And of course i will start by me. I play Lotro almost from when Moria came out so that is almost 5 years now? As i mentioned to other posts i am super huge mega fun of the Lore. And that may be the biggest reason for me to be here, but not the only one. Truth be told that, Lotro is (was) a great game!!
Its a great game for someone who go see a movie or read a book and then want to visit this world!

But, there is a but I have 3 players at lvl 85...

And now what. That new feeling is gone and in it's place you have friend's to group with. Turbine's (and every MMO game maker's) challenge is : can they keep customers interested in the game after they've 'been there and back.' I don't have the answer.

Please enlighten me!

[Minquinn]

It's not pessimistic, the devs, have heard everyone already, if they wanted to say something they would have.

Instead, because these threads are only ever speculation, the devs have to lock them as they usually get out of hand.

it's just best to refer to the old threads and stay mum until we have some actual facts, otherwise we're wasting devs time as they'll have yet another thread to lock when sapience coulda spent that 5 more minutes talking to another dev about the new forum revamp etc.

It's like beating an already dead horse, you're not gonna get anything out of the horse that you haven't already.

I will agree with this poster. All of these threads with speculation are drawing the lowest common denominator of posters. Until we hear some news, if we ever will, all speculation is just creating negativity.

Forum posters are mostly selfish children. If they want solo quests they they spam the forums for it. If they want grouping they do the same. If they want PVMP fixed or updated or whatever you will see that requested.

All you really need to do is compare all the LOTRO expansions in order to see which direction the game is headed.

If I was forced to guess I would say HD would be more hobbit presents and the solo Hytboldization of the game.
(This is merely an opinion)

[MarkoftheRealm]

It's like beating an already dead horse, you're not gonna get anything out of the horse that you haven't already.

No, it's more like beating to death the owner of a mare who is pregnant with a foal based on how you think the foal will be when it grows up.

[poxnoxious]

No, it's more like beating to death the owner of a mare who is pregnant with a foal based on how you think the foal will be when it grows up.

But...surely nobody would do that...it just seems so..excessive.

[evguenil]

5 years playing one game? Whoah! I guess that's kind of record. Is there any other game that you could play for 5 years?
I guess we are talking here not about doom scenario, but rather about amazing achievement

Seriously now. I think that ANY game has a sort of time line. One game is designed to be finished in 10 hours, another one in 60 hours, some MMO games could take months to finish.

Some people stop playing the game, other people start playing it. I guess that the balance between these two categories is important. Turbine is doing fine if the number of newcomers is about the same or bigger than the number of people leaving the game. If every player could stay for 5 year with LOTRO that would be terrific.

[hisoka-thorongil]

It's not pessimistic, the devs, have heard everyone already, if they wanted to say something they would have.

Are you sure? I would wager that considering some of Sapience's recent comments in General Discussion the devs do not actually read the forums, seeing what the player-base thinks. And, even if they did or have, you should know that Turbine says absolutely nothing pertaining to anything important. There has been no communication between Turbine and its player-base concerning Lotro and it's future, and that for me, at least, spells only a poor future for the game.

[whheydt]

Are you sure? I would wager that considering some of Sapience's recent comments in General Discussion the devs do not actually read the forums, seeing what the player-base thinks. And, even if they did or have, you should know that Turbine says absolutely nothing pertaining to anything important. There has been no communication between Turbine and its player-base concerning Lotro and it's future, and that for me, at least, spells only a poor future for the game.

Odd that you would say that, since one of his remarks was that every time he passes through the dev area at work, nearly every dev has a window open to the forums.

[djheydt]

Odd that you would say that, since one of his remarks was that every time he passes through the dev area at work, nearly every dev has a window open to the forums.

I think the devs read the forums quite a lot. But they know better by now, than to post anything but a carefully-worked-out dev diary, since a casual remark by a dev on the order of "Yeah, it would be nice if we could do X someday" is interpreted by some readers as "We are definitely going to do X for the next update!" and then they get all bent out of shape when it doesn't happen.

If I were a Turbine dev (if only!), I would probably post more dev diaries than the norm. But then I have been a writer. And I would still run my text past several other people to make sure I wasn't letting any cats out of bags.

[Sapience]

Are you sure? I would wager that considering some of Sapience's recent comments in General Discussion the devs do not actually read the forums, seeing what the player-base thinks. And, even if they did or have, you should know that Turbine says absolutely nothing pertaining to anything important. There has been no communication between Turbine and its player-base concerning Lotro and it's future, and that for me, at least, spells only a poor future for the game.

Actually my recent comments have stated very clearly that almost every member of the team reads the forums, and some very often. To the point where I often see a forum window open on nearly every devs desk.

They do not all post. This is very true as, as I have said many, many times, no dev is required to post.

To keep communication clear and avoid misunderstandings and confusion, please be sure when commenting on what I have said, that you make accurate comments. Your statement does not accurately reflect what I have said at all. In fact it's exactly the opposite of my statements.

[TheCrossbow]

Are you sure? I would wager that considering some of Sapience's recent comments in General Discussion the devs do not actually read the forums, seeing what the player-base thinks. And, even if they did or have, you should know that Turbine says absolutely nothing pertaining to anything important. There has been no communication between Turbine and its player-base concerning Lotro and it's future, and that for me, at least, spells only a poor future for the game.

At the risk of being too blunt...

/facepalm

You just proved Sapience's point about people being lazy...

[Pelethor]

Ok you are missing the point. I am not here to either doom someone, critisize point fingers or demand information.NONE

Simply did my thoughts and give my feeling and feedback that i am ALLOWED TO DO even if someone did before me.

That's all really. Now if you want to build a constructive conversation of my thoughts please do. But i am not here to play offense nor Defense about my rights. Thanks everyone else for your posts

[Ellieni]

People keep harping on and on about how it will be the final straw if Helms Deep does not come with an instance cluster etc. I disagree. Does anyone honestly think that the solo players, who, I might add, apparently make up the MAJORITY of the player base are going to be bothered if there is not an instance cluster? The people who moan and moan on here are a small minority. Most players are happily playing the game and enjoying it.

I loved Rohan. To me it felt like the culmination of years of experience that finally perfected the player versus enviroment experience. I loved the autoquests and loot system. To me the whole Rohan region felt smooth and was a pleasure to play. My only complaints are that the Rohan expansion was too short, and that the Hytbold instances got boring very quickly and didn't seem to have any logical relation to why they helped rebuild the town.

Yes, I agree the whole overpricing and lack of TP points and false advertising of an instance cluster with Riders of Rohan was very bad on Turbine's part, but if they produce something with the same quality as Rohan I will be very happy.

P.S. I hope it comes with raids as I do do group content too : )

[Al.]

LOTRO will keep updating guys, so keep playing.

[whheydt]

5 years playing one game? Whoah! I guess that's kind of record. Is there any other game that you could play for 5 years?

In nearly 15 years of playing MMOs, I have played 3 games. AC--starting in Dec. 1998, AC2--from beta to shutdown, back to AC, LotRO--from beta to the present. I'm trying to pry some time loose to get back into AC2 (currently in a revised beta). If and when LotRO shuts down, I would go back to AC, or AC2 (if running). So, no, five years of playing one game isn't any kind of record.

I have no idea if that is unusual or not, but I think it answers your questions.

[Asileth]

I've been playing for six plus years with a few months off playing Aion, SWTOR, Neverwinter, Rfit. But I always come back here. It's where my freinds are, it's where I feel as if my online home is. Are there some changes about which I'm not crazy, do I miss SoA days, even MoM days? Perhaps.

But I loved Rohan (but not the instances accompanying it - well not really accompanying it, but regardless though they were way too short and berfit of any interesing mechancis.) Enjoyed Wildemore, although I don't think much of the rewards or the survivors dailies. Liked the incentives to group up for warbands.

I think it's more that I'm a little tired, and need a bit of a break. But, I also know I will be back, fresh and eager for Helm's Deep. I don't think it is a last change for Lotro. I think what is happening happens with any game with several years; many tire and leave. They blame it on lack of content, fail of the game, etc when it is really more about that they themselves have tired of the game, and nothing, no amount of new content, adding hundreds of raids etc, would satisfy. It's just ime for them to move on. And then you have the old timers like myself, who except for short breaks, will be here at the end, throwing that damn ring into Mt. Doom with Frodo and then mopping up the mess.

[captainBA]

I've been playing for six plus years with a few months off playing Aion, SWTOR, Neverwinter, Rfit. But I always come back here. It's where my freinds are, it's where I feel as if my online home is. Are there some changes about which I'm not crazy, do I miss SoA days, even MoM days? Perhaps.

But I loved Rohan (but not the instances accompanying it - well not really accompanying it, but regardless though they were way too short and berfit of any interesing mechancis.) Enjoyed Wildemore, although I don't think much of the rewards or the survivors dailies. Liked the incentives to group up for warbands.

I think it's more that I'm a little tired, and need a bit of a break. But, I also know I will be back, fresh and eager for Helm's Deep. I don't think it is a last change for Lotro. I think what is happening happens with any game with several years; many tire and leave. They blame it on lack of content, fail of the game, etc when it is really more about that they themselves have tired of the game, and nothing, no amount of new content, adding hundreds of raids etc, would satisfy. It's just ime for them to move on. And then you have the old timers like myself, who except for short breaks, will be here at the end, throwing that damn ring into Mt. Doom with Frodo and then mopping up the mess.

I wanted to +1 this post, this is exactly how I feel. I have taken two breaks since the game launched in 2007 and still enjoy the game, and just about everything LOTR related. I found that I keep 2 - 3 characters at end cap and that fills my time expansion to expansion. It all depends on what you like to do and how much time you have. With Wildermore I am just bringing my main through as he is my closest to deed / rep complete (which isn't that close) but I do have all but Rift rep and Survivors of Wildermore now.

I know it will not be around forever, but while it is I want to get everything I want out of it. Heck I didn't even read the books or finish the movies before I played this, now I have the 15 disc Blu-ray set and have read the story twice including the lost tales!

I cannot wait to see what they have in store for HD and the rest of Rohan! I will happily keep my sub going to support this great game.

Thank you Devs, I appreciate all you have created and what you have yet to create!

BTW, is the music in Forlaw (the guitar) in any of the music that has been released to purchase?

[MarkoftheRealm]

Actually my recent comments have stated very clearly that almost every member of the team reads the forums, and some very often. To the point where I often see a forum window open on nearly every devs desk.

They do not all post. This is very true as, as I have said many, many times, no dev is required to post.

To keep communication clear and avoid misunderstandings and confusion, please be sure when commenting on what I have said, that you make accurate comments. Your statement does not accurately reflect what I have said at all. In fact it's exactly the opposite of my statements.

Quiet, Sapience! You, like the Devs, are not supposed to be actually reading the forums!

[djheydt]

5 years playing one game? Whoah! I guess that's kind of record. Is there any other game that you could play for 5 years?

Um....

Turbine's first game, Asheron's Call, is still running after launching in fall 1998.

I guess we are talking here not about doom scenario, but rather about amazing achievement

I agree.

[Rainothon]

I'd say LOTRO has well earned the Undying title by now. It has in my book.

The glass is not half-empty. Helms Deep is actually another new chance for LOTRO. It will bring old players back and it will bring new players too.

From what preciously little has been disclosed about Helms Deep, one thing stood out: Helms Deep will be playable by low level characters.

I'm looking forward to chance and rejuvenation.

[Ariholwen]

It's like beating an already dead horse, you're not gonna get anything out of the horse that you haven't already.

More horse juice, maybe?

[choon_blaze]

It will bring old players back and it will bring new players too.

Lol dream big...

Actually old players are convinced to not even bother with HD because it's a solo career. And new players are gonna go with better non-lagging games.