Considering Joining Server. Population Problems?

[DramaticRainbow]

Hi, I came back to the game a couple of weeks ago after being away for six years or more. Even though I never got beyond level 30, all of my characters were on a server that doesn't exist anymore and they can't be transferred. I've had to start from scratch. Currently I'm a level 32 Lore-master on Arkenstone, and I'm enjoying play him at a slower pace. I didn't travel beyond Bree until level 28 for example. I'm wanting to experience as much of the content and work on deeds as I go rather than rushing through. I like the idea of a legendary server where everything is slowed down and I can increase the difficulty to make gameplay more tactical instead of killing things in a couple of skills like on regular servers. It's also appealing to me that expansions are released slowly so it gives me time to catch up and incrementally experience the game as each new level cap is increased. I'm not sure if it would just be better for me to stick to Arkenstone and just buy a turtle stone from the shop.

What I've read that makes me concerned is the population level on the server. I don't want to invest all of that time into a character just to find the server isn't active enough to complete dungeons and raids when the time comes. I can see the huge gabs between new content releases leaves veteran players with little reason to log in after a period of time. Could you tell me what your experiences are with current server population and just how difficult it is to gather groups for content? Thanks.

[WeirdJedi]

Before you attempt starting a new character, there's a few things you should be aware of. There will be an update coming out soon that will make it possible to create new class/race combinations never before seen (like hobbit lore-master): https://www.lotro.com/news/lotro-pro...r-june-2022-en. Also, there is an impending mini-expansion that will add a new story from 1-30: https://www.lotro.com/news/lotro-bef...nnouncement-en. You are welcome to start anew if you wish, but these things might be something to consider if you plan on starting over.

[Strider5548]

Hi, I came back to the game a couple of weeks ago after being away for six years or more. Even though I never got beyond level 30, all of my characters were on a server that doesn't exist anymore and they can't be transferred. I've had to start from scratch. Currently I'm a level 32 Lore-master on Arkenstone, and I'm enjoying play him at a slower pace. I didn't travel beyond Bree until level 28 for example. I'm wanting to experience as much of the content and work on deeds as I go rather than rushing through. I like the idea of a legendary server where everything is slowed down and I can increase the difficulty to make gameplay more tactical instead of killing things in a couple of skills like on regular servers. It's also appealing to me that expansions are released slowly so it gives me time to catch up and incrementally experience the game as each new level cap is increased. I'm not sure if it would just be better for me to stick to Arkenstone and just buy a turtle stone from the shop.

What I've read that makes me concerned is the population level on the server. I don't want to invest all of that time into a character just to find the server isn't active enough to complete dungeons and raids when the time comes. I can see the huge gabs between new content releases leaves veteran players with little reason to log in after a period of time. Could you tell me what your experiences are with current server population and just how difficult it is to gather groups for content? Thanks.

Treebeard population is much lighter than live servers, yes, but it's concentrated in a small area of Middle Earth. You will find groups for all content up through 65 much faster and easier than you would on any live server. There are still people doing level 50 and 60 instances and even groups running pre-50 SoA content.

The bigger question is long term, is this a server that will survive. I love Treebeard and will be here as long as I can, but my prediction is that as soon as we hit Rohan SSG will release another legendary server, and that will turn Treebeard into a ghost town. There really aren't any resources being dedicated to improving the legendary server experience, and if you pair that with the lack of end game content between level 85-105, the fact that there is no PvMP, and the fact that most certainly another shiny new legendary server will come out by that time, then there is very little chance of Treebeard having a healthy population a year from now.

With all that said, I would still encourage you to join, we need more players here and it will continue to be a fun experience at least through Isengard. Who knows, maybe SSG will do us a solid and make Treebeard F2P or add PvMP, or do something to attract new players to this server before we receive the kiss of death for legendary servers (Rohan).

[Arabani]

Don't play on legendary servers: they are the same as regular ones. but with less content and less players. Choose the bigest live server and enjoy the game at your own pace. For EU region it is Evernight, For US, I guess, it is Arkenstone. And by the way, there are more lowl level groups on Evernight then on Treebeard

As long as SSG refuses to work on legendary servers, adjust them, update mechanics, numbers, balance low levels, add new special content and so on there is nothing to do there. Right now Legendary server is just a copy paste of a regular one with all the flaws of low level gameplay. Such things do not really work on most people. Developers or Everquest 1 and 2 have tried this lazy approach as well, but they have realized their mistake pretty fast and the current itteration of Legendary server concept (I think it is the 4th or the 5th one) is pretty popular. But there are many changes. And devs continue to work on and update the server, there are regular patches and adjustments.

P.S. Difficulty slider, that was supposed to be the feature of the current Legendary Servers, is nothing more then then a goose-grass band-aid when reanimation is requied.

[DramaticRainbow]

Thank you for the responses. I was hoping that the legendary servers had balance similar to when the game was first released, but it appears that none of that has been adjusted and it is the same as on regular servers. It seems there is little reason to play on a Legendary server if nothing about it has changed.

[nelar]

If you've played through most of the content before, and want to try out a new class/race, then the Shadowfax server will allow you to level faster than any of the normal servers so that you can skip over content that you aren't interested in running again.

If, on the other hand, you wished you could do more of the content while still seeing at least some progression on your character, then the Treebeard server will allow you to level slower without having to swap level-disabling pocket items.

If you are getting bored with face-rolling content on a powerful class, you can temporarily lower both your damage output and increase your damage input, effectively making the mobs hit for more while you hit for less. That won't matter much for individual landscape mobs, but if you tackle multiple mobs or go into landscapes areas containing signatures or elites, it can make the content much more challenging. Changing the difficulty only affects you -- any other players on the landscape are generally unaffected by what you do. Note that if you crank the difficulty up high enough, not only will you have to keep moving to avoid a ground area attack, but sometimes mobs will get a special buff that you will either need to dispell or take a lot of extra time to kill them.

There are a few additional quests and deeds on the Legendary servers, but otherwise, these are the same as the live servers with a lower level cap, so the main advantages are a different leveling speed and the option of higher landscape difficulty for those looking for a more challenging leveling experience.