Status KabutoKishi May 5, 2022
Two Characters
Level 17 Dwarf Guardian Level 10 Man Warden
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007)
Expansion of The Lord of the Rings Online
3.52 from 231 ratings
1446 members have it in their collection · 33 playing now · 580 backlogged · 35 wish listed
Much of the gameplay is typical of the MMO format: The player controls a character avatar which can be moved around the game world and interacts with other players, non-player (computer-controlled) characters (or "NPCs") and other entities in the virtual world. Camera angles can be switched between first-person and third-person options. Characters are improved by gaining levels. A character's level …
Read more
Much of the gameplay is typical of the MMO format: The player controls a character avatar which can be moved around the game world and interacts with other players, non-player (computer-controlled) characters (or "NPCs") and other entities in the virtual world. Camera angles can be switched between first-person and third-person options. Characters are improved by gaining levels. A character's level increases after it earns a set amount of experience points through the player versus environment (or "PvE") combat and storyline adventures. Characters' abilities are improved by increasing in level, but character skills must be purchased from specified NPCs after gaining a new level.
The main storyline (also known as the "Epic Quest Line") is presented as a series of "Books", which consist of series of quests called "Chapters". There were initially eight Books when the game was released, with new books added with each free content update.
Tolkien's Middle-earth as represented in The Lord of the Rings Online implements magic in a different manner than other MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. There are only five "wizards" in the fictional world, none of which are player-controlled. Instead, there are active skills which require "power" (the equivalent of magic points). Some skills behave like magic (like healing or throwing a burning ember at an enemy), but are based on "lore". In addition, objects and artifacts are used to create effects similar to magic.
Other features include a fast travel system and a detailed quest log with tracker and history.
Read less
Details
- Developers
- Turbine
- Publishers
- Midway Home Entertainment
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG)
- Themes
- Action, Fantasy, Open world
- Franchises
- The Lord of the Rings
- Series
- The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings Online
- Steam
- View on Steam
Release dates
- May 24, 2007 (Worldwide) PC (Microsoft Windows)
Rating distribution
5 stars
44
4 stars
74
3 stars
77
2 stars
30
1 star
6
Community All Reviews Statuses
Review anarchistica 2/5 · Jun 8, 2020
Aged Like Théoden
Intro
I got this in a HumbleBundle all the way back in 2013 and somehow never got around to playing it. Thankfully, i didn't miss anything.
The good
- It runs in 4K.
- Lots of content.
- You can be a hobbit wizard.
The bad
- You have to type your password everytime when logging in.
- The launcher is almost unusable in high …
Intro
I got this in a HumbleBundle all the way back in 2013 and somehow never got around to playing it. Thankfully, i didn't miss anything.
The good
- It runs in 4K.
- Lots of content.
- You can be a hobbit wizard.
The bad
- You have to type your password everytime when logging in.
- The launcher is almost unusable in high resolutions.
- It downloads stuff every single time you launch it, even if you just closed it.
- The in-game interface doesn't scale properly beyond 1080p.
- If you use a lower resolution the cursor is shown in the wrong place.
- The default attack is melee even for ranged characters, so you constantly have to press attack hotkeys.
- Items are divided over different inventory bags.
- It's a MMORPG.
- From 2007.
Conclusion
I could've dealt with all the technical problems if the combat was at least half-decent. It's not. I guess this might be worth figuring out if you like MMORPGs but it's definitely not for me.
Status anarchistica Jun 8, 2020
Until 31-8-20 you can get a bunch of quest packs (DLCs) for LOTRO for free:
Review FredLobster 3/5 · Feb 24, 2014
As MMOs go, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar isn't half bad. Although it's gone through several permutations over the course of its lifespan, it is currently a free-to-play title with a very hefty amount of actually-free material. As a man, hobbit, elf, or dwarf, you must rise up and begin fighting back against the various forces …
Read moreAs MMOs go, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar isn't half bad. Although it's gone through several permutations over the course of its lifespan, it is currently a free-to-play title with a very hefty amount of actually-free material. As a man, hobbit, elf, or dwarf, you must rise up and begin fighting back against the various forces of Sauron, indirectly aiding the Fellowship of the Ring as they make their march to Mount Doom. Fans of the LotR universe and devout Silmarillion enthusiasts will have a lot to enjoy here; the world is packed to the gills with obscure names and lore trivia, and seeing every square inch of Tolkien's world fleshed out is actually rather thrilling (according to the massive Tolkien nerd I live with anyway). As a moderate fan of the books, I personally found the world better designed and more atmospheric than most MMO worlds, but nothing to freak out about.
As for the gameplay, it's solid and incorporates many of the best features of modern MMOs. Forming groups for skirmishes and dungeons is easy, quest tracking is convenient, and inventory management is a breeze... assuming you're willing to pay a couple bucks here and there for content. Playing the purely free version of the game is a little more aggravating, but still playable and enjoyable. You miss out on some inventory space, some class options, and eventually a lot of quest access, but by then you'll know if you like the game, and as game costs go everything is pretty reasonable.
Along with the usual assortment of MMO quest grinding (so many boar heads and bear butts for strangely insistent random strangers...), there's also a surprisingly substantial Epic quest chain for each race, making up the actual storyline for the game as your character works with Strider, Gandalf, and many others to save the world from the generic eeeeeevil of Mordor. While I hesitate to call it "gripping", it's a hell of a lot better than it could have been. The only aspect of the game I found lacking was the near-absence of PvP. While players who pay the monthly fee for VIP status get access to a MONSTER PLAY mode, it seems a bit essential to include that in base play.
I could go on, but there's not much to say here beyond it being a solid, high-budget, free-to-play MMO that provides decent returns for your investment in the expansion packs, and which fans of a particular legendary fantasy writer may go nuts over. I had a good two weeks tromping from Shire to Moria, and I'm throwing in the towel without a bad taste in my mouth. For an MMO, that's a hell of a lot better than average.