Today Turbine has released a video talking about the major class changes coming with the Helm’s Deep expansion.     Much of the information given is already known to those of us who keep an ear to the grapevine, but we did get a good look at how the trait tree interface looks and functions, as well as a small look at the development tech for the...

Today Turbine has posted both a scheduled downtime and the release notes for a patch on the 14th October, 7:00AM to 11:00AM Server time. Stay in your chairs, people. There are only.. wait for it.. three things in this patch. They are as follows: General We’ve discovered that a very significant chunk of time is spent during logon to read and calculate your...

  Today Turbine released the next Dev Diary in line for its series of class changes, this one being for the Lore-master. Hey folks! I’m Deviled_Egg and I’m going to fill you in on some of the goodies the Lore-master will be receiving in the Helm’s Deep expansion. The Lore-master will feature three distinct specializations, each one catering to a different...

  Along with the recently announced release date and pre-orders for Helm’s Deep, Turbine also created a new page giving teasing snippets of various aspects of the upcoming expansion. For this article we will be looking at the Epic Battles system. ENLIST EARLY & BRING ALLIES Starting at level 10, defend Helm’s Deep alone or with friends. All players...

  Along with the recently announced release date and pre-orders for Helm’s Deep, Turbine also created a new page giving teasing snippets of various aspects of the upcoming expansion. For this article we will be looking at the different regions of West Rohan.   Broadacres GEOGRAPHY A flat and fertile land of rich soil and swaying, grey-green grass,...

  Along with the recently announced release date and pre-orders for Helm’s Deep, Turbine also created a new page giving teasing snippets of various aspects of the upcoming expansion. For this article we will be looking at the Epic Story.   Book 11: The Golden Hall The White Hand plots the conquering of Rohan with Uruk-hai, Orcs, and Dunlendings....

And there we have it! After a long period of silence on this subject, we finally have a solid release date as well as details on the pre-purchase options. The listed content coming with Helm’s Deep is much the same as the initial announcement:   Experience the Battle for Helm’s Deep – Fight to defend Helm’s Deep starting as early as level 10, when...

We have yet another source of Helm’s Deep info released today, although much of it has been covered in other articles. I took the liberty of pruning a couple of more notable things.   Actually pulling off a battle as epic as the one at the walls of the Hornburg requires new technology and some of what Leo Tan calls “technical trickery.”...

The next class Dev Diary for Helm’s Deep has been released, this time for the Captain. Hello all! RockX here, and it’s time to talk Captain. Captain was definitely challenging, as I needed to keep in mind all four roles the Captain fills. As such, the main goal was to allow each of the three specializations to fully function in its chosen role while...

  Welcome to the last edition of Pet Menagerie! In this final writeup, I will be talking about arguably the most unique of the LMs pets, the Spirit of Nature. This pet is also the most recently added to the LM’s zoo(leaving out the War Wolf, which is so inconsequential that it doesn’t deserve an article of its own), at level 70.   Skills...

We finally have some huge info on our upcoming xpac! Coming from Massively, the article discusses what will be coming, a look at the new trait trees, Big Battles and an overview on the storyline of the region to come. Firstly, here is a specific list of what we will be getting: 5 new zones; Eastfold, Westfold, Broadacres, Kingstead and Stonedeans(yes, deans)....

  And after an incredibly long break; we’re back again! The second to last installment of Pet Menagerie is here, and this time we’re examining the walking moss heap, the Bog-guardian. Of particular note for this article to determining, similar to the Eagle, whether the requirements to use this pet are worth it. The answer may surprise you. Or...

If you don’t wish to be spoiled, LOOK AWAY NOW! … So some of you may be aware of what appear to be a leaked set of maps for the upcoming Helm’s Deep expansion. Currently viewable over on Contains Moderate Peril(linked here: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/helms-deep-map/), the maps are in various states of ‘TBD’. After taking...

Hello and welcome! This is going to be a brand new series of articles, done in a similar way to my Pet ones, but focusing more on the fearsome critters, beasties and other assorted monstrosities you may find and confront in your travels through Middle-earth. Of particular note will be the various abilities each creature can have and use against you. To begin, I...

  Aaand we’re back! Out of the cold, barren, desolate wasteland that is the Sabertooth’s skillset*, and into the bright, warm, soothing glow of the Eagle. The big thing we will be talking about in this edition is this; Is the Eagle worth the legendary trait slot it takes up? To begin, let’s take a look at the Eagle’s abilities....

Sabertooth, y u suck so much!? I’ll be honest with you guys; I hate the Sabertooth. HATE it. If my hatred for the sabertooth were converted into a liquid, there would be enough to fill a large bathtub and two dozen beer mugs. That is how much this pet grinds my girdle. But, alas, it is still a pet, so I must persevere and press into this edition of LOTRO...

And we’re back! Today’s edition centers around the cute furry cuddly wuddly pet, the Lynx! The Lynx is the straight up DPS pet. Its stats and abilities are all based on damage output, with little room for anything else. We will be looking at just how viable the Lynx’s DPS really is, and in particular whether it’s enough to make it a good...

  Welcome back, folks! Before we get into the topic of this week, I would like to take the time to thank ya’ll for the responses to my last (and technically first) article. It’s very encouraging and I’ll be bearing(har) the comments in mind for this edition and for future ones. Today we’ll be looking at the second of the Lore-master’s zoo of companions,...

Welcome to the first of what should be many articles showcasing the pets available to LOTRO’s resident animal fanatic, the Lore-master! I plan to look at each pet individually, examining the different abilities available and how it matches up statistically with the others. In this initial edition, we will quite appropriately be covering the first pet you...