After playing World of Warcraft for nearly 3 years, I decided to give up the addiction and try something new. EverQuest2 held my attention for about a month, but the game didn’t draw me in; I didn’t know the lore, I couldn’t get attached to my characters. When my fiance bought me a new Dell computer, a complimentary Lord of the Rings Online trial was included. I had played a trial when the game was first released, but at the time, the hands of WoW still had a tight grasp on me, and I quickly abandoned Middle Earth for the familiarity of Azeroth.
So now, here I am. I installed the trial that came with my Dell, and I fell in love. The beautiful environments! The connection to the story, of which I’ve read all the books, and seen the movies about 20 times! The traits! The deeds! The quests! It came at the perfect time, and it drew me in. I quickly rolled a hunter, having played one in WoW, thinking I would have an edge. I didn’t. Which was wonderful, because it helped me remember that this was something new, and my old habits needed revamping. I decided to go with my old standby, and roll a caster. In LOTRO, they’re called Lore-Masters.
My first two lore-masters both died at level 8. I’m a perfectionist when I want to be, and this was not acceptable. One of the things I love most about LOTRO are the deeds and titles, both of which are achieved through questing, crafting, and up-to-a-point, surviving. I don’t really know why, but I desperately wanted to be one of those people who had the highest survival title available, the Undying, which you get at level 20. As of this post, I haven’t seen any, but I’m sure it’s just because the higher level characters have cooler titles. So, I was disappointed when I died at level 8. Luckily, having done those quests twice in as many days, it didn’t take me long to level up to that point again, and this time, I was ready.
I saved my health pots, I ran when I had to, I did quests that were below my level. And I got past level 8! I got to 10! I got to 15!
Which is where I am now. It’s only been about 3 days since I started this new lore-master; her name is Serriath, and she is an elf who has made her way to Bree-land all the way from her home in Lórien. The land of the hobbits is much different than the land of the elves, but the little people are curious, and so far, accepting of this outsider.
I feel a little silly doing quests that are intended for characters 2 or 3 levels below me, but I’ve set this goal for myself, and I intend to keep it. Five levels to go, and then I wont need to worry about dying (obviously I’ll still try not to).
I’ve always had different priorities in the MMOs that I’ve played, sometimes to the frustration of my fiance. I love the little things. Every MMO has quests, and raids, and crafting, and players. But the little things have the potential to make an MMO special, and I’ve definitely found that to be true in LOTRO. I love completing deeds, and getting titles and traits. When I get to 50 (which is the level cap), I’ll still be able to come back and finish the deeds I didn’t get a chance to complete earlier in my questing.
Middle Earth is a huge, beautiful world and I cant wait to experience more of it. I’m taking my time with this one; I don’t want to get burnt out and end up quitting. I want to experience everything it has to offer, from player housing, to crafting (I’m a farmer and a cook), questing to kinships (aka guilds). I look forward to detailing my adventures (and misadventures) here.
