I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it here on ButtonSmasher before, but Lord of the Rings Online is hands-down my favorite MMORPG and I thought you should, well, know. Actually, I’d even go as far as saying it’s the only MMO game of any sort I’ve truly -nay, deeply- enjoyed and a rare game I kept playing for what must have been seven months. Daily, that is, and, unlike World of Warcraft or Guild Wars, LotRO wasn’t something I gave up as a result of boredom. Far from it; giving up LotRO, its impressively written quests, its jaw-dropping world, its amazing storyline and the sense of living in Tolkien’s world was more of a social necessity than anything else.

Problem is, I might just have to give up sleeping once again though, for Turbine has decided to expand the game beyond them regularly released book updates (sporting everything from new quests, areas or play mechanics to in-game houses) by releasing the first full retail expansion of LotRO. It’s name? Why, it’s The Lord of the Rings, Volume II: The Mines of Moria of course.

Mines of Moria, that should be released sometime during the fall of 2008, will greatly expand the game and quite obviously give players a chance at exploring the glorious underground capital city of the Dwarfs, kill a few goblins, say things like Khazad-dûm aloud and probably have tea with the (winged?) Balrog. Other than that, players will also be getting six new books to play through, a level-cap increase to level 60, two new classes (Rune-Keeper and Warden) and those shiny new legendary weapons. Provided they forge them themselves, that is. Far too exciting stuff to miss really…

Mind you, even before the expansion gets released and provided you care for some quality deluxe RPG action, you could still consider giving the LotRO Gold Edition a look too.Oh, and better stick to the role playing servers.

Posted on March 15th, 2008 by konstantinos