Kotaku: Lotro

Man Ships Himself Across the Country in a Box While Gaming Online

Jen Schiller — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EDT

Jordan Wayne Long is preparing for his summer vacation- seven days, locked in a crate, traveling from Bald Knob, Arkansas to Portland, Oregon. Yes, you read that right. More »

Turbine Get Into The Spirit Of Things, Sack Some People

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST

It’s not just Midway employees staring down the prospect of an unemployed start to 2009, as job cuts were also announced today for Lord of the Rings Online developers Turbine. More »

LOTRO: Mines of Moria, New Screens Explore Khazadum

Adam Barenblat — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:40:00 EST

Lord of the Rings Online fans rejoice! Your first expansion - Mines of Moria - is coming November 18th. Last time we took a look at it, we flew through the darkest depths of Durin's Way. This time, these new screens give us a glimpse of the all famous Khazadum and Central Levels. Both of these areas are brand new and will give your dwarf plenty of space to duke it out with goblins. Me? I think I'm more of an elf person myself. More »

LOTR Online: Mines of Moria - A Trip Through Durin's Way

Adam Barenblat — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EDT

Prepare Lord of the Rings Online fans. It's almost time for you to get your hands on Mines of Moria - the first expansion for the MMO - is coming November 18th. There will be plenty of new features to look forward to such as the game's level cap being increased, new items, and the addition of two new classes, Run-keeper and Warden. You'll also be able to have the option of purchasing a massive collector's edition with all sorts of goodies. In the mean time we got a new trailer which gives you a fly through the ruins in Durin's Way. More »

Jeffrey Steefel on LOTRO Expansion, MMO Culture

Maggie Greene — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a nice interview up with Turbine producer Jeffrey Steefel, mostly centered on the Lord of the Rings Online forthcoming Mines of Moria expansion — also discussed are things like how Steefel perceives LOTRO's performance, expansion features, and issues of designing for a license. While WoW is wide open, not being tied to anything but itself, LOTRO has slightly more constraints in what can — or should — be done. Steefel doesn't see this as a problem, however: More »

LOTR Online: Mines of Moria Teaser

Adam Barenblat — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Here it is folks, the first teaser for Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria, LOTR Online's first expansion. Though not included in the video, Mines of Moria features two new character classes, ten additional levels and hundreds of new quests. What's also notable here is that existing players can download the expansion or you can hit your local retailer to pick it up. Expect it this fall. More »

Interview: Turbine Confirms Console Project, Talks Future Plans

Leigh Alexander — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:30:00 EDT

When we heard this morning that Turbine was planning to put part of its $40 million Time Warner-led investment to work doing console MMOs, we wondered if a console version of Dungeons & Dragons Online or Lord of the Rings Online could be in the works. More »

Time Warner Hitches Its Star To Turbine With $40 Million Investment

Leigh Alexander — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine has just snagged $40 million in equity financing primarily from Time Warner and GGV Capital, the company announced today. More »

LotRO Reaches The Ocean

Mike Fahey — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:20:00 EDT

The latest chapter in the ever-expanding Lord of the Rings Online introduces Forochel, a new region which lies in the far, frozen north of Eriador, which gives players their very first chance to see the ocean in the game. It's funny how you don't notice such a thing missing until it's pointed out to you. Along with giant patches of water, Book 13: Doom of the Last-king promises new cold-based terrain effects. What that means exactly I have no idea. Perhaps slippery patches of ice? It's about time for an MMO to introduce slippery patches of ice. Failing that, some really well-crafted fjords. Turbine promises more info on the next free expansion shortly. For now, it's LotRO on ice! More »

Lord of the Rings Online Kicks Off April Fool's With The Battle of Amon Hen

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:20:00 EDT

It may be March 31 on the Kotaku Tower desk calendar, but it's April 1 somewhere in the realms of The Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine has decided to make with the massively-multiplayer hilarity, announcing that a new playable race, the Fowl-People, would join the currently playable Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits, bringing new epic quests and new housing options (coops, henhouses, etc.). More »

LotRO Expansion Explores Mines Of Moria

Mike Fahey — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:40:34 EDT

With so much free content coming on a regular basis for Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online, the announcement of the first retail expansion, Mines of Moria, took me completely off guard. Announced today at the Connect 08 event and slated for a fall release, the expansion signals the beginning of Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online, and brings with it some pretty significant new features. First and foremost the expansion includes two new classes, the Rune-keeper and the Warden, both of which they can take up to level 60 with the accompanying increase in level cap. The expansion will also introduce item advancement, which allows you to craft magnificent, customizable weapons that level along with you, complete with weapon titles, virtue advancement, and runic legacies. To celebrate the announcement, players can register at http://www.unlocktheminesofmoria.com, where starting March 31st they can play mini-games that will unlock previews, assets, and in-game items. More »

Codemasters Connect Offers Shirow Armor, Jumpgate Beta Keys

Mike Fahey — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:40:10 EST

Codemasters' Connect '08 event at the Omega Sektor in Birmingham England is coming March 14th and 15th, and they've lined up some truly amazing freebies for visitors to their MMO showcase. Probably the coolest item is for RF Online players. They've had Masamune Shirow of Ghost in the Shell fame create a suit of armor for every class in the game, and my god are they beautiful. The suit above is for a female Cora Warrior, and the rest are just as cool! Lord of the Rings Online players who attend will get a special in-game title for their character, while Archlord players will get some exclusive armor. All attendees will also get a Jumpgate Evolution pack complete with a beta key! I was invited to go myself, but seeing as I am moving on the 15th there's not a chance in hell...and I want some Shirow armor dammit! You go look at the pretty armor while I go cry. More »

Turbine Continues To Impress With LOTRO Book 12

Mike Fahey — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:20:17 EST

Turbine continues to kick the living crap out of most other MMORPGs feature-wise with the announcement of the latest free content update, Book 12: The Ashen Wastes. Book 12 introduces a mechanic that so many MMOs need but so very few utilize - the outfit system. Basically it allows you to customize the gear your character wears without affecting your armor stats, meaning that no matter what armor you put on, you can maintain the look you want. You wanna be known as the hobbit in hot pink pants? You can be that hobbit without worrying about your look changing every time you find a better piece of armor. They're also introducing barbershops where you can deck your character out in one of more than 50 new hairstyles, which is nifty indeed. On the actual game front, they are introducing The Delving of Frór, a 12-player raid dungeon that switches between player character and player monster control based on the faction winning the battle in the Ettenmoors, sort of like the Darkness Falls dungeon in Dark Age of Camelot. Enhanced player housing, over 100 new quests, and the chance to recover the ancient ring Narchuil round out the impressive feature list in Book 12. Hit the jump for more details, while I ponder the reactivation question for the umpteenth time. More »

LotRO Gets Prettier With Nvidia and DX10

Mike Fahey — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:20:51 EST

Turbine is extremely pleased to announce that their relatively successful MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online is the first MMO to fully support DirectX 10 and Nvidia's Geforce graphics processors. Utilizing the combined forces of the two, the MMO is now sporting upgraded water shaders, better particle effects, and more far-reaching lighting than ever before, along with a DX10 exclusive dynamicshadowing system. In layman's terms, if you got the right parts, the game just got a lot prettier.

"The FPS genre has long dominated the race to better graphics but with this major update from Turbine, The Lord of the Rings Online players can enjoy graphics as good as or even better than many FPS games. This is an outstanding achievement and the whole Turbine team should be rightly proud of what they have produced," said Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA

Right. In my world, high-end graphics and MMO games equals lag city, but who knows? Maybe Turbine and Nvidia have some sort of genie imprisoned somewhere. Since I don't have an active account for the game, it is all up to you folks. Is it prettier? Is it secret? Is it safe? More »

LotRO Gets Cheaper For The Holidays

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:00:46 EST

With Blizzard adding a cold pack to their Burning Crusade and NCsoft giving Guild Wars players five hours of marketing, what does Lord of the Rings Online have to offer MMO players this Holiday season? Low, low prices! From now until January 31st, new and existing subscribers to LotRO can pay only $9.99 month, $5 off their normal $14.99 rate. You'll have to pay $29.97 for three months at a time in order to take advantage of the special offer, but 33% off is nothing to scoff at. Of course had you known you'd be so addicted you would have just dropped $200 at launch for the lifetime subscription. Hindsight, huh? More »

LOTRO Book 11: More Cowbell

Mike Fahey — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:20:16 EDT

Sure, Turbine and Codemasters' 3rd major free content patch for Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar introduces over 100 new quests, your first glimpse of Gollum, two new areas, Amarthiel's ring of power, a raid against a Balrog, and player housing. That's all well and good, but the single most important aspect of the new update, due out on October 25th, is to the music system, my favorite aspect of the entire game. Three new instruments are being introduced with the update, including the bagpipes and god's very voice on earth - the cowbell. Finally all of Middle Earth can be graced by the most complete version of my masterpiece, "Don't Fear The Ringwraith." Hit the jump for info on that other crap. More »

Play LotRO Free

Mike Fahey — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:30:05 EDT

A nice, week-long vacation in Middle Earth sounds absolutely lovely right now. I mean, they've got everything; verdant hills, babbling brooks, Misty Mountains, all-encompassing battle to determine the fate of the world...toss in some taquitos and I'm there. Right now you can take a 7-day trip to the land of hobbits for the low, low price of free as Turbine launches a free trial for their critically acclaimed MMO, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Just head over to http://trial.lotro.com to sign up, wait out what is sure to be a massive, time-consuming download, and you'll be toking up pipeweed in the Shire in no time. If anything it'll be something to do in between periods of swearing you'll never return to World of Warcraft. More »

Codemasters Reveals GC07 Lineup

Mike Fahey — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:40:18 EDT

Codemasters has unveiled their lineup for next week's Games Convention in Leipzig, and it looks to me like they'll be having a fairly strong showing. Along with the aforementioned split-screen multiplayer for Overlord, the company is presenting two eagerly anticipated titles for the first time ever in playable form to the general public: Squad-based horror FPS Clive Barker's Jericho and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, playable for the first time ever at GC. I'm interested to see the reception Turning Point gets specifically as it's an alternate reality WWII shooter that begins with Nazi forces invading New York. Still a bit of a sensitive topic in Germany I hear. Joining the two new games are Colin McRae: DiRT and a playable first look at the next Lord of the Rings Online update, The City of the Kings. Definitely a respectable showing from one of the oldest game developers in the UK. Details follow the leap of faith we call the jump. More »

LOTRO Book 10 Detailed

Mike Fahey — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:20:00 EDT

Turbine continues it's quest to make Lord of the Rings Online players dizzy with new content next week. August 21st sees the release of Book 10: The City of Kings, the second free content update to the massively popular online roleplaying game. Highlights include newly customizable UI (thank god), new reputation (faction) and bartering systems, the latter being akin to WoW's pvp reward system, where you trade trophies for special items, the introduction of the Ranger of the North and Troll into monster play, and over 100 new quests. In case that wasn't enough, you'll be able to play as a chicken. Yes - a tiny, harmless little chicken. Hunting for worms has never been so...present in an MMO. Weird, but I like it. Hit the jump for full details! More »

LOTRO Celebrates The Summer Solstice

Mike Fahey — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:24:13 EDT

Turbine continues to impress the hell out of me with the level of support and dedication they have to making sure Lord of the Rings Online stays fresh and exciting despite the fact that their main audience has been perfectly content to read the same fifty year-old fantasy series over and over again. This Wednesday sees the beginning of their first big festival event, The Summer Solstice Festival More »

LOTRO Shores of Evendim Detailed

Mike Fahey — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:24:57 EDT

A little over a month old and Lord of the Rings Online is ready for a major free content upgrade, further entrenching Turbine and Codemasters in the hearts of Tolkien fans around the world. For weeks now we've been logging in to see the teaser screen, and finally today details emerge on the Shores of Evendim patch. It's a whole slew of new content, including one major feature that might get my short attention span having butt to resubscribe: More »

LOTRO Tops PC Sales in USA and Europe

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:24:25 EDT

Midway, Turbine, and Codemasters are completely freaking ecstatic to announce that The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angamar, or LOTRO as we affectionately call it, is the #1 PC game in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. According to the most recent industry reports (see the release), the power of Tolkien and the popularity of the films have brought PC gamers out in droves to get a chance to frolic in Middle Earth. More »

The Gates to Middle Earth Swing Wide

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:20:05 EDT

Arrows have been nocked, swords have been drawn, and Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar has gone live. As I type this hundreds of new Hobbits are being created, along with thousands of elves with names like Llegolass, Regorass, Orlando, et cetera. Expect a handful of dwarves. People who play dwarves have issues. More »