alt="LotRO's Live Festival On Now"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99836" />
Tis the season to be sweaty. The sun is shining, the flowers
are blooming, the birds are singing and the hardcore gamers are
ignoring it all in darkened, air-conditioned bliss. And to remind you
of just what you're missing out on in the mystical world of Outside,
the Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating summer with their annual
Summer Festival, variously called Lithe Festival or Summerfest.
Like the other festivals, you get invited to join the
festivities via in-game mail directing you to the Party Tree in
Hobbiton. Also like the other festivals, you get your standard ration
of horse races, Inn League/Ale Association rivalry and seasonal events.
This year's Summer Festival Steed is a handsome beast (particularly
when compared to past bewildering mounts like the easter egg-looking
Anniversary Steed) and is quite trim and
athletic-looking.
alt="New Summer Festival Steed"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99831" />
OFF TO THE RACES
There are two kinds of races during Summerfest; the first is
the old standard participatory obstacle course at the Bree Festival
Grounds and the Shire racetrack, and the second is the
observation-and-betting type - the keg race at Thorin's Gate and the
eating race north of the Party Tree near Hobbiton.
To participate in the betting, first speak to the relevant NPC
Race Trader (Dodder Twofoot at the Party Tree, Jorfi in the tavern
below Thorin's
Hall) to get a
couple of race tokens, then head to the starting line (up the hill from
the Party Tree, and on the steps leading up to Thorin's Gate) and speak
to the race announcer. Select your champion and cheer him on as he runs
(or slowly waddles) from station to station. There is a deed associated
with these races - win once for each of the 8 competitors and win the
title "Lucky Duck." There doesn't appear to be a reliable "system" for
picking the winner in any given race (other than to bet on someone
other than the one I pick), so you can just keep betting on
the same runner until he or she wins and then switch to a different
guy. On the off-chance that you win a race, your bet pays 6 festival
tokens.
If you want to chase a winning streak without having to wait
several hours for the quest cooldown, race tokens can be purchased from
the LotRO Store - 1 tokens for 75 Turbine Points.
alt="The Taste of Hobbiton race"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99832" />
FISHING
Also returning this year is the annual fishing derby. A fairly
consistent and reliable way to earn festival tokens, fishing can be
enjoyed by any level of player, from the rawest of raw noobs to the
most seasoned old-school raider. Start at the hobby-master in Bywater
(he's in a little structure by the bridge there) and take up the
Fishing hobby, get yourself a rod and do the Stocking the Pond intro
quest. You only need to do this one once ever - head to the river
running through Thorin's Hall, the docks at Celondim, and the big pond
south of Bree-town to catch 3 each of the local fish and take them back
to Bywater. After completing this quest, you can go back to those
fishing spots and pick up quests to catch as many fish as you can in 20
minutes (10 minutes at the fishing hole in Bywater). Fishing is
super-easy: drag the skill from the Hobby panel to a quickslot and
equip your fishing rod, go stand by the water, click the skill to cast
and click again when the pole jerks down. You'll end up snagging a lot
of goldfish and weeds, but keep an eye out for the yellow-named local
fish (Small Fish, Drum, Amberjack, Luillim, Silver Haddock, Starry
Flounder, Golden Redfish, Celebhal) which can be turned in at the
questgivers for festival tokens.
alt="Fishing at the fishin' hole"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99834" />
SCAVENGER HUNTS
Making its debut this year is the scavenger hunt. There are 6
of these altogether - 2 in Thorin's Hall, 1 in Duillond, 3 in the
Shire. Each of the scavenger hunts rewards 1 festival token.
Ambi, in the basement tavern at Thorin's Hall, has had a long,
hard day of drinking, and the bacchanalia has rendered him forgetful.
While he was partying hard dwarf-style, he misplaced a few of his
belongings. He gives you a list of clues for where he thinks his stuff
might be, so here's a translation of his hangover ramblings:
Ambi's Note - the
tunnel between the tavern and the crafting hall, just after a bend
beneath a support.
Ambi's Blue Bottle -
on the platform with the Minstrel trainer.
Ambi's Pack - on the
upper walkway to the Blue Stone Garrison, next to the waterfall.
Ambi's Red Jar - near
Farmann the auctioneer.
Ambi's Green Jar - on
the table beside Tuki the escrow broker.
Skalli, standing out by the races laying the boots to an
unfortunate wagon, has had a miserable day at the races, losing every
bet. Dwarves are not known for their anger management, and Skalli
expressed his frustration by hurling his weapons and other personal
items around in a Hulk-like display of primal rage:
Mining Pick - lodged
in the east brazier at the top of the stairs.
Shield - tossed
carelessly into the fire of the brazier next to the keg.
Spear - thrust into a
tree on the south side of the southeastern leg of the race.
Mug - left on a table
amidst the southwestern leg of the race.
"Lucky" Jewel -
abandoned at the base of one of the kegs at the Inn League tasting at
Frerin's Court.
alt="Finding Lalfor's Brown Book in Duillond"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99833" />
Lalfor
is so anxious about professing his love that he misplaced all his
super-emo poetry.
Lalfor, a love-lorn elf in the festival area in Duillond, is
all a-twitter as he is about to profess his crush on Nedhrien. An
attack of nerves has left him addlepated and absent-minded,
and he has misplaced his books of poetry and other items. I'm sure
we've all been there.
Goblet - on a
cheese-and-wine-covered table in the cooking area.
Jewelry Box
- on the ground beside a workbench just north of the cooking
area.
Blue Book - on a
fountain around the corner from the workbench.
Brown Book - in a
small tree garden around the corner from the fountain.
Bundle of Books -
behind the benches on the platform with the armoursmiths, against the
back wall.
Melilot, at the Party Tree north of Hobbiton, has misplaced
all the food she had brought with her to the festival. It is never
properly explained why she was brown-bagging it, or why she brought so
much food to a festival renowned for lavish feasts, or how she lost it
all. Seems kind of dodgy, really, but here's where her stuff can be
found:
Bread - on the
Bywater Bridge.
Eggs - next to one of
the granaries at the Grange.
Cheese - at
Appledores under one of the apple trees.
Porridge - on a crate
outside of Bag End.
Mushrooms - under the
willow tree beside the pond, across the road from the Party Tree area.
Foxglove Tunnelly has also had some festival-related
misadventure, misplacing a number of non-food items around the Party
Tree area over the course of the day:
Teapot - on a long
table in the cooking area.
Parasol - next to
Gaffer Gamgee, downhill from the Party Tree.
Wine - at the Inn
League beer tent.
Book - on a large
rock downhill from Bag End beside the path to the Party Tree.
Twine - being batted
about by a cat at the base of the Party Tree.
Mosco Smallburrow, by the fishing hole near Bywater, is a
regular Ernest Hemingway with an epic tale of Hobbit versus Fish. His
giant catch got away, as did most of his belongings during his heroic
struggle:
Spare Pole - caught
ironically in a net just southeast of the hobby-master's stand.
Hoe - leaning against
the north end of the bridge north of the fishing hole.
Cloak - near the
rocks at the east end of the fishing hole lake.
Elevensies Meal -
near the chimney of a small burrow north of the fishing hole lake.
Bait - in the
superior grain field north of the fishing hole, in the southeast corner.
REWARDS
As for festival rewards, there's not much new this year except
for the four house-decoration maps. These are a part of the series of
21 maps that was introduced with the Anniversary Festival. 8 were made
available for the Anniversary Festival, 4 for the Summer Festival, and
the remaining 9 will come with subsequent festivals and events. The
Summerfest maps are Lothlorien, Ettenmoors, Caras Galadhon and Northern
Barrow-downs, and each map costs 12 tokens. The cosmetics carried over
from previous years are outstanding - a particular favorite is
the Golden Tree Summer Cloak, a silky dark drape with an intricate
golden tree design classing it up.
alt="Festival-reward maps"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99835" />
The 2011 Summerfest runs until July 11. Pack in the summer fun while it lasts!
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Lord of the Rings Online Game Page.
