Lord of the Rings Online MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

Executive Producer Kate Paiz has posted her latest missive to the community detailing content plans for The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) in 2013. Paiz laid out a few changes for content development by announcing plans to form a new Player’s Council, which will be made up of players that will participate in regular structured discussion with the development team to help shape future content.

Player’s Council – We are doubling down this year on the conversation between Turbine and you, our players. We are going to start a Player’s Council, a group of players who participate in more regular & structured feedback sessions with the dev group. We want to make sure that as we grow and extend this game, that we are incorporating your likes and dislikes about what we are into what we release. The Community Team will be releasing more information about how we’re going to construct and run the Player’s Council in the coming weeks.

On the content front, Paiz announced a planned revision to the Housing system later this year along with adjustments to classes to condense skills by buffing some and removing some of the disappointing ones. Paiz also took some time to tease players with some of the details being worked on for Helm’s Deep and what awaits players in Western Rohan later this year. What gamer's ears didn't perk up at the mention of Helm's Deep?

Western Rohan – I am at this moment standing on the parapet of the Hornburg, looking out over Helm’s Deep as devs populate the landscape with hundreds (soon to be thousands) of Saruman’s Uruk-hai & Orcs. We will be bringing you the rest of Rohan in two installments – Wildermore, a northern region between the Wold and Fangorn, will be released this spring, after our 6th anniversary, and later in the year, you’ll be able to see Western Rohan, Edoras, and participate in battles of epic proportions. Much more on this to come…

Source: LOTRO Producer’s Letter