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

Playing the Monsters

I've always been fascinated with being able to play unconventional characters in any game. While there were far too many issues with Horizons to mention here, I was completely in love with that game for one reason and one reason only; I got to play a dragon. Not only did I get to play a dragon, but I also couldn't use any of the equipment I found for the far more populated humanoid races on the planet. When it's all said and done, there are a number reasons why Horizons was a staggering failure, but that doesn't negate some of the innovations they brought to the table and should be commended for.

Since I'm also playing a spider, is it wrong to beat up on them now?

Once I found out I could play such a character in LotRO, even if it was part of a PvP landscape, I had to hurry up and meet the necessary requirements. Thanks to the members of our forums that commented on last week's article and filled me in on what it took to finally be able to play one of the game's monsters. To the complete surprise (and utter confusion) of my wife, I chose to try out the spider first. I'll freely admit I have problems with the creepy crawly creatures of the world, but only if they're on me, trying to make their way into jumping range so they can get on me, or blocking my path in an attempt to force me into jumping range so they can get on me. Are you starting to see a pattern here? That's right - all bugs of the world desire nothing more than to get on you. Anyway... since it's a video game and there's no chance of being pounced on by it, I chose the spider because when you take out the creepiness factor, they're actually pretty fascinating creatures. 

The spider in LotRO proved to be a lot of fun. I may not have discovered any goodie two-shoes player characters wandering around, but there is a small PvE portion to the Ettenmoors that I found enjoyable. While you may be a monster, your screen is set up just like a character. You have your quest section, various abilities on a hot bar, and your own little mini-map. I really wish more companies would take the time to do something like this. Crawling around the land, spitting poison, and burrowing under the ground to hide was all a lot of fun. It places you in a different mindset and allows you to explore aspects of the game from a different perspective.

If you really analyze it, it's not much different from the normal player experience in that you have skills and abilities, but none of that matters. What matters is that I was playing an animal, with a different set of objectives and reasons for existence. I can't stress how much I recommend everyone to give it a try, even if it's not something they stick with. It's an area of game design that I personally feel should be looked at further. There was just one thing that kind of drew me out of the fantasy while I was wandering around. Since I am a spider, I really think I should be allowed to crawl up walls. Sadly, the developers apparently failed to agree with me.

Once again, there’s far more to go over with LotRO than what’s been presented here. I call that a good thing, really. The game has far more to it than I had ever thought in the past. I’m looking forward to continuing the journey and bringing you future updates!