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

Why do I get the feeling this is going to hurt?

As someone who has spewed forth countless curses at that evil plumber, Mario, I can assure you that you do not need to be any kind of Nintendo master to accomplish this. While designed for players to generally be able to just walk off of an edge at a given point, there are plenty of opportunities to jump too far, or just fall off a walkway. Fighting on the edge of a 200-foot drop will make anyone pay more attention to his or her surroundings.

Speaking of paying attention to your surroundings, Aaron and I (with the help of some "you can't kill me powers") got to take on a boss within The Water Wheels: Nalâ-dûm called Caerlug. While he was more than dangerous enough by himself, we also had to contend with these enormous stones hanging from the ceiling that would randomly come crashing down. If you could simply stay in the middle while attempting to slap Caerlug around, this would not only be easy, but boring. Thankfully, Caerlug has a nasty habit of striking out and sometimes sending you flying backwards. You'd better be aware of your positioning and quick on your feet if you want to avoid getting smashed like a cupcake. It made for an engaging encounter while avoiding the need for the "everyone has to jump 36.7 seconds into combat to avoid uber-nuke X"-type of mechanic that seems to be so popular in the MMO genre today. It's a welcome change to be sure.

After a couple instance hops, it was time to check out the Dwarf races they have for an upcoming festival. In the past, players have only been able to get a festival mount by participating in the horse races. This time, the team has expanded the ways players can be granted such a mount of their very own. By playing in various games, players can earn tokens that can be turned in for a festival mount token. You'll still need to be level 35 to get the riding skill, just like you would for your normal mount, but adding multiple ways to complete objectives is something that’s welcome in my book any day.

The concept of the dwarven races is not only funny, but also more than a little fitting for such a prestigious race. Rather than making the event some mad dash to the finish line, the dwarves (which you get to pick one of to win) run to a number of different ale stations set out along the course. Completely by random, your dwarf's ale may invigorate him with a burst of speed, slow him down to the crawl of a new born babe (or a staggering drunk), or some speed in between. Needless to say, I think my buddy Lars kept drinking more than his fair share because he lost and lost badly. It was a fun event though and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the others that will be taking place.

After watching my dwarf Lars lose so horrifically, it was time to see what the team had been working on in Barrow Downs. Some of the mobs in the area have been made a little easier while others have had their challenge increased. Be aware that Fetid Rat that used to be little more than a nuisance may not be quite such a pushover the next time you set foot in there.

Aside from doing some revamp work with the local inhabitants there, the team has been creating new quests for the area as well. Unlike the majority of quests created for the adventurers we're all so familiar with, these quests are designed for the crafters in the game. Every crafter needs to have the ability to defend himself and help with culling the local inhabitants if the need arises right?