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

The developers at Turbine got a little creative with this update as they gave players the option to play as a chicken in what they called “Session Play”. You heard me right, I said a chicken. Just avoid getting choked by the enemies… and I promise not to use that joke again. With the addition of the chicken, players could also use their destiny points to purchase play time as a Ranger or Troll in the Ettenmoors. These are elite PvP classes and capable of wrecking havoc on the battlefield. Hunters and Captains got a big revamp during this patch as well, giving both classes new skills and abilities.

As the epic story continued, you were able to aid Aragorn in reforging the shattered blade of Narsil into Andúril, the Flame of the West. Considering what you have to go through to acquire the needed stone for Aragorn, it’s a pretty decent cutscene.

Book 11: Defenders of Eriador
Book 11 was a long awaited update and rather large in the patch notes department. Several class and crafting changes were added and this was also considered the revamp patch for the Minstrel and Lore-master classes. However, the biggest part of this update was the introduction of player housing. Each race was given their own instanced neighborhoods, each with its own unique theme.

• Hobbits: The hobbits live in their tiny homes that normal sized races could almost bump their heads in. The neighborhoods are modeled after the Shire and you will see hobbit homes on are sticking out of hills.
• Elves: The elven neighborhood is a majestic looking area that is bright of color and provides a peaceful looking setting in the tradition of the elves.
• Dwarves: The dwarves live beneath the mountain near Thorin’s Hall. Their neighborhood has huge statues, crystals, and a dark setting,
• Men: Last but not least we have the race of man. Their homes are located near Bree and they have homes much like the buildings in Bree. There’s nothing spectacular about them. They are plain and simple.

Each neighborhood comes with three types of homes.

• Single: The cheapest of the homes. This is the smallest and most affordable home. It has one chest slot for extra storage.
• Deluxe: This is the best house a player can buy for individual use. It comes with a two chest option, but it is also much more expensive than the cheaper single house.
• Kinship: Lastly, the Kinship House is the most expensive of all and will likely require your Kinship to work together to maintain the rent and add any theme appropriate decorations. Kinship homes come with three chest options for storage and adjustable permission settings.

Between Books 9 through 11, Turbine offered up enough free content for a small expansion. However, Turbine didn’t stop there and more free content was given on a pretty regular basis. Books 12-15 offered additional content that we’ll talk about in the next article, with Book 15 being released with the Mines of Moria expansion to give those who chose not to buy it a little something extra.

Overall, Turbine in the first three books alone provided one raid instance, an entire new housing system, a revamp of several classes, several new group instances, and advancement of the epic storyline. If you are just trying the game for the first time or returning after a long hiatus, I hope this and the future articles on this subject aid you in the learning process.