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Is it odd that I get the "Piano Man" song stuck in my head every time I think of bards or minstrels? Someone reserve a room at the looney bin! Turbine has posted new information on the Minstrel Class for Lord of the Rings Online.

Minstrel
Races: Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit

'. . . in the midst of their merriment and tears the clear voice of the minstrel rose like silver and gold, and all men were hushed.'

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen"

With song and tale, a Minstrel brings hope to places thick with gloom. He can inspire those with desperate minds and heavy hearts to great deeds. In battle, he can turn the tide with songs that strengthen his allies and dirges which strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.

The Minstrel will be the class of choice for players who want to aid their friends, inspiring them to keep going through the darkest of times. With a vast repertoire of tales both fair and foul, a Minstrel restores the morale of his fellows, as well as causing his enemies to despair. Though able to wield weapons, he prefers to let his words, rather than his sword, speak for him. A Minstrel's style of combat is based on maintaining hope no matter what the odds.

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Lord of the Rings Online Devs updated the official class page today with a more detailed description of the Guardian Class

Guardian
Races: Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit

'Go after those two young hobbits, and guard them. . . .'
-The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,
"The Breaking of the Fellowship"

A doughty fighter and protector of the weak, a skilled Guardian can face even the toughest foes and survive. The Guardian is one of the few classes willing and able to try to draw more blows onto themselves, so they can retaliate with devastating maneuvers in response.

The Guardian will be the class of choice for players that enjoy drawing the attention of their foes in combat and taking advantage of their missteps. Masters of the defensive arts, Guardians use taxing attacks and irksome taunts to draw and hold opponents' attention, relying on their shield and weapon to turn aside incoming attacks with blocks and parries. A Guardian's combat style depends on creating openings during an opponent's attack to provide the opportunity for their own counterattack.

Finally! A class for all of the masochists out there! Not only will you draw that extra bit of pain and suffering to yourself but you'll look like a hero while you're doing it!

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A Short Q&A For Your Short Attention Span

MMORPGDot.com
has a short and sweet bit on Lord of the Rings Online from LotroSource.

KhazadDum081389: Will any race or profession be able to tame a pet (like
a ranger or an elf)? If so, what will be the kinds of pets you can tame?
Chris Foster: Pets are definitely going to play a part in LOTRO. For specifics,
you'll have to wait for more information on classes.

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But Tolkien did it without a database!

Lord of the Rings Online Developer Chris "NobOrBob" Foster shows off one of Turbine's myriad tools for game development, this one focusing on quest implementation. With this much storyline behind a certifiably graphics-intensive MMO, and with such a devout LotR playerbase, it's a good thing Turbine's streamlining things where they can.

For all these reasons and a few others, one of the biggest changes we made to the quest system was to replace the old quest file format with a new one. This unified quest file format contained nearly all of the information needed to place a quest in the world: the steps involved, the dialogue that each NPC says, the item that the monster should drop when it dies. In addition, the new quest file made it much easier to re-use the same characters on multiple quests...

Read more at the Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar official site. And be sure to check out the Ten Ton Hammer LotRO site for all the latest happenings!