Spring-Flingin': LotRO's 2011 Spring Festival

alt="Spring-Flingin': LotRO's 2011 Spring Festival"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96880">

The Spring Festival has begun in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro">the Lord of the
Rings Online.
There is no new content this year - nothing on the scale of Winterhome,
at least - but the 2011 Spring Festival does have the old favorites:
the hedge maze and Stomp-A-Shrew. And a shiny new horse.

alt="New Spring Festival Mount"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96869">

The less-visually-jarring Blue Roan Steed from last year is
also still available. The hedge maze near the Bree-land festival
grounds has a whole
slew of quests - timed runs, scavenger hunts, chicken-chasing, getting
drunk and lost, etc. Some of the quests are new this year (one
involving rascally hobbits, another involving a timed drinking
challenge). All of these quests begin at the festival
grounds side and finish on the other. Learning the path through the
maze will probably take a few practice runs, but after you've navigated
through a few times it gets much easier. It's been a year since I last
ran through the place and I still remember the way.

alt="Deep in the middle of the hedge maze"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96870">

Stomp-A-Shrew takes place in a garden cave in Duillond. Think
competetive Whack-A-Mole with dwarves and elves - the goal is to beat
down shrews and rescue seedlings, competing with other players who will
attempt to knock you out of the way and ninja your shrews. There are a
number of quest-givers
inside the cave, involving procuring supplies for the shrew-stomping
festivities and the actual stomping of shrews. Bloody savages.

alt="A game of Stomp-A-Shrew"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96871">

The flower-picking quests from previous years are absent this
Spring Festival, so races, maze-running and shrew-stomping are the only
way to earn the festival tokens. There is, however, the other standard
festival fare this spring: the Inn League continues its valiant effort
to get all of Middle Earth drunk, despite the best efforts of the
less-noble Ale Association, and dance instructors at the usual festival
locations are teaching new players how to bust a move, step by step.
The rewards this year are mostly the same as last year, but there are a
few new cosmetic cloaks and some new gag items available from festival
vendors.

style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
style="width: 150px; height: 300px;"
alt="Long-sleeved Spring Flinger Outfit"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96872">


Long-sleeved Spring-flinger Hauberk style="width: 150px; height: 300px;"
alt="Short-sleeved Spring-flinger Hauberk"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96873">


Short-sleeved Spring-flinger Haubkerk style="width: 150px; height: 300px;"
alt="Spring Adventurer's Quiver"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96874">


Spring Adventurer's Quiver style="width: 150px; height: 300px;" alt="Spring-flinger Hat"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96875">


Spring-flinger Hat style="width: 150px; height: 300px;" alt="Spring-flinger Cloak"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96876">


Spring-flinger Cloak style="width: 150px; height: 300px;"
alt="Spring-flinger Hooded Cloak"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96877">


Spring-flinger Hooded Cloak style="width: 150px; height: 300px;" alt="Spring Dandy Cloak"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96878">


Spring Dandy Cloak style="width: 150px; height: 300px;"
alt="Spring Dandy Hooded Cloak"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96879">


Spring Dandy Hooded Cloak

The 2011 Spring Festival runs until April 12