LotRO Rise in Isengard launches 09-27-2011

[Scraper]

Isengard is set to launch on 09-27-2011

Here's thelink for the full news http://gamingtrend.com/2011/06/07/isengard-to-rise-09-27-2011/

[Blackjack]

The level cap bump to 75 is interesting. I have had a difficult time getting re-used to the game when I've revisited. In part because at L 60-65, the number of hotkeys is insane. I've forgotten everything. 

But it would be nice to have some new areas and that much further on the level cap.

[Scraper]

The level cap bump to 75 is interesting. I have had a difficult time getting re-used to the game when I've revisited. In part because at L 60-65, the number of hotkeys is insane. I've forgotten everything. 

But it would be nice to have some new areas and that much further on the level cap.

Did you try Enidwaith (Not sure on the spelling). It is a post Mirkwood zone that is pretty massive. Most of the quests are solo quests in the zone and they easily lvl you from 62-65.

[Blackjack]

I think I got one character to Mirkwood and L65, and another into the early 60s, and I just sort of burned out on the game at that point. This was just before the F2P beta started, and then I haven't really played regularly since then. So I might well have missed that zone or not reached it.

[Scraper]

I think I got one character to Mirkwood and L65, and another into the early 60s, and I just sort of burned out on the game at that point. This was just before the F2P beta started, and then I haven't really played regularly since then. So I might well have missed that zone or not reached it.

You probably missed it because that zone launched around the same time as F2P.

[TiLT]

The level cap bump to 75 is interesting. I have had a difficult time getting re-used to the game when I've revisited. In part because at L 60-65, the number of hotkeys is insane. I've forgotten everything. 

I agree with this. This is a large problem with MMORPGs today because developers are scared shitless about the concept of taking something away from the players, even when that might lead to a better gameplay experience. D&D 4th Edition solved this problem nicely. You get powers regularly throughout your first 10 (out of 30) levels, but once you get into the tens and twenties, you have to give up old abilities to get new ones. This means that sure, your high level wizard might not be able to cast Fireball any more at higher levels, but he's got other, better abilities to replace it.

If a MMORPG used this, you could keep adding new abilities to higher levels without ever ending up cluttering the interface. Let players visit a class trainer to swap between powers they have previously learned at a nominal price so that they don't risk gimping themselves with poor choices early on.

One of the worst parts of LOTRO is getting back into it after a break. I've got 6 or so fully stacked rows of buttons in my interface, which is way too much.

[Roguetad]

That's exactly why I liked the approach Guild Wars used in forcing players to make tough choices about what skills they wanted to bring.  You still could potentially have a large library of skills and spells, but you didn't end up with 4-5 hotbars cluttering up the bottom of the screen, with 2 more on the side.  And there's the hassle of hotkeying all of those skills and spells.  It's not necessary.  WoW is guilty of this too.  I don't need 30-40 abilities, spells and attacks to feel powerful.  

As you both said, it makes jumping back into the game a potentially frustrating experience, with more time spent initially trying to relearn the hotbars than actually playing the game. Even more frustrating for me are the games that have different versions of the same spell or attack, and let the player cycle through versions 1-whatever.  That just further clutters up hotbars, and just seems like lazy or poor skill design to me.  I'm glad WoW did away with that.  AoC was a prime culprit too.  Often times it was more effective to cycle through the same attack or ability 3 or 4 times in a row, using all of the lower level versions, instead of using the mid to high level attacks gained at later levels.  That's confusing for me to write, and even more confusing when trying to jump back into the game and setup hotbars.

I wish more games went with the less is more approach to skill use.  When I see screenshots of other players UIs for games like WoW, and they have stacks and stacks of little tiny hotbars on the bottom and sides of their screen, my first reaction is, "f**k that...that's too much."  Its like playing a '90s sim rather than a game.      

[The Grue]

Rogue, the problem with that is there are just as many people who complain that being limited like in Guild Wars and DC Universe Online makes the game "dumbed down."  Unfortunately, you can't please everyone.