Lord of the Rings Online

My question to the LOTRO community

How much of the focus is on monster play at end game? Is there a balance of monsters versus freeps? I never really got into  the LOTRO, seeing as Iv always labeled as a carebear game, but it seems the devs are adding new stuff to monster play, but my question is this...

Can a competitive pvper play monster play and be happy?

What i really want in a mmo.

Always people to fight/compete against, not a dead area/zone that nobody goes to and devs dont bother to improve, such as eq2 pvp server..

Balanced, classes that are meaningful and serve a purpose in a group...  I HATE games that have flavor of the months, overpowered classes that dominate other classes, hunter in wow for example.

I do like pve but to a lesser extent, my main draw is pvp and organised guilds fighting others. i like both small scale and zerg.

Also the ability to get into the game and pvp without spending alot of time buffing (star wars galaxies) or farming gear to be competent at pvp (WOW) or spending hours looking for a opononent who will actully put up a fight (EVE online)

Anyone recommend this game to a mmo veteran who likes pvp first and pve 2nd? Or should i just wait for age of conan, assuming it isnt an overhyped piece of crap, which seems to be the MMO industry trend nowadays.

Please be specific and give examples of why or whynot I would enjoy/not enjoy PVMP as a competitive gamer.

Thanks!

Well, what are some games that have PVP that you enjoy? PVP is lotro is the same as pvp in every MMO except EVE. The only difference is mosters start at level 50..other than that its the same. You kill characters controled by other people, hold keeps, raid keeps held by the other faction, rank, rewards, ect...If you wanna give specifics on what you like rather than dislike..I'd be able to answer your question a little better.

I like -

- pvp that takes skill and knowledge of ones char to be effective! Where use of specials and abilities and timing is important/criticla to gaining the upper hand Going in spamming cooldowns, alpha strikes, ect expecting to win is not my kind of game.

- Balanced pvp, classes need to be balanced as i said before i dont like games that are constatly nerfing classes in pvp for one reason of the other. today your fotm the next day your a gimp. Ever play a game where the balance of classes power feels like a roller coaster ride? well if you have then you know it is very frusterating to any pvper.

-  Teamwork! This is probably the most important aspect of any game. How much emphasis is put on teamwork? Id rather play a game that emphasis group teamwork in PVP, as opposed to running in and getting off "cheap ganks" in solo ubermode.

- Something meaningful to compete over. For example,  In the days of rallos zek  eq1pvp guilds would fight to determien who had rights to xp in a contested zone. DAOC had a nice rvr system where the winning realm controled a very popular dungeon, Dark ness falls. As well as a ranking system where you could improve your character with new abilities and bonuses earned only thru pvp.

If theres nothing to fight over in a game, (land...objective? ect)  whats the point of pvp?

- Active community - MOST IMPORTANT point.  Do people play activly in the ettenmoors? Is there both freeps and creeps fighting eachother at all times of the day? How popular is monster play in lotro? Is there a community interest in pvp or do people shy away from pvmp.

A game can have a great pvp system but if the devs dont develope it, support it with updates ect,  or balance it vs pve then it will turn into empty ghosttowns.

Thanks for the advice, and pardon my grammer and spelling, 2 in the morning and im fighting to stay awake.

Originally posted by Ragemaster

I like -

- pvp that takes skill and knowledge of ones char to be effective! Where use of specials and abilities and timing is important/criticla to gaining the upper hand Going in spamming cooldowns, alpha strikes, ect expecting to win is not my kind of game. Ya, stradegy, knowledge of the game, terrain, and the use of your skills and knowlege of your crew's skills and the coordination of your crew is necessary. But, like most games..numbers win. This is where stadegy and knowlegde of the terrain comes into play..divide and conquer.

- Balanced pvp, classes need to be balanced as i said before i dont like games that are constatly nerfing classes in pvp for one reason of the other. today your fotm the next day your a gimp. Ever play a game where the balance of classes power feels like a roller coaster ride? well if you have then you know it is very frusterating to any pvper. The player classes are not balanced with each other. PVP in lotro is in PVP areas only..and its open pvp there and you pvp against monsters that you can make once you hit lev 10. You start witha level 50 monster. You gain ranks until you're equal to about an elite mob. So in theory the player class 1v1 will always win..unless you use sradegy, knowledge of the game and terrain ect.. Moster players are the underdog..thats what I love about them. theres not a better feeling than beating people witha clear advantage through the use of the things you said you like. Being a monster sounds like it may have some fun for you..it takes alot of skill, teamwork, and knowledge to be successful, but when your supposed to lose, it makes winning all the more sweet. Are you balanced with the regular chars?...no. Are the creeps balanced with the freeps?..yes..in thoery.

-  Teamwork! This is probably the most important aspect of any game. How much emphasis is put on teamwork? Id rather play a game that emphasis group teamwork in PVP, as opposed to running in and getting off "cheap ganks" in solo ubermode. This all depends on you. If your a monster..its teamwork or die. Freeps can usually get by in a group, yet still able to do their own thing. thats mostly for the small battles 20 v 20 or something. The large battles..your only as good as the crew your with.

 

- Something meaningful to compete over. For example,  In the days of rallos zek  eq1pvp guilds would fight to determien who had rights to xp in a contested zone. DAOC had a nice rvr system where the winning realm controled a very popular dungeon, Dark ness falls. As well as a ranking system where you could improve your character with new abilities and bonuses earned only thru pvp. There is ranking, taking over a keep//which then spawns npc's to take pvp quest, rewards, titles..the usual. They add a little more each time. The main difference is in lotro the pvp is seperate..both in the area and in the moster classes. So when its over, it stays there.

If theres nothing to fight over in a game, (land...objective? ect)  whats the point of pvp? Eve is the only game with a point to PVP. Lotro is the same as the rest of games...only personal reward, or advancement. You pvp for fun and to develop your char..no point other than that. Find a game that has a point and let me know.

 

- Active community - MOST IMPORTANT point.  Do people play activly in the ettenmoors? Is there both freeps and creeps fighting eachother at all times of the day? How popular is monster play in lotro? Is there a community interest in pvp or do people shy away from pvmp. People are always pvp'ing. Its just like every other game though, sometimes you log in and log out cause the pvp isnt doing it, other times you play all night. Find a kin, due some research on servers, check official forums. This kind of thing is up to the player and his friends. Want a war..start one on the forums and you'll get a war in the etten's. Like I said pvp is seperate, so the drama is seperate too. Drama is what drives the community to fight, it just a little weird in that sense because moster players are seperate toons. So picking a fight with a monster guild might be picking a fight with your weaponsmith. Most of the time the ettens is just people having fun, but you could create more. There is no button you can push to make large scale war happen whenever you want. There is no  arena battleground capture the flag like WOW.

 

 

A game can have a great pvp system but if the devs dont develope it, support it with updates ect,  or balance it vs pve then it will turn into empty ghosttowns. They dont balance pvp with pve in lotro. They balance creeps with the feeps. They keep adding more but, the main game gets the time and money...not to mention unless they're gonna add all out war in middle earth it would be a waste becuase you'd only end up doing the same thing you do now..go to and area and kill people. dont need 6 months of dev time and minigames to change nothing really.

 

Thanks for the advice, and pardon my grammer and spelling, 2 in the morning and im fighting to stay awake.

I would say try to find a monster guild..you can get more satisfaction by owning freeps with your crew of monsters in lotro than any other satifaction from pvp in 99% of mmo's. Simply because you have to use all the things you said you want in pvp to be successful...especially teamwork, and timing. But, pvp stays in the ettens for the most part, and so does the drama that comes with it, which is what I really think you're longing for.

Hope that helped...there are negatives which I didnt really get into, this isnt a fluff peice or anything for lotro. Will it be the ultimate PVP game?..never.  Can you find your monies worth of enjoyment from PVP..yep. I love pvp btw..absolutely love it. I dont play lotro for the pvp, but in my HONEST opinion..its the same as the pvp in the rest of the games..without the pvp affecting the pve aspects. They are taking their time with pvp too. Add a little see what happens, how players use it..then move ahead.

If you do decide to try it..you will absolutely ruin it if you race to 50 and to max your toon just so you can PVP. That isnt how this game works. the enjoyment and learning comes from playing the game. Your loot wont make you uber, your freinds and knowledge will.

take the trial and try out monster play...see if you can hang as an underdog...or if you give up after you die. The key for MP is having a good crew..most freeps are total noob pvpers anyway:)

 

 I prolly didnt answer the questions you wanted so ask again if you want some more:)

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Something meaningful to compete over. For example, In the days of rallos zek eq1pvp guilds would fight to determien who had rights to xp in a contested zone. DAOC had a nice rvr system where the winning realm controled a very popular dungeon, Dark ness falls. As well as a ranking system where you could improve your character with new abilities and bonuses earned only thru pvp.

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Just from my observations, mind you I'm still newbie here...but coming from Rallos Zek and Shadowbane as my definition of Open-World PvP, and Guild Wars as a definition of competetive PvP in terms of arenas and "eSport":

No, this isn't a competetive PvP MMO.

That doesn't mean PvP isn't fun in this game...I've had a blast in the Ettinmoors so far. It's just what goes down in the PvMP isn't going to have a global effect on the rest of the game, just what's going down in that zone. Mind you, it's a huge, open zone with lots of contested points.

The factions aren't "balanced". But it really isn't supposed to be...you're either going in as the heroes or starting off as the monsters with just a few skills and basic abilities at level 50. This isn't to downplay Monsterplay at all; personally, I think it's the charm, because the really cut throat players who want to be good and work on their skill enjoy being "bad guys" and it's nothing short of a good challenge.

From what I've seen, the Monster players are forced to orgranize themselves and work on tactics and communication more than Freep raiding parties.

But if you're wanting to roll a monster toon, and have him roam the lands of Middle Earth ganking hobbits in the Shire...this isn't the game. Nor are you getting a "full" game of Monsters. They're really just an added bonus to the game.

I know some LOTRO fans are probably gonna yell at me over this, but I'm not saying any of the above is a bad thing at all. PvP wasn't why I came to LOTRO, and I'm glad they implemented it the way they did. Let's not sugar coat what this game is and isn't.

Yes, the game does have a good outlet for PvP that is fun and many have enjoyed centering their guilds around that aspect of the game. But no, it's not what the game as a whole is centered around. This isn't DAoC by any stretch, and it's especially not Rallos Zek. You're not going to see guilds of Hobbits running around the Shire trying to protect it from Human players who have a furry footed bloodlust.

As someone who is also a competitive PvPer, I typically don't look to MMORPGs for that fix. As my sig shows, I play Battlefield Europe: WWII Online for a true hardcore MMO PvP experience.

Having said that, I find LOTRO's PvMP entertaining. Their version of PvP is damn fun, but it doesn't give me the same rush that WWII Online gives me.

I think it is a question you'll have to answer for yourself by giving LOTRO a try.

It might not now, but they keep improving on all aspects of the game.  PvMP will grow by leaps and bounds over the next year, I believe to a point where it will rival any other popular PvP based MMO.