Lord of the Rings Online
The Lord of the Rings Online is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) set in Tolkien's Middle-Earth, originally developed by Turbine, Inc.
It is available in multiple languages in virtually every country of the world. English, French and German language support is found in the game client for players in North America and Europe. Release and patch notes as well as Forums are also available in those languages.
The game is frequently called "LOTRO" for short and is usually designated as an "MMOG" rather than the longer "MMORPG."
Game launch and history of major releases
- 24 April 2007 - Official Launch - The Lord of the Rings Online™: SHADOWS OF ANGMAR™
- 18 November 2008 - The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria was the first major expansion for the game.
- 1 December 2009 - The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, became the second major expansion.
- 20 April 2010 Turbine, Inc., the game's developer was acquired by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.
- Free-to-play (F2P) was begun on 10 September 2010. -- Volume III: Book 2: The Ride of the Grey Company
- Update 2 (since Free to Play), Echoes of The Dead -- 18 March 2011
- Update 3 (since Free to Play), Lost Legends of Eriador -- 05 May 2011
- Update 4 (since Free to Play), the third major expansion The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard (ROI), was released on 26 September, 2011 - a day earlier than announced.
- Update 5 (since Free to Play), Armies of Isengard - 12 December, 2011
- Update 6 (since Free to Play), Shores of the Great River - 12 March, 2012
- Update 7 (since Free to Play), Shades of the Past - 14 May, 2012
- Update 8 (since Free to Play), the fourth major expansion - The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan (ROR); Introduction of the Native Mac Client - originally scheduled for release in early September, was delayed and released on 15 October 2012.
- Update 9 (since Free to Play), Against the Shadow - 17 December, 2012
- Update 10 (since Free to Play), Against the Shadow part II - 6 March, 2013
- Update 11 (since Free to Play), Treachery of the White Hand - 13 May, 2013
- Update 12 (since Free to Play), the fifth major expansion - The Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep (HD) - 20 November 2013
- Update 13 (since Free to Play), The Breaking of Isengard - April 14, 2014
- Update 14 (since Free to Play), The Paths of the Dead - July 14, 2014 (Western Gondor)
- Update 14.2 (since Free to Play) - The Dead Marshes - September 15, 2014
- Update 15 - Gondor Aflame - 5 November 2014
- Update 16 - East Gondor: locked and under siege - 4 May 2015 (Central Gondor)
- Update 17 - Minas Tirith under siege - 27 October 2015
- Update 18 - The Battle of Pelennor Fields - 12 April 2016
- Update 18.2 - Throne of Dread Terror - 5 July 2016
- Update 19 - March of the King - 18 October 2016
- 16 December 2016 - The game team responsible for The Lord of the Rings Online moved from Turbine, Inc to Standing Stone Games, a newly formed indie game studio.
- Update 20 - Battle of the Black Gate - 21 March 2017
- Update 21, the sixth major expansion - The Lord of the Rings Online: Mordor (Mordor) - 2 August 2017
- Update 22 - Legacy of the Necromancer - 6 March 2018
- Update 23 - Where Dragons Dwell - 9 October 2018
- Update 24 - Vales of Anduin - 4 June 2019
- Update 25, the seventh major expansion - The Lord of the Rings Online: Minas Morgul (MM) - 5 November 2019
- Update 26 - Mists of Wilderland - April 23, 2020
- Update 27 - The Great Wedding - June 30, 2020
- Update 28 - The War of Three Peaks - October 20, 2020
- Update 29 - Wildwood - March 17, 2021
- Update 30 - Blood of Azog - June 8, 2021
- Update 31, the eighth major expansion - The Lord of the Rings Online: Fate of Gundabad (FoG) - 10 November 2021
- Update 32 - Rangers and Ruins - 16 February 2022
- Update 33 - The Yondershire - 20 April 2022
In between each expansion, free content updates were added that significantly expanded the world. See List of Patches for release notes and related information on each enhancement.
Features
- Customizable player characters:
- 7 Races: Beorning, Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Man, and Stout-axe
- 11 Classes: Beorning, Brawler, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Hunter, Guardian, Lore-master, Minstrel, Warden, and Rune-keeper.
- 10 Professions, enabling resource gathering and item crafting.
- The Traits system allows further customization of the character's skills and stats.
- Monster Play (PvP)
- In-game trading, mail service and auction system.
- Acclaimed Player Music System. Allows one to play music and entertain other players in-game, utilizing the "ABC Music system."
See Also
All of the information found on this, the Lotro-Wiki.
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Mordor
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Minas Morgul
- The Lord of the Rings Online: War of Three Peaks
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Fate of Gundabad
- Wikipedia article on Lotro
- Wikipedia article on Lotro Mines of Moria expansion
- Wikipedia article on Lotro Siege of Mirkwood expansion
- Wikipedia article on Lotro Rise of Isengard expansion
- Wikipedia article on Lotro Riders of Rohan expansion
- Wikipedia article on Lotro Helm's Deep expansion
- Wikipedia article on Mordor expansion
- Wikipedia article on Minas Morgul expansion
- Wikipedia article on War of Three Peaks expansion
- Wikipedia article on Fate of Gundabad expansion