LOTR Online

[roadrunner]

Hmm VG where to begin?

First the things I really like:

• The number of classes and definition of classes. In other games if I want to play a healer I have to choice of playing the character created for that function or not. In VG I have a choice of four classes from a light armor nuker/healer to a plate wearing melee toon. The same goes for casters, tanks, and melee dps.
• The world is big. A lot to explore if you chose
• Crafting system is much more than just click a button once you have the materials. I have been leveling crafting and while it can be a grind the system make crafting a commitment and thus rewards people that will put in the time more.
• Extra stuff like boats (I have a sloop) and player housing is nice.

Now what is bad or broken:

• The game was released six months too soon. The number of bugs is really unacceptable and their poor results fixing them so far leaves little convinced. Major bugs like for example a broken quest which would not let crafters to do their specialization at level 11 took weeks to fix right. The QA before releasing a patch does not seem to exist. Case in point a specific fix in the release notes was terribly broken when it went to live. Testing for just one minute would have highlighted the problem. I can see something that they were not changing breaking but this was something specifically called out for in the release notes and not tested.
• Performance is horrible. My pc will run BF2142 just fine but will see single digit FPS while standing still in a near empty area crafting. Dungeons with a full group are unplayable. I stutter and hitch all the time and the main reason I started crafting more.
• Stability is bad. After this last patch I can CTD 3-4 times during a one hour span. It is also the only application on my PC which can completely lock it up requiring a reboot.
• The devs seem to guessing in their changes to “balance” classes. They will up the damage in one patch then nerf it in another.
• The big picture “vision” is missing for various aspects of the game. While it does take time for things like the economy to stabilize there was huge holes in how VG was setup. It really rewarded the people who started crafting from day one and hosed those who came later.
• Did I mention the game was released too soon? The biggest drawback is that they are still adding content and tweaking the existing content so any decisions may come back to bite you later.

I cancelled my account but will still keep all my stuff and will see if they can polish this game before I try it again.

[rhonnin]

I am a huge VG fanboy and have followed the game with great anticipation since 2003/2004, I agree with everything Road said. Oddly enough though my performance isn't quite as horrible, I do drop to single digits when moving into a new area or first coming upon a group of players, and the first time I attack, etc... but generally I run between 15 and 20 fps, bad yeas but playable for an RPG, occasionally I will hang for a second in group encounters and usually for grouping I have to have graphics set to dog poop.
I have yet to have a single crash since beta that wasn't x-fire related, usually 2 a week, which really is just another example of how unstable the game is with gaming experiences varying widely and with little rhyme or reason to the various issues.

[FloobieDoobie]

I dl'd the beta and have a lvl10 Minstrel on Nimrodel. I might check out the Monster Mode (I'm guessing this allows you to play the evil side.

[Tackalt]

Monster Mode (I'm guessing this allows you to play the evil side.

Yes. It's the PVP side of the game instead of letting people choose between either the good or evil faction, merely letting them control a monster character as kind of a side game to the main character.

[roadrunner]

After trying it out for a few weeks I have not found much to hold my interest. I may just stick with VG until something else better comes up. The last patch of VG seems to have fixed my CTD issue and performance has improved a bit. All of the issues are I mentioned regarding VG are still there but unfortunately it is my best option. My latest concern is their decision to make all crafted gear BoE in an effort to create a sink for them. I am holding my final opinion until I see the actual implementation.

[rhonnin]

I think binding gear is a good idea so long as they use a system like EQ2, you can equip it but to gain the benefits you need to attune/bind it.

[roadrunner]

They have already the changes on test and it appears that initially the change is only to set a BoE flag. The devs mentioned in some posts that they are looking into other components like one time recipes that can be used again BoE items and such but very little details and no timeline.

This in the short term will kill the economy for crafted gear as crafted gear is almost always inferior to drops at least at the level I am selling at. Now if the customer cannot even sell the gear later to recoup the cost I can’t see anyone buying it especially the very expensive stuff. My little level 36 crafter will now only make components for houses/boats or harvesting tools until more is released.

[rhonnin]

Every time I've upgraded a weapon or armor piece it has been to a crafted item, I think in general crafted stuff is better than dropped with the exception of maybe the legendary items. You tend to out grow the quested and dropped armors faster than the crafted stuff.
I wouldn't count on something going live just because it is on test, I know people that were quitting the game over the changes to the death penalty that were there but never made it to live. I think what is killing the crafting market right now is that people flood the brokers with the common green and blue junk drops and a lot are willing to make due with a piece of reasonably inferior gear at a ridiculously cheap price.