I continued to explore Wildermore with Tiger the other day. We found the Dunlending girl Nona in a cave, where she was taking care of wounded Rohirrim she rescued. I really like the love story of her and Horn, and I so hope it's going to end up well between those two! It is the main motivation for me to complete the Wildermore quests. We also had to bring some tame goats to refugees hiding in caves. Because we were questing with two we got double the amount: a whole army of goats running after us (bottom picture). Two didn't want to leave after handing the quest in and followed us for the rest of the day. It was kinda cute, I've never had a goat pet before.
I am still bothered by the fact that I'm only enjoying LotRO in a casual manner. After Wildermore, there will be nothing that attracts me to the game as it is. There are so many things wrong with LotRO that I occasionally fear that it is beyond repair and then I wonder why this bothers me so much. It is only a game, is it not? But then again, it was my first MMO and it bewitched me as soon as I set foot in Middle-earth. This is the game where I made my first online friends, where I learned how to raid and fell in love with the lovely class that is the lore-master. And last but not least, it is where I met the amazing Tiger, with whom I continue to explore many other games.
Wildermore might be the only thing left for me before Helm's Deep, but at least I got this romantic picture (top one) of Tiger and me, the moon and the (photobombing?) pet goats. I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my screenshots folder, because it's possibly the best picture I have of Fingolwë and Ravanel (or Tiger and I) together.
I don't think that your attachment to LOTRO is strange at all. It reminds me of the feelings I went through when I quit WoW. I had friends there! It's where I met my fiancé! But like you describe, there were just fewer and fewer things that I actually wanted to do when I logged in. Plenty of things to do, nothing that actually felt worth doing. I'm not saying that it's too late for you and LOTRO yet - just that it's a feeling that I (and I'm sure many others) can absolutely relate to.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear I'm not alone in this. I guess an MMO will never be as immersive anymore as the first one. However, I'm planning on getting the most fun out of it I currently can. There's a new expansion coming out soon (Helm's Deep), but to be honest I'm not expecting very much of it.
DeleteThe Pied Piper of Goats!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree with Shintar. Nothing strange or wrong with those feelings. It is just how things go with MMOs some times. There were a lot of MMOs where I felt in a similar boat. There were a few things I enjoyed, it was something fun to do with friends but for the most part the game just became a big "Meh!", without any sign of it changing. Usually in those cases it would be just a question of time for me to leave and start pondering why I even keep playing MMOs when single players provide a better experience.
But I keep always playing MMOs. Some times I even poke back at ones I used to love. But never go fully back. It is just the way things are with this type of game, I guess.
~ Rakuno
It's good that I'm so busy with university and all, or I would seriously get sad by where I think LotRO is heading. Each time I'm logging in I do have fun with the storyline in Wildermore, but I still feel a bit of loss because of what was there and now isn't anymore (my kinship in active form, doing fun endgame challenges). Sometimes I think it's best to just stick to single-player games instead to get rid of this all, but then again I do get so much fun out of end game content in MMOs. At least there's still SWTOR providing that experience (playing some Nightmare mode each week with my Imp guild). So that's good for now and I should probably stop complaining over here. ^^
DeleteI get a sour taste thinking about what LotRO's become and what it's going to degrade into further with many classes' skillsets being chopped or locked in Helms Deep. Glad you're enjoying Wildermore at least.
ReplyDeleteAs in all things, best way to get over something is find something new, which I figure you've done already what with all these other games you're playing. There are a lot of fun co-op games out there. Personally: I came to LotRO from playing FPS's and I've gone back to them. Also, I'm hoping Total War: Rome II will get its broken co-op campaign mode patched, and that I'll get a buddy to play Portal 2 with me.
Thanks for the advice. You're right, and I'm getting my share of end game now out of SWTOR instead (which I now consider my main game). I'm really good at falling in love with games as you probably know from all the games you've seen passing the revue on this blog.
DeleteAnd yeah Helm's Deep... let's not even go there. I'm still secretly hoping that it will be good/decent, but what I've seen doesn't exactly make me excited.
That first screenshot is so pretty, I thought you two had goat pets! :)
ReplyDeleteAwws, thanks. We might have had if it was possible, however it wasn't, so these are more like friendly bugs. I was imagining them to be our goat pets, though. :)
DeleteHey Rava, I totally understand where you're coming from. I think its about 2, perhaps 3, months since I last logged in. I am insanely busy with my PhD which is giving me such little spare time. But I could log in with what spare time I have... but the incentive is all but gone. I pine for the good ol' days where I would login and chat on vent all night with kinnies while we do a raid, but I guess I have grown, and I know all but the most stalwart have long moved on from the game. I am really keen to play through Wildermore (and your posts are always a little mental prod for me to open Lotro up) but I would rather play Sims or my 3DS or read. Where-as Lotro was once an addiction, it now feels like a chore. I really want to go on and enjoy the new zone but I fear being disapointed, and perhaps more than anything, I fear being lonely in game. Lotro was intrinsically designed for group play (even if Turbine have bit by bit ripped much of that group content out of the game) and without my original kinmates to distract me from the more inane and dull content, then I can't imagine having the patience to keep playing. And yet... yet today's announcement for Helm's Deep (even though it looks like utter crap, and every indication is that classes will be ripped apart and become less fun) there is a bit of me which says BUY IT!!! Am I a glutton for punishment? Do you plan to pre-order even with how you feel about it?
ReplyDeleteHi Isy, so good to see you again! I can imagine how busy you are with your PhD, a friend of me is doing one as well and I see her a lot less than I'd like. I understand how you don't really look forward to Wildermore. There are soooo many quests, it takes ages. The only reason why I am enjoying it is because I'm doing it together with Tiger and because we're only playing for like 30 minutes each time. I don't think I'd enjoy it on my own either. Which brings me to Asylum. I know that a lot of Asylum members will be at least back to check out Helm's Deep, so there will be activity in November. In the meanwhile, Tiger has set up an Asylum branch in SWTOR. I'm not sure if you're interested in SWTOR, but you would be very welcome to join us! It's a good game for casual play (= when you have some spare time from your PhD). As F2P you can still do stuff like flashpoints (instances) and especially the warzones are very much fun in guild groups. We use voice chat as well. Which brings me to Steam, I don't really remember if I have your contact details (never see you online) but perhaps we can catch up there? Then we can team up for some stuff in either LotRO or SWTOR when you're bored of the Sims. ;) You can mail me your details to ravalation at hotmail dot com. And about pre-ordering, that's a tough one for me as well, I have a half post finished just about that subject. :)
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