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| Damian Thomas |
Consider it a birthday present from Turbine to you.
03.14.11 - 3:54 PM
During PAX East, RPGFan got to sit down with Turbine to take a look at the changes, both past and upcoming to Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) and Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO).
First, LOTRO will be celebrating its fourth birthday in April, and in honor of the event, Turbine will be rolling out a new update called Echoes of the Dead, which will introduce some significant changes. To begin with, the menu layout will be getting a new streamlined design to make navigating more aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing. In addition, the store will be getting some new items, particularly outfits to purchase. Crafting will also get a more streamlined design, with the former 9 magic schools being pared down to 6, and the ability to deconstruct high-level weapons and take their legacies to other weapons, making it easier to make that special gear you've always wanted. And of course, the biggest new change is the new 3-, 6-, and 12-person instances, with the last allowing segmentation, rather than doing it all at once. This is great news for the player who needs to go to work in the morning.
The presentation of DDO, on the other hand, focused more on what has been going on so far, along with some tidbits of things to come as they go into their fifth year. Most significant was the addition of hirelings to support players who have a difficult time trying to find a party with which to adventure. According to Turbine, the addition has been generally well-received by fans. Also, similar to LOTRO, there are new updates to the store, including clothing and items that let players customize their look and, to some extent, get those items they just don't have time to grind for. Finally, there will be some new prestige skills available to many classes which will allow players to get more out of their characters than ever before.
Lord of the Rings Online: Echoes of the Dead will release on March 21st. Both LOTRO and DDO are free to play.
