‘The Lord Of The Rings Online’ Celebrates 10 Years With A Party Of Special Magnificence
For many fans of the MMO genre of games, The Lord of the Rings Online might have been one they kept on their periphery while they played the likes of World of Warcraft or Everquest. The game, which launched in 2007, has plodded along as one of the more popular MMORPGs on the market, never able to overcome WoW, but always maintaining a very passionate fanbase. The Lord of the Rings Online, or LOTRO as it’s called by its players, has given fans the ability to explore the world of J.R.R. Tolkien and take part in its epic story for a decade now. And while the game has always fondly remembered its Anniversary, the celebration of its 10th year is getting the special treatment.
The event started on April 15 with musical retrospectives from the composer of the early music, Chance Thomas. Thomas, who composed the music from the game’s launch through its “Helm’s Deep” expansion, has been selecting some of his favorite compositions and sharing them via LOTRO‘s YouTube channel. Some selections include “Rivendell,” “Party in the Shire,” and more. You can check out some of the retrospectives, which Thomas provides in the descriptions of each video here.
The actual event started on April 20, with players receiving gifts based on the number of years they have been either a VIP or Premium account holder. The Lord of the Rings Online was one of the first games to switch to a “free to play” model during its lifetime, and as a result, it brought in a lot of revenue this way for Turbine. In 2010, the developer announced it was the third most played MMO due in large part to its switch to free to play. Many fans did express concern over the underwhelming nature of the 10th Anniversary gift boxes, but developer Standing Stone Games assured players that this was by design. Instead of focusing on the items in the boxes, they focused on the content surrounding the event as well. Cordovan, the community manager for The Lord of the Rings Online, addressed these concerns in a post on the game’s official forums.
“When developing for our 10th anniversary, we made a decision to focus on both items and content. What this means is that the 10th anniversary has far more playable content associated with it than any other anniversary we’ve had. We also have more than thirty items available in the scavenger hunt. We appreciate the feedback on the gift boxes themselves, though. I would caution that I’d wait until you see the fireworks before passing judgement, though, as they are pretty sweet.”
The scavenger hunt, which Cordovan references, started on April 20 and runs all the way through July 13. Each week, you’ll unlock three new quests and they will take players to places they have been before, as well as unlock some great new items in the process.
Additionally, the anniversary quests in Bree-Land will give LOTRO players plenty to do, and the fireworks celebrations at the Party Tree are going to draw quite the crowd. Players will be able to earn limited time only items, such as a new mount that shows off one of more aggressive mount styles in the game to date.
The Lord of the Rings Online first launched in April 2007 as The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadow of Angmar. Since then, it has released multiple expansions, such as “Helm’s Deep,” “Mines of Moria,” “Riders of Rohan” and more, giving players the ability to explore and experience their favorite places in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. You can check out the game and learn more about the 10th Anniversary celebration here.
[Featured Image by Standing Stone Games]
