I'm Back!

Well, it's been a long time since my last post and a lot has happened in RL. New job, new place etc... Now that everything is finally settling down, I've come back to LOTRO with Auro! More posts to come soon.

Quest Grinding and WAR!

So Auro has been busy lately grinding quests. It's tough during the day (I had today off) because there are not many people on to join groups with. Auro is now level 39 and close to 40! I haven't had this much free time in a long while so the levels are coming fast! It will however slow down this week / weekend. I got NHL 08 of 360 and I love it. That game is pefect for when you need a something quick to satisfy your gaming needs.

I am also buying Warhammer Online tomorrow. I got the preorder and tried the headstart tonight. When I first tried the game over at a firends during open beta, I really just could not get into it. Tonight though was a different story. I had a great time in the game though I only got to level 5 or so. I will probably be playing Warhammer Online exclusivly through this weekend to give it a full tryout so I (probably) will not be in Middle Earth until sometime next week. I'll leave you with a screenshot of Bel and I in Evindem.

Some small updates...

Hello! Nothing to big has happened since my last post. I got to level 37 and have been quest grinding to gain that exp. Last night was a fun night of questing in Evendim with two kin mates Dalgard and Elsariel's alts. I have been a mostly solo player since coming back but I don't think that will be the case any longer. Questing with others, even if its just a solo quest, is much more fun. Not to mention everything gets done quicker.

As far as other games, NHL 09 came out this week and I'm going to have to pick it up sometime soon. I am a HUGE hockey fan (Boston Bruins season ticket holder) and loved the 08 release. Also Warhammer Online comes out next week and I will probably end up picking it up within the month to give it a try.

Thats pretty much it for now. I'm going to leave you with some screenshots I took. Mostly just scenery shots. This game looks great and I constantly find myself stopping to take some shots.




Returning to The Shire for a visit


Welcome to Evendim!


Hello!


Setting out on a quest


Action shot


Lake Evendim

Rivendell, Mount, Kinship and WAR!

I just wanted to give a big thanks to my Kinship, I Alfrin Nost, for letting me fully join your awesome Kin. As soon as I joined, literally just hours later I received a welcoming gift in the form of various pieces of useful armor. After two or three weeks, I was inducted as a full fleged member of the Kin at which point they had a small ceremony to invite me in. We all gathered at the Kinship Hall and people told of my deeds since joining the kin at which point I was accepted by being almost "knighted". It was a quick ceremony and I really wish I had some screenshots of it. I've never been part of a Kinship / Guild / Linkshell that ever did something like that before.

I finally made it to Rivendell to finish up Book 3 and get a start on Book 4. This was my first trip to Rivendell and it was a memorable one. The views on your way down to the Last Homely House are breathtaking. And of course I posed and got screenshots of Auro with the various Fellowship Members. I also completed Bilbo's riddle quests while I was there. Look below for some screenshots of the trip.

Today, in fact, just a couple of hours ago, I got my mount (finally!). I hit 35 a couple days ago but didn't have time to complete the mount quests so I did that today. Its great being able to call your pony at a whistle. I also have some screenshots of my new mount below. I really wish they added a feature that lets you name your mount. Though I will have to think on what I would actually name it...

Lastly, I've been speaking with an old FFXI buddy who is going to be playing Warhammer Online (WAR) when it is released. I am pretty sure that I'm going to pick it up and give it a try. LOTRO will most likely stay my main MMO as it is PvE oriented versus the PvP centric game of WAR. I've always been more into PvE when it comes to MMOs, but prehaps WAR will give me my small PvP fix. In any case, it never hurts to try something new.

Anyways, thats the update for today. Below are screenshots of my latest adventures!



Shot of the Last Homely House and the main bridge in Rivendell



Aragorn sharing his wisdom



Drinking with Gimli



My favorite shot of Rivendell. Beautiful



Hanging out with Gandalf and Frodo



Random shot of some nice scenery in North Downs



A random PUG fighting a troll in North Downs



My new Mount!



Action Shot :)

Book 3 Fun!

So last night I started up a book 3 group to finish chapters 4, 5, and 6. It was just a pickup group but the people were great and made it a fun experience. I find that people in LOTRO are generally much more helpful and friendly than in most other MMO's. Anyways, once we were finally all together, we finished the three quests quickly and easily. Everyone was in the low 30's in terms of level besides one level 48 hunter which made everything go super fast. Here are some screenshots of the quests:


On the way to Drukordh.


Fellowship heading over a bridge to Drukordh.


Drukordh Fight (Chapter 5)


Defence of Trestlebridge (Chapter 6)


Quest turn in at Halbarad



That is as far into Book 3 as I got. Now I need to make my journey to Rivendell to finish off book 3. I have never been there so I am really looking forward to that. In fact, I'm going to head into Middle Earth right now. I'll post again soon about my travels and about my awesome Kinship, I Alfrin Nost, that I was recently invited to. Take Care!

Hello!

Hello! My name is Scott and this is my first attempt at a blog. I've been playing MMO's for about 5 years now and have always wanted to do something like this. I want to keep a record of my character, Auro and his travels in the game. I will most likely also be touching on other subjects but the majority of this blog will be dedicated to Auro and Lord of the Rings Online.

I feel as though Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is often overlooked by many MMO players. The game as it is right now makes for a very fun and rewarding experience and it is only going to get better. My character is only level 33 at the moment but I am making steady progress. I can't wait to see Moria once the expansion comes out.

OK so thats a little intro. I want to talk a little bit about my past experience in MMO's for a minute so you know where I'm coming from. I've played the following at some point over the last 5 years: SW Galaxies, Final Fantasy XI, RF Online, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Age of Connan, and LOTRO. Of those, there are three that I really got into. World of Warcraft to some extent (2 level 50+ characters), LOTRO (played at launch, just coming back), and Finally FFXI.

FFXI was the first, and so far only, MMO that really, truly hooked me. I made some great friends on Odin Server (This is Tavis if any of you are reading) and overall had a great time in the game. I got my Paladin to the Max level (75) and engaged in endgame (mostly Sky as that was big at the time). I ended up having to leave the game because the time commitment was way too much for me. I'm hoping LOTRO can be the 2nd game that I actually make it to "endgame". I will probably post a bit more about my FFXI experiecnces at a later date but that is all for now.

I hope that I can post tomorrow about my Book 3 adventure from tonight. I need to get to bed now though. I'll leave you with a quick screenshot to test this thing out!