General Discussion

The folks over at Turbine have sent us some new screenshots featuring the Rune-keeper class that is being added in the upcoming Mines of Moria expansion for Lord of the Rings Online

Check out all four here.

Why? Why does Turbine need a sith lord? Why do they find the need to add a class that could never exist in Lord of the Rings, doesn't really add that much to the game, and is an admitted gimmick. I love LOTRO, but, every single time I see a Rune-Keeper on my warg in MPvP, I will be attacking them.

 The whining of lore purists incoming in...3...2...1....GO!

Well the lore purists were and are LOTRO's core fanbase. When you alienate your core base to copy more or less every other MMORPG out there, instead of creating something new, they will be complaining.

 Last time I looked this was a game.  Getting upset because someone adds a new class to it is beyond ridiculous.   Try sitting back and rereading your post and laugh along with the rest of us.   It was pretty silly.

I don't think the complaints are misplaced. LOTRO is basically a WoW/EQ clone set in Middle Earth. What set it apart from WoW/EQ?  That it was set in Middle Earth.

By changing it so the MIddle Earth of the game is not recognizable as the MIddle Earth of the books (or even the movies), it takes away what made the game different. And into a generic fantasy MMORPG.

I'm sure the next EP will be even worse, probably giving flying mounts (since people seem to want them, like they wanted high powered magic-users).

And after that, who knows? Maybe Bald Space Marines? You could argue for them just as much as you could Rune-Keepers.  Heck, maybe even more so - gunpowder exists in Middle Earth (used in Fireworks), so you could see guys running around with guns. (Actually, at least that would be different, rather than making it more of a WoW clone)

Originally posted by trancejeremy

I don't think the complaints are misplaced. LOTRO is basically a WoW/EQ clone set in Middle Earth. What set it apart from WoW/EQ?  That it was set in Middle Earth.

By changing it so the MIddle Earth of the game is not recognizable as the MIddle Earth of the books (or even the movies), it takes away what made the game different. And into a generic fantasy MMORPG.

I'm sure the next EP will be even worse, probably giving flying mounts (since people seem to want them, like they wanted high powered magic-users).

And after that, who knows? Maybe Bald Space Marines? You could argue for them just as much as you could Rune-Keepers.  Heck, maybe even more so - gunpowder exists in Middle Earth (used in Fireworks), so you could see guys running around with guns. (Actually, at least that would be different, rather than making it more of a WoW clone)

Well the thing is that the RK is not less ME than the Lore master or minstrel... They never played lute during combat in the books I read atleast, and they didnt bring their pet bears into Bree either... and no one called down lighting from the sky just because they were master of lore...

This is not a simulation of what ME was, its a game and to make it more intersting they sometime must ben the lore and create stuff that lore purists dont like... if people wanted to play that was true to the lore then they would have already stopped playing a long time ago... and how is adding a class that uses language and runes to create magical effect making it a WoW clone? There is no such class in that game that I know of (but there are burglars, captains, minstrels, guardians with different namnees thou ;) )

And adding guns would be different? Both WoW and WAR have guns...

Originally posted by trancejeremy

I don't think the complaints are misplaced. LOTRO is basically a WoW/EQ clone set in Middle Earth. What set it apart from WoW/EQ?  That it was set in Middle Earth.

By changing it so the MIddle Earth of the game is not recognizable as the MIddle Earth of the books (or even the movies), it takes away what made the game different. And into a generic fantasy MMORPG.

I'm sure the next EP will be even worse, probably giving flying mounts (since people seem to want them, like they wanted high powered magic-users).

And after that, who knows? Maybe Bald Space Marines? You could argue for them just as much as you could Rune-Keepers.  Heck, maybe even more so - gunpowder exists in Middle Earth (used in Fireworks), so you could see guys running around with guns. (Actually, at least that would be different, rather than making it more of a WoW clone)

It is a fantasy world.  Tolkien addressed just a small part of it.   Your arguments are just, as someone said above, silly.   I think Turbine has been very respectful of the lore, far beyond what most game companies would do.  Adding these two classes hardly impinges on the lore to start with.   If Turbine does not constantly add to the game the playerbase will leave.   It is a fact of this genre and you had better get used to it, because change is the name of the game.

If the Rune-keeper is totally on the dmg side, I don't like that wargies chances o.0

It is a silly mage that's all. Not related to anything Tolkien...

It is true it is not simulation, and who wants that beyond adding something completely alien. It is just lack of imagination from Turbine side, that's all..