Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

If there's one fantasy world almost guaranteed to push every Game
r's inner beardy button it's JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth. Most avid PC Game
rs will have read the epic trilogy of books (at least several times) and with Peter Jackson's CGI-driven triumvirate becoming the Noughties' Star Wars, Middle-earth has opened its gates to a whole new generation of fans. .

So bringing Middle-earth online must have seemed an absolutely natural progression and that was almost certainly the case and indeed, the Game
's original name when Sierra announced it way back in 1998. Now, almost ten years later and after MMORPG specialists Turbine took over the helm in 2003, Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar has finally been unleashed on the world, but what awaits both Tolkien and MMORPG fans in this brave new online realm? .

Well lotro
certainly has the looks to place it at the very pinnacle of the new generation of MMORPGs. The high-res version of the Game
is gorgeous to behold and, as one of the standard bearers for Game
s for Windows, creates a stunning and evocative version of Middle-earth to explore. Whether you're strolling through the pastoral idyll of the Shire, meandering deep in the depths of the Old Forest or shopping amidst the hum and bustle of Bree's central square, the Game
world is varied, sumptuous and positively drips with an authentic Middle-earth feel. .

There's a thrill (and indeed rewards) for discovering or stumbling across famous locales like Tom Bombadil's house, or the halls of the last homely house of Rivendell and even taking a Sackville-Baggins style tour around Bag End (thankfully though, Bilbo won't have to count the spoons). .

But of course looks alone don't a great Game
make and what really matters is how it feels and plays. With a wealth of original Tolkien lore to draw on (the original books rather than the movies), lotro
also shares many of the mechanics common to the genre but always wraps them in a deep, faithful (and you suspect quite loving) appreciation of Tolkien's world. .

Of course , lotro
's crucial differentiator from virtually every other MMORPG out there is its immensely rich and beloved source material and this truly raises it well above the standard MMORPG bar. Game
rs really do genuinely love Middle-earth and while everyone carries their own personal picture of what it should look like, it's a tribute to Turbine's expertise that this online version feels as authentic as a paragraph of Tolkien's prose. .

Moving on into the Game
itself and there's four main races to play, those of Man, Elf, Dwarf and Hobbit and seven different classes including staples like Champion, Loremaster and even Burglar, plus additional crafting and gathering elements - which mean your chosen character has a wealth of potential to explore. .

Having powered through three different classes of Champion, Hunter and Loremaster and brought them up to levels 20, 15 and five respectively, we can say the learning curve is nicely pitched and probably best described as 'not steep but extremely deep'. From the introductory race-based instances, to the huge variety of story-driven quests, there's plenty to see and experience which gradually immerses you into a deep, rich and compelling Game
world. .

With the machinations of the Witch King and the shadow cast by Angmar always threatening, you also definitely feel part of a bigger ongoing story, which balances nicely between the everyday and the epic; from helping humble Hobbits win their true lady love to stepping into the breech to prevent a disastrous war between the Elves and Dwarves. .

The cumulative effect is that Tolkien aficionados (and we include ourselves here) will be hard pressed to wrench themselves away from yet another extended session in Middle-earth. lotro
is full of that just 'one more quest' factor which sees you looking up to find the clock has ticked around to 3am and you still can't quite wrench yourself away from playing. .

If you tire of being the do-gooding hero, then Turbine also has the intriguing possibility of Monster Play to explore, where taking a break from your 'real' Middle-earth character you assume the mantle of one of Sauron's minions and are transported to an enclosed part of the Ettenmoors. .

With a chance to wreak havoc on the forces of light in a gigantic Game
of Capture the Castle, this provides a welcome and often hilarious diversion from the main Game
, with a chance to fully embrace and express your inner evil and even earn rewards and bonuses for your main character. It's an elegant 'closed' solution for those who want to get stuck into some proper meaty PvP action. .

However, moving back to the main Game
and one of the central themes of Tolkien's trilogy is the idea of a fellowship of allies combining to battle against the forces of evil and lotro
cleverly incorporates this as a core Game
play mechanic. While other MMOs certainly allow you to group up and share rewards and XP, lotro
goes beyond that by rewarding co-operative play through class-based bonuses and additional special moves known as Conjunctions which are only open to players in a Fellowship. .

Although lone wolf style players will still find plenty to enjoy, lotro
's Fellowship mechanic positively rewards co-operative and team-based play which seems to result in a much more positive and, it has to be said, friendly playing experience. .

Which neatly brings us onto one of the key components of any MMORPG, the actual gaming community itself. After three months of closed and then open beta experience it's a pleasure to say that lotro
's mix of predominantly British, German and French players are some of the most welcoming and friendly we've ever encountered. .

Perhaps it's a result of the in-built Fellowship mechanic or maybe it's just a bunch of like-minded Game
rs who share a love of the Professor's works, but LOTRO's community seem an extremely amicable bunch, ready to embrace noobs with open arms. Of course things may change now it's gone fully live, but somehow we doubt it and it's to be hoped lotro
maintains its beta ethos and atmosphere, remaining largely griefer free and as hospitable as a hobbit's cake party. .

No MMORPG is frozen in time and as well as the existing starter realms of Middle-earth there's also going to be plenty to look forward to, with Turbine already hinting at (though not publicly confirming) expansion packs which will open up new areas of Middle-earth to explore. Perhaps more important to players right now though will be Turbine's commitment to event-based content with CVG privileged to take part in one of the very first. Beyond that, we've also had a chance to take a peer into some advanced high level content and, while sworn to secrecy on its components, suffice to say Shadows of Angmar is going to feature plenty to get your teeth into - with both factors promising to keep the Game
fresh and alive into the far future.

.

So far we've been very positive about lotro
but there are a couple of things which you should be aware of. No MMORPG can truly eliminate the grind of grind, the ongoing quest to level up by slaughtering random wildlife and weedy NPCs. However, by placing more emphasis and reward for quests and utilising a nicely realised Virtues and Titles system, lotro
goes a long way to alleviating any tedium. .

No MMORPG is ever truly free of the perils of lag either, and although this has never been an issue in normal lotro
play it can be a problem when large groups of players gather together. Again, full release and multiple servers will probably massage out these difficulties we experienced in beta but it's something Turbine and Codemasters will have to keep a eye on. .

Of course, the elephant in the room which we've been at pains not to mention so far is online behemoth World of Warcraft which casts such a long and immensely profitable shadow over the world of online RPGs. Can lotro
seriously challenge its vast and unwieldy hegemony? .

Well the answer is: it doesn't really have to. Yes they're both MMORPGs, down at the more accessible end of the market, but lotro
has its own corner of the MMORPG realm firmly staked out and if pre-orders numbers are anything to go by, a massive European community of Tolkien fans just itching to play. The truth is, lotro
is more than good enough to stand on its own two furry hobbit feet.

.
So, we come to the end of this review's sojourn in Middle-earth and we have to conclude that with looks that would make an Elven maiden blush, married with a compelling and authentic Game
world based on the single most popular fantasy universe of all time, lotro
has all the qualities necessary to make it a big big success. .

With Turbine's long-standing MMORPG expertise powering proceedings and one of the most welcoming communities in gaming, lotro
presents a stunning and evocative world of Tolkien magic to explore - if you're any kind of fan, it would seem pretty much an essential purchase. lotro
seems destined to become the next big MMORPG contender and we've no hesitation in saying prepare to make your move to Middle-earth - we'll see you there.

Thought some of you might be interested.

Thought some of you might be interested.
Here's the chat:

Good evening and welcome to tonight's European Dev chat. Thank you all for coming!

Before we get started I'd just like to make a couple of announcements. First of all, in case you've not had internet for the last

few days, LOTRO GOLD has finally launched! With lots of great reviews such as 9.2 out of 10 from CVG and comments like "...If

the MMOG gameplay encountered by millions of players in WoW is vanilla ice-cream, this is Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia…"

from Eurogamer, we're absolutely thrilled with the launch so far!

Secondly, we'd just like to extend a really warm thank you to all our players, fansites and guilds - those who have been with

us since the start and those new arrivals to the world of Eriador. Your support has been phenomenal and on behalf of all the

teams involved, we thank you.

Ok, so without any further ado, let's crack on with the introductions!

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> Hey everyone, this is Tens, Lead Worldbuilder for LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD (but soon to be working much more closely with the Game Systems Team).

<LOTRO GOLD _Rowan> Hello again everyone, this Aaron "Rowan" Campbell Turbine's International Producer. I enjoy intense games of freeze tag and solving user interface issues.

Hi, my name is Jared "Amlug" Hall-Dugas. I'm a Content Designer on lotro gold gold gold and work on some of the larger instances in our game, quests, and other design as well.

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Hi everyone! I'm Meghan "Patience" Rodberg, Community Manager for LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD at Turbine. I'm also very, very tired, but I'm excited that we've finally launched on both sides of the pond! Thanks for coming to chat with us tonight. :)

And I'm Satine, the Senior Community Manager for LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD Europe!

lotro gold > I have a question for the Dev chat. This is to anyone who wants to answer, Are there any plans for additional pets for Lore-Masters? or (cheeky double question) will we ever be able to tame any beasts we find in the wilds of Middle Earth?

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Since this is the first launch of LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD, we're going to see how people like the first three... yes, three, not two, pets for Lore-masters before implementing more. Taming in the wild is something we talk about a good deal. We'll be revisiting the classes over the coming months to add more fun things for them.

<[AK]Spanner> Q: When will we see the emote accomplishments re-introduced to the game?

<LOTRO GOLD _Rowan> Emote accomplishments exist in the game now. Bow to your neighbor today and find some new titles!

Demonix) Question: I read that the music system in game will be changed soon. Can the dev's give us any details about it?

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> We've made several improvements to the music system that are in testing now, including percussion instruments, sustained notes for wind instruments, the ability to enter music into the game in ABC notation system, and at least one more octave. More details will be coming soon, but these are definitely the things our players asked for the most!

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> We may also add more instruments in the future... possibly even including voice. :D

Can we please get more blond hair variables in the character creation options for Rohan and Lórien? also, plz add the option to hide gloves. It gets so annoying to make a toon and then cover them up with all this armor and everyone soon looks the same! Thanks

LOTRO GOLD > Our Artists are very keen on adding more options to avatar hair. If Floon was here he’d tell you as much.

LOTRO GOLD > As for addition toggles for gloves, shoulders, etc. - that’s something that we’ve been discussing internally very recently. So, yeah, it’s definitely on our radar.

Will storage be extended at some point? Perhaps as an expensive ingame service (talking gold coins here)

.

Storage will eventually be expanded. We've discussed how and when to do it and we'll be addressing that in the months to come.

You told us before about some patches adding content for levels 25-35... Do you mean Shores of Evendim by it or will there be another content patches before the Shores?

The Shores of Evendim is out first planned content patch. Much of Evendim will be focused towards level 27-40 players, with some high-40s content. We also have Helegrod - which is designed for level 50 characters - and a few other exciting pieces of content for those who are at, or near, the level cap

.

Thanks a lot for the game, it's simply Wonderful. But, Do you envisage to offer few additional days for players who have not received their game yet?

Why thank you [Alphi]. We're all delighted that you like it :) We are aware of some customers having issues getting their copies of the game and are reviewing the situation. I'll post to the forums as soon as I have any information.

hi, what will be the lotro gold gold gold highend content? what can i do when i am lvl capped -> 50, how big will the raid instances be and how much time will i have to spend there?

There is a LOT to do at end-game. We have many large six-man instances and we will be releasing a 24-person Raid for our first major free content pass. We have worked pretty hard on presenting our players with many tough fights in the Helegrod Raid.

I've personally put in some nasty surprises for truely adventurous players. Also, we are continuing to improve and support monster play and landscape solo play for end game users. We do not want you twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to do! ;)

Elite units seem to deliver very little exp compared to the effort you have to put into killing them. I've entered the Great Burrow on multiple occassions, and when at the required level (23 i believe), i gained 5-10 exp per elite monster? Also, if you are brave enough to face this foe solo, you receive perhaps 50 exp, this doesn't seem very fair. Is there an alterior motive, or is this a balancing issue in progress?

LOTRO GOLD > Elites generally give you better loot, so that’s always going to be your primary motivation for fighting them. Additionally, the quests that require you to encounter Elite mobs usually have better rewards.

LOTRO GOLD > XP for Elites is definitely something we have our eyes on, but we’re also looking into other mechanics to further draw players towards our fellowship oriented content.

As the american and european servers are handled by seperate entitites, how much scope is there for the builds being subtley different from one another. eg, if the euro's go on strike because of the price of horses, could we get a different configuration? thanks.

<LOTRO GOLD _Rowan> To build you the best game possible, we focus our efforts on creating a convincing world of Middle Earth. It really is One Game to Rule Them All, regardless of where you play it. :)

my question for the devs: is it planned to add more content in monsterplay for the future, like more ranks, new areas, something like competition modes, and so on....

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> In the Shores of Evendim content update, we'll be making some changes to monster play, like updating our monster skills so they're more competitive in order to deal with the higher level heroes we expect to be playing in the Ettenmoors. In the future, you can expect bigger changes to improve monster play even more, but that's where we'll start in June.

Sykes: Why are the horse fields in west-breelands quite so barren, is something planned for them later?

the one about extended playh time for people with no game

The Horse-fields of Breeland is an area that was developed during the later beta phases in response to feedback from our players. The Horse-fields are home to the Hengstacer Farm, from which there are several quests available (including the means to a mount). As we progress into our Live Updates, we can always return to an area to introduce new things to do in locations that have room to spare.

will there be bagpipes in the next content patch?

LOTRO GOLD > Unfortunately, that’s not in the works for the Shores of Evendim prop - but its something that, personally, I’d really love to see... or more-so, hear :)

Is the level cap (50) intended to stay "forever", or is it intended to go up, as the fellowship closes in on Mordor? (ie. as expansions are added.)

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Hi Mukke! The level 50 cap is not intended to last for the lifetime of the game, by any means. Further expansions to the game will include higher levels and higher level content as well.

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> However, we have no plans to directly raise the level cap in the "nearish" future. It will stay at 50 for a bit.

(DJMonkeyPants) Are there any plans to make items cheaper to repair/improve drops and generally make life cheaper for Middle Earthians?

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Hi DJ! Yes, we're still going through the costs throughout the game and drop rates to improve things. Expect to see quite a bit of change in the Shores of Evendim update.

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> This includes costs in the travel system, too.

Will there be changes to the repair costs of armor? atm its way to high. Im at about 1g repair costs a day and if i group up with other people i dont have enough money to repair my armor which shouldt be that way.

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Hi Lliane, we recently made some changes to the repair costs and will continue looking at the data to see if further changes are needed. We know there are certain circumstances where repair costs can hurt!

my question, will high end sets only be attainable in raid instances or will there be other mechanics to obtain these items?

The high end sets will be attainable in both the raid instances and on landscape. There are definitely set pieces dropping out in the public landscape. Keep an eye out for them!

Are there plans on something like /time to show ingame middle earth time in the future?

LOTRO GOLD > Funny you should ask that. '/time' and an in game time-of-day UI are both coming in the Shores of Evendim update.

my question: - Is there any possibility at all that you would consider opening up monster PvP server wide on specific servers, P v MP is so innovative it would be such a shame not to expand it beyond a single area

<LOTRO GOLD _Patience> Hiya Yuriin :) We don't have any plans to open up monster play outside of the Ettenmoors at this time, though in future expansions we'll expand on monster play and where it can take place.

Will there be a Addon-System in a future patch that allows to customize Interface components in the way they work and adjust their look&feel, like it is possible in other MMORPGs like WoW or DAOC ?

LOTRO GOLD > The LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD UI currently supports skinning, however, additional modding support is something that we're currently looking into, specifically scaling.

LOTRO GOLD > But you'll have to wait until a future update for that :)

+many users think, lotro gold gold gold is too easy, what do you think about it?

many users have not yet had the pleasure to enter Carn Dûm!

With the huge response from the media and the numbers on the servers it's plain to see LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD is doing well, are there definite numbers for Europe, America or worldwide and can we see them?

We're obviously absolutely delighted with the reception LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD's had and this is of course reflected in the take up numbers, which have far exceeded our hopes and expectations :)

LND|Heidy: Does it gives more Skills for the Herolds, that they are more different. At them moment one is like the other.

LOTRO GOLD > Right now you can currently customize the way your Herald looks through the use of Captain Armaments.

(Question asked about housing… sorry had to disconnect here, but I’m sure I didn’t miss too much)

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> We’re still in the planning stages, but Housing is high on the list of features we really want to implement.

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> Expect more on that "sometime somewhat, but not very, soonish" :)

Question: The buff and debuff icons are quite small and its hard to differ between a buff and a debuff... are there plans to change the gui regarding buffs/debuffs?

In the Shores of Evendim update, we have made several filter changes to buffs and debuffs to allow players to hide buffs and debuffs that may be impeding their experience while in Fellowships and Raids.

We are constantly looking at ways to improve UI and will refine in the future, as always!

Will there be any end game content which can be done three man, with NPC "henchmen" in your party?

In our next update, I added a fun little instance that is for solo players and lets the players fight alongside a group of NPC henchmen, so the answer is yes, yes, and yes!

cooking is in the game as there are seas. i remember so many nice hours fishing and meeting some new friends - its a must! will there be fishing ingame?

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> Hi Shadowsong! My favorite question, much to the dismay of Mithril_Miser. We will be doing fishing, though it won't be as soon as the Shores of Evendim update. Evendim will actually be a great place to fish - it's a huge lake

.

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> Anyway, we will be implementing fishing in the game at some point. It gets talked about all the time, and we know a lot of people want it. :)

Will we see the Hair from our Heros under the Helmets in the future?

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> Sadly, for a number of performance and art related issues, hair under your helmet is something that’s remarkably tough for us to do.

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> We'd love to try, but its probably not going to happen in the near future.

will you add more classes in the future?

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> It's always a possibility :)

Are there any plans to include need/greed/pass instead of roll/pass only into the item drop dialog and will the time the dialog is up be lengthened? Also will the problem if a window pops up while you are chatting (which currently makes your character jump up and down) be fixed? And is there any chance of a non-fullscreen-map or an outfitter-like functionality to appear?

I can answer your first question, MagicSN. We have need/greed/pass functionality in the Shores of Evendim update as well as improvements to Master Looter and Raid UI as a whole. It is something that the players wanted and we agreed with and delivered!

When will Ten get his own secretary ;-)

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> In all seriousness, its been proposed :) I'll have to bring it up to Ringleader.

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> Feel free to /bug it ;)

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> (just kidding )

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> (sorry QA)

Will you be adding "drums" in the near future?

There is a percussion instrument coming in for the next update along with several other music improvements!

So very very excited for that!

This will be our last question for today. So please don't send us anymore questions for today, thanks! :)

is the financial balance for cooking and farming getting addressed especially at lower levels?

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> Hi Skoogen! We know farming (and cooking) aren't very balanced right now, so the systems team has already made some fairly sweeping changes to the system to make it a lot more fun, if not as profitable when selling to vendors.

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> They've spent a bunch of time over the past few days working on exactly that!

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> We'll also be making sure that farming is much more valuable to other players, specifically cooks. And we're adding beer! Yay beer!

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> So yes, we're addressing cooking and farming, with the focus on farming. We think the farmers will be pleased with the changes.

Well that's all we have time for tonight. Thanks all for coming this evening, we've had some great questions from you all. In closing I would like to advise that the slots for these dev chats will be changing so please keep your eye on the news page and forums for word on that! http://www.lotro gold gold gold-europe.com/news.php

A big thank you to all the devs who took time out of their incredibly hectic schedules to be here with us today! :D

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Patience> Thanks everyone for coming! Have a great night!!

goodbye all. Thanks for playing! We love this game as much as you do!

LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD> Thanks for coming everyone! See you all in Middle-earth!

<LOTRO GOLD GOLD GOLD_Rowan> Thank you all, and enjoy Middle-earth!

Thanks for sending us all your questions! Have a great evening!

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My review of LOTRO

"


Just to give a little info on myself for reference points. My system is a Core 2 duo T5200, 2gigs of ram and Nvidia Geforce go 7600 with 256mb of dedicated ram. I've been playing MMOs for ten+ years both hardcore and casual. I was only able to play the game up to level 15, so there is a large part of the game I did not get to see.


**Graphics:
WOW is all I can say. The world is breath taking. With a very large view range you will see mountains and towns far off in the distance which really helps with immersion. The landscape is very very realistic looking with nice structures also. Trees don't look like multi layered textures placed together to save polygon counts. They look like real trees with individual branches and leaves, etc. You will often see flocks of birds fly out of a tree as you approach, small animals run afoot, etc. Overall this is perhaps the best looking world I have ever played in. Keep in mind that LOTRO is shooting for realism and not anime overexagerated everything.

Player models look to be very well done. They are the strongest point of the game and could use some work, but they do the job just nicely. Animations are pretty well done, but there does not seem to be enough or I suspect they are tied to using special abilities which you have few of in the early levels. It would not be hard to expect more at higher levels, but it may not happen. I think the best way I can compare them it to compare them to games like battlefield 2 without the sharp edges? They are not the highpoint of the game however.

Also NPCs are finally done right. Find a ranger in the woods and he is actually laying down on his side lounging at the campefire. People are chopping wood, cooking dinner or eating it and just in general doing things you would expect people to being doing. Most NPCs don't just stand around like statues waiting to dispense quests for players. It adds an unexpected amount of realism to the game that makes you feel that the world is actually alive.


**Sound

While not my strong suit I did take special notice to the ambient sounds and how nicely they were done. Again adding more to the feeling that your gameworld is alive. Music I admit I didn't pay attention to with the exception of players with instruments. What a cool concept to have instruments that you can play by individual notes. Outside an offhanded way to be annoying I'm sure there will be groups who put on nice concerts adding a great touch to player interactions. I hope to see more things like this in more games.


**Performance

I played the game with all the settings on max or as high as they could go at 1440x900 resolution. My friend played it as close to minimum due to only having 512mb of ram (his other specs were similar to mine). The game looks terrible at low settings, so get some ram! That aside, the gameplay was pretty smooth. Things would get a little choppy in towns with a good number of players running around. Zone times were fast enough to not be a problem (for the record I only saw zones in instances and housing, everything else looked to be seemless). I never crashed to desktop or had noticable bugs of any sort. The game looks to be really solid and polished for a beta. At this rate I suspect a very clean launch unless the servers get flooded with players which I think they will. (expect the gameworld to feel a little cramped for the first month+)


**Gameplay

The game looks to be primarily quest based and the quests are done right. They use the same method of kill X, talk to someone, find something or deliver something. They are still done very nice. The stories in the quest are for the most part extremly well written. They weave a story and try to explain much of what is happening in the world bringing even more life to everything around you. The quests give enough meaning to the environment around that you will pay attention to exploring and what is happening in the world. Really the quests are done very nicely with additonal cutscenes here and there to give game lore and tell a serious tale of the world.

There are also storyline arch quests called Chapters. They are pretty short and easy with small groups. They look to tell a story of your characters involvement in the ring wars as you do sub story quests along with some of the greater known faces in the story. All that said, the chapters seem to be very short in terms of gameplay time. By short I mean anywhere from 2-15 minutes each.

PvP looks to have much more potential in that you can play either your character or a monster from the dark side. Great concept, but it looks a little small. I am very interested to hear how this works out after launch. PvP doesn't start until around level 40+ so I could only tour around as a whitehand orc in the PvP zone which looks to be a capture the control point type of game. Don't expect any freeform pvp in the low level zones, but there are quests in the pvp zone.

The classes break the normal D&D sterotype and IMHO not soon enough. Archers and duelwielding warriors are the high dps classes. There is also a standard tank class and everyone else is a combination of support, healing, buffs, debuffs and meaningful dps. While small on number of classes at 7, they all look to mesh well in concept. Just don't expect a lot of abilities until you get around 30+. It does look like every class has something(s) they can add to a group above DPS with the exception of the two serious DPS classes. They just kill things really well so don't look for a lot of gameplay variety from them.

Speaking of combat I must admit that there is something lacking. While looking good in animations it just was not challenging. The fact that you can get a special title to display if you reach 20 levels without dieing shows how easy the game can be. There are alot of people with no-death titles... I will come right out and say group play is a mess. Nothing every presented any danger, tactics consisted of rushing targets and there was no real need for healing, buffs, debuffs or crowd control. I don't recall reading anyone from closed beta saying that there was tactics of any sorts so I don't expect much more while leveling up until maybe raids or something. Yes it is still low levels, but I would have expected the tutorial portion of the game to be long over with and some challenges issued.

Crafting looks to be the typical gather resources/recipes, click combine enough to gain skill and get new recipes/resources, repeat. Nothing special except that your crafting/resource gathering vocations are preselected. By that I mean you can pick a career so to speak and it will give you three predetermined professions. This is done to promote interdependancies among all the crafters. I don't think it will make a robust trade system like turbine thinks, but maybe it works. Just don't expect any spectacular gameplay from crafting. I am also told that it doesn't serve much purpose until level 40+. I didn't spend much time crafting nor do I have any crafted items as the quest rewards were always better for me.

There is also a slight twist on gaining skills. There is still the standard skill rewards for gaining a level or two, but you can also get small upgrades by completing quests or using abilities a certain number of times. It is a nice twist to avoid the 'faction grind' in most games. There are special racial and class traits. Some commonplace and all the way to legendary. It looks to be a really nice way to advance a character. I don't really know how to put it to words.

**Concerns

While I really want to love the game I have my concerns. The quests are great and engrossing, that seems to be where the game stops. While I consider DDO to be the extreme single dimension of just running dungeons all day, LOTRO looks like it might just be the opposite end of the spectrum with questing. Outside of quests there doesn't seem to be much to do. Crafting isn't engaging enough to be a real diversion. There doesn't seem to be any standalone content that isn't related to questing. No real areas of interest to explore ( I guestimate the world to be a little smaller than say warcraft). With not much but questing and the linear style of progressing through them I forsee some troubles. It will be hard to play with friends as you will typically be at different stages of certain quest lines. That pretty much leaves people just being "strangers in the night" as they form a pickup fellowship to complete a quest and typically disband when it is done a few moments later. The social aspect of playing is really lacking. To me the game seemed like a very very well written single player game with some group play sprinkled around.

Now PvP may be entertaining enough to give players something to do. I also have seen a 4 group raid window in the user interface that at least suggests there will be raiding of some sorts. There may be dungeons so to speak, but I can't say for certain.

Also the game looks to really lack any form of replay value. Your second character will do the exact same things in mostly the exact same order as your first. How much some will enjoy or be enraged will depend on the person.


Conclusion

For now I am going to wait a few months and see what the general word is like. While I enjoyed the game and the questing, I personally want more from a game than quest lines. The game looks like it will be very succesful and what it does it does very well. This is one game I will follow closely as it looks like it could be the next great thing or one that just missed by a little bit.

Rings RPG Expands Tolkien

Jeff Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Turbine Inc., told SCI FI Wire that Lord of the Rings Online : The Shadows of Angmar is a massively multiplayer online role-playing Game
that takes its cues directly from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but that also expands on them. "[We] took a lead from the master [and] focused [the Game
] on the first book [in the trilogy] and covered the storyline as Frodo and Sam leave the Shire and start moving towards ... Rivendell," Anderson said in an interview at the New York Comic Con over the weekend. "Post-launch we are going to tell more of the story as the fellowship leaves that area and goes forth ... all the way to Mount Doom."

The main storyline of the Game
covers many of the same events as the first book of Tolkien's trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, Anderson said. "Everything from Gandalf being captured ... [to] Strider meeting up with the fellowship at The Prancing Pony [to] the fight on Weathertop," he said. "We've got all those moments in the Game
, and we communicate that through a variety of different mechanics: through text, through voice-over, through Game
cinematics. Those all make sure that the player is aware of where the story is."

Instead of playing as one of the iconic characters created by Tolkien, players create their own heroes, Anderson said. "The hero comes from one of four different races: You can be an elf, dwarf, hobbit or human," he said. "You will have a chance to start your own story. You will become your own hero of Middle-earth. We posit from the beginning that you're an exceptional character. Obviously most hobbits were not running around the world, so you are an exceptional hobbit, or exceptional elf or dwarf. And ... eventually you go on, and we put you in the heart of the adventure."

Turbine wanted to let players play either good or evil, but realized that not everyone is interested in engaging in player-vs.-player battles, Anderson said. "Rather than just letting hobbits [player-kill] hobbits and elves PK dwarves, [we let] people play as orcs or wargs or spiders," he said. "The monster characters are only allowed in one particular region of the world. ... So if you walk through the Shire, you won't find yourself confronted with 50 different Uruk-hais, because it will break the fiction and isn't much fun for the hobbit."

A focus on story is critical to the next generation in MMORPGs, Anderson said. "[lotro
] has the grind, the 50 levels, the 400 different skills for you to learn, ... the 1,500 different quests," he said. "But behind it all is a very interesting epic that really pulls you in and keeps you there." Lord of the Rings Online : The Shadows of Angmar is currently in beta testing and will be released to the general public April 24. To learn more about the Game
or apply to be a beta tester, visit the lotro
Web site.

Game Travel, Level Spread and Attributes

Game Travel, Level Spread and Attributes





I have been having a blast in lotro gold, getting used to the game mechanics, knowing which was is north and south. To the point.. I have a couple of questions.

1.) Pony rides - is that the only way to and from locations? a.) in order to travel from A. to B. , do you have to visit that place first? What are the general rules on that?

2.) How far apart can players in a Fellowship be? If I am playing a 14th Hunter, was is the lowest level character that can be in the fellowship?

3.) Okay... last question, the Traits, can someone please point me to what Vitality, Agility, etc in good for in the game. One would think that it would be obvious, but I am thinking that there is more to them based on class and race too?

Thanks for taking a look and sorry if these have already been addressed in previous post.

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lotro goldOnline Developer Chat Monday July 10

We are very pleased to announce a chat with Jeffrey Steefel, executive producer of Lord of the Rings Online gold , Game. Join us in TheHallofFire Monday at 5:30 pm to find out more about this excitingGame.! [About IRC chat] Jeffrey Steefel joined Turbine, Inc in early 2004 and is currently the Executive Producer in charge of the upcoming MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online lotro will be the first and only online persistent world based directly on the literary works of J.R.R Tolkien and will host a world-wide community of fans and gamers. Jeffrey has been a professional in the Entertainment and Technology industries for almost 20 years, serving as Executive, Director, Head of Production, Principal Designer and Business Strategist for multiple new-media, entertainment and technology organizations ranging from young start-ups to media and technology giant, Sony.

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Wil LOTRO be as good or even close to WOW

Wil LOTRO be as good or even close to WOW

Hey i don't have this game or anything, i'v only played one MMO and that was World of Warcraft. Does anybody think this wil be any compitition to WOW and does this game have any similarities to wow? Does anybody think it's any better? If so why and can peaple tell me about this game and stuff i'm intrested in this game but i dont to waste my money on a Lord of the Rings rip off game thanks.

.

game features

• Play as any of 4 iconic Races of Middle-earth


• Explore 7 Classes that are uniquely true to the lore


• Master 10 Professions that allow you to contribute to the world


• Over 1,000 unique titles, skills and traits make your character one-of-a-kind!


• 10,000+ unique items to discover


• More than 2,500 monsters challenge you at every turn


• 2,200 quest givers provide a depth of story-driven quests never before seen in any MMO


• 350 authentic landmarks to discover across more than 50 million square meters of Middle-earth


• Post-launch content updates expand the world and add exciting new gameplay options!


• lotro gold

 

The First MMO That Has It All

Over 300,000 people have signed up to play the Beta to date,making
The Lord of the Rings Online ™: Shadows of Angmar™ one of the most anticipated launches of 2007.
Pre-order customers get access to the Open Beta. You could be among the first to play the game.

·

EPIC STORYLINE:
The Lord of the Rings Online is the only MMO based on the extensive and beloved fantasy universe of J.R.R. Tolkien,
and the first MMO to provide a compelling story behind players’ actions.
It is the original epic world that serves as the source for all other “me too” fantasy games.

·

UNIQUE COMBAT AND ADVANCEMENT SYSTEMS:
The Lord of the Rings Online implements unique game mechanics which surpass
skills and levels to include accomplishments, traits and titles to help you gain experience in a variety of ways and to advance
your character beyond traditional grinding.

·

MONSTER BATTLES:
Jump in as a monster and battle against other gamers in a fast,
action-packed session of monster vs. player combat.

·

INNOVATIVE SOCIAL FEATURES:
The Lord of the Rings Online takes the social aspect of online gaming to the next level.
Besides in-game mail, chat, crafting and guild management tools,
The Lord of the Rings Online uses next-generation features like integrated voice chat,
instant messaging and automatically updated web pages with your characters’ in-game stats.

Several Online games

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Do you want to be a superman in the martial arts world? Please visit the
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Scions of Fate: In Scions of Fate, the conflict and hatred between the Order and Chaos drives people into turmoil. In the beginning, before the factions formed, people gathered to share their knowledge; however, as the numbersEarth Gold of martial artists grew, they started to focus on gaining power rather than searching for enlightenment. Some of the groups started to call themselves the Order, people who walk the path of righteousness. They invited many schools, houses, families, and guilds to join them. As for those who did not join the Order, they named themselves Chaos. The members of Chaos did not have much power because they couldn't formScions Of Fate power leveling one solid, cohesive group. One day, the DarkSky Lord appeared in the realm and started his campaign against the Order. He took control of the Chaos faction and fought against the Order for freedom from the oppressive majority that was the Order. The DarkSky Lord and his followers, the Blackwinds freed half of the realm from the Order. The JungMu School of the Order gathered their forces against the DarkSky Lord and Blackwinds to stop their conquest. The conflict ended with huge casualties. Ever since then, both sides halted in gaining territories. Many years have past and now they are both on the move to look for promising fighters who can bring an end to the long, tumultuous conflict that has ravaged the Central Valley.

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Voyage Century Online

Around 1480 A.D., Voyage century sliver coins with the development of industry and commerce and the progress of ship building skill, Voyage century gold countries in Asia and Europe began to realize the importance of the sea. Soon, countries on the Mediterranean coast started to explore their own sea route. Voyage century money Blue and deep sea was considered as the passage to the gold kingdom, waiting for men to explore. In late 17thVoyage century silver coin century, for each of their own interest, countries in the west built new battleships, made up great fleets. AndVoyage century coins then ballets of large scale for sea hegemony started. Voyage Century explores this legendary period of seafaringsell Voyage century coin adventure in a massively multiplayer online nautical game. Trade, craft, wage war around the world, buy Voyage century coin even search for buried treasure, Voyage Century offers just about everything imaginable from the 16th century seafaring era. Voyage century forum

Guild wars
--------------------------------
Hi again. It’s me, your average, run-of-the-mill, born-to-be-an-idiot, guild wars player, aka Michael. Today I’ll try toGame Gold explain a few basic things for starting players about how to develop your character…. 

Well… And there you are, you finished the faces, body length, first colors, looks and, of course, the fancy name (see Idiots guide to Guild wars. Ok… let’s start with the first question to experienced players: how many of you still play with the first ever character you started? Right…. So… After all that: check again, andguild war think about the type of character you just created. Can you identify yourself with it? Do you really feel something with that profession, or did you just choose the necro because they are cool, or the mesmer because you looooveeee the outfit, orguildwars.com the elementalist because you fell in love with Cynn the first time you saw her picture? (Ever wondered why her name is Cynn? Maybe got something to do with “cynical”… And boy, I like Cynn a lot… makes one wonder right) 

Your very first char, or, hey, when youguild war read this you already went somewhere and are or experienced, or you desperate since you got stuck at level 9 or so….
You first char you are going to get to the end of the game should be of a profession you feel comfortable with (and while you are at it, a name you can live with….. Names made up when intoxicated usually end up being deleted since the idea is not that good anymore when your guildies start laughing when you join them for an AB….).
If you are not comfortable with thegold2us profession you choose, you will probably get stuck somewhere, loose interest, en get fed up with things. So I’ll try to explain some basics here about the different professions how I see them: 

DISCLAIMER: this is my opinion and mine only. If you feel differently about a profession, seek professional help, or live with it. Don’t complain or whine about it. Or, other options, think about it, write an idiot’s guide for that profession and thenguildwars forum seek professional help… Still have to do that last piece myself though….

Warrior: Melee character. No fancy stuff (except the dance… at least most wammo’s think so) just plain old armor, sword/axe/hammer and taking damage as well as doing it. If you love being surrounded by hordes of undead, many guildwars power leveling a mage or swindling sword players, while being able to keep an eye on your monk and still doing the thing you live for (killing the enemy) this is your profession. Seriously: if guild wars gold you are new to roll playing games, or you like to bash brains instead of puzzling your way through, take a warrior. Mostguild wars money people in nature can work this type of profession, and getting good at this type of profession is relatively easy. guildwars.com Becoming a pro on this one, of course, is just as hard as with the other professions.
 

Ranger (aka Tree hugger): Shot fromwww.guildwars.com the distance. You joined the commandos once? This is for you. Deadly, swift, distance, multiple roles. Hit and run? 2.0 patch warcraft worldHug a tree and sing a song? Setting a trap or sending out your pet to do the dirty work for you while you pick of your targets one at a time from as far away as possible? Yup… Join the ranks of the rangers. 
When you are by nature a jack of all tradesguildwars.com and a master at nothing: try this character. Loads of possibilities, and still pretty hard to kill, and can deliver different kinds of serious punches. 
Relatively easy to master. When you don’t fancy a warrior by the first looks, this is probably the character for you then. More of a distance, www.guildwars.combut still easy to learn the game, the weaponry, how things work and how things come together. 


Elementalist: the ancient equivalent of modern day artillery. When enemies get to you (or, hey I’ve seen them enough, you get to them) you die. No monk worthy of his profession can do anything about that. They will be some of2007 calendar wall warcraft world you who will claim otherwise, but when you are up against a balanced team that knows their stuff, your fancy armor-spells will be removed and you die. Plain and simple.
Why then is the elementalist so loved I hear you ask Easy: they do the most damage in a single spell. And can be utterly devastating when4 tier warcraft world using different spells in the right order. Ok, I have not been able to master this particular profession (yet) but I’m impressed by several elementalists I have come across in my adventures through Tyria, Cantha and Elona.
 

I you like to play with fire send5 tier warcraft world out shivers or just plainly like to drown your enemies, think about creating an elementalist. You are killed easy, but you also kill easily. Lots of damage, fancy dress, nice spells and not that difficult to master. When you fancy a spell caster over the other professions and are new at the game, the elementalist is way to go.

Necromancer: Fiddle with the dead, unbury bodies, let corpses explode and do things you’d get arrested for in real life. If you like lingering around cemeteries or work in a butcher shop, this might be your profession. Warning though: this is a difficult profession to get the hang of later in the game. This is not something to want to learn and guildwarmaster first time ever through the game. This profession is very versatile and very very powerful. A good necro can turn the tide of battle by several means. A good necro in your party means victory and bad necro can be the death of any party. So…. I recommend strongly to guild wars gold NOT choosing this character when you are new to guild wars and/or RPG games. 

Monk: Mending your molested mates, slaying guild wars power leveling the undead or 55-ing your way through the game. The primary thing one makes a monk for is healing. So, when you are helpful, and don’t want to think about where to go and what to do next, but just tag along and help your teammates, create a monk. Healing monk is relatively guildwars.comeasy to master, and a good choice for a first character. Follow the lead of other, and keep them of their feet, gets you the points you need. What else to say about it? Not much I guess. 

This is enough for now. Really enough for now. Next time we’ll continue with the last of the standard professions, and the chapter bound professions. And www.guildwars.comof course some more raving and cynical remarks about what where and how…. Choose, and choose wisely. And I’ll see you in game.

Maple story
Explore a totallymaple story news new and unknown world you have never been to, put on beautiful clothes and gorgeous accessories, and even attract other users in themaple story guides process. You may begin the journey to explore the world of unknown alone, but you may come out on the other end withMaple story numerous new friendsMaple story money through hunting and chatting. The games objective is to hunt down monsters and protect yourself in the process. You'll be given 4 paths to choose from, 4 that will define your life in Maple Story: Warrior, Bowman, Thief, and Magician. www.maplestory.comThrough leveling up and meeting some requirements, you'll be able to make job advancements and nurturemaplestory.com your character in your own, unique way.

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RuneScape

RuneScape is a Java-based massively multiplayer 3D adventure, with monsters to kill, quests to complete, and treasureRuneScape to win. You control your own character who willwww.runescape.com strains of 'All's Fairy in Love and War', 'Romancing the Crone' and all the other songs exactly as the musicians intended, www.runescape.com for help. You'll need to be ready for knockout gas and a boat-load of dodgy doctors, but who could refuse to help the monks victimised in the Great Brain Robbery? As always, those pesky pirates are bound to throw a holy spanner into the works, so be prepared to fight off some nasties and wield a new maul-esque weapon with itsRunescape own special attack! Yarrr! Avast! The quest itself will also feature a brand new island with some really fantastic new pirates and animations... arrrr, that it Runescape  yewlogswill be. 

Followers of the Morytanian struggleRunescape gold will notice a new route opening up in March. The Temple Trekking service, in which you escort desperate NPCs to the relative safetyrunescape autominer of Paterdomus, will be expanding to include a return journey. This means that you will be able to escort folk back and forth across the fetid vampire-infested lands, picking up your rewards from the Burgh de Rott bank. New routes also Runescape Cheatmean new perils and new dangers, especiallyrunescape tip regarding the 'nail beast', who will no doubt be of interest to our potion-making community. 

The cave goblins that you've helped out soRunescape Gold much in the past are ready to return the favour this month, as the Council is finally going to open the gates wide. Dorgesh-Kaan is a remarkable city filled with all the technology of the Dorgeshuun... and a new Agility course with sizeable rewards for the highly agile. Of course, Runescape Dorgesh-Kaan is a fully-fledged city, so there will be much more to it: from a marketplace to sell your intriguing surface food, to a Dorgeshuun inventor experimenting with Magic for the first time, and much more besides. There's even a new Slayer spot just beyond the city, where a strange beast lives - it's a cross between a mole and a basilisk, and a weird-looking beastie it is, too. 

A few of the more domesticRunescape Gold animals get their makeovers this month, with a few tweaks to make them more attractive to the farmers that look at them every day. Cows, chickens and rabbits may not be the most impressive of creatures, nor the most majestic, but they lie at the core of any farmer's stomach.

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As you know, we are committed to Runescape Money Goldredesigning anything that needs improving, and this isn't restricted to the graphics alone. As such, this month we will bring you the newly improved Fishing Trawler. Players familiar with this content mayfree runescape account have noted that the fishing nets didn't necessarily catch that many fish. Well, Murphy has been working on a far more efficient wayRunescape 2 of doing things and he tells us that the rewards will increaseduplicating runescape item dramatically once he's had a chance to fit the new nets... so you'll be certain to see more sea turtles and manta rays gracing your local firepit.

Not only have we been beavering away behindRunescape the scenes to bring you more letters, pictures and QuestHelps, butRunescape.com we have also been tweaking the way the polls work. Player feedback is very important to us and although we do spend time reading the forums, you can't all post at the Runescape Moneysame time...but in a poll, you can! Members: please make sure you fill in the polls. It's your chance to let us know what you want!
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Explore a totally new and unknownwww.maplestory.com world you have never been to, put on beautiful clothesMaple Story money and gorgeous accessories, and even attract Maple Story power levelingother users in the process. You may begin the journeyMaple Story gold to explore the world of unknown alone, but you may come out on the other end withmaplestory.com numerous new friends through hunting and chatting. The games objective is to hunt Maplestorydown monsters and protect yourself in the process. You'll beMaple Story given 4 paths to choose from, 4 that will define your life in Maple Story: Warrior, Bowman, Thief, and Magician. Through leveling up and meeting some requirements, you'll be able to make job advancements and nurture your character in your own, unique way. 

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Dofus is an Massivelywww.dofus.com Multiplayer Online Tactical Game (aka MMOTG, the first, actually) designed by Ankama Studios, a French computer video game manofacturer. It is plays like a MMORPG. dofus.comThough the game was initially launched in France, the game has now Dofus usbeen opened to an English audience.
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If you hunt Monsters during Easter Day Event Period, You will get this Easter egg! [April, 11th – April, 17th]
Increase Attack & Defense for 20 minutes

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scions of fate guide 2

Scions of Fate - Bowman Guide -------2 （Skills / Leveling）






Skills
----------
Archer skill are

really cool, and it's fairly obvious which ones to get, but I'll give you an

idea anyway.

Level 10: Sol Arrow
Level 15: Wind Sprint
Level 20: Luna Arrow
Level 30: Bow of Solluna Energy
Level 35: Which ever faction you pick's skill

By the way, notice that Agile Withdrawal is not in there. You probably do not

want this skill
As it is, the Ki to get the level 30 and 35 skill is already fairly tight, assuming you leveled the way I did,

which will be detailed below. Also, evey higher leveled archer I've talked to

in game has suggested to not touch this skill, as it is pretty bad.

Combos: Combos are a great way to start a fight with any mob, so you'll

deffinatly want to make good use of them. Once you get the level 20 skill, make a combo of Sol and Luna, probably with

Sol first in the

combo. The reason for Sol first is that if you have on autoskill n the options

window, 2nd tab) then after you execute the combo, you'll automatically start

doing
a Sol Arrow attack. At low levels, it's good to conserve your Chi, so it's

better to do a little less damage and use half the chi. After you get the level

30 skill ou'll want to add that into the combo, at the end. Once

you've hit about level 32 or 33, you can probably afford to buy lots of

Ginseng, so you can put Solluna Energy first in your combo so you will autoskillwith it. When

you're killing something and you want it dead fast, this helps a lot.

Leveling
----------
Alright, here's the part you were probably looking forward to. So leveling with

an archer is great because they deal a lot of damage (some of the highest early

game) and if you try hard enough, never take damage. For the first part of the

game, you'll pretty much trying to kite (hitting and running) on higher level

monsters, or partying too, but that's not as fast as
leveling solo. So, this is a guide almost completely for soloing, which is what

I did with my archer, and it seemed to work fine. As a side note, the lower

level mobs and tactics may not be as detailed simply because my memory isn't

stellar, but it should work out fine for you. Anyway, here we go:

Levels 1-6: Start out by killing Bobcats until you are level 2, then go on a

mass Toad genocide until level 6. Also, remember to do any and all quests that

get mailed to you. They seriously help a lot.

Levels 7-15: Now, move up to foxes until about level 10, then you can run over

to the Boars and Bulls. Start out with Bulls, and kill a boar every few

minutes. If I recall correctly, the boars are fairly slow, so you can kite them

pretty much painlessly. Also, do forget you have that Primium Healing Salve,

which, if used conservitivly, should last you to level 20+. Also, as an

alternative, at level 10 you can also try some Wolves, but try not to get in a

fight with any Bears, they will be a bit rough. But once you are level 13 or

14, you can take the Bears easy if you hit and run. Don't forget to use your Skills



Levels 16-20: Ok, this is where things can get a bit slow and painful, but it's

not all that bad. Start on Three Tailed Foxes, and grind them for a few levels,

until about 18. Then you can take Lumberjacks (they hit hard). At this point

you will probably realise that even though they are your level, they hit you

for about a third of your health. Yeah, get used to it, it'll happen for much

much longer, it just comes with the archer job description. So kill Lumberjacks

until 20, since at 20 they should be pretty easy once you stop being afraid of

spamming potions. Also, I think if you get a good party, Blood Wolves and Black

Bears are do-able at level 17+ or so, so that might be another way to level.

However, parties aren't always reliable, and you don't get all the drops. And

they're oh so hard to find.

Levels 21-24: This is a fairly short level range, but if you want you can

extend it to 25 or 26, or maybe even 27. At 21 you should head over to Zombies,

despite what other guides or people might tell you. Zombies are non-aggro, and

really really slow. Stand in an area where Banshee's don't spawn, and start a

combo on a Zombie. You should be able to pull off one Sol/Luna combo, and then

about 3 Lunas more and a Sol or so shoudl drop these guys. The exp is amazing,

especially since you are soloing. Don't forget to run back while killing them

however, one hit can kill you or bring you awefully close to kicking the

bucket. If you stay here past 24, you can kill the Banshees too, they aren't

bad exp, but they hit harder than the Zombies, have more health, and don't make

a cool wood noise when they get hit.

Levels 25-35 (I know I know): So this is where you will get very very sick of

Bandits. At level 25, you can go and kite Blade Bandits solo, or maybe bring a

party for some company. DO NOT HIT THE AXE BANDITS (red). Trust me, these guys

run way to fast for you to kite effectively, and you will regret attacking

them. Anyway, it's a good idea to find a spot where Blade Bandit's don't spawn

(since they are aggro) and just draw them one by one into your little spot so

you can run around and snipe them. At this point, you will need lots of

potions, and lots of ginseng because you will be using lots and lots of chi,

and if you get hit, it can really hurt. Ok, so at about level 27 or 28, you can

try and find the Blade Bandit Boss. Look around for a Blade Bandit that is non

-aggro, and isn't holding a sword. Also, when you click him, no name will

appear above his head. There are 3 methods to kill this guy. The best way, exp

wise, is to hit and run. He's the same speed at the normal Blade Bandit's so

it's not that bad. If you get other Blade Bandit's following you while you kite

the boss, either drag the mob through a area of bots or run away from the mob

and hit the boss from as far away as possible to get him away from the group.

The second way to kill him is to get a party and have one of the members,

probably a healer or bladesman, hit the boss and run around with it. If they

keep running it should keep targeting them, giving you the chance to hit him as

hard and fast as possible without having to worry about moving. The third way

is hard to do, but works semi-well. If you happen to know any higher leveled

people, you can ask them to tank him for you. As long as they keep hitting him

(you won't get as good exp, but the boss dies super fast), you can just sit

back and sniper and not worry about getting hit. Also, if they are especially

high level, ask them to tank the Axe Bandit Boss for you (the red one without

an axe). The bosses spawn at multiple points in the bandit area, so you can run

from one boss to the other if it's not too crowded. This is how I leveled from

about level 25 to 35, and it's really fast. The only downfall is that your Ki

doesn't increase as much, and you get crap money. Also, if you can find a good

party, Renegade Spearmen or Harpoon Fish Poacher are great exp, and if you can

level for a solid amount of time, it should be great. People always say Tigers

are okay at 30+, but they hit hard and aren't any better than the Blade Bandit

Boss, so I never really saw the allure.

So! That gets you to level 35, and actually pretty quickly to boot. I know

soloing gets a little boring, so that's why I included the bits about partying,

even if it isn't as fast. Don't be afraid or using lots and lots of potions and

ginseng; they're your friends!

GAME GUIDE

Scions of Fate - Bowman Guide -------1 （Intro to Bowmen/ Abilities） Intro to Bowmen
-------------------- The bowman is the ranged class of Scions of Fate (SoF) , and im my opinion, the most fun to play. Generally speaking, bowmen have low HP,
low defense, high attack, and a fairly good dodge rate. The Scions of Fate (SoF) website says (bad translations and all ): Quote:"The Bowman primarily uses ranged attacks to take down an enemy from afar. This is because of his low defense and high offense."
Okay, so that wasn't bad English. By primarily uses ranged attacks, they mean always uses, unless you want to die. So that's pretty much the basic concept of the bowmen (also
called archer) class, not too hard to understand I hope.

Abilities ---------- So there is always a fuss about which abilities to get and when. This is my take on the idea. Also, keep in mind that this guide only goes through level 35, but I'll try to give
you a short look into what to do after 2nd promo. So, as I was saying, there is a lot of debate about which skills to get when, so I'll give a few different views on the matter.
Ability Build 1: Levels 1-21: Eagle's Flight Levels 22-42: Improved Bowstring After: Some Buddha's Blessing and probably Hawk's Eye
Ability Build 2: Levels 1-21: Improved Bowstring Levels 22-42: Eagle's Flight After: Some Buddha's Blessing and probably Hawk's Eye
Ability Build 3: Levels 1-21: Improved Bowstring Levels 22-32 or so: Buddha's Blessing After: Eagle's Flight, then probably Hawk's Eye
Ability Build 4: Levels 1-21: Eagle's Flight Levels 22-32 or so: Buddha's Blessing After: Improved Bowstring, then probably Hawk's Eye
Other builds include getting Buddha's Blessing earlier, or not at all, or any other combinations of what's listed above.
Personally, I like number 1 the best (it's what I've been doing with my archer), and I guess 4 after 1. 2 is okay, but I don't think you'll get enough range to train fast
enough. Honestly, 3 just kinda sucks, but some people like it, so who knows. At later levels, I've heard it's good to get the crit skills and the Aerial Harmony because you get
the ability to shoot 3 arrows, and if they crit you deal more damage than any skill, and it uses no chi I'm pretty sure.