14 DAY TRIAL // In a MMO universe where Tabula Rasa and Hellgate: London have failed and Warhammer Online is launching one initiative after another to recover lost players, The Lord of the Rings Online MMO from Turbine and Codemasters Online seems to be doing quite well.
The developer and publisher have announced that they plan to release the latest free update pack for the game, named Book 7: Leaves of Lorien. It will arrive on March 17 in North America and “shortly after this date,” in Europe.
There are quite a few features added in Book 7 of the second Volume of The Lord of the Rings Online. There's a new whole reputation faction available, the elves of Lothlorien. No player can progress in the game unless they are able to gain their trust. Doing so means reuniting with the Fellowship in order to enter a series of battles that will root the Orcs out of Moria. Another major addition is the Strange Happenings, a new epic quest arc that will ask players to unveil another source of corruption deep within Moria.
On the gameplay front, Turbine and Codemasters are promising to make the game even easier to play and enjoy. There are re-built player experiences for the Man, the Elves and the Dwarves, while all players will get the Quest Guide designed to allow everyone to easily explore Middle Earth and track the things they need to do.
Jeffrey Steefel, who is the executive producer of The Lord of the Rings Online, stated that “The launch of our first expansion, Mines of Moria, has been a huge success and has firmly established the game as one of the premier MMOs in the world. For nearly two years LOTRO has been one of the fastest growing games in the industry and with Book 7 we continue to expand the world with the expansion of Lothlórien, the legendary home of Galadriel and the elves and the introduction of new tools and improvements based on player feedback including a new Quest Guide and an enhanced new player experience.”