The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria

2008

role-playing (rpg)
adventure
fantasy
co-operative
massively multiplayer online (mmo)

The story

The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is the first retail expansion pack for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The storyline is set in Moria, an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth. Apart from that, the expansion also adds the region Lórien. The game's level cap has been increased to level 60; and the expansion extends the Epic storyline by six more books, and adds two new classes, the Rune-keeper and the Warden. Other new features include environment aware AI, dynamic lighting, and a new weapon enhancement system.

What it’s like

Dim, subterranean palettes give way to shafts of cold blue light and the glow of forge fire, with torchlit stone corridors that open into vast, echoing chambers and then into the golden-green canopy of Lórien. Dynamic lighting shifts the mood as you move between them, and the score leans on low brass, distant choral swells and ambient cave drip rather than constant combat music. The game is viewed from a third-person camera that stays at a comfortable distance, and the world reads as painterly rather than gritty: moss, mithril sheen, mist over still water. Its vibe is quiet grandeur with a wandering, companionable pulse, best suited to long evening sessions, a weekend of questing with friends, or drifting through crafting and farming while something else holds your attention. Combat is steady and repetitive by design, with frequent fights, enemies that react to terrain, and a heavy emphasis on grinding toward level 60. Violence is fantasy-stylised, with creatures and orcs falling in bursts of effects; there is no gore and little that is frightening beyond occasional dread in the deep halls. Aimed at Tolkien devotees and MMO players who enjoy slow progression, guild life and exploring a richly detailed, atmospheric world together.

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