The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Interview

Channeling the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien, Turbine Inc, the developer of Asheron's Call, is hoping to craft one MMOG to rule them all, many servers to find them; meaningful world events to bring them, and in the glow of their monitor screens—bind them. Large ambitions, especially for a genre that has pretty much been set in stone since its inception. Are we in store for big changes, or just enough tweaks here and there to change the experience ever so slightly? I talked with Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, to find out how this soon-to-be-in-beta MMOG is shaping up thus far, as well as if Frodo's Fellowship will have enough to draw players into the dark Shadow of Angmar

Shack: Where does Shadows of Angmar fit into the Lord of the Rings storyline? Jeffrey Steefel: LOTRO’s storyline begins shortly after Frodo leaves the Shire. The premise of our story is that while the Fellowship formed and journeyed on to Mordor, the lands they left behind fell under attack by the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar, the King of the Nazgûl. Your role is to defend Eriador from the evil shadow which is reaching across the land in pursuit of the Fellowship and the One Ring. Shack: It's been said that Angmar starts out as a single player experience. What is the storyline for this portion of the game, and how does it work? What I mean is, when do you get to start the multiplayer portion of the game, are there single player features that are not available in multiplayer, etc. Jeffrey Steefel: LOTRO does start out as a single player experience, but only for a short time; this brief period is essentially a tutorial to help new players learn how to move around, fight, use the interface, and so on. The game mechanics are the same whether you’re in the newbie experience or in the persistent world. We definitely want to get you into the massively-multiplayer part of the world as soon as possible! The storyline is different based on your character. For instance, Men and Hobbits begin their stories in the Chetwood Forest region, while Elves begin in Rivendell and Dwarves begin at Thorin’s Halls in the Ered Luin. Shack: Tell us about the races and classes we'll have access to: all the different types, what makes them unique, etc. Also, are there certain limitations such as Race X cannot use Class Y? Jeffrey Steefel: You’ll be able to play as a Man, Silvan Elf, Dwarf, or Hobbit. Our advanced Trait system, allows quite a bit of character customization including the ability to grant racial traits. However, there are limitations on class/race combinations – it doesn’t make sense to have a Hobbit champion or an Elven burglar! Shack: Angmar differs from many other MMOs in that it has a fantastic, well-known and respected pool of characters and locations to make use of. Can we expect many instances of traveling to famous locations and/or working with famous names from the Tolkien universe? Tell us about some of them. Jeffrey Steefel: You’ll be able to visit many of the famous towns in Eriador, like the Shire and Bree, and landmarks like the Prancing Pony, Green Dragon Inn, or even the three stone trolls Bilbo escaped from in The Hobbit. You’ll meet many of the principal characters as well; Gandalf, Aragorn, Elrond, Arwen, Tom Bombadil, and even characters of lesser importance, if not infamy, like Otho Sackville-Baggins. Shack: Having player interact with names such as Aragorn and locations such as Bree are great ways of making the player feel more involved. What else has been done to further this approach? Will certain towns and/or people remember you for heroic deeds? Are there quest outcomes that affect the course of the game? Please elaborate. Jeffrey Steefel: Over the course of the game, the players will come face to face with numerous characters from the novels, ranging from Elrond to Radagast to Aragorn. As players adventure within Middle-earth, they will touch many people’s lives, and those very same people will remember the character as a hero. Each and every quest within LOTRO matters, as their outcomes will determine if people see you as a hero, or as simply another warrior, passing through. Shack: What about as players level up their characters. What has been done to mark player X as unique from player Y? Jeffrey Steefel: Our Traits and Accomplishments systems allows you to change your character’s abilities with several types of traits: Common, Race, Class, and Legendary. You’ll earn a trait by completing an Accomplishment, and “slot” it in a trait slot (you gain additional slots as you level up). Traits modify your skills, so you can alter your character’s abilities almost at will. For example, players can visit a NPC minstrel before a battle to better prepare for the role they will play in the fight such as a healer or a tank. Shack: One reason I got out of MMOs was that they all felt the same: kill to retrieve and get for your reward. What are some examples of familiar quests that Angmar has spiced up, and what are some examples of quests that might be slightly new to MMO veterans? Jeffrey Steefel: We’ve spent a lot of time trying to make sure that the player is immersed in the storyline, and most of the experience you earn will be by completing quests. Quests can also be unique depending on the type of character you create. One of the first major events you’ll experience, when playing the Race of Man, is the raid and subsequent burning of the town of Archet. It’s up to you to save the town and free it from the bandits who have been plaguing it. As a newbie dwarf, you’ll see Gandalf and face the result of delving too deep in the Blue Mountains. Shack: The Fellowship of the Ring was my favorite entry in the LOTR trilogy due to the melting pot of races: human, dwarf, elf. Are there any quests that will require players to form "Fellowships" with members of other races? If so, please tell us about one or two of them. Jeffrey Steefel: We feel that the formation of fellowships to achieve feats that are impossible alone is central to both the themes of the trilogy, and MMO’s in general. LOTRO will have numerous quests that are targeted to fellowships, though they will not explicitly require them to be comprised of different races. Shack: How does combat work in LOTRO? Jeffrey Steefel: Combat in LOTRO is very similar to other MMO’s with a stronger focus on fellowship interactions. LOTRO combat uses special events (determined by the player’s class) to open up abilities that make combat more interactive. One sample of this would be the Captain’s “Cry of Victory” ability that fires off whenever anyone in his fellowship defeats an enemy. Conjunctions are another unique feature in LOTRO. They allow a party to apply their skills in combination during attack. A member of the party uses a skill to place the opponent in a vulnerable state (dazed, knocked back) and then icons appear immediately on the other party members’ screens. The players have seconds to select an icon, and the resulting combination of individual skills is

combined into a “Group Skill” that results in a coordinated group attack. The system is designed to be useful even if you do not know it well, but even more effective for groups that know the unique combinations and their effects. This encourages group play, cooperation, and provides increasing complexity for advanced players who want it. Shack: MMOs tend to get, as the acronym implies, massive. What sort of traveling feature does Angmar include, how does it work, the whole deal. Jeffrey Steefel: There are fast travel options, but we generally require the players to arrive at a destination on foot the first time. Shack: Tell us about some of the special features such as crafting, guilds, and grouping. What are they, and how do they work? Jeffrey Steefel: We have ten professions which, in groups of three, make up many different Vocations. Players will be able to craft items which range from ordinary, like food, to legendary, like named weapons. Players can really dedicate themselves to become master [craftsmen] whose items surpass anything found in a drop. Shack: Thanks for your time! Anything else you'd like to tell us? Jeffrey Steefel: We’re really excited about how things are progressing and we are looking forward to starting the Beta Program this summer. You can register for a chance to be in the beta by visiting http://lotro.turbine.com/betasignup.