I met Strider!
Oh my little hobbit is so cute. And oh Archet is pretty. And oh I think I’m going to like this Guardian class. Yes I’m getting into LOTRO. I spent a few exploratory days on an Elf Minstrel but have decided to start again with a Hobbit Guardian after getting tired of singing my enemies to death (I’m already torturing husband with my singing in real life…I’ve joined a choir …so it was all a bit too close to home). And boy am I glad I’m now a Hobbit. Within seconds I had run into Frodo & Sam (I stood to the side, looking on in starstruck silence, resisting the urge to offer Frodo a pedicure), and have now earned my stripes (plus a lustful look …well I think it was lustful) from the delectable Strider for helping him out.
What I love so far (apart from Strider):-
-The opening narration
-NPCs saying stuff- but not too much that you don’t want to read the quest text
-The straight talking description – Walt has been “murdered”. Ooh – chilling. Those evil blackwolds.
-The “collect your loot when you want it” system - although logically it makes no sense (I don’t play MMOs for logic - the crazy loot the animals of WoW carry put pay to that)
-The faint/swoony effect when something dramatic is happening
-The range of classes on offer – they all feel very different from WoW. Maybe as I level it will end up feeling the same but right now it’s different
-The graphics- I ran through some grass that was swaying in the breeze - beautiful. But then my hobbit’s hayfever kicked in & it got messy.
-The sounds – I splashed in water! Actually splish splashed. Bobby Darin eat your heart out.
-The fact that I don’t know what’s coming next. And it’s this that I love the most. I am excited to log on. I am excited to level. I want to play some more tonight before bed. And it’s a work night. How crazy am I? And I don’t want to rush through anything. I’m not desperate for end game. I am right at the start of discovering a brand new world and it is great. I remember this feeling in WoW. I remember getting up early the first Saturday after I’d bought the game, so excited to log on I couldn’t sleep. I remember my toon running down the road from Stormwind to Eastvale Logging camp and I remember thinking, “This is going to be great.” And it was. For a very long time. And now I’m having the exact same feeling in LOTRO. The same feeling but a new experience. Ooh – exciting.
And there’s Strider of course. And the lustful look. There might be a thing happening here. Let’s see how it goes. I’ll play it hobbit cool (but I’ll shave my feet … just in case).
