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WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND TURBINE UNVEIL THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: RISE OF ISENGARD™

New Digital Expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online™ Launching Fall 2011

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled today The Lord of the Rings Online™: Rise of Isengard™, the latest expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine. Rise of Isengard will expand the online world of Middle-earth where players will join forces to press further eastward into the legendary region of Isengard. Rise of Isengard will be available for purchase in the LOTRO Store in the Fall of 2011 with an increased level cap, the new region of Isengard including the legendary tower of Orthanc, enhancements to monster play and much more!

“2010 has been a year of unprecedented growth for The Lord of the Rings Online with our successful introduction of a free-to-play option for our players,” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online. “This is going to be another outstanding year for the game as we progress on our journey toward Mordor and it all begins with our upcoming November update. The journey will carry through 2011 ending with our arrival in the epic region of Isengard where players will confront the raging war and shadow that has spread across Middle-earth.”


NEW FEATURES:

    * Experience the Rise of Isengard – The Epic Story continues as the Grey Company makes its way south into Dunland, but troubles arise as their road takes them into lands where Dunlending forces, marshaled by the Wizard Saruman, prepare for war. The Rangers must seek new allies and face dangerous new foes, chief among them the traitor Saruman, whose web of intrigue threatens to endanger your quest, your friends, and your life.
    * Increased Level Cap — Players will be able advance their characters up to level 70, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests.
    * Expanded Monster Play – LOTRO’s monster play system will get a major revamp including opening up the feature to all players, changes to monster player skills and advancement and a brand new region for players to battle for or against the forces of evil.

The Lord of the Rings Online is the ultimate adventure. This award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game delivers an interactive experience brimming with life and filled with the familiar people, places and monsters from the most famous fantasy of all time. From the picturesque surroundings of the Shire to Moria, the most fearsome underground realm ever imagined, players can experience the world of Middle-earth for free! For more information, visit www.lotro.com.

2011, however, holds a new path for Lord of the Rings Players: the release of the free digital expansion, the Rise of Isengard, scheduled for Fall of 2011.

While many details of the expansion are still in the works, the team explains that they want to be “transparent” about some of the features that are coming next year, many of which are based around priorities such as legendary items, radiance, and monster play.

The level cap will be raised to 70, and three new regions will be introduced: Dunland, the Gap of Rohan, and Isengard (including Saruman's dwelling, the Tower of Orthanc). New content will have a wide level range berth, adding new mid-level content as well as adding new high level areas. The team wouldn't divulge where players might see the new mid-level content, but hinted that new instances and skirmishes would be added to that level range, with Aaron adding, “You'll tend to come back to places you know already and know well.” The Rangers have moved on south, the team explains, and that means that “players are going to need to kind of step up, watch over, and take care of.” In addition to this, new First Age items “are coming,” giving high-end raiders something to look forward to.

The cosmetic system will be upgraded, with new slots to use new types of cosmetic items, the ability to carry more outfits, and the long-awaited addition of cosmetic pets. While the pets will not be interactive, they will be a “fun toy” to show off to your friends.

Monster Play will also be seeing some major changes in the Fall of Isengard, and will be expanded on significantly, adding new skill selections as well as new areas in the world for monsters and players to battle. The goal here is twofold, Aaron explains: in the short term, the team wants to make monster players feel effective and part of the battle immediately; going forward, they want to expand monster play to free players as an option (possibly purchased through the Store). Overall, the team wants the player to have an experience that is “exciting, powerful, and where you can progress your character significantly.”

So Expansions are named patches in f2pland?

Oh the gauntlet has been thrown, Furiously.  I bet I can log out more hours than you.

Want to make that a wager?

You guys are pikers. I'm nearly at 52,500 hours /notplayed in WoW.

WINNAR!

Yeah, a quick way to show this:
Log in to WoW, go to a city and ask /trade about other_mmo.
Log in to other_mmo, ask whatever the general chat channel is about WoW.

It's hilarious.

I'd enjoy if there were eventually two versions of the Shire (for example) so that you could have a world "changing" as you followed the epic line.  Or any other storyline, I guess.  Walls of Moria comes to mind as a early version of this.