Again, we on the old side of the pond got the worse deal. Turbine listened to the complains of the players about the huge grind for the tokens and added them in the lotteries which Codemasters is not able/willing to offer.
I wanted to have the maps, so I knew I had to grind 160 tokens (8*20). As I didn't wan to waste too much time, I triple-boxed the bar-fight. Of course, this works only during the night, as there is less competition.
So this Easter weekend, I had little sleep, at least at night. Which was a pity, as the weather was fine. But at least I got the maps and as they are tradable, this will get me closer to the deed Cartographile.
CStM has discovered, that the other maps seem to be available during the next four festivals. There even seem to be maps of the other regions of Middle-Earth and one of the whole of Middle-Earth. So finishing this deed, will take more than a year. Back to the festival.
In Europe, the only way to get tokens was the races and the beer-fight. The races are fun, even though I have done them so many times, that I can almost do them blindfolded. Sadly, they can only be done once a day, so maximal two tokens from them.
So even if you do the races every day, you will not get enough tokens to get the horse and you have to join the bar-fight. The dreaded bar-fight.
The first few times, it can be fun. But after an hour or so, I just wanted to get my tokens. So getting the beer but being hit out of the arena and dropping it wasn't fun the first time, and it became more and more annoying the next few times.
So instead of wasting my time, I started doing the fight at around midnight and kept fighting till the sun went up. With the three accounts, I at least got three tokens per run, which made the grind a bit more bearable. I even got the horse, even though I don't like the design very much. The toy windmill is very nice, the large one still is missing its blades, but they should be added with the next update.
What I didn't get yet, are the cosmetics. The cloak is OK, especially when it is dyed, the dresses, I could do without. I am still not sure, if I am going to try to get them.
There was some discussion going on in kin, if deliberate kicking people out of the arena is griefing. I was in the minority saying yes. It might be fun, to do it once or twice, but after a bit, you just want to get your tokens and go to bed. During the night, there was an understanding to be friendly to each other as everyone could get a token each round. During the day, things were a bit more chaotic and heated.
Last but not least, the verdict. Even though some of the rewards are nice, the toy windmill and the windmill being the best, the grind is enough to make you sick. The race and the bar-fight are not new to the game, the maps are nice, but not much work to do, the cosmetics are ok, if you are an elf but the huge grind overshadows the rewards. Ten being best, I would give this festival a 3/10.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Durin's Bane (Ost Dunhoth, Fear) on Tier 2 and Challenge done!
Gentlemen, we got him!
After a lot (and I mean a lot) of wipes during several evening, we finally managed to slay Durin's Bane on Tier 2 and complete the Challenge.
To be honest, I had my doubts, that we were able to do it. Luck did play a very minor role, tactics worked and noone made a big mistake. On the first try, I ran off the platform after the first pool. That was embarassing.
In the next runs we managed to work on tactics and after some wipes, the first people announced that they would leave soon. We dropped one Burglar for an additional Minstrel and started the fight.
Soon the first kinnies (including myself) disconnected from ventrilo and we switched to ingame-voice. Things got a bit heated as most of the platform was covered with fire-pools.
The last few ten thousand morale were nerve-wrecking. One of our tanks died seconds before Durin's Bane and one of the two chests spawned on top of him...
I won a high-dps mace for my Burglar (off-hand) and two settings and a rune. We got two coins for the Ost Dunhoth armour, a rather crappy piece of jewelery and a purple armour which I didn't even want as a cosmetic.
Some of these new instances favour certain set-ups.
Two tanks are a must. Either two Wardens or two Guardians. Guardians seem to work better.
Two Minstrels for main healing, two Captains, two Rune-Keepers (do not Fall to Flame).
Two Burglars and one Lore-Master, for debuffs and power.
This leaves one spot open. We used a Champion, Hunter would have been better. Or a third Rune-Keeper.
It will be fun to try other set-ups. When more people get first-agers, this could leave room for changes.
Where are we? We did three wings on Tier 2 with the Challenge and an other wing on Tier 2. The fifth wing seems to be doable, but Gortheron will not be easy. We might even go back to Barad Guldur (yay, more stairs) and to Dar Narbugud. I don't mind running those two instances, especially as the DN set is still quite nice and BG can also be desireable.
I have brought Minstrel, Rune-Keeper, Lore-master, Hunter and Burglar to Durin's Bane. I want to get my Guardian raid-ready. I have not used him a lot but he is fun to play. And tanking is the one thing, I haven't tried much yet.
After a lot (and I mean a lot) of wipes during several evening, we finally managed to slay Durin's Bane on Tier 2 and complete the Challenge.
To be honest, I had my doubts, that we were able to do it. Luck did play a very minor role, tactics worked and noone made a big mistake. On the first try, I ran off the platform after the first pool. That was embarassing.
In the next runs we managed to work on tactics and after some wipes, the first people announced that they would leave soon. We dropped one Burglar for an additional Minstrel and started the fight.
Soon the first kinnies (including myself) disconnected from ventrilo and we switched to ingame-voice. Things got a bit heated as most of the platform was covered with fire-pools.
The last few ten thousand morale were nerve-wrecking. One of our tanks died seconds before Durin's Bane and one of the two chests spawned on top of him...
I won a high-dps mace for my Burglar (off-hand) and two settings and a rune. We got two coins for the Ost Dunhoth armour, a rather crappy piece of jewelery and a purple armour which I didn't even want as a cosmetic.
Some of these new instances favour certain set-ups.
Two tanks are a must. Either two Wardens or two Guardians. Guardians seem to work better.
Two Minstrels for main healing, two Captains, two Rune-Keepers (do not Fall to Flame).
Two Burglars and one Lore-Master, for debuffs and power.
This leaves one spot open. We used a Champion, Hunter would have been better. Or a third Rune-Keeper.
It will be fun to try other set-ups. When more people get first-agers, this could leave room for changes.
Where are we? We did three wings on Tier 2 with the Challenge and an other wing on Tier 2. The fifth wing seems to be doable, but Gortheron will not be easy. We might even go back to Barad Guldur (yay, more stairs) and to Dar Narbugud. I don't mind running those two instances, especially as the DN set is still quite nice and BG can also be desireable.
I have brought Minstrel, Rune-Keeper, Lore-master, Hunter and Burglar to Durin's Bane. I want to get my Guardian raid-ready. I have not used him a lot but he is fun to play. And tanking is the one thing, I haven't tried much yet.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Mammoths (Ost Dunhoth, Wounds) on Tier 2
Sadly we did not manage to get the Challenge. We did manage to kill one Mammoth in time. Does not seem impossible to do, but will take some more practice.
We learned a lot. For one, when you finish the fight, you can walk back through the corridors and see, that the gates and levers are actually colour-coded. So:
The middle (green) lever opens the right gate,
the right (purple) lever opens the left gate,
the left (orange) lever opens the middle gate,
the middle (blue) lever opens the left gate,
the left (purple) lever opens the right gate and last but not least,
the right (white) lever opens the middle gate.
Even the first gate has the same colour as the gates, which houses the mammoths.
Balancing the dps is a bit of a challenge as you don't want people to have to wait for other groups pulling their levers.
We learned a lot. For one, when you finish the fight, you can walk back through the corridors and see, that the gates and levers are actually colour-coded. So:
The middle (green) lever opens the right gate,
the right (purple) lever opens the left gate,
the left (orange) lever opens the middle gate,
the middle (blue) lever opens the left gate,
the left (purple) lever opens the right gate and last but not least,
the right (white) lever opens the middle gate.
Even the first gate has the same colour as the gates, which houses the mammoths.
Balancing the dps is a bit of a challenge as you don't want people to have to wait for other groups pulling their levers.
Friday, 8 April 2011
Baleleaf and Dourbark (Ost Dunhoth, Disease) on Tier 2 with Challenge done!
We have been fighting and failing with the Balrog. I have my ideas why, but am not going to share them.
Even though I would have liked to go back to kick Durin's Bane in his softer parts (if he has any), it was decided to do the disease wing next.
I like, how there is no more real trash and that the groups up to the boss are challenging and fun.
Baleleaf and Dourbark are the two bosses and as their name suggests, they are trees. The first phase of the fight is quite short and consists of damaging the trees. This will make your target cover you with sap, which 'marks' you.
Soon three bog-lurker beasts activate. The tank needs to grab them from the tree he was not attacking and bring them over to the tree he was attacking. Two of them can be killed fast, the last one of each group should be killed at the same time.
As soon as all six of them are dead, everyone hits the original target till the trees once again get protected by the bog-lurkers. Tanks need to grab them again at the other tree, but this time, they need to be killed at the same time (all six of them).
So dps them down but not kill them at once (watch your aoe attacks). When the team is ready, kill all of them quickly and attack the tree again.
If you want to get the challenge, you are only allowed to kill twelve of the bog-lurkers, so you need to pump out a lot of damage during the three dps-phases.
We needed some tries, but finally managed to do it. I won the First-Age-Symbol and this is the bow I made. Luckily, I did have enough ixp-runes to get it to level 70 and enough scrolls to max it out.
It is a bit sad, than in about half a year, the bow will be replaced again by a level 70 third age weapon, but that is the way these games work.
Even though I would have liked to go back to kick Durin's Bane in his softer parts (if he has any), it was decided to do the disease wing next.
I like, how there is no more real trash and that the groups up to the boss are challenging and fun.
Baleleaf and Dourbark are the two bosses and as their name suggests, they are trees. The first phase of the fight is quite short and consists of damaging the trees. This will make your target cover you with sap, which 'marks' you.
Soon three bog-lurker beasts activate. The tank needs to grab them from the tree he was not attacking and bring them over to the tree he was attacking. Two of them can be killed fast, the last one of each group should be killed at the same time.
As soon as all six of them are dead, everyone hits the original target till the trees once again get protected by the bog-lurkers. Tanks need to grab them again at the other tree, but this time, they need to be killed at the same time (all six of them).
So dps them down but not kill them at once (watch your aoe attacks). When the team is ready, kill all of them quickly and attack the tree again.
If you want to get the challenge, you are only allowed to kill twelve of the bog-lurkers, so you need to pump out a lot of damage during the three dps-phases.
We needed some tries, but finally managed to do it. I won the First-Age-Symbol and this is the bow I made. Luckily, I did have enough ixp-runes to get it to level 70 and enough scrolls to max it out.
It is a bit sad, than in about half a year, the bow will be replaced again by a level 70 third age weapon, but that is the way these games work.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Ivar down on Tier 2 with Challenge Mode
After some tries yesterday, we managed to kill Ivar in Ost Dunhoth on Tier 2 with the Challenge Mode. Sadly, we didn't get the second chest, as we had died trying. Even though we got the message that we did the challenge, we did not get the chest.
Game Masters were helpful as ever /sarcasm off and told us, in a polite way, to /sod off
As it is getting late, we only took a brief look at the last boss and wiped fast.
We got one coin for the First Age Item and one coin for the trousers. I won neither.
The fight is actually quite fun. Not too unfair, if you know the mechanics and act accordingly.
I used Buff Bars and I really do recommend using it. It is the first time, I use an add-on and I am sure, that it is a great help for this fight.
Game Masters were helpful as ever /sarcasm off and told us, in a polite way, to /sod off
As it is getting late, we only took a brief look at the last boss and wiped fast.
We got one coin for the First Age Item and one coin for the trousers. I won neither.
The fight is actually quite fun. Not too unfair, if you know the mechanics and act accordingly.
I used Buff Bars and I really do recommend using it. It is the first time, I use an add-on and I am sure, that it is a great help for this fight.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Echoes of the Dead, First Impression
Three days in with the new content, it is time to give a first impression.
I managed to finish the book quest on my Minstrel and my Hunter. Volume 3, Book 3, has eleven chapters. All of it is soloable. It does not offer a huge amount to do, but gives some nice loot (ixp rune and lvl 65 second age class item). I loved the instances with Isildur and chapter seven, where you attack different groups whilst storming the hill.
Of the new instances, I ran the Oatbarton one most (on Rune-Keeper, Hunter, Minstrel (twice) and Captain (unsucessfully)). The first boss, a spider, does not offer much resistance. If you switch your attacks to the egg fast enough and or at least kill the hatchlings, this fight is finished soon enough.
Next fight is against a cauldron. One of the most funny fights in LotRO. As it is a bit a dps-race, one of the three (with the highest dps) will constantly attack the cauldron. The others have to /slap hobbits, avoid dropping pools in the wrong spots and probably a bit of dps and healing. With a healing Rune-Keeper, a Warden and a Captain, we just didn't have enough dps.
Last fight is also very nice. Mostly the Tank has to watch his steps, when he does, the fight is fun and easy. Power can run out easily, so use pots as often as possible.
Stoneheight, I only briefly visited so I can't tell you a lot about it.
I also ran the Glaciel Fortress instance with my Minstrel. One thing I learnt, is that you don't have to attack the bears, you can just run by them if you don't stay too long in their vicinity.
The Lost Temple is the one instance, I didn't even step into.
The Ost Dunhoth raid consists of five wings, I have been in the mammoth wing, the tree wing, the Balrog wing and to Gotheron, the end boss. As there were a lot of sign-ups (and I was mostly not on the list), I was on no successful run on tier 2. I did the Balrog on Tier 1, after some failed Tier 2 tries.
There is nothing bad in the new instances and I am sure, we will have some fun in them. I got some usefull loot, a nice cloak from the farm for example. But I am happy, that there is a lot to do again.
I managed to finish the book quest on my Minstrel and my Hunter. Volume 3, Book 3, has eleven chapters. All of it is soloable. It does not offer a huge amount to do, but gives some nice loot (ixp rune and lvl 65 second age class item). I loved the instances with Isildur and chapter seven, where you attack different groups whilst storming the hill.
Of the new instances, I ran the Oatbarton one most (on Rune-Keeper, Hunter, Minstrel (twice) and Captain (unsucessfully)). The first boss, a spider, does not offer much resistance. If you switch your attacks to the egg fast enough and or at least kill the hatchlings, this fight is finished soon enough.
Next fight is against a cauldron. One of the most funny fights in LotRO. As it is a bit a dps-race, one of the three (with the highest dps) will constantly attack the cauldron. The others have to /slap hobbits, avoid dropping pools in the wrong spots and probably a bit of dps and healing. With a healing Rune-Keeper, a Warden and a Captain, we just didn't have enough dps.
Last fight is also very nice. Mostly the Tank has to watch his steps, when he does, the fight is fun and easy. Power can run out easily, so use pots as often as possible.
Stoneheight, I only briefly visited so I can't tell you a lot about it.
I also ran the Glaciel Fortress instance with my Minstrel. One thing I learnt, is that you don't have to attack the bears, you can just run by them if you don't stay too long in their vicinity.
The Lost Temple is the one instance, I didn't even step into.
The Ost Dunhoth raid consists of five wings, I have been in the mammoth wing, the tree wing, the Balrog wing and to Gotheron, the end boss. As there were a lot of sign-ups (and I was mostly not on the list), I was on no successful run on tier 2. I did the Balrog on Tier 1, after some failed Tier 2 tries.
There is nothing bad in the new instances and I am sure, we will have some fun in them. I got some usefull loot, a nice cloak from the farm for example. But I am happy, that there is a lot to do again.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu-ray
Got an email from Amazon.com, that there will be a "Limited Extended Version" of Lord of the Rings on Blu Ray.As I already own the DVD extended version and the quality is good enough for me and there are no additional perks with this new release, I am not sure, if I am going to buy it.
Saldly, there is no release date...
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