A New Elf is Born in Eriador

Branching out in my leveling, I decided to give another run at Lord of the Rings Online. I've actually tried starting a character in LOTRO a couple times, once with a Loremaster who I got to level 20 and once with a Runekeeper who I got to 16. I enjoyed the game, the scenery was great, and the story was wonderful, but I just never stuck with it. As far as I recall, there is a complicated series of achievements that drive different abilities and such, but I could be totally wrong. I am, though, going to give this try some extra effort because I fear the game may not be around much after this year.

With the licensing for Lord of the Rings questionable after 2017, I wanted to really give this game a shot to hold my interest to max level. And I'd really like to be there when they get to Mordor. From the latest dev letter, it looks like they are getting pretty close. In any case, I am giving Loremaster another try since that hybrid class has quite a bit of versatility and survivability.

Starting out is, as usually, pretty easy. At level 1, the game just basically sets out to teach you the movement commands and how to target things. I appreciate the effort Turbine has put into this tutorial since they tie it closely to a story that you are guided through. You get to met Elrond in the Refuge of Edhelion and he helps you as a young elf to learn the ropes. Soon, however, the Refuge is destroyed by the Dourhand and you are transported through time and set with a task to do some stuff for Elladan, the son of Elrond.

It's all pretty cool, and I think it sets a nice stage for the beginning of the game. Getting to level 2 isn't too involved, but you do go through quite a bit of background story first, which I think is great. Since there isn't too much autonomy for the guided tour of Edhelion and such, I didnt use my skills much so I'll look more into them as I progress.