Thread: Along the Paths of Middle-earth

I just wanna say that I have really enjoyed your screenshots and appreciate the time you take to post them.

Thanks, Nifty. I just thought folks who couldn't get into Moria yet, or who hadn't decided to buy the expansion, might like to see what it looks like.

Here's another set of dwarven doors in Moria. They are the doors into the Chamber of Mazarbul, just north of the 21st Hall. This chamber has quite a history. It is significant in a number of ways, but I won't go into that here.

For now we don't know who built the chamber, Durin I the Deathless or one of his descendants probably. If you will look at the doors, especially higher up, you will see the mountain and cloud motif. But we don't know which mountains for sure. Do they represent the mountains around Azanulbizar? Or perhaps the mountains under which Durin I slept until the Elder Children of Iluvatar were awakened? Or, perhaps they represent the major mountains around Khazad-dum itself. We don't know.

But, they were clearly important to the dwarven crafters who made them.

I'm going to be sharing several screenshots of Nud-melek region of the Mines. Mostly of the Second Hall there, but also other things. I really like the gloomy look of the place. So well done Turbine artists!

This one is of the many staircases of Khadaar-zaram, that take you down from the western entrance of Nud-melek to the "floor" of the Second Hall, among the black tree towers I shared with you before. Not that there aren't even lower places there, in some cases real chasms, which you'll see soon. You'll have to look closely to see the staircases going up and up, back and forth. One wouldn't want to roll down these.

There are a number of these mining carts scattered around the floor of the Second Hall in Nud-melek. Somehow I don't think they are roller coaster cars.

The quest dwarf npc wonders what the orcs are doing with them. So do I. After I destroyed the requisite number, I still wonder. Perhaps, just perhaps, I will discover the answer as time goes on.

A mining cart you say? "Ho, hum." Well, I can tell you that the mining cart guards, the Marauders at least, were tough. The buggers would heal themselves.

And now, after some further exploration regarding disgusting fungus, I saw the following. A great, deep chasm, with lava at the bottom. And, I slipped once and fell ... and fell ... and fell ... and respawned at the closest point. The floor at the edge looked solid, I swear it did.

And if you will peer into the distance, above the chasm, you'll see a rickety rope and stick bridge. And, what are those sickly glowing green things laying there? Nasty spitting worms, acid I think, that root you and enjoy chewing on the closest tasty part of you.

And, after doing more sneaking around, wacking more enemies and running for my life twice, here is a screenshot of that Rickety Bridge at Khur-jezer. Must be an orc-make bridge. After all there are plenty of them around the Second Hall and none of them strike me as being careful in their work.

Kinships shouldn't be rickety or of poor workmanship. If you haven't joined or found a good kinship yet, take a look at Aphadrim uin Calad.

Hello new to the game. Me, my wife, and my buddy just started playing two weeks ago. Love the game but haven't seen any good kinships to call home. By reading your thread here we definitely would like to give it a shot. Tried registering on your forums but receiving errors. Tell us what we should do next.

Welcome Esoh, wife and friend to LOTR Online! I've sent you a PM to let you know the next steps to apply to AuC.

Now as for Nud-melek, and continuing with my penchant for showing you dwarf-craft doors, here is one. I just saw it while on the floor of Second Hall, and wandered over to see it. Kind of plain itself, although I really like the two designs surrounding it. The outer design is floral, I think. Strongly reminded me of the symbols of the English dynastic Wars of the Roses in the mid to late 1400s.

Of course the question was: I wonder what's in there? But the door wasn't able to be opened. Must've been missing a password or maybe a later quest.

Continuing my journeys, I ran across one of the very first goblins that you'll see if you do the quests in Durin's Threshold. The Threshold is the entry into Moria. You first get there after helping the expedition dwarves defeat the Watcher in the Black Pool with your new and level 10 legendary weapon. The Threshold is also where you get your second legendary weapon or class item.

His name is Chieftain Lurkh, in case you wanted to know. And, he is such a good representative of his neighborhood, greeting all and sundry in his own inimicable manner!

Now the second type of goblin you'll encounter doing the Threshold quests is this guy. He isn't as friendly as Chieftan Lurkh. Not that Lurkh has received any awards for friendliness. But these types are just abused footsoldiers, so maybe it's not a surprise that they feel all downtrodden and taken advantage of, and want to take their animus out on innocent passers-by.

I've spent some more time exploring and doing quests in The Waterworks. This pic is of an area of Globsnaga orcs (love the name) that have been infected with a fungus.

This shot is a closeup of a fungus infected Globsnaga Brawler. At least, the dwarves call them "infected". Knowing somewhat about orcs, I think they consider the awful patches of fungus growing on themselves to be beautiful. And, don't these orcs glow nicely when you whack them?

This is another nice Waterworks scene.

The Waterworks has giant salamanders. Lucky us! In spite of the water surrounding them, they spit fire like the ones in Evendim.

The last thing anyone needs is a kinship that spits fire at its members. Hopefully, your's isn't one of them.

Another colossal building in The Waterrworks. This is Gabil-munz and you'll spend some time around it doing quests. So far in my experience at least, you don't go inside it.

One of the many monsters on the drowned floor of The Waterworks. Frog-legs anyone? Tastes like chicken!!

Inside the Chamber of Wheels, Waterworks. I wonder what will happen if I rotate the handles on the valve?

I didn't say it, but in the right background of the previous screenshot, that water wheel was working. Same with today's picture, only this time there are two. One dropping water into the lower.

In The Waterworks is the entrace to The Vile Maw: called Harazgund.

And, knowing it was potentially very dangerous, I decided to step inside the door to The Vile Maw and ... nothing attacked. Whew!

No, I didn't go much further in. heh ... Not afraid, if that's what you were thinking. The dread was fierce and taking her down too fast. Had to get out!

Well, that is all from the seriously damp Waterworks for a while. Did any moss grow on the north side of your face?

Some time ago, I showed you what the first legendary axe looked like. Here is the first Legendary Staff for Loremasters. Yes, there are little yellowish flames writhing over the surface of the striking end.

The first main hall inside the Forgotten Treasury, Silvertine Lodes.

A peaceful scene ... yes? A nice waterfall dropping into a cool pool with relatively bright light compared to much of the Mines. Well, it is a peaceful scene, but it wasn't to start with. Had to clear the riff-raff out first. From the Gardens of Tharakh Bazan near Jazargund in Durin's Way.

You'll see these nasty bugs in various places in the Mines. Early on, look for them in the lower level of Nain's Palace, and down deep in the Vault of Durin, both in The Great Delving.

I saw this cool-looking arch in The Redhorn Lodes. I've since seen it elsewhere as well.

This screeenshot is of a Ghash-hai Warrior in the Flaming Deeps.

Runes on Balin's tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul. In Khuzdul: "BALIN FUNDINUL UZBAD KHAZADDÚMU" or in the Common tongue - "Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria"

This picture is of a spiral tower just north of Jazargund. Shows just one of several levels. You can see the spiral walkway is lower on the left and spirals up towards the right. Kind of like drawings of the Tower of Babel many of us have seen. Not sure that it's actually accessible as there is no direct way from Jazargund to get to it.

Some time ago I posted a screenshot of a warg and rider, as they faced my character. This one is a shot of a warg and rider from the side.

After the Eagle, the Loremasters get a couple more pets in the Moria expansion. The first is the sabertooth, which you see in this shot. The sound effects are very nice, imo. However, the saber is really specialized for AoE attacks. Just using it for solo melee, it's very poor. My understanding is that the devs have said they are going to look at the problem and see what they can do. Since the lynx is such a great one-target melee pet, and since the wild sabertooths near the Redhorn Pass in Eregion are very good with soloing, I hope they really make the sabertooth much better. It should be more powerful than the lynx, imho. :P

The screenshot was taken in the Crafting Bunker at 21st Hall in the Mines. All the crafting machines are Superior ones, with a vault and auction house nearby, which makes it very nice for advanced crafters.

And having mentioned it yesterday, here is a shot of the Crafting Hall at 21st Hall. Long and narrow, with the scholar behind and to my right out of the shot, the Forgemaster and Relicmaster behind and to my left out of the shot. Forge clear at the far end up the stairs you can see down there. Certain purchased ingredients for crafting are with the provisioner outside the Crafting Hall in the center of the main avenue in the 21st Hall.

And another reminder: All these screenshots are taken with hi-res graphics and the highest graphics settings in the game. Thus, you can use your favorites as desktop wallpapers. They look great on my flat screen.

One of the overseers that try to keep the goblins inhabiting the Great Delving under the thumb of powerful orcs being sent to Moria by both Saruman and Sauron.

Unfortunately, some kinships aren't much better to their members than what the ordinary goblins of Moria experience at the hands of White Hand or Sauron's orcs. Don't stick around if you're feeling that you don't fit in with your current kinship. There are lots of good ones around, like AuC.

There are a lot of these nasty false-female bat creatures spread around many places in the Mines. Think harpies, although the devs are calling them Morroval, Merrevail if plural.

This is one of the entrances to the Orc Watch in the Redhorn Lodes.

A view from the Orc Watch into Redhorn Lodes.

One of several Emissaries Saruman has sent into the Mines to try to organize the goblins and orcs there. They hope to expel this new incursion of dwarves, and prepare for attacks on Lothlorien and even Rohan. Note the crude white hand symbol on his chest and forehead.

This is a pic of the Bank or Vault at 21st Hall. Yes, those are gold pieces in stacks to either side of the vault-keeper in the back, but we can't pick them up. heh

This is what the blade-beak diggers you've seen in Erid Luin, Trollshaws, Ram Duath and elsewhere turn into. Bigger and tougher with an earthquake that shakes your screen after they dig into dirt and solid rock. They are all over the Mines. And, the Second Hall has many that drop Extraordinary hides.

Here is a shot of the Auction Hall at 21st Hall.