Thread: What is it like here?

Sorry for the generic thread you probably see all the time.

Returning player here coming back with a friend. We were looking at the Laurelin server as its the only official RP server, but some people suggested we look over here since we are from NA and peoples play times might be more conducive to our play times.

Just kind of generally wondering what its like here as a RP encouraged server. What is the quality of RP? How many non RP names running around? How many people griefing RP events and things like that.

Really, any useful information you could throw out to two potential players returning to this server would be helpful.

Thank you for your time.

There are role players pretty much all over the map. Every event I have been to had a large turnout. Most of the non-role players can't be bothered to seek out role play events because they are too busy pwning or raiding. Most of the hard core role players tend to stick to the small groups of people they know, however it is not hard to become known as a role player simply by attending events or hanging around the Prancing Pony for a while. There are role play centric events daily on Landroval.

Don't let the RP-EN tag worry you. As far as I can tell, there's no difference between Landroval and Laurelin other than the geographical region that they were designed for. The only "official" difference between Landroval and Laurelin is that the GMs do not enforce lore-appropriate naming conventions on Landroval like they do on Laurelin, and lately I've heard they don't even enforce them on Laurelin as often as they used to.

Landroval has a friendly, thriving community of both RPers and non-RPers alike. It offers a little bit of everything, and there's a niche for everyone here. You'll find that most people you encounter will have lore appropriate names, though there are some that don't. In my experience, those who couldn't care less about the lore usually don't bother those that do, and vice versa. You may run into some people who have nothing better to do than grief others, but they are few and far between, and can be easily ignored. All games and all servers have these sort of idiots running around.

The RP itself is often varied. There's many different kinds, from those who prefer light RP, such as hanging around in a tavern, to those who enjoy epic adventures and in-depth story-lines. If you're actively looking, it won't be long before you fall into a clique that suits your play-style.

My advice: Give Landroval a shot. People are always helpful and willing to lend a hand, or point you in the right direction. The North American playtimes will likely suit your needs, as the "prime-time" runs from around 7PM EST all the way to midnight and beyond for those on the west-coast. There are many different people and kinships who host community-wide events, many of which you'll find advertised on these forums. As both an avid RPer and raider, I joined Landroval way back in beta, and I've never once considered moving to another server.

Thanks for the reply.

Couple more questions if you dont mind.

Does the game offer character xfers? I didnt amount to much on my last server, but I made alot of money farming low level wood and ore, and I wouldnt mind having some of that, or the crafting skills I worked on.

Is it hard to break in as a new player? Last time I played I made alot of money selling wood and ore, and even tobacco as RPers had a huge desire for it. Farming and music playing were my two favorite things and I intend to do them again in spades. I loved that I could make so much money doing low level stuff and just farming nodes in the shire that I could buy a house, pay for it 6 weeks in advance, and still have money to give to my RL friends that played with me. Is that economy still existent?

How is the PvP on this server? Eventually it will be something I want to do. And how is it in the game in general? Do you need to raid to get gear to pvp or can anyone break into it? Is their alot of group fights or is it mostly people running around the pvp areas dueling? I like group based competitive pvp. Will I find that here?

Also, if we dont play the same race will that make finding a guild/RP difficult for us? Or is their plenty of mixed RP to go around?

Thanks for your time.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

Sorry for the generic thread you probably see all the time.

Returning player here coming back with a friend. We were looking at the Laurelin server as its the only official RP server, but some people suggested we look over here since we are from NA and peoples play times might be more conducive to our play times.

Just kind of generally wondering what its like here as a RP encouraged server. What is the quality of RP? How many non RP names running around? How many people griefing RP events and things like that.

Really, any useful information you could throw out to two potential players returning to this server would be helpful.

Thank you for your time.

Hello, because i undestand this is an important choice to make (choosing between those two specific servers), i will try my best and give lengthy feedback and hopefully this will make things clearer for you.

To start with, this is an opinion but its coming from someone who knows Landroval very well as i have been pretty active on the server for about two years and i feel confident enough to express my thoughts for this subject

Landroval has tons of RP( about the kind of RP will explain more, below). Its one of the most populated servers but the majority are non-rpers since this server never had the RP tag so people who couldnt care less for RP and for those who do enjoy RP, could join without having to worry about anything since it has no RP rules, however the server was decided by the RP community as the unnofical RP server thus many great roleplayers, artists and the like, joined and are still here and more keep joining

You will see tons of silly and many lore-insulting names here and you cant do much about it really while on Laurelin seeing people running about with names such as ''yousukhobbit'' is really rare, and the nice thing is that names like that can actually get changed by the GMs after a report from a player about it

About griefing, from what i have seen, it happens. The problem is, that people who do that on Landy can get away with it but people who grief RP on Laurelin as i hear and have read can have a warning and more than that if they continue

Now about the quality of RP... there are a lot differences and are obvious from what i have seen
RP on Landroval is more light-medium and not that lore-centric (of course there are exceptions, on the top of my head i can think of a great Ranger/Dunedain RP kin but i am speaking about the majority and in general lines)

You can compare for yourself, just take a look at the Events on Landroval and the RP Events on Laurelin
Check the forums of both servers, you can see from there. Landroval forums and Laurelin forums

Another great source to look about the kind of RP that takes place on both servers and compare its their RP webportals. Landroval Times for Landroval and Laurelin Archives for Laurelin
Actually these sites imo are much better to get a better understanding for those servers (RP-wise) You can see people, kins and all the events. There is a difference and its noticeable (especially for the events)

To continue on the subject, people seem to take the lore more seriously on Laurelin and that really adds to the immersion and to the spirit of Middle-earth and Lord of the Rings and you get a more true to Tolkien experience (RP-wise) there
On Landroval people who are excited about being friendly/true to the lore usually get treated and named as elitists and what not

About the pop. Laurelin is indeed more active during EU times but it looks like its growing a lot even during US times. There are a lot US folks here and many that left Landroval for this server (even long time players)
The RP tag is what new rpers see and join instantly, so this server will only get bigger RP-wise in time, especially with the future big wave of new people to the game with Rohan expansion and later with The Hobbit movies.

As i said earlier, if it comes down to the kind of RP, then i highly suggest you to look the events on both servers and check their RP webportals, there is a difference and you will notice it

Whatever server you choose, take care. If you do join Laurelin tho, feel free to add me and send me a tell to get to know many other rper-folks from US who are of course active during the more EU quiet times

Short version: aside from having official support that seems to be mostly in the form of naming conventions to aid immersion and having somewhat different predominant styles of how to communicate during RP (cultural differences perhaps?), I don't think there is that much practical difference between the two servers. Peak hours will vary, of course.

(Disclaimer: I don't often participate in RP to a complex degree, but I do admire it greatly, I like to play around with it, and I will attend events to watch others.)

Longer version: There's a little back-story concerning role playing on Landroval and the RP-EN tag. Unlike Codemasters, when the game started, Turbine made the choice not to provide special support for role players, or to make specially designated servers for it. (Their stance at the time: "All servers are role playing servers.") Landroval was the server that the players themselves chose during beta to serve as the unofficial role playing server and they developed a thriving community. When new North American servers were later established, others followed that path (like Crickhollow).

When the Codemasters servers were absorbed, Turbine decided they would finally provide role playing support, but only to those servers who had already had it, i.e., only the former Codemaster ones. At the same time, the RP-EN tag was given to Landroval as Turbine's belated recognition of what the players had accomplished in making a role playing server from the start, something achieved entirely by the community itself, and to denote the presence of its strong role playing community.

Both Landroval and Laurelin have reputations as solid English-speaking role playing servers. The populations are slightly mixed, but it still seems that for the most part Landroval is the North American server and Laurelin is the European one. Laurelin does have the aforementioned official support. I've personally gotten the impression that their role playing is much more formal and stylized, though I could easily be wrong. This is not to say both servers don't have in-depth role playing.

Landroval does have other playing styles (adventurers, raiders, etc.), but by and large I don't think there's a lot of active griefing going on, especially now that the F2P influx has steadied. On the contrary, I think a good proportion of non-RP players on Landroval are proud of the server's role playing community. I certainly am.

It should be easy enough to create lowbies on both servers and visit them during what would be your normal playing hours in order to gather your own impressions.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

Does the game offer character xfers? I didnt amount to much on my last server, but I made alot of money farming low level wood and ore, and I wouldnt mind having some of that, or the crafting skills I worked on.

You can transfer a character for $24.95, or 2995 Turbine points, but the catch is that there are no transfers between North American and European servers. You could transfer from Crickhollow to Landroval, but not to Laurelin.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

Is it hard to break in as a new player? Last time I played I made alot of money selling wood and ore, and even tobacco as RPers had a huge desire for it. Farming and music playing were my two favorite things and I intend to do them again in spades. I loved that I could make so much money doing low level stuff and just farming nodes in the shire that I could buy a house, pay for it 6 weeks in advance, and still have money to give to my RL friends that played with me. Is that economy still existent?

I'm pretty sure the economy will vary between servers, but I have noticed in playing lowbie alts that there is a dearth of lower-level crafting materials. I imagine you could make a killing there. (Especially since it's so easy to get money at level cap that it's easier to spend freely.)

As for music playing, I think that if you took a look at the Weatherstock thread here, it'll be abundantly clear that Landroval loves it.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

How is the PvP on this server? Eventually it will be something I want to do. And how is it in the game in general? Do you need to raid to get gear to pvp or can anyone break into it? Is their alot of group fights or is it mostly people running around the pvp areas dueling? I like group based competitive pvp. Will I find that here?

To that, I have no clue, but I would think that if you posted this question in the Landroval PVP sub-forums, they'd be happy to help.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

Also, if we dont play the same race will that make finding a guild/RP difficult for us? Or is their plenty of mixed RP to go around?

There are a few role playing kins that have race requirements, but I believe they have always been the exception and not the rule.

I wish you luck and hope you can find a comfortable home. Welcome back to LotRO!

Thank you Del.

That is all useful information, and I think because of the peek time issue we will be setting up shop on Landy. I played on Starsider, which is essentially the exact same set up (player chosen RP server) and hilariously enough it was the best RP ive ever encountered in an MMO. Similar situation with Wyrmrest Accord on WoW. WoW does about nothing to enforce RP these days, even name changes, but that server still thrives RP wise despite that.

Seems like Landroval is a good choice for me and my friend.

He is playing a human captain, and I believe ive settled on Loremaster but not sure on my race. Last time around I played a minstrel, and it was fun. Might do that again, not sure.

25 for a xfer? yowza. Not sure if its worth it for the money I did have, or being a level 20ish minstrel. The only thing I will miss is all my crafting alts. I love crafting, and I had a metal worker with all the purple tool recipes, and I had really high farming. I know its not a money maker but boy is it fun.

Me and my wife duo leveled the way I intend to with my friend, and when she couldnt play but I wanted too I ran around the shire farming copper and rowan and made a decent living on the Auction house.

But, I dont think any of that is worth the 25 bucks.


If anyone has any decent new player returning advice, id love to hear it. We want to take a very adventurous path with leveling. We have come and gone with LOTRO 3 or 4 times never really getting past level 30. We want to take the scenic route so to speak.

The game has a steep learning curve, and it seems alot has changed since the last time I was around, so really any advice anyone could offer would be much appreciated.

Welcome to Landroval!

Despite what another poster said, there is *plenty* of 'lore friendly' as well as lighter RP, depending on your preference. PvP is definitely alive on this server, as is raiding and other end-game things.

If you have any questions or concerns, my toons are listed below.

Hello and possibly welcome? if you've already decided to roll on Landroval, if not, then I hope my message will help you in your decision :]

Landroval is the only server I've ever been on because I've never felt the need to change servers. I started here with my girlfriend, she actually introduced me to LOTRO. I've RPed in Ultima Online way back when it was the MMO of the time, then WoW, and then LOTRO. We all know (the people of us who played WoW at least) that the community in WoW can be extremely grief'y, but even when it isn't, the quality of RP still isn't nearly as good as it is on LOTRO, or specifically Landroval, like I said I don't have experience on the other servers.

But I think that may even have a slight con. People who are new to RP might find it intimidating to begin RPing with the "pros", in fear of looking "silly". I think those peopel have nothing to worry about, of course, but I understand where it comes from :P From what I've seen, the RP on Landroval can also be very "serious" at times. But nevertheless it's always fun And is often found in many places :] but like in many MMOs, guilds often offer a wider range for RP.

I hope you and your friend will have fun!

I think you'll do fine here. The community is a little more mature, the raid leaders sound less like tantrum-throwing maniacs whose mommies didn't hug them enough as children, and you can usually find help when you need it. Of course, we still get the occasional troll named something like "Umadbro" and other people who believe the lies their parents tell them about being unique and special. And of course we also get the occasional "Lorddarknisss" or "Sephiroth" (god, why won't that name die?), but generally people at least make an attempt at lore-friendly naming, and if they try, no one seems to be anal about it. Not that I've noticed, anyway.

Originally Posted by Eogion

But I think that may even have a slight con. People who are new to RP might find it intimidating to begin RPing with the "pros", in fear of looking "silly". I think those peopel have nothing to worry about, of course, but I understand where it comes from :P From what I've seen, the RP on Landroval can also be very "serious" at times. But nevertheless it's always fun And is often found in many places :] but like in many MMOs, guilds often offer a wider range for RP.

This is probably the only concern I'd have. There are definitely cliques, but try not to judge them, as many tend to have their own storylines going on and don't really have a place for newcomers to fit. Others are all about the random RP, and will respond to you if you're sincere about it. Protocol and syntax for conducting RP varies between groups. I prefer the person to be able to spell at a reasonable level and follow at least the basics of grammar. Judging by your post, that won't be a problem. It's not an elitist thing, it just breaks the immersion when people say "hey lonng time no c lol" in character.

Anyhoo, events are the best way to mingle. Outside of those, it can be difficult to find RP that isn't conducted in or around the Prancing Pony. End game areas have almost no obvious RP despite there being a plethora of suitable places to conduct it. I can be found in Bree in between busy periods of the semester or during update-limbo, so don't be afraid to bump into me.

Thanks.

I know getting into plot lines will be tough, that comes with time. People get too know you, you join a guild, attend events etc... We are by far no novices to RP. Personally ive table topped for 20+years, LARPed for 13, and started RPing in MMOs since EQ1 came out.

But whenever you join a new game/new server in a way you become a novice. I am also by no means a LOTR lore expert, it comes with time though.

Still cant decide on human or elven loremaster. My friend is playing a captain of either gondor or rohan. We discussed the ups and downs of same race vs different race RP.

Also not being an expert on tolkien lore, id be afraid I might "mess up" playing an elf.


What we intend to do is RP level. Making sure we eat, pay attention to day and night cycles, find safe places to rest etc... Chronicle/document the whole thing and hopefully put it up on the forums for people to enjoy some day. Saw someone do it on Crickhollow and it looked like alot of fun. And hopefully as we find Inns and places to rest we will run into people RPing, or people will run into us RPing and join in.

Two questions.
1) With instrument playing ( I LOVE THE MUSIC SYSTEM) I cant remember if as a non minstrel if you can learn all the instruments through mentoring or if you are limited to the handful of instruments offered to your class.

2)Any RP mods similar to "MyRP" in WoW? Is their something to do to toggle or mark yourself as an RPer? Stuff like that lets you know immediately people are good to go as far as RP goes. Especially when it comes to walk up RP.

Another random question if noone minds it.

How do I make my camera angle stop snapping towards my target. I cant seem to find the option anywhere and its super annoying.

Press 'x'. And you can turn off that annoying option by going to ctrl o, then key-mapping.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

Thanks.

Also not being an expert on tolkien lore, id be afraid I might "mess up" playing an elf.

I'd say playing an Elf really well is challenging to do. If you are unsure about Elvish lore and RPing, I'd try starting off with a Man first... of course, the choice is ultimately up to you. If you think you'll enjoy being an Elf more, go for it!

What we intend to do is RP level. Making sure we eat, pay attention to day and night cycles, find safe places to rest etc... Chronicle/document the whole thing and hopefully put it up on the forums for people to enjoy some day. Saw someone do it on Crickhollow and it looked like alot of fun. And hopefully as we find Inns and places to rest we will run into people RPing, or people will run into us RPing and join in.

Finding random RP in the middle of nowhere can be difficult at times, but it's definitely possible. If you make friends ICly and OOCly, you can also arrange for them to 'stumble' upon you in a place that isn't Bree xD Another option is joining an adventuring guild once you've leveled up a little bit more. If you're ever bored and wanting to bump into someone, the best place to do so unplanned is the Prancing Pony... that is until you make more friends and all

Two questions.
1) With instrument playing ( I LOVE THE MUSIC SYSTEM) I cant remember if as a non minstrel if you can learn all the instruments through mentoring or if you are limited to the handful of instruments offered to your class.

2)Any RP mods similar to "MyRP" in WoW? Is their something to do to toggle or mark yourself as an RPer? Stuff like that lets you know immediately people are good to go as far as RP goes. Especially when it comes to walk up RP.

1. Yup, everything but the pibgorn (thank goodness).
2. Simply type in /rp on to turn it on, and /rp off to turn it off; /rp will tell you your status.

Thanks again Laire.

We arent worried about finding people in the middle of nowhere, but we will be doing it anyway and if people run into us, awesome. But you do pose a good point, maybe we will announce it in the area for anyone who wants to RP.

How expensive is it to teach/learn an instrument?

I went and did alot of research on elves and I think I can pull it off. I also came up with an interesting back story as to why I am traveling across the world righting wrongs with a human. So it should be fun.

Unfortunately he cannot play all week, so I will probably be on an alt gathering some copper and rowan to try and get some start up capital.

Couple more questions.

Any channels we should join as RPers?

Other than the Pony, any RP hot spots we should know about?

I got a few "Tin Tokens" those appear to be new since the last time I played. What are they?

For anyone interested in RPing with a couple of newbs, our names are Lythariel and Beldoron.

Originally Posted by Lythariel

We arent worried about finding people in the middle of nowhere, but we will be doing it anyway and if people run into us, awesome. But you do pose a good point, maybe we will announce it in the area for anyone who wants to RP.

You can try doing so in the regional channel in a region, I suppose, though you may here and there get some idiots naysaying you (especially in higher-level areas where RP is not as frequent). I'd imagine, though, by the time you're a high level, you'll have a good group of friends to RP with.

How expensive is it to teach/learn an instrument?

Unless if the minstrel is charging you, it costs nothing to them. The cooldown for learning a skill, however, is... a week IIRC. So it's a long cooldown.

Any channels we should join as RPers?

There are a few channels for different niches (musical community, Bree community, Tolkien-nerd community, etc) but not one that I think the majority of RPers are in.

Other than the Pony, any RP hot spots we should know about?

Bree, especially the Pony, is the hottest. There is sometimes some in the Shire and other areas of Bree-land, and here and there the Forsaken Inn and Trestlebridge. But, the only place that you're guaranteed to almost always find at least one RPer 20 out of 24 hours a day (tends to go down to none around 4-8am EST some days :P) is the Pony. Which is why people who love random RP as opposed to planned RP tend to hang out there.

I got a few "Tin Tokens" those appear to be new since the last time I played. What are they?

They are for the anniversary event. You can trade them in for marks or gift boxes at any Keeper of Gifts.

For anyone interested in RPing with a couple of newbs, our names are Lythariel and Beldoron.

I'll keep an eye out for both of you! My main toons for Landy are listed below, so feel free to contact me ingame anytime!

If you want to learn an instrument + hear live music + have drinks with cool people, Ales and Tales is every Monday at varying locations that are all easy to get to

'How expensive is it to teach/learn an instrument?"

There is no direct cost in learning to play an instrument. All you need is a minstrel who has the skill to mentor the instrument. That said, there are some restrictions. Minstrels do not automatically gain the ability to teach all instruments, so you need to find a minstrel who can teach the instrument you wish to learn. Also there are level restrictions on the use of some instruments, and even a reputation restriction on the playing of one particular special harp, so you may need to reach a certain level as an adventurer to learn a particular instrument you wish to play (The most commonly noted limit being on playing the bagpipes) On the plus side, if you look at your list of passive skills, everyone begins with the ability to play one or more instruments.

Makalaure would be happy to teach you some instruments. He can teach everything. He can also help you get involved in playing music with other people if that is your interest.

Welcome to Landroval!