Turbine selling non-cosmetic armor in their store rekindles the gear controversy.

I’d been thinking about this from the game design perspective recently, and I wrote this response to a recent post in the LOTRO forums where Ronigard asks, “Is LOTRO about gear?”:

The question is perhaps too vague; LOTRO is “about” different things to different people. So let me rephrase the question: Is character differentiation and optimization in LOTRO about gear? The answer there is yes.

Beyond selecting class and race, the player has no control of character development at the skills level. Every rune-keeper by end-game has the same set of skills as does every guardian, champion, hunter, etc. The same is true with base attributes. Every paid subscriber also has the same number of trait slots. There is no character differentiation from leveling up, nor are there any irrevocable decisions like allocating a limited pool of skill points or choosing an advanced class.

By end-game, your character’s base primary attribute will be around 100. The gear elitists say that a primary attribute needs to be over 1000 for raiding–that’s ten times more than the intrinsic value from the character. It requires a combination of gear and traits to do that. Improving skills–their duration, effect, power costs–comes from class traits and is what differentiates my rune-keeper from another; i.e., I can drop a stone at any attunement because I have two healing traits equipped, but my friend can’t because he’s totally fire-traited. To build a competitive, optimized, and (functionally) unique character is an exercise in gear and traits.

And traits really are gear. Everybody can get every trait, and through deeds and the store max them out. You can swap them out at any time using a Bard. That’s gear-like behavior, not class-like behavior.

Why is gear less important for solo content? Solo content in LOTRO is relatively easy by design, and there’s so much of it that very few players are dealing with on-level (white) or higher-level mobs. Having old gear and low traits isn’t a big deal because of that relative ease and the significant effects of the level differential between character and mob.

Why is gear more important for group content? Group content (skirmishes, instances, raids) is designed to be harder, has ways to make it even harder (i.e., tiers), and tends to be run closer to level. The increased difficulty requires better gear overall, but it also requires players to be more effective, so customizing gear to your particular role within the group, tactics, and playstyle becomes more important too.

I would guess that Turbine’s design goal here was to eliminate the need for respeccing characters. Everything that differentiates your character from another of the same class is equippable. Skill-based games I’ve played like Star Trek Online have to provide ways to rebuild an existing character because of mistakes made during level-up or to allow players access to new playstyles without grinding through a whole new character–and potentially choosing to play a new game instead of that grind. MMOs seem very reluctant to lock players into decisions they make beyond initial character generation, 800-pound gorilla excepted.

So I think it’s not only that LOTRO is “about” gear (and traits), but that it’s a very specific design goal by Turbine to make sure players have immediate and flexible choices about what makes their characters functionally unique.

Orion’s Page - Blog Archive - Champion Proposal: Final Stages

My first LOTRO character was a champion based on a character from a LOTR-based NWN persistent world. Gameplay with that champion (rolled two years ago this month) felt a little lethargic and uninteresting compared to my eventual love, the runekeeper. I’ve dabbled with champions since then and liked what I’ve seen in changes to the class and overall combat engine.

From Orion’s latest post, this update to the champion class will be significant.  I’m not a big enough champion nerd to appreciate subtle changes in how skills and stances relate, but a few things stand out:  no more shields, no fervor penalty for two-handing, and far fewer on-defeat skills. That last one is big for me as a solo; I don’t get to use on-defeat skills as much wandering around alone.

My sense is this champion tune-up is on par with or bigger than what the runekeeper got a few months ago. Some of those runekeeper changes didn’t stand out in the dev diaries but ended up being fantastic; i.e., Master of Writs. Pairing solid posts like Orion’s with Turbine’s usually-well-delivered updates has me eager to roll a new champion and see how it feels when the time comes.

I’m not so eager for STO Season 4 and the Duty Roster System: Cryptic’s having problems in the discussion and delivery departments lately, and they’d do well to take a few pages from Turbine’s book. Turbine’s communications with the LOTRO community are more measured and better timed. It may help that the LOTRO community seems better behaved but no less passionate: their forums suffer less from heat/noise–except for those trash-talking PvMP forums, of course.

It also helps that forums.lotro.com supports RSS feeds to get around the heat, noise, and overload that trying to stay on top of STO’s forums inflicts on me.  Hint, hint.

I’ve played STO enough to scratch off the veneer of Star Trek and see too much of the generic MMO RPG beneath. LOTRO and STO got my attention and my cash because of the intellectual property, not because I like MMOs.  Although the massively-multiplayer aspects can be fun sometimes, they’ve also been immersion-breaking, road-blocking, distracting, and even discouraging.  It feels like these games have all the limits of a computer-based game with none of the advantages of a real multi-player (tabletop) RPG.

It’s not clear what Atari divesting itself of Cryptic Studios means for the developer of STO.  Word in the forums is “business as usual” of course.  For me, I have to wonder if the game will last long enough to reach the break-even point for my lifetime subscription–especially given months of hiatus I’ve taken since launch. It seemed like an easy bet with such a big IP back then. Oh well.

I may pop into STO and LOTRO for a few hours here and there, but I’ll probably devote most of my game time to single-player games: a heavily modded The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Portals 1 & 2, and either Mass Effect or Dragon Age to psych me up for the  MMORPG that might be more RPG than MMO: Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Here’s hoping!

This time around, the mechanics don’t seem as disruptive. Gambits feel more intuitive; they allow for flexibility that I don’t associate with meat shields like guardians. My attempt at a dwarf guardian was almost as big a failure as the hobbit warden: It took too long to kill things! Wardens don’t seem to have that problem. They also feel more forgiving than champions at lower levels by having a ranged attack for pulling and self-healing for the aftermath of an overly-ambitious impulse. I’m still worried about memorizing all those gambits since I plan to give at least equal time to the latest reroll of my elven runekeeper, Banhorn, but I think I’ve conquered my carcerariphobia–for now.

It’s probably no coincidence that I’m settling down with the two Moria classes. In the early levels at least, they feel more flexible, inventive, fun to play than the original LOTRO classes. Both classes appear to be a good compromise between versatility for grouping and solo viability; I’d like to fellowship more but not become stranded on a leveling plateau if I can’t find groups. In fact, I joined a runekeeper in Limael’s Vinyard tonight. The runekeeper wasn’t particularly aggressive about healing or DPS, but we meshed well enough that Aelondwe brazenly waded into the midst of the goblins. The classes complemented each other, and I wouldn’t mind a regular pairing with a runekeeper. It’s ironic that Aelondwe and Banhorn would make a great duo.

Some of the web chatter about wardens that got me curious  …

• LOTRO Reporter’s Wardens grabbing all the attention
• CSTM’s Poll: Soloing Class

http://my.lotro.com/_tags/feed

This RSS feed is like the new “Player News” widget on the my.lotro homepage but much more powerful. Finding great blogs–especially new ones not yet featured by Turbine–isn’t just luck anymore. Making it easy to discover blogs is a huge missing piece to making my.lotro a vital online community, and that just got easier.

Not sure what RSS is or how to use it? It’s a way for websites to publish a list of what’s new, and it allows special programs called RSS readers to bring what’s new directly to you. Some browsers and email programs support it, but the Google Reader website is my favorite tool by far. It works everywhere, including on my iStone iPhone.  Check out this video for the best jargon-free explanation on the web:

RSS in Plain English

I wouldn’t know about this feed if not for the Blogmoot–despite being an RSS junkie and vocal advocate of the technology. That’s why our Blogger Manifesto includes publicizing and enhancing features like this. Want to help shape the my.lotro blogging community? Blog about it: I’ll be watching the feed for you!

For more on the Blogmoot:

• The Great Blogmoot!
• Minutes of the Spring Blogger Gathering 2010
• Blogger Manifesto: What we want from Turbine

“Let me see how you have done.” Haerandir reached out for it.

Banhorn cringed before offering up the misshapen thing to his instructor. They had become close friends in his short time at Edhelion; just talking to another with Sight was a comfort. Many here mirrored the severity and timelessness of the vast snow-covered mountains encircling the refuge, but not Haerandir. He was only a few years older than Banhorn. Centuries of suffering and loss hadn’t the time to write themselves across his heart, nor would they.

Now Banhorn’s first test was at hand, and surrendering this physical incarnation of failure sent the icy north wind racing right up his spine. Haerandir turned the stone over a few times, then gently traced the runes while murmuring softy; tiny blue sparks played across the stone’s surface and licked at his finger. He nodded approvingly, then mimicked Master Talagan’s imperious tone: “I suppose it is adequate, my young apprentice. Let us review the improvements I expect to see finished before tomorrow’s sunrise.”

The joke was lost on Banhorn who failed anything more eloquent than choking and gasping in response. Haerandir couldn’t conceal a smile at catching his student off guard any longer. Crimson burned across Banhorn’s face as the choking and gasping sounds escalated.

“No, mellon, it is fine. Truly. It is a masterpiece compared to my first attempt. My teacher said he’d seen more legible marks on trees clawed by rabid bears! Then it blew up in his hand. From my bad crafting or the sheer spite that possessed the stone? I cannot say. Your next will be better, but this one will not …”

Haerandir words trailed off as the vision took him. The far-away look, the gasp of surprise and pain, the overwhelming sadness afterwards–it came more often lately. He refused to discuss it. Banhorn reached out to steady him, grasping Haerandir’s shoulder. Sparks erupted from the rune stone and clawed across Haerandir’s arm to ground themselves in Banhorn’s hand.

He cried out as his arm went numb and his knees buckled. For a moment Banhorn saw the workshop in ruins. Years of ice covered the rotten remains of workbenches. Soot caked crumbling walls. Snow swirled in through the collapsed half of the ceiling. He struggled to soak up details before the vision passed. There was also a sound–maybe picks clanging against stone in the distance–before reality reasserted itself. The smoking stone fell to the floor with a sickening organic thud.

A watcher’s horn sounded from the courtyard.

Barley isn’t the fastest horse in the stable but still faster than travelling on foot–marginally so even if you’re a hunter or warden–for an affordable 220 silver coins. On the way, a wolf decided that a late night horse (or elf!) snack was just the thing: Fortunately, Barley was barely faster!

The [V] is actually an envelope icon. You may not have noticed this since it only shows up if you have unread messages. Most people don’t check or don’t even know about the functionality, so it’s not very likely you’ve got any unread messages to be notified about.

Was my suggestion responsible? I’ll admit to squealing like a schoolgirl at the possibility. However, it must have been an often-requested feature, and–I don’t mean to sound ungrateful–the implementation falls a little short of my suggested design:

My design had a permanent link to messages that would highlight and display the unread message count as needed. People could discover the private messages functionality without requiring the serendipity of somebody sending them a private message first. The original problem of being a concealed function is unchanged if you don’t have unread messages but you want to send a message.

And now for a moment of design OCD: My design had the notification coming after the “logged in” item. I can’t say why, but putting the inbox notification between ‘My Profile’ and ‘My Admin’ feels wrong. It may be as much about workflow as grammatical parallelism with the unread indicator splitting up the two “My …” links.

These are minor improvements that I’m sure will appear soon. (Hint, hint.) Having the same messaging system in my.lotro and forums.lotro.com would be really nice but a little harder to implement I’m sure. Still, one can hope!

Off to the forums to report the Add media bug …

Assists happen. I don’t mind when it’s help. Sometimes that’s real “Oh crap!” help, but it might be noob zeal or pro role-playing. It’s all good. I can forgive when it’s an accident. It’s easy for ranged classes to attack my target if they see the mob and not me.

However, I doubly hate obvious kill-stealing. First, I hate it because it flies in the face of proper etiquette and the spirit I think many in LOTRO have. Second, I hate it because it doesn’t work. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand how experience works in the game. So they cause harm and get no benefit for it. Mean AND stupid!

I’m torn when I’m the one in the position to give assistance. The RP’er in me wants to charge in and help if that’s what my character du jour would do. The gamer (or maybe the urban hermit) in me doesn’t want to intrude or ruin what might be a really triumphant moment.  So I check the relative health, power, and level before doing anything, then position myself to help. I jump in when I would be reaching for an “Oh crap!” button if I were in the other person’s elven boots.

One thing I’ve started doing lately that is assist-ish is pulling nearby mobs to make sure the person I’m helping doesn’t accidentally pull them and get into real trouble. That avoids the penalty and keeps me close enough to help if needed.

How much? A 6-member fellowship gets a whopping 116% experience bonus, so each kill is worth over twice its solo kill value. A fellowship member gets 36% of what the solo experience would have been–not the 17% you’d expect from dividing the solo experience by 6–and you kill mobs much, much faster. That’s a higher “XPS” for individuals and a huge bump to the total experience awarded. (All else equal–your mileage may vary based on level disparity in the fellowship.)

Turbine did a brilliant job engineering this. It discourages power leveling and kill stealing while promoting teamwork. The shame is if people don’t understand or even know about it, they will continue to make bad choices that end up hurting everybody.

Related Lorebook articles

• Mechanics: Fellowship
• Mechanics: “Assist” Exp Penalty

That’s when Volund appeared. ”We sail north, Elf. Your time is almost…” Finding two armed elves where he expected one helpless one, he shouted, “… intruders? Attack! Come to my aid, you worthless thin-beards!” Two more dwarves burst from the hatch. Their advance forced the elves to fall back against the railing to avoid being surrounded.

Both sides paused, sizing up the situation before resuming the fight. Stars shimmered in the cold mountain air. Waves lapped against the side of the ship. Despite the dire circumstance, the moment filled Ael’s heart and he sang out,  ”A Elbereth Gilthoniel! A tiro nin!”

One dwarf blanched, dropped his weapon, and leapt into the water.  The other crumpled lifeless to the deck as Avorthal’s blade found its mark in that instant. Then Avorthal screamed, “You shall not escape me, villain!” and leaped after the terrified dwarf. Two figures shrank into the distance as the two remaining combatants with mouths agape stared dumbly after them from the deck of the Irestone…

Elf overboard!