Turbine just recently launched The Rise of Isengard expansion for their popular free-to-play MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online, but that isn't stopping the team from working up some major content in an update set to go live next month.
Two of the main features of the update include some brand new instanced content and an Instance Finder tool. Adam Mersky, the Executive Director of Communications for Turbine and Aaaron Campbell, Senior Producer on LOTRO, shed some light on the content update over at Ten Ton Hammer.
Regarding the Instance Finder:
"The other big thing that I don't think we've really talked about before that's coming out with Update 5 is called the Instance Finder," Aaron [said]. This will continue the ongoing evolution of instanced content. Way back when, everyone had to travel to the instance entrance to start it up. Later, mustering horns were added at many of the entrances, allowing groups to assemble faster and spend more time actually running the instances. The next step was the Instance Join panel, which allowed players to enter instanced spaces from anywhere in the world. The Instance Finder is the next step in this process.
"We're going to have a brand-new interface," Aaron said. It will allow players to queue up for instances, either individually or with a group. "Everyone who's opted in for that, everyone who's looking for a space right then, in your level band, et cetera, in the right roles, it will automatically match you and send you into the space."
The idea is to be able to form pick-up groups more easiliy and quickly for instanced content. This will be ideal for players who don't have a regular clan or guild to run with when they play Lord of the Rings Online. And what better way to use the Instance Finder than with the brand new instance cluster coming in the update?
"We have three 3-person instances, a 6-person and a 12-person raid, and all of those are centered very much around Orthanc, and around Saruman himself," Aaron explained. "The theme is, really, challenging Saruman directly. We know that he has been forging these minor rings of power, and it's going to be your challenge to go forth and stop him, destroy these rings. Or, at least to some degree, his army, before he can begin to spread outward and threaten Rohan."
"One that's exciting to me is a 3-person called 'Fangorn's Edge.' Basically, you're going to be going in to the edges of Fangorn Forest for the first time, traveling through a really heavily-trafficked area full of orcs and trolls and other nasties who are working on burning down the forest, cutting down the edges of it.
The trees, as you might expect - the huorns and the ents there - are not especially happy about intruders, and they don't really know friend from foe, so you're going to have both orcs and huorns as enemies to contend with, and different sort of bosses as you work through the space." This one ends with a big battle - "You've got these masses of orc lumberjacks coming in, the trees are threatened, the giant sawmills are going, and you're taking down the orc leaders there."
For more information on The Lord of the Rings Online, be sure to visit http://www.lotro.com/.
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