In the uncertainty surrounding the renewal of the game license past 2017 the doom and gloomers have struck again on the official forums.

What I would like to do is take a few minutes to lay out my case on what makes this game so special to me and other people and why it will last.

Being in Tolkien’s world. This is something many of us have read about and dreamed of. Thanks to Turbine’s devotion to detail we can experience a truly magical world of epic proportions. Additionally, while Tolkien may not have approved of the medium he would have loved the stories. The lore accuracy and careful, professional story crafting makes the quests a pleasure not a grind. The quests. There are RPG’s whose main purpose is to get you to the end game. LOTRO is not one of these. The focus is the journey. The dev’s strive to make sure that there is joy on the journey and not a gosh-awful grind. It actually feels like you are there and Tolkien should have put you in the next edit of the trilogy. The community. Many RPG’s have communities who act like they are 6 and have an equivalent attention span. However, LOTRO attracts those of a older more mature age and they strive to act professionally (So long as you stay out of the dregs of society that we call world chat). Many players will come help you even if you are supposed to be able to solo it. If you feel like role-playing then there are events for you, just do some investigating and you will find a plethora of events for the mild mannered rp to the hardcore legends. Finally, there are 4-5 professionally done podcasts that exist around the game to keep you current or catch you up (Yes shameless plug 🙂 ) Festivals. It doesn’t matter if you are a spring flinger, summer sojourner, a fall festivaler, or winter winner there is parties for all! The parties are so diverse that you will find one you love. Also the special items from each are unique like Bullroarer’s brew from the spring festival to the several variety of grims from the winter festival Everything else! By this point if I have not convinces you this should do it. Be you a creative cosmetic master, a superior skirmisher, an inspired instancer, consummate creep, random raider, masterful musician, quintessential quester or favored fisherman there is something left for you to love. The variety of non-quest activities abound and if you tire of questing then there is something for you to do.

The defense rests his case. Before the jury I have laid out proof of why LOTRO will be (and should be) a family favorite for years to come. All of the above components link together to make a wholesome, enjoyable game. These were just a few of my favorite things in game. Feel free to name your own and why they are your favorite in the comments below.

It’s dangerous to travel alone so find (or make) a friend and enjoy the adventure!