It might be the most subdued Lord of the Rings Online expansion release to date, but Minas Morgul isn’t about spectacle and glamour anyway. Today’s launch brings players back to the land of Mordor to face two iconic threats: the titular City of the Dead and one very infamous overgrown spider.

Minas Morgul adds the Morgul Vale and Mordor Beseiged regions, increases the level cap to 130, turns the page to more Black Book of Mordor epic quests, improves the Hobbit Presents system, and bumps up the virtue cap to 65 and the talent point cap to 94. Rune-keepers and Wardens see major adjustments today, but on top of that, all classes will see an improved “value and budget of main stats itemization” for their gear.

One detail that SSG buried on the forums is that this expansion marks the conclusion of the two-year Black Book of Mordor storyline. “One of the interesting challenges of telling a story in an MMO is that sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of letting a story go on and on; I think it’s important to know when to wrap up a story. Endings can be tricky, but they’re also a vital part of any story, and I want you guys to trust that we’re not just telling one endless story forever,” said MadeofLions. He went on to note that SSG created a new “on-ramp” for the Black Book so that future alts can jump into it without having to go through all of Mordor.

Players who pre-ordered the expansion have already gotten to experience the other big ticket item of Minas Morgul: the Stout-Axe Dwarf race, which comes with its own unique racials, introduction, and animations.

Get caught up on all our coverage leading up to the expansion!

