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Can anyone please give me a comparisom: WoW or LOTRO?Follow

#1 Mar 28 2008 at 12:53 PM Rating: Default
Hi, I currently play World of Warcraft, and I am seriously considering quitting WoW to play LOTRO- but first of all I would like some REAL information on the game, instead of that crappy advertising junk I get from the site (If anyone from Turbine is reading this, please do not be offended.) So could someone please tell me how LOTRO really is?

And also on a different note: do not play WoW. It is frankly rubbish. The reasons:
-Cartoony Graphics
-Too Easy
-Fanatical Players (And I mean 'ill stay up and play for 20 hours without a break' fanatics)
-Boring, boring, boring!

But, seriously can anyone please give me a real comparisom so I can decide?
#2 Mar 28 2008 at 1:11 PM Rating: Excellent
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1,154 posts
It's so subjective, that no one can really tell you if you'll like it but you.

So try it. =) It's free.
#3 Mar 28 2008 at 5:37 PM Rating: Good
As far as MMO's go it would be akin to comparing apples and oranges, they are both fruit but completely different.

LotR:O has more realistic graphics but the character models can look a little odd at times. It seems like my race of man characters have big feet, like enormous big.

Crafting is a pretty cool concept in LotR:O, some of the best items short of the raid type stuff come from crafting.

You will find Tolkien fanatics in here but they aren't bad at all, and with all MMO's there are the people who play marathon sessions.

PVP isn't PVP in LotR:O, you can play as a monster character to play against other players in an instanced zone but you can not fight player vs player in the world.

All in all I like it more than WoW, there are a few draws to me in WoW but not enough to get me to return ever again.
#4 Mar 30 2008 at 8:09 PM Rating: Good
I quit WoW for LOTRO about 2 months ago. I can't say I know absolutley everything about WoW, but I had 3 lv 70s, and was most of the way through T5 content (we were working on Vashj and Kael).

1) Community. LOTRO has the most amazingly friendly community I have ever encountered in a MMO. When I first made the switch, it was a bit surreal. People congratulating me on a job well done, no stupid bickering in general channels, people that were happy to help you out if needed. You really have to experience it to understand.

2) Questing. Questing is questing. I'd like if I said that the fundamental quest objectives are any different than WoW. However, LOTRO follows the books. But instead of it just being you escorting Frodo to Mount Doom or whatever, it keeps touching on the main plot, and the delving deeper into the lore. I find it fascinating. Instead of just skipping quests and waiting for the "Collected 0/10 thingamabobs" to pop up on my tracker, the quest text is actually interesting. I realize this is highly subjective, some folks might not be into the story, which is fine. The XP rewards from quests are phenominal, as well, much like 20-60 in WoW is now.

3) Graphics. I'm a sucker for eye candy, and LOTR delivers. Sometimes you see things that just look funky, but instead of attributing that to poor design, I think it's a matter of the rest of the game being so breathtaking, that strange things really pop out at you when you notice them.

4) Grouping. Grouping in WoW is basically that someone tanks, someone heals, and the other people just beat the crap out of whatever it is that needs killing. I play a lore master, and I find the grouping to require a much higher degree of strategy and individual contribution. Perhaps it is just like WoW with other classes, with which I have little experience.

5) Extremely geared towards casual players. Maybe this is what you mean by WoW being easy. I dunno, WoW is easy in that any idiot can solo to 70 and still know very little about the game. I can't say that LOTRO is a whole lot different than that, but I find solo play quite fun. The rested XP bonus is VERY nice, and there are always a TON of active quests to be had (you can have 40 active instead of 20, and there are a crapload of them).

In summary, the game is less about spamming your highest DPS skill and hoping the mob dies before you do. It's more about planning out a fight, and figuring out what next move to execute for best results. I can't really explain it better than that. Your initial impression will be that the cooldowns are just punishing and gameplay is slow, but once you have more skills, you'll see what I mean.

If you want to race to level 50 (the current level cap) and spend your time raiding, this is probably not the game for you. Currently, "end game" isn't very involved, from what I hear. WoW's raid progression seems to have LOTRO beat hands down. However, this is a very new game.

If you want PvP, I'd say the same. The PvP system is limited, and if you are a hardcore PvPer, it's just not going to cut it.

However, if you want a nice, relaxing, fun game, with a nice customizable interface and familiar gameplay mechanics, this might be for you.
#5 Mar 31 2008 at 5:09 AM Rating: Good
33 posts
I'd have to say that I don't really agree with you on your viewpoint of WoW. Both WoW and LOTRO are very good games. I play both, though right now I'm playing LOTRO more.

- WoW graphics are "older" than LOTRO, but then again the game was made many years before LOTRO. While they have a cartoonish aura to them, they are still very very good. Your statement would be like saying Bugs Bunny is bad. It's not, it's just different. LOTRO's graphics are definately more modern, but the detail to the small areas just isn't quite as good as WoW IMHO. Too many places LOTRO looks like it was made too fast. Recent updates to the game have improved that some, but not 100%. Problems like distance imposter trees not being placed properly, roads not meeting together properly, haphazzard placement of items. WoW seems more like it could be lived in, and LOTRO seems like a temporary encampment. There's much more to graphics than "shiny stuff".

- WoW definately has some easy content. It was made for a casual gamer first, then the hard core second. There are instances that will whip your *** if you are not careful though. Just like LOTRO, you only get out of it what you put into it.

- Fanatical Players are abound in both games. Both games survive and suffer from the people you meet. Since WoW's been around so long, there are obviously more lackluster players living in that world. When I started WoW I was lucky to get into a guild that was top notch. Each player was very helpful and truely enjoyed playing the game. LOTRO has such Kinships too, but unless you find the right one, your experience can be bad in either game.

- Why play a game you find boring? MMORPG's are available in many flavors and play styles. If WoW doesn't do it for you, try another. LOTRO's good too. I've played just about all of them. They all have there pluses and minuses. I've actually been playing MMORPGs since 2D games were the ony way to play. Your choices today are extremely good. I personally can't wait to try Conan :)

#6 Apr 03 2008 at 1:18 AM Rating: Excellent
I have tried now for the past hour to sit here and tell you about the differences between these games and why after 2 weeks, I'm enjoying myself on LoTRO as I never have before in 3 years of playing WoW (3 lvl 70's and a 68. All classes to at least 30).

I can't do it without making this more than 16 pages.

So here are my bottom line items:

1. WoW has more PvP. LoTRO has PvP too, but you can take it or leave it. You don't have to worry about that 70 Undead Rogue ganking your quest NPCs, or that 68 hunter feign-deathing his way into your noob starting zones to kill dozens of people with his snake trap.

2. The buildings don't look cartoonish. Walk into Bree and you can almost smell the place. Walk into Stormwind and you have to wonder who polishes the white marble every day. "Teleport" into Darnassus and you have to wonder where all this water is coming from if it's all just flowing over one side of the place in a giant waterfall.

2a. Cartoonish characters and skills. Say no to Gnomish helicopters and chicken-death-rays. Also say no to scoped out gyro-rifles. Finally, say no to moonfire spam and the infamous pally bubble-hearth.

3. LORE. Blizzard would like you to believe that names like "Archimonde" and "Menethil" should mean something to you. They don't mean anything to me. It's a video game series. It's like the opening of a Final Fantasy game where you get a beautiful movie sequence and you're expected to ooh and aahh over the fact that some city is getting attacked and some queen you've never heard of is being kidnapped. Oh, but that's so-and-so, and they're important.

WRONG!

There is lore to Tolkien. There is lore to Star Wars. There is lore to Narnia. But there is not lore to a 10-15 year old video game series. There is only lore in the minds of people who want there to be, who have played these games and pride themselves on how much they know. Tolkien wrote languages. He created timelines and lineages that spanned thousands of years. When you meet Tom Bombadil, a minor character in the story, you feel something. When you meet Gandalf or Strider, you almost want to sit back in your chair, light up a pipe with some Southern Star pipeleaf, and think about that.

Graphically, and as far as longevity go - WoW is the gold standard. But I can't stress enough that LoTRO is a better game and deserves a place at the top. I hope you buy it, and enjoy it.
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