Starting NewFollow

I played LotRO when the game first came out years ago. Back during release it understandably had some problems, including annoying memory leaks and crashes, that caused me to stop playing it. I intended on coming back to the game but got caught up playing some other MMO's like FFXI and WoW, and most recently Aion.

Anyway, I wanted to ask how is LotRO for a brand new player? For example, I couldn't imagine starting a brand new character in a game like FFXI. The game just isn't designed to allow new players to really catch up unless you play 40+ hours a week. WoW on the other hand is more friendly toward new players and it doesn't really matter if you've been playing for years or a couple of months. So where does LotRO fit into all this, will I find myself having troubles as a new player or does the game's design welcome newbies?

Also on a more technical note, I'm using a 4870X2 which is either hit or miss with games it seems these days. Some games have problems with cards like this and performance isn't spectacular, others can make full use of it and run smoothly with all settings maxed out. If anyone has the card or maybe a similar setup, any information on that would be appreciated.

I think I'm going to sign up for the trial and see how I enjoy my time in the game, but I'm looking forward to some of the responses here.

I started LotRO a couple months ago and was very impressed at how new player friendly it is. I'm a veteran gamer, but even for those new to MMOs I don't think it would be difficult to learn.

I came from playing Everquest last, raiding high end content and having lots of high level alts. I too was worried about starting at level 1 with no resources, but found that it was completely irrelevant. I don't think Ive ever enjoyed learning a game more than I did with LotRO. It's well designed, and visually stunning.

If you ended up on the Landroval server, send a tell to Ravenwicke if you have any questions or need a home. We Servants of the Secret Fire are always looking for new recruits!