Lord of the Rings Online:
It’s been almost a month since The Lord of the Rings Online’s latest expansion, Minas Morgul hit the servers. Exploring the history of this cursed keep as well as continuing on the Epic storyline in the Black Book of Mordor so far has been an interesting notion for me. So how does it stack up thus far?
Oh, and before you read any further, here’s your minor SPOILER WARNING.
Minas Morgul’s main quest line, Book 11 of the Black Book of Mordor, doesn’t actually start in Mordor. Rather you find yourself hunting down the identity of a shade drifting around one of Middle-earth’s more infamous locations - the Gladden Fields. Finding out the identity of the shade - an important figure in all of Middle-earth Lore, you’ll actually find yourself traveling back to the Second Age, learning about the Shade’s story through a massive flashback sequence that takes place during the long siege of Barad-dur.
It’s nice to jump into ages past in Middle-earth’s history - and that’s honestly one of the great strengths of Standing Stone Games, the developers of The Lord of the Rings Online. With so much material to pull from - yet also so much room for creative license - the team behind LotRO has been able to create some memorable stories and experiences over their twelve years behind the helm of one of the world’s most beloved franchises.
