Lord Of The Rings Online Is Making All Ettenmoors PvMP Content Free-To-Play
Standing Stone Games is following up on the success of its Lord of the Rings Online 15th Anniversary free-to-play update with even more free content. The studio is making all Ettenmoors PvMP content free-to-play with the release of Update 33.1 which is now live on the Bullroarer test server.
“The Ettenmoors occupies a niche role. It is not and never will be the focal point of the game,” said Lead Systems Designer Allan “Orion” Maki. “It is, however, an important piece of the greater whole that sets The Lord of the Rings: Online apart from other MMOs. Monster Play is at a crossroads. We need to solidify its place in the game and give it every opportunity to thrive before making a final decision on how it might be supported moving forward.”
As part of the update, players will be given free access to all Monster Player classes that have been previously locked behind a paywall. Each Monster Player class will also start off with eight skills to make them more viable and give them a better chance against Free Players, a.k.a. Freeps. The max rank for Monster Player skills have also been reduced to just five to make it easier to attain full builds while the Audacity reward system will also be revamped to increase its overall importance in the Ettenmoors.
Heal tagging will also be removed which means that players will actually need to deal at least 2% damage to a target to earn infamy, renown, or commendations.
“The Ettenmoors is changing, and we hope for the better!” concluded Maki. “What I am really hoping for is a reinvigorated experience that drives players and monster players into conflict more often. If we get the fun right and players return to the Ettenmoors more often then we will have moved beyond the crossroads and have a clear path toward the future.”
You can learn more about the upcoming PvMP changes on the Lord of the Rings Online official forums. You can also check out the Update 33.1 Bullroarer patch notes here.
