Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria

Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is a video game that consists of 1 release

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Mines of Moria is the expansion pack for the MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar..

LOTRO: Mines of Moria is the expansion pack to the original, 2007 release of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

Additions

The Mines of Moria expansion will add 2 new character classes, and three new zones to the original game, along with an entirely new Legendary Weapon system.

New Classes

Rune Keeper

The Rune Keeper will be a magic user who uses the power of runes to be able to switch between healing and offensive spells in the heat of battle. The Rune Keeper build momentum during battle by selecting spells that attune the character towards damage dealing or healing. If the player attunes towards one specific side (ie, gains momentum in that direction) higher level spells will become available to cast in that specialty, while spells in the opposite spectrum will no longer be available to use. In this way the Rune Keeper can build towards a specific support style based on the battle at hand. The Rune Keeper is a primary damage dealer or healer, and a secondary crowd control or debuffer. The Rune Keeper is available only to Dwarves and Elves.

Warden

Using mainly spears, Wardens will work using a new gambit system to implement their attacks. Gambits are designed similarly to fighting game systems, where combos are built up and built upon during the battle. The Warden introduces a strategic element to the game, allowing players to plan out their attack, culminating in a final move that deals increased damage. The Warden is considered a secondary melee and ranged damage dealer, and is a primary tank. The Warden is available to all races except Dwarves.

New Zones

Three new zones are added with the expansion -- two outdoor and one indoor.

Eregion

Eregion is found due south of the Trollshaws and West of Moria. It is where the Rings of Power were forged in the Second Age. The area includes four major settlements and travel points as well as two new 3-man instances.

Moria

The largest new addition to the game is inside Moria, an underground cavern (with the exception of one area which takes place outside). Moria consists of nine interconnected areas with numerous travel points and camps. The 21st hall, where the Fellowship briefly camped serves as the main "town" in the expansion. Moria has numerous solo and 6 man instances, along with a single raid.

The Great Delving -The first area withing Moria, the Great Delving is directly inside the Hollin-Gate and serves as the first quest location inside Moria. Several solo-instances are available from Dolven-View, the primary camp in this area.

Durin's Way - Consisting of the entire north wall of Moria, Durin's Way

Silvertine Loads -South of The Great Delving, the Silvertine Loads is connected by abandoned mine rails. The Forgotten Treasury, a 6-man instance, is located here.

The Water Works -South of the Sivlertine Loads, The Water Works is the location of the only raid in the expansion, The Vile Maw. The Watcher in the Water can be found in this area.

The Flaming Deeps -Covered in smoke and lava, the Flaming Deeps is where Fil Gashen, a 6-man instance is located.

Zelem-Melek - Located in the center of Moria, Zelem-Melek is where the 21st Hall is located, Moria's primary town.

Nud -Melek - Serves as the Eastern side of Moria. Nud-Melek contains the Bridge of Khazad-Dum (where Galdaf fought Durin's Bane) and the Eastern entrance to Moria, connecting it to Lothlorien.

Redhorn Lodes -Contains the Grand Stair, a 6-man instance.

Foundations of Stone -Located underneath Nud-Melek, the broken pieces of the Bridge of Khazad-dum are found here, along with the Dark-Delving, a 6-man instance.

Zirakzigil -The only outside part of Moria, Zirkakzigil is the mountain where the body of Durin's Bane can be found, after Gandalf killed him.

Lothlorien

The final outdoor zone, Lothlorien is reached by exiting Moria's eastern walls though Nud-Melek.

Legendary Weapons

Legendary Items will also be available for the player to forge during their adventures. The new forging system offers the player their own unique legendary item, with a unique appearance, statistics and name. Inspired by Bilbo's sword Sting and Gandalf's sword Glamdring, weapons forged by players in the Mines of Moria will be customizable in several ways. Weapons gain experience along with the player, and gaining levels adds the ability to buy upgraded stats for the weapon. In addition, three slots are available on each weapon or item to affix runes, stones and gems that further modify and customize the item. Legendary Weapons are rated on which Age they are from, with 1st Age weapons being of greatest value.

MoM will also advance the level cap of LOTRO to level 60 and add hundreds of new quests, instances, and session plays. Mines of Moria continues the Epic Quest line of the original Shadows of Angmar, and the events which confront the fellowship in the Kazah-Dum. Other changes include new Deeds, a new Trait System, changes to the combat system (including the addition of stances and corruptions for enemies), and more. Turbine has announced their intention to continue adding new content regularly in advance of their next expansion release.

Instances

LOTRO: MoM features several new instances out of the box (with more planned as free content updates). Out of the box, the game contains:

The Library at Tham Mirdain:

3 man lvl 50 - 55

The School at Tham Mirdain:

3 man lvl 50 - 55

The Forgotten Treasury:

6 man lvl 54 - 57

The Grand Stair:

6 man lvl 56 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

The Forges:

6 man lvl 57 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

Fil - Gashen:

6 man lvl 57 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

16th Hall:

6 man lvl 57 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

Skum Fil:

6 man lvl 58 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

Dark Delvings:

6 man lvl 58 - 60 (Hard Mode available)

The Vile Maw:

12 Man raid lvl 60

In addition, there are four solo instances for legendary weapon upgrades, in addition to Epic Quest instances as part of the story-line. Several normal quests also feature instances as part of the quest line.

Changes to Core Game

In addition to new content, the Lord of the Rings: Mines of Moria made significant changes to the core gameplay as well.

Combat

Combat within the game was completely revamped with the expansion pack. Prior to the Mines of Moria, combat modifiers were based on percentages, with buffs, debuffs and upgrades adding to the players overall percentage chance for hit/miss/deflect/etc. Mines of Moria modified the combat mechanics to use absolute numbers instead of percentages, allowing the game to grow and to allow upgrades to be more meaningful.

PvMP

Mines of Moria also makes large changes to the Ettenmoors, the game's PvP area. Creeps (the game's Monster class) are upgraded to level 60, and the Ettenmoors will now auto-balance based on the number of players logged into each side. In the event of a numbers imbalace (with more players as Freeps or as Creeps), the opposing side will receive an temporary buff to even out the game. The Delving of the Fror, the Ettemoor's instance, has received an overhaul as well, allowing smaller groups to participate in raiding and controlling points.

In addition, the Mines of Moria adds a new artefact system to the game, allowing players to capture artefacts and return them to their keeps to offer a world-wide buff to players.

Traits

The Mines of Moria also changes the game's trait system. Each class now has three trait groups, and all traits are assigned to a specific group. Equipping multiple traits within the same group grants the player set bonuses, rewarding players for different types of builds. With three sets per class, the new system is similar to World of Warcraft's Skill Tree, with the added change of set bonuses.

General Information Edit

Game Name	Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
Platform(s)	PC
Publisher(s)	Codemasters
Developer(s)	Turbine, Inc.
Genres	Add a new genre MMORPG
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy
Original US Release	Nov. 18, 2008 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	Q4 2008 know the real date?
Aliases
ESRB	ESRB: T