This week new beta journal will give us more details and explanations about revamped starting areas and updated tutorials.

The tutorial instances when you first login to the game have been completely changed from top to bottom. They've added a lot more direct story involvement to them. For example, instead of just happening across a Nazgul as you leave a post office in the Shire, now you encounter a few special Hobbits as they're starting their journey away from home being pursued by the very same Nazgul! However, new players are likely to find it much more engaging, I think, and it will connect them to the world that much faster.

[Source]

Codemasters Online have provided 50 beta keys, for lucky European SquareGo readers, so they can experience the ultimate adventure.

Find out more about competition!

Codemasters Online have provided 50 beta keys, for lucky European SquareGo readers, so they can experience the ultimate adventure.

Find out more about competition!

From 18th to 22nd August, 2010 the Codemasters Online Team will be attending GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. If you're planning to visit GamesCom don't forget to sign up for LOTRO Free-To-Play at Lotro booth A31 in hall 8.1 at GamesCom and you will receive a special reward of LOTRO store Points worth 10 €!

From 18th to 22nd August, 2010 the Codemasters Online Team will be attending this year´s GamesCom in Cologne, Germany.

Together with Turbine we will be presenting LOTRO Free-To-Play to our European audience. Everyone who signs up for LOTRO Free-To-Play at our booth at GamesCom will receive a special reward of LOTRO store Points worth 10 €!

To sign up and claim your free Points, visit us in hall 8.1, booth A31. For further information on GamesCom visit their website. We look forward to meeting you there!

[Source]

From 18th to 22nd August, 2010 the Codemasters Online Team will be attending GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. If you're planning to visit GamesCom don't forget to sign up for LOTRO Free-To-Play at Lotro booth A31 in hall 8.1 at GamesCom and you will receive a special reward of LOTRO store Points worth 10 €!

From 18th to 22nd August, 2010 the Codemasters Online Team will be attending this year´s GamesCom in Cologne, Germany.

Together with Turbine we will be presenting LOTRO Free-To-Play to our European audience. Everyone who signs up for LOTRO Free-To-Play at our booth at GamesCom will receive a special reward of LOTRO store Points worth 10 €!

To sign up and claim your free Points, visit us in hall 8.1, booth A31. For further information on GamesCom visit their website. We look forward to meeting you there!

[Source]

During the last few weeks, Lotro fans have a chance to win free Beta keys. Just a small reminder where you can get Lotro beta key:

1. Beta event on Fileplanet : ALL FilePlanet users are invited to play! FilePlanet subscribers will receive a 5000 points code to be used in the beta. All other users will receive a 1000 points code.
2. ZAM beta key Giveaway: This promotion is only open to ZAM premium members on a first come, first serve basis. You must log in or sign up for an account. 
3. CSTM LOTRO Beta Key Giveaway: A Casual Stroll to Mordor and Turbine are very pleased to offer an opportunity to get into the LOTRO F2P Beta to our blog readers / podcast listeners. We are taking entries for a random sweepstakes until July 31st.
4. MASSIVELY.com: Our friends over at Turbine have supplied us with a special code for those of you who want to get in on the Lord of the Rings Online beta! However, there is a catch to this code - it can only be used for 500 Massively readers who will be invited to the beta when the next wave of invites goes out.
   

During the last few weeks, Lotro fans have a chance to win free Beta keys. Just a small reminder where you can get Lotro beta key:

1. Beta event on Fileplanet : ALL FilePlanet users are invited to play! FilePlanet subscribers will receive a 5000 points code to be used in the beta. All other users will receive a 1000 points code.
2. ZAM beta key Giveaway: This promotion is only open to ZAM premium members on a first come, first serve basis. You must log in or sign up for an account. 
3. CSTM LOTRO Beta Key Giveaway: A Casual Stroll to Mordor and Turbine are very pleased to offer an opportunity to get into the LOTRO F2P Beta to our blog readers / podcast listeners. We are taking entries for a random sweepstakes until July 31st.
4. MASSIVELY.com: Our friends over at Turbine have supplied us with a special code for those of you who want to get in on the Lord of the Rings Online beta! However, there is a catch to this code - it can only be used for 500 Massively readers who will be invited to the beta when the next wave of invites goes out.
   

Turbine has started a new feature - Lotro Beta Journals, for all Lotro players who didn't get a chance to participate in the beta. Each week Beta participants can share their thoughts on a given topic with the entire LOTRO Community.

Running a Beta Program can be a tricky thing; everyone who isn't in the beta wants to know what’s going on, but due to NDA restrictions no one in the program can tell them. So how do you let players talk about what they’re seeing, without violating their NDA? The answer is the LOTRO Beta Journal Project! Each week, we’ll ask Beta participants to submit their personal “Beta Journal” on a given topic. We’ll then take a sampling of those responses and post them for the entire LOTRO Community to read.

This week, we’re giving you the initial reactions players reported upon first using the new LOTRO Store:

• the store itself is broken up into multiple categories to make searching for your specific desired item easier
• the store sells all kinds of mounts (temporary mounts, regular mounts, Festival Mounts and Reputation Mounts)
• The store also sells various "power-ups." These can come in many forms, such as temporary or PERMANENT increases to virtues, increased outgoing damage, heal-over-time potions (both morale and power), and Armor buffs.
• store-bought items are all bound to your account though, so you can't trade them with other players.
• they also provide education for patrons: you can learn new ways to express yourself (read: emotes), as well as new dances.
• they run sales and have recommendations as well.
• you can see the description of the item on the box, but you can’t open it to see the pretties, you can’t try on the clothing or even see it on a model.

[More information on lotro.com]

Turbine has started a new feature - Lotro Beta Journals, for all Lotro players who didn't get a chance to participate in the beta. Each week Beta participants can share their thoughts on a given topic with the entire LOTRO Community.

Running a Beta Program can be a tricky thing; everyone who isn't in the beta wants to know what’s going on, but due to NDA restrictions no one in the program can tell them. So how do you let players talk about what they’re seeing, without violating their NDA? The answer is the LOTRO Beta Journal Project! Each week, we’ll ask Beta participants to submit their personal “Beta Journal” on a given topic. We’ll then take a sampling of those responses and post them for the entire LOTRO Community to read.

This week, we’re giving you the initial reactions players reported upon first using the new LOTRO Store:

• the store itself is broken up into multiple categories to make searching for your specific desired item easier
• the store sells all kinds of mounts (temporary mounts, regular mounts, Festival Mounts and Reputation Mounts)
• The store also sells various "power-ups." These can come in many forms, such as temporary or PERMANENT increases to virtues, increased outgoing damage, heal-over-time potions (both morale and power), and Armor buffs.
• store-bought items are all bound to your account though, so you can't trade them with other players.
• they also provide education for patrons: you can learn new ways to express yourself (read: emotes), as well as new dances.
• they run sales and have recommendations as well.
• you can see the description of the item on the box, but you can’t open it to see the pretties, you can’t try on the clothing or even see it on a model.

[More information on lotro.com]

During the last few weeks I have noticed a lot of new Lotro players. New players seem to be confused by the official forum's Reputation System and all it involves. Lotro Life to the rescue with this little guide about the official forums' Reputation System.

Starting January, 2010 Lotro forums introduced a Reputation System which allows forum members to give and receive "Reputation" points to each other based on each others' posts. How much Reputation you can give or take depends on how long you've been a member of the forums and how much Reputation you have yourself!  If you want to give Reputation points to the poster, click on the Reputation icon. You'll be asked if you approve or disapprove the post, then click on "Add to Reputation."


Reputation System
You can give positive and negative Reputation but you must have at least 1500 positive Reputation before you can give negative. When you have positive Reputation, it is displayed as green boxes. The boxes are grey if you have disabled Reputation, and red if you have negative Reputation.


Reputation System Boxes
You can toggle whether your Reputation is displayed to other members by going to User CP -> Edit Options and checking or unchecking the Reputation box.

How to Hide Reputation
Based on your Reputation level you'll earn Reputation titles. The Reputation Titles are viewable by hovering your mouse over a user's Reputation boxes. The Reputation titles seem to be attached to rating numbers and the number of squares:

Number of Squares: Title (Rep Range)

1. The Neutral (1-99)
2. The Wary (100-199)
3. The Wary (200-299)
4. The Wary (300-399)
5. The Wary (400-599)
6. The Neophyte (600-699)
7. The Neophyte (700-899)
8. The Neophyte / the Bounders-Friend (900-1099)
9. The Bounders-Friend (1100-1299)
10. The Bounders-Friend (1300-1499)
11. Watcher of the Roads / the Undefeated / Indomitable (1500+)

The Community Team, after the initial launch of the Reputation System, has opted out of being able to give or receive Reputation.

[Source: FAQ, Thane9, romoen]

During the last few weeks I have noticed a lot of new Lotro players. New players seem to be confused by the official forum's Reputation System and all it involves. Lotro Life to the rescue with this little guide about the official forums' Reputation System.

Starting January, 2010 Lotro forums introduced a Reputation System which allows forum members to give and receive "Reputation" points to each other based on each others' posts. How much Reputation you can give or take depends on how long you've been a member of the forums and how much Reputation you have yourself!  If you want to give Reputation points to the poster, click on the Reputation icon. You'll be asked if you approve or disapprove the post, then click on "Add to Reputation."


Reputation System
You can give positive and negative Reputation but you must have at least 1500 positive Reputation before you can give negative. When you have positive Reputation, it is displayed as green boxes. The boxes are grey if you have disabled Reputation, and red if you have negative Reputation.


Reputation System Boxes
You can toggle whether your Reputation is displayed to other members by going to User CP -> Edit Options and checking or unchecking the Reputation box.

How to Hide Reputation
Based on your Reputation level you'll earn Reputation titles. The Reputation Titles are viewable by hovering your mouse over a user's Reputation boxes. The Reputation titles seem to be attached to rating numbers and the number of squares:

Number of Squares: Title (Rep Range)

1. The Neutral (1-99)
2. The Wary (100-199)
3. The Wary (200-299)
4. The Wary (300-399)
5. The Wary (400-599)
6. The Neophyte (600-699)
7. The Neophyte (700-899)
8. The Neophyte / the Bounders-Friend (900-1099)
9. The Bounders-Friend (1100-1299)
10. The Bounders-Friend (1300-1499)
11. Watcher of the Roads / the Undefeated / Indomitable (1500+)

The Community Team, after the initial launch of the Reputation System, has opted out of being able to give or receive Reputation.

[Source: FAQ, Thane9, romoen]

Mmorsel and Turbine are giving you a chance to join the Lord of the Rings Online Free-To-Play Beta test. There are three ways to enter and 100 winners will be chosen via random drawing on Saturday, July 24th (5:00 p.m. Pacific/8:00 p.m. Eastern). Winners will not be announced publicly, since participation in the Beta is confidential per the NDA.

More details on Mmorsel

Mmorsel and Turbine are giving you a chance to join the Lord of the Rings Online Free-To-Play Beta test. There are three ways to enter and 100 winners will be chosen via random drawing on Saturday, July 24th (5:00 p.m. Pacific/8:00 p.m. Eastern). Winners will not be announced publicly, since participation in the Beta is confidential per the NDA.

More details on Mmorsel

Today Turbine released a bunch of new Enedwaith screenshots which are mainly related to beautiful Enedwaith landscape and new Windfells goats.

Fordirith River	Gloomglens Hobbit House	Lich Bluffs Graves
Nan Laeglin Road	Thrors Coomb Lake	Nan Laeglin Hut
Windfells Goats

Today Turbine released a bunch of new Enedwaith screenshots which are mainly related to beautiful Enedwaith landscape and new Windfells goats.

Fordirith River	Gloomglens Hobbit House	Lich Bluffs Graves
Nan Laeglin Road	Thrors Coomb Lake	Nan Laeglin Hut
Windfells Goats

This morning 233 brand new screenshots of the LOTRO Store from the F2P beta have appeared on MoB site. As Mordor or Bust explained today, there was a small misunderstanding between Turbine and MoB. The main problem was the fact that the beta NDA is still enforced. Consider this as a sneak peak :)

This morning 233 brand new screenshots of the LOTRO Store from the F2P beta have appeared on MoB site. As Mordor or Bust explained today, there was a small misunderstanding between Turbine and MoB. The main problem was the fact that the beta NDA is still enforced. Consider this as a sneak peak :)

Please note that due to extra work being carried out on the servers, this week's maintenance on 22/07/10 will be extended from 03.00 to 13.00 UK time (GMT+1).

[Source]

Please note that due to extra work being carried out on the servers, this week's maintenance on 22/07/10 will be extended from 03.00 to 13.00 UK time (GMT+1).

[Source]