From 8th until 15th March, 2010 Codemasters Online invites all players to come back and play LOTRO for an amazing Welcome Back Week. The doors will be open for former players to re-enter the world of Middle-earth for a week of FREE game play.

All you have to do is download and patch up to the most recent version and log in starting 8th March. Your account will have been re-activated ready for you.

If you have noticed that  Monsters frequently resist your skills, these information might clear things up: Shortly after Mirkwood’s launch, we found an unexpected bug. Between the Moria and Mirkwood updates, monster resistance rates...Click here to read full

If you have noticed that  Monsters frequently resist your skills, these information might clear things up:

Shortly after Mirkwood’s launch, we found an unexpected bug. Between the Moria and Mirkwood updates, monster resistance rates had been accidentally altered in strange way. From level 1 to 42, the resistance ratings were correct. These ratings translated to around a 1% resistance rate at low levels that slowly rose to the expected rate, which is around 10%. However, at level 43 the ratings dropped down by exactly half, and stayed that way all the way to level cap. This means players leveling with a tactical character would see monster resistance rates raise slightly as they leveled, even out at 10%, and then suddenly drop away at level 43. This is contrasted by classes that fight against Block/Parry/Evade for damage, who saw their rates stay the same.

Monster resistance rates have been fixed in Book 1 to stay around 10% for all levels past 43. There are a number of trait, gear and legacy options that can be used to reduce this number. B/P/E classes are in the same boat, but have always been dealing with higher rating numbers to fight against. Reports of resistance rates 20% or higher are likely caused by small sample spaces, fighting up-level or against creatures with specific resistance buffs.

Unfortunately, this fix was not properly documented, which led to its omission from the release notes. It was never our intention to hide this from players or perform any kind of ‘stealth nerf’. We apologize for the communications breakdown and will make every effort to avoid similar issues in the future.

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The following are the Known Issues for Volume III: Allies of the King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers Classes Burglar Mischievous Delight - There is a delay between the skill's use and the actual application of the associated...Click here to read full

The following are the Known Issues for Volume III: Allies of the King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers

Classes

Burglar

• Mischievous Delight - There is a delay between the skill's use and the actual application of the associated buff.

Rune-keeper

• Armaments of Storm / Flame / Frost - Other players' melee weapons, when buffed with this skill, do not give proper tooltip feedback.

Captain

• Watchful Shield Brother incorrectly uses the icon for Courage when the buff is applied to a fellowship member.

Legendary Items

• Incoming Healing values on unidentified items may display higher than expected on that item's tooltip.

Skirmishes

Soldiers

• Any traits with a Damage over Time component list that damage as a negative number in its tooltip.
• Dwarf Bannerguards make no noise.
• The armour debuff applied by a Warrior's Whirling Wounds appears 10 points higher than stated in the tooltip.
• Warrior - "Quick Sweep" - This melee skill has arrows in its icon.
• Cosmetic - Not all outfit traits listed in the Attributes panel are obtainable at this time.

Barter

• The drop-down list for the Barter Profile says 'Dwarf-kind' instead of 'Dwarf.'

Rewards

• The shirt on the Medium Footman Armour of Adlan has the wrong default color.

Duo Skirmishes

• Some monsters may be more difficult than intended for 2 people.
• The Skirmish leaderboards do not yet display data for Duo Skirmishes. This will be addressed in an upcoming my.lotro.com update.

Rescue in Nûrz Ghâshu

• If your fellowship wipes during the boss fight, your escort will still ask you to perform Fellowship Maneuvers.
• More Caerogs than intended are summoned in the boss fight when on Fellowship setting.
• The target of your excursion may be inadvertently defeated during Fellowship Manoeuvres.

The Battle in the Tower

• The radar does not display Control Point direction icons.

Crafting

Cooking

• Expert Cook NPCs do not properly filter the new Campfire recipes by tier.
• Due to the treachery of The Enemy, some vendors are selling Tomato seeds. There is no Tomato recipe and no way to grow these poisonous items! Do not be fooled!

Quests

Volume 1

• Book 10, Chapter 14 - Instance: The Eye of Angmar - Lozudurkh will occasionally perform a stun move as his first attack, causing the player to drop the Palantír and fail the quest.
• Book 14, Chapter 1: The Heraldry of Lindon - The exit to Dolendath doesn't reopen once you collect Laerdan's breastplate. If stuck, player can wait for instance to shutdown to leave.
• Book 4, Chapter 6: The Knowledge of the Onodrim - An elite Curr-olog Heaver can path close enough to aggro solo players speaking to the Onodrim.

Volume 2

• Book 1, Chapter 8: Before the Doors of Durin - Dwarves may have trouble entering into their proper dramas, stalling the instance.

Volume 3

• Book 1 - Deed - Allies of the King - There is no description or information about the eventual completion of this deed.
• Book 1 - Instance: Lothrandir of the Frozen Wastes - Ice walls disappear on low settings.

Mirkwood

• Sign of the Malledhrim - The quest can fails if you leave the platform the flag is currently on.

Spring Festival

• Multiple raid members consuming Extra Deliciously Tasty Biscuits at the same time may cause them to not earn the associated deeds.
• Stomp-A-Shrew - Players may get stuck in combat until the session is finished.

Graphics/FX

• Annuminas - Barad Tironn & Glinghant - Instance areas will appear pitch black with Ambient Lighting slider set to Default.
• Player and monster combat weapon flash effects will occasionally get out of sync and display erratically.

The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, March 1,2010 from 6:00AM – 10:00AM Eastern (-5 GMT) to launch the latest free content update, Volume III: Allies of The King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers. Click here for the release...Click here to read full

The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, March 1,2010 from 6:00AM – 10:00AM Eastern (-5 GMT) to launch the latest free content update, Volume III: Allies of The King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers. Click here for the release notes.

The scheduled downtime for EU players has been moved from Thursday, March 4 to Tuesday, March 2, so we hope it means Book 1: Oath of the Rangers will be live on Tuesday on EU servers.

Turbine periodically asks players about their gaming habits, favorite games, pastimes, what they like to do most when they play Turbine games, and similar information. This time Turbine is sending out a survey link to a random group of players. If...Click here to read full

Turbine periodically asks players about their gaming habits, favorite games, pastimes, what they like to do most when they play Turbine games, and similar information. This time Turbine is sending out a survey link to a random group of players. If you receive this survey, please fill it out.

As an incentive for completing this survey, Turbine will be giving out a $50 American Express Gift Card to some players (selected at random from completed surveys).

Reminder: No one from Turbine will ever ask you for your account password!!!

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The Isengard Private Preview Program is taking applications for new members. Unfortunately Turbine is unable to open applications up to Codemasters subscribers at this time.  Do you gain a sense of pride when you file bugs, knowing...Click here to read full

The Isengard Private Preview Program is taking applications for new members. Unfortunately Turbine is unable to open applications up to Codemasters subscribers at this time. 

• Do you gain a sense of pride when you file bugs, knowing that you’ve helped us improve the game by doing so?
• Do you have a few hours of free time a week that you would like devote to helping us test LOTRO?
• Do you enjoy seeing things in an unfinished state and watching them develop?
• Do you like the idea of having an influence on how those same things turn out in the end?
• Can you keep a secret? No matter how many bribes of <insert favorite vice here> you may get?

If you answered ‘YES’ to all the above questions, then Isengard may be the place for you!

Requirements:

1. Must be at least 18 years of age
2. Must have a current, valid Turbine* subscription to The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood registered under your name
3. Must have a clean forum and game history
4. Must be able to interact with the community in a mature and constructive manner
5. Must be able to communicate well through forum posts and bug reports
6. You must accept the terms of the Private Preview Program Non-Disclosure Agreement, the full contents of which will be provided during the registration process should you be accepted to the program

Please send an email to LOTROIsengard@turbine.com. In this email, please include the following information:

1. Your full Real Name (please do not provide nicknames)
2. Your Username for LOTRO (this is the account name you use to log in to the LOTRO launcher)
   • NOTE: Please only provide ONE account. If you have multiple accounts/subscriptions, please provide information for only 1 of them.
3. Your Live Forum name (the name that displays on these boards) tied to the account in Bullet 2
4. The email address registered to the LOTRO Live account provided in bullet 2.
5. An explanation why you would like to participate in the preview program. This can be a summary of why you enjoy the game, what kind of bugs you've filed in the past, what kind of forum posting history you have, or any other way you think you can contribute to the program.

Assure this information is sent via email only. Please do not use Private Message.

If you are accepted to the program, you will receive an email with instructions on how to get started. Applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis, with invitations sent to accepted applicants sent shortly thereafter. If you have any questions, see FAQ.

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Codemasters has announced an interesting contest for all players with an eye for landscapes! We want to see your best landscape pictures from The Lord of the Rings Online for a chance to win a beautiful hardback book, "Lost...Click here to read full

Codemasters has announced an interesting contest for all players with an eye for landscapes!

We want to see your best landscape pictures from The Lord of the Rings Online for a chance to win a beautiful hardback book, "Lost Worlds" by artist John Howe, renowned Tolkien illustrator, kindly donated by Macmillan.

One first place winner will receive a Lost Worlds book and a Codemasters Goodie bag. Nine runners up will receive a Lost Worlds Book and a Lord of the Rings Online poster.

Lost Worlds draws together John Howe’s incredible artwork with a wealth of historical facts and mythological texts to create a visually stunning, classic title. John Howe is best known for his work based on JRR Tolkien’s worlds. He was one of two lead artists working on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. He also re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion from 1996 to 2003. For the past 20 years, John has enjoyed success with personal exhibitions throughout the world.

Send your entries into lotrocompetition@codemasters.com with the subject line "Lost Worlds and Landscapes Contest".


Contest rules
One image per entry, multiple entries are allowed. Photo-shopping is not permitted other than to resize to a smaller resolution. Final date for entering is 2nd March, 2010. Full contest rules and terms and conditions can be found here.

If you have recently received the message "You have been booted from the world" , don't think that someone else has logged on your account and that your password has been compromised. We had an internal issue earlier that caused a small...Click here to read full

If you have recently received the message "You have been booted from the world" , don't think that someone else has logged on your account and that your password has been compromised.

We had an internal issue earlier that caused a small number of players to see this message. Unfortunately you seem to have been 'lucky' enough to have it happen to you. Don't worry, your account is safe!

Sapience

Turbine has released several  Volume III Book 1 Skirmishes screenshots. Enjoy! Epic Skirmish 1 Epic Skirmish 2 Epic...Click here to read full

Turbine has released several  Volume III Book 1 Skirmishes screenshots. Enjoy!

Epic Skirmish 1	Epic Skirmish 2	Epic Skirmish 3
Epic Skirmish 4	Epic Skirmish 5	Mirkwood Skirmish 1
Mirkwood Skirmish 2	Mirkwood Skirmish 3	Mirkwood Skirmish 4
Mirkwood Skirmish 5	Mirkwood Skirmish 6

Volume III, Book 1 brings a bunch of updates for crafting professions of Middle-earth. Improvements for Jewellers, Cooks, Farmers, Woodworkers and Weaponsmiths bring more choices and enhanced functionality to these professions. Jewellery...Click here to read full

Volume III, Book 1 brings a bunch of updates for crafting professions of Middle-earth. Improvements for Jewellers, Cooks, Farmers, Woodworkers and Weaponsmiths bring more choices and enhanced functionality to these professions.

1. Jewellery Stats Rebalancing and new icons
   All bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings crafted after the arrival of this update have been rebalanced to provide better, more useful stat increases, and to generally improve the quality and consistency of jewellery stats across the board! (Like:  in-Combat Power Regen, Maximum Power, Maximum Moral, Block Rating.) All existing crafted jewellery pieces have not been changed. If you are wearing or storing any crafted jewellery items, they will remain exactly the same as before. Only newly-crafted jewellery pieces will have the updated stats. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings crafted after the arrival of this update feature a variety of new jewellery icons.
   
2. Jeweller Recipes Multi-output Functionality for Existing
   Many Jeweller recipes in all tiers of the profession have been updated and now have the ability to produce different bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings using only the existing recipe! (Bloodstone Earring can output Bloodstone Earring of Fate +5 Fate or  Bloodstone Earring of Combat +44 Melee Critical Rating or Bloodstone Earring of Precision +44 Ranged Critical Rating)
   
3. Cook Profession Improvements
   Many Cook recipes that previously used only vendor-bought ingredients have been revisited, and the items required to execute these recipes have been updated to include ingredients obtained from Farming. Additionally, new Ingredient recipes for some tiers of Cooking will allow chefs to produce additional components needed for their recipes, like flour and more varieties of pie fillings. Note that some ingredients previously sold by vendors, such as flour, are no longer available as they are not used as ingredients anymore.
   Additionally, two products previously available from vendors - Shire Apples and Golden Shire Taters - are now produced exclusively by Farmers, and can no longer be purchased from any vendor.
4. Cook - Improved Cooked Food Effects
   The duration of all effects bestowed after consuming a Cooked Food have been standardized. All in-combat and out-of-combat morale and power regeneration benefits received from Cooked Foods now last 5 minutes for normal foods, and 10 minutes for critical foods. All Cooked Foods now provide both in-combat and out-of-combat morale and power regeneration benefits. Each tier of Cooking typically has three different Cooked Food recipes. The magnitudes of the effects for each Cooked Food have been updated as follows:
   1. Cooked Food A: Highest in-combat morale- and power-over-time effects; lowest out-of-combat morale and power regeneration effects
   2. Cooked Food B: Moderate in-combat morale- and power-over-time effects; moderate out-of-combat morale and power regeneration effects
   3. Cooked Food C: Lowest in-combat morale- and power-over-time effects; highest out-of-combat morale and power regeneration effects
      
5. Cook - Additional Trail Food Recipes
   Trail Food recipes for every tier of Cooking allow chefs to create wonderful new dishes that can increase the Fate or Will attributes for a while. These recipes are automatically granted to Cooks at all proficiency levels, so be sure to check the Cook tab in your crafting panel!
   
6. Cook - Updated Fish Trail Food Recipes
   Existing Trail Food recipes have been updated to produce Trail Foods that increase both the Vitality and Will attributes.
   
7. Cook - New Superior Trail Foods An all-new set of powerful Trail Food recipes is available from Maedhrusc, found in the ruins of Ost Galadh in Emyn Lum. Friends of the Malledhrim may barter for these exquisite and tasty recipes!
   
8. Cook - More Campfire Recipes
   New Campfire recipes for almost every tier of the profession allow Cooks to use Ash, Yew, Lebethron, Black Ash, and Mallorn wood to create campfires. These recipes are available for purchase from both Novice and Expert Cook vendors.
   
9. Farmer Fruit & Vegetable Recipes
   Shire Apples and Golden Shire Taters, previously available as vendor-bought goods, are now produced exclusively by Farmers. The required recipes for these items are automatically granted to Farmers at the appropriate tiers of their professions, and seeds can be purchased from the usual Farmhand vendors. New recipes for producing Green Peas have been added to the highest tier of the profession, and can be used by Cooks in a few exciting new dishes. These recipes are automatically granted to Superior Farmers, and seeds are available from Farmhand vendors.
   
10. Weaponsmith & Woodworker New Class Item Recipes
    New class item recipes for Superior Woodworkers and Weaponsmiths are available from Expert profession vendors and specific class trainers. Woodworkers can carve a powerful horn for Champions, while Weaponsmiths have access to deadly trap and trick recipes for Hunters and Burglars.

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