LOTRO YULE FESTIVAL OF 2009

December 14th 2009

Turbine is pleased to present us some changes to Yule festival. Let's start with the first one:

The Glorious Beer-fight.

The beer is in perilously short supply at the Ale Hall, and this has made many festival patrons rather furious. Rare beer is not something to be taken lightly, after all. Yule may be a time for peace and good cheer, but there are some things worth fighting for -the Glorious Beer.

The horse-races have been re-vamped to accommodate the new mount system, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that these will be around for a long time. Our solution has been to reintroduce them as a solo experience. This is a far more reliable system that has proven its worth in the level 35 quest to obtain the riding trait.

The tricky racetracks have been jazzed up by the World Team with a number of more elegant obstructions, hurdles, and barriers to better channel the flow of the race. Players who successfully navigate the course will enjoy speed boosts to help them along the way, while an unfortunate misstep will trip up your horse or pony with some sticky mud. But even accident-prone players will have a shot at the finish line, if luck is on their side. With a combination of luck, skill, and inevitable practice, we hope to see many people enjoying the special Yule steeds as a reward for their hard work.

You ride between the poles and if you miss the poles, you lose. You should ride over the planks and jump. It is tricky, but it can be done. If you miss your jump, you fall into the water. You don't get lame, but you do get sticky tar on you, which slows you down, perhaps enough to not finish the course before the timer runs out. - [GalateaOrea]

You’ll find that Yule quest-givers have moved to where you’re sure to spot them, and that the items they’ll have you collect will not require you to trek so great a distance as you expect. Instead of in the town of Bree, the Yule quests are right at the party grounds on the Horsefields. The quest-givers of Thorin’s Hall have also retired to the more festive inn, for they wish to see if the beer-fight draws as much of a crowd as many dwarf-patrons have anticipated.