Out Of The Shire — Finally!
April 20, 2010It’s been a while since we last heard from Kiskadee, so I think it’s high time to check in on her and see what she’s been up to. I remember someone telling me that it doesn’t take long to get a Lord of the Rings Online character to level 20, at the most a day or two. Well, it’s taking me longer than that. A LOT longer.
Granted, I haven’t been spending every waking moment in LOTRO on account of 1) the great weather we’ve been having, 2) playing an Age of Conan alt with my husband and 3) Star Trek Online dailies. But over the last week I’ve put in a good three of four evenings into leveling my Hobbit Minstrel, and am still just now at level 16. Am I doing something wrong? Or has playing postman and carrying spoiled pies all over the damn zone been messing with my sense of time?
The hero shot: standing alone in a field of flowers with a determined, faraway look in my eyes.
Despite my slow progress, I did enjoy my time in The Shire. It’s beautiful, and even the most annoying of delivery quests was charming in its own little way. But it’s time to move on. Tonight, I’ll be getting ready to leave the the cozy bosom of the Shire to venture into the bigger world beyond. My next stop is Bree, and I for one am looking forward to meeting Strider at the Prancing Pony inn. Ugh, I was 16 years old during the lead-up to the Fellowship of the Ring movie craze, and I remember having like the maddest crush on Aragorn. Gotta love it when games bring back embarrassing memories like that. Well, at least it wasn’t Legolas.
Anyway, it’s been jolly good fun, fellow hobbits! But while I’d love to stay and play and do all your other cutesy activities, I, Kiskadee, have got more important things to take care of. Adventure awaits!
MMO Gamer Chick 
16? Dang but I feel old now. Before you leave the Shire, did you take anytime to explore the inside of Bag End?
No, I haven’t, I didn’t even know Bag End was a place I could visit in this game! Thanks for teaching this noob something new!
I don’t think you are doing something wrong. As a matter of fact, I know a few people who think the early levels go by too quickly and enjoy taking a slower road when they can.
Is it possible to get to level 20 in a few hours of play? Probably. But I don’t think it would be as much fun for me. Especially in a game like LotRO.
Even if I had rushed through the levels, I don’t see how level 20 in a few hours of play is possible. One would have to be skipping quests, I think, especially in the Shire which requires so much running around.
Another thing noticed is that people mostly just talk about the epic book storyline when they make mention to this game, I never hear as much as I would like about the other zone quests. I was surprised to even see so many support quests when I first starting playing this game.
I think that’s because the non-epic quests are so much shorter and there’s no cut-scenes so players who don’t read can blow through them quickly (something I’m guilty of on occasion as well).
In my experience the game goes straight downhill after you play the shire.
Hmm. It *felt* like I was going uphill.
Then again, I have rather short legs and I was carrying quite a bit in my bags, so it may have been a delusion caused by exertion and missing second breakfast. 😉
LOL! Thats a good attitude!
If you want more hobbit themed quests, check out Staddle, southeast of Bree. You may be a little high for it, but I think you can still get some decent XP out there. Some of my favorite quest chains in the Breelands.
Thanks, I remember Staddle from when I played on my elf champion, I’ll be sure to drop by there. You might be right about me being a little too high for it by now, but I could never stand to leave any quest undone 🙂
You can also hit Buckland just across the river if you haven’t yet, although most of the quests there will send you into the Old Forest.