March 12, 2009 - Later this month, the team over at Turbine will be releasing Leaves of Lorien, Book 7 in their current volume of The Lord of the Rings Online. After braving the depths of Moria, players will finally have a chance to catch their breath and reunite with the Fellowship in the tranquil glades of Lorien. Of course, it's not all lounging about under the mallorn trees; there are orcs (and creatures worse than orcs) who have been stirred up by the Fellowship's passage through Moria and are now threatening the security of The Golden Wood. We recently had the opportunity to tour the new areas, from Nimrodel all the way to the banks of the Anduin.
As with many aspects of The Lord of the Rings Online, creating compelling MMO gameplay while staying faithful to the details and mood of the books presented a challenge to the designers at Turbine. Lorien is, in the books, a very peaceful area of great security and hope. Just throwing random conflicts in there for the sake of player interest and advancement wouldn't quite work. So, while there's still a fair bit of combat found here in fighting back the orcs along the borders, a lot of the content in Lorien is more focused on exploring the history and culture of the elves and interacting with the Fellowship.
In fact, the arc of Lorien isn't about toppling some powerful enemy or claiming some ancient treasure. The story here focuses on rebuilding the trust between elves and dwarves, and it uses Legolas and Gimli as a focal point. In fact, players who enter Lorien without having completed the Volume 2, Book 6 quest in Moria will be able to pick up the threads in Nimrodel. There they will meet Legolas and Gimli and journey with them as they go orc hunting in a solo-friendly epic quest.
Whether you do it in Moria or Nimrodel, you'll need to complete Book 6 in order to gain enough favor to enter Lothlorien proper. The entire area is closed to players who haven't earned sufficient reputation with the elves, which means if you want to explore the beauty of Caras Galadhon, you'll need to make sure you're helping the Galadhrim as much as possible. And since the elves of Lorien don't use money, you'll need the tokens earned through quests if you want to barter for goods while you're here.
Once in Lorien, you'll be in a world of soft light, golden leaves and treetop platforms known as flets. The whole area has a sort of gauzy filter over it that softens the visuals and contributes to the peaceful, quiet mood of the place. The beauty of the natural world really shines through in Lorien, and even the bits of architecture that the elves have constructed -- fountains, docks, flets, and such -- are in harmony with the natural world around them. Some of the best views of The Golden Wood, of course, are found at the higher flets, accessible by ladders reaching down to the ground.
After climbing up and surveying the world around us from the flets, we dropped back down to the ground to survey the Imlad Lalaith, or Banquet Lawn. This broad bit of land sits in the angle where the Celebrant joins the Anduin and is the site of many elven feasts. Just down at the river's edge is the Hythe, the docks of the Lorien elves and the transition to the next part of the Fellowship's voyage. Players can stop here to get a look at the ornate swan boat, or even swim across the river to visit the vineyards on the opposite bank.
And you're not likely to be the only one swimming the waters of the Celebrant. We were joined by a pair of moose, who, like many of the other animals in Lorien, enjoyed protective status under the supervision of the elves. If you hunt these animals, you'll lose reputation with the elves, but there are some compelling reasons to be tempted. There's a dwarf poacher nearby who's offering tremendous rewards to players who are willing to hunt a bit in the woods. Of course, you can turn him in and claim favored status among the elves, but the decision is up to you.
The ultimate destination in Lorien is Caras Galadhon, the sublime treetop city of the elves. This is the first real working hub east of the Twenty-First Hall. You can find banks and trainers, crafting stations and even travel routes back to the other locations you've visited. This large multi-leveled city will offer many of the same routing challenges of Moria, as you try to determine how to get from A to B. There are even some fun, timed quests that offer rewards to players who can negotiate the treetop flets quickly. Caras Galadhon offers much to see as well, from the home of Celeborn and Galadriel to the Fellowship's pavilion where Aragorn broods and Pippin naps.
