Lord of the Rings Online made the move to free to play in 2010 and has vaulted up the charts and taking the number one spot as our top free MMORPG available today.
One of the reasons LOTRO is a great MMORPG is that it has history in it. While the graphics aren’t as amazing as some of the newer MMORPGs, it makes up for it in content. There have been multiple chapters which would be like “mini-expansions” added to the content. The quests and gameplay are story based and have more than just the typical grind fest of many MMORPGs. The lore of Middle Earth is popular and everyone will have their favorite race from the ingenious humans to the intelligent elves to the strong dwarfs.
This year marked the 5th anniversary for LOTRO and its move to f2p has increased the population by leaps and bounds. More and more content is being planned and updates made. The game has so much depth as it was built as a subscription game that only the top f2p games can compete with it.
Fights are a little different in LOTRO as it uses a combo based system for its classes. After you use one skill it opens up another and then another. You can then unleash a powerful move and start the combo over. This makes combat more interactive instead of point and autoattack. There are skirmishes and instanced content but most of the game is in one very large world which adds to the MMORPG feel. There is also limited PvP and Monster Play is for premium members only.
Overall, LOTRO has pretty much everything you would want in an MMORPG except great PvP. The community is pretty friendly, the world is immense and there is little chance you will be able to do every quest, the story is amazing, and the gameplay is fun and exciting. If you haven’t checked out LOTRO, you should check it out now.
(4.18 out of 5)
Gerald