All Things LOTRO

The Learning LOTRO series has been going for 6 weeks so far, and there are even bigger plans for its future -- as well as other LOTRO-related projects for Gamer Reverie. Read on to find out more!

What's Happened So Far

The blog is six entries deep into this massive undertaking I named Learning LOTRO. I started it thinking "This is the game I know best and love best, so I should write about it!" The trouble is that I'm not one of those players who focuses on end-game challenges or the best builds or dissecting the pros and cons of stat choices. I'm the player who assesses how aesthetically pleasing new festival mounts are, how inconvenient various quests are, or how I can expedite a quest chain, deed, or festival grind for the next character in my roster. So where does that leave me for potential content?

It means I'm a casual player who just wants to enjoy LOTRO for what it is and not be the best, first, or well-known for something. It means I'm perfectly placed to discuss the basics of the game in an approachable way for other casual gamers as well as new players. At the same time, I can also touch on topics that get easily overlooked or forgotten, or help longtime players remember things they out-leveled years ago or weren't available until recently. I can also be creative with original content inspired by the game -- but more on that later in this entry.

The Schedule

I know many people were expecting just a focus on the LOTRO classes when I initially sent out the poll asking them to rank their favorite to least favorite. I will be covering all of them, but I want to do a thorough job with each one. That means, since I don't play all of the classes on a regular basis -- don't look at me that way, we all have our favorites! -- that I need time to set up each character, remind myself of the important aspects of the class, and play through the Intro while also making sure I get all necessary screenshots and details. I'd do a very shoddy job if I covered a different class each week on top of my other scheduled entries. As a result, this is the schedule pattern I have decided to use:

Does this basically let you figure out what day the next Class Entry is going live? Yeah, pretty much. But you don't know WHAT ORDER they're in since I didn't share the poll results, and there's no telling what Basic Topics I'll be covering in between. Some... aren't actually that basic! I'll be letting my patrons on Patreon help me decide what those topics will be, so if you want in on that you can go pledge $2/month to access all the top secret goodies ahead of everyone else!

Other Projects

I did mention I had other projects, didn't I? Well, they're still a little rough around the edges, but I'll share the basic premises here. And again, my patrons will get to help me shape these moving forward!

1. LLVL - This is my WIP name for a creative project that is essentially a LOTRO fanfic. It will be based in LOTRO, with an original character. (If you're in Away Shall Fade, you have seen this character recently!) I've been wanting to do some serious writing lately, and I promised to do a fanfic as an Extra Life incentive for 2019. This will be two birds with one stone! My first entry or two of this series will be my own doing, but I'll ask patrons to throw ideas at me for following entries.
   
2. Going to try setting up an Extra Life fundraiser/competition based on PvMP on Landroval! I have even less of this planned out, but it'll happen sometime between now and the Extra Life Marathon Day (November 7th). If you are a Freep or Creep on Landroval, let me know if you'd like to help organize or promote something of this nature! You can comment here or hit me up via my blog e-mail.

What Else?

I'm open to suggestions! I have been playing LOTRO since 2012. I have a small kin of my alts on Arkenstone (formerly Elendilmir), and I have a growing army in the Away Shall Fade kinship on Landroval. And now I have my Learning LOTRO characters starting out on a third server!

I have a full time job that has me busy even now, as I am considered in the "essential" category, but I've found I enjoy my blogging with a schedule and deadline goals. Should I talk about some mobile games? Switch games? Cards? Tabletop modules? My obsession with MMORPG mounts? Discussions about movies that are about games? I really want my handful of sometimes-readers to weigh in on this! Please leave me some comments! I'll sketch stuff for you if you do!