Lord of the Rings Online hops on vanilla bandwagon and takes you back to launch
Pippin WOW to the post.
The Lord of the Rings Online has hopped on the World of Warcraft Classic bandwagon and launched its own legacy - Legendary, as it's called - service.
The LOTRO Anor server takes players back to the very beginning of the 2007 game, to Shadows of Angmar and a level cap of 50. Crucially, everyone begins again, which means the captivating chance to level quickly and make a name for yourself has returned. The level cap and story will unlock "over time".
But LOTRO will do a few things differently to WoW. Notably races and classes added long after release will be available in the vanilla experience, and all the many bug fixes, gameplay improvements and user interface updates will remain. There's a LOTRO Legendary FAQ with more precise detail. Note, you'll need to be a VIP subscriber to access the Legendary server.
WOW, on the other hand, will reinstate some creaky old systems on purpose, in order to retain the authentic feel. I fired up World of Warcraft Classic the other day and the authentic feel is very slow. It's incredible how much the game's variety and pace has increased.
The Lord of the Rings Online launched in 2007 looking for a piece of the WOW pie. It wasn't a world-conqueror but solid and well received, and inspires a loyal following still.
These days, original developer Turbine isn't involved. Owner Warner Bros. sold LOTRO (and Dungeons and Dragons Online) to Daybreak Game Company in 2006 - Daybreak being the rebadged Sony Online Entertainment which, most notably, created EverQuest.
Do any of you still play?