Through the new 64-bit servers, The Lord of the Rings Online experienced something like a third spring recently. However, many players who would actually like to play an MMORPG in Middle-earth are still staying away – this is shown by a current community discussion.
What is this discussion about? It was triggered by the recently released Update 44.2 for The Lord of the Rings Online. This is a comparatively small patch with the following highlights:
- The kinship custody is now correctly transferred with the guild leader and is located in custody in the target game world. Any items that disappeared from kinship custody during the transfer of the guild leader must be reported to customer service.
- The US region finally gets its next 64-bit server with Sting. The additional EU server Grond has been online for a while.
- The 14th reward track for legendary items is here with new rewards.
- “Dun Shûma, the Fortress of the King” is now available on difficulty level 3.
In addition, there are various other smaller bug fixes and adjustments. You can find the German patch notes on lotro.com.
The trailer for the current expansion of The Lord of the Rings Online:
“This would be the game for me,” but …
Back to the discussion: A fan of the game also linked the patch notes on Reddit. However, the comments under the post were not about the new features but rather about the reasons why one does not play The Lord of the Rings Online, although one would like to play an MMORPG in Middle-earth.
- Fr0zenYeti writes on Reddit: “All they have to do is improve the UI for higher resolutions, and I’ll give this game a fair chance”
- clocktowertank supports this on Reddit: “The text size and the chosen fonts are more than awful for readability. Do you wear glasses when you play? Because it is an incredible strain on the eyes when trying to read anything in this game when you usually play in 2K or higher.”
- KingBastok also believes so (via Reddit): “Improved UI and HD pack, and so many people would play.”
- Gardevoir_Best_Girl sees it the same way on Reddit: “I really wish they would improve the UI, then this would be my main MMO. Another year, another ‘no’.”
- MarchAgainstOrange explains on Reddit: “I believe this would be the game for me if I could overcome the server lag and the presentation.”
While The Lord of the Rings Online has made a technical leap forward with the more modern servers, Gambrinus explains on Reddit what the problem is there:
It has helped somewhat, but the problem is that the 64-bit servers are now overcrowded, which makes things worse again. Unfortunately, the current problems are likely too deeply rooted in the code and architecture to be easily fixed, and they certainly won’t spend a lot of money (which they probably don’t have) on a new architecture.
What about the new MMORPG from Amazon Games? The last sign of life came in August 2024. At that time, Vice President Christoph Hartmann stated that they are still in a very early development phase and are still trying to find the special spin for the new MMORPG set in The Lord of the Rings.
They are definitely not looking to copy The Lord of the Rings Online or other existing games in the franchise. This sounds like a conceptual phase. Therefore, completion is likely still several years away. More on this here: There is a sign of life from the new MMORPG for The Lord of the Rings from Amazon Games
