The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Preview
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The initial quests are all fairly simple solo affairs. Some dark power (presumably the Watcher) has stirred up the area's wildlife and drained the nearby river of water. The player is tasked with wiping out some local Crebain (corrupted crows), reconstructing the work crew's pickaxes and beating back an incursion of wolves that threaten the work crews. One this is completed, the player hits the first scripted story missions, escorting the collection of new pickaxes down to the gate and clearing away the final bits of debris so the door to Moria can be opened. This isn't quite the joyous celebration the Dwarves expected as the party gets crashed by the tentacles of the Watcher in the Water that snatch away several dwarves and chase the player off to find a weapon that can presumably defeat it.
The next several quests involve a return to Thorin's Gate and the acquisition if the player's first Legendary item. This is a weapon that starts out as a basic item but can be "identified" and gradually be "leveled up" via its own system of experience points and bonuses that can be forged into the body of the weapon. The overall purpose of such a system is to provide players with a piece of truly unique loot, one whose power and abilities will grow with the player and who's bonuses can be tweaked to enhance a player's own unique play style. The sole downside of this section of the opening segment is that it requires players to get about 10 levels on their legendary item before they can proceed. This is sure to raise howls of protest for players who just want to get into the Mines.
