LOTRO Reporter Episode 138

In this episode Chris hits level 75! I assume we talked about more, but I don’t remember because I spent the whole show picking my jaw up off the floor.

What we did this week

Bill
Completed Limlight daily pre-quests (except instance) – liked the group-friendliness of that area
Random skirmishes – getting tired of tiny rewards, and doing Battle in the Tower… (3x in a row!)
Random Isengard instances – when it works well, it’s great! Only ~5 min wait

Chris
Ding 75! Woot!
Completed the Rise of Isengard storyline. Somewhat lackluster ending, in my opinion. Into The Great River Region now.
Skirmish of Skimishes and the new skirmish. New skirmish is awesome.

News

Tightening LOTRO’s gameplay-belt
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/19/the-road-to-mordor-five-ways-lotro-should-be-streamlined/

Spring Festival – May 24th (tentative, as per Sapience)
http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?450890-Spring-Fest&p=6184874#post6184874

Star Lit Crystals bonuses – creating a new middle class in LOTRO?
http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/star-lit-crystals-boon-or-bane/

Did you know

Turbine name policy – changing illegal names, having to purchase name-change if you don’t like what they picked and more!
From http://www.lotro.com/support/1033-coc

LOTRO Character Naming Policy
Character names in The Lord of the Rings Online should try to reflect the adventurous and heroic spirit of The Lord of the Rings. When selecting a character name, please be aware of the type of character you are creating, be it a Human, Elf, Dwarf, or Hobbit. Each race has its own naming conventions and it is encouraged that you select a name befitting the race and spirit of your character. Although this is not required, it does helps to shape a fun, engaging, and immersive world for everyone.
The following are examples of character names and guild names that are NOT appropriate for The Lord of the Rings Online and is also applied to kinship and organization names. Some names that do not fall within one of the examples below may still be inappropriate. The Lord of the Rings Online Support has final say over what constitutes a violation of the character naming policy.
Proper names and places or close facsimiles thereof, from the story characters or non-player characters (NPCs) introduced in the fiction of Lord of the Rings Online.

Fantasy or non-fantasy names from popular culture or media.

Sexually explicit, defamatory, obscene, racially or ethnically offensive names or slang.

Names of historical or religious significance.

Trademarked names of products, goods, materials or services.

Common names, slang or references to drug related substances, culture or paraphernalia.

Names containing ranks, titles or denotation of power.

Names causing harm, mockery or imitation of Lord of the Rings Online players or NPCs, in addition to Turbine, Inc. employees, past or present.

Misspelled variations or homonyms of any of the above rules.

Policy Enforcement
There is a Zero Tolerance rule in effect for the following name violations:

Sexually explicit, defamatory, obscene, racially or ethnically offensive names or slang.

Common names, slang or references to drug related substances, culture or paraphernalia.

Names causing harm, mockery or imitation of Lord of the Rings Online players or NPCs, in addition to Turbine, Inc. employees, past or present.

This means that if your character or kinship name is in violation, the name will be changed without question. For characters that violate this rule, your character name will be changed and your account will be automatically placed on a three day suspension for a first offense. For kinships that are in violation, the kinship name will be changed and the account of the kinship leader will be placed on a three day suspension for a first offense. Additional offenses will consist of further account actions, including possible closure.
For other naming violations, a Lord of the Rings Online Game Master will contact you in-game to discuss your character’s name.

In the event of a name change due to CoC policy enforcement, Turbine picks a name for you. If you don’t like that name, you will have to purchase a name-change from the store (995 TP)

Community

Galloping Gala screenshot winners
http://www.lotro.com/news/latestnews/2017-galloping-gala-screenshot-contest-2012-the-winners

Skirmish of Skirmishes

Assault on the Ringwraith’s Lair vs. Survival – Barrow Downs
Shout out to GM Oveik who saved the day inside Storm on Methedras! Thanks! (GM that fixed our stuck issue in Storm on Methedras)
Bill – Assault
Chris – Assault
Isanna – Assault “Want to like it, but….”
Chat room – Assault
Email – none
Digisanduke (stream chat room) – Assault