LotRO: 4th Anniversary Review

Again, we on the old side of the pond got the worse deal. Turbine listened to the complains of the players about the huge grind for the tokens and added them in the lotteries which Codemasters is not able/willing to offer.

I wanted to have the maps, so I knew I had to grind 160 tokens (8*20). As I didn't wan to waste too much time, I tripple-boxed the bar-fight. Of course, this works only during the night, as there is less competition.

So this Easter weekend, I had little sleep, at least at night. Which was a pity, as the weather was fine. But at least I got the maps and as they are tradable, this will get me closer to the deed Cartographile.

CStM has discovered, that the other maps seem to be available during the next four festivals. There even seem to be maps of the other regions of Middle-Earth and one of the whole of Middle-Earth. So finishing this deed, will take more than a year. Back to the festival.

In Europe, the only way to get tokens was the races and the beer-fight. The races are fun, even though I have done them so many times, that I can almost do them blindfolded. Sadly, they can only be done once a day, so maximal two tokens from them.

So even if you do the races every day, you will not get enough tokens to get the horse and you have to join the bar-fight. The dreaded bar-fight.

The first few times, it can be fun. But after an hour or so, I just wanted to get my tokens. So getting the beer but being hit out of the arena and dropping it wasn't fun the first time, and it became more and more annoying the next few times.

So instead of wasting my time, I started doing the fight at around midnight and kept fighting till the sun went up. With the three accounts, I at least got three tokens per run, which made the grind a bit more bearable. I even got the horse, even though I don't like the design very much. The toy windmill is very nice, the large one still is missing its blades, but they should be added with the next update.

What I didn't get yet, are the cosmetics. The cloak is OK, especially when it is dyed, the dresses, I could do without. I am still not sure, if I am going to try to get them.

There was some discussion going on in kin, if deliberate kicking people out of the arena is griefing. I was in the minority saying yes. It might be fun, to do it once or twice, but after a bit, you just want to get your tokens and go to bed. During the night, there was an understanding to be friendly to each other as everyone could get a token each round. During the day, things were a bit more chaotic and heated.

Last but not least, the verdict. Even though some of the rewards are nice, the toy windmill and the windmill being the best, the grind is enough to make you sick. The race and the bar-fight are not new to the game, the maps are nice, but not much work to do, the cosmetics are ok, if you are an elf but the huge grind overshadows the rewards. Ten being best, I would give this festival a 3/10.