r/lotro • u/bcmangas • 1d ago
Is LOTRO worth getting into?
I'm currently playing SWTOR as my first MMO and absolutely love the immersion, world and storytelling, so I've been thinking about giving LOTRO a try.
I'm curious how it holds up for a new player today. I know the playerbase is relatively small compared to other MMOs, but is it still easy to find people to play with, join a kinship and experience group content?
I'm also wondering about the game's future. Do you see LOTRO staying active and receiving updates for the next few years, or is the smaller population something to be concerned about if I'm planning to invest a lot of time into it?
Lastly, with the Halloween event going on, is now a good time to jump in, or would I be better off playing a different MMO like ESO?
I'm mainly interested in the world, exploration, lore and immersion rather than rushing to endgame.
Would you recommend LOTRO in 2026, and is it worth getting invested in long-term? I'd love to hear honest opinions from current players. Thanks!
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u/Fuchsson Meriadoc 1d ago
I think the answer if it's the right MMO for you always depends on what you are looking for. From what you have outlined, LotRO might be a good fit.
- the player base is comparatively small, but it seems to be rather steady over the years, and the game is receiving regularly big expansions, so it seems to be profitable, enough to continue developing. In fact, there is a new expansion coming right up. I don’t see any reason to worry for the foreseeable future.
- does it hold up today? Depends a bit on what do you mean by that. It can feel a bit outdated and clunky, but it's an old-school MMO, so slower gameplay is to be expected.
- yes, there is currently the Halloween event running, but it doesn't really matter. You can start at any time and will have a fun time. The festivals are running every year, and there are lots of festivals over the year, so it's not like you're really missing out or miss something when you start when there is no festival around.
- LotRO is not the game I would recommend if you're mainly looking for an MMO to raid or PvP. I think there are better options there. But if you have interest in the lore and the world, LotRO really is a great experience. It can really feel like you are going on an adventure. Technically, the graphics are outdated, but they have done a wonderful job to still create an outstanding atmosphere even with the old graphics. I think it's still a beautiful game today.
if you start the game, there might not be too many players around in the low-level zones, so finding a group could be a bit difficult. If you join a kinship, chances are that there are players also for low-level regions.
this is the LotRO sub. Probably not getting an unbiased opinion if you should rather play ESO here :)
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u/Comfortable-Two4339 1d ago
You always should put a caveat after "the graphics are outdated" that explains that it's the rendering that is dated. The beauty of the art assets and textures are superb.
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u/Fuchsson Meriadoc 1d ago
I also find them beautiful - don’t get me wrong but thats pretty subjective snd has a lot to do with the art direction and the atmosphere. From a technical standpoint graphics are dated. There is severe pop in, the general geometry is boxy and flat with (partly) high res-textures added on. Animations are stiff and a lot of textures have not been overhauled and are low resolution.
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u/PleasantBad3203 1d ago
Really the main issue is the engine bot being able to actually take advantage of modern machines, I wish theyd rework it for both lotro and ddo. I got them running pretty alright but I suspect what makes a lot of newer players drop them is how much work it takes to run them both and the pop in is still pretty bad no matter what setting you're at.
Id kill for an engine update for both because there really isnt anything game like either of them
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u/TheLloydikus 1d ago
Yes this. I did the same as you - been playing SWTOR for a few months. Then switched over to LOTRO for the last few weeks. I love good story with MMOs - if you’re into the Lord of the Rings story this is a great experience.
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u/Dreadful_D 1d ago
LOTRO is still being updated. There is an expansion for pre-purchase as we speak. I started playing about three months ago and I am seeing a lot of other new players running around questing and forming groups. Overall I would recommend giving it a go if you value slow paced and immersive leveling within a revered IP that has deeply pre-established lore.
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u/PeyredB 1d ago
I don't know how LOTRO compaires to SWTOR, but one thing to be aware of is that the game quests are heavy on
Go to X, get quest ->
Travel long twisty distance to do quest ->
go back to X to finish ->
get new quest from X ->
go right back to where you just were to do quest ->
go back to X again to finish
and so on.
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u/Isti-Tanu Gladden (Actually playing in Sting but, y’know) 18h ago edited 18h ago
Rivendell to Angmar to Rivendell to Angmar to Rivendell to Ang- I am grateful every time I remember that period of my playthrough that I decided to play an elf
It wouldn’t be so bad if you were able to pick up like four quests at a time from any given questline, and sometimes you can…but sometimes the quests are in a particular order, and you aren’t able to pick up all of them at once because certain things haven’t happened yet…someone should make a guide for which quests you want to pick up at the same time in various locations so that you can minimize how much running back and forth you have to do
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u/Direct-Contract5509 21h ago
Lotro is one of the coziest MMOs on the market. Definitely the best in depth LoTR game no doubt. Has a wonderful community for an MMO, players actually acknowledge your existence and will respond back to you or emote back at you. It's so refreshing.
The festivals are a fantastic time to start. They're all i typically do while active. Just love them to pieces because I've always enjoyed doing dailies, they're soothing to me. Way back when I got exalted on Isle of Quel'Danas in TBC on my main then did it on alts just for fun.
There's also a magical musical community that's very active on every server. It's something you just have to experience yourself to see how fun and interesting it can be.
The journey is amazing. I am just lvl 77 and I have clocked about 900 hours into the game so far. I just got done Moria. Vastly overleveled and taking my sweet time to smell the roses and I'm in no rush. With Lotro there is no such thing as Fomo for me.
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u/Existing-Plant6671 1d ago
There are fewer servers now, so population has been healthy since the new 64 bit servers. I've not been into Kins, but it's easy to find groups for end game content. I do see groups for Moria groups and some other old end caps.
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u/ToastyJackson Gladden 1d ago
If you’re interested in Tolkien’s works, yes it’s worth playing. LOTRO is far and away the best adaptation of Middle-earth to date.
It’s easy to find kinships. They usually advertise in world chat constantly when they’re recruiting. And being in a kin will be your best route for finding people to do group content with. In general, finding people to do group stuff with depends on what group content you’re trying to do. There’s 19 years worth of group content in this game across all levels. If you’re trying to get a group for the newest raid, you’ll have no issues. If you’re trying to get a group for some random level 105 group content, it might be rare to find anyone else who wants to do it.
You’ll see lots of other players in the starting regions and endgame regions. But the game’s world is enormous, and there will be large stretches in the middle where it’s rare to randomly come across other players regardless of how many people are playing.
The game’s been on a schedule of getting a major expansion every year for several years now. While the player base is smaller than some other MMOs, the game’s not in maintenance mode and doesn’t seem to be headed there anytime soon.
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u/SowiloSC2 22h ago
I couldn't get to max level in swtor and I love star wars. This game I have 3 max level charaters and others besides so that's my opinion. I have played guild wars 2 but this game has most of my time been playing off and on since 2007.
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u/Panneladh 1d ago
It feels older compared to swtor and the levelling is also much slower.
I personally love both but that probably has to do with the IP and the fact that lotro was my first mmo. Nostalgia made me come back a couple times combined with a lotr urge.
I recommend trying the game out with a couple classes (until level 20 or so maybe) and see what you think
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u/Cole_Archer 1d ago
Yes, the game is enjoyable and the community exists. At least compared to most MMOs, I’ve had so much fun since playing that didn’t involve questing. The Halloween event is simple to catch up and you still have plenty of time to enjoy it.
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u/fkitbaylife Meriadoc 1d ago
to be brutally honest, i'd only recommend a completely new player to get into it if they're an absolutely massive LOTR fan.
yes, it's a great game for exploring, lore and immersion but you have to keep in mind that it's a roughly 20 year old game running on an even older engine and it does look and play like it.
if you're familiar with that sort of thing (i don't know a thing about SWTOR, having only played it for a very short amount of time right after it went f2p, so idk if they ever modernized that game like blizzard did with WoW) or don't care then give it a try.
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u/HuginJord 1d ago
Yes! There are still loads of players looking for kinships and partners. Just be sure to select a server that has a lot of users and uses your language, preferably in or near your timezone. I've been playing lotro off and on for nearly 20 years, since it started, and there are constant updates and new quests. Also thanks for reminding me! I've been playing Skyrim solo and BG 1, 2, and 3 for a few months and I almost forgot about the Halloween event. I know what I'll be doing this weekend :)
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u/dherzog87 1d ago
I started playing only last year, and love LotR so I just started playing to explore the landscapes and learn the lore. Obviously the graphics aren’t amazing but still very good for a game of its age. Totally recommend it.
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u/InBlurFather 1d ago
LOTRO and ESO are similar in that if you love LOTR, LOTRO is amazing, if you love TES, ESO is amazing
They both have their pros and cons otherwise (LOTRO more old school, ESO more modern). Both are either free or cheap barrier to entry so you could always try them out and see what suits you better.
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u/Moondust99 1d ago
I’m a relatively new MMO player, quite casual. I love story and lore and the world rather than endgame content.
I’m especially new to LOTRO, but what I’ve played so far I’ve enjoyed a lot. It’s definitely older seeming but thats part of the charm lol.
I started ESO as well and really enjoy that. I’ve never played another Elder Scrolls game so I don’t have any bias or anything. It’s fun, it might be the one thats taken me the longest to grasp all the concepts but the world is great and big and rewards exploring and reading the lorebooks.
Play both! They all offer a lot of fun and you might prefer one over the other or love both and just alternate. Obviously if you’re a bit endgamer you might want to prioritise one, but enjoy the journey and the worlds on offer with all these MMOs, we’re very lucky to have so many great ones :)
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u/Larelle 1d ago
Yes, yes and yes. SWTOR combat is like Noughts & Crosses compared to Lotro, though the latter does depend on the class. I really wish Broadsword would fix it. I loved the story in SWTOR.
Everyone keeps botching Lotro competitors and they're all dead so yes, I see it going for 5 years.
Lotro can feel like they needed around 30 more devs for the past 10 years. They have about 5 coders not including DDO's and the code base is still a mess. You get very used to it within a week or so and stop noticing it after a few.
Before the Shadow is the much newer starter area. You select it when you pick your name.
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u/HydraTower 1d ago
My friends and I started this year (a couple of us returning/restarting after like a decade) and it’s still super fun. The scale of the world shines.
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u/_Birds-of-war_ 1d ago
How is performance these days? A lot of jank or anything?
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u/erikthe10man 1d ago
Not nearly as bad as it was two years ago. The migration to the new servers has seemed to help.
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u/Squeehorses Peregrin 13h ago
I'm seeing almost no complaints about lag in world chat anymore on my server. That said, it is a comparatively low-population RP server. No idea about high-population servers like Glamdring. Also, in addition to the new servers, for over a year now the devs have been optimizing each zone, one at a time, for lag. Things are much improved. I can't remember the last time I experienced rubber-banding on my war steed.
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u/Minimum_Note6207 1d ago
The storytelling in LOTRO is seriously underrated, once you dive into the Black Book of Mordor or the War of the Three Peaks, you'll forget you ever played SWTOR.
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u/erikthe10man 1d ago
I've been playing LOTRO since launch. I've also played SWTOR, Warhammer Online, and Guild Wars 2. I've had the most consistent fun line LOTRO if not for any other reason than the social aspect. On the right server, players are very friendly and helpful. I don't "ar-pee" at all, but play on an RP server because the chat is easier on the eyes. The game definitely shows it's age, but if you're there for the lore you can't beat the experience and the story.
And the music is legendary. The best I've ever heard outside of a Final Fantasy game.
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u/Yura-Sensei 23h ago
Its free so just try for yourself. Though i would say the beginning is basicly the most polished and fun part, especially if u play a hobbit. The game is extremely tedious to play imo. A great mmo where exploration and story is really good would be guild wars 2. Some of the best combat in the market too
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u/Taradyne 19h ago
I absolutely would recommend LOTRO in 2026, and have been since 2011. The lore is bomb, the world is huge and the gameplay is fun. If you want group content, I recommend you join a kinship (guild) and ask tons of questions, make friends and do stuff.
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u/Euphoric-Piglet-8140 Orcrist 17h ago
My biggest bugbear was that they got rid of class quest lines after the first couple of expansions. Second biggest was they got rid of the code mechanic for snipers/ gunslinger.
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u/AdAffectionate1935 17h ago
If you're coming from SWTOR and like LOTR in general, then actually I probably would say it's worth giving a try. They're both MMOs from same era. SWTOR has been modernised a little more than LOTRO and LOTRO definitely has more of that "old school jank" feel immediately, but I'd say it's worth a shot. Unless you buy a level boost, expect to be spending a very, very long time levelling to reach current content, though. There's never been any kind of level squish or attempt to speed players through to catch up.
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u/imbartsimpsonwhothru 15h ago
it's free, just jump in and see if you like any of the different aspects
questing, crafting, missions, collections, costumes, events, tons of interesting maps, etc
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u/SyntheticGod8 Arkenstone 2h ago
I think the story and characters are fantastic, but don't go in expecting anywhere near the production of SWTOR, with full cut scenes and voice acting and dialog options. There's some of that, but it can be rather crude.
Still, the game is still getting regular updates, there's so much story to be found and they've expanded on Middle-Earth to an amazing degree.
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u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Welcome to r/lotro! If you're looking for advice, please check out the following answers to commonly-asked questions:
Wondering what class to play? LOTRO has a wide variety of classes inspired by different characters from the books. Some are similar to other RPG games, while others are fairly unique to LOTRO.
The first thing to consider is what role(s) you want to play. Every class has a spec that can deal damage, but only some classes can spec to be tanks or healers or group-support.
If you wish to have the option of tanking, choose between Beorning, Brawler, Captain, Guardian, or Warden.
If you wish to have the option of healing, choose between Beorning, Captain, Minstrel, or Rune-keeper.
If you wish to have the option of group-support, choose between Burglar, Captain, Lore-master, and Mariner.
Or if you're just looking for a straightforward class to quest with, choose Hunter for ranged or Champion for melee. These classes are focused entirely on damage-dealing (but each has three different specs for doing so). They are great for beginners looking for a relaxing adventuring experience that fits within the theme of Lord of the Rings.
Don't worry about what class is considered "the best" at any one role, as that swings back and forth over time with each balance patch. Instead, consider which classes have the theme and aesthetic that most appeals to you. Do you want to fight in melee or at range? Do you want to be a grounded warrior or wield more magical powers?
Apart from theme, consider the complexity of the classes. Even for classes which can fulfill the same role, their mechanics can differ wildly. LOTRO offers a hint to the mechanical complexity of each class during character creation -- in the lower right corner you'll see a "Class Difficulty" of either Basic, Moderate, or Advanced. This is not about how powerful the class is -- some of the "Basic" classes are currently the most powerful in their role. Difficulty instead refers to the intricacies of each class' skills and core mechanics. If you enjoy intricate mechanics, aim for Moderate or Advanced. If you'd like something requiring less reading, theorycrafting, and button-presses, try a Basic class -- especially for your first character.
Finally, don't be afraid to try something different if your first class doesn't feel fun for you. Better to find the right fit early.
Wondering what race to play? While only some races can be some classes, beyond that initial restriction, race selection is largely about aesthetics. Racial traits are tiny and negligible after the first few levels. A Dwarf Guardian at level 30 is not significantly different than an Elf Guardian at level 30.
Wondering what server to play on? Most people play on only one server, and so personal perspectives will usually be limited. To find the best server for you, let us know a little about you. What time zone and time will you be most active? Do you want lot of crowds or a quieter atmosphere? Are you interested in roleplaying? All of these can help influence the best server for you.
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u/knightsinsanity 1d ago
I just started. Its not bad to be honest if yku follow the epic quest line. BUT shit is hella outdated and SLOOOOOW bit i have enjoyed it alot
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u/alusnova415 1d ago
The game is not easy to solo, yes it’s an mmo but today most modern mmos also provide solo content just keep that in mind and the leveling as a grind.
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u/erikthe10man 1d ago
LOTRO not being easy to solo is quite the opposite of the truth. Even pre-carebear nerf of all the "hard content" (Moria, Isengard), the only people that could not level solo were people who are bad at gaming - as cliched as it sounds. The default difficulty is almost trivial at this point.
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u/Gnolled 1d ago
in the wolves den Is devouring raw meat worth getting into?