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LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Preview - Part 2
For our final preview Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel takes us on a guided tour of Dol Guldur, before facing the tower's Ringwraith
Written by Andy Griffiths, 20 November 2009
Today we look at the centre piece of Mirkwood and home of the expansion's most dangerous boss, the Ringwraith.
We're keen to go green.Luckily Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel was at hand to show us Sauron's mighty stronghold and as we expected it was very impressive. The tower had many levels and represents a challenge to any team of hardened MMO veterans. Thanks to Mr Steefel's instant kill button, which unfortunately won't be in the final version, we had little trouble getting past the various Orcs and other entities which patrolled the hallways.
This guys may be small, but they pack one hell of a punch.As you venture through the many levels from the ground to the top formations, the corridors get increasingly narrow and the clusters of enemies become more numerous. Judging by the difficulty you'll need the maximum party of twelve players to stand a chance of reaching the top. Some of the hallways inside the building were cramped, but they often opened up into huge decrepit halls which were occupied with many different enemies.
MMOZine Issue 17
For our latest Lord of the Rings coverage, click here to download MMOZine Issue 17 for free.The sense of ascent is accurately portrayed as there are often windows or open balconies to see just how far it is to the ground. We found this out at our peril, because if you aren't careful enemies can very easily knock you into the air and out appropriately sized windows.
Trying to tackle a Ringwraith on your own isn't advised.Skulls thrust onto pikes and wall hangings depicting the dark lord are to be found everywhere and at times it's hard to shake the feeling that you're in a haunted house. This is only heightened by the neon green lighting that permeates the halls and the vast amounts of cobwebs spread all over.
The inside of the tower is even more unwelcoming than the rest of Mirkwood and contains Sauron's most feared fighters. Our favourite enemy seemed to be an embodiment of pure energy and had rustic armour clinging to it's muscular physique. These giant warriors wielded a range of weaponry including swords and axes, and when they struck Jeffrey's unfortunate character he was propelled into the air and several feet backward.
After battling extremely hard through almost the entire population of Dol Guldur, you finally reach the top of tower to face the evil royalty of Lord of the Rings folklore, a Ringwraith. As expected, this character is incredibly tough, not only do you have to avoid his magic attacks, but those of his fell beast. A giant tail swept back and forth, in an attempt to swat us from the top of the tower into the forest below. Predictably enough our demo ended right there, after all Turbine need to save some big reveals for when the game launches in December.
Dol Guldur is the biggest challenge anyone will face in Lord of the Rings Online. Even though we were shown it with invulnerability and a magic kill switch the amount of enemies was still enough to overwhelm Mr Steefel. The first party to slay a Nazgul and conquer the tower will undoubtedly be called heroes within this epic MMO. It will be one hell of an achievement and you'll probably need eleven of your best fellow questers to get the job done.
Lord of the Rings coverage available in MMOZine Issue 17 - click here to download it for free!
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