The Fanatical Swordsman

So the new expansion has an official release date: September 27th, 2011!

This is smack dab in the middle of a testing time for most semesters, so we will see how much my grades suffer…*cough* I mean, there is unfortunately a chance I may not be able to partake in the fun…or I might have a sudden onset of MacGregor’s Syndrome, but it will luckily be only in Phase 1, which I hear is curable with an antidote created by Victor Fries, M.D. Unfortunately, it will probably take, oh, at least two weeks for it to ship from Amazon. That should be sufficient for me to get my hunter and warden to 75…

Anyway, there is a set of three pre-orders available for purchase. They all grant access to the expansion, of course, but there are special goodies available immediately that are worth looking at. I still regret not pre-ordering Mirkwood, as I could’ve saved myself a lot of Turbine Points that I spent on extra character slots so I can have 9 characters. The following is a rundown on the pre-orders and my suggestions:

Note: I do not yet have information on the LOTRO Store and what these pre-orders will go for in that.

1. All items, titles, etc. are available immediately.
2. All pre-order options come with the title “Guard of the Isen.”
3. All pre-order options come with a +25% XP boost for each character, usable in game after applying the code (good news for my alts!)
4. All pre-order options come with at least one exclusive Isengard cloak (cannot be dyed)
5. All pre-order options come with at least one exclusive Isengard mount (200 morale, +62% speed, so like a rep mount)
6. All pre-order options come with preferred beta access

Now for the differences between the Base, Heroic, and Legendary options ($29.99, $39.99, and $49.99, respectively):

1. Base includes the red mount, Heroic includes your choice of red, white, and green, and Legendary has all three.
   Comment: I will have to go at least Heroic, because I want the green one, but if you are a consummate mount collector like myself, then you will want to go Legendary
2. Matching (!) Isengard armor for Heroic and Legendary (the color that you select for the mount in Heroic, and all three colors for Legendary)
   Comment: If you want multiple colors, then you need to get Legendary, because the armor and cloak cannot be dyed.
3.  1000 Turbine points with Heroic and Legendary
   Comment: This alone makes Heroic and Legendary worth more for your money than Basic, because that is a straight cent-per-point for the Turbine points (which is better than pretty much any other deal out there), even if you don’t take into account the other perks of the upgrade
4. Legendary also includes the Trollshaws, Eregion, Moria, Lothlórien, and Mirkwood
   Comment: If you are a free player, then you will want to look at this. If the only characters that you intend to play through Isengard are already level 65, then awesome, you don’t need this. If you are still in the 40s or something like that, and you don’t own these zones already, then you will need a place to level to the expansion, so go for it!
   Note: If you are a VIP, and you have never purchased these zones, then this is a great way to get some zones essentially on sale, as you are not able to purchase zones with a VIP account!

All things considered, I am probably going to go Legendary. If I ever drop my subscription, I will want to have the zones for leveling my millions of alts. I also have a thing for mounts, and three different colors opens a lot of possibilities.

Also, since I was having to go up to Heroic just to get a green mount and armor, I might as well shell out the extra $10 for two mounts, two sets of armor, two cloaks, Trollshaws, and Eregion (as I have previously purchased the Moria and Mirkwood expansions, pre-f2p).

To Isengard!

I Melain berio le,
Geldarion

Language notes: “I Melain berio le” means “May the Valar keep you” in Sindarin Elvish