The pull of the ring is strong...

Play reports:

Speaking at the Codemaster Connect 08 event in Birmingham today, Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online producer was on-hand to officially announce a new expansion pack for the popular MMO title.

Called "The Mines of Moria", the first official LoTR expansion will be released later this year, and promises wholesale improvement and expansion of the persistent world title.

The new add-on will see us entering new areas of Middle-Earth, specifically Moria and beyond this, Lorien. A third region was mooted but goes unnamed at present. 10 new levels will see the game's cap boosted to 60, with two new classes being offered: the Warden and the Runekeeper.

In the mine's we're promised epic environments and vast halls, with top-notch loot on offer. Balrog and the Watcher will count among the new bosses to counter, with world altering instances and stunningly rich dwarve cities offered by the producer.

Entering Lorien players will receive gifts from Galadriel, the pack also introducing Legendary Items (objects that will evolve as the player progresses), et al. Big raids were also mentioned.

Turbine also confirmed that they are planning annual expansions to the Lord of the Rings Online, another offering hinted for 2009.

In the short-term, MMO players will also be getting Book 13, 'Doom of the Last King', which will offer a new icy coastal region to explore, weather which impacts your character and the related gameplay... as well as, well, fishing.

War Mammoths and a new race, The Lossoth, will also be added, alongside new monsters, fellowship enhancements and more.The developers even confirmed that Book 14 will arrive later in the summer, which will carry players through to the expansion pack, and allow them to visit the Ring Forge in the process.


With Age of Conan coming out soon and now this, the temptation is growing deep inside the pit of my blackened gamer soul. Can I resist? Will I resist? Stay tuned.