Holy cow, are we already wrapping up another year of Lord of the Rings Online? I’ve been writing this column since 2010, and I still don’t feel like I’m running out of topics. But as always, I like to pause and reflect at the end of a calendar year on this column and the journey of the game itself.

Play LOTRO for freeI’ve had a great time in LOTRO this year. I took my Captain all the way through Gundabad and finished all of the epic storyline to date, had a good fun stint on the Treebeard progression server, and started up a new Hobbit Lore-master this fall for adventures in Before the Shadow. But what about the game itself? Let’s travel back to look over 2022 in LOTRO!

LOTRO’s 2022 in review

LOTRO’s 2022 kicked off with the Shadowfax server progressing into Rise of Isengard and Treebeard venturing into Mines of Moria. SSG quickly stepped into it with proposed changes to currency which garnered so much pushback that the studio decided to nix the idea.

In February, the new and improved LOTRO website went online, and Update 32: Rangers and Ruins went live with the Angle of Mitheithel, legendary reward track, and the Erebor premium housing. This was quickly followed by the release of the Hiddenhoard of Abnankâra raid.

Shadowfax moved into Riders of Rohan in March. That same month, SSG impressed us with the news that a great deal of LOTRO would be made completely free going forward. Allan “Orion” Maki came back to the LOTRO team in April, after which the Anor shard leveled up to Minas Morgul.

April ended up being a huge month for the game, with Update 33: Yondershire arriving and the game’s 15th anniversary event handing out scads of free content and prizes. Heading into May, Shadowfax moved on to Helm’s Deep, and legendary warsteed bridles were retired.

In June, Shadowfax rode into Gondor and Treebeard unlocked Siege of Mirkwood while PvMP was made free to all players. The game’s producer, Raninia, left in July without much of an explanation, but life moved on, and we got to play Update 33.1: The Further Adventures of Elladan and Elrohir.

MacOS support ended in August, as did the Anor legendary server. By early fall, Update 33.2 arrived with a bunch of new class/race combinations — and a controversial Minstrel rebalance pass.

After a short delay, Update 34: Before the Shadow came out in mid-November. This mini-expansion contained two new low-level zones, a class trait revamp, a skirmish, 40 new missions, optional session play toggles, and the delving system.

Probably the funniest thing that happened was a glitch that created a giant boulder in Bree-land that the community adopted as Dwayne the Rock. All in all, it was a crazy busy year — and SSG’s hard work paid off with an 11% bump in players.

Hopes for the new year

In the past, I used to post a wish list for the game of what I wanted to see added/changed in LOTRO. I’ve been stepping away from that, partially because I was repeating myself in certain areas and partially because SSG kept adding stuff on that list into the game proper.

So instead, I wanted to pause and pontificate on what I’d like to see in general in the new year. Obviously, I hope that LOTRO continues to improve in quality, community, and population. This was a really fine year for the MMO, all things considered, and it’s shown that this game has strong legs. But it can’t just tread water in 2023; it needs to keep up the hard work.

Everyone’s number one complaint and priority is the terrible performance of the game, and it continues to run rampant despite SSG saying that it’s throwing engineers and resources at the issue. People are tired of it, and the server lag is giving the game a bad reputation among the wider MMO community. This has to be fixed, and soon. I don’t think there’s anything else I can say to underscore that.

Aside from that, I’m excited to hear about the upcoming expansion (whether it’s a mini one or a full-blown expansion in truth) and other short-term plans for the game. It’s encouraging to see SSG expand the team — one of the best and most passionate in the business, in my opinion — and if it continues to do that and keep the communication rolling, I’ll be delighted.

Personally, I want to continue my adventures and enjoy the scenery, storytelling, and social environment of the game. This will be the first time that I’ll be playing a character primarily through the epic story, and I’m curious if it’ll seem faster because of that.

A look back at LOTRO Legendarium

And it’s certainly been a busy year here at LOTRO Legendarium! For your reading convenience, here’s a roundup of all of the columns from the past 12 months:

LOTRO Legendarium: Does LOTRO need a new dungeon finder tool? LOTRO Legendarium: It’s time to revisit skirmishes in Lord of the Rings Online LOTRO Legendarium: Lord of the Rings Online must extract itself from its currency quagmire LOTRO Legendarium: Exploring LOTRO Update 32’s Angle of Mitheithel LOTRO Legendarium: Why people bounce off Lord of the Rings Online LOTRO Legendarium: Lord of the Rings Online takes much-needed steps forward LOTRO Legendarium: Should LOTRO’s raids be made accessible to all? LOTRO Legendarium: Six reasons why LOTRO’s Beorning is amazing LOTRO Legendarium: Why Lord of the Rings Online’s world feels different from all other MMOs LOTRO Legendarium: Six reasons why now is a great time to return to LOTRO LOTRO Legendarium: Remembering 15 amazing years of Lord of the Rings Online LOTRO Legendarium: Exploring the bounds of Yondershire LOTRO Legendarium: 10 helpful tips to improve your LOTRO experience LOTRO Legendarium: Which LOTRO race is the best to play? LOTRO Legendarium: Return to Moria hopes to fill a niche crevasse LOTRO Legendarium: Embracing Lord of the Rings Online’s new class/race combos LOTRO Legendarium: Evaluating Lord of the Rings Online’s legendary servers, four years later LOTRO Legendarium: Is LOTRO’s PvP game worth salvaging? LOTRO Legendarium: Update 33.1’s further adventures are more like a light snack LOTRO Legendarium: What new classes could LOTRO add in the future? LOTRO Legendarium: Will Before the Shadow evade the mini-expansion stigma? LOTRO Legendarium: LOTRO’s Minstrel revamp is a master class in studio obstinance LOTRO Legendarium: 23 LOTRO facts I learned from Scenario’s Casual Stroll video series LOTRO Legendarium: Are LOTRO’s missions a little too good? LOTRO Legendarium: Four options for character leveling in LOTRO LOTRO Legendarium: 10 reasons to get psyched about Before the Shadow (that aren’t the new zones) LOTRO Legendarium: What class should you pick in LOTRO? LOTRO Legendarium: Exploring Before the Shadow’s new starter area and skirmish LOTRO Legendarium: Why the new class trait system changes are a bigger deal than you’d think LOTRO Legendarium: A look back at Lord of the Rings Online in 2022 Every two weeks, the LOTRO Legendarium goes on an adventure (horrid things, those) through the wondrous, terrifying, inspiring, and, well, legendary online world of Middle-earth. Justin has been playing LOTRO since its launch in 2007! If you have a topic for the column, send it to him at [email protected]/topic/y.