Taking Things Slow

I managed to hit level 20 in LoTRO this morning. I was pretty excited because it means I could finally do the skirmish part of the game. For some reason I am short on skirmish points and I cannot finish the tutorial to purchase the warrior. I'm not sure if i need to do other ones or what? Seems kind of pointless for a tutorial if that is the case. Maybe I skipped something? I was tired and I will have to wait until later to figure it out.

I was sort of getting tired of the Shire, as pretty as it is I like the darker zones: bogs, marshes, wooded forest and the like. I did get to spend some time in a few of those type areas which made me happy. Questing along happily the levels seemed to fly past last night and today. I like the quest tracker a lot, it helps save a lot of time. I'd be so lost without it!

Upon hitting 20 I gained several different little 'pet people' to follow me around and help. They do different things and I was excited to retire 'Stalker'. I named my new one Jemima, I don't know why but that is just the funniest name ever IMO.

I think my biggest complaint with the game is travel. The travel from Bree to the areas I am venturing to now, well it is quite a gap compared to what it was before. Also I've died and realized how far it can sometimes be to travel back. Yikes! Some quests, traveling back from Bree, well, they just take so long to get back to. It's not the worst thing but I do wish travel was a bit smoother. Quests are spread out on the map and you do a lot of running which can take a bit of time. Some of my current quests have nice hubs close by and it's a refreshing change.

Regardless of all this, I am still enjoying myself. The scenery along the way is nice to drink in! The community seems to be mixed of respectful old players and punk ass new players. Ok, so not all the new players are punks but it seems a lot of them like to be very vocal, making fun of things like RP and subscriptions. Where, a week ago, people were kind and very fun and lighthearted- lately chat has more and more jerks in it is all. I run across more and more people being rude and complaining about prices, having to pay (for anything). I tend to stay out of ooc channel now.

Hopefully after the initial burst things will calm down. I think that is a big reason I got tired of EQ2X as quickly as I did, all the people wanting a handout and complaining. I'm not in a rush so I may sort of lay low for awhile. It is a game to be taken slow, and I plan on doing just that!

-kaozz