Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled today The Lord of the Rings Online™: Riders of Rohan™, the latest expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine .  Riders of Rohan expands the online world of Middle-earth where players join forces to ride into the Plains of Rohan.  Riders of Rohan launches in Autumn 2012 with an increased level cap, the vast plains of Rohan including iconic locations such as Amon Hen and Fangorn Forest, the new Mounted Combat system and much more!

“2011 was another banner year for The Lord of the Rings Online with consistent growth for the game, a successful unification of our European and North American services and the success of Rise of Isengard, our best selling expansion to date.” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online.  “This is going to be another outstanding year as we celebrate our fifth anniversary and introduce a wealth of new content throughout the year, ending with our arrival in Rohan.  One of our largest expansions ever, Rohan is expected to be twice the size of the recent Rise of Isengard expansion and includes the most new game systems and technology we've introduced since 2008's Mines of Moria.”

NEW FEATURES:

Ø  Experience the Riders of Rohan – Join with the Rohirrim and ride across the sprawling Plains of Rohan; witness the breaking of the Fellowship at Amon Hen; forge alliances with the Ents of Fangorn; and aid Éomer, adopted son of Théoden, as he seeks to protect his homeland from the growing Shadow.

Ø  Introducing Mounted Combat – Ride into Combat atop your loyal War-steed as you defend the people of Rohan from the forces of Isengard and Mordor. Customize your War-steed’s armor and level its skills over time to aid you in mounted defense of King Theoden’s lands. Mount your steed and gather your fellows to fight against Warbands, contingents of roving warg riders that have been scouted all over the Plains of Rohan! It falls to you to head off and defeat this new threat before they over take the land.

Ø  Advance to level 85 – Continue your legend in the next chapter of The Lord of the Rings Online. Experience new adventures in the epic story, and gain new skills and deeds as you face new challenges on your journey to 85!

The Lord of the Rings Online is the ultimate adventure. This award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game delivers an interactive experience brimming with life and filled with the familiar people, places and monsters from the most famous fantasy of all time. From the picturesque surroundings of the Shire to Moria, the most fearsome underground realm ever imagined, players can experience the world of Middle-earth for free!  For more information, visit www.lotro.com.

Purchase game through EA’s digital service and receive limited-edition in-game items
 

Rift™, the immensely successful MMORPG from Trion Worlds, is the latest addition to the growing list of titles on Origin™, EA’s direct-to-consumer gaming platform. Beginning today, gamers can purchase on Origin both the Standard and Ashes of History editions of Rift for £19.99 and £24.99 respectively, and join fellow Ascended from around the globe in the fight against the planes. For a limited time, purchasing through Origin gets new Rift players in-game bonuses – the adorable Screechling Vanity Pet and the Ascended Gift Pack, a goodie bag filled with stat-bumping treats that give players the edge they need to vanquish the Blood Storm.     

Ascended Gift Pack includes:

o   Spirit Woven Backpack – 10 slot bag
o   Essence of Magic (10) – Restores a small amount of mana
o   Essence of Health (10) – Restores a small amount of health
o   Soul Nectar (20) – Restores a moderate amount of health and mana over 10 seconds
o   Words of Might (5) – Temporarily increases Dexterity, Strength, Intelligence, and Wisdom
 

Rift, Trion’s debut title, was widely acclaimed on its release in March 2011 and has recently garnered a number of international accolades, including MMORPG.com’s “Game of the Year”, and IGN.com’s “Best MMO Game” of 2011. The development team is currently working on the seventh major patch for the game, which will be available soon.

For more information on the Standard Edition visit: http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.243547000

For more information on the Ashes of History Edition visit: http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.244438800

Skills

Assassin

• Fox Fangs (PvP): reduced bonus damage to 10…25.
• Leaping Mantis Sting: reduced bonus damage to 5…15.

Dervish

• Crippling Victory: increased adrenaline cost to 6; removed Cripple from AoE component.
• Onslaught (PvP): removed 25% movement-speed increase.
• Twin Moon Sweep (PvP): reduced damage by 25%.
• Wearying Strike: increase adrenaline cost to 6.

Elementalist

• Blinding Flash: increased recharge to 8 seconds.
• Glyph of Sacrifice: added the following functionality: "Ends prematurely if you use a non-spell skill."
• Obsidian Flame (PvP): split for PvP; reduced damage to 22…92.

Monk

• Shield Guardian: reduced cost to 5 Energy; increased casting time to 1.5 seconds.
• Spirit Bond: reduced healing threshold to 50 damage; reduced healing to 30…90.
• Spirit Bond (PvP): reduced healing threshold to 50 damage; reduced healing to 30…90.

Paragon

• Wild Throw: added the following functionality: "All of your non-spear attack skills are disabled for 3 seconds."

Ranger

• Melandru's Shot: reduced recharge to 8 seconds.

Warrior

• Enraged Smash (PvP): split for PvP; increased recharge to 10 seconds.
• Yeti Smash: removed 1 second activation; reduced adrenaline cost to 6.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• This update was explained on Feedback:Robert Gee/Journal#January 20th 2012: Snow Day Skill Update Preview.

SWEET!!!

 

The closed beta phase for Guild Wars 2 has ended, according to a new post on the ArenaNet blog. The team are now ready to “aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events” from March onwards ahead of a full release later this year.

 

The closed beta went live for a small selection of players mid-December. Back then ArenaNet said that the feedback from testing would “determine the next phases of our beta program.” It must have gone well if the devs have announced those plans just five weeks later.

 

Access to the Guild Wars 2 beta will be an extremely hot ticket for players looking for a fresh take on the MMO. We’ll have to wait and see just how different Guild Wars 2 really is, but who wouldn’t want to play as a giant lion man and wander around some of GW2′s extraordinary areas. Roll on March! Are you excited about Guild Wars 2?

Source: PC Gamer

Turbine's popular free-to-play MMORPG Dungeons & Dragons Online will be getting its first full expansion soon. Announced today, the expansion, Menace of the Underdark, will introduce the shape-shifting Druid class, increase the level cap to 25, and allow players to delve into the Underdark, a brand new area.

It's unclear how Menace of the Underdark will tie into the overall free-to-play structure, but it is possible that it will be separate, paid-for content unobtainable by players who don't wish to pay.

Menace of the Underdark will be available in Summer this year (for Northern-Hemispherians. Winter for those south of the Equator). Are you interested? Only if it's free? Let us know what you think in the comments below.