LotRO Prep - Intro

Seems like everyone and their cousin (and their cousin's friend's cousin) has played Lord of the Rings Online. When the game launched, I was entrenched in a WOW raiding guild followed by months of burnout followed by summertime fun. The rain is back, autumn is here, October is around the corner, and I'm ready to dive into a new MMORPG.

Over the next week I'll explore several more prep related topics, including server selection, race/class combos, and to RP or not. If I didn't blog, I'd be scribbling notes on scrap paper as I try to sort through the random thoughts. Instead I'll drop them in this public space. I encourage anyone reading my blog who has played LotRO, to comment with advice or point me to online resources.

Here is a quick summary of what I've done to prepare for LotRO so far. You may notice two things: 1) Link is a Tolkien fan boy, 2) while Link wants you to believe he is organized, he really isn't, and 3) I'm a dork for referring to myself in the third person. Things I've done so far:

• Read the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Rings. Again. I honestly cannot count the number of times I've read the Hobbit and the Rings since I was teen.
• Ordered the game from Amazon. I was picking up a wireless adapter this weekend and (some how) found myself in the software section. Looks like the local store has dropped their prices too. D'oh. At least I'll have the special edition, whatever that means.
• Set up a second gaming PC. Avril and her friends are busy in Second Life building what appears to be a mall next to a mansion next to a dance club next to an island paradise. Trying to share computer time would have put a strain on the marriage. Now we can both play on the same nights and both not play on the same nights. Wink, wink. Those of you have been married 10+ years like us know what that means. That's right... catch up on missed sleep. Zing.
• Upgraded the pipes connecting us to the Internet. Going from DSL to Verizon FiOS was like going from dial-up to DSL. Well worth the extra $10 a month.
• Set up my gaming area in the loft. This part I am not as thrilled about. The desk is not a computer desk, so the keyboard and mouse sit too high. The monitor (as I mentioned before) is old and small. The chair is hard wood, but I added a cushion so my butt no longer goes numb. However, I like being up in the loft. Avril is nearby over the ledge, so we can chat but have a degree of privacy. I tend to pick my nose a lot when I game... I kid, I kid.

Quick links to the LotRO prep series:
LotRO Prep - Race and Class Combos
LotRO Prep - Roleplay and Servers