Lord of the Rings Onlinehas quietly been chugging away for the last 17 years and while it may not have the dedicated player base of World of Warcraft, the release of its latest expansion is a great time to try it out. Releasing at the peak of the MMO craze, LOTRO managed to carve out a decent niche by building upon the extensive lore of Middle-earth, its appeal further enhanced by the success of Peter Jackson's film trilogy. The game hasn't rested on its laurels, continually putting out massive expansions that keep the community happy. 3n3p6r

The Lord of the Rings Online has opened pre-orders for its expansion, Legacy of Morgoth. The expansion will be the long-running MMO's twelfth and will explore a part of J.R.R. Tolkien's world that the game has never gone before. Fans will get to traverse several new areas and tons of new content, including new cosmetics, foes and allies, instances and raids, and more.

The Lord of the Rings Onlinehas been running for over 15 years, and even after all that time, the long-standing MMO isn't slowing down in 2023, with a recently announced roap promising plenty of new updates. Middle-earth is rich and expansive, offering a nearly endless number of opportunities for the team of developers to explore. With a year of updates already planned for the game, LOTRO players have plenty of content to look forward to.

When The Lord of the Rings Online's next expansion - Before the Shadow - releases on November 8, it may cause trouble for current players that don't take certain precautionary measures. For a game as old as LOTRO, every major update becomes more likely to interfere with some existing system, which may be the case here. While the key features of Before the Shadow don't mention the game's class traits, the update's release notes reveal a change in their functionality to which longtime players will want to pay especially close attention.