Seven Favorites

Kill Ten Rats has posted their seven favorites of LOTRO. I thought it a great overview post and thought I'd make my own.

Favorite Zone: The Shire - This zone captured for me the best of Tolkien's world. The love and work that went into the Shire is clear from the moment you step foot into this quaint hobbity world. While other zones gave me more to do (like the North Downs) or were more visually appealing (Evendim) the Shire holds a special place in my heart for convincing me once and for all that LOTRO had done it right.

Favorite Race: Dwarves - Even though I don't play one as my main. There's just something wonderfully earthy about these creatures. They make me laugh, they make me mad, but all the while they are a race that awakes my earliest memories of Tolkien in the Hobbit. That's will probably become a theme - that which reminds me most of the IP. But that's a good thing. If this game reminds me so much of Tolkien, then they've done their job well. Very well.

Favorite Class: Captain - Jaxom is my main. I love playing the captain. We're a class that is always welcome in a group. We inspire others through our buffs to greater feats and yet we don't desire to take credit (most of us). We're a support class through and through yet can still hold our own.

Favorite Feature: Fellowship Manuever - It thought I was going to say the Legendary Items here, but honestly, I get more satisfaction out of a sucessfully completed FM than I do from leveling or aquiring any legendary. There's nothing better than a well cooridinating fellowship, especially if it's comprised of your kinmates and friends.

Favorite Skill: In Defense of Middle Earth - This is epic. A buff that gives you +50 to every stat (Might, Agility, Vitality, Will, Fate). Beautiful. While you have to rebuff a lot with this, you can greatly increase your combat effectiveness by hardly doing a thing (although getting the skill is a bit of a chore).

Favorite Instance: I Like Them All - Instances are awesome. There's yet to be one that stands out in my mind - all of them are great! The Great Barrow does poke above the rest though in being my first real group instance content I experienced in the game, with my kinship. It's not enough to put it here though, so I have to spread my love around to all of them.

Favorite Book: Narmelth's Memory - This isn't the proper name but I can't recall it off hand. Whichever book that takes yout through the memory of Narmelth as she was retained in Dollosad by her father. We learn a great deal in this book and while you hardly interacted in this final chapter, it was a great piece of story telling. Even the Balrog session play of Volume 1, Book 2 can't compare (although that cutscene at the end was sweet).