Foreword

In The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Book 7: Leaves of Lothlórien, we introduced a number of changes to Ered Luin as well as Archet, Combe and Staddle. These changes were just the start of a long list of planned changes for our game and that work has continued in Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dûm. This time, Bree-land was our focal point and the changes there are significant.

Bree

Bree-town has always suffered from a bit of an identity crisis. It has wanted to be both a social center where players can gather and share stories, prepare for adventure and generally show off their hard-won items or craft new ones.Ialso a major quest hub, providing new players with a multitude of options to gather  quests and leave town only to return several moments later with their haul of hides in tow. Bree has also been a travel hub and a place of commerce and trade. We decided that one of our goals with the Bree-land revamp was to focus on Bree as a town first and foremost.

One of the objectives was to make the entire questing process more logical and to eliminate the constant back and forth that sent players out of town only to return and pick up another quest that sent them out again. As a result, many quests have been moved outside of Bree and some new quests have found their way into town in an effort to help players learn their way around the bustling village.

New arrivals will now have the option to take a tour of the town, finding all the major landmarks that will be important to their characters and providing them with an introduction to the Men of Bree-land faction. The goal with this change was to turn Bree-town into a place that directed players more clearly on the path of adventure and glory in their battle with the forces of the enemy.