I'll give it another shot. I played FFXIV when it first came out before the update. It was ok, lagged a lot. LOTRO I never tried, even though it has been out for awhile now.

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LOTRO has a great open world, solid story, good looking vistas, and solid quest progression if you play solo or in a small group. It also has the IP. It has good dungeon design and mechanics, but that is hampered by the difficulty in putting groups together. The instance finder works poorly, and shouting in world chat even 10 years ago was a poor solution. Classes are designed well an almost all of them have the fluidity to take on different roles based on spec. Developer has updated architecture so graphics are way better than a 10 year old game would imply.

FFXIV has a tighter combat system and excellent instance design. It also has the best group finder I've ever heard of and getting into groups and dungeons is a breeze. Gear and skill progression makes a lot of sense, and the graphics are nice. A huge con is that it is definitely an asian MMO...there is no grinding, but there is a ton of anime / chibi influences and I'm not into that type of stuff at all. Some of the dialogue and cutscenes are extremely cringe worthy. Classes have very defined roles and parties are only 4 or 8 members large, and are very structured (an 8 man dungeon is 4x DPS, 2x Tank, 2x Healer). Support classes don't exist, and crowd control isn't a mechanic in the game. Very streamlined.

FFXIV is probably the better MMO overall in 2017, but LOTRO has a certain something that has gotten me to play it in 2007 and 2017 with YEARS of gaps in between. The latest expansion was released a few months ago. It isn't dead.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Thanks for the detailed response. From what you described, LOTRO is more my speed. I might try it while waiting for the newer MMO's to come out this year.

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I'm on Brandywine

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Replaying GOTY edition on new game + in 4k. Feels good man.

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Just got W3 on Switch for my son. I'm starting to play it a bit myself after he goes to sleep. Not usually a fan of role playing games, but I liked the show, so we'll see how it goes.

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We Now Know That JOE BIDEN has been COMPROMISED by CHINA! (let that sink in)

Election 2020-The Largest Fraud in the History of Mankind.

*If you believe that Biden won, you also believe that Epstein killed himself*

nice. After you play the game you'll realize that the tv show still has a very long way to go before they catch up to the timeline from the video game.

I would think watching the show will help with the game as you'll already have a connection to some of the characters like Geralt, Cirri, Yenifer, Dandelion (Jasiker) and Triss.

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Hope you enjoy it. You should.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I'm glad they didn't disappoint with Yennifer. She is sexy in both the game and the show.

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We Now Know That JOE BIDEN has been COMPROMISED by CHINA! (let that sink in)

Election 2020-The Largest Fraud in the History of Mankind.

*If you believe that Biden won, you also believe that Epstein killed himself*

You been having fun?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I have not had a chance to get back to it since about a day or two after that post. I will try to check it out further when I get some free time.

_________________
We Now Know That JOE BIDEN has been COMPROMISED by CHINA! (let that sink in)

Election 2020-The Largest Fraud in the History of Mankind.

*If you believe that Biden won, you also believe that Epstein killed himself*