Leveling Items - Yay or Nay

major subject of speculation and debate concerning the development of Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar of late has been the pros and cons of items or gear that level with you as you progress in the game as opposed to having to find/create new gear. Avoiding the 'item farming' is hardly a new concept. Other games have done it with varying degrees of success and failure. City of Heroes is an example of a way it can work. In that game it's all about your Hero's abilities. Costumes are just for looks. You gain enhancements to your abilities and apply them where they suit you. You have no real 'gear' per se so there is nothing to level but yourself. Of course CoH has no real economy to speak of. No crafting whatsoever. This is not a path we want to see LotRO take.

In games like Dark Age of Camelot they have artifacts that require leveling to improve them. This resulted in yet another grind. Just one more thing you need to level up. And inevitably, once you cap out the level on say your sword. you find a better one and have to start all over again with the grindfest. I'm pretty sure I can safely say that most aren't looking for new ways to grind in-game.

Another thing to consider is the need of crafters. If you use the same items throughout the game then what purpose would crafters serve? Sure they could repair and enhance your gear but I'm guessing most crafters wouldn't find that very satisfying after a while. They would need 'more'. As with most things when it comes to designing a game, the developers need to find a system that would appeal to everyone (or to the greatest majority they can).

Ultimately, as far as LotRO is concerned, the major underlying component is the lore. Turbine has made it clear that being "true to the lore" is a top priority for them. Lore is considered in every decision they make. Your gear will be no exception. So how will it work? And just what method best fits the lore?

I think if you ponder on the stories even a little you'll see that the lore supports both the concept of replacing your gear and of keeping it with you. Let's use the Fellowship as an example since they're the focus of the stories for the Lord of the Rings. This is by no means a complete listing, just a sampling.

Kept Gear

• Frodo uses 'Sting', a sword passed on to him by Bilbo
• Gandalf uses 'Glamdring', a sword originally crafted for Turgon of Gondolin in ages past
• Narsil, the sword used by Elendil that was broken by Sauron, was re-forged for Aragorn
• Frodo uses the mithril coat given to him by Bilbo throughout the story (until the orcs take it from him)

Each character cited started with these items and kept them throughout their adventures. All the items had a history.

Gained Gear

• When Gandalf is first imprisoned by Saruman he loses his staff and must construct a new one
• The entire Fellowship gained Elvish Cloaks from the Elves in Lothlorien
• Sam, Merry, and Pippin received Elvish blades from the Barrow Wight's loot
• When Gandalf was 'reborn' as the White Wizard his robes and hat (and beard!) changed from grey to white

All of these items were either an improvement, or were looted during the adventure.

So now we see that precedence exists for both items that are kept and improved throughout ones' adventures, and for gaining better gear as you progress. So ultimately the lore is no help. or is it extremely helpful? With the lore supporting both concepts that pretty much gives the dev team carte blanche to create whatever system they (and the community) want. Perhaps we can have the best of both worlds?

The biggest factor that comes into play for developers when deciding on how they will handle gear and items in an MMO is the in-game economy. In every MMO there are items traded or sold. In fantasy MMOs like LotRO, it is usually a currency system based on gold. If dropped items are too 'good', then that raises the demand and people begin 'farming' the item (killing the same mobs over and over to get the item numerous times) so they can make money selling it over and over again. If crafted items are too good, crafters can charge outrageous amounts for their efforts. Both of these scenarios drive up prices and it's harder and harder for casual players to get good gear.

In many ways, 'kept gear' would change that. No one need go 'farming' for loot. If your items improve as you do, then there's no need to change. Crafters could repair and enhance items, perhaps even re-forge. Not as rewarding on the surface but if an element of uniqueness and trade-marking is added there would be increased incentive for crafters. As mentioned earlier in this editorial, the main concern would be 'grinding' to improve your item. Most agree that 'this game needs to be about adventuring in Middle-earth and not about gaining levels for yourself OR your gear the fastest.

How this is accomplished is the issue. You can't necessarily have it level on a 1 to 1 scale with your character as different things increase your character's experience. For instance, you don't need your sword to solve a riddle or puzzle but those are valid ways to gain experience. Maybe your items only improve with enhancements by crafters. All XP goes to you and your abilities like with CoH. No grindfest.

Since you will have people that want the best gear regardless, then good loot drops are a must. Then there are the story fans that really only care about adventuring in this wondrous creation of J.R.R Tolkien's. They need the crafters. The key is balance. In Star Wars Galaxies, before the New Game Enhancements hit, the crafters made the best items by far. They drove the economy. In WoW, the loot drops reign supreme and the instance farmers drive the economy. Turbine needs to find that delicate balance that makes both options viable and desirable. They need to do it in a way that doesn't foster grinding or farming to a degree that the casual gamers' gameplay is hindered. A daunting task indeed. Is Turbine up to it? We can only wait and see. This much, however, is true - so far they've managed to strike an amazing balance between gameplay and lore. We can only hope they'll manage the same for loot drops vs crafting and item leveling.