Welcome to the Trollshaws. While you're here you should kill some animals. In fact you should kill ALL the animals.
LOTRO isn't averse to 'Kill 10 Rats' quests at the best of times, but the ride to Rivendell really takes that to the next level. Since I'm not, for now, being sidetracked by other quests in the region I've only been picking up those which are automatically offered after killing the first of a particular mob type. I've seen this type of quest before, a couple of times in the Lone Lands and the North Downs, but in the Trollshaws there's one attached to each and every animal type you encounter, and the cumulative effect is unintentionally funny as they pile up in the quest log.
This isn't my first trip to Rivendell, not quite. Years ago on a whim I tried to ride down to Isengard on a level 20 character – a memorable journey during which I discovered that you can actually die in LOTRO from fall damage if you fall far enough, which I did while running away from a bear in the Trollshaws.
I didn't quite make it in the end, dying to a level 60-something mob in, I think, Eregion.
That sight-seeing trip aside this is the furthest I've ever been in this game, and with the exception of some remaining quests on the eastern side of the North Downs I'm now entering what is, to me, new and unexplored territory.
Slowly. It's taken 16 hours of this run to get this far, and I'll freely admit I've not been particularly time efficient, riding back and forth between quest hubs in the North Downs more times than I really had to. There's something relaxing about those long rides from stable to stable, and the scenery is nice.
I'm in no rush.
Except... the world is opening up now. From the North Downs to the Trollshaws and now onward to Evendim, the epic story is moving along at quite a pace, and I'm wondering just how many zones I'll have to open up for the next 24 hours I spend in this game, once the current open-to-all event is over.
I'm tempted to put off my trip to Evendim for now and focus on finishing up the regular quests in the North Downs, which would take one zone off my to-buy list (at least on this character.) Alternately I could subscribe, or start an alt, which would also lighten the demands on my bank space – expansions to which have been a very effective gold sink thus far. Getting the most out of my store purchases continues to be an entertaining meta-game.
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