Moria or bust?

Are we there yet?

My first thought when I returned to LOTRO this time around is that I wanted to finish this run in sight of the gates of Moria. However you measure it – as the first level 50+ content; as the game's first expansion; as an iconic location from the trilogy – Moria is a major milestone.

It's also a milestone I'm not likely to come close to during this run, and I realized that after taking a look back at my last two runs. In each of those I went up 6 or 7 levels, and having started this run at level 39, I can't realistically expect to finish higher than 45 at best. Not that I'm in that much of a hurry; LOTRO is all about the journey, quite literally, and there's still plenty to see between where I am now and the Doors of Durin. 

I am picking up the pace a bit though, in much the same way as I went through Bree-land mostly via the Epic Story, with only brief exploration of the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs along the way.

LOTRO is not a game that lends itself to fast levelling. I daresay it's possible, though I have only the vaguest idea of the preferred speed levelling method in this game – I assume it involves running skirmishes or instances over and over again. The standard experience is not fast paced, and even though it's been smoothed out over the years the levelling curve is still fairly old school, with 21-40 having taken about three times as long as 1-20.

There's also a lot of travel time involved. The Epic Story is notorious for sending the player back and forth across half of Eriador between quests at times, and as I don't have an active subscription my fast travel options are limited. On the plus side I do have several class abilities that grant me quick travel to certain locations, and a racial ability to return to Rivendell that's proving very useful at the moment. My basic Return skill remains set to Bree for now – it's a good central location, with quick travel back to the starter zones if I need it. Which I do occasionally.

I don't mind any of this. There are some MMOs where rapid travel is part of the rhythm of the game – Neverwinter and Guild Wars 2 come to mind – but LOTRO isn't one of them. Anyway, I enjoy the occasional long ride from stable to stable – it's relaxing, and the scenery is nice.