Back in May of this year Budgeford regaled us with how she revamped the first half of Moria. In today’s Developer Diary she brings us once back into the depths of the Dwarven halls to announce that the second half of Moria will be revamped with the release of Update 9.
First off, let me say that I have taken a character (my Captain) through Moria since the release of the first revamp and I loved it. In fact, it was almost like a fresh of breath air (as fresh the air can be in Moria) in comparison to my previous experiences. Unfortunately it was also quite apparent when I started to go into areas that hadn’t been revamped. Travel time was longer, quests were more spread out, and the general flow of questing started to become a bit painful; and I ended up just finishing the Epic and going to Lothlórien. So I can honestly say that it will be a much welcome relief to go through Moria now with the rest of my alts.
First off Budgeford lists that the following areas have been “polished” in this revamp:
- Zelem-melek (level 55)
- The Redhorn Lodes (level 56)
- The Flaming Deeps (level 57)
- Nud-melek (level 58)
- The Dimrill Dale (monster camp pass only – camps are now less dense)
- The Foundations of Stone (difficulty pass only – this zone is now considered “optional” and is not part of the critical path, but it should be easier to manage for the brave souls who want to venture in here)
However, it will not affect the following:
- The Epic Story
- Moria Instances
She states that around 70 new quests were added to the areas while current content was “…removed or replaced because we felt that they were not up to our current design standards.” Which I’m OK with considering that a lot of quests were the usual “go fetch” or “go kill” quests so I’m sure I won’t miss most of them. One cool thing that was added was the remote quest bestowal that was introduced with Rohan. For those who aren’t familiar with this, the system grants you the option to accept a quest when your character performs an action (such as killing a mob) and usually gives you the option to complete it once your task is finished; all without having to visit an NPC. Mob density was also reduced in areas and more travel goats were also added.
Overall, I’m pretty excited. I can feel my altoholism rising with the release of this Diary! How about you?
December 14, 2012 at 3:54 pm
I’ve been looking forward to this since the first half of Moria was revamped. A couple friends of mine quit playing the game when they got to Moria, and this might be what it takes to get them back in. I’m very excited.
December 14, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Like a fresh of breath air
December 14, 2012 at 4:10 pm
These zone revamps in combination with Autoloot/Open Tapping is going to make questing much more fun, IMO. I’m sure it was great at the time, but the constant ‘go to x camp and come back, then go to x camp again’ quests are a real pain in the buttsterior, and I’m glad to see Turbine gradually phasing them out.
December 14, 2012 at 4:32 pm
I’ve got a LM sitting at level 45, and I’ve kind of been dreading heading back through Moria. It’s good to know that, when I finally get the courage, I’ll have a far less harrowing experience. I bought the awesome white goat from the store when it was half off, so I’ll look pretty stylish while I’m riding through the darkness.
December 14, 2012 at 5:48 pm
I have a level 50 and level 55 alt camped out waiting for this revamp. Can’t wait to get in there and try it.
December 14, 2012 at 7:22 pm
Always good to see them put dead areas of the landscape to use. Moria has a lot of cool areas that are totally unused or uninvolved in any quests.
They still could have streamlined the FoS a little, even if they designated it an “optional” area.
That said, it think it is possible to over-simplify things, with all the swift-goats around every corner waiting to take you anywhere instantly, not much effort required to get around the place anymore.
December 15, 2012 at 4:08 am
Oh, nice. I’ve got a char or two on pre-Moria level. Will be nice to go to a revamped Moria. Although, in a year’s time the veterans will be going like “remember when you had to go to Balin’s camp TWICE!” and “The RESPAWN!!!! I tell ya!!!!”
December 15, 2012 at 12:22 pm
I’ve got two lvl 53 toons that I’ve basically left at a standstill in Moria. It’s so much fun to go into Moria and then such a drag to stay in Moria. Hopefully, this will encourage me to bring them back out of the storage locker and give them some play time again.
December 15, 2012 at 12:38 pm
I’m hoping there’s a part 3 coming that scales the instances.
December 15, 2012 at 12:46 pm
If they’d had any sort of mutli-wing raid I’d have expected to see these instanced scaled instead of Mirkwood, maybe they’ll get a part 3 in =)
December 15, 2012 at 1:08 pm
I have my LM parked in Flaming Deeps waiting to finish Moria, this time I want to finish the Foundations of Stone too.
December 15, 2012 at 5:17 pm
This is right around my hunter’s level range so I’m glad for this! I’m not a big fan of Moria and can’t wait until I can get out of there :p
December 15, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Yeah I always hated Moria. Some of the actual landscape design is breathtaking, but it’s such a horrible area to do anything in! I forced all my chars to 55 then went out the other side and never went back in. Even the epic is unfinished there on my main char. Looks like it might actually be nice to go back in now.
December 16, 2012 at 1:58 am
Count me in for someone excited for the second half of the revamp. I have a couple of characters who will soon enough be able to enter the great mines and get a sense for both halves of the revision.
Whether or not the second half feels as revised as the first, I think the other quality of life changes will help make Moria feel like a totally new playthrough (which is always a good thing when you have been through already at least a half dozen+ times).
December 16, 2012 at 4:24 am
I for one loved Moria as it was, even if not the quests sending you to Balin’s camp, mind you, but the density of mobs and scarcity of dwarf camps was pretty good.
When my next char went in after revamp, I could barely notice any mobs. I don’t like this at all. Side effect is, slayer deeds don’t fill as quickly.
December 16, 2012 at 11:50 am
I too have been dreading ‘doing’ Moria again, after putting one char completely thru all quests and deeds in there I have had enough of a good thing. especially all the long travels with aggro’ing everything in sight.
these upgrades may entice me to pull another char thru that area
December 17, 2012 at 2:32 am
i have a warden stuck in moria, around lvl 54. he’ll probably stay there forever – i don’t play him because he’s just no fun, as he never dies. but i have a cappy on the way who will benefit greatly from a streamlined questing process. i hope mirkwood gets a bit brighter too (although its quest lines are much better than moria’s so it’s ok)