Following yesterday’s worldwide press announcement about the new Lord of the Rings Online expansion “Mines of Moria ” at Connect 08 in Birmingham, UK, Turbine and Codemasters gave another presentation about the forthcoming interim updates and the new retail expansion.

This morning I managed to get a quiet 5 minutes with Jeffrey Steefel, Turbine’s Executive Producer of LoTRO to ask a few questions on behalf of Allakhazam’s subscribers.

Nobby :
Before I ask about the Mines of Moria, what aspects of Books 13 and 14 should we be most excited about?

JS :
Well a lot of it's about drawing the Shadows of Angmar storyline to a conclusion, but specifically, Book 13 introduces the new Zone – Forochel north of Evendim. It’s kind of an icy place with Winter Forests, Tundra, Icebergs and a Glacier. There’s also a new race, the Lossoth.

Nobby :
Can you tell us more about the Lossoth?

JS :
Well I like to think of them as the Eskimos of Middle Earth. They have some cool gear that you will probably want get your hands on, and they ride War Mammoths. That introduces some new AI where you attack the War Mammoth, and once you’ve killed it, the rider will jump off and attack.

Nobby :
And what else can you tell us about Book 13?

JS :
Well it’s due this Spring and it’s called “Doom of the Last-King”. As for other new stuff in 13? Well with Forochel being a cold place we’ve introduced Frost damage, so if you stay out in the cold too long, your morale falls. That’s when you need to find a nice warm fire or a drink - and you don't want to spend too much time swimming there!

Then there’s fishing – catch something neat looking and have it made into a trophy for your Player House. And we’re really trying to enhance the Looking For Fellowship features, so you can search for other players working on the same Quest you are doing, and there’s the Mustering Horn that summons a Fellowship member to where you are.

Nobby :
And Book 14?

JS :
OK, that’s “Ring Forge of the Elven Rings” coming in the Summer. This is really the climax to the “Shadows of Angmar” epic story. I don’t want to say too much, but this will take you to Eregion for the first time. That’s where the Forge is where the Eleven Rings were made, and paves the way for Mines of Moria round about October.

Nobby :
Well I have to ask you to expand on your presentation about Mines of Moria. You mentioned changes in the technology for this zone?

JS :
That’s really driven by our ambition to make Moria the most amazing zone. I don’t know if you recall the books, but the Fellowship pretty much take a straight line through Moria. But Tolkien writes a whole heap of references to the sheer size and magnificence of the mines and we want you to experience that. We really wanted to avoid the need to teleport or zone between parts of Moria, so we’re developing ways of making it a single, massive area so you can explore all the places that Gandalf and Gimli talk about. And of course there’s the dynamic and player lighting that we’re introducing.

Don’t forget, Eregion won’t be a stroll in the park; there’s a heap of content there. And of course, we’re really excited about Lórien. I mean, if you want to get your hands on some seriously cool items, who better to ask than Lady Galadriel?

Nobby :
As you can imagine, there was a huge buzz in-game last night after the announcement. A lot of the questions were about Legendary Items. Can you tell us how that will work?

JS :
Sure. Basically it means certain weapons or armor pieces will sort of grow with you. They’ll have their own exp points and stats that improve as you use them, and then you can enhance them at forges with slotted items and decorations.
These things will almost develop their own personalities as they complete deeds; almost like a pet.

Nobby :
And will they be mainly crafted or quested?

JS :
It can be either – and you’ll be able to visit a forge to deconstruct slotted gems and stuff and reconstruct the item. Of course, they’ll be Bound to the player, but you may acquire a better gem, deconstruct the item, upgrade the gem and put the old one in the AH for a small fortune.
Oh, and these items can create a legacy; at Higher End you can name them. One of my developers describes it as the weapon “becoming its own Quest Hub”, where quests will relate directly to the Legendary Item.

Nobby :
With all the ideas that go into such a complex game, what’s the most ridiculous suggestion you’ve had to turn down from the Dev Team?

JS :
Ooh that’s a tricky one! Of course for every idea we implement we probably reject a hundred. And of course, most of the sillier ones come from the Marketing guys (JS winks).

Actually one does spring to mind.
At the beginning of the game, one guy said “Could we have the players arrive at the Prancing Pony while the three Hobbits from the Fellowship are still there? And we could have them go on quests to gather straw that Strider uses to stuff the mattresses to fool the Dark Riders”

I was there thinking “Yeah, that sounds like an awesome quest – gathering straw” (He rolls his eyes). No we didn’t go with that one.

Nobby :
Last question: You visited some of Tolkien’s old haunts around Birmingham yesterday. Did seeing them have any effect on the way you think about Middle Earth and the game?

JS :
To be honest, not really. But it was cool seeing the two towers and stuff. It did remind me of how imaginative Tolkien was. I had visions of this small boy who could see the most amazing things in everyday life; you know, like seeing a bus or a train and imagining it as a marching rank of Orcs.