The web team for the Lord of the Rings Online has published a developer diary that explains the rank and prestige dynamics within the monster play system. These two inter-related dynamics define how players are ranked, points they can gain and more. A snippet is below:

One of the many challenges we faced on the monster play project was to implement these Rank and Prestige systems. We wanted something for both casual and hardcore gamers. We understood that, although it can be fun to build up Rank, it is also fun to stand out from the crowd in a visible way with Prestige.

Click here for the entire diary.