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E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an annual event that is widely considered to be the most important expo in the video game industry. In 2010 it was held from June 15-17 in Los Angeles and featured exhibits from over 120 companies. Every segment of the gaming industry is represented at E3, including the growing share of MMOs.



Interestingly enough the behemoth of the MMO market, Blizzard and their game World of Warcraft, did not have an exhibit at E3 in 2010. Blizzard is expected to release their latest WoW expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, in the Fall of 2010 and some speculate that they are waiting until after that time to engage in a massive media campaign. The absence of Blizzard, however, meant that other, smaller MMO development companies had an easier time getting their product in the spotlight.

E3 2010 MMOs Coming Soon

Lord of the Rings Online and its publisher Turbine released information about the first expansion they will release under the controversial new "free-to-play" business model. Expected in late 2010, the content will include a new zone, updates to the current UI, superior graphic options, and, of course, the highly anticipated new LotRO store.

Final Fantasy XIV, by Square Enix, is the spiritual successor to Final Fantasy XI and was another big name in MMOs at E3. FFXIV is due for release in the Fall of 2010, and caters heavily to the Playstation 3 and Japanese markets. The general impression of reviewers at E3 is that FFXIV looks gorgeous, even if the gameplay is still currently a little clunky.

Another popular title that is due out soon is Bioware's Star Wars: The Old Republic. SWTOR was also a popular subject at E3 in 2009, but this year they promoted their Spring 2011 release date with both a gameplay booth on the show floor and a new cinematic trailer.

E3 2010 MMOs Coming... One Day

Of course developers with imminent releases will show up to E3 with playable demos and full cinematics, but the Expo is also the game industry's place to announce and advertise titles years in advance.

The popular tabletop war game Warhammer 40000 (and their Intellectual Property owner, Games Workshop) announced the development of Warhammer 40000: Dark Millennium Online. The announcement came with a much-watched trailer, and a somewhat disappointing release date of 2013. Dark Millennium received a lot of hype at E3 2010, but it remains to be seen if the attention can be sustained over the course of three years.

Also planning ahead is Interplay, the publishers of Fallout and Fallout 2. During E3 in 2010 they released a teaser site to announce the creation of Fallout Online, a post-apocalyptic MMO. Interplay released little more than a single image and a form to sign up for beta testing, but the response by the game press and players was very positive. The game is expected to hit the shelves in late 2013.

The 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo is the place for game publishers both large and small to display their ideas and work for each other and for the world at large. Between LotRO's new expansion this fall and the predicted arrival of Fallout Online in late 2013, it appears that the MMO industry has many new lands and surprises in store for its players over the coming years.

 As with many of the systems in Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), the character mechanics are different from many other games. While this brings a sense of newness to the system, it can be difficult for many new players to understand. With the game going free-to-play this autumn, it is important for new players to have a basic understanding of these systems before they are confronted with them.

Where is the Heath Bar?

In most MMOs a character has a heath bar and a bar that governs special abilities. These two bars go up and down as you play, and few people even think about them. In Lord of the Rings Online, they have the bars as well, but the terminology and reasoning is a little different.

The green bar displays your character’s Morale. In most games, if this bar drops to zero the character dies and respawns, but this isn’t the case in LotRO. When it reaches zero, the character is so overwhelmed by the forces against them that they retreat to a safe location. While the distinction is minor, it does fit into the world as a whole. Since this bar governs emotions, Minstrels are able to ‘heal’ by singing songs that raise your spirits.

The blue bar is your character’s Power. This represents your character’s force of will and ability to go beyond simple combat. This is the pool that characters use to fuel their skills and special abilities.

Character Stats

Lord of the Rings Online does away with many of the standard conventions of MMO classes and gets rid of standard attributes such as strength or dexterity. Instead, it uses a system that fits in tightly with the lore that existed before the game. In many cases, the stat may seem similar to one from another game, like Might being similar to a strength attribute, but when you look at it also governs things that would traditionally be in other areas.

Each of the following stats represent a character’s physical, mental or emotional wellbeing:

• Might: This stat governs additional damage with physical attacks as well as your ability to block and parry. High Might will also allow a character to mitigate damage from common sources (any weapon or attack that has ‘(Common)’ written after its damage).
• Agility: Agility determines how often you hit and critical in combat. It also governs your ability to evade and parry blows and increases your ranged damage.
• Vitality: This determines your bonus Morale, and how quickly your Morale regenerates out of combat. It increases your mitigation of Shadow and Fire damage and your Wound, Poison and Disease resistance.
• Will: This stat governs your Power bar. It determines your bonus Power and how quickly your Power regenerates when not in combat. It also influences your Fear resistance.
• Fate: Fate affects your Morale and Power regeneration while in combat and your critical chance with Tactical skills. A Tactical skill is generally a combat skill that is not a physical attack, such as a magic attack, healing power or buff.

Jumbles of Stats

In many cases, people will focus on one or two stats to the exclusion of others. While this isn’t necessarily a bad way to go, by understanding the different stats and how they work together, it is possible to make a more powerful character. For a new player, knowing exactly what Fate does and why Morale is important will help smooth out their starting experience.

For more information on statistics in Lord of the Rings Online, check out the Lorebook. Look at these for more information on the class system or traits and deeds.