The Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep

 PC
User Score
3.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 61
  3. Negative: 42 out of 61

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  1. Undertakerer
    Feb 25, 2014
    10
    (Okay, I'm giving this expansion 10 because this is what Lotro in general is worth.) So after a long steady stream of 80/100 and more, Lotro's helm's deep is barely able to score at 2/10 on metacritic (even though in general most critics liked the game), the reason being HD changes a lot (and I mean a lot) of Lotro's gameplay mechanics. It updated the class trait tree into a talent tree, a(Okay, I'm giving this expansion 10 because this is what Lotro in general is worth.) So after a long steady stream of 80/100 and more, Lotro's helm's deep is barely able to score at 2/10 on metacritic (even though in general most critics liked the game), the reason being HD changes a lot (and I mean a lot) of Lotro's gameplay mechanics. It updated the class trait tree into a talent tree, a change which has been hated by players whom are no longer able to do their hybridisation or quest grinding progression. I honestly don't like this change but being one of the big reasons behind all the flak aimed at this xpac I'm a bit disappointed in the community. Raids/Dungeons are being replaced by Epic Battles. They are played the same, they act the same, they feel the same, they just look different. This was a unnecessary change, but I don't see all the fuss. Apart from these two changes, it's another expansion. A new feature which is the epic battles (which are quite fun), slight graphic update. New quests. New area. And (for those who are upset about the constant xpacs) they are now going back to the Moria "We add updates on a regular basis" mindset according to sapience. All in all an xpac which is hated for updating the game.… Expand
  2. deboot
    Oct 15, 2014
    10
    All of these “End of LOTRO”, negative threads and the Helm’s Deep expansion getting smashed on Metacritic held me back from buying this expansion for almost a year. I ended up purchasing HD using TP that I received from my cash purchase of ROR when expansions were 50% off in the store. The truth is…. I would have rather kept my TP and paid real money for the expansion because I’m havingAll of these “End of LOTRO”, negative threads and the Helm’s Deep expansion getting smashed on Metacritic held me back from buying this expansion for almost a year. I ended up purchasing HD using TP that I received from my cash purchase of ROR when expansions were 50% off in the store. The truth is…. I would have rather kept my TP and paid real money for the expansion because I’m having just as much fun as I did in all past content.

    People seem to be upset the game is becoming a “Solo Players” game. They talk about boring fetch quests and a lack of innovation. They claim the F2P model was the beginning of the end. Some people don’t like the Big Battles; others are upset about the lack of Raids, and the traits revamp appears to have irked many; Along with housing not being revamped.

    Personally I have no problem with the new trait tree, housing seems sufficient to me, and gathering quests are the norm. What MMORPG doesn’t have gathering quests? I will admit that a single Big Battle doesn’t hold long term interest, but it was fun the first time through and this may improve in update 15.

    I used to Raid heavily in other MMORPG’s and got really burned out, along with a growing family and real world responsibilities I decided to give LOTRO a shot. I appreciated the ability to craft gear rather than having to Raid and grind for it. I appreciated a well written story. I appreciated great scenery. I simply had no need for an “End Game” and Raiding and that works for me. I appreciate a game where I can solo content and group when I can and still have the interaction of a Kinship and world chat.

    Additionally I really like the F2P model; I’ve spent relatively little money (outside of expansions) and like the fact that I don’t have to pay a monthly subscription to check in on my friends and Kinship. I may not play for a couple weeks at a time while I’m working on a large project in real life, but I usually have at least 10 minutes a day to login and talk to my Kinship. Along these lines, if LOTRO hadn’t gone free to play and become more solo friendly, I may not have purchased ANY expansions after Mirkwood. I only have so many monthly subscription dollars I can spend and I don’t exclusively play one MMORPG.

    For better or worse, I think my style of play has become that of many early adopters of MMO’s. As we’ve aged, gained more real world responsibilities and other online content has become readily available, we require the flexibility of solo content and a F2P model and for many of us we simply have no need for an “End Game” and Raiding. I think Turbine has picked up on this trend and I believe it’s the main reason they are still profitable and producing content.

    In summary, people like me are being out posted and out trolled on the forums, and discouraged from buying expansions…. however that does not mean LOTRO is not worth purchasing and playing. Simply put, I think LOTRO has become a solo friendly, F2P game, with great scenery and story that lacks PVP and Raids; and that suits me just fine.    … Expand
  3. Fenster2244
    Dec 3, 2013
    9
    I love the expansion. The epic battles are fun, even solo. The talent trees needed to happen. A great many of the abilities that you think you lost are still there, but they are in the tree and need to be unlocked. Any time a new expansion or large patch comes out in an MMO, there are bugs. They aren't game breakers.

    The graphics are stellar even though the character models are still    I love the expansion. The epic battles are fun, even solo. The talent trees needed to happen. A great many of the abilities that you think you lost are still there, but they are in the tree and need to be unlocked. Any time a new expansion or large patch comes out in an MMO, there are bugs. They aren't game breakers.

    The graphics are stellar even though the character models are still the same and are good but not outstanding.

    The sound design is stellar as usual. Sound effects are crisp and the environmental sounds are great and very immersive.

    I love this game and have played it off and on for five years and I still love it.

    I hope they get through all of the story line so I can experience each corner of Middle Earth!    … Expand
  4. GamerGuy11
    Jan 20, 2014
    8
    LOTRO is one of my favorite games. This expansion was not quite as good as some in the past but the landscape, end of the story and phasing were breathtaking!
  5. Steven28
    Dec 30, 2013
    7
    A good expansion to the game, though not my personal favourite. The new class system revitalises most of the classes and levelling through West Rohan is enjoyable. A better launch than two of the other expansions.
  6. Weaponshell
    Oct 17, 2014
    7
    The Helm's Deep expansion was a controversial one. It brought a lot of changes, like trait-trees and epic battles, but there's been a lot of controversy about this expansion for its "solo" player content.

    Unlike the previous expansions, there were no raids or instances at the end of the expansion/level cap, but Epic Battles. Epic Battles are 5 different instances using new mechanics,    The Helm's Deep expansion was a controversial one. It brought a lot of changes, like trait-trees and epic battles, but there's been a lot of controversy about this expansion for its "solo" player content.

    Unlike the previous expansions, there were no raids or instances at the end of the expansion/level cap, but Epic Battles. Epic Battles are 5 different instances using new mechanics, which all center around defending Helm's Deep. Personally, I find these instances enjoying and like doing them with my friends, but a lot of players were very negative about Epic Battles. It's more a question of taste than a real difference between instances and Epic Battles.

    In my opinion, the change from traits to a trait tree was necessary. My character had all 4 skill bars almost completely full, and the last expansions brought only a few new skills and a lot of "improved" skills. For this reason I had no problems with the new trait trees. Also, this makes it easier for Turbine to change skills without having to rebalance everything. Personally, I like the trait trees.

    The quests and other content of Helm's Deep were fine. However, compared to the last expansions (Riders of Rohan and Rise of Isengard), this one is worse. The area is comparable to Riders of Rohan, only less interesting. The areas are wide and empty, with the exceptions of warbands. Comparing this to East Rohan, it has less interesting areas like caves, towns, ruins and forests. The quests are like expected from Turbine: great dialogue and interesting stories. However, if you do not read this dialogue the quests can seem boring and uninteresting.

    In conclusion: it is a good expansion, but not good for everyone. It is more a matter of taste than the previous expansions. Personally, I liked Helm's Deep and still run Epic Battles with my friends. If you lean more towards soloplay, this expansion is very enjoyable. I give this expansion a 7.

    Good points:
    - (Expected) great scenery.
    - Great dialogue in quests.
    - Iconic places.
    - Better trait/skill management.

    Bad points:
    - Little multiplayer content.
    - Less interesting areas.
    - No new mountlevels.
    - Bad Soundtrack (Fixed in an update)    … Expand
  7. WhiteTalpa
    Apr 20, 2014
    6
    Real shame this ex pack could have been really good here are my problems with the pack, not many quests i managed to finish the main story alongside other quests in no time at all, sadly i did have to give up on a few quests due to the fact they are broken which has also meant ive finished all the working content i can do and im only level 92 not 95 which the ex pack should get you to. BBReal shame this ex pack could have been really good here are my problems with the pack, not many quests i managed to finish the main story alongside other quests in no time at all, sadly i did have to give up on a few quests due to the fact they are broken which has also meant ive finished all the working content i can do and im only level 92 not 95 which the ex pack should get you to. BB are not end game content IMO they were ok for telling the story of helms deep but not good enough to be the end game content. Overall this ex is a disappointment...… Expand
  8. blubsterer
    Nov 29, 2013
    4
    After a 2 year hiatus I decided to give this game with the new expansion "Helm's Deep" another try. And I have to say: I am very disappointed of Turbines vision from "Epic Battles" in Helm's Deep. I really don't know what's epic in standing around and clicking either on things or NPCs to trigger some meaningless actions like repairing things or getting a buff. In a far distance you can seeAfter a 2 year hiatus I decided to give this game with the new expansion "Helm's Deep" another try. And I have to say: I am very disappointed of Turbines vision from "Epic Battles" in Helm's Deep. I really don't know what's epic in standing around and clicking either on things or NPCs to trigger some meaningless actions like repairing things or getting a buff. In a far distance you can see thousands of inactive orc sprites (maybe really 3D, but who cares, if they are more than 500 yards away from you There are never more than maybe 50 ACTIVE NPCs actually on your screen, most of the time less. So not very inspiring, don't expect the epic feeling of Peter Jackson's films Besides these 5 new Epic Battles (for me more like Skirmish 1.5) there are no new instances, raids or Skirmishes. So it will get soon boring as hell. To be honest I am bored already after 1 week.

    With this expansion you get skill trees like in WoW until Cataclysm. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of it, but at least it's not a game breaker. The versatility of many classes from the past is nonetheless gone, it's more or less uninteresting cookie cutter now. If you don't like that kind of skill selection, stay away from LotRO.

    The worst part for me is the combat. I play this game since early Closed Beta (2006) and it always felt a bit slow, unresponsive and laggy. But it got worse over time. Or maybe all other games do it so much better in the meantime, that it bothers me more and more. Who knows? Fact is: the combat is really bad compared to newer games. Airswings 5 or more seconds after I pressed a button isn't something I wanna see 2014 anymore. And it happens all the time (with a 50 MBit connection, really good ping and a hell of a rig, so really bad netcode is my guess).

    The item shop gets more and more so called "pay to win" Items, which personally doesn't bother me too much, but could be a game breaker for others. Prices for really useful things are high.

    To end with something positive: the new landscape and especially Helm's Deep are really well made. LotRO always was a game where you can get lost, simply riding around and exploring. And the new expansion is no exception in that case. For what it's worth: I always will love this game just for its environment.

    TLDR: mediocre expansion at best with nothing you really have to see or play. Wait until next expansion (if there actually is a new one, the license could end in 2014) to get this for a good discount.    … Expand
  9. FredelasF
    Nov 30, 2013
    3
    I don't feel this expansion was ready for release. The landscape is beautiful, as we've come to expect. And to Turbine's credit, it included some group content right on launch day this time. However, an obvious decrease in developer resources means a lot of important details remain unfinished or completely left out. Worst of all, two months of closed beta testing was insufficient for theI don't feel this expansion was ready for release. The landscape is beautiful, as we've come to expect. And to Turbine's credit, it included some group content right on launch day this time. However, an obvious decrease in developer resources means a lot of important details remain unfinished or completely left out. Worst of all, two months of closed beta testing was insufficient for the complete overhaul of every class in the game. I don't feel $40 to $60 is a good value for about 20 hours of linear solo questing. Then again, generous players who just love being in Middle-earth might consider this a charitable donation to a franchise that is apparently struggling.… Expand
  10. ollof
    Dec 9, 2013
    3
    Truly disappointing.

    Lets start with the positives of Helm's Deep; Western Rohan is a joy to explore, as usual the views are magnificent and the atmosphere of the world is great. However, this is as far as the quality goes. The levelling process is ok, there are quest lines that are interesting and gripping, but the occasional quest that tasks you, the conquerer of evils such as the    Truly disappointing.

    Lets start with the positives of Helm's Deep; Western Rohan is a joy to explore, as usual the views are magnificent and the atmosphere of the world is great. However, this is as far as the quality goes.

    The levelling process is ok, there are quest lines that are interesting and gripping, but the occasional quest that tasks you, the conquerer of evils such as the watcher or a balrog, to inspect the Rohirrim's lavatories and run around doing petty errands are tedious.

    Now for the bad; traditonally LOTRO expansions include end game content, usually a series of instances and a raid or two. Turbine made a mess of Riders of Rohan last year leaving players disgruntled at a long and disappointing wait. This year, Helm's Deep includes no instance cluster, Turbine announced they had no plans for one and that the new 'big battles' was the content for end game.

    As for these 'big battles', the potential is huge, taking part in the battle of Helm's Deep? fantastic. However the word 'big' is massively misleading. Looking over the battlement at a poor arrangement of what look more like stick orcs is somewhat underwhelming, the player can assemble and fire siege weapons. This is a long process, which is typically rewarded by a message informing you that you have killed two orcs. To the rest of the 'big' battle, there are small groups of around a dozen rohirrim, which you do not get to control, you can command them to focus on damage or defence for example, but they will not move. Occasional waves of orcs will attack the rohirrim, but the npcs will down the orcs in one or two hits. Realistically the player cannot be involved in the actual combat. All that is to be done by the player is react to random events, typically go to point A, prevent the orcs doing something bad while the NPCs fight it out. Big Battles were littered with bugs and pathing issues, they have no atmosphere, the player feels detatched and not involved, they look incredibly poor, and it seems that Turbine have spent very little time and effort on this feature, which to be honest is an insult to player's intelligence.

    Worst of all is the price, Mines of Moria was £20, and arguably Turbine's best expansion. I only wanted the basic Helm's Deep which was priced at £39.99. Added to that if you are in Europe, turbine have the cheek to add the tax afterwards. I paid somewhere in the region of £47 for this expansion. It just is not worth the money.

    Overall Helm's Deep is a very poor showing which offers very little in the way of incentive for the player to renew their subscription. It is overpriced, represents poor value for money and Turbine will see further amounts of players leaving their already dwindling player base.    … Expand
  11. Arch1
    Dec 17, 2013
    2
    As a long-time player of the game since the bygone days of the first Beta, it saddens me to say that Helm's Deep is one of the worst expansions I've ever encountered for a game, if not the worst, and i truly fear for what its results will do to the game I once loved so very much.
    There really isn't much at this point that can be added beyond what others have mentioned before.
    Even after    As a long-time player of the game since the bygone days of the first Beta, it saddens me to say that Helm's Deep is one of the worst expansions I've ever encountered for a game, if not the worst, and i truly fear for what its results will do to the game I once loved so very much.
    There really isn't much at this point that can be added beyond what others have mentioned before.
    Even after the release of a major patch that allegedly fixed more than 500 known issues, the gameplay remains somewhat buggy and quite problematic, and the unnecessary changes to the skill traits that no-one asked for which have no justification behind them when examining the classes before and after have damaged classes as a whole.

    The "Big Battles" remain mostly as they were, dull expanded skirmishes if this is what Turbine considers to be 'epic', then to quote a favorite character from an old good movie, "You keep using that word I do not think it means what you think it means."

    As is a constant in LOTRO and its expansions, the landscape and environment remain excellent. The music is fine, though nowhere near as good as in previous portions and expansions of the game (which can be attributed to the absence of the original/previous composer Chance Thomas).

    The little good is not enough to forgive what is, in the end, a poor, seriously-unpolished and deeply flawed addition to a game one that has not improved but actually damaged that which existed before.    … Expand
  12. AzarSD
    Dec 4, 2013
    2
    I've been a longtime fan of LotRO. I played heavily from beta/release until 2010. Since then I return occasionally and for new releases to check out the game and experience new content. I honestly didn't think it could get much worse after the last expansion, but Turbine has proven me wrong. My how far they have fallen in my opinion. They achieved great things with Mines of Moria, but itsI've been a longtime fan of LotRO. I played heavily from beta/release until 2010. Since then I return occasionally and for new releases to check out the game and experience new content. I honestly didn't think it could get much worse after the last expansion, but Turbine has proven me wrong. My how far they have fallen in my opinion. They achieved great things with Mines of Moria, but its been downhill since the Mirkwood exp. Helm's Deep hasn't changed that trend.

    Storywise Helm's Deep does a good job of furthering Tolkiens vision. But almost all other content is severely lacking. Combat was exciting at first, until I realized I could kill just about anything without even trying. I actually went and got a cup of coffee while battling two elite trolls outside Marton and my health never went below 50% (Guardian btw). The list goes on, and on...

    Helm's Deep is by far the worst expansion Turbine has released. It has shaken my faith in them as developers to the point I doubt I will pre-order their next LotRO release. I'm hoping Turbine will renew my faith when LotRO moves on to Gondor/Mordor. But I'll not hold my breath.    … Expand
  13. Thequinn
    Jul 13, 2014
    2
    This review has been a long time coming. I figured I would wait for Update 13 to include it on my review. At launch HD was not a complete expansion. I'll start off on a positive note and say the graphics were done as good as they have been in the past. The HD in game music at times is shrill and hard to listen to. (the crafting hall in Aldburg)

    The epic quests and filler quests to    This review has been a long time coming. I figured I would wait for Update 13 to include it on my review. At launch HD was not a complete expansion. I'll start off on a positive note and say the graphics were done as good as they have been in the past. The HD in game music at times is shrill and hard to listen to. (the crafting hall in Aldburg)

    The epic quests and filler quests to reach level 95 are not good. I counted way too many solo instances you were required to enter and read 5 to 10 minutes of chat bubbles. Woodhurst is a questhub that never should have been designed. Simply walking back and forth between 3 NPC's and talking to them is not fun (especially when there are 2 load screens in between visiting one of those NPC's and leaving his area. No problem if we are talking about 2 or 3 quests but it's about 20 quests long if not more.
    Way too many quests where your character carries heavy items long distances, or simply clicks on things with no enemy kills in between.

    Epic Battles are not fun. Even when you have yourself a level 6 engineer it is just boring and time consuming. The loot system tied to this is just awful. I had a stretch of 5 rewards which were exactly the same item.

    Update 13 brought us to the breaking of Isengard. The ending of that questline is quite lacking. What could have been a nice place for an Epic cut-scene is reduced to a fade to black tactic. And the reward system for these daily quests are even more random than the Epic Battle rewards. Some people got pets on the first sets of quests, others have not received any yet, months in. The barter system for crafting recipes was poorly implemented.

    The class changes honestly make the game less unique from other MMO's, while they were not necessary for the players, they seem to be aiming to spend less in future updates. The endgame has been reduced to the acquisition of pets and cosmetic items. Better gear obtained in the scaled content is used for ......well nothing. I have never seen this little progression in any video game.
    I have been a tank in Lotro since 2010 and now there is simply no need to even take the tanking trait tree as the job has been replaced by mindless NPC's. And the scaled content is getting quite tiring. The newest raid or dungeon is already over 1 year old. With the announcement of no new instances other than epic battles the roles of tanking is extinct.
    My overall scores:
    Graphics 8
    Music 3
    Quest pack: 2
    End game: 1
    New mechanics: 1
    Group features 1
    PVP additions: 0
    re playability: 1
    Total average 2.5    … Expand
  14. Meramir
    May 17, 2014
    2
    Good things: New areas (and they look good) and progression on the story you know from the books.

    Bad things: Difficulty is generally too low and few areas (around lvl 50) even too high Epic Battles aren't really epic, what is meant to be chaotic fights are just waves of 5-15 mobs running past you as if you weren't there. They're decent entertainment the first few times but they grow    Good things: New areas (and they look good) and progression on the story you know from the books.

    Bad things:
    Difficulty is generally too low and few areas (around lvl 50) even too high
    Epic Battles aren't really epic, what is meant to be chaotic fights are just waves of 5-15 mobs running past you as if you weren't there. They're decent entertainment the first few times but they grow old very quickly.
    With very few exceptions, the class revamps made the classes less fun to play than before the revamp.
    The randomness in loot is just ridiculous. One thing is having to do a certain instance many times to get the loot you want, but you can end up doing an instance over 100 times without getting the loot you want.    … Expand
  15. critheadshot
    Dec 15, 2013
    1
    This game has become a bad, cash grabbing joke of something what was a decent implementation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I really hope from the bottom of my heart that Warner is loosing the licence 2014 and someone else with taste and knowledge in building working MMOs (Turbines programmers couldn't implement something bug free even if their life would depend on it) could try to makeThis game has become a bad, cash grabbing joke of something what was a decent implementation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I really hope from the bottom of my heart that Warner is loosing the licence 2014 and someone else with taste and knowledge in building working MMOs (Turbines programmers couldn't implement something bug free even if their life would depend on it) could try to make it better … Expand
  16. FrequentTravell
    Dec 25, 2013
    1
    Worst Lotro experience so far. New talent system is awful, there was no reason to revamp the old system at all, just some minor tweaking could have done wonders. Also this marks the first time in Lotro when there's no instances or raids, which is bad. New Big Battle system forces player to make errands tasks when the "river floats". Why would turbine change the talent system when their newWorst Lotro experience so far. New talent system is awful, there was no reason to revamp the old system at all, just some minor tweaking could have done wonders. Also this marks the first time in Lotro when there's no instances or raids, which is bad. New Big Battle system forces player to make errands tasks when the "river floats". Why would turbine change the talent system when their new end game doesn't even require to play with your class?

    All Turbine had to do was to ditch the stupid mounted combat lagfest and focus on instance content and raids. Gone are the day when glorious Mines of Moria showed what is good expansion.    … Expand
  17. Twodecadesgamer
    Nov 30, 2013
    1
    Five-year players of LOTRO here-myself and my spouse. VIP members. Six max-level chars each.

    I cannot say enough negative things about this "expansion," but the thing that offends the most is the unbelievably expensive price tag on an "expansion" that is just a cut/paste of previous material. Sixty bucks is highway robbery. This is unoriginal (for the game), repetitive, boring, and    Five-year players of LOTRO here-myself and my spouse. VIP members. Six max-level chars each.

    I cannot say enough negative things about this "expansion," but the thing that offends the most is the unbelievably expensive price tag on an "expansion" that is just a cut/paste of previous material. Sixty bucks is highway robbery. This is unoriginal (for the game), repetitive, boring, and the best part is: it doesn't even work after all the delays. The only compelling quest line in the expansion...is broken. There are bugs galore, and it is slow and laggy even on a higher-end graphics card.

    For some unknown reason the dev team also decided to gut the combat system, taking many things away from their standing customers. They have introduced a new "epic battle" system which is, frankly, a different game. A different terrible game. Do not buy this expansion. This is the last gasp of a dying franchise that is now only interested in wringing as much cash as they can from their customer base before they crumble. This is a slap in the face to the LOTRO player community, and long-time players are bailing out in droves.

    Good news for new players though, LOTRO now allows people to buy their way to the top. If you throw out a couple of hundred dollars you can skip loads of content and charge right into the "new" material. No one is happy about this.

    My wife and I have played this together for many, many years and we feel victimized by this expansion, and no matter what happens with the NEXT one, if there is one, we are out. The Elder Scrolls Online cannot launch fast enough.    … Expand
  18. falthelion
    Nov 30, 2013
    1
    After seeing my friends leave and taking and 18 month break I came back to give Lotro another try. Luckily I had a stack of TP to spend on the expansion. I should have listened to them, Lotro is a lost cause now, the budget has obviously been cut to a minimum and very little of what made the original game so great now remains. If you enjoy standing around clicking things, this is theAfter seeing my friends leave and taking and 18 month break I came back to give Lotro another try. Luckily I had a stack of TP to spend on the expansion. I should have listened to them, Lotro is a lost cause now, the budget has obviously been cut to a minimum and very little of what made the original game so great now remains. If you enjoy standing around clicking things, this is the expansion for you, if not, spend your money elsewhere.… Expand
  19. Stave
    Nov 30, 2013
    1
    I give it a 1 for the artwork. Turbine has always done a solid job, at times great, of fleshing out the sights and sounds of Middle Earth. Without that, I'd give it a zero. Bugs are everywhere making multiple parts of the game that were released unplayable. The class changes forced upon their longtime playerbase without concrete input were a misstep. The epic story, once promised toI give it a 1 for the artwork. Turbine has always done a solid job, at times great, of fleshing out the sights and sounds of Middle Earth. Without that, I'd give it a zero. Bugs are everywhere making multiple parts of the game that were released unplayable. The class changes forced upon their longtime playerbase without concrete input were a misstep. The epic story, once promised to always be free, is now requiring payment again. The dearth of goals to strive for makes it likely you'll be looking for another game by Christmas unless you are a confirmed 'altaholic'. Compared to other games, even the much older Everquest 2, the list of 'additions' with this 'expansion' is terribly short. If you want to see the sights of Middle Earth, the game has much to offer. Otherwise, there are many many other games out there with much more to offer. After having played this game since beta before launch over 6 years ago, the money I had thought to spend on Helm's Deep I have now put into another game.… Expand
  20. topnotch
    Dec 2, 2013
    1
    One word Hollow, thats what sums it up best, lots of hype all sorts of text to advertise it, but when you look deeper there is nothing there.

    Big Battles are the exact opposite of Epic, they are dull, slow, tedious and clunky, not to mention severely bugged. If you rolled a support, healer, tank class dont bother with them you havent been catered for its all dps and non induction dps    One word Hollow, thats what sums it up best, lots of hype all sorts of text to advertise it, but when you look deeper there is nothing there.

    Big Battles are the exact opposite of Epic, they are dull, slow, tedious and clunky, not to mention severely bugged. If you rolled a support, healer, tank class dont bother with them you havent been catered for its all dps and non induction dps as well, so sorry LMs your flat out of luck, they are so poorly designed and feebly implemented its shocking to see them charge full price for it. And whats worse is not only do you have to endure them once, its probably the biggest grind the game has ever had, its unbearable.

    Class Changes,
    While not strictly part of HD, they have changed the game hugely with this expac, and not for the better, unless you like 1 dimensional, linear gameplay with no variety or flexibility that is, but they have managed to overcome the dullness of it all by making every classes dps so stupidly high that you only need 2 skills to kill anything anyway, unless you are a LM then just stick your pet on aggressive and go drink tea. The trees are the most restrictive trees in any MMO out there and you even are forced to buy new content just to get all your points. You are actually penalised double points should you desire to try and give your build some variety by speccing into a second line.

    Raiding,
    Dead, no other words for it, Big Battles is all you will get and thats it apart from old content being scaled again, raiding if not already dead is completely finished in lotro now, and I dont see any way back for it.

    PvP,
    Just as bad condition, the balance right now is abysmal, Freeps arent even balanced right yet and they have just guessed how to balance creeps and it will take forever to restore it if they ever manage it at all, and they are still stuck in the same old tired zone with the same old tired classes.

    Landscape content,
    The story and scenery is great again, but the challenge from landscape mobs is so small there is no need for it to be there, honestly I dont know why they even put mobs on landscape now it puts up such a a pitiful fight. Nothing lasts more than 2 shots on foot and on a warsteed its even worse. if it carries on in this vein It will be a casual stroll into mordor.

    Bugs,
    Quite frankly appaling, the level of bugs that have been realised is unforgivable, landscape BBs, quests, Items you name it its broken. Side quests in BBs cant often be finished, mobs run through brick walls, stand in unreachable locations, kill count bars dont tick over despite your kills, NPCs that are quest vital cant be interacted with, quest items cant be interacted with, mobs that need to be killed cant be targetted, a quest will pop up telling you to go do x,y,z but neither x,y or z will appear, its basically a lie beta test right now that people are paying to be part of.

    Overall,
    Wonderful scenery and good story and thats it, everything else is dire. Lotro has become a sight seeing tour and nothing more, if you love tolkien and want to wander about middle earth great, if you want anything else from an mmo, your out of luck and will be better served going elsewhere.

    I will give it a 1 as the guys who do the landscape deserve a bit of recognition, as for the rest of the development team you get exactly what you deserve, nothing.    … Expand
  21. gertbxl
    Dec 2, 2013
    1
    Nothing really new, just boring quests. Class changes have not really an impact, it's also much easier now, kill an enemy in 2 clicks Too much overpriced, MoM was an expansion but this one surely not, just an update... Lower prices if u want me keep paying for this!
  22. Jean-Luc_Picard
    Dec 29, 2013
    1
    This is simply the worse expansion for an MMORPG I've experienced, and I've been playing those games for about 20 years. A boring grind to 95, and then... nothing. Big battles are a joke, no instances at all, no dungeons.
    You feel that this game approaches the end of its life cycle and that the developers have only one thing in mind: grab as much money from the remaining players by    This is simply the worse expansion for an MMORPG I've experienced, and I've been playing those games for about 20 years. A boring grind to 95, and then... nothing. Big battles are a joke, no instances at all, no dungeons.
    You feel that this game approaches the end of its life cycle and that the developers have only one thing in mind: grab as much money from the remaining players by selling crap expansions like this for outrageous prices and more and more essential items in the cash shop.
    Thankfully, I didn't have to pay a cent for this mess, thanks to my monthly lifetimer 500 points. This only confirms my decision to never give that company a cent ever again.    … Expand
  23. Taffy
    Jan 14, 2014
    1
    This is a glorified quest pack with very little repeatable end game content. Turbine have also stated no instances are planned to be released.
    Coupled with the dreadful implementation of an uncalled for class revamp, HD is what finally drove me away from this title; which is sad. LOTRO was a very good MMO once, unfortunately now it appears to have gone terminal. End thoughts: there are    This is a glorified quest pack with very little repeatable end game content. Turbine have also stated no instances are planned to be released.
    Coupled with the dreadful implementation of an uncalled for class revamp, HD is what finally drove me away from this title; which is sad. LOTRO was a very good MMO once, unfortunately now it appears to have gone terminal. End thoughts: there are better value products out there these days, giving more bang for your buck.    … Expand
  24. XJT
    Oct 14, 2014
    1
    Turbine has launched one failed expansion after another and Helm's deep is by far the worst of the lot. The introduction of Big Battles is far from Epic and is just another add-on time sink. The developers have been very clear that they no longer care about PVP and especially don't care about Raids. That means we are left with nothing but a solo grind. Not even sure why they call it anTurbine has launched one failed expansion after another and Helm's deep is by far the worst of the lot. The introduction of Big Battles is far from Epic and is just another add-on time sink. The developers have been very clear that they no longer care about PVP and especially don't care about Raids. That means we are left with nothing but a solo grind. Not even sure why they call it an MMO anymore. The updates since the expansion are even worse with addition of yet another solo grind armor system called essences. It just gets worse and worse.… Expand
  25. badGameStaysBad
    Jan 21, 2014
    0
    Just horrible. Boring leveling content, the epic story uninspiring, enough bugs for at least 3 MMOs. No endgame content worth to mention. I really don't know what's Turbine plan with releasing this. I'm really speechless ...
  26. BenoLedoux
    Nov 30, 2013
    0
    This expansion has to be the worst I've ever seen. Beta testers were told "negative comments and responses would be ignored" by the "community manager/The Mouth of Turbine" during the beta, showing just how detached and how little they listen to the player base. It smacks of unethical greed in every sense. Big Battles are an utter joke, and not only can be slept thru, but simply ignoreThis expansion has to be the worst I've ever seen. Beta testers were told "negative comments and responses would be ignored" by the "community manager/The Mouth of Turbine" during the beta, showing just how detached and how little they listen to the player base. It smacks of unethical greed in every sense. Big Battles are an utter joke, and not only can be slept thru, but simply ignore character class. The "class re-vamps," which were unneeded are extremely restrictive and allow no variation. Essentially, you may pick one of three. Half-baked, comes to mind.
    As always the areas are done well visually, but it stops there. I'm sure some executive who's never played the game thought this was a great idea, as there was no reason for these changes.
    For years, people have begged Turbine for some things to be fixed... Player Housing, for example, this wasn't asked for in nearly that amount. Ridiculous to think their "motto" is Powered by our Fans, when its clear Turbine is only "powered by corporate greed."
    I can only hope that this expansion will be the final nail in the coffin for certain suits at Turbine. WB Games would be wise to fire the lot, and replace them with some who can read, and listen to actual player feedback.

    Skip it.
    Bugs: 10/10(They seem to have added as many as they could)
    Class Changes: 0/10
    Landscape(Scenery): 8/10
    Customer Relations: 0/10
    Music: 1/10
    Dev. Dairy Propaganda: 5/10

    All in all, not worth ANY amount of money.    … Expand
  27. HoboSaggins
    Nov 30, 2013
    0
    Been playing Lotro since the beginning. After the mighty MoM things have gone progressively downhill and this is the bottom of the barrel. Overpriced, buggy mess. I'm actually embarrassed to tell people this was once my favorite MMO.
  28. Jasonorh
    Nov 30, 2013
    0
    The expansion looks nice, but is a buggy mess with very little to offer for the money. Stale quests, and 'big battles' is what you get for your money. The big battles are something akin to a browser game dating back 3 years. I wouldn't pay over 5$ for this, and even at that price it would be a tough decision.
  29. gjmoss1
    Dec 2, 2013
    0
    I have played LOTRO for over 2 years now and have 4 maxed out character's one of them being a Warden who I play as my main, just after I had sorted my warden out from might to agility after Turbines class changes they yet again nerfed all the toons again changing class skills again and following WOW with trait trees system. LOTRO is a totally different game to what it was there is no senseI have played LOTRO for over 2 years now and have 4 maxed out character's one of them being a Warden who I play as my main, just after I had sorted my warden out from might to agility after Turbines class changes they yet again nerfed all the toons again changing class skills again and following WOW with trait trees system. LOTRO is a totally different game to what it was there is no sense of achievement with this game anymore as there are level boosting features now and a new expansion that is just horrible. They need to bring back the core elements of this game not change classes every 6 months who want's to be bothered trying to achieve anything in this game when you know in 6 months they will take it all away from you again. I would have given 1 out of 10 for this for artwork only but i won't bother as Turbine does not listen to it's customers voices anymore. Id love to log into this game again but I
    feel now it's a lost cause ill wait till the next update when they do the mandatory nerf and save myself several hundred hours of my life.    … Expand
  30. jimmyjones
    Dec 3, 2013
    0
    Scratching my head at this expansion.....it went so wrong. Initial delay was a potent of evil things to come. If you like frustration, boredom, and a constant feeling of buyer's remorse, then this game just stooped to your level. Three words for this expansion: Epic Battle Boredom.
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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. XGN
    Jan 6, 2014
    70
    Helm's Deep is an expansion pack purely meant for the fans of the books. It contains less action sequences compared to Peter Jackson's movies, but the newly added Big Battles make up for it. On the other hand is Rohan finally showed in all it's glory, which is a sight to behold.
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  2. GameFront
    Dec 13, 2013
    64
    The problem with the big battles of Helm’s Deep is that it’s a story we all know, and it’s possible the concept could have been stronger if Turbine had included other battles from Middle Earth’s history for variety. All too quickly, the repetition grows tiring and the appeal wears thin, and that’s true of the questing content as well.
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