The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 75
  3. Negative: 16 out of 75

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Legonist
    Jul 18, 2013
    3
    The only thing that it has going for it is the LORE. The mounted combat is extremely glitch. There weren't even any dungeons that came with the expansion (and when they came out they closed down due to glitchs) and there were no PVMP improvements. On top of that there are massive class imbalances and the solo target dps classes are not even wanted.
  2. Zzzlol94
    Nov 16, 2013
    2
    If I could I would skip this entire expansion to get to lvl 85. There's no replay value to it, it's the most boring section of the game. I did complete the entire expansion on a single character including rebuilding Hytbold. I have 2 other characters stuck in there, because I just can't get off to levelling them. Also the "big thing" supposed to be in this was War-Steeds and mountedIf I could I would skip this entire expansion to get to lvl 85. There's no replay value to it, it's the most boring section of the game. I did complete the entire expansion on a single character including rebuilding Hytbold. I have 2 other characters stuck in there, because I just can't get off to levelling them. Also the "big thing" supposed to be in this was War-Steeds and mounted combat. One of the most raw and laggy features in any game ever. It's unbalanced between classes, DPS doesn't have any sort of DPS compared to other classs, and the only war-steed you'd ever choose was heavy, cause the others gave you nothing. There's nothing that has been this laggy in any game, it's completely uncontrollable if you're within a mile of an obstacle, and you'll suddenly get warped into a tiny rock you just missed 3 seconds ago. It's ridiculous they didn't scrap the netcode for this, it's completely hopeless. All these "fixes" they've promised us and are apparently "in use" have made NO difference. It's just as bad as when it released as it is now. This would also be the expansion that took me off LotRO for 8 months and making me completely uninterested in playing it ever again. HD will be the last expansion for me and I see no other than ruination of balanced gameplay in that one.… Expand
  3. InspectorJ
    Dec 6, 2012
    9
    Definitely a vast improvement from the previous expansion of Rise of Isengard, and yet again Turbine proves devoted to delivering stunning landscapes and open spaces for the land of Rohan. The only complaint keeping this from a 10 is the lack of group content, but that will not remove much as an update(s) is arriving soon with this content.
    Looking forward to the next expansion.
  4. marc3
    Jan 12, 2014
    0
    I feel morally obligated to write a review of this game in general.
    I have played this game for a number of years, since new years 2009 on and off for substansial periods. I fully stopped playing some months ago.
    Firstly, the lore of the game, specifically during the Shadows of Angamr phase and Moria phase I found was good, I cannot comment fully on the Mines of Moria expansion content    I feel morally obligated to write a review of this game in general.
    I have played this game for a number of years, since new years 2009 on and off for substansial periods. I fully stopped playing some months ago.

    Firstly, the lore of the game, specifically during the Shadows of Angamr phase and Moria phase I found was good, I cannot comment fully on the Mines of Moria expansion content as I never delved much into that specific story, but initially the 'Shadows of Angmar' storyline (which is the first expansion was very nice I thought). Also I really thought the Shadows of Angmar world fit with Tolkien's imagination.

    However, more recently 2012-2013 I played significantly through the 'Riders of Rohan' expansion, and I was never was pulled in by what was offered at all. Offering extremely boring and endless generic quests of 'kill 10 orcs, and kill 10 wargs', there wasn't anything remarkable, memorable, and so I never even bothered delving into the story of that expansion. Was it lacking the lively spirit of Tolkien's imagination? I cannot comment on thast, as it may be unjust to the story writers as I did not totaly read and pay attention to the story. (I think I just skipped tons of the reading).

    But there was indeed a dark force at work that did annihilate Tolkien's imagination from this game..

    That leads to the second point, the disgusting marketing and 'Free to Play' money grab. After this game went 'Free to Play' sometime in 2010 (around there), the advertisements and marketing went absurd. 'Free to Play', an obvious play on words, also to be personal and blunt - a total deception, an utter scandal from a moral standpoint as it then became impossible to play the game without the slime of endless links to the 'Turbine Store' (the company's online in-game store), and ridiculous advertisements upon entry to the game client. I think basically at this point the 'Turbine Story' and easy profits took precendence over any meaningful game developments or great improvements.

    Next - the Lord of the Rings online community - it is pathetic. This game is filled with sociopaths, whatever you want to call them - simply cruel narcissistic individuals. Obviously there are decent people too, but I have had many encounters with rude vulgar people who will attempt to offend or grief you. One could say that this is part of the internet, I play a variety of online game, but on this game the community is truly dark and pathetic. The global chat, which is a side player created channel, is filled with fools and whoever is the most offensive and clever not to be banned (which just basically means not using curse words and not really what you write, unless you are a Christain and say Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then that may get you banned for hate speech, but I won't delve into that) will get a lot of 'lol's', and 'haha's'.

    Continuing, to comment on the PvP, and it's community. The PvP in this game is open sandbox PvP, where other players choose 'monster players' and fight against the regular created players 'Elves, men, etc.' There is no goal, other than some forts each side can fight for, which offer PvP experience bonuses. But the only real visible reward of PvP is the PvP experience you can get which gives you a PvP rank, which a player can then show off in the in-game world. I played PvP very extensively and got to a high rank on both Monster Player side and 'Regular good free peoples' side. The PvP is quite unbalanced, updates made can sometimes have PvP balancing aspects along with PvE, but it remains relatively unbalanced. However, regardless the PvP is not a good experience and it often left me feeling depressed rather than any positive feeling. The PvP community is horrid, filled with many passive aggressive, rude people, and I would highly recommend avoiding all PvP in this game. And with a PvP enviroment that has no purpose, where each side cannot even speak to eachother, true hatred, ganking, and griefing does become reality.

    I would also like to comment on the adminstration of this game. The in-game admins are horrible, along with the community admins. I was banned from the forums when Free to Play was released, as I oppossed it and even called some others communists, which resulted in GIF's mocking me, but of course, I was banned. Ive also been banned permenantly on 2 accounts, and over probaly a dozen times for different durations. They generally offerred no warnings to me, and simply banned as they saw fit, sometimes without even email confirmation. Bans would be due to using curse words, or such, many times defending myself and getting into fights with many others who often would try and provoke reactions, but in-game admins don't take provocation into account, they are incompetent.

    During Riders of Rohan I played significantly, it was dark and poor experience. I do not recommend LOTRO.    … Expand
  5. I_Am_Turok
    Nov 19, 2012
    9
    My original review on LOTRO ended up as a 7 for those playing up to level 50 (top is 85). This was mainly because for every good region (Evendim, Eregion), there was a tedious one (Forochel, Trollshaws). Moria I was not a great fan of (ditto a 7, I just prefer rivers, mountains etc.), but overall enjoyed. And Isengard expansion is well laid out and interesting to play (an 8 for that regionMy original review on LOTRO ended up as a 7 for those playing up to level 50 (top is 85). This was mainly because for every good region (Evendim, Eregion), there was a tedious one (Forochel, Trollshaws). Moria I was not a great fan of (ditto a 7, I just prefer rivers, mountains etc.), but overall enjoyed. And Isengard expansion is well laid out and interesting to play (an 8 for that region for its nice environment and story-lead quests). But RoR is worth all the time and effort in getting there (from 70+ level). The Pros: * Superb music, some of it is top quality indeed. * Huge land area, lovely to be in. * Horse combat (particularly group horse combat, great great fun). * Again, well laid out story-quests that move you nicely through the area. * The concept of warbands (roving bosses) provides short but fun combat in groups at any time. * End game content is interesting for me (I'm level 84, so just started playing endgame in Hytbold, rebuilding a town - I like the idea of 5 quests a day thing, nice to pick up for a short time, but others are less fond of this, as it can get a bit repetitive). In my previous review, another problem was getting fellowships together for specific quests. That's pretty much all gone now, with quest choices of solo and fellowship where required. You can get to the end pretty much as a solo player, without ever needing help (though if you do need help, the community is helpful and friendly). Solo play does seem to go against the concept of an MMO, but hey, you can play the whole thing solo or in groups, and I like it that way. Are there cons? For me probably just one gameplay one. In horse combat, one-on-one combat you will always come out best, even against higher levels, it's not difficult to do so. But that quibble is minor compared to all the other plusses. Is it worth playing LOTRO up to lvl 70 to start RoR? Yes, yes it is. I cannot wait for the next expansion if it continues on in the same quality.… Expand
  6. Old_Skewl_Gamer
    Sep 18, 2013
    0
    I played LOTRO for a long time a few years ago. The developers are some of the worst in the history of the world and have basically made the war of the ring about pie eating contests and fluffy BS. PvP is completely abandoned and has languished untouched forever. The game was utterly ruined by going F2P.
  7. Boinky
    Dec 10, 2013
    2
    Horrible class balance, bad PvP gameplay, Landscape/Questing super boring and easy. Every time they release an expansion it is riddled with bugs.

    Only good thing that I can think of is the lore and cinematics, most new games comes standard with good graphics, can't vouch LOTRO for that.
  8. GamerGuy11
    Jan 20, 2014
    9
    The new mounted combat is amazing and throw in the usual great landscape and story and ROHAN and this expansion becomes almost unbelievable. That being said, there were bugs and other issues preventing a solid 10.
  9. AndarneMG
    May 19, 2013
    7
    Whilst the additions to the game are welcome and worthwhile, the game is still littered with fundamental gripes that outweigh even those of notable MMO failures of recent years. The combat remains one of the slowest, clunkiest and least engaging of any game I've played to date and the rudimentary quests offered by the game are ultimately out of line with innovation.

    Don't get me wrong,    Whilst the additions to the game are welcome and worthwhile, the game is still littered with fundamental gripes that outweigh even those of notable MMO failures of recent years. The combat remains one of the slowest, clunkiest and least engaging of any game I've played to date and the rudimentary quests offered by the game are ultimately out of line with innovation.

    Don't get me wrong, this is a welcome and worthwhile installment to the experience, and the additions (huge new zones, mounted combat, the core 'story' quests and the latest patch) but to be honest the game seems like it'll retain the problems its had from day one until its final expansion.

    7/10 if you're a LotRO fan; 5/10 if you're fond of a more fluid and intuitive combat system and quite possibly a ten if you're a roleplayer. LotRO remains one of the best roleplaying-friendly MMOs to date and for all its faults the world that Turbine provide you is second to none in scale and beauty.    … Expand
  10. WhiteTalpa
    Apr 13, 2014
    7
    A strong ex pack IMO, the mounted combat its fairly cool once you get used to it and certainly adds something to the game. I still however have some occurring problems for example, i was level 83 when i finished all the quests i had been given in each part of the new zone not 85 which it should of been so quests not matching ur level is here again sadly... the placement of NPC is remindedA strong ex pack IMO, the mounted combat its fairly cool once you get used to it and certainly adds something to the game. I still however have some occurring problems for example, i was level 83 when i finished all the quests i had been given in each part of the new zone not 85 which it should of been so quests not matching ur level is here again sadly... the placement of NPC is reminded me Mirkwood so yeah that was pretty bad overall though those problems aside a enjoyed it and look forward to playing through wildermore and helms deep.… Expand
  11. Jaz
    Feb 23, 2013
    8
    Since released five years ago LOTRO had stunning landscapes -still has-, average looking characters and animation -still has-, below average pvp -still the same- and now added mounted combat. While its not bad, its not my style really. Still, they added 2 important features which i hope all games would have. Remote looting -loot gets in your bag automatically- and everyone gets exp fromSince released five years ago LOTRO had stunning landscapes -still has-, average looking characters and animation -still has-, below average pvp -still the same- and now added mounted combat. While its not bad, its not my style really. Still, they added 2 important features which i hope all games would have. Remote looting -loot gets in your bag automatically- and everyone gets exp from an npc if hit -GW2 has it as well. But i have 4 major concerns: LOTRO store-annoying and is dangerously close to pay to win, quests- especially the epic ones- must be streamlined and combat must become faster. Its the only MMO i almost fell asleep in combat. Last but not least game is becoming unnecessary complicated (tokens, legendaries etc). Overal its still a nice game, which respects Tolkiens world, but its becoming aged. Btw i m a lifetimer -who logs rarely now- and cant comment the f2p version of the game.… Expand
  12. mcminnra
    Aug 5, 2013
    6
    The lord of the rings is a solid game. The lore is spot on, the classes model real characters in the books, and overall a nice MMORPG to get in to. My main issue with it is the amount of things you must pay for to actually experience the game. It felt that that every single tidbit of game needed to be bought in order to experience. This isn't free to play, but more free to start. Going inThe lord of the rings is a solid game. The lore is spot on, the classes model real characters in the books, and overall a nice MMORPG to get in to. My main issue with it is the amount of things you must pay for to actually experience the game. It felt that that every single tidbit of game needed to be bought in order to experience. This isn't free to play, but more free to start. Going in expecting to be able to enjoy a fair amount of the game without have to pain, the level of content you actually have to buy ruined my experience.… Expand
  13. Stave
    Dec 8, 2013
    6
    I really enjoyed this expansion at the start. The mounted combat was an exciting new feature. The epic line of quests was great. The sight of the Argonath and the fields of Rohan was fantastic. The music was well done. The tension in the story of the quests as you supported the people of Rohan against the invasion from Isengard was fantastic. Many great things. After a time though,I really enjoyed this expansion at the start. The mounted combat was an exciting new feature. The epic line of quests was great. The sight of the Argonath and the fields of Rohan was fantastic. The music was well done. The tension in the story of the quests as you supported the people of Rohan against the invasion from Isengard was fantastic. Many great things. After a time though, it became disappointing. Housing was still basically unchanged since launch. Monster Play continued to be on the back burner and left the PVPers to feel like Turbine's redheaded stepchildren. The loot tables were messed up so that massive amounts of 2nd and 1st age symbols were dumped into the game prematurely. The raids and instance cluster in general were VERY buggy so that some could not be completed. Mounted combat had one 'raid' mob that you could solo and there was never a reason to spend much time trying to master the skills as a result. The mounted combat lag had you warping around the fields of Rohan and was not addressed until just recently...and it still lags. The communication with the community and the handling of issues by CS continued to deteriorate. The game itself simply did not support large raids in either PVE or PVP and was unplayable at times. The frequency of login issues for many people got to be a real problem as well. What started out as something with great promise really declined fast for me. I now would not recommend it.… Expand
  14. jeffkren
    Apr 16, 2015
    0
    These ratings should be updated to reflect current changes and problems, support and stability are nearly 0 and the PvP system is and has been extremely broken and full of exploits.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. GameStar
    Nov 18, 2012
    83
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
  2. GamingXP
    Nov 12, 2012
    85
    Riders of Rohan is the best add-on for Lord of the Rings Online thus far. It has one of the best mounted combats I've ever seen in MMOs and with the great, atmospheric Tolkien universe it is a great game for every fan of the books or the films.
    Read full review
  3. GamingTrend
    Nov 5, 2012
    91
    Don't let my minor complaints deter you though. If you haven't played Lord of the Rings Online for a while then Rohan is the perfect excuse to pick it up again. If you have never played LotRO then I would encourage you to give it a try, all of the stuff leading up to Rohan is still compelling and you will know that you have a good expansion waiting for you at the end.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »