Lord of the Rings Online launches its first expansion: Mines of Moria

While World of Warcraft gamers are celebrating its second expansion, the populace of Lord of the Rings Online can now enjoy their first. The doors of the Mines of Moria are now open and waiting for you.

Details after the link.

 While World of Warcraft gamers are celebrating its second expansion, the populace of Lord of the Rings Online can now enjoy their first. The doors of the Mines of Moria are now open and waiting for you.

Aside from two new classes, ten new levels, and new quests, the expansion will also introduce the Legendary Item system. Here are some of the new features as detailed by the press release:

• Forge Legendary Items! – The Mines of Moria introduces TurbineÂ’s revolutionary new item advancement system to LOTRO. Players can now forge unique weapons and class-related equipment and evolve them to build a legacy the likes of BilboÂ’s Sting and GandalfÂ’s Glamdring. These legendary weapons grow in power along with the player through their adventures and are customized by advancing the itemÂ’s virtues, adding runic legacies and modifying its title.
• Speak Friend, and Enter – Moria, called Khazad-dûm by the dwarves, was their capital and the grandest of cities. This enormous underground world in north-western Middle-earth comprises an immense network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls beneath the Misty Mountains and represent one of the largest and most dangerous online underground environments ever created. Starting today players can journey through hundreds of new adventures and battle goblin hordes and the Nameless of the Deep in the ancient city underground which has served as the foundation for the modern-day dungeon-crawling adventures.
• The Epic Story Continues! — The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria begins Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online storyline. Players will experience six new books rich with new characters and content and face the fiery wrath of DurinÂ’s Bane, battle the Watcher, bring aid to the Lady Galadriel and more.
• Increased Level Cap — Players can now advance their characters up to level 60, opening access to a wealth of new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. The crafting system also now offers a new Tier and gives players the ability to join crafting guilds to create even more powerful items.
• Discover Two New Classes — The Rune-keeper and the Warden, the first new classes to be introduced since the launch of the game, offer players the opportunity to create all-new characters and experience LOTRO in exciting new ways.