Original Release Date: April 24, 2007
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

As a player in LOTRO wraps up their experiences in Bree-land, they are presented with a choice. Head north to aid the folk of Trestlebridge and the North Downs, or make their way to the Forsaken Inn at the edge of the Midgewater Marsh. The epic story of LOTRO makes it clear that The Lone-lands is the way to go if you want to stick to the main story of the game. The Lone-lands is another launch region – and is home to one of the most prominent points of interest in The Lord of the Rings: the ruined fortress of Weather-top! That POI alone acts as a visual magnet. The ruins loom in the distance – visible from the gates of Bree-town itself if the weather is good.

The Lone-lands is in general an arid land in contrast to its neighbor regions (Bree-land, Trollshaws, and Cardolan). Much of the early game regions paid close attention to what was done with the movies and tried to evoke a similar feel in our designs to appeal to the audience coming to the IP from the movies but the Lone-lands probably leans most heavily in that direction when it comes to film inspiration. That is not to say the whole region is grasslands. In the far east of it are the Harloeg and Garth Agarwen – both very different spins on a marshy forest biome. One is a wild and untamed flooded low-land forest, and the other a swamp corrupted by evil spirits whose influence has literally colored the waters and leaves of the land.

As with all early game regions, development was split up among the World team, and our finger prints can individually be found throughout the region. I was primarily responsible for the construction of the western marches and ruins of the Lone-lands, as well as the construction of Garth Agarwen and Harloeg.