Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria

TTH announce that Turbine & Codemasters are hard at work on a Mines of Moria expansion for LotRO. You can see their report from Connect '08 here. The offical teaser(ish) site is up here.

Three new regions are coming into the game to compliment those 10 new levels, and these regions certainly aren’t for the faint of heart. The first and least known of the regions is Eregion, which is an area outside of the West Gate of Khazad-dûm. Full of ancient Elven ruins, Eregion may harbor a host of unseen enemies.

Second, and the deadliest region of the three, is Moria itself. Hopefully any Tolkien fan – casual or hardcore alike – will know what Moria contains: the Balrog of Khazad-dûm. Unleashed by the dwarves of Moria, this creature will make the other Balrog that was introduced earlier into the game look tame. If the expansion is anything like the books, expect a vast number of orcs and goblins to fight through in the depths of Moria itself. The developers were also keen to mentions that Moria will also be heaped with glittering Dwarven treasure!

The last new region on the list is Lórien, where players will finally get to meet up with the Fellowship and possibly help ease their pain after their desperate flight from the Balrog. The developers will probably create an epically beautiful realm to represent Lórien, and one can only expect Galadriel to be stunning (or Gimli would have our heads!).

The offical site is now updated with the features of this new expansion. 

 

• Speak Friend, and Enter - Moria, called Khazad-dûm by the dwarves, was their capital and the grandest of cities. This enormous underground cavern in north-western Middle-earth, comprises an immense network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls that run beneath and ultimately through the Misty Mountains. For the first time, players of The Lord of the Rings Online will enter this ancient city which has served as the foundation for the modern-day dungeon-crawling adventures to battle the hordes of goblins and the Nameless of the Deep and journey through hundreds of new quests within six new kinds of stunning environments.

• The Epic Continues! - The Mines of Moria represents the beginning of Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online. Players can experience six new books as part of this update and participate in the release of Durin's Bane, battle the Watcher, aid Galadriel and more!

• Increased Level Cap - Players will be able advance their characters up to level 60, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. The crafting system will also expand, giving players the ability to craft 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, allow players to build exciting and powerful new characters in The Lord of the Rings Online in diverse new ways.

Forge Legendary Items - The Mines of Moria will introduce Turbine's new item advancement system to The Lord of the Rings Online. Players will be able to forge weapons and class-related equipment and evolve them to build a legacy the likes of Bilbo's Sting and Gandalf's Glamdring. These legendary weapons will level-up along with the player, allowing customization by advancing the item's virtues, adding runic legacies, modifying its titles and forming fables.