The multi-boss raid is on schedule for release with Book 8. Over the past few weeks we've been getting some really good testing on it and are hard at work tweaking and polishing it.

Raskolnikov

Bullroarer will go live on Thursday May 21 at 7:00PM Eastern (-4 GMT). Bullroarer is a true test server. Turbine’ll be conducting a login queue and server test promptly at 7:00PM. It’s important everyone who logs in remain in the queue. Don’t be discouraged by your position in the queue or the wait time estimates. No one is sneaking in ahead of you. Everyone will be allowed in at the same time. It’s an important test so please be on time!

Once the world is open be sure to test out new Summer Festival! There will be devs in game to help you find the new goodies, too! Sometime between 7:00PM and 8:00PM Turbine’ll make an in game announcement regarding the opening of the Book 8 epic story line. If you want to see it first, you’ll need to be logged in and ready to go!

What you need:
You’ll need Bullroarer installed and fully updated prior to 7:00PM on Thursday. Make sure you’re patched well ahead of time or you’ll miss the test! You can download it here.

What to expect:
Because Bullroarer is a test server you can expect to see things that aren’t quite right.  Turbine is very interested in feedback and bug reports.

Head over to the forum to read the full details.

There've been a lot of questions about Champions and different tactics for this class. Sometimes players do things correctly from the beginning and learn the "tricks" as they level up but sometimes you suddenly realize that the max level is reached but your skills and techniques are bad. Isn't it sad?

US forum member Kaiz made an interesting guide for champions that covers a lot more than just starting strategy. Make sure to check out the Kaiz's Champion Guide and give us your opinion.

The Isengard Private Preview Program is now accepting new applications. The program is designed to preview the upcoming Book content (at this time that would be Book 8) to help us find bugs and optimize content.

What is the usual time one would have to wait to get a reply if they were picked?
We intend to process the applications once a month, so... about a month

What is a "clean forum and game history"?
We would say any marks or infractions that actually causes 'time out' from the forums or the game. So if you received points that actually caused a temporary banning.

Is the Program limited to US Accounts only or is it open for others beside the US?
It is open to Codemasters players as well, however they must apply through the Codemasters forums. Since they need to verify live account subscription status, they have their own application process.

Would I get a ported character, autoleveled character or a character to start from scratch?
All those choices are available to you. The Eyes and Guard Tavern, which you will be familiar with if you participated in any of our Beta Programs, Stress Tests, or on the Public Preview Server, is usually open full blast 24/7. You can autolevel characters there, or start characters from scratch. We also offer a one time character copy of 1 character from Live per Isengard account.

What is the maximum # of characters allowed on Isengard?
Currently we only have 8, however we are working on getting at least one more slot so you can have one of each class.

Kehleyr

What Isengard is:

Isengard is a program run by members of the LOTRO Quality Assurance (QA) Team. This program invites real players like you to come onto our private server and help us give upcoming content and changes a good run through. Your participation will help us iron out kinks and find bugs before the content reaches the Live worlds, helping us create a more polished and enjoyable game experience for all.

You can also present feedback on this upcoming content. Why to you think it's fun? Why isn't it fun? Do you think it enhances the game? Breaks it? All your feedback will be read and compiled to be considered while the content is still in development with the goal of making the game the most optimal for Live release.

Things to Consider Before Applying:

1. Spare time. Participation in the Preview Program should enhance your LOTRO experience, not replace it. If real life obligations or hobbies take up the majority of your spare time, the Preview Program may not be right for you.
2. Do you get a sense of accomplishment by reporting bugs or participating in forum feedback? Even if the suggestions you make or the feedback you give is not directly acted upon or implemented, you should be able to feel you have contributed just the same.
3. Do you enjoy posting to the forums and having active discussions with your fellow players? Forum posting is a huge part of Isengard. If you are uncomfortable posting to forums again the Preview Program may not be right for you.

Requirements of the Isengard Private Preview Program:

1. Must have a valid and active subscription to The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
2. Must be at least 18 years of age
3. Must have a clean forum and game history
4. Must be able to interact with the community in a mature and constructive manner
5. Must be able to communicate well through forum posts and bug reports
6. You must accept the terms of the Private Preview Program Non-Disclosure Agreement, the full contents of which will be provided during the registration process should you be accepted to the program.

For more information check out The Isengard Private Preview Program

Few days ago we have received an email from Barry Martin. Barry is a developer who works on iPhone apps in his free time. As a big Lotro fan he has decided to make iPhone Apps related to the game. So far Barry has finished coding two Lotro iPhone Apps and his wife did graphic design and creation. 

The first one, "LOTRO Server Status", has been already approved by Apple as a first LOTRO app in the Appstore. LOTRO Server Status is a Lord of the Rings Online game server status checker for your iPhone or iPod touch.  This version only supports North American servers. If there is interest, European servers may be added in a future release. This application is available on the AppStore at itunes.apple.com. More information you can find on Barry's web site bamsoft.net

The second one, "LOTRO Characters" has been submitted to Apple and is awaiting approval. This application pulls data from my.lotro.com using the recently released beta developer API to show character info/gear on your iPhone. Sneak peak screenshots you can find at bamsoft.net

LOTRO is getting a performance boost for its servers, and you could get a performance boost for your PC just for playing on Bullroarer during our LOTRO Performance Event! You could win a super-fast solid state hard drive, a blazing CPU + 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a killer DX10.1 video card, or a signed copy of the game!

Where: During the event on May 14th we'll monitor performance on the Bullroarer server and we need as many players to participate as possible! If you don't already have it, download the Bullroarer game client now and install it to be ready for the event.

When: Log in and play LOTRO on Bullroarer between 9:00PM and 11:00PM Eastern on Thursday, May 14 for your chance to win great prizes. Lots of Turbine developers and staff will be playing on Bullroarer and chatting with players (look for names that start with a plus sign [+]) – and we’ll have many other cool in-game surprises too!

All players who log in and play between 9:00PM and 11:00PM Eastern will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win.

Click here for more official information and Click here for some less official information

Each week Turbine will be asking you questions, and here in this thread, you can tell: What comes to mind; what you think; how you feel; etc, as it relates to the question(s) at hand.

Ground Rules:
Because we want this to be a place where we can gather valuable feedback from our community we're going to be a little tougher on the rules enforcement here. Please read both the Ground Rules and the Forum Guidelines posts before you do anything else. These will be strictly enforced.

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Question 1
A friend who does not play MMOs asks you why you play them. What 3 reasons would you give them?

Question 2
Play style is currently a hot topic among forum users. How would you describe your play style? Casual, Hardcore, or something in between?

Question 3
You're given the opportunity to pitch one new feature to the dev team. Go! (Please be brief)

To celebrate the second anniversary of The Lord of the Rings Online, play.com is offering to all European fans a great prize: three nights in Boston city and dine with the developers. From now until May 17th one lucky winner and friend will be sent to Boston, USA, the birthplace of this incredible game. 

To get a chance of winning the prize simply visit play.com competition answer the question, fill in your details and hit Go!

All LOTRO servers will be brought down for a restart Friday May 8th on the following schedule:

• 12pm-1pm Eastern (-4 GMT) : Arkenstone, Brandywine, Firefoot, Gladden, Nimrodel, and Silverlode.
• 1pm-2pm Eastern (-4 GMT): Elendilmir, Landroval, Meneldor, Vilya, and Windfola.

Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!

Voting has started for The GOLDEN JOYSTICK 2009 Awards. Vote for your favorite games of the year and help them make it to the 2009 short list. Vote in as many categories you like but remember every vote counts!
Only games released between 22nd May 2008 and 22nd May 2009 are eligible for inclusion in the main categories of this year's awards.

Some of the categories are:
Mobile Game of The Year, Multiplayer Game of The Year, Nintendo Game of The Year, Online Game of The Year, PC Game of The Year, PlayStation Game of The Year, Publisher of The Year, Retailer of The Year...

Click here to check out Golden Joysticks 2009: The Rules