Riders of Rohan delayed

Beta testing of RoR has been very successful in finding loads of bugs so the release is put back to 15th October. More detail can be found on Contains Moderate Peril.

The countdown timer has been adjusted.

This means Loremaster Florandir will get some adventuring time after all!

Grimberg makes L75 following doomed Isengard Assault

 Grimberg joins his fellow Rohirrim in the assault on Isengard.

But things don't go well ...










 ... and Grimberg has a bad dream ...

... but he is rewarded with L75 from his namesake Grimbold.


















This means Grimberg has achieved his objective of L75 before Riders of Rohan.

Metalsmith Folflorin and jeweler Floribunda are ready to craft Grimberg some Great River armour and  jewellery and Florandir has crafted a third age legendary L75 great hammer.

Next for Grimberg is the epic quest line in the Great River to get the Worn Symbol of Celebrimbor so Florandir can craft him a second age legendary.
Can he manage this before Riders of Rohan?

Flaming Halflings in the Limlight Gorge

 5 Flaming Halflings Zeshac, Colzarak, Stuball, Findo and Grimberg ventured into the Limlight Gorge. Things were going well until we mined the ore nodes and got the attention of 3 trolls. Hunter Findo was CC built so could mez and trap. Colzarak tanked the trolls and the rest stayed behind to avoid his big AOE. Unfortunately as the troll threw Colzarak around and Grimberg kept behind he got in ranged of a trapped troll who stunned and mashed him. He was rezzed OK but when he mined the ore node again to our surprise we got another 3 trolls who killed us off. Luckily the quest completed so we could retreat and hand in.

All this got Grimberg within a whisker of Level 75.

Grimberg in Nan Curunír

Grimberg is helped by Guardian Sofor with quests in Nan Curunir outside Isengard. This took him through level 73. We chatted about Captains and realised Grimbergs 20% crit chance was key to keeping his DPS up even though he is still fighting with his L65 legendary 2 handed hammer.

In the screenie the Master of Beasts gets a slap from an Ent.

Adventuring and blogging has slowed down recently due to real world and due to setting up an upgraded PC. With Lotro on an SSD load times are dramatically reduced and I can recommend this upgrade to reduce lag & delays when playing the game.

WeatherStock 2012 in pictures

Apelred Jnr attended his first WeatherStock on Landroval server and had a really great time despite the occasional issues with lag which meant the sound disappeared for a few seconds. He had to set graphics to very low res to ensure he heard the music so the screen shots of the performances are a bit fuzzy but managed high res for the group shots at the Lonely Tree. Screenies can also be found on Flickr.

WeatherStock 2012 - Just logged on and Apelred was starting to feel overdressed!

He managed to hear the last 8 bands and they were all great, the standard was very high. The music was varied with some having lyrics posted to regional chat as the music played. The lyrics were sometimes epic and sometimes funny, Ingolemo's "I want to ride my War Steed" to the tune of Queen's "I want to ride my bicycle" gave Apelred the biggest grin.

WeatherStock 2012 Light in the Dark winners Andunie

WeatherStock 2012 Light in the Dark winners were Andunie who did a varied set including an all percussion number, two mellow 'elvish' tunes and a jig.

The Great Smokeout WeatherStock 2012

Being a hobbit Apelred likes a good smoke.

Apelreds favourites the Songburrow Strollers during the Battle of the Bands WeatherStock 2012

Mornie Alantie - Batttle of the Bands Winners - WeatherStock 2012

Apelred thought Mornie Alantie's tunes were the most evocative of Middle Earth, and the Mordor, Mordor song a very witty ditty with a catchy tune.

Fireworks for WeatherStock 2012

WeatherStock 2012 Lonely Mountain Cup judging was very close - 'give us 3 minutes'

The Lonely Mountain Band did a great job of organising the 5 hour event which went very smoothly. There were a couple of killjoys who moaned and did group emotes but that did not spoil Apels enjoyment so a big thankyou to the LMB. They have recorded the tune they used to introduce the bands, you can hear it here www.tinyurl.com/weatherstockforever.

Lonely Mountain Cup winners Songburrow Strollers with their Bywater Bouncing song - the crowd went wild! WeatherStock 2012.

Apelred is a sucker for a song about biscuits and an excuse to jump about so he was delighted when the Songburrow Strollers won the Lonely Mountain Cup.

Procession to the Lonely Tree - WeatherStock 2012

We all cheer for a fantastic event, thanks to the Lonely Mountain Band - WeatherStock 2012

Harperella serenades the crowd at the Lonely Tree - WeatherStock 2012

Fireworks at the Lonely Tree Photo Shoot - WeatherStock 2012

Apelred can't resist another bounce! WeatherStock 2012

Grimberg hits L70

Grimberg hits L70 in Starkmore. He has skipped most of Starkmore and Dunbog so he can get to the content Apelred didn't get to experience.

The screen shot is from my lovely new 1920*1080 Dell Ultrasharp screen which is a great improvement from my laptop screen.

Apelred Jnr gets ready for Weatherstock

Apelred Jnr makes his way to Weathertop on Landroval so he can atttend the Weatherstock concert this weekend.