Under the Banner

For anyone interested in the upcoming reputation system being planned for LOTRO, you will definitely want to read Rhidden’s post (copied below). Having played WoW and grinded for many of the different factions, this is very refreshing to hear!

I think a major flaw of other reputation systems is the fact that they require a large time sink and can only be completed in groups.

What ends up happening is that you whip through a number of the low level ranks by yourself, but then get stuck on the higher reputation tiers because you need a group of players to run through the same content over and over again.

Our reputation system will be much more casual-friendly than those of other games. For starters, almost all of the reputations will be solo-friendly. We will not shut off reward turn-ins at higher levels of reputation, though we may offer quests that give you bigger bang for your buck or turn-ins that can be done in groups, but grouping will not be the sole means for improving your reputation. Crafters will also play a large role, and will be able to craft items that players can turn in to improve their rep.

We are also not currently blocking off any content via the reputation system. What this translates to is that if you don’t want the rewards, you don’t have to improve your reputation with a specific faction. This isn’t to say that we won’t add any reputation system content to them in the future, but we are not requiring you to improve your reputation to participate in any epic storyline or to enter into any dungeon instances.

That being said, you may be able to gain access to fun new items, armor sets, or a few new non-combat locations via improving your reputation.