This game has really grown on me. I think LOTRO needs to spruce up its starting areas for the standard races and classes - those zones look and feel rather dated, except for the Shire, which gets a ton of development love. Standing Stone Games has answered the need for early level zone revamp, to a degree, with multiple new regions for lower-level players, especially for new races and classes; the old, rather bland regions remain, though. Starting as a typical Dwarf or Elf will send you to northwest Ered Luin, which looks like it hasn't seen an upgrade in a nigh on couple decades ...not a good look when engaging with Tolkien's genre-defining world as a fantasy race. Hobbits and Men start in Archet, which is decent with a good starting questline. Thankfully Elves and Hobbits go to more unique areas quickly after their intro quests, but first impressions matter!

Years ago, I dabbled with the game on and off for months: I think a big part of my lack of engagement was the lackluster environment and questing my dwarf character was experiencing. I decided I would grit my teeth and grind to a certain level, then go exploring before deciding whether to quit the game entirely. I'm glad I did this.

The world of LOTRO is huge and relatively connected. The starter zones of Eriador are bland and boring. You can see how, over the years of the game, the newer areas grew increasingly more interesting, elaborate, beautiful as more development time and money was spent on a growing game. As you quest to higher and higher levels, the mechanics broaden and improve for the most part (though the lag DOES NOT). You may hate Thorin's Hall, like I did, but you'll love going to the Shire. Bree remains a solid city, but it's intriguing how it has also remained the major city for players of all levels. Bree is great for newbies to cross paths with higher level players, who are open to adding you to their kinship and answering your questions, helping you through the early game. That's a big plus. Other new lower-level areas like Cardolan, Swanfleet, Yondershire are obviously newer by how much more visually pleasing they are to the older zones, and generally have more interesting quests and foes (less "please go kill ten wolves over there because I can't be bothered"). Rivendell is a gem! I'll never forget walking into the valley for the first time and seeing Rivendell. I enjoyed going south from there to zones like Enedwaith because you don't see em in Peter Jackson's movies or read much of them in Tolkien's work, which allowed Standing Stone Games to get a bit creative, and I give SSG
credit for getting creative in Tolkien-land without it seeming to not fit into the broader world: it blended very well.

At around level 50 you get prompted to get into Moria. Moria is a totally different feeling to Eriador. Expansive underground craziness ensues. Eventually you'll pop out into Rhovanion via Lothlorien, which looks great and is a dramatic swing away from the caves you've been in for the past X hours. As you go south into Rohan, SSG starts to show off. New mechanics, multiple paths for solid quest lines spanning multiple regions, greatly improved environment. And in Rohan, you get to engage more with the main storyline by helping thwart Isengard in western Rohan and at the battle of Helm's Deep. Follow the trail left by Aragorn through the Grey Mountains to come out into Gondor - beautifully crafted and distinct regions await. Fight off the Haradrim and marauding Umbari, then up to Ithilien and Minas Tirith you go, crossing paths with Fellowship members and aiding the fight against the Lord of the Rings.

Am I getting the point across? This game starts out meh, then gets better, then gets great. I'm over a thousand hours played, for reasons!

Additional thoughts
-Joining a solid kinship is a good idea. Do not stay with people who don't want to talk or help one another out - it's an MMO after all, playing together is a big piece of the game and significantly beneficial to you.
-Crafting is actually worthwhile throughout leveling for the most part. This surprised me.
-Different classes play VERY differently, so you should create the max number of characters you can and figure out what you like. Some are better at solo questing than others, some are buff machines in fellowship groups but are harder to level alone.
-The lag is awful at times. Most nights, I don't get much at all. But it depends on circumstances
-SSG abides by book lore over movie lore. Take that for whatever it's worth to you
-It would be wise to upgrade once from a free account to VIP for a least a month. You can keep some important benefits as a 'Premium' account (not Free, not VIP) after the month is over. Also, SSG put a lot of heart and soul into this game set in a fantasy world a lot of people adore, and they ought to get at least a little bit of your money for their hard work. But, you can get hundreds of hours of enjoyment for free. Keep in mind, free accounts will have the most recently added areas barred from quest access - you need to buy the most recent expansion packs' zones to play the quests in em.
-The microtransaction prompts are annoying on free account. Keep in mind the point above - you can get hundreds of hours of gaming for free, SSG isn't selling your info to unsavory actors to make ends meet. After 500 hours I was having so much fun and so impressed by the amount of work SSG put into the game I was enjoying, that I wanted to give them some money.
-Take your time. Do not focus on solo grinding til you reach max level 'so the game can officially begin.' This game is about the journey, not the max level destination. Read the quest dialogue, some of it is pretty good. Go find a lovely spot and do some fishing. Head to the pubs throughout the Shire and drink all their unique alcohol. Grab some tobacco and smoke while people-watching in Bree. Play as a servant of Sauron in Monster Play. Engage with the holiday quests. Get a house and decorate it. Visit Bilbo in Rivendell. Go kill hundreds of low-level goblins for Deeds because your dwarf character has a seething hatred for goblins. Try every Instance skirmish battle at least once, and don't do all of em alone. Learn a musical instrument and join a band. Visit Minas Tirith in Midsummer. Instead of working on making your level number higher, spend an evening helping a lower level player advance through a difficult zone.

This old game is great and still going strong, adding new content frequently. You should give it a try

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

─ Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings

I've never read the Lord of the Rings books and yet, this free-to-play game has swept me off my feet and into a vast world of beauty, danger and adventure.

Whether you like the hot and sweaty group action of large scale combat or you prefer playing with─er, by yourself, the world of LOTRO will draw you in with its rich story and beautiful environments.

When you need a rest from battle, you will find many other things to do here including crafting, fishing and seasonal festivals. You can even get your own home and fill it with decorations.

If you need help with anything, you will find the LOTRO community to be very friendly, especially if you join a kinship (player support group).

On a final note, Bilbo Baggins once said, "We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”

Yes, you will be late for dinner but you won't regret it.

Just drop a letter to your friends in the town post box, telling them to meet you at the Prancing Pony in Bree-town for a bite and a tankard (or three) of ale. Rumor has it that the community sometimes stages impromptu music concerts outside the tavern on weekends.

I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Olshamar.

great mmo, a bit dated now but the world is amazing to be in.