The investment is significant.' Kate Paiz It's a huge challenge for an MMO technically to have - from the books, - 10,000 orcs cresting a hill, running towards the keep. That's a really robust effort from us and the investment is significant. 'As we get Aragorn south,' Kate Paiz chimed in, 'we're going to be ready to tell the next steps, both in the live plan for the end of this year/next year and of course any future major releases we'll be doing.' 'Seeing as we're bringing you just the eastern half, and we want to fill that up with rich content much like we have with the other Middle-Earth regions to date, we have a lot more Rohan to go to before we get to Gondor.' 'This fall is just the beginning of our Rohan adventures,' Adam Mersky mentioned. You'll go into Fangorn Forest, and you'll go into Rohan and help defend the townspeople against Saruman's forces. You'll see Amon Hem, where Boromir is slain and where the Fellowship breaks up. The region of Rohan makes up the final part of the new LOTRO expansion. She hinted that Grima Wormtongue may more heavily feature at some point. Paiz was under 'strict orders' not to tell Eurogamer who the Riders of Rohan bosses will be. New character skills are 'a piece' of this progression, Paiz remarked, but mechanics such as Deeds, crafting and Legendary items will also grow with your hero. Riders of Rohan raises the Lord of the Rings Online level-cap from 75 to 85. All things are possible, and there is some clear enthusiasm around that.' 'Everybody on my team asks me the same question, and the wonderful thing about having MMOs - this year we'll be turning five - is that we have years to come. 'When we have accomplished that, we will absolutely explore where we think it's appropriate.

There are 'no plans at present' for mounted combat to spread beyond Rohan, or back to Turbine's existing Middle-Earth, but the nature of an MMO is such that you can never say never.ДЄs Paiz pointed out: 'We are going to be in Rohan for some time and expect to be spending lots of time advancing and deepening the mounted combat mechanic. 'So we are building it in a way that allows it to be extensible over time.' 'It is not our intention to have you mount level-cap within the first three quests - obviously that would be a little bit silly.' Kate Paiz, executive producer, LOTRO 'It is not our intention to have you mount level-cap within the first three quests - obviously that would be a little bit silly. 'Players will find the mounted combat levelling experience sufficient and robust,' Paiz added, 'in that they will have opportunities to level their mount throughout the expansion pack and the live plan that we have coming. Plinking at someone with your bow and arrow: when you're racing across the plains at high-speed you can no longer do focus elements like this.' 'There will be some classic skills that can apply to this experience, but there are certainly going to be skills that don't apply,' Paiz said, 'that make sense when you're standing there. Not all on-foot abilities will work on horseback. Paiz said there will be class-specific mounted combat skills, too. There's been no detailed description of what Trample does, beyond what it suggests. The only named mounted combat skill so far is Trample, which all classes can use. 'Hey! We're the Riders of Rohan! We're here to save you!' They'll be 'stronger', 'sturdier' and 'trained', Paiz explained - 'so they come with skills and abilities, and you can customise them in a way you can't with our current mounts'. War Steeds will be 'more beefy' than current mounts. So you and your horse, which is a companion and has his own skills and fighting abilities in combat, are moving at a much faster pace than you as a non-mounted creature in other areas.' 'And you, as a player, are meeting that challenge with something equivalent. 'He's sending out these packs of mounted orcs, 40 or 50 at a time, and they're devastating the town's people and the landscape of Rohan - as is written in the books. 'It's about bringing to bear against the forces of Saruman,' she said. Paiz described War Steeds as a 'high-speed mechanic' that make you more powerful than when you're on foot. These War Steeds will only be available to buy and use in Rohan, and from character level 75.

Kate Paiz, the game's executive producer, told us more. The headline feature of LOTRO's biggest ever expansion is mounted combat. Lord of the Rings Online's autumn expansion Riders of Rohan was announced yesterday, and Eurogamer galloped after developer Turbine to find out more.

Lord of the rings online mounts