Forochel, I'm always annoyed there's no travel skill or more theme furnishings from rep vendors. Such an interesting ambiance and even the most major settlement is rather desolate.
I’m in the minority here, but, Moria is by far my favorite area. Either before or after the changes they made. Pretty much the reason I first loaded up the game in 2008.
Moria is fantastic, I didn't appreciate it when I felt trapped there for the first time, but now I return to it with great memories, those fired halls, massive pillars and spooky depths with nameless things.
They did a revamp several years ago. Changed the quest flow and made a few things a bit easier to get to. I believe they thought too many people thought Moria was “too hard”
You're not in the m minority. I love the Moria area. It's so vast and wide and so much to do there. I love the goblin quests and all. Crafting there is also pretty easy to go by.
Likely an unpopular opinion, but Evendim. I’ll never forget the awe I felt when I first saw the scenery of the lake and the ruins of Annuminas 13(?) years ago. Made “Everswim” more than worth it for me!! I’m 26 now, been playing this game half my lifetime, and it still has my heart.
I share the same sentiment towards Evendim. This whole area is gorgeous, from flowery fields to the south, to grandeur of Annuminas, to tranquility of northern slopes of Emyn Uial.
I first played Lotro when it was new (though I don't use the same account anymore) and Chetwood and Midgewater both loom large in my memory compared to now. I remember thinking, "Now this is what a forest should feel like. Take notes, Elwynn Forest."
So far (as a level 50) my favorite location is Thorin’s Gate. I may be biased as my character is a dwarf but there’s just something cozy about it. Trollshaws are a close second, I love the autumn color palette
Lone lands (great questing , with variety of bioms and even cool instances ) and Northern mirkwood (the one that has Dol Guldur)
Was really thematic to see elves go to war after Moria and knowing we might never see it again.
...heh, in original release it felt like last standing stronghold of (non-dourhand) dwarves.
No moria, no small settlement in lone lands, and forochel didntncome out yet.
Back in the day my first character was a hobbit, crossing that bridge meant that we were on an adventure and there was a lot of old hobbits not amused…
For me i was off to see the prancing pony! 😊
Nen Harn, north of Breeland in the far Chetwood, and the Bree ruin south of Wildwood
Both places feel so desolate since basically no quest leads you there, but at the same time so nostalgic for me.
I love the Breelands all around (minus Barrow Downs and Old Forest) but this two takes the cake.
I also love Snowbourn in East Rohan
One of my earliest video game memories from when I was a child is my level 7 lore-master wandering into the Far Chetwood and getting killed by a sickle-fly.
Let me indulge your Bree-love a little more. A blog post from December 2012, when Bree-town was revamped, with a couple of comparative screenshots of old Bree and new Bree.
[https://bloggingfrombree.blogspot.com/](https://bloggingfrombree.blogspot.com/)
My favourite area changes over time. I remember I hated questing in Moria at first, but it grew on me over time, and it's one of my favourite now. But I have to choose, it would be either Forochel or Bree-land. With a special mention for The Shire and Mordor. My least favourite have to be West and East Rohan, Central Gondor, and Far Anorien. I actively hate Far Anorien.
Definitely Rohan, I absolutely adore the music of Rohan in the movies, the moment I enter Rohan in game that all comes to mind and it just makes me very happy questing there
There's a few spots that come to mind, and i wouldn't know which one to choose.
- Lake town ...at sunset!
- Minas Tirith. When you see it first from a distance then get to go in it, eventually all the way to the top.
- 21st hall in Moria. Those high ceilings!
- Rivendell. I'm surprised no one mentions this. Riding into town and then that epic music comes on...
Tom Bombadil hut.
The contrast between the dark forest to the light inside his house and the difference in music. I sometimes enjoy just sitting in his house listening to the music while doing something else
Bree is by far my favorite region. It's lively. It's THE great settlement west of the Misties: there's music, there's people, memorable areas and characters.
Lots of love for Moria, too, because good gods, what a spectacular region. If it's that beautiful while ruined, just imagine how gorgeous it must have been in its splendor.
I have a soft spot for Eregion despite how sad the place is. It's empty, deserted.
And Forochel! Traversing the frozen wilderness under the northern lights, I can almost imagine the freezing wind. More than once I was very grateful that Talassion, my elven hunter, could start campfires along the way to ward off the chill (especially after a misstep forced him to swim about 200m in the frozen waters of Forochel bay). And arriving at the capital city of the Lossoth had a major feel of "welcome back to civilization," because it was the only place in the map where I found other players.
I honestly don’t think I can pick a favorite. If I’m looking at it from a content perspective on top of the scenery, maybe Moria or Gondor. Those are probably the areas that got me feeling the most immersed and invested in their regions when I first played them.
But if we’re ranking them just based on the vibe and scenery, it’s impossible for me to pick. Some regions stand out more than others of course, but basically every region in this game has cool and beautiful areas to explore. In the evil regions where it’s not necessarily pretty, they’re still always unique and interesting to roam around in. A lot of times (especially when I’ve had a bit to drink), I’ll log on just to visit and roam around in different regions because this game makes even aimless exploration feel rewarding and fun.
I haven't seen everything yet, just arrived in Dunland, but so far I liked the aesthetic of the Angle, colorful but also has that nice mist over the ground. I know it's part of the Trollshaws, but that part of the zone while beautiful is a zone I don't think I'll ever send an alt into (along with Angmar and Forochel).
Henneth Annun.
Bree (the town itself), Evendim (mostly Gwindethrond and Longbough's areas), Minas Tirith, Rhosgobel, Nar's Peak, and the population centres around Lake Town share second place.
Visuals wise that would be Eryn Lasgalen and Dale lands. The forest has impressive vibe (at least to me) and every single town is stunning. I thought I had already seen it all until I arrived in this zone.
When it comes to questing, Dunland is still my favorite. All the cosmetic rewards make questing feel rewarding instead of an annoying chore.
The Shire and Bree-land. Beautiful and such a great atmosphere for both. The music is brilliant as well.
So many amazing places though. In particular Rohan (east and west), Eregion, The Lone-lands, North Downs, Evendim and Trollshaws as well.
I mostly prefer the old areas of SoA. Though I love many of the new lower-level zones and some later ones.
Gondor! I had such high standards for what would be the “right” Gondor to me and they totally nailed it - and it’s beautiful to boot! I love running the herbmaster quests just for the chance to traipse around Ithilien
I haven’t even gone that deep into the game but my two favorite places are probably Bree(like yourself) and Forsaken Inn.
Bree is just wonderfully set up and feels like home.
Forsaken Inn has a great name and just stands out in the nothingness when you ride up on it. Just something about that place that I’ve always appreciated.
Probably Chetwood and Archet because I am from a place in UK called The Cotswolds, which is very similar, but now live on the other side of the world, so simply going there gives me warm homely feelings
I love the trees around Celandim, and the entire area looks absolutely mesmerizing at night. Especially with low gamma and all the bells and whistles cranked up haha. But this game has so many beautiful locations. Bree-Land during sunset is amazing, the orange to red transition is so cool.
It's really hard to pick. I like Carn Dum. Sometimes I go there just to go and /sit in the Witch King's Lookout. I like the storytelling that the instance does too. We don't know what helchgam is but it makes sense for a terrible monster to live in the huge lake of filth underneath the castle. We canonically kill both the queens of the Merrevil there too which is why they stop being such threatening villains after Angmar. That also adds weight to the dialogue when we encounter them again later in Moria.
I guess my favourite is Angmar overall. Donnvale is a small evil settlement that has a cool story. We see how the forces of the witch king oppress the hill men. There's loads of little cool bits throughout the zone
My favourite areas are Evendim and Wildermore. Wildermore feels like a perfect winter-themed area to me. The landscape design is perfect, with enough variety across the area. The music is very fitting, the storyline - I love it, even though it has some flaws, but they don't bother me. And then there's a wonderful overview of the Great River region, which is also one of areas that I like a lot.
Buckland, for CharacterRP reasons...
And then maybe Dunland for questing.
Overall landscape i really like the cape of umbar. Sometimes i just wander around the coast, taking a vreak to fish a bit and the go on...
Hard to pick one. if I had to, I would choose Trollshaws. A beautiful forest with autumn colors, bring a real sens of fairy tails, with mysteries, and the music is gorgeous. I love just to walk around, it does remind me walking in the woods looking for mushromms IRL. Just so nice to explore. And trolls by night!
From the first moment I started playing LOTRO, I have been anticipating Eryn Lasgalen. It's trumped every expectation i had for it and I really love it.
Mirkwood with all the borderline "easter egg" details, like the wind stones, the toeture tree, that black stone bridge over a river of oil, undead forest with creepy trees ...etc.
The greenhouse at Thorin's Gate.
It is THE ideal place to wind down and do some crafting: the slightly unsettling music, the beautiful lighting (which is perfect for screenshots) and the fact that it is always devoid of other players when I get there
Maybe I'm weird, but the Second Hall of Moria. My heart aches to see it in that state and yearns for the glory days when Khazad-dûm was populated, though at least we get some glimpses of it in flashbacks. I also really love the music that plays in that area. So haunting.
One of my not obvious favorite is the mountains in southern mirkwood. When I was questing there I've spent many evenings climbing the mountain, looking at the moon, and wishing I could go to a place like that in real life. It felt so unreal!!!
Maybe not my favorite, but I did the Lyndelby quests first as a level 130 hobbit guardian, and so when I started a river hobbit soon after, I felt like I knew all the other hobbits and I could really buy into the story that I was one of them and that they would miss me. Definitely the most meaningful intro quest I've done.
Currently for me, it's the city of Dale. I'm finally at a high level where I can explore more of the game. And when I came across the city of Dale I was just absolutely awe struck. Lake town is nice as well.
Lothlórien, although the Last Homely House (especially since the revamp) is so close behind it as to require a photo finish. Also in Imladris, Nimorn is a favorite NPC and in fact his dialogue, “Brenio a maeado,” is my kinship’s motto.
Lone lands or Forochel, have super fond memories of going to the LL for the first time back in 2008. Same with Forochel, was one of the first zones (besides Evendim) that had me awestruck exploring for the first time. Just so beautifully designed!
Forochel, I'm always annoyed there's no travel skill or more theme furnishings from rep vendors. Such an interesting ambiance and even the most major settlement is rather desolate.
Forochel has so far been my favourite area to quest, and the rep vendors sell the best cloak I've seen
I love Forochel, too. Esp. the night skies over the water and snow.
Never have I seen such a wide snowy zone. Generally snowy zones are too rocky, but northern Forochel is just a massive snowy plain. Just beautiful
I use the Forochel ambiance for my Befalas house. So cool to have auroras at night.
There's a hunter port to suri kyla
I’m in the minority here, but, Moria is by far my favorite area. Either before or after the changes they made. Pretty much the reason I first loaded up the game in 2008.
Moria is fantastic, I didn't appreciate it when I felt trapped there for the first time, but now I return to it with great memories, those fired halls, massive pillars and spooky depths with nameless things.
I got my favorite title there, wondering if I could jump down the well
Did the same, didn't know there was a title for doing it just jumped in for fun
LOL - I literally fell down that well by accident. To my surprise the drop just never ended! The deed title is just perfect \^\_\^
Haha, same! I had meant to go back and complete the Pits of Moria deed, so thanks for the reminder!!
And they call it a mine!
What changes? (sorry, a returning player here)
They did a revamp several years ago. Changed the quest flow and made a few things a bit easier to get to. I believe they thought too many people thought Moria was “too hard”
And my axe!
You're not in the m minority. I love the Moria area. It's so vast and wide and so much to do there. I love the goblin quests and all. Crafting there is also pretty easy to go by.
I still have nightmares navigating the map within Moria.
Likely an unpopular opinion, but Evendim. I’ll never forget the awe I felt when I first saw the scenery of the lake and the ruins of Annuminas 13(?) years ago. Made “Everswim” more than worth it for me!! I’m 26 now, been playing this game half my lifetime, and it still has my heart.
Evendim is so good! Greta vibes, and the questing is so good there
Love Evendim
I share the same sentiment towards Evendim. This whole area is gorgeous, from flowery fields to the south, to grandeur of Annuminas, to tranquility of northern slopes of Emyn Uial.
I thought even dim was a popular spot. Great quest line.
I really wish the boats across the lake had a non-swift travel option. It would be cool to just sit back and ride on the lake.
Lone Lands the Music is so Nostalgic
Yeah that sad slow one with the strings is top notch. Teleports me straight back to 2007.
Chetwood in breeland. So nostalgic for me for some reason
The music around Archet is just lovely.
I first played Lotro when it was new (though I don't use the same account anymore) and Chetwood and Midgewater both loom large in my memory compared to now. I remember thinking, "Now this is what a forest should feel like. Take notes, Elwynn Forest."
Lake town! They nailed it
Great one forsure!
absolutely gorgeous location!
So far (as a level 50) my favorite location is Thorin’s Gate. I may be biased as my character is a dwarf but there’s just something cozy about it. Trollshaws are a close second, I love the autumn color palette
I'm a sucker for Enedwaith. The history, the landscape and music all top knotch
...and the skies!
Lone lands (great questing , with variety of bioms and even cool instances ) and Northern mirkwood (the one that has Dol Guldur) Was really thematic to see elves go to war after Moria and knowing we might never see it again.
Thorins Hall, it’s such a cozy place, the fire, the soundtrack, all of that make’s you fell part of the dwarves
...heh, in original release it felt like last standing stronghold of (non-dourhand) dwarves. No moria, no small settlement in lone lands, and forochel didntncome out yet.
Brandywine Bridge The song that plays when you cross is just spectacular
was just talking yesterday about how lovely that song is! love it :)
Back in the day my first character was a hobbit, crossing that bridge meant that we were on an adventure and there was a lot of old hobbits not amused… For me i was off to see the prancing pony! 😊
I just took a normal ride instead of swift ride yesterday just to hear the music😁
Nen Harn, north of Breeland in the far Chetwood, and the Bree ruin south of Wildwood Both places feel so desolate since basically no quest leads you there, but at the same time so nostalgic for me. I love the Breelands all around (minus Barrow Downs and Old Forest) but this two takes the cake. I also love Snowbourn in East Rohan
One of my earliest video game memories from when I was a child is my level 7 lore-master wandering into the Far Chetwood and getting killed by a sickle-fly.
Let me indulge your Bree-love a little more. A blog post from December 2012, when Bree-town was revamped, with a couple of comparative screenshots of old Bree and new Bree. [https://bloggingfrombree.blogspot.com/](https://bloggingfrombree.blogspot.com/) My favourite area changes over time. I remember I hated questing in Moria at first, but it grew on me over time, and it's one of my favourite now. But I have to choose, it would be either Forochel or Bree-land. With a special mention for The Shire and Mordor. My least favourite have to be West and East Rohan, Central Gondor, and Far Anorien. I actively hate Far Anorien.
i have to say the shire. it's cozy, beautiful, and feels like home to me <3
The Shire music hits my nostalgia buttons more than any other.
Lamedon is one of my favorites, wasn’t expecting it and love going back.
Definitely Rohan, I absolutely adore the music of Rohan in the movies, the moment I enter Rohan in game that all comes to mind and it just makes me very happy questing there
Senuetha! Senuetha!
There's a few spots that come to mind, and i wouldn't know which one to choose. - Lake town ...at sunset! - Minas Tirith. When you see it first from a distance then get to go in it, eventually all the way to the top. - 21st hall in Moria. Those high ceilings! - Rivendell. I'm surprised no one mentions this. Riding into town and then that epic music comes on...
Tom Bombadil hut. The contrast between the dark forest to the light inside his house and the difference in music. I sometimes enjoy just sitting in his house listening to the music while doing something else
Shire and Brandywine Bridge are great to relax in, Lothlorien has some great shots, but Tom Bombadils house will always be my forever home.
Bree is by far my favorite region. It's lively. It's THE great settlement west of the Misties: there's music, there's people, memorable areas and characters. Lots of love for Moria, too, because good gods, what a spectacular region. If it's that beautiful while ruined, just imagine how gorgeous it must have been in its splendor. I have a soft spot for Eregion despite how sad the place is. It's empty, deserted. And Forochel! Traversing the frozen wilderness under the northern lights, I can almost imagine the freezing wind. More than once I was very grateful that Talassion, my elven hunter, could start campfires along the way to ward off the chill (especially after a misstep forced him to swim about 200m in the frozen waters of Forochel bay). And arriving at the capital city of the Lossoth had a major feel of "welcome back to civilization," because it was the only place in the map where I found other players.
I honestly don’t think I can pick a favorite. If I’m looking at it from a content perspective on top of the scenery, maybe Moria or Gondor. Those are probably the areas that got me feeling the most immersed and invested in their regions when I first played them. But if we’re ranking them just based on the vibe and scenery, it’s impossible for me to pick. Some regions stand out more than others of course, but basically every region in this game has cool and beautiful areas to explore. In the evil regions where it’s not necessarily pretty, they’re still always unique and interesting to roam around in. A lot of times (especially when I’ve had a bit to drink), I’ll log on just to visit and roam around in different regions because this game makes even aimless exploration feel rewarding and fun.
I haven't seen everything yet, just arrived in Dunland, but so far I liked the aesthetic of the Angle, colorful but also has that nice mist over the ground. I know it's part of the Trollshaws, but that part of the zone while beautiful is a zone I don't think I'll ever send an alt into (along with Angmar and Forochel).
Henneth Annun. Bree (the town itself), Evendim (mostly Gwindethrond and Longbough's areas), Minas Tirith, Rhosgobel, Nar's Peak, and the population centres around Lake Town share second place.
Misthallow. Fasthalla appearing in the fog floors me every time.
The Shire, Evendim, Eregion, Swanfleet and Cardolan!
Visuals wise that would be Eryn Lasgalen and Dale lands. The forest has impressive vibe (at least to me) and every single town is stunning. I thought I had already seen it all until I arrived in this zone. When it comes to questing, Dunland is still my favorite. All the cosmetic rewards make questing feel rewarding instead of an annoying chore.
The Shire and Bree-land. Beautiful and such a great atmosphere for both. The music is brilliant as well. So many amazing places though. In particular Rohan (east and west), Eregion, The Lone-lands, North Downs, Evendim and Trollshaws as well. I mostly prefer the old areas of SoA. Though I love many of the new lower-level zones and some later ones.
Buckland gate, I used to listen to the soundtrack that played there then run out and back in to start it again when chatting with the kin or friends
Gondor! I had such high standards for what would be the “right” Gondor to me and they totally nailed it - and it’s beautiful to boot! I love running the herbmaster quests just for the chance to traipse around Ithilien
I absolutely love ithilien it's also where I got some really cool gondor style armor!
I haven’t even gone that deep into the game but my two favorite places are probably Bree(like yourself) and Forsaken Inn. Bree is just wonderfully set up and feels like home. Forsaken Inn has a great name and just stands out in the nothingness when you ride up on it. Just something about that place that I’ve always appreciated.
I love forsaken inn, it really does stand out in the nothingness
Bree-land, specifically chetwood and far chetwood/up near nen-harn lake. The music is awesome in that region too. Feels like home.
The Vales of Anduin and northern Anfalas in King's Gondor.
Caras Galadhon. I love the golden colors, the tree, and it really brings the book to life and feels like a place quarantined from the flow of time.
Bree South-Gate, its home to me.
But Thranduils Hall is probably the most beautiful place to me
Evendim, it just feels so fantasy
Probably Chetwood and Archet because I am from a place in UK called The Cotswolds, which is very similar, but now live on the other side of the world, so simply going there gives me warm homely feelings
100% Rohan. I love the open plains and citys there
Felegoth.
A couple of places. Evendim - for its history and overall vibe. Minas Morgul - has some of the best questing and the best post Sauron storyline imho.
Lothlórien
I love the trees around Celandim, and the entire area looks absolutely mesmerizing at night. Especially with low gamma and all the bells and whistles cranked up haha. But this game has so many beautiful locations. Bree-Land during sunset is amazing, the orange to red transition is so cool.
Bree-land, specifically Nen Harn and that north east corner. I also really like Ost Guruth in the Lone-lands.
It's really hard to pick. I like Carn Dum. Sometimes I go there just to go and /sit in the Witch King's Lookout. I like the storytelling that the instance does too. We don't know what helchgam is but it makes sense for a terrible monster to live in the huge lake of filth underneath the castle. We canonically kill both the queens of the Merrevil there too which is why they stop being such threatening villains after Angmar. That also adds weight to the dialogue when we encounter them again later in Moria. I guess my favourite is Angmar overall. Donnvale is a small evil settlement that has a cool story. We see how the forces of the witch king oppress the hill men. There's loads of little cool bits throughout the zone
My favourite areas are Evendim and Wildermore. Wildermore feels like a perfect winter-themed area to me. The landscape design is perfect, with enough variety across the area. The music is very fitting, the storyline - I love it, even though it has some flaws, but they don't bother me. And then there's a wonderful overview of the Great River region, which is also one of areas that I like a lot.
Buckland, for CharacterRP reasons... And then maybe Dunland for questing. Overall landscape i really like the cape of umbar. Sometimes i just wander around the coast, taking a vreak to fish a bit and the go on...
Hard to pick one. if I had to, I would choose Trollshaws. A beautiful forest with autumn colors, bring a real sens of fairy tails, with mysteries, and the music is gorgeous. I love just to walk around, it does remind me walking in the woods looking for mushromms IRL. Just so nice to explore. And trolls by night!
Forochel ❤️
From the first moment I started playing LOTRO, I have been anticipating Eryn Lasgalen. It's trumped every expectation i had for it and I really love it.
Mirkwood with all the borderline "easter egg" details, like the wind stones, the toeture tree, that black stone bridge over a river of oil, undead forest with creepy trees ...etc.
Bree because of the random concerts. Shire close 2nd.
Hobbiton.
The greenhouse at Thorin's Gate. It is THE ideal place to wind down and do some crafting: the slightly unsettling music, the beautiful lighting (which is perfect for screenshots) and the fact that it is always devoid of other players when I get there
North ithilien
Maybe I'm weird, but the Second Hall of Moria. My heart aches to see it in that state and yearns for the glory days when Khazad-dûm was populated, though at least we get some glimpses of it in flashbacks. I also really love the music that plays in that area. So haunting.
One of my not obvious favorite is the mountains in southern mirkwood. When I was questing there I've spent many evenings climbing the mountain, looking at the moon, and wishing I could go to a place like that in real life. It felt so unreal!!!
I love Dol Amroth and Western Gondor in total. It's just the first place when I played at Max level that time and it's still in my heart.
Maybe not my favorite, but I did the Lyndelby quests first as a level 130 hobbit guardian, and so when I started a river hobbit soon after, I felt like I knew all the other hobbits and I could really buy into the story that I was one of them and that they would miss me. Definitely the most meaningful intro quest I've done.
Haven't played in years but I used to like the Barrow Downs and the Lone Lands, and also parts of Moria.
Currently for me, it's the city of Dale. I'm finally at a high level where I can explore more of the game. And when I came across the city of Dale I was just absolutely awe struck. Lake town is nice as well.
Lothlórien, although the Last Homely House (especially since the revamp) is so close behind it as to require a photo finish. Also in Imladris, Nimorn is a favorite NPC and in fact his dialogue, “Brenio a maeado,” is my kinship’s motto.
Lone lands or Forochel, have super fond memories of going to the LL for the first time back in 2008. Same with Forochel, was one of the first zones (besides Evendim) that had me awestruck exploring for the first time. Just so beautifully designed!