Blood of Azog Review
Release: Back in April 2021, details were already being revealed about the new zone. We knew it was going to be like Mordor Besieged where we would travel to the past. Bullroarer appeared with the quest pack's content back in May. That's when we found out there would be a new overhead Lothlórien map similar to the ones they did with the introductory areas when Wildwood came out. There was also going to be some visual adjustments and minor additions to the current area around Mirrormere. June 8th, 2021 revealed a nice trailer showing off how things looked in the past with the release of Blood of Azog. What shocked - well not that shocked - was the 1695 lotro points cost. To compare, The War of Three Peaks and Far Anorien packs cost 1995 lotro points each. Instead of a wide-range of instances, what do we get? There is one raid, 10 missions, and about 60 quests. At least we can now quickly jump over to 3 of the 4 mission areas with the new mission stable. The deeds aren't too thrilling either. You are rewarded 5 lotro points for each advanced slayer deed and you need to defeat each of the 5 rare spawns before you can obtain the really cool goat from the meta deed in the zone. Rowan Raspberry arrived with some nice new housing decorations and some adorable doggies to collect.
Prelude Quests
Situation: We are currently at war with the orcs at the entrance of Mount Gundabad. If you completed The Legacy Of Durin And The Trials Of The Dwarves Chapters 3 & 4 (free to all players), you'll find out all about the hardship the dwarves had to undergo while fighting the massive swarm under the leadership of Gorgar the Ruthless, son of Bolg, in The War of Three Peaks. We learned how flimsy his alliances were with the hobgoblins, goblins, and orcs in the story missions, we defeated his lieutenants at The Battle of Azgh-buzru (Fellowship Quests) and Shakalush (Instance), and we encountered an old rival that sealed the gates leading to the fortress in The Bloody Threshold (Raid). At this particular time in the war, Gorgar has retreated into Mount Gundabad and the dwarves are waiting for Prince Durin's next order.
Reprieve: Unexpectedly, Prince Durin takes the time
to reflect on the matter before charging in. The leader of the
Gabil'akkâ (Unified Army of Dwarves) calls for knowledge from his
trusted friends, advisors, and family. In these series of quests, you
will help bring comfort to the dwarves in their time of need and learn
more about their history from a dwarf scholar by the name of Hersegg. There, she will recount the the tragic past of Thrór and Nár when they approached Khazad'dum and what initially sparked the Sixth War of the Dwarves
with the orcs at Azanulbizar, T.A. 2799. It is there you are introduced
to Azog, or "current master of Khazad'dum" if you were to take it as
his word. All these quests will
be labeled under the "Blood of Azog" tab in your quest log. Complete
these and you will receive 1 Class Trait Point, Blood of Azog Frame, and
2000 Virtue Experience.
Interlude Quests
Roleplay: However, there is more to the story than what Hersegg recounts to you. She informs you of a memoir that is witnessed by her grandfather, Hermáth Stormhammer, supplemented by the accounts of Dáin II Ironfoot and the Dwarves of Durin's Folk, that can be found on a nearby desk among the Tales of Yore: Azanulbizar (inside the hall of the Kharum-ubnâr, Akrâz-zahar). Upon clicking the desk, you will "relive" the events as portrayed in the eyes of Hermáth (he's the guy standing in front of you the moment you teleport inside). Although these quests can be started and completed without doing the quests in the zone, I highly suggest you do them when you are directed to (after the prelude quests) and do all the quests in the zone before you complete the quest chain. If you wish to only do these "Epic" quests (to unlock the raid goat quest), the only auxilary quests that need to be completed are the ones requiring you to talk to the dwarves during Chapter 2 at the advanced encampments and place banners in the metal bases deep within the orc establishments (to claim them for the dwarves) in "Thunder on Zirakzigil" (Zirakzahâr) and "Dark Clouds on Bundushâthur" (Ashmargathâl).
Chapters: There is much to see in these quests, but it can be quite confusing if you are trying to figure out how much you have to do. "Foreword: The Battle of Azanulbizar" explains the setting and unlocks the quests in the zone. There are a total of 5 Chapters, but the lore deed "The Battle of Azanulbizar" (located under Rhovanion deed tab) requires you to complete the 4 Instances from those chapters (since Chapter 2 only has landscape quests). Chapter 1 entails the meeting about where and what each of the seven dwarf houses will be doing in the war. Chapter 2 is claiming victory over the orcs as the dwarves advance. Chapter 3 is where we see a more accurate retelling of the famous Thorin Oakenshield scene in The Hobbit. Chapter 4 tells of the final confrontation and downfall of Azog. Chapter 5 explains what happened to all those trees that used to populate the area near Mirrormere. Complete the main quest chain and you can officially become the character in the story by using the Guise of Hermáth Stormhammer. Also, Thorin Oakenshield and Durin will appear in front of King Thrain at Amdan with daily quests for the region and will be listed under the "Blood of Azog: Further Studies Quests" tab in your quest log.
Dialogue: What I found most appealing about the quests in the Blood of Azog quest pack is the attention to detail. We knew for a long time that they would not have the rights to use certain names from previous ages in Tolkien lore since their interview for the War of Three Peaks expansion, but it is interesting to chime into the discussion on how they decided to choose the names for the seven houses. Though, there will always be the occasional person who isn't too happy hearing more about the dwarves. Inside the dialogue between "The Masters of Stone", we get a great representation of their culture, attitudes, and beliefs. Let's take some of my favorite ones:
- "Our beards are our pride, and our bedraggled friends will appreciate freeing their locks from the tangles and knots travel and fighting have brought on." - Elgur to Player
- "You may lack one eye, but you still have a second with which to see as much!" - King Ugún to King Thráin
- "Alone? It would be easier to pluck the stars from Kheled-zâram.'' - Thorin to King Thráin
- "But before they did so, they took the arms and mail from their dead." - Narrator
- "Looks like you found something. Please tell me it is a severed hand." - Thoromir to Player
- "Oh, I don't know, let's just throw some beer in! See what happens!" - Halvar to Player
Details: This concides with what you see visually too. They replicated the effects of an avalanche through the northern wall of Zirakazhâr. They made some minor adjustments to the landscape to reflect the new zone. During one of the quests in Ashmargathâl, the dwarf will mention that "what is a goblin but a small-boned orc". The sons of Azog throw insults like "greybeard" and "reek-beards" in the middle of battle in Chapter 3: Bonds of Oak and Iron. Soon after King Thráin says, ''Azog did not answer at the gates, so we pried them loose...'' you see the doors torn asunder on the ground. In Chapter 5: A Final Reckoning, you can actually see dwarf bodies lying on top of the memorial pyres. These pyres can be seen everywhere from the far reaches of Durin's Stone to the high peaks of Azanulbizar. When you speak with King Thráin, you can even see more appear on the other side of Mirrormere. Before the gates of Khazad-dûm, crows pick at Azog's remains (which parellels how the orcs threw Thrór's body to the crows).
Mysteries: There are still a few things I noticed while playing that I'm not entirely sure what Standing Stone Games was trying to do with their own "literacy flavor" to the story. For example, Chapter 5: A Final Reckoning has a moment when the dwarves are discussing their next plan of action after winning the war. During this time, Nar is gazing into the distance. Was he staring towards Erebor? I didn't think too much of this until that evening you can find him staring at the runes at the bottom of Durin's Stone. Is there something significant written there? Later, you find King Thráin standing on ice saying that the stars have gone out from the river and Durin's Crown has fallen (which happens after the forshadowing quote I listed above). I have not found a reference to this point in the lore, but I did remember that both Gimli and Frodo were able to see Durin's Crown in the lake at a later date. Another mystery I could not solve regards what is written on one of Khazad'dum's doors after they were pried open. Who wrote it, what does it say, and with what did they write it with? Wilwyna teased that it must be "Don't Open! Dead Inside!" (which is a reference to the first episode of The Walking Dead).
Regional Quests
Confusion: As for the normal quests you encounter in the zone, there isn't much to talk about. There are about 30 quests you can grab all at once at Amdan. You will receive quests from both the basecamp and the advance camps that will lead you back to the center area of the map. The problem is that these quests aren't really well-designed. There are two wrapper quests at Amdan - Supplies for the War Effort and Warg Champions of Azanulbizar. This includes the quest Culling the Pack that you will hear every single person asking, "Where do I find Khakrank?" He's wandering around in the tree area on the hill that overlooks the Warg Den area. And the reversed quest name of The Champions of the Wargs where the quest objective only points to where the couriers spawn. They actually follow the main road quite a ways towards Khazad'dum. Although "a shrill yell sounds from behind you" in A Creeping Sensation, the goblin actually spawns directly in front of you. There are two locations you will need to visit to rescue dwarves in for Thrain's Missing Scouts.
Setting: One thing you must keep forefront in your mind is how the stage is set for this quest pack. You are Hermáth Stormhammer and everyone will refer to you as him. The slayer deeds all have the phrase "Learn of the..." inserted before each listing. They threw casual players to the wolves by giving Ithilarn shards for each of the Trophy-hunter spawns. This wouldn't be so bad if they weren't required for a deed, as well as the meta deed. These have multiple spawn points and reappear after an hour of being slain. It is pretty much always snowing and the music can be as bland as being inside Remmorchant. There is one quest where you will be sent to modern-day Lothlorien to dig up an old heirloom. If you want to see the fate of all the dwarves in the zone, you can check out Tirian's post.
Decorations: Other than a large list of decorative banners, the Wall-mounted Oakenshield and Wall Hanging Vines are perhaps the only two items worth adding to your house. Then again, you could always wear the Oakenshield on your back or on your arm. The striking essences are an added bonus, but they had to be mechanically changed for the worse when the coding wasn't working right upon release. The last piece you could get is the Bat of Azanulbizar which has a funny little strawman sitting in the rider's seat.
Missions
Assistance: A new reoccuring theme of the developers is to add missions to every new piece of content. Blood of Azog is no different. There are ten new missions everyone can experience. Five of them are recycled content that were copy & pasted from other content. How do I know? Because not only were level 60 mobs spawning in the area but the corpses of mobs in other missions were still targetable. However, the other five missions are very well-designed. You fight off cave-claws, Angmarim, and ice grims. You help comfort some dwarves in their time of need. There is also a very nice mission where you revisit the frozen wall in front of Mount Gundabad. They are slightly longer than the ones from The War of Three Peaks, but shorter than the ones from Wildwood. I only wish the missions gave more than 300 reputation each. Instead of your typical Neutral to Kindred reputation advancement, you will start your reputation as an Outsider and progress towards Allied standing.
Decorations: Although the decorations you can obtain from the mission barterer are visually interesting, they each have their own mechanical failings. Orc skulls are too small. You can't go under the East Gate of Moria Arch unless it is floating in mid-air. The small rohirric ballista (somewhat similar to the dwarf-made ballista you get from The Black Book of Mordor) must be interacted with three times before it fires an arrow that dissipates shortly after 30m. The Gundabad Spire is not viewable past the normal viewing distance like the other enormous decorations. You can always strive for the Cart Pony, but I warn you that it is much bigger than you think. Otherwise, there is a very easy and very spikey Kharum-ubnâr Frame you can get for doing all ten missions and Urro's One-hand Sword after defeating 400 foes. These missions do count towards the 15 and 45 mission weekly quests that are auto-bestowed once you complete a mission.
Raid
Fun Time: Whoever came up with the name to the raid - I reward you no points. It becomes blatantly obvious that people are going to abbreviate The Fall of Khazad'dum as FoKD. To get around this, Away Shall Fade has decided to call it "The Balrog Raid" or the 'Rog Raid for those who like an even shorter abbreviation. A person must discover the entrance before entering. A person would naturally discover this entrance if they followed the Interlude quests. In the spirit of the new arrangement with how T1 Bloody Threshold can be completed with a competent crew fresh out of landscape, T1 of The Fall of Khazad'dum can be completed with a decently-geared crew. There is less emphasis on "defeating" Durin's Bane as it is more about surviving his attacks. This time around, additional healers are welcome to help sustain the tank while everyone does the Safety Dance (like a particular encounter I know of in World of Warcraft). Despite how easy it might sound, there's still a chance the group won't be able to survive all 5 phases. There is still a bit of coordination involved and the amount of attrition by the time you reach the final phase of the boss fight can get to you. The gear is more of a side-step when it comes to upgrading your potential as it opens up another essence slot at the expense of a couple of stats. Though, the molten lava design is pretty cool to look at cosmetically. Whether or not The Fall of Khazad'dum and The Bloody Threshold will scale up with the new level cap of the Gundabad expansion is still up for debate. If you finished the Interlude, make sure you pick-up Durin's Bane and the Unslain from Dáin Ironfoot before you start the encounter. If you've done that already, then grab The Fall of Khazad'dum (Weekly) quest for 15 regional tokens.
Decorations: The decorations for T1 consist of a high-chance retrieval of an uninteresting and unbound music box, a mix of two really nice wallpapers, a column that you can walk through, or a rare chance of a chest that opens up with flowing lava and unusable gold-pressed latinum. For T2, you can receive an awesome painting, a statue, or an Endless Stair Coat Rack. The Khazad'dum Frame drops T2 or above. With Update 30.2, you can now barter for gear and decorations. The catch is that the decorations require an excrutiating amount of Figments of Splendour and are locked behind different tiers than their dropped counterparts. I will give out a big thank you to Lemarque and Aspirar for providing a couple of these decorations at the kinhouse and trading a couple of these items with me personally. Despite my personal feelings on how easy it should be to find such a barterer by the task board in the same region you discovered the entrance, I am now obligated to say that he can be found in Amdân of Azanulbizar, T.A. 2799. You have no idea how often that question gets asked.
2021-09-05