Threat to all that which is pure and innocent and beautiful

Ninjas on goats. In your photoshoots. Ruining your backgrounds.

*hugs ninjas*

Lost Worlds and Landscapes

Last night, around two hours before the deadline, I sent my entries to Codemasters' screenshot competition Lost Worlds and Landscapes. I've seen some people share their screenies on the forums well in advance, but being a slacker I only got around to choosing my entries last night.

I tried getting some nice screens from Mirkwood, which is, design-wise, my favourite place in the game now. The pitch-black forest in Taur Morvith and the eerie Ashenslades are so unlike anything else in the game. The artists did a really, really great job at bringing different kinds of forest to (un)life in Mirkwood.


The border between Taur Morvith and "normal" forest is always amazing.



It feels as if the sun itself doesn't have enough strength to shine in this plac, where you could practically take a knife and slice off small pieces of solid darkness.


A strange landmark in the black forest, the Verdant Shrine is an eerie place..


..and it doesn't get any less creepier by dawn.



The neighboring Ashenslades are a unique place, where everything appears bone-white and dead.



There's a surprising amount of high hills and low ravines in Mirkwood, so there's always a view wherever you are.


The Warg-Pens seen from the path up to Dol Guldur.

Okay, I did grab some screenies from the older areas too.



Aurora borealis, in Forochel. One of my favourite spots in the game is this lake here.


Annúminas, another old favourite.


I can see my home from here! Viewed from a high terrace in Duillond, across the river from my homestead. I fell down a few seconds after taking the shot, and was defeated by misadventure. Damn you, Misadventure.

Basement Fishing

I need to cap my Fishing skill someday. This spot here underneath the crafting area is teeming with fish, though. Must be from all the scraps of food and other stuff the crafters just dump over the rail.

Tiny tiny content update

Volume III Book 1 launched today in Europe, and... I played it through in less than three hours. I deliberately took the easy way and went with my hunter, meaning I could port around instantly since the book features a lot of running around the old map. I was soon ninja'd to a kin group doing the same quests, and although all the instances were solo, it was fun to chat on vent at the same time with half a dozen people also doing the same instances (and trying to give directions to some who got lost in theirs).

Btw, remember to show your respect to Gwindeth.

I think the story was pretty good, and a clever foundation for future content. I'm really hoping they'll bring Dunland soon (you can already check out the whole map for that area, including rez circles, on Lorebook!) and expand south towards the Gap of Rohan, and eventually Isengard and Rohan and all that.

The last chapter in the book is a skirmish set in the good old Rift, featuring hugely overgrown fumaroles and a nasty boss fight at the end. I found some moments to spam my neglected screenshot button, so here're some screenies of the fight:









So I finished the entire book tonight, and now it's several months waiting for the next content update. How should I entertain myself?

Back to raiding and raising alts, I guess.