Because of the Tenth Anniversary festivities for LOTRO as well as Shadowbane, I decided to shift commemorating my anniversary to the day I joined Shadowbane.
In June 2012, I started F2P on Nimrodel, choosing a server without knowing what difference it might make. I created additional accounts for crafters (F2P allowed only two characters per account) and solo-quested Michaleo into the 30s. The prospect of group play and paying for content led me to start over, this time knowing more what I doing, choosing a server and, once re-established, looking for a kinship. I joined Shadowbane 5 years ago today.
This year, I decided to make my crafters more useful. They were reaching level 50 just through crafting and festival quests. I ran them through Moria to level 60, then got them XP disablers so they would stay at that level and be available to fill out on-level groups doing Moria content.
The Shadowbane anniversary party got me to finally get serious about music. It has been on my list for a few years, so I knew the basics, but hadn't yet put it all together or performed for anyone. I tried my hand at converting some midi songs to LOTRO format as well as using some of the libraries other players have made available. Multiboxing my crafters as a band was fun, and made me appreciate even more the players who choose to perform for us on a regular basis.
With three level-cap characters to keep in shape, I'm not yet looking to add a fourth, but I do have an Aria of Valar in my vault. I am looking for opportunities to play my crafters, especially to learn to play the captain and lore-master.
My tools project continues and crafted dye sales are strong, indicating that people are still levelling up crafters and caring what their characters looks like. Premium dye sales have made me a ridiculous amount of gold, and I created a character just to have 30 AH slots for them.
It has been an exciting year in the game, experiencing the climax of the story of the ring and getting into Mordor. The devs continue to create content and instances and new ways to get gear, which I guess is better than just doing the same old thing to get gear . I don't know how the coming year can top the tenth anniversary and the destruction of the ring, but am looking forward to whatever it brings.