LOTRO: The Problem With MMOs and Mathematics

Jul 29

Let’s start with a quote from a classic Walter Hill film, The Warriors. “Can you count, suckers?” says Sirus. The gang leader was referring to the number of Police in New York City at the time. Whereas, for the purpose of this post, I am referencing how many Delving Writs a player needs to acquire 6 pieces of level cap armour in LOTRO. Because, next to the gear you get from endgame instances and raids, Delving gear is a good alternative. It is marginally better than the items you can get from lootboxes. Hence, Delving armour is a good source of high end gear for the solo player. Through the miracle of mathematics, the number of Delving writs required to acquire a full set of this armour is 9,000. At first glance, that seems like a lot. If you then do some further research to put the number in context, you realise it is indeed a lot and a substantial undertaking.

Like most repeatable activities in The Lord of the Rings Online and indeed the MMORPG genre, there is a cap on how many a player can undertake a day. The point being to time gate the rewards and possibly foster a sense of achievement. You work toward a goal and deferred gratification. Or if you’re more cynical about this mechanic, it is designed to draw out content and keep players “occupied”. Whatever the reason, in LOTRO you can only do a maximum of 10 Delvings a day. Delvings are scalable and the harder they are, the more Delving Writs you receive as a reward. Theoretically, you can play 10 Delvings a day. On Tier 12 (the maximum tier) each Delving yields 50 Delving Writs. Hence you can potentially earn 500 Delving Writs a day. Thus you can possibly earn your full set of Delving armour in 18 days.

However, the average player is more than likely not to play that many Delvings and not at Tier 12. I find Tier 7 a manageable challenge and such Delvings reward the player with 30 Delving Writs. I tend to play no more than 4 Delvings a day, mainly because I like some more than others and there is a daily rotation so you don’t always get the ones you prefer. Therefore, players such as I on average can earn 120 Delving Writs per day. To earn 9,000 at this rate will take 75 days. Although I don’t mind a degree of challenge in an MMO, these numbers simply seem too much of a grind and a chore. I play for amusment and such an undertaking falls squarely out of the “amusement zone”. When compared to the gear I can get from lootboxes, the Delving armour is only a little better and that is the final nail in the coffin of this potential enterprise. Essentially maths has allowed me to make an informed choice and the choice is a resounding “no”.

I fully appreciate that lots of LOTRO players do not have the same transactional mindset as I do. As such they will happily set themselves this goal and diligently undertake it. Good for them. I however often find that the numbers that Standing Stone Games’ set for specific in-game rewards are not to my liking. They are simply too grindy in my opinion. I have a far more egalitarian opinion on what constitutes a “quid pro quo”. It’s also why I have no real interest in many of the festivals in LOTRO because you’re mainly rewarded with cosmetic items and not anything that I considered to be truly beneficial. But I digress. If you’re considering working towards a full set of Delving armour, then consider the numbers and the time frame that I’ve summarised here. Number crunching is your friend in this genre of gaming. Choose accordingly.