Running a Beta Program can be a tricky thing; everyone who isn’t in the beta wants to know what’s going on, but due to NDA restrictions no one in the program can tell them. So how do you let players talk about what they’re seeing, without violating their NDA? The answer is the LOTRO Beta Journal Project! Each week, we’ll ask Beta participants to submit their personal “Beta Journal” on a given topic. We’ll then take a sampling of those responses and post them for the entire LOTRO Community to read.

This week we asked players, new and old, what they thought of the revamped starting areas and updated tutorials!

The tutorials can be a little overwhelming for a brand new player, especially the introduction. There is a lot to learn in a short amount of time but, in a way this adds to the sense of urgency. As soon as you create a character you are dropped right into the thick of the story, fighting alongside the main characters from the books. In no time you develop a sense of being an important part of events. The main characters may be off to Mordor to save the world, but your character's actions are just as momentous.