"Before The Shadow" Mini-Expansion Announced For Lord Of The Rings Online

Earlier today during a Devcom panel titled "The Joys & Challenges of Bringing Middle-earth to Life in a Persistent World," Standing Stone Game announced a new mini-expansion for Lord of the Rings Online. Titled "Before the Shadow", the update will introduce two new areas to the game. Players will follow Boromir through Swanfleet and Cardolan on his way to Rivendell to meet with the other members of the Fellowship of the Rings for the first time. At the same time this is happening, the Nazgûl are looking for “Baggins” in the Shire.

Before the Shadows consists of quests designed as early-level content, with all of them being in the level 1 to 32 range. They’re also accompanied by four new Books for new characters. Not all the content is designed for low-level play, though. Higher-level players will be getting a new six-person instance, a new Skirmish, and the Delving difficulty system. This new system will offer new challenges and rewards for players.

More information on the new content will be rolled out over time. At present, we don’t have a release date, but we do know that pre-purchase will be available in late September.