LotRO's Fate Of Gundabad Expansion Launches, Adds Brawler Class And New Level Cap

The Lord of the Rings Online's Fate of Gundabad expansion is now live, and it's got a new zone, new quests, new level cap of 140, and -- for the first time in LotRO since 2014 -- a new class.

The expansion's story revolves around Prince Durin and his quest to reclaim Mount Gundabad from the hordes of orcs, hobgoblins, and Angmarim that have made it their home. Along the way, players will curry favor with the Zhélruka Clan, the game's first scaling Allegiance, which now has its own panel and grants a new set of missions. The Zhélruka Allegiance offers 30 levels, 10 narrative quests, and over 35 missions.

The expansion's highlight feature, though, is the new Brawler class, which we've known about unofficialy for over a year, and finally sees the light of day after extensive testing. Inspired by the tale of Helm Hammerhand, the Brawler fights bare-handed -- unlike the game's last new class, the Beorning, which fights bear-handed -- and can serve as a damage-dealer or support fighter. Brawlers use battle guantlets as their primary weapon and wear heavy armor.

You can learn more about, and purchase, Fate of Gundabad on the LotRO site, and peruse the patch notes for today's update here. The expansion was already delayed once, so it makes sense that Standing Stone Games wouldn't want to push it back again, but reading some of the "Known Issues" for the expansion -- especially the ones about loot tables and progress-blocking bugs -- makes you wonder how ready it truly was.