LotRO Unveils New Brawler Class And Legendary Item Revamp On Test Server

Two of the most-anticipated upcoming features for The Lord of the Rings Online -- the new Brawler class and the legendary item revamp -- are now live on the game's Bullroarer test server. We don't normally write about test server stuff, but the importance of these two topics warrants making an exception. (Also, they sound cool.)

The Brawler is based on legendary hero of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand, who fought bare-handed at an earlier battle of Helm's Deep than the one presented in the novels. The class can be played by any race but beornings, and it uses battle gauntlets and steel armor. Two of the trait lines allow the Brawler to specialize in offense and defense/support, while the third offers off-tank flexibility to complement the first two.

The new legendary item system makes use of four types of modifiers, called traceries. These can offer stat buffs, bonuses to "style" of gameplay (such as AoE, single-target, damage-over-time, etc.), or abilities that resemble old-school legacies. A fifth part of the system, enhancement runes, increase the base level of a tracery so you can continue using the same legendary item as you level your character.

There's still enough complexity in the system that this lapsed LotRO player can't offer too much in terms of in-depth analysis, but I think I like how the new system sounds. Just reducing the infinite cycle of leveling/breaking down/applying XP and so forth that LIs used to have would be an improvement. The devil will naturally be in the details, but that's what playtesting is for, right?