At least I knew that I wasn’t the only one suffering from class indecision.
In LOTRO’s kinship chat, I noticed how several of us veterans were still agonizing over the choice of a main class for the progression server, even after having planned it and starting out. Maybe it’s the curse of actually knowing more about these other classes, or the allure of the familiar versus the unknown, or simply wishy-washy gaming. But it started to bite me, even after I had put 20 levels into my Minstrel.
It got so bad, in fact, that I blinked and there I was, playing a Captain and not quite knowing how I got there. I suppose it was the worry that the minnie wouldn’t prove to be that interesting come the higher levels — that there wasn’t anything fun to chase down in terms of new skills or traits. But I know how I am with something like this — if I let my indecision reign, then I’ll be where I was at RIFT, making new character after new character and getting nowhere.
So I got stern with myself (it involves a lot of pointing into a mirror) and deleted my Cappy so I wouldn’t be tempted. Minnie to Mordor or bust, that’s what I say!
I was absolutely delighted that SSG brought back the Bingo Boffin quest series following its strange omission from the start of the server. Maybe it was causing issues with the zone-hopping progression of the story, I don’t know. But it’s easily one of my most favorite experiences in the game and I’m glad to see it back.
Even better than the story are the rewards from this! My Hobbit now has a little pet bunny to accompany her, along with a couple of new housing decor items. Taking an evening off of Old Forest questing to do Bingo stuff was a welcome break.
While I feel like “everyone” has blasted past me to level 50, I know that’s not the case. I ended up joining back up with Lonely Mountain Band, which formed a new chapter on this server, and noticed that most all of us are in our teens or 20s. I think there are a few different types of players for this server, and while some are all about power-leveling and getting into level 50 dungeon runs, most of us are taking our time, doing all the quests, deeding it up, and enjoying the journey.
Even with the Eregion limits and level 50 cap, there’s still a heady amount of stuff ahead of me for these four months. Whenever I’m done with Bree-land — which seriously takes short of forever due to its size and quest density — then I’ve got Lone-lands, North Downs, Evendim, Trollshaws, Misty Mountains, Angmar, Forochel, and Eregion ahead of me. Whew! Probably helps not to think or blog about that too much.
I also know that the Volume 1 epic involves a serious amount of travel and backtracking. I’ve only once done it all of the way through, and I’d like to make this time number two if I can manage before March. I know that sounds like a long way away, but I can’t afford to spend 100% of gaming time on LOTRO these days. There’s SWTOR and Fallout 76 demanding that I not neglect them, so I have to be very intentional how I spend my LOTRO time. No dilly-dallying!
As a side note, I wonder how this every-four-months pace will work with upcoming content releases. Some regions are larger than others, and while I think that Moria is definitely worth four months, Mirkwood is not. We still haven’t heard from SSG how exactly it’s going to chunk these releases up, and I doubt that we’re going to get any sort of actual schedule, so it’s mostly conjecture among the community.
Bio Break 
I downloaded LOTRO again as you have inspired me to want to play again… But LOTRO apparently does not support 4k at all. The nonstop crashes while changing resolutions has tempered my interest. Shame. I really wanted to give it a go again.
You’re definitely not alone! I started with a beorning, as I’d wanted to give this class a try, but now I am playing a guardian instead – while eyeing the rune-keeper. But I’m playing with a couple of friends and we at least want the option to do group stuff together easily and we’d actually need somebody who can tank. So, guardian it is!