The Lord of the Rings Online Announces Helm's Deep Expansion

The most iconic memory I have from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is the battle for Helm's Deep. The sheer technical scale and fidelity of that battle was practically unheard of at the time. As a nerdy teenager there was nothing I wanted more than to experience a battle of that size in a video game.

So while I myself never got around to really leveling up in the Lord of the Rings Online, the announcement of its latest expansion which marks the return to one of the series most popular places has sparked my interest.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep marks the 5th expansion for the popular MMO and has players directly involved in the battle for Helm's Deep (because otherwise what's the point?). The expansion has players fighting to defend HD starting at level 10, as their character enlists as a soldier in the Battle of the Hornburg, said to be the most massive conflict yet for the MMO. By participating in the fight players will earn rewards whether they win or lose. Though obviously for the sake of keeping your digital head attached to its digital body you would want to win.

Max level players can expect 10 new levels of progression, from level 85 to the new cap of 95. The increase in level cap comes with the obvious new skills as well as completely updated class specializations. Mounted combat which was introduced in the Riders of Rohan expansion will also play a key role in the latest expansion.

As with any expansion, new zones ready to be explored will be added including new areas across Western Rohan. LOTRO will also see a storyline continuation of King Théoden's restoration as rightful lord.

No official release date has been announced thus far.