LOTRO’s Update 11 Launches Next Week

The next big update to Turbine’s hit MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online, is going live on Monday, May 13! Update 11, “Treachery of the White Hand,” takes players into a new region, Wildermore, where a Storm Giant named Núrzum has wrought icy havoc on its villagers.

Within Wildermore are five new areas to explore:

• Writhendowns – All word from Wildermore has ceased and rumors point to the worst. You must find and aid the town of Scylfig, which suffers from a strangely deepening winter and an Uruk-hai threat.
• The Fallows – Uruk-hai invaders have torched the region’s farms, slaying many and driving the survivors from their homes. You must ride into the smoldering remains to help drive out the evil tides of Núrzum’s raiders before meeting with the brooding Reeve of Wildermore.
• Whitshaws – As the brutal winter rages, many folk have gone missing, and the small village of Dunfast is in dire need of protection. You must follow in the wake of Núrzum’s destruction, but can you find him in time? Face marauding Warbands as you race to save the people of Dunfast.
• High Knolls – The town of the High Knolls, Byre Tor, long held out against the powers of Núrzum, but now has fallen to the beastly enemy.  Venture among forbidding crags in search of the city’s hunted refugees, but use caution, for whispers warn that the Knolls are thick with Saruman’s minions!
• Balewood – In the unruly, northern expanses of Fangorn Forest, the Darkness has taken hold.  In the Balewood, violent Huorns and Wood-trolls prowl and Saruman’s Uruk-hai linger. You must gather young Ents to rally against the growing corruption.

Update 11 also includes a revamp to mounted combat, housing changes, daily Hobbit presents, and “New VIP Benefits.”

For a closer look at some of the upcoming locations/features in Middle-earth (including some gorgeous screencaps), be sure to visit A Casual Stroll to Mordor!