Lord of the Rings Online - First thoughts

I've been playing Lord of the Rings Online for about 6 weeks now, testing out each character type and exploring. LotrO is a game that has a very realistic tone to it, both in graphics and lore. The devs must (unfortunately) stick as close as possible to canon for Tolkein's world, or face the wrath of both the brand and upset lore-fanatics. Not that being a lore-fanatic is a bad thing, especially in something as established as LotR.

The population is the largest of any free2play MMO (besides Maplestory and 1 or 2 Asian MMOs), which in my opinion can be more attributed to the legacy of the setting/story than the gameplay itself. Regardless, this is a definite plus in my book, because I like my MMOs to be massively multiplayer. Go figure.

This game is highly PvE oriented, with PvP only possible as 1v1 consenting duels, or the PvMP system which at best is a sample of PvP, especially for free players. I was never PvP heavy in WoW, but the massive lack of any of it means no blood-pumping random fights to break up the PvE grind at all. Only by creating the 1 possible free Creep toon can you experience any sort of open PvP before actually reaching level 75. If PvP were even sparingly introduced into the game (small Gurubashi-style arenas in hub cities?) it would brighten up the whole experience for me and I'd choose it in an instant. Maybe if they were to open up 3 Monster Play slots to free players instead of 1, or making it so you can choose just one Creep from the six to play instead of being stuck with the Reaver. There's gotta be an overflow of Reavers in the Ettenmoors right now because of free players. Perhaps just one simple battleground type area? People have got to be itching to kick the crap out of eachother without being locked in a 1v1 duel or roaming a large wilderness looking for enemies.

But enough of my PvP gripes.

The main thing to keep in mind with this game is it is NOT a WoW clone. LotRO does things in it's own way and it's not trying to be any other MMO. Many of it's WoW-like features are simply MMORPG staples that have been being developed since the start of the genre, from games like EQ, GW, and earlier. As much as I can bitch and moan about how I wish things were different, my MMO upbringing began on WoW so I'm just looking for the features I've grown familiar with. Just because LotRO doesn't have the same PvP focus as WoW doesn't lessen the quality of the game, there are many many people playing that have been playing with subscriptions for years, way before it went F2P, who enjoyed and continue to enjoy the game because it offers a unique alternative lore-rich MMO experience.

I started on Dwarrowdelf server, which was a recommended server for F2P when I signed up. Not knowing much about the game or which servers were well populated, I played a Hunter to level 40-ish. The server is by no means empty, but neither does it have many established/knowledgeable players (that I found).While I should have stuck with it at least 5 more levels (for the Legendary weapon and such) I quickly got tired of the playstyle and lackluster soloing ability, and opted to reroll on a higher population server. I didn't necessarily need to choose the biggest server in the game (Brandywine), but I figured the larger the population is the more people are doing runs and the more gold is going through the economy.

Now that I've reached level 10 with my Runekeeper on Brandywine, I'm going to create a Creep character and test out what the PvP area of the game's most populated server is like. Perhaps this will change my opinion of the game as a whole. If I could get the PvP experience I'm looking for, it might make me content enough to continue the Freep PvE grind to top level.

Goals:
Join a well-populated Kinship: Done (Fellowship of the Rogues)
Reach Level 25 with Freep: In Progress (Level 10 RK Servarrum)
Join a well-populated Tribe: In Progress
Engage 5 players in PvMP: In Progress
Reach Rank 2 with Creep: In Progress