Somehow I am still catching up on things after taking a week off… a month ago?  Things do pile up.  But we got the notice last week that the next Lord of the Rings Online expansion, The Wolves of Mordor, was available for pre-order and would be available in October with a big asterisk next to that lack of a specific date.

The Wolves of Mordor

The fine print says if you pre-order you’ll get your stuff by November 20, 2026 at the latest while they are posting launch date advisements in the forums, the most recent of which says:

We are writing today to update our guidance on release timing for our upcoming expansion The Wolves of Mordor. We currently expect to release The Wolves of Mordor on Wednesday, October 28th, 2026. Thank you!

That does not have any scent of desperation about it at all.  But SSG has been weird about this whole expansion cycle, going out and announcing features of the expansion, like automated nosy hobbit neighbors, before announcing the expansion.

So it goes.

The expansion itself is billed as follows:

Answer the call of the hunt by traveling to Draugardh, a distant corner of Mordor where the Free Peoples’ victory proves far from complete. Not every shadow fled when Mordor’s fires dimmed, and some of the Dark Lord’s oldest servants issue forth to threaten those who caused their master to fall. As terrible howls pierce the night, will you stand against the were-wolves of Mordor, or fall prey to the evil that stirs there?

Done farming the brief bits of the deep appendix about distant Harad, SSG has turned its eyes back towards Mordor where there still lingers a bit of the IP they have yet to exploit.

That may sound a bit cynical, but I am torn on the subject.  I want LOTRO to survive, to remain available, which necessitates selling more content every year.  That is the business model.  On the other hand, even the mighty appendix at the end of Return of the King only has so much in it and some day we might end up in with content answering questions nobody cares about, like a Middle-earth version of the movie Solo.

I know, given a world where Christopher Tolkien made a bunch of money hawking his father’s notebooks, doodles, correspondences, bar tabs, and shopping lists in a seemingly unending series of “unfinished tales” books, who am I to suggest that there is any limit to the thirst for just a bit more of Middle-earth?  But SSG doesn’t have access to all of that, so we’ll never get the expansion where Strider is a hobbit and everybody’s name is a slightly different spelling.

We’re going to be going to the Grey Havens some day!  We’d better!

Anyway, that day isn’t today.  Today we’re being asked to pre-order something happening in one of the back aisles of Mordor.  In fact, we’re being incentivized to pre-order, given the rather tentative state of the launch date by having the Curse of the Valar thrown at those who buy in before the fateful day, which will give you a level 160 player boost.

For pre-order we have the usual suspects.

  • Standard Edition – $40
    • The Wolves of Mordor Content (available at launch)
    • Instance Cluster & Raid Content (available some day after launch)
    • 160 level-up package (1/account)
    • Standard Neighbour Package (Select 2 Neighbors Account-Wide)
    • Title: “Were-hunter” (prefix)

This is the usual “give me the expansion and let me get on with my life” option for those of us not made of money.

But there is always a step up.

  • Collector’s Edition – $80
    • The Wolves of Mordor Content (available at launch)
    • Instance Cluster & Raid Content (available some day after launch)
    • 160 level-up package (1/account)
    • Standard Neighbour Package (Select 2 Neighbors Account-Wide)
    • Collectors Neighbour Package (Select 1 Additional Neighbour Account-Wide)
    • Title: “, the Dauntless”
    • Armour of the Dauntless Commander
    • Steed of the Dauntless Commander
    • War-steed of the Dauntless Commander
    • Improved Expedition Supplies

The eternal middle child of Middle-earth.  Who is into the game enough to pay double for some fluff but not into it enough to go all the way to the next tier?

  • Ultimate Fan Bundle – $130
    • The Wolves of Mordor Content (available at launch)
    • Instance Cluster & Raid Content (available some day after launch)
    • Level 160 Valar Package (1/account)
    • Ultimate Neighbour Package (All 4 Neighbours Unlocked Account-wide)
    • Title: “, Stalks the Shadows”
    • Were-wolf Hunter Ultimate Armour
    • Were-wolf Hunter’s Steed
    • Were-wolf Hunter’s War-steed
    • ‘Scar’ The Hunter’s Hound Pet
    • Were-wolf Hunter’s Eclipse Milestone Style
    • Were-wolf Hunter’s Weapon Aura (Glows in the presence of Ancient Evil)
    • Ultimate Expedition Supplies
    • Extra Shared Bank Storage (10 slots)
    • Housing Teleport Item (available at launch)
    • The Wolves of Mordor Ultimate Fan Bundle – Monsterplay Appearance
    • Were-wolf Hunter’s Earring (XP boost until 160)
    • And more!

Always love me some vague “and more!” at the end of a list.  Did they run out of space, time, or just imagination?

Anyway, we’ll see when the expansion actually goes live.  But if you want the “free” level 160 character boost you will need to pre-order The Wolves of Mordor.  That bit will go away once it launches.

Related:

  • LOTRO – The Wolves of Mordor expansion page
  • LOTRO – The Wolves of Mordor Frequently Asked Questions
  • LOTRO – Addition to The Wolves of Mordor Expansion Pre-purchase
  • LOTRO – Expansions Purchase Page