The next Lord of the Rings Online expansion will be called Rise to Isengard, and will have players battling Saruman's forces in Dunland in an effort to reach the legendary Tower of Orchanc. As well as the new lands, quests and skills, there will be a level cap hike and some updates to the Monster Play system. Read on for more details and a teaser trailer.
This is the first expansion for the game since it recently went free-to-play. Rise to Isengard will raise the level cap to 70 and introduce a host of new traits, virtues, skills and class quests as well as the new lands of Dunland and Isengard itself. The forces of Dunland are working on behest of the smooth talking wizard-gone-bad, Saruman, and players will be battling against his will as they make their way to the tower of Orthanc.
The expansion also aims to update the Monster Play PvP feature. Currently, once your hero reaches level 40 you can travel to the Ettenmoors to fight against player controlled monsters. At level ten you can create your own monster and then do battle against humans players in the Ettenmoors for destiny points. Rise to Isengard will make some changes to monster skills and progression, and add a whole new area for players to fight in, and open up the PvP zone to more players.
The update is scheduled for "Fall 2011". If you want to start playing Lord of the Rings Online, you can download the client from the Lord of the Rings Online site. The teaser trailer is below, and you can scroll down even further for a bonus video.