LOTRO expansion ‘Riders of Rohan’ announced, launching this fall

Developer Turbine has announced a new expansion for Lord of the Rings Online. Dubbed “Riders of Rohan,” the expansion will increase the level cap and bring players to iconic locations in the lore.

January 25, 2012 5:30 PM3

The folks at Turbine are keeping busy. After announcing the first expansion to Dungeons & Dragons Online last week, the developer has revealed its other free-to-play MMO, Lord of the Rings Online, would also get a new expansion.

“Riders of Rohan” will allow players to “join forces to ride into the Plans of Rohan,” and is set to arrive this fall. Coming with the newest LOTRO expansion is an increased level cap to 85, “iconic locations” such as Amon Hen and Fangorn Forest, and a new “Mounted Combat” system.

Riders of Rohan comes as Turbine’s Lord of the Rings-themes MMO is set to celebrate its fifth anniversary. “One of our largest expansions ever, Rohan is expected to be twice the size of the recent Rise of Isengard expansion and includes the most new game systems and technology we’ve introduced since 2008’s Mines of Moria,” LOTRO executive producer Kate Paiz said in a press release announcing the expansion.

In September 2010, Lord of the Rings Online switched its business model to free-to-play. One month later, developer Turbine said that making the change helped double the game’s revenue.

In the press release announcing Riders of Rohan, publisher Warner Bros. Entertainment and developer Turbine detailed new additions and changes coming in the expansion: