Turbine, Inc. today unveiled The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, the digital expansion to the award-winning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG). Siege of Mirkwood will expand the online world of Middle-earth where players will join forces to press further eastward into the dark, foreboding and treacherous forest of Mirkwood and take part in the epic conclusion to Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online. Siege of Mirkwood will be available as a digital download this Fall with an increased level cap, a new region including the legendary evil fortress of Dol Goldur, major enhancements to combat and Legendary Items and the introduction of Skirmishes, a new system where players will train customizable soldiers and take them into battle as part of the War of the Ring.

Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online Gaming announced the details of the third free content update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Book 11: Defenders of Eriador continues the epic story of The Lord of the Rings Online adds over 100 new quests, a new 12-player raid, two new areas in Middle-earth and introduces the player housing system. Book 11: Defenders of Eriador will be available to subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online on October 24, 2007 in North America and October 25, 2007 in Europe.

When Elendil of Westernesse came into Middle-earth after the destruction of Númenor, he settled at last in the northlands of Eriador and established the kingdom of Arnor. On the shores of Lake Evendim he built the great city of Annúminas, from which he ruled as High King over both the North and South kingdoms of Men: Arnor and Gondor.

Since the days of the Great Dragons – such as Ancalagon the Black, Scatha the Worm, or even Smaug the Golden – dragon-kind has been in a deep decline, spawning weaker and simpler breeds. Drakes are strong and semi-intelligent, while worms are nearly mindless and lack the physical might of their elders. Salamanders, however, while not nearly as intelligent as drakes or as stupid as worms, still hold some vestige of the old fire within their bellies.

Book 11 will see two new landscape additions (Tal Bruinen/High Pass) and 1 new public dungeon space (Goblin-town) specifically geared towards level 40-50 players. For Book 12, we'll be taking a look back at some of our existing high level content to improve its flow and quality.

Barliman Butterbur, the proprietor of The Prancing Pony, is always happy to supply a pint and a warm fire to adventurers and townsfolk alike. If you find yourself in Bree, stop in to the famous inn and meet the shrewd innkeeper and his hobbit assistants!

It's that time again! Autumn is here and now it's time to update your desktop with the latest LOTRO desktop calendar wallpapers, now available in our Wallpaper Gallery!

We continue with Part 2 of our interview about Book 11 with Jeff Anderson, now former President & CEO of Turbine, and Adam Mersky, the Director of PR. We discuss the new 12 man raid coming with Book 11, and the new monsters we will be seeing soon. We also got a sneak peak at a new Minstrel instrument that will make you laugh.

Since the fall of Arnor, the Rangers of the North – the heirs of Isildur, Elendil’s son – have often journeyed to the shores of Lake Evendim to pay homage to their lineage and to protect the tombs that lie amidst the ruins there. Many years ago, Aragorn, the Chieftain of the Dúnedain, came to Evendim himself to reclaim a lost treasure, a jewel known as the Silithar. Though Aragorn did not succeed in its recovery, his companion Calenglad and a small party of Rangers remained in Evendim, establishing an encampment on the island of Tinnudir from which to protect the Silithar from lowly tomb-robbers.

We are proud to say that with Book 11, Lord of The Rings Online will become the first MMO to support DX10! We have been working very hard on this, and can't wait to see the players' reaction to it. It is really quite amazing, the effects look incredible. For example, if you are standing under a tree right now, you see a standard shadow cast over you. With DX10 you will see the shadow of each leaf as it crosses over you. It is very impressive.