Description

Monster play is Lord of the Rings Online's form of PvP (player versus player) fought in the area known as the Ettenmoors. It is commonly referred to as PvMP (player versus monster player) as one side is composed of freeps (free peoples) who have leveled their character to at least level 40, while the other side is composed of creeps (monsters) controlled by players that have at least reached level 10.

To participate in Monster Play you must have a character of at least level 10 and then go to the login screen and click the red "Monster Play" button. There you can choose one of the five available monsters to play as. All monsters start out as level 50, however they are significantly weaker than a normal level 50 character. The monster choices are Uruk Blackarrow, Orc Reaver, Spider Weaver, Uruk Warleader, and Warg Stalker. To participate on the freep side you need at least a level 40 character and just bring them to the Ettenmoors.

The Ettenmoors itself consists of the different areas of the Coldfells, the Steps of Gram, Hithlad, Hoardale, and Arador's End. There are also keeps and villages in each of these areas some of which can switch control between the freeps and creeps.

Creating Your Monster

Because monsters are all about fast, fun, explosive combat, there is no separate character creation process. Instead, each monster comes fully loaded with its own race, gender, appearance, equipment, skills and abilities. There are currently five different monsters to choose from. See the Monster Classes section.

All you have to do is select the kind of monster you want to play, name the creature, and get started! Your current Hero character will be logged out and you are transported to the Ettenmoors. Be warned: Once you arrive, you will be an actual monster. You are now the evil that others fight so valiantly to defeat. You will commit atrocities in the name of Sauron — and will be hunted unmercifully by the Free Peoples of Middleearth. Monster play is not for the faint of heart.

The Ettenmoors

The Ettenmoors are a dangerous place, right in the heart of the War of the Ring. It is here — in these rugged lands — that the Free Peoples have fought countless times over the ages against the shadow of Angmar. These treacherous lands lie just to the north of Rivendell, and it is here that the Witch-king of Angmar fled after his defeat in the Battle of Fornost.

Encompassed within the Ettenmoors are ruins that once served an ancient civilization of Men. These ruins provide tactical positions that are controllable by Monsters or Heroes. In addition to these ruins, there is a rich mine in the frozen north near Arador’s End and a lumberyard nestled in the forest to the south by Hithlad.

Monsters and Heroes each begin in a safe area. For Monsters, your journey begins at Gramsfoot, a fort in the northwest corner of the Ettenmoors. For Heroes, you begin at the majestic fortification of Glân Vraig. At these safe locations you can purchase goods, repair items, seek quests, train skills, treat with Bards, and assemble your forces for the battle ahead. While the areas surrounding these entry points are relatively safe, the same cannot be said for the remainder of the Ettenmoors. Across this massive theatre of war you will find not only the Enemy, in the form of Angmar’s Dark Army, and the Free Peoples, but a host of creatures both friend and foe:

Eagles and bears have aligned with the Free Peoples, heeding the call to defend against the ravages extending from the north.
The Warg packs and spiders broods have been conscripted into the service of the Dark Lord Sauron, and they stalk the woodland and moors with ferocity.
Other indigenous creatures have joined neither side and pose a threat to both Monsters and Heroes alike. There is no end of conflict available in the Ettenmoors.