As we make our way into 2021, the goal of this year is to further stabilize the game.
How do I report a bug or issue? Please head over to our Discord Community and post in the #bugs channel.
General Resolved Issues - Fixes Ent Moot Localization - Ensures 2 cards granted for specific quest rewards - Lorien Guide lockup bug resolved - Some players receive save issues when Remaining Uses was null as reported from Datastore - Unique symbols for Fangorn, Thranduil and Glamdring - Fangorn and Thranduil ready from Unexpected Courage - Lorien Guide data mismatch - BoomingEnt fix for attack gains - Gandalf ability defeating Balrog grants reward - Prevent negative fate - Fixes bug allowing double purchase of Hero Cards - Network event handlers cleanup to resolve potential issues with double network events - Various other minor fixes
Major Update/New Content Releasing Tomorrow!
Welcome back! We are happy to announce a major update will be releasing for the LotR:ACG tomorrow that will bring new content, a new User Interface, and full offline functionality to the game. As announced in our July road map, we are committed to improving the play experience for our players, and with our first major release since taking over development, we begin that journey tomorrow.
Here is a breakdown of what will be included in tomorrow's release:
1. Offline Playability
The most requested feature from the community has been to convert the game to be playable offline. After much effort, we are happy to announce the new build will include a fully-functioning, offline single player client that will allow players to play completely offline. Your previous progress will automatically sync locally after updating, after which you can then continue your game sessions offline, without worrying about a network connection.
Of course, co-op multiplayer games will still utilize the online client, and as this release will transition most of the player base off the servers, more bandwidth will be available for your online co-op match plays.
2. New Adventure Game Mode and Content (UPDATE: CONTENT IS LIVE!)
This update will also include, free of charge, a new game mode (Adventures) and our first content pack: "The Fords of Isen", a single-player, story-driven experience that puts players inside an unexplored narrative from the Lord of the Rings books. Draft a deck and play as the mighty Rohirrim, fighting to hold a river crossing from the forces of Saruman. With 70 new cards, 15 locations, new music and unlockables, it brings an all new experience to the game for players to enjoy.
3. Progress Respawns
We have updated the save system in the game to allow for immediate restoration of your previous location upon death. Previously upon failing in your quests, the game restarted you back at the beginning of your current quest. We have updated this to now restart you at the exact location where you failed, thus allowing for greater exploration and risk taking.
4. UI Refresh
A new main UI will greet you upon entering the game, improving the visual experience and aiding you with content discoverability. Simple vertical and horizontal flows showcase the game’s art and set the initial building blocks for the progress visibility updates which will come in early in 2021.
5. Bug Fixes
Many fixes for bugs and community-reported issues are included in this release as well.
Release Note 1: Console Parity
The new update will be live on Steam tomorrow but will not be submitted to consoles for approval until 10/23. Therefore, until the console versions are approved by their individual platforms and released, cross-play between Steam players and console players will be unavailable until parity is restored (TBD early November).
Release Note 2: Active Saves Reset
All player game progress will remain intact, however, any active unfinished saves will be reset. Not a big deal, just a heads up.
We will post another announce when the update is live. See you tomorrow!
Thanks,
Antihero Studios
2020 Road Map Announce
Hello and greetings from Antihero Studios. This is our first post as the new stewards of the game and we hope this news finds you well and in good spirits.
Our development team has been busy digging into the game code and current feature set for the last month and now, we would like to walk you through our future development plans for the game, as well as answer any follow up questions you might have. So, without further ado, here is our development road map for late 2020 through early 2021.
Q2 (Before today...)
This was the behind-the-scenes working with Asmodee Digital to transfer the project from FFI over to Antihero Studios and work out all the specifics. This is now complete and we have been given the green light to get rolling.
Q3 2020 (Today through September)
Community Recovery The once active community channels have fallen dark in the months since the FFI studio closure, and now we are working to relight those beacons. We want to see players sharing and engaging within a vibrant community again, so starting next week, our community manager, Sarah, will be taking the reins of the rebuilding efforts, starting with live streams twice a week. She will be working to rebuild, demoing the game for new players, answering questions, doing developer interviews, and providing the latest updates on new feature and content developments.
Development Begins Development of new content, refactors, and bug fixes started Monday (7/21) at full speed.
Revising Store Pages We have plans to refresh the product store pages with updated images, cleaner branding, and a clear message that LotR:ACG is a tactical strategy game.
New Game Mode (Adventures) We will be bringing a new game mode to the game called Adventure mode. Adventure mode is a new single player, story-based experience that aims to fill a hole in the game’s current play mode line up...the ability to play through key story events from the books. This mode will feature all new gameplay elements such as unique story-based hero cards and abilities, Adventure-only card decks, in-game drafting, and persistence mechanics that extend attachments and stat damage/buffs between quests. Each will be a stand-alone experience and will play out over three quests (10-15 locations).
Adventures will be offered as purchasable downloadable content similar to the previous DLC content releases, and we will be announcing more details on game features and pricing as we approach release.
DLC#1 and DLC#2 Announce We are happy to announce our first two content releases for the game will be the following Adventures:
Q4 2020 (October to December)
Bug Fix Release Any past bug reports/Helpshift reports that were submitted have been transferred into our bug tracker and we will try to get as many as possible corrected in the Q4 release. You can submit suggestions or bugs via the Asmodee Digital Helpshift system here.
DLC#1 and #2 Release Our first two Adventures go live. (see “Adventure Mode” above for more details).
Mirror of Galadriel : Draft Mode (TBD) We are working on improving the Mirror of Galadriel (MoG) gameplay. MoG is our quick-play/random-generation mode, and this week we added card drafting. It is early, but we will keep you updated on how it’s going and if it turns out to be good enough to ship with the refactor release.
UI Refresh A clean redesign of the menu will be coming as well, with the goal of improving access to all of the content within the game and provide some extra polish. Below are several screen caps of the new in-progress menu redesign:
Offline Single Player Client Originally the game was designed to be F2P (free-to-play), and thus, currently has an always-on network requirement. We will be releasing a fully offline version of the single-player client which will no longer require a constant connection. You will be able to maintain your current unlocks while also retaining the ability to play online cooperatively.
DLC #3 Announce We will be announcing our plans for our third content release. Currently this is slated to be Campaign 4, with a release target of Jan/Feb.
Q1/Q2 2021 (January to June)
DLC #3 Release Our third content release will go live.
Reward Progress Tracking Unlocking extra content in the game is an important secondary challenge the game offers, and we want to provide more visibility into your progress towards those unlocks. The elements providing this feedback will have already been included in the Q4 UI redesign, but they likely won’t be ready to go live until 1Q/2Q.
Debulking of Card frames and Cameos We are planning on redesigning the card frames and cameos to further separate LotR:ACG from other digital card games currently on the market. As with many of our other changes, these changes will move the visuals in a more lore-focused direction. Below are some early explorations that, though just early wireframe sketches, get the debulking idea across.
But what about…. Many of you that have been reaching out to us with ideas, tweaks (difficulty curves, achievements, deck sizes), and new feature requests (mobile platforms, deck codes, etc) might be disheartened that your requested item is not on the list above. Give us time. We are listening. Please keep posting and discussing on the forums/discussion boards/discord and we will do our best to listen/consider/scope/fix those which are both realistically achievable and improve the game experience.
Risks This is an ambitious road map, and we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that we are developing this game during a global pandemic. Our biggest concerns revolve around having everything ready to roll across all six platforms in time for the holiday console submission deadline. Normally, you want to time your console submissions to be into cert by the end of September/early October to avoid the holiday game rush that floods console cert teams each year in November. Now with Covid-19, understandably, they may not be operating at their usual tempo and there may be delays. However, we will do our best to hit our timelines, wrap up early, and keep you updated the whole way.
That’s it! Our 2020 feature road map. Please post any questions/comments/thoughts in the comment section below and we will try to answer them as best we can.
Talk again soon,
Greg Antihero Studios/LotR:ACG Development Lead
Antihero Studios Announcement
Greetings!
As Bilbo once said «Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story. »
Asmodee Digital is pleased to announce that Antihero Studios is taking over content development and community relations for the Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game. Time to go on new adventures!
Stay tuned for more information. 🧙
News Update (Dec 16, 2019): New Free Content!
Hail and well met! It’s time for some big news! We’ve got two major pieces of content rolling out to the game; Campaign 3: The Witch-king’s Grasp, and the all-new Mirror of Galadriel mode. You'll get both an entirely new narrative experience and a robust new random mode. Plus, they’re all entirely free to all players on Steam!
We’re sure you have questions about it, and we’re here to give you answers:
When is all this coming out? You can play Campaign 3 and the Mirror of Galadriel mode on Steam starting today!
Is it really free? Yes! We wanted to thank you, the players, for your support of the game. Whether you discovered it in the earliest days of Early Access or have dived into it within the past few weeks, your passion and engagement have been critical to helping us make the best game possible in The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game.
Where can I get it? You can get everything on Steam today! Make sure you run the latest update and then simply click on the game’s Play button on Steam. Campaign 3 and Mirror of Galadriel mode will update automatically.
This release is exclusive to Steam for the time being, and will be released on other platforms in the new year. Until this new release is available on other platforms, you will only be able to cross play with other Steam players (on PC or Mac). Once the release is certified on other platforms, we'll post an update notifying you that full cross play functionality across all platforms will be restored (if you do play on other platforms, those platforms will still be able to cross play with each other during this period).
What Do I Get?
There’s a ton of new stuff available. Let’s start with the new Campaign:
Campaign 3: The Witch-king's Grasp
This all-new Campaign is set in a locale not yet explored within the game—Eriador. It’s our biggest Campaign yet, with 249 individual new Cards and over 20 new Locations (with over 300 cards included within the campaign)… and nary an Orc in sight! Instead, you’ll face a host of new Enemies—including 15 new Villains—across Bree, the Barrow-downs, and beyond. We’ll also introduce new mechanics to the game, including 3 new keywords and new Enemy behavior.
To aid you in your adventures, you’ll have access to 43 new Ally, Attachment, and Event cards. And let’s not forget your 4 new Heroes, available in their own Hero Packs: Boromir, Frodo, Rossiel, and Sam.
News Update: December 2, 2019 — Release Plans Update
Now that we've released The Lord of the Rings™: Adventure Card Game on consoles and have made changes and improvements to fix the launch issues we encountered on servers, many of you have asked about our release plans for new content. We're here to answer some of those questions.
First, let's review the release schedule since early access launch on August 28th, 2018, and where we've come since then. As you know, we've been active with the game since that early launch, taking your feedback into account to help improve the game and bring it to where it is now. Here's what we've released since then:
August 2018 • Early Access Game Release with The Shadow's Reach Campaign • The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game Soundtrack Release
November 2018 • The King of Carrion Encounter Release
December 2018 • Vault (New Cards) Release
January 2019 • Cooperative Multiplayer Added
February 2019 • Vault (New Cards) Release
March 2019 • The Shadow's Fall Campaign (including 5 all-new Quests, 4 new Heroes and new cards) Release; re-balance of The Shadow's Reach
April 2019 • Emotes System and Ping Feature Added • Save Games for Single and Multiplayer Added • A Feast for Trolls Encounter Release
May 2019 • Fully Revamped First Time User Experience Release • All-new Tutorial Campaign Release with 1 new full Quest • Card Rewards for Quests and Hero Challenges Added • New Avatar Rewards and Hero Alt Art Added • All-new Balancing System for Different Play Modes Added • Second Multiplayer Play Style (Narrative) Added
July 2019 • Gundabad Awoken Encounter Release
August 2019 • Full Release on Steam (end of Early Access)
November 2019 • Release on Xbox One, PlayStation4 and Switch platforms • Overhaul of Server System to improve stability
What's Next
We had hoped to be able to talk about new content prior to this date, but our focus has been on releasing the console versions first, then gathering feedback from that launch to determine our future path.
So, while we're not yet ready to talk about release dates, we did want to give you some insight into what's on our immediate horizon.
First up is Campaign 3: The Witch-king's Grasp, an all-new Campaign set in a location not yet explored within the game—Eriador. This is our biggest Campaign yet, with new Minions, Villains, Objectives, Hazards, and Locations. With the new Campaign, you'll also receive 4 new Heroes with which to build decks. Each new Hero comes with 4 brand new cards that we've talked about in past updates. In this Campaign,
The Witch-king's Grasp features 27 brand new Locations for your fellowship to visit. You'll see famous locales from The Lord of the Rings as well as new locations as you uncover a dark plot that stirs the dark hearts of evil men who dwell in the Shadows of Eriador.
We will also introduce new mechanics to the game that will force players to rethink some of their deck setups to overcome the difficulties they face. There are 5 new Quest Reward cards, 10 new avatars, and 4 new Hero Challenge cards for you to earn along the way.
The best part is that we're giving this Campaign to everyone for free! We'll discuss details when we make the release date announcement.
Plus, we're ready to unleash an all-new game mode: The Mirror of Galadriel mode. Gaze into Galadriel's Mirror to see fates that may or may not come to pass. This new mode challenges players to a single randomly-generated Encounter where you can play alone or with a friend against a random setup of Minions and Villains drawn from across all our releases.
This is a fast-play mode consisting of a single Location, where players must first defeat a wave of Minions before confronting a final Villain. Each time you play, you'll be confronted with a different challenge, making the mode highly replayable. We can also expand this mode by adding new content with each new release we make. We hope you enjoy this brand new way to play—as you never know quite what you'll face in the mirror’s reflection.
The Mirror of Galadriel mode will also be free to all players and will be available as part of the Campaign 3 release. So, you'll not only get an entirely new narrative experience, at the same time you'll also get a robust new random mode.
Reminder
One final note. We've mentioned this previously, but it bears repeating: while we will update news less frequently than previously, we are still working away feverishly on the game behind the scenes! Now that we have 5 platforms to support, we intend to slow our update pace in general on Steam. Of course, we will make new announcements when we have something we want to share.
Additionally, we'll still monitor and participate in forums and will still be part of the Discord channel where we'll answer questions and discuss the game.
Thank you all for your support of the game thus far and for our development efforts to bring Middle-earth to life. We hope you'll enjoy the new content we have planned and that the rest of 2019 is a very Merry one for you all.
Until the stars shine over our next meeting…
—FFI and Asmodee Digital
The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Locations
Hello fellow Freefolk!
From dark, cold, goblin-infested towers to enchanting sun-bathed riverbanks, The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game takes you to many places in Middle-Earth. Here are some of the places we have visited so far:
The treacherous thin ice of the Sirros covers a massive tributary to the legendary river Anduin, up north:
The beautiful but perilous Misty Mountains, inhabited by many creatures including the Stone Giants who regurarly battle against one another, creating thunderous noises earthquakes:
The gigantic gate of Gundabad, which was formerly a dwarven stronghold, now claimed by the Orcs...
... And the mines inside, crafted to perfection by the Dwarves who once lived there:
But also the dark forest of Mirkwood and its voracious spiders:
And, probably the darkest, most dangerous of them all, the mines of Nibin-dûm, filled with Goblins and Orcs!
What is your favourite place in Middle-earth? We would personally love to pay a visit to Lothlórien Elves or to have a pint of lager at the Prancing Pony!
News Update: October 29, 2019 — Fix to Save Issues
We have a small update coming next week that will fix some save issues. This update is scheduled for November 4; as a result, old save games will be invalidated and no longer function.
For this reason, if you have a saved game that you've been meaning to finish, don't delay!
News Update — October 23, 2019 — The Faithful Servant
Cards of the Faithful Servant
Today we're going to take a look at the cards Sam, The Faithful Servant will be bringing with him into the Fellowship. Sam, one of the original Fellowship and Frodo's closest friend, is a Leadership Sphere hero that allows for strong board control to turn the tide of battle in your favor. As a reminder, all cards are subject to change before delivery subject to playtesting and licensor approval.
First off, let's take a look at Sam's Hero card and where he stands right now in development:
Sam is a is a hearty Hobbit with a heart of gold, as a 10 threat Leadership hero his stats are: Attack: 2 Willpower: 1 Health: 9 Whenever Sam has Guard active he will gain an additional point of attack, making him a great hero to protect your team. He also has a Vanquish ability which will remove one resource from Sauron.
Let's take a quick look at the alternate art that Sam will have available for 1000 Fellowship Points.
Now let's take a look at what kind of companions and tools Sam will be bringing with him. As a Leadership hero, let's take a look at that sphere card first:
Bill is a level two Leadership card that will cost two resources to use, unless Sam is on the board! Attack: 1 Willpower: 1 Health: 5 Trait: Animal During each upkeep phase, Bill the Pony will provide you with an additional resource point, and he can be played for zero cost if Sam is already on the board.
Now let's see what Sam has to offer for a Spirit Card:
Gaffer Gamgee is a wiley level one Spirit Card Hobbit that costs a single resource to play. Attack: 1 Willpower: 1 Health: 2 Trait: Hobbit Using his Power, Gaffer Gamgee can be returned to your hand for the ability to exhaust a single enemy minion.
If you're planning on running a Hobbit focused deck, Sam's Lore card is a strong choice!
Nothing is more potent than a halfling's determination. Invigorate and restore four health to every Hobbit with this level one lore card that costs two resources.
Lastly, let's take a look at the Tactic's card that Sam brings with him to the adventure.
Use this level one tactics card to take control of the flow of battle for only one resource. Having the potential to reverse the tide of battle with this card will aid you greatly in your battles against the minions of Sauron.
This completes the list of cards available in Sam's Hero Pack. We hope you enjoy these new cards in play when they are released.
Obtaining Technical Assistance
If you happen to experience any issues or need technical assistance for the game, please remember that if you don't see the answer within the forums or on discord, you can always file a Helpshift request here: https://asmodee.helpshift.com/a/lord-of-the-rings-acg/
Discord
For more info on the game, there is a fan set up and run discord channel where you can reach out and talk to fellow players and look for multiplayer friends to play with.
We are currently taking October off from Streaming and will alert you as soon our streams return.
That's all we have for now. Until we meet again, may the stars shine ever on your adventures!
-FFI and Asmodee Digital
News Update- October 7th, 2019- Captain of Gondor
Cards of the Captain of Gondor
Today we're looking at the cards that will make up Boromir, the Captain of Gondor's Hero Pack. Boromir, one of the original Fellowship, is a Tactics Sphere hero that reflects his status as a champion of Gondor. As a reminder, all cards are subject to change before delivery subject to playtesting and licensor approval. Let's start with Boromir's Hero card and it's current state in development:
Boromir
Boromir is an 11 Threat Tactics Sphere Hero with the Gondor Trait. His stats are: Attack: 2 Willpower: 1 Health: 11 Boromir has a Vanquish ability that allows him to Grant a +1 Attack and Block to himself or another Character for the round. While the effects are only for the round, they are cumulative, so if you manage to get Boromir a second Vanquish in a single round, he will get to target an additional +1 attack as well as grant and additional block.
Let's take a look at Boromir's alternative art, which you can unlock using 1,000 Fellowship.
Since Boromir is a Tactics Hero, let's look at the Tactic's card from Boromir's pack first.
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Honor Guard
This is a Level 2 Tactics Ally with a Resource Cost of 2 and the following stats: Attack: 2 Willpower: 0 Health: 4 Trait: Gondor The Honor Guard grants Block to 1 Character during each Upkeep (at the beginning of a round).
Now, let's look at the Lore card for this pack...
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Heed The Dream
This 1 Resource Cost LoreEvent card Draws 3 cards from your deck, but at the cost of increased threat.
Next up, let's look at the Leadership card in this pack...
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Knight Of The White Tower
This is 1 Resource Cost Leadership Ally card comes with great power, but with great restrictions that will you will need to build around. He has the following stats: Attack: 3 Willpower: 2 Health: 6 Trait: Gondor With great stats, the Knight can add needed strength to just about any situation, but he may not use his Defense to activate Guard and grants you +1 Threat every time he attacks. You will need to be careful when and where you use him.
Finally, we wrap up with the Spirit Card from the pack.
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Spear Of The Citadel
This is a 1 Resource Cost Spirit Attachment that grants Counter to whoever wields it. Additionally, when a character equipped with the Spear defeats an enemy (Vanquish), they gain Guard (up to as many times within a round as they have Willpower).
This completes the list of cards available in Boromir's Hero Pack. We hope you enjoy these new cards in play when they are released.
Obtaining Technical Assistance
If you happen to experience any issues or need technical assistance for the game, please remember that if you don't see the answer within the forums or on discord, you can always file a Helpshift here:
For more info on the game, there is a fan set up and run discord channel where you can reach out and talk to fellow players and look for multiplayer friends to play with.
