You can now keep your friends up to date on your status in The Lord of the Rings™ Online™! Install the new LOTRO Player Feed application on your Facebook page and it will update your status with your latest accomplishments and let your friends know when you are logged in to the game. Here’s how to get started

Turbine just released a handful of new screenshots of the new Nûrz Ghâshu skirmish that will be introduced in  Volume III: Allies of the King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers, and they look pretty impressive. You can see for yourself by checking out the screenshots in the gallery.

by Evadrepus

Ever since loading W7, I've stopped using Flashboost because, well, W7 is that good and I rarely have any lag. That said, I'd like to have zero.

On 2/5/10 Turbine released their internal LOTRO-specific data file defragger to massively positive reviews. The only hitch is their link doesn't work, lol.

Click here to read about it.

And click here to actually download the file (the EU servers)

If you feel more comfy, there is also a rar version posted on the US

Volume III: Allies of the King, Book 1: Oath of The Rangers is now available on the Bullroarer test server, which means you can try out the massive update before it hits the live servers. You can read the preliminary patch notes after the jump, but keep in mind they're subject to change during the testing process.

The War continues to rage in the North and your skill and bravery is still needed in Mirkwood. In the latest release from the award-winning The Lord of the Rings Online™, your part in the epic tale continues in Volume 3:Allies of the King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers. Return to Dol Guldur and fight in four Skirmishes with new 12-person mode in the shadow of the Necromancer’s Tower. Plus, fire and madness waits in the Depths of Nûrz Ghâshu, an additional new Skirmish where you must rescue a brave fighter from flame and shadow. To help you meet the dangers ahead, you can now craft items up to level 65.

Yet an adventurer’s work is never done. As the Fellowship begins its journey South, a message is delivered that the future king needs his allies. The rangers, powerful fighters and strong defenders of the Free Peoples, must prepare to ride to the aid of their leader. But they are a reduced and scattered band, and you must marshal them quickly so that they can help the king find his destiny.

Siege of Mirkwood Patch 1 was made available on the Bullroarer test server last week to work out any possible bugs, and it looks like Turbine is happy with the results. The patch will be applied to the live Lord of the Rings Online servers tomorrow, Jan. 19, during downtime from 7-11 a.m. EST.

You can read the official release notes after the jump. Siege of Mirkwood has been out for almost two months. Have you been enjoying the expansion?

Siege of Mirkwood Patch 1 is now available for testing on the Bullroarer test server, so be sure to log on if you'd like to check out the changes before they go live in Lord of the Rings Online. The preliminary patch notes can be found after the jump, but keep in mind they're a work in progress and could change before the patch is approved.

In addition, Turbine has announced that it is "aware of an exploit that can allow a player to acquire more skirmish marks than intended. This issue is

by Veneration

Throughout MMOs player interaction has created stereotypes and euphemisms that transcend gaming and enter into the vocabulary of the general public. As Goldenstar points out in “Newb vs Noob“, players of all sorts come together and often things can get hairy! These groups formed from chat requests and /lff channels can be united under one name…