Lord of the Rings Online's next expansion, Before the Shadow, will serve as a prequel of sorts, with two new leveling zones for players levels 1-32 and a story that takes place prior to the events of the Fellowship of the Ring.

　　The content update, which developer Standing Stone Games is calling a "mini-expansion," will introduce the regions of Swanfleet and Cardolan into the MMORPG, where players will learn about what Boromir was up to prior to arriving in Rivendell, discover the looming threat of Mordor, and encounter the Nazgul as they begin their search in the Shire for the one ring.

　　Though the expansion will primarily focus on lower level characters with its two new questing zones, there will be content for higher level players as well, such as a new six-person instance, a new Skirmish, and a new Delving system "that will offer new rewards and challenges."

　　More details on Before the Shadow will be coming in the weeks ahead, including special incentives for VIP players, Standing Stone Games said. Lord of the Rings Online has been free-to-play since 2010, but players who subscribe and become VIPs gain a number of additional perks, including XP bonuses and more inventory space.

　　Standing Stone Games recently made much of Lord of the Rings Online's older expansion content entirely free, including previously locked classes and story content. The game's most recent expansion, the Fate of Gundabad, released late last year and introduced a new class, the Brawler.

　　In 2020, Standing Stone Games announced it was working on bringing Lord of the Rings Online to consoles alongside various graphical updates in an effort to capitalize on the upcoming release of Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power television series, which premieres September 2.

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