By Justin Olivetti

The third round of testing for Lord of the Rings Online’s Update 40 is underway this week, and players are starting to get a feel for how this patch will change their future questing options.

According to Standing Stone Games, the Neaths side quests are meant to be an alternative to going through Umbar if so desired: “With this content functioning as a level 150 zone, it adds to your options at current cap (and gives alternate options for that level break when the cap is no longer 150). So if you are leveling up a new character and you get to Umbar and you have access to the U40 quest pack, you have your choice of doing above ground Umbar city content, Umbar-Mokh content, missions/delvings, instances, etc. It extends the variety of content offered in the city.”

Also, in case it slipped by you in the above paragraph, it should be noted that this zone looks to be a paid quest pack in the vein of Yondershire or Swanfleet and not automatically included with the Corsairs of Umbar expansion purchase.

The latest Update 40 testing period doesn’t seem too different from the last round, with this build adding several adjustments for the Mariner and Rune-keeper classes while disabling the PvP sieges for the time being.