LOTRO explains how friendships work in Wolves of Mordor’s Neighbours system
The Lord of the Rings Online has shared more details on its upcoming Neighbours feature, which is arriving with the Wolves of Mordor expansion. The latest preview focuses on how players build friendships with the NPCs who can visit their homes, mainly through daily quests, shared stories, gifts, and personal story quests.
The basic loop starts with Neighbour Quests from bulletin boards in housing neighbourhoods across Middle-earth. Completing those daily quests gives players a new barter currency and creates “stories” that can be written into a journal, then shared with neighbours who visit your house.
Each neighbour has different tastes. Some may like stories about exploration, while others respond better to acts of kindness or quieter local moments. Picking something that fits their interests improves the relationship more quickly, while a poor match can slow progress or put them in a worse mood.
The system also tracks personality traits. Neighbours have 21 traits covering story preferences, favorite materials, colors, foods, animals, flowers, hobbies, likes, dislikes, stronger dislikes, and one hidden passion. The Neighbour UI will show traits once players uncover them, though the team notes the current UI and gameplay are still work in progress.
Gifts are another major part of the system. Players can buy them from merchants in major settlements using the barter currency from Neighbour Quests, and more gifts can be found while adventuring. Gifts come in common, uncommon, rare, incomparable, and special qualities, with rarer gifts carrying more traits. That can make them more useful, but also riskier if they include something a neighbour dislikes.
Friendship ranks won’t be lost once earned, even if a neighbour doesn’t care for a gift. Visiting still matters, too. Neighbours may sometimes return the favor with stories, crafting materials, traceries, or other items, and simply stopping by can improve their happiness.
As friendships grow, neighbours will unlock personal story adventures tied to their past or present. These quests are meant to reveal more traits and give players a closer look at the characters living near their homes, rather than sending them off to save Middle-earth again.
Further reading: Official LOTRO Neighbours guide
