Lord of the Rings
In early 2007, The Syndicate completed work on the Lord of the Rings Online MMO strategy guide as part of its continuing alliance with Prima Games (the industry leader in print media guides). What made this guide unique was that it set the bar for future MMO guides. It contained dozens of pages of in depth, expert content that simply hadnt been included in strategy guides up until that point. This guide contained in depth class guides up through the higher levels. They included leveling tips and strategy tips to help a new player or a veteran player get to max level rapidly. In addition, the guide contained a very detailed crafting guide all the way through Master level in crafting. That level of expert content simply hadnt been done before. The Syndicate was proud to be partnered with Prima to once again raise the bar on what you, as consumers, could expect from the future of Strategy Guides. No longer were they just maps and lists of skills. They now actually contained worthwhile information.



The LOTRO guide turned out to be well received by the public but as we will see in years to come, print guides were dying and they were not selling enough copies to keep the business profitable. Free websites and community sourced guides were the future and print guides were on the way out. That is unfortunate as The LOTRO book was so full of content that it had to be separated into two guides including a 500 page guide devoted to questing. The Syndicate helped to create a first class guide that definitely raised the bar in the guide market. In addition, we helped moderate the Prima LOTRO forum after the guide went live to offer online updates and corrections and to keep passing on new information to players. Here is a picture of the Prima site talking about the guide and siting some quotes from Syndicate members.