Kayla "Reiyami" Smith gets a hands-on look at the new Lord of the Rings Online Update: Echoes of the Dead.

The instances are not only challenging and fun, but also gorgeous. Update 2 brings several different environments to the game that help immerse the player deeper in the story. While fighting you may be waste deep in acid water, or hardly able to see thanks to a snowstorm. None of the environmental tools are just for looks, though; you learn quickly that you'll need to adapt to what's going on around you and take it into deep consideration in your battles.

“Solofication” was the key word being passed around the LOTRO community as the team has worked to make the epic storyline playable for one person and not just fellowships. Campbell explains that to accomplish this, they did not simply nerf mobs. You enter a space that is custom tailored to you and your level (through nerfs and buffs) to make the epic content more accessible. This also allows solo players to further follow the storylines in the game without missing integral parts.

This is LOTRO's biggest content update yet, and it would be impossible to cover every nook and cranny. What I can tell you is it's fun, challenging and complete. Nothing seems to be missing and every detail appears to have been heavily scrutinized by the team before the release. Turbine has set up all the instances to help teach players the tricks before getting to the main boss. These tasks in no way hold your hand, but they do introduce new devices so that you won't be blind-sided.

For more details on Update 2, check out the full patch notes over at the Lord of the Rings Online official site.