Lord of the Rings
Stern, 2003
Lord of the Rings Limited Edition
Stern, 2009You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider mattmarr.
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Quoted from IdahoRealtor:Cliffys, of course. http://Www.passionforpinball.com
Do you mean the switch slot protectors? Do they go up far enough to cover where the ball actually lands? The wear that I see on the ball drop from my sword ramp seems like it would be too far above where the Cliffy would actually cover. Thanks!
Quoted from Neal_W:TO WARRRRRR!!!
Loving my new LOTR, and proud to join the club!! Destroyed the ring for the first time today!
Pin was in good condition with a bunch of mods when I got it, and seemed to play smooth and fast with super bands, but needed a little cleaning. Now cleaned and two coats of wax, on a perfect fast shot, the ball will not stay on the left Legolas ramp, often flying off the habitrail and sometimes hitting the glass in the area above the shire.
Turned the flipper settings all the way down in the standard audits and it still plays fine at the new settings:
#53 ADJ 1 = 20 ->10
#54 ADJ 2 = 50 ->40
#55 ADJ 3 = 3 ->0
Now 46 games after waxing, it still comes off the ramp occasionally. I had read the speed settles down about 10 games after waxing, but not yet here. Is that normal? How often does everyone see the ball fly off the left ramp? Thanks.
Picked up my LOTR a little over a week ago and I destroyed the ring for the "first" time yesterday too. The machine I picked up had a broken switch for the spinner and I found out the hard way last week that switch is needed to register the final ring shot 
It is just me, or does the DMD image of Frodo just not quite look right? I mean, all the other character DMD representations are spot on, really resembling the actors. But Frodo...
I've had LOTR for about three weeks now and I just had my most amazing game. All six gifts of the elves, finished TTT MB, one shot away from finishing TABA, made good progress on FOTR and ROTK MB, and destroyed the ring twice (two ball mode). I actually believed at one point that Valinor might not be a total pipe dream. So much freaking fun, very intense too. I also felt so bad because as you can see, it was a two player game, and it was actually a friend visiting from out of town that never plays pinball. He said he had fun watching at least.
Quoted from Skypilot:Yah, Ive had mine for at least 8 months and got one gift.
I think you need to let me "borrow" ten or so pins from your collection so that you can focus on LOTR a bit more 
Quoted from busa32927:hey gang
i installed the ledocd board last week and it makes a world of difference on LotR. no more led light flickering and no more ghosting. the leds look great!
Hey Busa,
Would you be able to post a video? I'd love to see it in action. I have some ghosting on the LEDs that were previously done to mine and I'm debating if I should try to replace them or just do LED OCD. Thanks.
Quoted from busa32927:here is a quick video. the after part is around 1:10 i have my fade set to be a little longer than stock.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/76irhynwnn96y7y/lotr.mp4?dl=0
Man that looks good, thank you for uploading the video! Nice looking machine too. I feel like this is one of those "can't unsee it" moments and my LOTR just won't look the same now.
Quoted from busa32927:go fotr it. its 130. installing the board is easy. if you have a laptop it is easy to setup the software.
Sold. Ordered one tonight
Quoted from busa32927:matt shoot me a pm if you have any trouble. i can walk ya through it.
Installed the LED OCD board the other day, the game looks so much better. Install is very simple and of course I read the instructions, saw the note about not installing the board over top of the mounting posts in the metal plate in the back box...and stuck the board right over top of them. I just had to pull off the feet and restick everything, then also pull my head out of my ass.
I had so much ghosting before I installed the LED OCD (as a note, I did not LED this game, I bought it that way). The skills shots, Orc letters, shoot again, and gift from the elves inserts all ghosted very badly. That is all taken care of now. The light shows that correspond with starting the various modes work now as intended, and the attract mode no longer gives me seizures. In short, I'm loving this thing.
Quoted from dmieczko:Maybe not - wish I could remember for sure now. I'll have to try again!
You automatically are awarded a mode start with each new ball, no? Does that not apply with TABA?
Quoted from pin2d:A few questions, apologize if I'm being a bit lazy by not looking enough on other threads for answers on these:
1. The mech that kicks the balls into the shooter lane to launch - is there a way to protect this area or have it kick out more "softly"?
2. Sometimes when the ball is coming down the Aragorn sword or the squiggly wire ramp from the ring, the ball lock plastic doesn't go down in time and the ball hits it. Is this normal?
3. I have white noise in the background on the speakers, which seems to be a common issue. Is there a cheap way to get rid of this?
Thanks for any help!
1. There's a Cliffy to protect the shooter lane. You just need to let Cliffy know if your LOTR has a yellow level or a black level.
2. I think this is normal. Mine hits every so often too, I think.
3. ???
Quoted from someoneelse:But do you have to go through the ring with both balls when hitting the one the ring is holding?
I always thought I wasn't beating DTR because when hitting the ball in the ring it did go through, but the one i hit it with jumped back out. My understanding was that the second ball needs to pass the ring together with the first (held) one to complete DTR.
I've had the held ball fall out and dribble back onto the playfield. If you can shoot one of the two balls through the empty ring before either ball drains, you are still awarded DTR.
Quoted from someoneelse:This would mean that, if in 2-ball-mode, i hit the held ball out of the magnet but it doesn't award DTR and then hit through the ring again and it doesn't award it either, I can be sure switch 48 is the problem - right?
Not to much in troubleshooting mood these days, but if i can narrow it down to one possible problem i'll go ahead and repair it immediately.
Thanks yoshootme, but I want to stick with 2-ball-mode. I'm a sucker for effects and the one-ball-version is not remotely as impressive.
The spinner switch needs to be working too. That has to trigger, then switch 48 soon after for DTR to complete. Switch 48 by itself won't do it. Some good info in this thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotrdestroy-the-ring-not-working
Quoted from pinnyheadhead:On lighting my new LOTR Random KG added trough lighting like Lermods recommended. We removed those black rubbers off the bolts of the bulb connectors that were acting like washers under the playfield to raise the LED's 1/8 inch higher above the play field to spread out more lighting. Added led strip by the plastic down from the Path of the Dead upper playfield to brighten left side up. Spot light bulbs won't come out so I will order whole new spotlights. Did some Einstein glue mine in?
Fixed a switch that went out day one and got 63 million my third game in. I have no idea what the rules are, but like the shots and modes!
Thought I was a speed and flow guy, but ST left and a HUO LOTR came in. No regrets!
Pics? 
The rules aren't too bad to learn and I thought they made sense for the most part. I agree that the modes are fun, but the freaking Witch King, I've never killed that bastard. I feel like I'll reach Valinor before I ever kill that damn Witch King.
Quoted from Maken:Stack gollum MB with witch king.
I hear ya, and that is probably the best way to do it, and I feel like it is kind of a waste of a multiball stack. You stack any other mode with TTT or ROTK (and Gollum too), and you have a good shot at finishing the mode by keeping the multiball going. I've never pulled that off with Witch King running. I probably need to get better at hitting the right ramp anyway
Quoted from beelzeboob:If he plans to get an LED OCD card for the machine, he would have to get the ghost type bulbs (which are a little cheaper). LED OCD doesn't work too well with non-ghosting bulbs. But at least the LEDs will behave more like incandescents, even if they don't look the same.
LED OCD all the way for sure, looks great with LOTR.
Make sure you leave the Ringwraith flasher as an incandescent (red looks good). You get some cool effects with the bulb dimming and pulsing at different times.
Quoted from pinmister:I am still learning the rules and strategy for LOTR. I ordered the pinbits POTD diverter to make the ball not fall on Arwen plastic and into Shire and always go to habittrail. Is there an advantage to have the ball divert into Shire instead of habittrail return to flipper. Was the game originally designed to go either way? I have always thought it was a poor design with the drastic drop. Any feedback is appreciated.
You earn extra souls for the ball diverting into the Shire and the number of souls you earn will increase each time the ball goes that way.
Quoted from pinmister:Ok that makes sense, but again my question lies "Is the ball going into the Shire from POTD an original part of the design of the layout, or was it meant to always be returned to the habittrail?" If it was originally designed to go to the habittrail (which I thought it was because on certain LOTR runs the POTD has a post diverter from factory) then would it technically be cheating to have it divert to the Shire to increase your soul counts? Was ROTK meant to be difficult?
I obviously can't speak for Gomez and the team, and I gotta think if they put the soul bonus that grows in value with each Shire hit from the POTD into the code, it was factored into the design. Also, it's not really rare for the ball to fall into the Shire, so I'm sure they had it happening during design and testing.
The Arwen plastic was broken before I even got my machine, so I never had to worry about protecting it
Quoted from someoneelse:Can you please point me in the right direction - I searched this complete thread but can't find the slightest hint to the brass rail guide nor can I even find a user "ryan1234" on Pinside in general.
Love that mod, never seen it before but going through the tread I noticed that a lot of people seem to have it installed. I'm not a huge modder, but I definitely need this one!
Quoted from Razorbak86:...playing over 2 hours straight...
So this was maybe your fourth game of the night then?
Great looking machine, signed translite is very cool. Did you ever have an incandescent flasher in the Ringwraith socket? My game came with an LED, and I am definitely an LED fan, but you miss out on some really cool effects with an LED flasher there. An incadescent bulb pulses during the Ringwraith mode and a few other times. I've got a red one in mine.
Quoted from BeaglePuss:I'm not sure I understand the "agree to disagree" part of your post.
Agree to disagree you say?
Quoted from Razorbak86:LOTR Valinor Run - Keith Elwin
» YouTube video
Brew a pot of coffee, settle in for a spell, and watch a world champion pinball player easily tame this beast wizard mode!
I love the PAPA Valinor video. I'm sure if I ever get close, I'll brick it on the final DTR too.
Even though Valinor is the ultimate dream, there are so many satisfying accomplishments along the way. Beat FOTR multiball for maybe the 4th time tonight and it is always freaking awesome. I even had to do it by getting a character across during the grace period and then starting Gollum multiball to get FOTR restarted. It was such a battle that I dislodged a GI bulb from under the sling, never had that happen before.
Great game with such an awesome, nuanced rule set.
Quoted from Thrillhouse:Thanks again for the quick replies ill go monkey around in switch tests.
The problem here is i had thought that the magnet is supposed to stay engaged and hold the ball on the first successful shot up the ramp and then kick a second ball out into the shooter lane. You then hit the suspended ball thru the ring to complete the mode.
Go into switch test mode and make sure the switches are not only registering, but registering as the proper switch. There was a person that had their spinner and center loop switches swapped in the connections under the playfield, so DTR didn't work right.
The spinner should activate switch #52, the ring is switch #47, and the switch in the back trough between the ring and the wireform is switch #48. Just check in test mode and pay special attention to the switch number that registers for each one. Good luck!
Quoted from rai:My first week as an owner. At first I was like 'ehh did I make a mistake?'
I thought it was ok but not great.
One thing that's got me coming around to liking this pin is how easy it is to make the shots. I'm not the best player, but I'm not horrible. But this pin makes me feel like I'm actually good. The shots are fairly easy and safe. I think the pressure will come later on when there is a time limit on the later modes.
I actually started Destroy the Ring by doing the three movie modes. Of course I did crappy but at least I feel like I accomplised something by getting there.
On XMLE after 4 years I got to DR one time and had never got to DP (probably wouldn't in 40 years). I believe DP needs you to defeat all the Villian modes in one game. I'd have a hard time just to start all the Villian modes I'd never be able to defeat them all.
I see the rules to TABA just start all the modes. I have not done that but for sure that is possible. Not saying how many points I'd get in each mode but it does sound like something I'd be able to start.
IMO some games are hard beyond belief. I know Vallinor would be something I'll never see but I like some of the mini wizards along the way. Some pins won't even give you a taste of victory.
I kind of miss XMLE now, but then I realize how I'm always playing the beginning parts ad nausium and never get to the wizard or mini wizard modes.
Nice write-up of your first impressions. TABA is definitely doable, and for me at least, no so easy that it doesn't feel like an accomplishment. Plus, it has some awesome music.
I've had LOTR for about a year now and one of the things that really draws me is the modes. For me, they have a good bit of variety, good theme integration, and are generally challenging, but not impossible (except for you Witch King). I used to love War of the Ents because it was one I could consistently beat, but now it feels wood choppy (pun somewhat intended). All the rest are solid.
The mutliballs are my new drug though. I think TTT is fun because you can just blast away. Finishing FOTR feels like a mini-wizard mode in itself, and I'll take down ROTK someday.
Welcome to the club though!
Quoted from T-800:Anyone with regrets going to LEDs instead of the stock incandescents? Everyone of my pins is LED'd, but my LOTR just looks so natural and at home in incandescents.
I'm very happy with LEDs, but you absolutely need an LED OCD. Without it, I had a ton of ghosting and things just didn't look right.
Quoted from rai:I'm reading the rules again now that I've had the game a short time.
I'm curious if people gave the cave troll part allowed on the FotR MB?
Also what the easiest and hardest ring modes?
I guess Ents is the easiest and Witch King hardest ?
I leave the Cave Troll part on. I think it is fun to just wail away for a minute and I like the Boromir call out. As a downside, I think it can eat up your ball save.
Ents is regularly doable and I may finish Escape the Ringwraiths more often. Even though the shots are a little harder, it is only four total. I'll have to check the audits to see.
I feel like I will reach Valinor before defeating the Witch King, but making him pretty much impossible to beat does fit perfectly with Lord of the Rings lore, "...not by the hand of man will he fall." I'll give myself a wedgie for dropping that quote.
Quoted from Neal_W:Start a multiball (Fellowship MB makes sense) immediately after starting witch king mode. (this was posted a few pages back, and helps me kill that flying monster.)
I have not researched much LotR strategy, but since you can always start a MB after starting a ring mode, I always do it in that order. (AKA stacking) Hit Elf rings to light "start mode", then start the mode, and usually end up qualifying and starting a MB while working on a ring mode. Once the MB is started, I concentrate on the MB goal, since you have to complete all 3 MB objectives to reach Valinor, and I often happen to complete the ring modes while working on the MB objectives. (You must complete the MB objectives, not the ring mode objectives to reach Valinor.)
I hear ya, I think I was part of that last discusion too
Stacking a MB with Witch King just feels like a waste to me; the mode is just very demanding even with the help of a MB. Gandalf vs Sauruman is one I like to pair with FOTR.
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Needham, MA