Turbine just posted the second “Ask the Dev Team” feature. It covers classes, crafting, PvMP and skills, among other topics. Here’s a small sample:

Q: Why are the loading times so crazy for crafting panel? I have 8GB of ram, Core 2 overclocked at 4+GHz and I still get a few seconds of frozen game every time I access the crafting panel for the first time after starting the game.

A: We have changed how the crafting panel is loaded and displayed with Siege of Mirkwood. You should see much better performance as a result.

Q: With the up and coming DirectX 11 with Windows 7 — Are there any plans to incorporate some of its specific tech like you had with the DirectX 10 features that are optional?

A: AMD’s recent announcement of their first DirectX 11 video cards included a mention that LOTRO was adding DX11 support. You will not see it with Siege of Mirkwood, but you should expect it to arrive sometime next year.

Q: Where does Mirkwood fit, size wise, with previously released regions?

A: Mirkwood is roughly 75–80% of the size of the Northdowns.

Q: Do you ever use auction prices to determine whether there is enough of an item? Or, alternatively, do you note if something never appears at the auction house?

A: We often run reports for specific types of items, if we want to gain some insight into rarity – that usually includes how many of that item are up for sale in the AH.

Be sure to check out the full post for even more details.