LOTRO Update 48.5 Release Notes: Midsummer 2026
LOTRO Update 48.5 brings new additions to the 2026 edition of the Midsummer festival for The Lord of the Rings Online. The patch releases on June 11, 2026 after 9 am to 1 pm EDT maintenance.
Key Takeaways
The Midsummer festival has gotten its 2026 update with new rewards and new content! The new content for 2026 is a new horse race available on the Furtherholm festival island.
New 2026 Midsummer Festival Rewards
- Cloak of the Flowering Sun
- Hooded Cloak of the Flowering Sun
- Tunic and Trousers of the Flowering Sun
- Dress of the Flowering Sun
- Flowering Sun Garments – Gift-wrapped Selection Box
- Tome of the Eagle-Own of the Flowering Sun (also available for Mithril)
- Elk of the Flowering Sun (also available for Mithril)
- Garden Chair of the Flowering Sun
- Garden Table of the Flowering Sun
- Zajâni Sitting Gazebo
- Zajâni Wall Fountain
- Ornate Zajâni Wall Fountain
- Zajâni Well
- Small Zajâni Bird Bath
LOTRO Hub Midsummer Festival Guide
Our first original festival guide comprehensively covers the Midsummer festival including detailed walkthroughs of every single Midsummer quest in Minas Tirith, Furtherholm, Eriador, and in Volume V.
Patch Contents: Update 48.5
View SourceHere are the Release Notes for Update 48.5, released on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Of Special Note:
The 2026 Midsummer Festival has arrived!
The festival runs from Thursday June 11th starting at 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) until 3:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Wednesday July 1st. New rewards are available for barter, including Flowering Sun avatar cosmetics, Elk mount, Eagle-owl cosmetic pet, and housing decorations. Read our guide to the event on LOTRO.com! |- Editor’s note: also check out our Midsummer event guide! -|
At this year’s Midsummer Festival, the freebooters of Furtherholm are introducing a new horse race, the Shield Isles Midsummer Run! Race around the tropical paradise of Zír Aktar and earn Midsummer tokens. Complete the race enough times to become a seaside sensation and earn extra Midsummer Tokens, 500 Virtue Experience Points, and the title Sea Horse-master. To begin the race, speak to Lêkhar, the Shield Isles Race Master, on the west side of The Cracked Flagon. To get to Furtherholm, talk to Ikhajât in front of the City Stables in Minas Tirith (Midsummer). She can also be found at the Party Tree, Thorin’s Hall Inn, inside The Prancing Pony and The Festival Garden in Duillond.
News and Notes:
- Monsterplay: Gothmog’s Mace fire FX is now only visible when the weapon is visible.
- Trait Tree Panel – UI content selection no longer shifts when the panel size exceeds the screen size.
- Trait Tree Panel – Trait dependancy arrows scale better with the panel size.
- Tooltips for UI elements correctly scale with the Tooltips UI scale slider again.
Closing Thoughts
While the Midsummer 2026 additions are thinner than suggested by the Q2 letter to the players, there are still new reasons to check out the event! If you join Midsummer, don’t forget to check out our comprehensive Midsummer festival guide!
