Hmm, I am going to go against the grain and say that I don't particularly like this move. I am hesitant about the damage that I suspect this might do to one of lotro's greatest assets , its community. We'll see how it pans out but its certainly put a slither of doubt in my mind about my future in regards to lotro
LOTRO to go 'free to play' in the autumn....
- Thread starter n111ck
- Start date
If you read the lord of the rings books and liked them, LOTRO is nerd heaven. If you never read the books, it's still a great MMO with an immense world, great atmosphere and storyline. They really did a good job of realising Middle Earth.
Also, the graphics are superb. The draw distance alone had me gaping, none of the fog or moutains suddenly appearing out of nowhere that you see in other games. Weather effects are excellent, especially rain. MUCH smoother FPS than AoC as well, puts it to shame.
The F2P model rescued Dungeons and Dragons online without ruining it, and that's made and run by the same people (Turbine). F2P isn't necessarily bad, but it has to be done right. Read : exercise restraint in what you stock in the item store.
Lotro does need a population boost. If they spread the word/advertise sufficiently then this should really help. Just like a real, physical shop you have to get people through the doors and let them see and experience the product(s) before they buy. Charging for entry puts people off.
F2P and/or real, BIG free trials are the way forward, imo. Just look at the responses here - "free? I'll try that out for sure."
Also, the graphics are superb. The draw distance alone had me gaping, none of the fog or moutains suddenly appearing out of nowhere that you see in other games. Weather effects are excellent, especially rain. MUCH smoother FPS than AoC as well, puts it to shame.
The F2P model rescued Dungeons and Dragons online without ruining it, and that's made and run by the same people (Turbine). F2P isn't necessarily bad, but it has to be done right. Read : exercise restraint in what you stock in the item store.
Lotro does need a population boost. If they spread the word/advertise sufficiently then this should really help. Just like a real, physical shop you have to get people through the doors and let them see and experience the product(s) before they buy. Charging for entry puts people off.
F2P and/or real, BIG free trials are the way forward, imo. Just look at the responses here - "free? I'll try that out for sure."
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D&D hasn't suffered at all community wise, but that's because the way it plays is very anti-WoW, for want of a better word. It's so different that a lot of players locked into the standard mmo mindset get annoyed with it and don't stay. The newb area has a lot of questions like "where I go to kill mobs?" and "why is my wizard crap?" 
Lotro on the other hand is immediately familiar, and will get swamped by kiddies. I just hope they stay away from the RP server
Lotro on the other hand is immediately familiar, and will get swamped by kiddies. I just hope they stay away from the RP server
Someone asked this very question on the official forums and the official answer was that if you have excess characters after the adjustments are made they will still exist but you will have to pay extra to access them, which is outrageous if you ask me. No idea how they decide which of your characters are the extra ones though, age of creation I guess.
They've got a FAQ up mostly for current/past LOTRO players
http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=335135
Looks like you keep anything you've had before, be it gold over the 5g limit or extra items in bags, the only thing you loose is the access to extra characters over your limit. Plus anyone who is subscribed from 30th of June to the f2p release gets some bonus points.
The base 5 characters listed is just like the initial release of LOTRO your two extra slots which you got through either Mines of Moria or the adventurer pack will remain yours.
http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=335135
Looks like you keep anything you've had before, be it gold over the 5g limit or extra items in bags, the only thing you loose is the access to extra characters over your limit. Plus anyone who is subscribed from 30th of June to the f2p release gets some bonus points.
The base 5 characters listed is just like the initial release of LOTRO your two extra slots which you got through either Mines of Moria or the adventurer pack will remain yours.
D&D hasn't suffered at all community wise, but that's because the way it plays is very anti-WoW, for want of a better word. It's so different that a lot of players locked into the standard mmo mindset get annoyed with it and don't stay. The newb area has a lot of questions like "where I go to kill mobs?" and "why is my wizard crap?"
Lotro on the other hand is immediately familiar, and will get swamped by kiddies. I just hope they stay away from the RP server
Probably be an influx of gold sellers using the free accounts too, something which to date lotro has nicely avoided
Caporegime
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- 1 Mar 2008
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Oooh. Now I'm interested.
thats good, don't have time to go on official forums, still at work
yeah i got 2 slots with moria and 2 with mirkwood pre-order.
guess its time to fill the remaining 2 slots i have with guard and rk so i have all the classes even though i don't really like either of them
Associate
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That was a close one. I was considering buying a lifetime sub before the end of the month. I don't see any value going lifetime sub unless it means every future expansion is included with the VIP package at no extra cost.
They do say on the official forums that VIPs can use their free store points to "buy" expansions , thereby effectively meaning that they get them for free
Associate
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tbh i was horrified when i first saw this on the launcher, however it seems that they've thought it through quite well. it seems that VIP and premium are the existing founder and lifetime subs, so in essence nothing has changed for those existing subscribers (other than the shop thing and turbine points).
as a f2p player, you can't get past 50, can't max out your char, can't get LI's, radiance or participate in end game raids. means you have kind of half the game (unless you've previously bought everything and then go f2p). means all the lower areas will be busier i guess.
as a f2p player, you can't get past 50, can't max out your char, can't get LI's, radiance or participate in end game raids. means you have kind of half the game (unless you've previously bought everything and then go f2p). means all the lower areas will be busier i guess.
As long as its busy with the right type of people then I don't mind.
Where did you bring it to?
Associate
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Haven't tried an MMO since I tried out Dark Age of Camelot about a decade ago.
Never thought I would try one again...but this has me tempted!
Never thought I would try one again...but this has me tempted!