Lord of the Rings On-line MMO - Free 7 Day Trial

[UberNeuman]

I saw this on Joystiq.com and thought I share it with all of you....

http://www.lotro.com/trial

/see ya in the Shire!

Update: If you've enjoyed the trial, Amazon.com has a deal for the full version for 26.99/free shipping - deal is only for today 9-5....

LOTR Online deal at Amazon...

 

[Balt]

Must.. resist.. temptation..

 

[chinkgai]

you have my bow.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Amusing game, unfortunately I have not had time to play it since classes have started.

 

[CrazyGamer]

Been waiting for the free trial of this for a while...

Thanks!

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: CrazyGamer
Been waiting for the free trial of this for a while...

Thanks!

You could have just PMed me for the free trial key:brokenheart:

 

[DefDC]

Oy.. I just got over my WoW addiction...

 

[erwos]

I started the download this morning. Doesn't ask for CC information or anything. Looking forward to playing it over the next week.

 

[crimson117]

I played the beta. This game was REALLY fun. It didn't feel quite as solid as WoW (for example, WoW as a Rogue feels more reactive and instant, compare to lotro) but I could chalk that up to my computer being a bit out of date, and that it was still in beta. Otherwise all the quests were fun, mobs were challenging, storyline was awesome (far better than wow).

I might just have to try this trial again to get a taste of the shipping version

 

[havuk]

I tried this for 7 days on a buddy pass and enjoyed the quests and other things i found to do, anyone know if I can just sign up and start paying monthly or do I have to go buy the retail game to continue?

 

[doggyfromplanetwoof]

you have to buy a 'cdkey' which is basicly buying the game.

 

[Scrounger]

7 days free LOTRO is definitely hot. Hardcore Tolkien fans especially should have a look.

Be sure to check out the monster play after your first couple of hours it takes to get a character to level 10. Monster play is the pvp aspect of the game and you can sample it from the underdog "monster" side right away, and then if you stick with it past level 40 again from the Free Peoples' point of view. It's a blast on my server, but the servers seem to vary in how the population distribution goes so you have to look for a good balance. Unfortunately I ignored this aspect for a couple of months as pointless. Ironically it is probably the best part of the game for me now.

However, if you get the chance to take the founder's pricing of lifetime USD199.95 pricing or the USD9.99 monthly rate, I would recommend against taking the lifetime. Unless things change drastically, you'll be bored by the time 20 months is up and 10 bucks is a real bargain by current industry standards. It's not a bad game, just not very deep. Even if you are totally into the OCD-driven gear scavenger hunt (there's nothing wrong with that!) I bet you'll be yawning after 18 months at the outside. Minor content updates have come every couple of months, and they are still fleshing out some of the classes, so who knows.

 

[Haui]

Is this the next big thing?

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Haui
Is this the next big thing?

It certainly is not the "next" big thing, it has been out for several months. But, it has been getting great reviews and is a fun game.

 

[cougar78]

The game isn't too bad I bought a lifetime membership, a special preorder deal, I just need to get time to play it.

 

[bostonkarl]

"Is this the next big thing?"

No, it isn't next big thing, but it is a darn nice game with a solid online community. Particularly if you were into the books (or movies), then the quests become very interesting -- you'll actually spend time reading them and getting caught up in the lore.

The game had a remarkably solid launch, which is not exactly common in the MMORPG sphere (cf, the complete annd utter state of disaster and drama provided by Vanguard:Saga of Heros for contrast). The play is solid and the artwork lovely. Review sights have generally been very favorable, and rightly so IMO.

This is NOT the game for you if you're looking to level up as fast as possible to raid end-game conent (there really isn't much). LOTRO is much more about the journey and the lore, and so attracts folks with a different mindset than "let's raid Onyxia and ZG 500 times to get gear" [gratuitous WoW reference, sorry]. The combat is different than most FPS, and takes getting used to; initially it drove me nuts.

As a freebie, it is definately worth a look. Enjoy the opening quest lines -- it is the hook that has kept me there. You'll feel a bit on rails for the first couple of hours, which I know bothers some folks, but once you're past that your pretty much free to do what you like. Say hello to Lobilia Baggins in the Shire; she's just as nasty as you would expect ;-)

 

[michaels]

I downloaded it and installed it but never received a key..wtf

 

[VanTheMan]

Is there a big difference between the 3.9GB client and the 5.6 GB client? I just want to know if it's going to be worth the extra time it takes to download.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: VanTheMan
Is there a big difference between the 3.9GB client and the 5.6 GB client? I just want to know if it's going to be worth the extra time it takes to download.

One probably includes the special high resolution texture pack (there is an option not to install it on the twin DVDs that the game ships on).

 

[UberNeuman]

Originally posted by: michaels
I downloaded it and installed it but never received a key..wtf

You don't need a key for the trial - you'll need to confirm your account with the e-mail sent to you - and then you'll need to enter your account name and password after clicking the icon to start the game....

 

[Tweak155]

I thought LOTR was a lot like WoW game play style/looks. I never liked WoW. Didn't get hooked by this game either. FF11 was good, challenging. More grouping going on. Too much soloing in WoW and LOTR possible...to level up fast in FF11 you needed a group and a good group leveled a lot faster than a decent group.

Whatever suits your taste though. FF11 was difficult in the same respect because if you couldn't find a group - you were out of luck, which ultimately is why I quit. But WoW and LOTR are fighting the same boring monsters over and over without much chance of dying if you are smart about it.

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Whatever suits your taste though. FF11 was difficult in the same respect because if you couldn't find a group - you were out of luck, which ultimately is why I quit. But WoW and LOTR are fighting the same boring monsters over and over without much chance of dying if you are smart about it.

Yeah...you must have missed one of the 2.6k threads about the LOTR undying title.

 

[Tweak155]

Originally posted by: lupi

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Whatever suits your taste though. FF11 was difficult in the same respect because if you couldn't find a group - you were out of luck, which ultimately is why I quit. But WoW and LOTR are fighting the same boring monsters over and over without much chance of dying if you are smart about it.

Yeah...you must have missed one of the 2.6k threads about the LOTR undying title.

Numbers don't make a game better. There are plenty of reasons it could be more popular, but rather than offending people - I won't get into it.

 

[Scrounger]

Not sure if you didn't give it enough time or what, but the solo grind gets maddeningly slow as you progress in levels. There's a lot of content you can do solo, but it slows way down and you will have to fill in the gaps with countless hours of NPC-smashing to get to the next soloable quests. OTOH, if you can consistently do the group content at challenging levels you pretty much have a red carpet to the end game. Consistently finding compatible folks after the same goals is probably the biggest challenge.

 

[iseestars]

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Originally posted by: lupi

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Whatever suits your taste though. FF11 was difficult in the same respect because if you couldn't find a group - you were out of luck, which ultimately is why I quit. But WoW and LOTR are fighting the same boring monsters over and over without much chance of dying if you are smart about it.

Yeah...you must have missed one of the 2.6k threads about the LOTR undying title.

Numbers don't make a game better. There are plenty of reasons it could be more popular, but rather than offending people - I won't get into it.

I guess you've never actually played lotro. The 2.6k threads are about how maddening it is to try and get the undying title and how impossibly easy it is to die once in the first 20 levels and have to start all over again.