Lord of the Rings Online - store

[gamerguy2]

Hello.

I have seen several threads regarding LOTRO. I have been playing with my Son. We both have 21st level characters. The LOTRO store has several expansions for sale. Moria is very expensive but North Downs Trollshaws and Angmar are not too expensive. Moria I think is for levels 51-60 anyway.

Recently I thought Moria and Mirkwook became "free" content. Does anyone know how this content works? Or is it simply you buy it if you want to play it. We have been around Bree the whole time. Where are the other player centers? Rivendell, Eregion or Mirkwood (Lothlorien probably).

Anyone have any advice on where to go and what content is worth buying?

 

[Soccer55]

Basically the way it works is that when sign up for free, you get full access to quests/deeds in Ered Luin, The Shire, Bree, and Lone Lands. You can travel to any other area (except Moria, I believe, maybe Mirkwood as well) as a free/premium player, however, you will not be able to do quests or deeds that originate in those areas unless you purchase that area's quest pack. When you go into the LotRO store, you can select the quest pack to see the recommended levels for that area.

The Moria expansion (not quest pack) is so expensive because it not only gives access to Moria, but also 2 extra character slots, and unlocks the Rune-Keeper & Warden classes. I'm not sure if the expansion is necessary to get the legendary items feature or if the Moria quest pack suffices. I started as F2P earlier this month and I've had fun just running around the free areas.

 

[sdifox]

seems lotro is down, completely. I can't even bring up the main site.

 

[JoshGuru7]

At level 21 you both are probably just about finished in Bree, however there may be a few more things to do in the Old Forest or Great Barrows. Here are areas where most people quest in next:

Trestlebridge (North Downs). You can reach this city by following the road north of Bree, and the city itself has a few quests in the 19-22 range. Most people do Trestlebridge directly after Bree.

Forsaken Inn (Lonelands). You can reach this inn by following the road that initially heads south of Bree and then turns east. The Forsaken Inn has quests in the 22-24 range, and quest givers will direct you onwards to other quest hubs in the lonelands such as Candaith's camp and Ost Guruth that will carry you through the late 20's. Finally the northeast corner of the lonelands (GA) has a lot of group quests in the late 20's range.

Esteldin (North Downs). Once players finish with the Ost Guruth area they are usually in the mid to late 20's in terms of levels. Esteldin is the main city in the North Downs and has quests in this range, and will also send you to two outlying quest hubs (elf and dwarf encampments). You should be able to quest to 32 easily, at which point your next step is to back track down through Bree, east across the Lonelands, and start on the Trollshaws zone (32-36).

 

[lupi]

I beleive if you purchase a retail copy of the moria version then you get the moria/mirkwood portion for your account.

 

[manko]

JoshGuru7's post is a good overview of the zones you should be looking at.

If you're a free or premium player, you should head for Lone Lands first, since it's the only free level 20+ zone. You should be able to get into the 30s there, then you can purchase the Evendim or Trollshaws quest pack. If you're on a budget, you can probably get by without North Downs, since the quest level ranges overlap with Lone Lands.

If you're a VIP subscriber, you can try all the zones and quest wherever you like.

I beleive if you purchase a retail copy of the moria version then you get the moria/mirkwood portion for your account.

No, Moria and Mirkwood are two different expansions and separate purchases. Lothlorien used to be included with Moria, but that changed a few months ago.

If you're buying quest packs one by one, you don't need to pick up Moria until you're around level 50.

 

[lupi]

Thinking about it, I believe the recent free access to moria is what some are finding confusing. They made changes to some areas that until recently required you to buy something to be able to actually access the area. Now they have allowed anyone access to all areas as required to complete the epic/book quest line. This just gets you access to the area and ability to complete/pickup the book quest but not to the other quest in that area etc...


Need to lof in and see the latest changes though. Been about a month and a half for me as I had to wipe both computer hard drives and just finished the lotro reinstall.

 

[SunnyD]

Here's a hint: Wait for quest packs to go "on sale" in the store. Generally they rotate packs out on the store sales every week, plus if there's a holiday near you'll usually find a HUGE discount on various quest packs.

 

[nageov3t]

seems lotro is down, completely. I can't even bring up the main site.

something definitely blew up yesterday.

I was at work, but I saw a bunch of facebook updates from LotRO about how they were in the data center working on getting everything back up.

:thumbsup: for communication, at least.

 

[Feneant2]

Yeah, I was playing yesterday and chat went down then everything went down. It was disconcerting since every Turbine website was also down! It took me hours to realize that I had them on Twitter where I saw the issue. I could not log in 8 hours after it went down last night either.

Back to the question at hand, it's like someone said, wait for a sale. Around Christmas considering the sale and extra points or whatever was active, Moria was something like 10$ compared to 30$. They have frequent sales so that if you play VIP you would easily have enough points to buy Moria and Mirkwood (which I bought for 1100 points just recently I believe) without spending any extra money.

The game is much larger than I thought. I had never been to Evendim until yesterday while traveling through to Rorochel (or whatever it's called). I didn't even know those 2 areas- enormous as they are- were there! I haven't even discovered how to get to Moria at all for that matter.

 

[lupi]

Unless they've sold out recently, I'd imagine that you could still get the moria retail package pretty cheap.

But for the rest, waiting on a sale for quest/zone packs is a good idea. Not sure how much they cost, but I've seen them listed on a rotating basis at 50% off.

 

[gamerguy2]

Thanks for the info. Currently im cruising through 22nd level and my Son's character is 21st. Its a good game. I bought a few items at the store. They are adding Isengard and the surrounding area? Ill try trestleridge and maybe purchase Evendim (I hear good things about Evendim). Also, the games imagining of the Ruins of Weathertop and other Arnor ruins is like I heard "A faithful recreation of Tolkiens world".

 

[Nik]

Hello.

I have seen several threads regarding LOTRO. I have been playing with my Son. We both have 21st level characters. The LOTRO store has several expansions for sale. Moria is very expensive but North Downs Trollshaws and Angmar are not too expensive. Moria I think is for levels 51-60 anyway.

Recently I thought Moria and Mirkwook became "free" content. Does anyone know how this content works? Or is it simply you buy it if you want to play it. We have been around Bree the whole time. Where are the other player centers? Rivendell, Eregion or Mirkwood (Lothlorien probably).

Anyone have any advice on where to go and what content is worth buying?

While you can travel to Moria and Mirkwood for free (now), you cannot do any quests in those areas without the quest packs (note: NOT expansion packs, save your money and just buy the quest packs). In the past, you could not even travel in those areas without owning the expansion packs.

The Epic quest chain can be done for free no matter what the region.

 

[Craig234]

I long ago bought LOTRO collector's edition and have never installed it. Wonder what it has over the F2P version now, except presumably 30 days of 'premium'.

 

[manko]

I long ago bought LOTRO collector's edition and have never installed it. Wonder what it has over the F2P version now, except presumably 30 days of 'premium'.

Unfortunately, not much. After 30 days of free VIP play, you would lose access to quests outside of the free zones (up to Lone Lands). Then you'd have to buy the rest of the quest packs or continue to pay a monthly fee.

The original game doesn't provide much benefit over a fresh free to play account, except for the 30 days quest zone access (up to level 50), then VIP downgraded benefits if you stop paying and become premium: 5 bags, no gold cap, 1 extra character slot, 5 auction slots and the ability to trade silver/gold. During your VIP time you can also get the riding skill for free with a quest at level 20.

 

[Craig234]

Unfortunately, not much. After 30 days of free VIP play, you would lose access to quests outside of the free zones (up to Lone Lands). Then you'd have to buy the rest of the quest packs or continue to pay a monthly fee.

The original game doesn't provide much benefit over a fresh free to play account, except for the 30 days quest zone access (up to level 50), then VIP downgraded benefits if you stop paying and become premium: 5 bags, no gold cap, 1 extra character slot, 5 auction slots and the ability to trade silver/gold. During your VIP time you can also get the riding skill for free with a quest at level 20.

In that case, does it make sense to and can you start a F2P account and level the free conntet, and then use the paid retail code to upgrade for 30 days?

Seems a waste to use the 30 days on stuff that's free. Maybe the collector's edition still has a little bonus item.

I also bought Mines of Moria retail (got a steal for I think $10 at Best Buy).

 

[manko]

In that case, does it make sense to and can you start a F2P account and level the free content, and then use the paid retail code to upgrade for 30 days?

Yes, that's the best way to maximize your VIP. Create an F2P account and play one or two characters to at least level 20, then activate your retail code.

I also bought Mines of Moria retail (got a steal for I think $10 at Best Buy).

Well, that's good too. Make sure you activate Mines of Moria after activating the original game, then I think you may get a total of 60-days VIP time (1 month for each box).

With Mines of Moria on your account, you'll get an extra 2 character slots. That makes a total of 5 left after your VIP time runs out. You also get access to create two more classes. Be sure to create and log in on all 5 characters during your VIP time, so you can qualify for the automatic perks on all of them (5 bags and gold cap unlock).

Mines of Moria also gives you permanent access to the Moria zone quests, even after your VIP time runs out.

So, play to 20 or 30 as F2P, then activate your retail codes. During your 30 (or 60) VIP days, level from 30-50 on at least one character, then you can keep playing from 50-60 in Moria indefinitely.

 

[Craig234]

Yes, that's the best way to maximize your VIP. Create an F2P account and play one or two characters to at least level 20, then activate your retail code.

Well, that's good too. Make sure you activate Mines of Moria after activating the original game, then I think you may get a total of 60-days VIP time (1 month for each box).

With Mines of Moria on your account, you'll get an extra 2 character slots. That makes a total of 5 left after your VIP time runs out. You also get access to create two more classes. Be sure to create and log in on all 5 characters during your VIP time, so you can qualify for the automatic perks on all of them (5 bags and gold cap unlock).

Mines of Moria also gives you permanent access to the Moria zone quests, even after your VIP time runs out.

So, play to 20 or 30 as F2P, then activate your retail codes. During your 30 (or 60) VIP days, level from 30-50 on at least one character, then you can keep playing from 50-60 in Moria indefinitely.

Thanks for the post. What's the problem if I don't level 30 to 50 during the VIP period? I guess you're saying I should install Moria before it's up to make chars to get perks?

 

[manko]

Thanks for the post. What's the problem if I don't level 30 to 50 during the VIP period? I guess you're saying I should install Moria before it's up to make chars to get perks?

After your VIP time runs out, you'll have to buy each quest zone to level between 30 and 50. During your VIP time, you have free access to those quests.

With your VIP time, you should get 500 Turbine Points included, plus you will naturally earn more Points along the way. So after a month of play, you should be able to save enough Points to buy at least one or two of those level 30+ quest zone packs.

You will get the perks (5 bags, no gold cap) from activating the original game. The thing is, you need to log in and play characters during the VIP time to get those benefits. If you create a new character after your VIP time runs out, they will only have 3 bags and have a 5g gold cap.

Activating Moria will give you the two extra permanent character slots and access to two more classes. I think you can upgrade your account with the original game and then Moria on the same day and still get 30 VIP days for each box.