Wait, wut? LoTRO F2P. Yes... Lord of the Rings Online goes Free-to-Play

[TheVrolok]

Interesting.. I'll have to look into this.

 

[zerocool84]

I saw Mines of Moria and another pack for $10 each. Wondering if I should pick them up right now. Is there only 2 sets to the game? Mines and something else?

 

[blurredvision]

A guy at work is a long time LotRO player, him and his wife. Gonna have to gauge his thoughts on this come Monday. Should be interesting.

 

[paperfist]

Why are they having a beta for F2P?

 

[Schadenfroh]

I played it years ago for a few months, fun little WoW clone, but the PvP was so far removed from what it should be, I got bored and quit.

 

[SunnyD]

I played it years ago for a few months, fun little WoW clone, but the PvP was so far removed from what it should be, I got bored and quit.

Sounds perfect. PvP as an afterthought to a PvE game... guess I'm going to give it a go then!

 

[lupi]

Why are they having a beta for F2P?

to test the store and different plater category features.

 

[Nintendesert]

This to me is a really good trend for these games, at least the ones that are good. Now we can try out changes, see if it is good, and if it is, buy in for the month/lifetime or however much you want.

The playerbase will hopefully grow and all that. Warhammer probably could really use this system to try and bring people back in.

There are too many games demanding a subscription fee for me to justify playing more than 1 or 2 MMOs. This allows something like LOTRO to pull me away from something else.

 

[Merad]

Long time LOTRO player here. I'm somewhat torn on the F2P thing. It will definitely bring new players to the game is probably necessary to help keep the game alive so that Turbine can follow the storyline to the conclusion. I am concerned that F2P will bring an influx of WoW-kiddie types and hurt LOTRO's community, which has generally been more mature than average so far. Also concerned that Turbine may start targeting those groups more and venture away from the lore-accuracy that they have been striving for. I guess I'll stick around to see what they do either way, since I'm already a lifer.

I saw Mines of Moria and another pack for $10 each. Wondering if I should pick them up right now. Is there only 2 sets to the game? Mines and something else?

Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood are the two expansions. AFAIK SoM includes MoM, so you only need it.

 

[tk149]

I have not played LOTRO, but am looking forward to the F2P model.

I am a longtime pay-subscriber to Turbine's other child, Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO). I can relate details of DDO's F2P model, which based on the OP's link, I would guess is how LOTRO's F2P will be like.

Cliffs: Free-2-Play is like a very long and large demo. If you stick with it for a very long time, you can open up the entire game without paying real money.

1. The first taste is free - In DDO F2P, you can access the most of the lower-level content for free. You can re-run quests as many times as you want. You use "Turbine Points" to purchase "Adventure Packs." The "Adventure Packs" contain additional quests/instances. You can pay real $$$ to purchase Turbine Points.

2. I've heard that you can easily achieve level 10 without buying any Adventure Packs. The highest character level is level 20.

3. After level 10, Free content is rather sparse, and some of the most popular quests must be purchased with Turbine Points.

4. DDO has a "Favor" system. Basically, the more quests you complete and the higher the difficulty level of the quest, the more "favor" you earn. Everytime you earn a certain amount of Favor, you get free Turbine Points credited to your account. I have no idea if LOTRO has something similar, but I hope so.

5. Someone did the math, and figured out that with enough grinding, you can earn enough favor to earn enough Turbine Points to be able to purchase every Adventure Pack available. They did say that it would take awhile though, and require multiple characters. I do believe that some people take this route.

6. VIP (Paying) subscribers get 500 "free" Turbine Points per month. I usually just save up to buy more bank slots or +2 Tomes.

7. VIP's get 8 character slots per server. F2P get 4, I think, with the option of buying more. VIP's get access to all the races and classes (although some must be unlocked with favor), F2P must pay for a few.

8. DDO was dying before F2P, but there was a diehard core group of players. The community tended to be more mature than WoW's. There was a server merge, and then for over a year, there was no new content. Then Turbine rolled out the F2P model. We got a huge influx of players, and new servers were opened. Many of them were (and still are) immature and unwilling to learn. Many others have proven a good fit for the more mature DDO community. Overall, it's a plus.

I hope I get picked for the LOTRO beta.

 

[Eluros]

Side note, I'm the fellow that made the stickied thread, "Answers to Your Questions", found here:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=335135

Note that it isn't a personal blog or anything, and someone else already linked from this topic to the thread. If you have any questions that the thread didn't answer, I may be able to help, and could even put your question in the first post there.

Have a great day!

 

[lupi]

In lotro the free peeps have a hard level limit of 65. Also I believe free peeps can't play monster in pvp, which means they'd get raped if they play pvp.

 

[Eluros]

In lotro the free peeps have a hard level limit of 65. Also I believe free peeps can't play monster in pvp, which means they'd get raped if they play pvp.

Not sure what you mean... but it doesn't sound correct. Yes, it's true that "freeps" (standard players) are currently capped at 65; however, monster players are capped, as well. Any subscriber can play as a "freep" and a "creep" (a monster) on the same subscription. There is no reason why a freep would necessarily lose a spar against a creep; it largely depends on the freep's skill/gear/traits and the creep's skill/rank.

 

[lupi]

No subscribing members are capped at level 50. Monster chars are all level 65. Even at 1-5 odds chances are the group of 50's are getting raped.

 

[Eluros]

No subscribing members are capped at level 50. Monster chars are all level 65. Even at 1-5 odds chances are the group of 50's are getting raped.

You are reading it incorrectly. The base for subscribing members is 50; if you buy the Mines of Moria expansion it is 60, and the Siege of Mirkwood raises the cap to 65. Anyone who is already level 65 will not lose access to anything they paid for (as long as they keep their subscription active-- the same as the game is now).

 

[zerocool84]

Long time LOTRO player here. I'm somewhat torn on the F2P thing. It will definitely bring new players to the game is probably necessary to help keep the game alive so that Turbine can follow the storyline to the conclusion. I am concerned that F2P will bring an influx of WoW-kiddie types and hurt LOTRO's community, which has generally been more mature than average so far. Also concerned that Turbine may start targeting those groups more and venture away from the lore-accuracy that they have been striving for. I guess I'll stick around to see what they do either way, since I'm already a lifer.



Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood are the two expansions. AFAIK SoM includes MoM, so you only need it.

Oh ok cool thanks but what about Shadows Of Angmar? Should I jump on that too??? It's only $5 at Amazon.

 

[Eluros]

Oh ok cool thanks but what about Shadows Of Angmar? Should I jump on that too??? It's only $5 at Amazon.

Shadows of Angmar is included in Mines of Moria; just buy the latter, as it includes the former.

 

[lupi]

But in order to advance beyond level 50 they will need to buy an expansion, purely playing for free will lock them in at 50.

Not only that, but it seems the "adventure packs" as it relates to lotro will mean you have no quest available outside the books or those zones you have purchased. You could get into the mid 20's with those, but I know I wouldn't want to grind to twice that solely on mob kills alone.

 

[Eluros]

But in order to advance beyond level 50 they will need to buy an expansion, purely playing for free will lock them in at 50.

Not only that, but it seems the "adventure packs" as it relates to lotro will mean you have no quest available outside the books or those zones you have purchased. You could get into the mid 20's with those, but I know I wouldn't want to grind to twice that solely on mob kills alone.

Free players (and even premium players) will be unable to enter the Ettenmoors, so only players paying a subscription ("VIPs") will be able to engage in Player versus Player (Player versus Monster Player, as it's commonly called, or PvMP). The level 50 cap isn't an issue for freeps entering the moors, because the only freeps (a word meaning "Free People", not "Free Players") who subscribe and thus can get to 65 are able to enter the Moors.

And all players will have access to the Volume I Epic Storyline. This is a series of quests ranging from the prologue (level 1) to level 50, and are all soloable. So, while there would certainly be grinding involved if you didn't spend actual money, it is still possible to quest, even at level 50, without spending a dime.

 

[lupi]

Wow, all players regardless of subscription status have access to the book line. Amazing, almost like I said that. Still doesn't give squat for xp, particularly since free also has no rest xp, in the grand scheme of killing a couple million mobs to level to 50 without buying quest either through the packs or the actual published product.



Hmm, can't enter pvp at all, wonder why everyone was just talking about them not able to play as monsters and possible adjust the faction balance. Quite a large element of max level game play to not have access to even for a person playing without paying.

 

[lupi]

Lol, I see now where the problem is. While the chart list it as MP (Monster Play), most people think of it in the standard PvMP. So when they said no MP, just about everyone though it meant just no MP in PvMP. Was pretty funny that in one of the threads I saw one of the first replies after they clarified their fubar someone asked why don't they fix their chart to list pvmp vice mp.

 

[Eluros]

Wow, all players regardless of subscription status have access to the book line. Amazing, almost like I said that. Still doesn't give squat for xp, particularly since free also has no rest xp, in the grand scheme of killing a couple million mobs to level to 50 without buying quest either through the packs or the actual published product.

You're right-- it would be very grindy, and take a long time. However, you will be able to earn Turbine Points through gameplay, and use those points to buy content. It's been confirmed (see the thread I linked to earlier) that you will be able to buy most anything from the store without spending cash, if you're willing to commit the time to earn the Turbine Points. It is obviously designed, though, to encourage purchase of points; this is a triple-A MMORPG.

Hmm, can't enter pvp at all, wonder why everyone was just talking about them not able to play as monsters and possible adjust the faction balance. Quite a large element of max level game play to not have access to even for a person playing without paying.

There are many false statements being spread; that's why it's so important to fact check and be able to cite sources. And, those who aren't at 65 aren't max level, so it's not an issue of a large element of max level gameplay. Those who hit 50 and want more should, presumably, subscribe (becoming VIPs) or buy the content packs they want, so they can level/explore further.

 

[SunnyD]

Guess who just got his F2P beta key...

 

[irishScott]

Hmmm. An MMO I might actually consider playing.

 

[ElFenix]

join me on landroval!