LOTRO F2P has begun!

[Ack]

Couldn't really say that I was really looking forward to playing this again, but I didn't ignore turbine's email like I usually do and now, I'm baaaaack....

[Ack]

So far basically same feel as I had before:

The Good:
-nice environments
-interesting features like skirmishes (seems like dailies to me) and "inspirations" that helps you complete group guests by yourself (though haven't tried it yet)
-level xp requirements are changed (my 3 existing chars all jumped up a few levels)
-it seems that existing chars keeps some perks such as no gold cap and "need to buy" quests that were already in my log are still doable (tip here: one forum poster suggests doing somethings while you are a subscriber so you keep some of the gained perks when you downgrade to premium)

The Bad:
-Will need to spend turbine points if I hope to advance much beyond my current level I think, e.g. my lvl 35 minstrel has most of the Northern Down quests in her log but there are also other ones that I'll have to unlock, which means ending up have to buy the whole northern downs quests pack. Need to note that you do get the epic storyline for free. Also, you can get some TPs doing various activities (much effort involved probably)
-still feels like it takes forever to reach the next level
-the official lorebook/wiki sucks (had to find stuff about mounts from somewhere else)

The Ugly:
This F2P is great to get ppl hooked in, i.e. the "basic/beginner" zones are free to play, but I think if you want to play this game seriously, you should either pay a sub or spend lots TPs. The purchasable items are more or less convenience items but falls toward the needed category for serious players (e.g. swift travel to some (most?) places needs to be paid for).

[carrier]

i thought if you had already bought some of the expansion packs you would have access to all of that content already?

I havent had any time to check out LOTRO since it went F2P... But I would be glad to do some group stuff w/ you guys. Might have to set up some gimicky, Elders LOTRO night? I know Gary LOVES gimicks

[mts]

alrighty! logged in... usurped leadership of the kinship.. then... after having accomplished so much... logged out.

[carrier]

Crap! I forgot to stay logged in! My reign of power is over...

/wrists!

[Morgan]

You sons of bitches!

[carrier]

So i logged in...
Apparently I am a premium member since I bought the adventurer pack (which included both xpacs). And it doesn't look like a I need to pay a monthly fee to keep that status. The cool thing is that I still have access to the new classes and the high level areas, 2 free character slots, and some shared bank space. And it looks like I still have my 5 bag slots.

The bullshit thing is that even tho I have access to the high level shit, I have to purchase all the lower level shit in order to level up so I can get to the high level shit. Makes no sense to me...

I have over 3k turbine points, so I can just buy what zone I am questing in. So I WAS questing in the North Downs, and was about 1/2 done with the zone... now I gotta use points to finish the area. The real kick in the nuts is that a large number of the quests I have are group quests. But I can at least finish the quests I already have in my quest log. Just cant get continuation or new quests unless I unlock the area.

They did make some good UI improvements. And you can access the store right there in-game, while you play. And for those pesky deeds, you can purchase booster buffs that double the speed in which you earn deeds. Which I assume if you kill one wolf, for example, it counts as 2.

You can also buy XP boosters in two flavors - one gives you a set amount of rest XP, another gives you +25% xp from monsters for a certain amount of time, like for 15, 30, or 45 minutes.

And many, many other things to spend points on, like permanent stat boosts, boost in virtues, more bank slots, etc, etc. Lots of things to spend points on.

[mts]

wow... great info, carrier. sounds like the micro-payments aren't burdensome but they are frequent. hehe. might as well throw in $15 to get some turbine points. and then see how long that lasts. if you get a month's worth of content out of it, i suppose its worth it.

i haven't bothered with combat so far.. was somewhat daunted by the number of toolbars that i've forgotten how to use.

[bokou]

i think naldak could be swayed to play this - I think he has the game and was talking about how it's F2P the other day. I complained that I didn't have the game but wouldn't probably buy it just because it was free - even though I don't play any games at the moment

[carrier]

i think naldak could be swayed to play this - I think he has the game and was talking about how it's F2P the other day. I complained that I didn't have the game but wouldn't probably buy it just because it was free - even though I don't play any games at the moment

its free - you dont have to buy it, technically.

[mts]

saw a hilarious commercial for lotro this weekend..... a gandalf looking guy stands in front of a crowd and declares "YOU.... SHALL NOT... PAY"....

i haven't found a youtube link of this yet....

[Trick]

You mean this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JztbiHaaMUY