LOTRO following DDO's lead... and going FreePlay

[Mekon]

http://www.lotro.com/news/709

I'm not sure what to think...

[sifter132]

^Hmm, likewise. I got initially quite excited, thinking 'yeah I'm getting back into this', but on reflection the feelings are mixed. For me personally, I don't tend to give my all when I'm playing a free game. I've tried Guild Wars and DDO and when I know I can play them at any time for nothing, I tend to not play them at all - rather than play them more I think I need a subscription to make me value my time a bit more.

But in saying that - this is a BIG and possibly very important move for MMOs. One of the best regarded MMOs going free? That could shake up the industry a bit, especially if this move is as popular as DDO going free was. Soon ALL MMOs might become F2P after they plateau or when want to encourage new players to join, or maybe even earlier!

Anyway, I'll keep my ear to the ground for when this is going to start.

[coder61]

Well i think its better than paying for a Dead Horse. Turbine have slowed the content releases down for over a year. Players felt ripped off with Mirkwood and mass accounts where cancelled and players left the game.

As with DDO this game may turn around and become more popular now. But i am not sure how player's who payed for lifetime subs will feel ,as i am one not really sure what to think. It was a good MMO but failed in many ways due to Turbine's restraints with Content release.

[zetetic]

Lifetimers will continue to get benefits.
500 points a month to spend in the shop.

Check out the special section: http://www.lotro.com/support/policies/loyaltyreward
If you are a lifetimer, make sure to log in at least once a month up until the release of the free LOTRO.

[Mythor]

I have a Lifetime sub. And yeah... Not sure what to think.
I've not played in many months anyway. Curious to see what they're selling for the Turbine points stuff. Since it sounds like Lifers will have about four bajillion to start with. O_o

Maybe I'll get it reinstalled, finally.

[Scrav]

I just recently purchased the 2 expansions, doh. Now that free to play is announced, I'm not too sure what to think. I've read some horror stories from the DDO implementation.

Even though you still need to buy the expansions, I'm not sure how LOTRO will stand in the future for me. So there is a chance I wasted that money.

The model will be interesting though for the free players, in that a lot of content will still need to purchased as micro transactions.

[Wrangl3r]

Having never played this before I am keen to give it a go! (once it becomes free to play )

[zetetic]

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game ... 292/page/1

[Wyld]

Hmmmmm.

Yeah, two minds .. I want to see "what" 500 points a month offers. I'm a lifetimer as well, and this thought plus the ability for my kids to drop in and have a bit of fun .. tis good

but ..

The devil is in the details ..

[Siveth]

Looks interesting. I played the trial back in Feb and had a blast (got to lvl28). The restrictions for free are a bit...restrictive, but depending on the cost of removing certain things (the gold limit is just absurd) I wouldn't mind fronting up the moolah.

What's the word on aus community/guild activity?

[Mythor]

(the gold limit is just absurd) I wouldn't mind fronting up the moolah.

You do understand the concept of free, right?
The gold limit is there on the totally free accounts as a bar against gold farmers exploiting them. If you're prepared to pay a little money you won't have to worry so much about the gold limit, so it should be fine for you?

[Scrav]

Looks interesting. I played the trial back in Feb and had a blast (got to lvl28). The restrictions for free are a bit...restrictive, but depending on the cost of removing certain things (the gold limit is just absurd) I wouldn't mind fronting up the moolah.

What's the word on aus community/guild activity?

I see a few aussie guilds around in the lower level areas. I'm not guilded at the moment and have been playing casually, so I'm not aware of the situation over all.

[coder61]

Ok here is a link to all those questions in regards to F2P.

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

[Mythor]

LOTRO has housing now? I really should go read up on what I've missed...

[coder61]

It always had housing with personal houses and Guild Houses in Various districts.

A lot of players use this for storage of items and the rent is cheap too.