Lord of the Rings Online goes free-to-play

[quote name='ATK']In this beta do the levels cross over to the servers coming out soon?[/QUOTE]
Are you asking if your beta characters will transfer to the live servers? Turbine usually has separate test servers and even a separate game client for the test servers, I doubt they'll transfer beta characters to the new live server(s).
 
[quote name='redline']Are you asking if your beta characters will transfer to the live servers? Turbine usually has separate test servers and even a separate game client for the test servers, I doubt they'll transfer beta characters to the new live server(s).[/QUOTE]

Yeah that is what I was asking. Didn't think so but better to clarify then go on unknowing. Thanks.
 
[quote name='Thorgouge']Well, I hate to say it but after playing MMOs for many years and being in top raiding guilds, I say pve is a big a fat joke. PVE is never difficult, the encounters are all insanely fucking easy and the only hard part is finding a group of people who can pay attention for however long the fight is. I'm sure the ppv in LOTRO is trash because the people that play it do so for the pve because they are mindless shitbags. Yeah, years of wasting time wiping in MMOs has made me bitter but also made me realize how insanely stupid people are.

Oh and apparently you still need to pay to play this game after level 50 and the game contains tons of micro-transactions for items and other bullshit. Free? I think not.[/QUOTE]

Lol.

Enjoying your Arena Season in WoW?
 
[quote name='Drizzt']And just in case you're interested, PvE in MMO terms stand for Player vs. Environment. :)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, thanks, I had no idea actually. I was thinking "Earth", no... "Everyone"? No, that makes no sense. I gave up ;).
 
It amuses me that people actually think "Free to play" games are really "free". It's just a way to make even more money out of people, by "optional" microtransactions that aren't so optional in practice.

IMHO, it's a way to get more money out of the existing player base, especially the lifetime members. Sure you, you get 500 Turbine points worth of stuff, but what if you actually need 1000 Turbine points to actually play the game the way it was before.

What they do is nerf the game in various ways, then sell you the buffs back in the cash shop. At twice the price you were paying before.

But you don't feel cheated, because it's "free to play".

If P.T. Barnum were alive today in the world of the internet, he'd basically own the world.
 
I had fun in the beta before game launched, but now its free I can see myself wasting time in the game. But feel bad for the people who bought those lifetime subscriptions lol

I will not be buying any upgraded stuff though. Just questing and exploring :p
 
All of you complaining that you the lifers are losing something here need to look more closely at the differences between the "free" game and the VIP experience, which is what the lifetime and paying subscriptions offer.

The free game only gives quests in three areas of the game, limits voice chat and characters, the total amount of gold you can have at any time, and many other various nerfs that make it hard to enjoy the game past level 30. VIP members have access to everything they did, plus get the new external game currency for free each month.

The reason to go Free in a mature game like this one, whether successful or not, is to draw in a new audience to not only try the game and maybe become subscribers, but also to not lose the new subscribers they are getting because no one is around in the beginning areas to help them.

I've played a few MMO's that get to the stage where 90% of the player base is at 80% of the level cap or higher. The only new characters running around seem to be alts for someone's main. This seems like a legitimate way to pump some life back into areas that are basically barren now.
 
[quote name='DiscoJer']
IMHO, it's a way to get more money out of the existing player base, especially the lifetime members. Sure you, you get 500 Turbine points worth of stuff, but what if you actually need 1000 Turbine points to actually play the game the way it was before.
[/QUOTE]
To play the game the way it was before (with all the content currently in the game), you won't need any Turbine points at all. If you are a VIP (lifetime member or paying subscriber) you'll still have access to everything you have access to now, including any expansions you have purchased already. Going forward though, you'll need to pay Turbine points for new content when it comes out. Whether the 500 points/month will be enough to cover that new content remains to be seen. I'm guessing no.
 
Really good game, played it for about 6 months off and on. It and Guild Wars are the only 2 MMO's I've ever played, The Old Republic will be #3.
 
[quote name='DiscoJer']It amuses me that people actually think "Free to play" games are really "free". It's just a way to make even more money out of people, by "optional" microtransactions that aren't so optional in practice.

IMHO, it's a way to get more money out of the existing player base, especially the lifetime members. Sure you, you get 500 Turbine points worth of stuff, but what if you actually need 1000 Turbine points to actually play the game the way it was before.

What they do is nerf the game in various ways, then sell you the buffs back in the cash shop. At twice the price you were paying before.

But you don't feel cheated, because it's "free to play".

If P.T. Barnum were alive today in the world of the internet, he'd basically own the world.[/QUOTE]

This is Cheapassgamer, when an MMO means F2P it means F2P, not a penny more.
 
[quote name='JUDOHAWK']This is Cheapassgamer, when an MMO means F2P it means F2P, not a penny more.[/QUOTE]

So what you're saying is that these MMOs aren't F2P? Sounds like you're agreeing with the guy you responded to.
 
No, I'm saying that the MMO will be F2P, but no one here will fall into the microtransaction trap.

Hence what I said, F2P for people means F2P. If they have to pay for extra stuff they wont.
 
[quote name='JUDOHAWK']No, I'm saying that the MMO will be F2P, but no one here will fall into the microtransaction trap.

Hence what I said, F2P for people means F2P. If they have to pay for extra stuff they wont.[/QUOTE]

It true. In ddo you get 25 store points for getting 100 favor. People will make a character, get him to 100, delete, repeat. An adventure pack starts at about 250 points.
 
And this is why I never buy anything that doesn't say FREE on PSN either. Microtransactions suck. But I guess they have to have some people paying to keep the servers going, huh?

It just wouldn't be me.

The only MMO I was looking into was Star Trek Online and only if you could betray the people you're playing with and switch sides mid game without having to have two accounts or characters.

But since I don't think you could do that, I'll stick to my console games.
 
I played LOTRO for almost a year, ended in Feb. The problem with this move is they aren't really fixing anything. Just catering to lifers, opening the barebones part of the games to the masses and then have this weird secondary citizen thing going on with Premium Members.
 
I am glad to see this game go free to play. I would of seriously considered playing this except the free accounts have a gold limit. What the fuck?

I used to be a WoW player off and on, and while they did charge a monthly fee, I had no problem paying it since I knew with my $15 a month I had access to everything, no limitations. I am not a fan of here is a free game, but you need to pay us to unlock stuff, I would rather pay once to get it all.
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']I am glad to see this game go free to play. I would of seriously considered playing this except the free accounts have a gold limit. What the fuck?

I used to be a WoW player off and on, and while they did charge a monthly fee, I had no problem paying it since I knew with my $15 a month I had access to everything, no limitations. I am not a fan of here is a free game, but you need to pay us to unlock stuff, I would rather pay once to get it all.[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind that the economy in LOTRO is much different than in WoW. My level 45 champion never had more than 3g on him at a time because 3g is a lot of money in LOTRO. I believe the limitation is mostly to hurt any exploiting the free-to-play model would allow for gold farmers and sellers, but it should have very little impact on normal players. Plus if it's like DDO, you will get premium status forever the minute you buy a single order or points or a subscription, and premium status removes a lot of those restrictions. You can further remove that gold restriction via an item in the store, according to that FAQ, so I don't think a gold limit is going to be a huge deal.
 
What's wrong with microtransactions? Of course the game is not free-to-play-everything, Turbine runs a business and they need to make money. Getting mad over something you don't need to do seems a little silly.
 
Interesting thing I noticed on the beta website about the Premium and VIP accounts: "priority login" for paying players. If there is a queue for an overloaded or popular server, does this mean that those who pay will automatically get bumped up in line? Free players could be waiting in a long line to access a server during peak hours if server populations are high.
 
[quote name='Spacepest']Interesting thing I noticed on the beta website about the Premium and VIP accounts: "priority login" for paying players. If there is a queue for an overloaded or popular server, does this mean that those who pay will automatically get bumped up in line? Free players could be waiting in a long line to access a server during peak hours if server populations are high.[/QUOTE]

Yes that is correct, if there is an overloaded que, the paying players (VIP and Premium) will have access before the non playing players.
 
[quote name='L0RDTemplar']Keep in mind that the economy in LOTRO is much different than in WoW. My level 45 champion never had more than 3g on him at a time because 3g is a lot of money in LOTRO. I believe the limitation is mostly to hurt any exploiting the free-to-play model would allow for gold farmers and sellers, but it should have very little impact on normal players. Plus if it's like DDO, you will get premium status forever the minute you buy a single order or points or a subscription, and premium status removes a lot of those restrictions. You can further remove that gold restriction via an item in the store, according to that FAQ, so I don't think a gold limit is going to be a huge deal.[/QUOTE]

Premium status just gives you a 5g limit The gold limit needs to go. It can make getting some mounts difficult and auction house items (which are limited for preimums either). Not liking the setup at all for premium members.
 
[quote name='Nesrie']Premium status just gives you a 5g limit The gold limit needs to go. It can make getting some mounts difficult and auction house items (which are limited for preimums either). Not liking the setup at all for premium members.[/QUOTE]

If you are past the point in the game where you need 5g, you have probably played enough that 3-4 bucks worth of points to remove the gold limit isn't unreasonable.
 
[quote name='L0RDTemplar']If you are past the point in the game where you need 5g, you have probably played enough that 3-4 bucks worth of points to remove the gold limit isn't unreasonable.[/QUOTE]

No amount of spending will lift the limited chat, auctions and mail for even premium members if Turbine continues as is. 3 or 4 bucks, I find that highly unlikely. They wanted 20 for a mount and some inventory space with the adventure pack. I used to get "deals" for DDO that often entailed 60 dollars.
 
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