LOTRO to relaunch as free to play?

[charmtrap]

I would absolutely drop cash on DDO, but I have not ever been able to get the in-game Store to work. It’s just a blank box. Very annoying.

[Balasarius]

@charmtrap

I would absolutely drop cash on DDO, but I have not ever been able to get the in-game Store to work. It’s just a blank box. Very annoying.

Check this thread - Maintenance | Daybreak Game Company

[kerzain]

You get what you pay for.

[charmtrap]

@Balasarius

Check this thread - Maintenance | Daybreak Game Company

I’m pretty sure I went through all the threads I could find on the issue when I had it installed to try and fix it. Nothing ever worked. At this point I’ve just given up on DDO. There’s enough to play out there without hassling with technical issues.

[Nephrinn]

This is great news considering I like LOTRO, but don’t like it enough to constantly be paying $10-15 a month for it. Now if only Warhammer Online would get a clue and do the same thing.

[rrmorton]

Well, that’s awful timing. I just re-upped my subscription (3 months for $30) after getting back into LOTRO with the free weekend they just had. Urg.

[RickH]

@rrmorton

Well, that’s awful timing. I just re-upped my subscription (3 months for $30) after getting back into LOTRO with the free weekend they just had. Urg.

Yeah, I’m feeling like a real chump for signing up for 3-month chunks and then playing WoW instead.

[Demolira]

After seeing the limits on the free accounts, I don’t think I’ll have a problem continuing to pay a subscription cost. If I can use the points to buy expansions, though, it’d be great.

[Telefrog]

Welcome VIPs!

[Blackadar]

@rrmorton

Well, that’s awful timing. I just re-upped my subscription (3 months for $30) after getting back into LOTRO with the free weekend they just had. Urg.

Why is it awful timing? Doesn’t seem like anything really changes if you have a subscription.

[TheWombat]

You don’t have to actually sell the gold, though; you just make it worthless by offering the stuff you’d have used gold to get. So, instead of people buying 1000 gold to surf the auction house, you simply sell the +5 Vorpal Sword of Bunny Slaying for fifteen bucks… Again, not focusing on Turbine in particular, just the general idea. I think the more companies get into this a la carte idea the less relevant the gold farmers will be.

@Balasarius

They’re not selling gold in the Turbine Store, though.

I’m glad Turbine is doing well, and I’m having a lot of fun with DDO. Still waiting for these profits to improve the game, though. The UI is horrid. And with F2P, I’ve run across more 10-year-olds in six months than I did in five years of WoW. You know how annoying it is listening to a 10-year-old on voice chat who won’t shut up? And because the UI is so bad, you can’t even mute them.

In addition, as a VIP I receive 500 points a month. However, there’s no record of that. And Turbine has screwed up in the past by not awarding me my monthly 500. The Turbine Store keeps track of my purchases… but not points coming in.

[Balasarius]

@TheWombat

You don’t have to actually sell the gold, though; you just make it worthless by offering the stuff you’d have used gold to get. So, instead of people buying 1000 gold to surf the auction house, you simply sell the +5 Vorpal Sword of Bunny Slaying for fifteen bucks… Again, not focusing on Turbine in particular, just the general idea. I think the more companies get into this a la carte idea the less relevant the gold farmers will be.

But they don’t sell that, either. The gear they sell in the Turbine store is generally crap. It’s at best low-level twink gear you’d only need if you were starting fresh on a new server. There’s some cosmetic stuff that will give you +7 haggle or some such, but it won’t help you kill the bunnies any faster.

[SlainteMhath]

I cancelled my 3-month $30 recurring sub a couple months back as I hadn’t played in like six months or more at that point. When I did the math I realized I should have gone lifetime ($200?) shortly after getting into the game, as even paying only $10 a month I would have saved about $100 over the course of the time I had an open account.

Now I wonder what the deal will be with the free-to-play for folks like me. I purchased both Moria and Mirkwood, so technically I own those expansions and should have access to them without being required to pay an additional fee should I return as a free-to-play player. That means technically the entire game should be free-to-play for me up to max level, as those expansions included increased level caps. Obviously any additional content added once they go free-to-play I should have to pay for, but it seems like this would result in a lot of people like me essentially playing the game for free.

[SpoofyChop]

@Slainte Mhath

Now I wonder what the deal will be with the free-to-play for folks like me. I purchased both Moria and Mirkwood, so technically I own those expansions and should have access to them without being required to pay an additional fee should I return as a free-to-play player. That means technically the entire game should be free-to-play for me up to max level, as those expansions included increased level caps. Obviously any additional content added once they go free-to-play I should have to pay for, but it seems like this would result in a lot of people like me essentially playing the game for free.

I agree with you that what sounds fair is that someone that has stuck with the game and purchased expansions should probably get more consideration on this.

But you and I are thinking like entitlement gamers. We always believe that we should be given a better deal that we actually get.

Turbine is thinking like a business and I seriously doubt that they’re going to see it the same way.

[triggercut]

@Telefrog

I love LotRO. As a subscriber, as long as none of this impacts my experience, then I’m all for whatever they want to do to increase the player count.

Bingo. My thoughts exactly. Make the game healthier and not affect my experience as a subscriber and hard to see how anyone loses here.

[Ayr]

This is pretty cool. While I loved the world building and the atmosphere the game mechanics simply weren’t good enough to justify a full time subscription, for me. With this I might be tempted to plunge in now and again just to experience the world, and even though I don’t plan on spending any money, who knows?

[Mark_Crump]

Now, we just need a Mac client.

[Bluto]

@Slainte Mhath

Now I wonder what the deal will be with the free-to-play for folks like me. I purchased both Moria and Mirkwood, so technically I own those expansions and should have access to them without being required to pay an additional fee should I return as a free-to-play player. That means technically the entire game should be free-to-play for me up to max level, as those expansions included increased level caps. Obviously any additional content added once they go free-to-play I should have to pay for, but it seems like this would result in a lot of people like me essentially playing the game for free.

The chart off the main page comparing types of accounts (sorry, can’t link yet) seems to suggest that you’ll be able to play anything you purchased.

• Purchasers of the Mines of Moria™ expansion get access to the Mines of Moria region and content, premium classes (Rune-Keeper and Warden), legendary items feature, Tier 6 crafting feature, 2 extra character slots and a level cap of 60. Purchasers of the Siege of Mirkwood™ expansion get access to the Siege of Mirkwood region and content, a level cap of 65 and the Siege of Mirkwood skirmishes.

[Telefrog]

So, what is this beta about? As a current subscriber, do I have to use that exe instead, or do I continue to use my normal one?

[Kirian]

@Slainte Mhath

I cancelled my 3-month $30 recurring sub a couple months back as I hadn’t played in like six months or more at that point. When I did the math I realized I should have gone lifetime ($200?) shortly after getting into the game, as even paying only $10 a month I would have saved about $100 over the course of the time I had an open account.

Now I wonder what the deal will be with the free-to-play for folks like me. I purchased both Moria and Mirkwood, so technically I own those expansions and should have access to them without being required to pay an additional fee should I return as a free-to-play player. That means technically the entire game should be free-to-play for me up to max level, as those expansions included increased level caps. Obviously any additional content added once they go free-to-play I should have to pay for, but it seems like this would result in a lot of people like me essentially playing the game for free.

I don’t think you’ll be able to do everything (in the original game) as a non-payer any more. It looks like they’re offering some quest lines, and the storyline quests seem the most obvious, as something you buy in the item shop.

They did that in DDO too. I actually don’t mind it so much with the way DDO quests work. How it will work with LotRO is up to Turbine.