# Lord of the Rings Online goes Free to Play **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960 "2010-06-04T18:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/1 "2010-06-04T18:14:24Z")
My heart did skip a beat when I first [read this.](http://www.lotro.com/news/709-announcing-the-lord-of-the-rings-onlines-move-to-free-to-play-) Hopefully the standard of the game remains the same, but my experience with free MMORPGs doesn’t bode well. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/2 "2010-06-04T18:41:28Z")
I can’t read the article at work but I found an article on a different site. > **[Lord of the Rings Online goes free-to-play](https://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2010/06/04/lord_of_the_rings_online_goes_free_to_play)** > > Warner Bros. has announced that its hit MMO Lord of the Rings Online will move to free-to-play starting in September. > > The publisher tried a similar strategy last year ... If what that article says is true then fuck Turbine. I paid $15 a month for the first year I played and then they offered lifetime accounts at $200 at the one year mark for beta players, which I was, so I bought one. And if you have to pay for weapons then how the hell do you get weapons? Just hope for a lucky drop? Fuck that. Speaking of weapons what about crafting? I have my bow making skills maxed out for a level 50 hunter player and the bow I am using is one I made. Are they going to break the crafting system for weapons and armour? Becuase with crafting you will not need to pay them money for weapons and armour. I hope more information comes out and things can be cleared up because I am not liking this at all. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/3 "2010-06-04T18:48:57Z")
Lord of the Rings Online just jumped the shark. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/4 "2010-06-04T18:50:41Z")
I think it’s a little early to scream and tear your hair about the business model, since they haven’t announced it yet. As you point out, it would be pretty foolish to try to make radical changes to core mechanics of the game. Really, what I expect here is A) Expansions will (continue to) cost money. B) All the various content stuff you used to get for free (New land areas, and the ‘content’ portions of ‘book’ releases) will now cost money C) There will be a shop that allows you to spend real money on ingame items like weapons, armor, and horses and whatnot. None of that harms the existing subscriber base unless you’re the type to get upset that the item you slaved over and raided and camped for can now be bought for $25 US. I do feel a little bad for folks like you who paid the ‘lifetime’ rate - though less so for you, since you’ve already gotten your money’s worth if you’ve been playing since beta (Game came out more than 3 years ago. 3 years at $12/month = 36\*12=$432\>$200 you paid.). Maybe they’ll give lifetime subscribers free “VIP” service. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/5 "2010-06-04T18:51:00Z")
Sorry for the broken link. [Here’s the correct one](http://www.lotro.com/news/709-announcing-the-lord-of-the-rings-onlines-move-to-free-to-play-). Apparently the cash shop is for perishables, consumables, and no raid gears and such. You can also buy access to other quest hubs and the Warden/Runekeeper classes. But I guess the issue is the community. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/6 "2010-06-04T19:42:38Z")
Honestly I’m not that upset. Just a little annoyed. I’m mostly playing WoW these days. Like **Airk** said I have gotten more than what I paid for so thats not a big deal. The loss of never having to pay for anything again that came with getting the litetime account is what gets to me mostly. At that time I had enough money to get the lifetime account so I got it thinking that in the future there may be times when I’m low on cash and can’t afford the monthly fee for WoW so then I could go and play LOTRO since it no longer required a monthly fee from me. And I guess with them going free-to-play I will still have that luxury. I’m not jealous that others will now get to play stuff for free I had to pay for to play and I don’t raid so I’m not upset that others might now be able to buy my Uber-Sword-of-Uberness that I spent 300 hours of raiding to get. Mostly I’m worried about the “being able to buy weapons” thing and crafting. Will I still be able to craft my own weapons and armour? Will I still get weapon and armour upgrades from quest rewards? I’ll read **CoI+3’s** link when I get home since it is blocked here at work and hopefully that will help to clear up some things for me. I am wondering about the Warden/Runekeeper classes. I already have a character of each. Am I going to have to pay to keep the classes or will it just be new subscribers that will have to pay to get access to those classes. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/7 "2010-06-04T19:46:47Z")
My problem would be with the buyable items. The game is now directly rewarding people based on how much money they have instead of skill/time investment. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/8 "2010-06-04T23:15:33Z")
Note that Lifetime members get 500 points / month Apparently you can even buy expansions with points, wonder how much they are. chart: > **[Home | The Lord of the Rings Online](https://www.lotro.com/home)** > > The Lord of the Rings Online Brian ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/9 "2010-06-05T00:08:24Z")
Ok, I just got done reading the FAQ and differences between the free-play, premium and VIP accounts at LOTRO. All my fears are gone and I am very satisfied with how they are implementing this. Lifetime account holders and people who are already paying the monthly fee and who continue to pay the monthly fee things will stay the same and there will actually be some perks given to us like **N9IWP** mentions with the 500 points per month. The only limitations are on the free-play and premium accounts. Premium accounts are people who do not pay a monthly fee but do spend money at the Turbine store for stuff. Here is what the FAQ says about what the store sells. > [@](#): > > “What is the LOTRO Store? > The LOTRO Store is a new feature introduced with LOTRO Free-to-Play. It is seamlessly integrated into the game and can be accessed at any time directly from the game interface. The Store offers a wide selection of consumables like health potions and other convenience items such as additional storage slots, concierge services such as extra character slots or premium classes, cosmetic items such as clothing and emotes, and premium content such as expansions to the game. The LOTRO Store has more than 2,500 items! These items can be obtained in exchange for Turbine Points, which can be purchased in the Store or earned through gameplay.” So I don’t think you have any worries **AClockworkMelon**. It does not seem that people who buy stuff will have an advantage gameplay-wise. Having the extra storage space and character slots would be awefully nice though. Potions might be an advantage but you can make your own in the crafting system so if you put some work in as a free-player that should be no problem. I already make all my own potions. I was worried about the crafting system but from my reading it looks like they are not changing a thing. So as one who seemed the most worried I can say that I am satisfied and I think for us who are already playing that things will be fine and shouldn’t change besides the perks they’ll give us. ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play/541960/10 "2010-06-06T21:50:49Z")
While I was more than a little dismayed at first, once the initial shock wore off and I actually dug into the FAQ I found myself actually looking forward to this. DDO:Unlimited was a big success for them and is going like gangbusters. Putting a little fire under LOTRO wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. I haven’t seen any indication they’re going to be abandoning their adherence to the lore, trading gear for cash, or devaluing the crafting market, so I’m not ready to accept all the doom and gloom some people are spreading.