Latest LotRO free-to-play screens show new starting areas
by Rubi Bayer 
Jul 29th 2010 at 1:30PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play
The man and hobbit starting areas will have a new look when free-to-play arrives this fall. You'll see some familiar faces, and you'll still have the standard assortment of shadowy figures, backstory, and angry creatures to fight, but things will look a bit different.
Check out the newest addition to the gallery below for a look at the new man and hobbit starting areas.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Silo5 said on 5:38PM 7-29-2010
I'm a big LOTRO fan. I enjoyed the game play and story progression. I took a break shortly after Mirkwood came out hoping to give Turbine some time to add more content for me to savor on my return. The game going F2P is of great interest to me; the only downside I find is the addition of the "pay to quest" setup they're putting in. If it's only a few of the offshoot quests here and there I'll be ok with it, I've done them already. However, if it's prevalent throughout the story and questing experience that I have come to enjoy, then I'll not be as committed to sticking with the new model.
I am willing to give it a shot and I'm hoping for the best.
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Samael said on 6:56PM 7-29-2010
well if you sub you get all the quests still and everything that you had before.
If you don't want to sub then you have to pay for quest packs zone by zone, and once you pay for a quest pack any of your characters can use it.
But buying quests and such is going to be a big part of the game.
No F2P game is really free. It is just a stupid moniker that should be dropped IMO. But if you do F2P, I believe this is the best way to do it. Giving the people who want to sub a choice as well.
mpmp0 said on 7:53AM 7-30-2010
I'm sorry I purchased a lifetime subscription. if I had known (or they has told ) they were going F2P, I certainly would not have paid for this game.
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Samael said on 6:49PM 7-29-2010
Well did you look at the benefits that you will be getting as a current LT sub?
VIP for life as well. Which means the same as LT sub, with 500 TB points every month to spend in the store. Although I hope there are no pop ups or such that is constantly bugging me to get to the store. You also receive all the quests and everything that you had before.
I know that is not the same thing or not what you signed up for, but things really should not change much for you. Although I say that, take what I say with a grain of salt and go check things out for yourself and come to a conclusion, because I am awfully fond of this game and I tend to be ultra positive.
Anyways thought you should know about these things for LT subs. They did not completely abandon us, just the path is no longer strewn with as many roses as we thought it would be.
Jade Effect said on 7:14PM 7-29-2010
The one thing I really regretted is buying the box, which basically went toward paying for the development cost. Now, Turbine had recouped enough development cost from stupid early supporters like me, and open the game for everyone else.
I'm happy for anyone who's looking forward to and enjoying the free-to-play. For me, I'll never buy another Turbine game box.
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Sol Kyoshiro said on 7:23PM 7-29-2010
Guys like you anger me so much. You have no idea what your talking about. They went F2P because the population can no longer sustain the game on a subscription basis. If a company can charge $15 a month they will, its obviously better. But F2P has its own benefits as they learned from DDO. Sure you can play for free but your GREATLY limited in what you can do. The optimal way is to buy from the market or have a sub.
Going F2P basically opened up the game to those people who can't afford a standard sub, or don't want to. But once in the game people will love it and spend money, just like DDO.
You want to get made at someone? Get made at gamers for not playing one of the best made MMO's out their. Don't get mad at Turbine for doing what it has to do survive.
Do you get made at a car company when the value of your car goes down? Because someone 3 years can get it for 5k cheaper? Yea didn't think so.
Samael said on 7:37PM 7-29-2010
@Sol Kyoshiro
as you can tell from my previous comments that I am a huge fan of turbine and lotro. Getting that out of the way I can tell you that you are completely wrong. The devs themselves have stated that they were not hurting subs wise and that the game was doing well. They went f2p not because the game needed to survive but because they saw the opportunity. They saw how successful ddo was and wanted to earn more money. They came out and said all of that. Hence why you are wrong.
mpmp0 said on 12:40AM 7-30-2010
simply put, i did not purchase a lifetime subscription to a F2P game.
this is not the game that i subscribed to. period.
yes, i'm aware of all the little "goodies" that will be available.
not interested.
and since they changed the game's makeup so dramatically, i contacted Turbine and asked if i could legally sell my membership to someone who wants it. i was told no.
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