Lord of the Rings Online or Tabula Rasa?

d3moliti0n

Hey there

Well today I plan on buying a new MMO but I will probably only be playing it for a few months until Warhammer Online/Age of Conan arrive. I was looking at Lord of the Rings Online or Tabula Rasa but I can't decide between them. I know they are two completely different games in terms of gameplay but I am looking for something thats not long term but if I do reach end game there is something to do and a fun PvP system and character progression at level cap so that you can get better gear and weapons.

Thanks for your help and time

fusionx212

it's a matter of preference lotro is fun but can take time. so on tht basis TABULA RASA cause it's a pick up and play game pvp is pretty none existant. not to sure on lotro pvp maybe someone else will highlight this for you. but from my experience of both games tabula rasa was easyier to pick up and play but receives a bad rap due to some bug issues

d3moliti0n

Oh also, do either of these games let you have your free month of play time without subscribing to the game? Cos I've played a few MMO's in the past were they let you have you free month once you activate your account and then if you don't like it you don't need to pay to play so I would like one that gives your free month before having to pay to keep playing.

fusionx212

yes i believe so.. TR AND LOTRO let you have a month free lotro also offers 14 day free trial

Gravespin

Originally posted by d3moliti0n


Oh also, do either of these games let you have your free month of play time without subscribing to the game? Cos I've played a few MMO's in the past were they let you have you free month once you activate your account and then if you don't like it you don't need to pay to play so I would like one that gives your free month before having to pay to keep playing.

No there is not, if you could tell what other MMO's you have played i would be abit easyer to tell you what game to pick.

- LOTRO got a 7day Free-Trial: lotro.turbine.com/trial why dont you give that a shot.

 

frkhot97

LOTRO is a more complete game, built mainly for the social players in mind (I think). It's EXTREMELY generic fantasy and Tolkien would turn in his grave(*).

TR is still lacking in some areas - crafting and endgame mainly. It is built for the exploring focused player, missing important social tools. For me, the fast-action gameplay is lots of fun, but I can't see it as my "main game".

(*) From the lovely Team Spirit's guild forum (I hope it's okay that I quote you guys):

• A hobbit postman is easily able to deliver 50 gold bars in one go, but is somehow unable to carry both a raspberry and a strawberry at the same time.
• Eating bacon makes you more agile.
• Inflation in Middle Earth is so extreme that by the time you come to sell a gold bar, it is only worth about one silver piece. Hobbits are not the sheltered, insular species many believe. They frequently leave the Shire to have adventures and often attack heavily armed goblin encampments.
• A two handed sword weighs exactly the same as a dagger and takes the same amount of metal to produce.
• Ore is a renewable resource and no matter how much you mine, more will always appear.
• No real racial tension exists between elves, dwarves, hobbits and men. They are happy for you to drop by, or even buy property in their respective communities any time you want. They won't sell you interesting furniture though, unless you complete a huge number of random tasks for them.
• Monsters instinctively know if you are much better at fighting than they are and so will leave you alone.
• You can buy four houses for the price of one pony (no wonder Sam was so reluctant to let Bill go free!)
• Enraged bears are fluent in dwarvish and will shift their attention to anyone that shouts 'Baruk Khazad!' at them.
• Contrary to popular belief, it's actually alright to question the ways of wizards. They will be happy to explain stuff to you over and over again.
• If it weren't for regular culls by adventurers, Middle Earth would be entirely buried under a 10 metre deep layer of boars.

EDIT: Doesn't all MMOs include a month's gameplay? I can't see it as a "Free Month" since you already paid for the darn box.

d3moliti0n

I have played pretty much every pay to play MMO out there but not for that long mind you. I have played WoW (for a year and 7 months, my longest MMO played), EverQuest 2, City of Heroes/City of Villains, Vanguard, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Final Fantasy XI Online, Guild Wars and some other F2P MMO's (which I didn't much care for). EverQuest 2 was alright but a bit too in-depth for only a few months play (which I only plan playing this new MMO as a filler until Warhammer Online/AoC come along), CoH/CoH I liked but the superhero theme got kinda boring after  abit, Vanguard just wouldn't run on my system that well, DDO is too group oriented for my liking, FFXI I didn't like at all cos of the seriously dated graphics and not having a clue what I was doing (and I hated the combat), Guild Wars is alright but easy to get to 20 in a very short amount of time and not much to do afterwards.

What I meant by free month is that some games require you to setup your account and pay £9.99 or whatever the fee may be straight off the bat and you account is activated and so you have two months game time in total but in some other games you register your key and then it sends an email to you saying that you have received your one months free play time and can login and play now, therefore not having to pay 1 monthly fee straight off the bat.

ghostinfinit

Both of these games are 2 different animals naturally ( one being sci fi and one being fantasy)  Having played both quite a bit I'd say try LotRO hands down.  It was a really good time from level 1-50 and the story was really mixed in with your quest progression.  The only reason I don't play any more is there was no endgame content or areas to solo or raid (at the last time I was there) 

When I played TR it was fun at first then you realize how repetitive it is and any enjoyment you get from it is stuff you create for yourself.  The best part of TR is the clan wars feature but there's no official forums so it's few and far between to get them started.  Also if a clan has a reputation of being a really good clan some clans won't go to war with them because they're afraid to get a loss on their record. I'd say the WORST part of TR at the time I left was the fact you had to farm trash mobs for endgame gear.  Drops have random quality and stats. 

I'd like to say that I played both of these games at different parts of last year so there might be new content and such.  Read up on both before you make your decision, best of luck!

rovo

OK I play LOTRO, have played it since it came out. The grind on the hero side is NOT that bad. BUT where the real fun is is creep side . Thats where you will get your PvP fix! Look for Rovok on creep-side vilya server ill help ya out.

 

All I know about tebula rasa  is my guild has played for like 3 weeks and went to another game.

Netzoko

That's like picking between Cancer and Aids.

 

Unknown

Depends LOTRO is a higher quality product but TR is faster and (for me) more fun. 

 

They both have their dry spots but TR's is a bit worse. 

 

If its a temporary game and you can stand some wonky-ness I would fo for TR.  If you can't stand the wonkiness then go for LOTRO.

 

One of TR's biggest problems is the development lacks direction and maturity, so if you don't plan on staying forever this actually tends to bother you less and you can probably enjoy the good parts. 

 

The level1-30 game is pretty fun and bug free, above about 35 or so this beceomes less true. 

 

LOTRO is a quality EQ/WOW type game with a kind of grindy dry spot at 20-30.  Has some good atmosphere and good stroytelling instance epic questing.  Not really much else to say about it.  If you are burned out on WoW or EQ2 I wouldn't really expect to play it for more than a month.  If you love WoW or EQ2 and want a quality variation then it can certainly give you a lot of enjoyment except for the dry spot.

Jrod

In my very little experience with these games Tabula Rasa was just and unpolished LOTRO with a scifi theme instead of a fantasy theme.

pfloydguy84

If you dont plan on playing for any real length of time, seems kinda pointless to play an mmo, as a lot of the fun in an mmo is building up your character and joining a guild.Why not try Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights 2?Or the Witcher?I play mainly mmos myself, but when I became bored with the current mmos, I played Oblivion, and now
Im taking a break from mmos til WAR and AOC, so I'm playing Neverwinter Nights 2.They are great rpgs and a nice change of pace from mmos.But, if you really only like MMOs and that's it, then I suggest LotRO.I played both TR and LotRO myself, and LotRO is definatly the better game.TR has basically no PVP or crafting, and despite them trying to hide it, the combat is the same as any other generic mmo.Once you realize that, the gameplay is boring as hell.

Torak

Originally posted by frkhot97


 
TR is still lacking in some areas - crafting and endgame mainly. It is built for the exploring focused player, missing important social tools. For me, the fast-action gameplay is lots of fun, but I can't see it as my "main game".
 

Nice post but this part I do not agree with, TR has no real exploring. everything is on small, linear, level based maps with premarked POI on them.

It's exploring if you feel that walking around in your backyard is akin to exploring lol.

Its like most other modern MMO's, it takes you on a guided tour of a map while you grind out kill task. Its nothing like the older MMOs like AC or Ryzom.

Of the two, LotR although it basically the same game. Pick a character, follow the NPC's instructions until you are level cap.

Saryk

I say buy them both. You can get TR for $15.00 on Ebay (i did), and get LOTRO for less than that. And have a free month on both.

 

Don't listen to people here. Opinions vary, just like mine. But the facts are if you by both, you will know which one you will keep.

Reklaw

Originally posted by d3moliti0n


Oh also, do either of these games let you have your free month of play time without subscribing to the game? Cos I've played a few MMO's in the past were they let you have you free month once you activate your account and then if you don't like it you don't need to pay to play so I would like one that gives your free month before having to pay to keep playing.

YES!! TR gives you 30 day's free to play when you buy the game. LotrO i'm not sure i myself have hte special edition that comes with 45 day's of free play....tho still not installed the game ...meh and bought it at release. That sometimes happens with me ....sometimes i buy to many games and some sit on the shelve waiting till i feel i want them to play. Similair to my buying a couple of single player games in octobet 2007 but some of them i installed in januari even recently installed Stranglehold...but thats just me...hehe

katriell

Tabula Rasa, because LOTRO doesn't need or deserve any more subscriptions.

Ponico

Can you have your farm and such in Lord of the ring? I heard back in beta that you could and that kinda looked neat lol....

 

Right now, i"m playing Co-Op games with my buddies... serious Sam 2, Ghost Recon 2, Doom 3 (Co-op mod), Some unreal tournament 3 Coop lol....

 

yep... that's the best fun I found until AION and StarGate comes out