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THIS - is the way to do F2P.
caelach
Member UncommonPosts: 113
It is great to see soembody making a game F2P game with honest intent. Turbine has given an awesome playing experience to the masses using a business model that allows for money to be made, yet does not trick or gouge the player. Of course the setting of the game is beyond compare as it is based on the epitomy of what the genre is. Everything from the graphics to the music to the gameplay and on and on are outstanding. It is hard to find fault with this experience. It is immensely enjoyable without spending a dime. But I plan to throw some money their way despite that. They do have to pay some bills after all. Finally, some people just trying to make an honest buck arrive on the F2P scene.
Comments
Agreed its a really well done model and the game is high quality.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
The only thing that sucks for me is that they don't offer monster play for free
No worries it will be in the shop sooner or later and with a bit of work you will be able to get it for free.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
Didn't want to start that debate again but, it's not F2P. A real F2P allows you to play from the beginning to the end-game and have access to all it's in-game content without ever spending a dime.
What LOTRO offers is an Unlimited Free Trial Area. If you want to advance, buy content or sub. That is not to say that this model is bad, in fact, I greatly support it. But is it a Free To Play MMORPG? Hell no.
Since you can play to end-game and have access to all it's content without paying I guess LotrO really is F2P. Unlimited free trial is a poor way to explain it becuase its nothing like what AoC or WAR offers.
Will be even easier with the November update since the cap will be raised to 65 and Vol 2-3 will be available even for people without expansion + the 250 new tasks that you will get for free.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
You people happily making up your own definition of F2P drive me bonkers. Its like talking to a brickwall, do you have to pay? No. Is it a grind/waiting game with sales? Yes. If you can realistically earn the ingame currency needed to buy stuff in the game itself its F2P. You pay for the convenience of not having to grind.
Not to mention next patch introduces tasks(special quests) in every region/questhub for F2P players and removes the need to own Moria/Mirkwood to advance to level 65 or use LIs, ofc the epic questline will also be opened completely. Also to those saying that you are gimped without trait unlocks ... Your not half as gimped as people are with Adept level spells and only master crafted gear in EQ2 or basic unupgraded gear in RoM.
Yeah, Turbine seems to have really well thought out their F2P approach, starting with DDO and continuing with LotRO. Shame that other F2P converts apparently fail to realize this. Also, the fact that you can earn TP ingame for free is a MASSIVE boon to the game compared to other F2P MMOs.
Agree totally. Well done to Turbine! And what's great: it pays off. Number of accounts tripled and revenues more than doubled.
Players respond to this, as many can see how well this system is done.
I managed to get a long-time WoW-playing friend to give Lotro a try as its free now anyway. Within 3 days he'd bought a 60 days timecard and subbed.
It's basically open to anyone. Patient people can work through deeds and specific quests to get the TP and access all content. People that don't need all quests just buy those they want to do, and other people just spend a few bucks to subscribe and get everything.
As a subscriber I don't feel gimped at all by the launch of F2P, which I kinda feared beforehand. Kudo's to Turbine.
Ok , just a thought then:
While I agree that LoTRO has a good F2P model, it should be noted that the game already had a life as P2P title - box sales, sub fees etc. Chances are Turbine has made back the money they put in to produce it and then some. In this case, the F2P model is a way to keep the game populated and profitable in an increasingly competitive market. I am not sure such a model would work for a new game - but it is a good way of keeping it in the black once it has passed its peak.
While im personally not a fan of RoM it has been a huge success aswell. Or is that more of a European thing? Seems to be going strong here anyway.
Oh dear...
It is free to play. You pay for additional content and more game features, there's already plenty of people playing the game happily without spending a penny and building up their turbine points. What you have from Turbine is a very generous offering.
By your own definition, LOTRO is a true F2P title. I have no clue how you compare LOTRO to an unilmited free trial since countless folks have advanced without paying a dime, and this is by design.
Free to play or not, I don't care. Really. No-cooldown pots that you can only obtain via the item shop? Buying stat boosts from the item shop? No thx. Not for me.
I think it's so good F2p..Got the taste back.....I resubbed immediatly...
What a great game, still after all those years!
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Edgar Allan Poe
Who on this forum can say that they have played this game from start to finish without paying a dime?
As soon as there are hordes of Freeps and no creeps they'll offer ti through the shop.....
But they need to make sure it ballances out
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
It is similar to a "Pay-as- you-Go"-model. Perhaps, a "Pay-as-you-Progress"-model would be more accurate description. It is not a F2P-model.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
Wow has better pvp , but its a trade off for being around so many jerks......LOTRO is a nice departure away from the little kiddies......In LOTRO, A guy was spamming for a port , so i gave him one. When he tried to pay me , I laughed and said "we don't do that here, you must be from Wow". He laughed and agreed. He was from WOW......Games are as good as the people in them.........It says on the box....Warning: Experience may change etc... I've had a better experience in LOTRO
Just to clarify, these stat tomes can boost only one of your stats by max 50, which gives you exactly 0.01% advantage at max level. They mean nothing. You can do exactly the same things and be as efficient even if you had 200 less of that stat.
As for the pots, again, a clarification - they do havea CD, 20sec (which is enough for a strong mob ot own your ### anyway if you don't know what youre doing), and they are HoT/PoT pots (which is a far cry from instant no cd heal/power), which are very expensive, and noone is seriously going to use them, nor are they needed for anything.
In other words these items are unnecessary, and have no relevance to neither the free player, nor the subscriber.
After 3 years of playing this game, I stopped months ago, but have now returned as a free player. And to my surprise (I knew the model but wanted to see it with my own eyes), my characters are not limited in any way (except fast travel), I can do all I did before, free of charge, and got a ton of free points retroactively when I logged in (2500Tp ~~ 22$), which allows me to buy most of the quest packs (Evendim is only ~180Tp atm! 75% off), again free, unlocking almost the whole game, or a few future expansions, if I choose not to buy out the low level zones. And I have not even started farming all the points from the deeds on my 7 characters (+2 locked).
Of course it would be *a lot* harder for a completely new player. Grind would be necessary. Yet the 75% off sales from time to time really give you a chance to get it all.
A free player can really be as good and better as a subscriber. All depends on skill, not money. Everything important can be unlocked for points (except monsterplay and fast travel), and points can be farmed, infinietely. So by definition this is free to play with the option to speed it up by paying.
I have my issues with Turbine, but this FTP model does seem the best, by a long shot. Especially for former subscribers. new players will have it a lot tougher than in EQ2X for example, BUT, in LOTRO they can get points in game and unlock everything and raid on par with subscribers, wearing the same gear etc, in EQ2X they can't.
My Guild Wars 2 First Beta Weekend "reviewette" : http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/4944570/thread/349125#4944570
Pay as you go is F2p.
All those mean is a game has micro transaction payment models...
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
I think Turbine has done all the thinking already on what they have to offer in order to earn the f2p status.
And to me the decisive detail is that you can earn the currency needed ingame, you're not forced to pay with cash. If they didn't offer the option to pay with cash I'm almost sure there would be no discussion on that matter.
It is not, if you have to pay for content to advance. Micro-transactions do not always mean mid-session content. In fact, often they just mean about paying for beneficial buffs or items.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
You don't need to pay a dime to unlock everything that LotRO has to offer.
You have to pay for Classes, Gold Cap and Content (Quests and such). If you need to buy those, it's not F2P. A F2P doesn't limit users away from Content unless they pay. Real F2Ps will give you access to all it's content at no cost, and rather focus on fluffs or slight bonus to enhance the experience, without making them necessary for one's success.
If you are locked out of content, like it is the case in LOTRO, than it is not F2P.
Lotr far from f2p and it cost more no to get access to everything then it did before they went to so called f2p.