Maybe coming back

Rollerrat · May 2018

I'm thinking about coming back after several years. Last time I played LOTRO was when the Moria expansion launched. I got couple of characters to Moria level cap (can't remember the max level anymore) and then I quit. Before I start to download the client I have couple of questions:

1. The business model has changed, I find it extremely confusing when trying to figure out what to buy if I want to experience it all 100%. I'm willing to subscribe. So, can you guys give me any pointers what to buy on top of the subscription?

2. My server was Laurelin. Is it still up?

3. I remember reading something about account/server moving and re-activating the account or stuff like that. Is my old account still working after all these years?

4. I think I want to start from scratch with a new character. How is the population especially at lower levels?

Sovrath · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

I'm thinking about coming back after several years. Last time I played LOTRO was when the Moria expansion launched. I got couple of characters to Moria level cap (can't remember the max level anymore) and then I quit. Before I start to download the client I have couple of questions:

1. The business model has changed, I find it extremely confusing when trying to figure out what to buy if I want to experience it all 100%. I'm willing to subscribe. So, can you guys give me any pointers what to buy on top of the subscription?

2. My server was Laurelin. Is it still up?

3. I remember reading something about account/server moving and re-activating the account or stuff like that. Is my old account still working after all these years?

4. I think I want to start from scratch with a new character. How is the population especially at lower levels?

In a sort of desire for a more old school experience, at least old school theme park experience I just downloaded Lord of the Rings Online again.

Since I haven't gone through the final Mordor content it is my thought to start again and level all the way through Mordor unless I can't stand it anymore.

With that said, don't subscribe as of yet. Start over and see if you are enjoying yourself. As long as you owned the game why spend a dime until you know you are there to stay?

Once you start getting to the expansion areas you can make the decision to buy them or not.

But again, why do it unless you are there to stay?

I believe a regular subscription will take care of areas that you start to come upon where you see the turbine coin design over the quest giver telling you that you need to buy it. With the exception of the expansion areas such as moria, mirkwood, rohan, Mordor.

My character is on Brandywine which used to be the most populated server (don't know if this is still true) and I did see some people in the lower level elf starting area.

Saw a guy advertising for a group but he was 110.

My advice is download, play a bit, see if you can find a good kin and go from there.

Since Brandywine seems to still be populated it might be worth it to start there.

I understand that the original role play server has some decent people on it (your old server?) so that might be a decision if you want a more immersive role play experience.

My old account was there so yours might still be. Try to sign in it and see what happens. If you don't get anywhere then you can start over or send Customer Service a ticket.

Po_gg · May 2018

There's a lot of "depends", but let's go in a shuffled order:

4) after such a long pause, starting from scratch with a new character (at least until getting back on track) is always a good idea, I too used to do that when I go back to a paused game.
Population is healthy on low levels as well, the server transfers made the remaining servers fairly crowded.

2) Laurelin is still here, and more crowded than it was (since there's only 2 english Eu servers left after the transfers to take on the load)

3) this might be the problematic point... if you stopped at Moria, and your main was Laurelin, that means you were playing in the Eu, with the Codies account.
2-3 years after Moria (and a few months after the f2p switch) Turbine took over the Eu side of the game from Codies, and moved the servers over to the States. At that time we had to transfer our account onto a Turbine account in order to continue playing. There was a pretty long period to do that, maybe a year even - but that is over now.
What Sovrath said above, try to log in, and if you can't, ask the Support. Most likely your old account is gone, but there are rumours about a few lucky ones who got their accounts back, so the possibility is there. *

1) if you subscribe, then you only need to buy the expansions, since the sub takes care of the rest. For VIP members (subscribers) the game works the same way it did before the f2p.

*but it was almost 8 years ago, even if they still have the backups somewhere, I'm sure it will take some time... and there was also the server consolidation when they "cleared" unused accounts.

edit 2: on a second thought, unless you had a LTA, don't worry too much about the old account. Moria used to be on sale sometimes as low as $5;
your characters would be only half way anyways (the cap was 60 then, and allegedly it will be 120 soon);
with obsolete gear (radiance is gone luckily, LI system was changed too a few times);
looking different (there was a character model revamp too);
and with an unusual gameplay (there were stat revamps, trait revamp, lots of convenience updates, etc.).

Sure, if you had an LTA, keep bashing them until they restore it somehow. Otherwise, just reroll your characters on a new account with your old names, and start anew. Buy Moria when on sale. Level 60 is only a few weeks nowadays... (game is easier on the lower zones, and the advancement is faster)

Rollerrat · May 2018

@Sovrath @Po_gg

Thank you both for quick response!

It's good to know that Radiance is gone and they changed the Legendary Item system. I didn't like at all when they added Radiance stat in Moria expansion. And grinding those LIs was a chore. Nice to hear they have updated the character models as well. Good news

Yeah, I'll just install the client and try to log in with my old account if it's not possible I'll try to contact the support.

How many expansions after Moria?

Sovrath · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

@Sovrath @Po_gg

Thank you both for quick response!

It's good to know that Radiance is gone and they changed the Legendary Item system. I didn't like at all when they added Radiance stat in Moria expansion. And grinding those LIs was a chore. Nice to hear they have updated the character models as well. Good news

Yeah, I'll just install the client and try to log in with my old account if it's not possible I'll try to contact the support.

How many expansions after Moria?

Hey, I almost forgot ...

Now, your mileage may vary but I downloaded the game from their website and had issues. error 201; indicated that the game coulnd't find some files. I tried everything from searching the web. Finally I uninstalled and installed through steam and no issues.

Just a thought.

Scorchien · May 2018

Torval said:

I want to say Moria, Mirkwood, Isengard, Rohan, and Helm's Deep are the xpacs.

You should read Hurin's DIY Lifetime Account thread on the LotRO forums and ask specific questions about what has changed since Mordor and what to expect for the next update. It gives you a pretty good picture with lots of specifics about pricing and when and what to unlock and how to do it to your best advantage.

You can ask about Radiance 2.0 there which is the area affect in Mordor. My LM is only 102 and not there yet for the epic so I don't know the specifics. If you need to restart an account it won't matter anyway.

So basically " Light of Earendil" Is the same Shadow mechainic you have dealt with before by popping Hope tokens to counter for ex...

But now its persistent in areas of Mordor and the fix comes on the gear .. say an Earring with + 16 Light of Earendil on it in addition to the other stats from your class... Its a must in areas of Mordor

Manestream · May 2018

I bought the game + moria + Siege of Mirkwood but lost it all when Codemasters (european holders) decided to give it up and sent it back to turbine. I never got my account back so since then i have never played or returned to the game. Principle of the thing is i refuse to purchase what i had (game + 2 xpansion packs) now i know game is free but each XP pack is bought and i wont buy again. Especially since it keeps jumping round providers, word is its comming back to another EU provider but also the game is not as active as it used to be either.

Rollerrat · May 2018

If I can use my old account can I play _all_ the "Shadows of Angmar" (the base game) and "Mines of Moria" content if I subscribe? I bought only the base game when it launched and "Mines of Moria" expansion after that. Or do I need to buy some more? My account wasn't lifetime account.

If I choose to stay in game is there any sense to buy newer expansions than "Mines of Moria" before my character is at Moria level cap? I mean in some mmorpgs you can get some features/benefits even if your character is not at the level for the newer expansion.

All my links and bookmarks are old. Is there still some kind of account management page or do I have to buy/subscribe by using in-game store or something?

I'm thinking to roll a Lore-master, Captain or Minstrel and just start from scratch.

ScotchUp · May 2018

For people reinstalling the game, don't pick high rez file. Install it after the game is installed. That is how I got around errors on install. Brandywine has become Russian server after their servers were taken offline. Crickhollow is my server, lot of great kinships and people.

For 100 points I recommend getting Stone of the Tortoise, so you slow XP down. I hate running around with grey quests.

Scorchien · May 2018

Torval said:

Scorchien said:

Torval said:

I want to say Moria, Mirkwood, Isengard, Rohan, and Helm's Deep are the xpacs.

You should read Hurin's DIY Lifetime Account thread on the LotRO forums and ask specific questions about what has changed since Mordor and what to expect for the next update. It gives you a pretty good picture with lots of specifics about pricing and when and what to unlock and how to do it to your best advantage.

You can ask about Radiance 2.0 there which is the area affect in Mordor. My LM is only 102 and not there yet for the epic so I don't know the specifics. If you need to restart an account it won't matter anyway.

So basically " Light of Earendil" Is the same Shadow mechainic you have dealt with before by popping Hope tokens to counter for ex...

But now its persistent in areas of Mordor and the fix comes on the gear .. say an Earring with + 16 Light of Earendil on it in addition to the other stats from your class... Its a must in areas of Mordor

Thanks dude. I'm not a fan of it myself. I liked original Hope and Dread. Didn't like Radiance and Gloom. It seems like an artificial way to push people through a new gear set.

I'm still working on what to do about FA symbols, let alone Mordor gear. I guess you can get FA symbols through Big/Epic battles. I need to buckle down and try to learn them. They frustrate me.

Whats annoying for me with it , is i have pieces from Epic Battles for ex , with superior base stats like Agilty .. Vit etc .. and by alot upwards of say 200+ Vit and Agiltity than the Mordor pieces with Light of Earendil on them .. but in Mordor you need it , Outside of Mordor i have to switch out , Now i dont HAVE to but it is a noticeable difference in combat , makes those Epic Battles and t2 t3 Skirms much faster and easier..

But now as you have already surmised its a matter of Backpack and Banking Slots being taken up

heres a quick look '

http://dadislotroguides.com/u21-mordor-lightshadow-system-radiance-2-0/

Rollerrat · May 2018

@ScotchUp

http://www.lotro.com/en/game/download

Do you mean that "Standard Resolution (PC)"?

Scorchien · May 2018

ScotchUp said:

For people reinstalling the game, don't pick high rez file. Install it after the game is installed. That is how I got around errors on install. Brandywine has become Russian server after their servers were taken offline. Crickhollow is my server, lot of great kinships and people.

For 100 points I recommend getting Stone of the Tortoise, so you slow XP down. I hate running around with grey quests.

Im on Crick , a transfer from Old Vilya ... If ya see Ricochet say hi:)

And agree Stone of Tortoise is amust have for anyone wanting to get immersed and take all that LOTRO world can offer ...

Another tip , you may like .. I play with Names oFF "N" and filter the enemies out of the Radar (the red Dots) Makes for a very different and immersive experience .. It will also keep you on your toes:)

Sovrath · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

If I can use my old account can I play _all_ the "Shadows of Angmar" (the base game) and "Mines of Moria" content if I subscribe? I bought only the base game when it launched and "Mines of Moria" expansion after that. Or do I need to buy some more? My account wasn't lifetime account.

If I choose to stay in game is there any sense to buy newer expansions than "Mines of Moria" before my character is at Moria level cap? I mean in some mmorpgs you can get some features/benefits even if your character is not at the level for the newer expansion.

All my links and bookmarks are old. Is there still some kind of account management page or do I have to buy/subscribe by using in-game store or something?

I'm thinking to roll a Lore-master, Captain or Minstrel and just start from scratch.

I can't speak for the EU stuff but everything I purchased is still mine.

Sovrath · May 2018

Scorchien said:

ScotchUp said:

For people reinstalling the game, don't pick high rez file. Install it after the game is installed. That is how I got around errors on install. Brandywine has become Russian server after their servers were taken offline. Crickhollow is my server, lot of great kinships and people.

For 100 points I recommend getting Stone of the Tortoise, so you slow XP down. I hate running around with grey quests.

Im on Crick , a transfer from Old Vilya ... If ya see Ricochet say hi:)

And agree Stone of Tortoise is amust have for anyone wanting to get immersed and take all that LOTRO world can offer ...

Another tip , you may like .. I play with Names oFF "N" and filter the enemies out of the Radar (the red Dots) Makes for a very different and immersive experience .. It will also keep you on your toes:)

I also play with names off and the like.

I've never cared about gray quests. What's the difference really with slowing your xp down or just finishing quests with very little xp other than a color?

Scorchien · May 2018

Sovrath said:

Scorchien said:

ScotchUp said:

For people reinstalling the game, don't pick high rez file. Install it after the game is installed. That is how I got around errors on install. Brandywine has become Russian server after their servers were taken offline. Crickhollow is my server, lot of great kinships and people.

For 100 points I recommend getting Stone of the Tortoise, so you slow XP down. I hate running around with grey quests.

Im on Crick , a transfer from Old Vilya ... If ya see Ricochet say hi:)

And agree Stone of Tortoise is amust have for anyone wanting to get immersed and take all that LOTRO world can offer ...

Another tip , you may like .. I play with Names oFF "N" and filter the enemies out of the Radar (the red Dots) Makes for a very different and immersive experience .. It will also keep you on your toes:)

I also play with names off and the like.

I've never cared about gray quests. What's the difference really with slowing your xp down or just finishing quests with very little xp other than a color?

Well , i think some folks want to enjoy all the quests in the Shire for ex at levelish , so that the combat portions are still challenging and not kicking kittens

Nebless · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

If I can use my old account can I play _all_ the "Shadows of Angmar" (the base game) and "Mines of Moria" content if I subscribe? I bought only the base game when it launched and "Mines of Moria" expansion after that. Or do I need to buy some more? My account wasn't lifetime account.

--- If you sub you get all the old Shadows of Angmar regions (pre-Moria), plus Lothlorien (55-60), Great River (72-75) & Wildermore (83-85) and I think one other in the 100 level range. 'Buying' the old Shadows of Angmar doesn't really count / mean anything since the game went F2p, with the exception that you'd be Premium not F2p if you didn't sub.

If I choose to stay in game is there any sense to buy newer expansions than "Mines of Moria" before my character is at Moria level cap? I mean in some mmorpgs you can get some features/benefits even if your character is not at the level for the newer expansion.

--- If you don't plan on going to Mordor or N. Mirkwood or really anything past Moria then no. You'll still have access to the Epic Quest line up to Helm's Deep and then after Helm's Deep (you have to actually buy Helm's Deep to do the Epic in that area).

I'm one of those that won't be making the trek to Mt. Doom so the only thing I picked up post Moria was Isengard because I wanted to see how the Grey Company quest line continued.

Some of the Expansions do come with extra's like mounts and stuff.

there still some kind of account management page or do I have to buy/subscribe by using in-game store or something?

--- Use the ingame store is your best bet. There is a Web Store too where you'd pay with money vice the points system in game.

Welcome back

Nebless · May 2018

Manestream said:

I bought the game + moria + Siege of Mirkwood but lost it all when Codemasters (european holders) decided to give it up and sent it back to turbine. I never got my account back so since then i have never played or returned to the game. Principle of the thing is i refuse to purchase what i had (game + 2 xpansion packs) now i know game is free but each XP pack is bought and i wont buy again. Especially since it keeps jumping round providers, word is its comming back to another EU provider but also the game is not as active as it used to be either.

When it went to Turbine they had a grace period where you could contact them to get the account swapped over. Some people that didn't do it then have petitioned since then and had their accounts found and restored.

Doesn't hurt to ask.

Rollerrat · May 2018

Nebless said:

Manestream said:

I bought the game + moria + Siege of Mirkwood but lost it all when Codemasters (european holders) decided to give it up and sent it back to turbine. I never got my account back so since then i have never played or returned to the game. Principle of the thing is i refuse to purchase what i had (game + 2 xpansion packs) now i know game is free but each XP pack is bought and i wont buy again. Especially since it keeps jumping round providers, word is its comming back to another EU provider but also the game is not as active as it used to be either.

When it went to Turbine they had a grace period where you could contact them to get the account swapped over. Some people that didn't do it then have petitioned since then and had their accounts found and restored.

Doesn't hurt to ask.

It seems I can't log in with my old account information. I opened a ticket and waiting for the answer. I might just make a new account because I've been away so many years.

Grunty · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

If I can use my old account can I play _all_ the "Shadows of Angmar" (the base game) and "Mines of Moria" content if I subscribe? I bought only the base game when it launched and "Mines of Moria" expansion after that. Or do I need to buy some more? My account wasn't lifetime account.

If I choose to stay in game is there any sense to buy newer expansions than "Mines of Moria" before my character is at Moria level cap? I mean in some mmorpgs you can get some features/benefits even if your character is not at the level for the newer expansion.

All my links and bookmarks are old. Is there still some kind of account management page or do I have to buy/subscribe by using in-game store or something?

I'm thinking to roll a Lore-master, Captain or Minstrel and just start from scratch.

Shadows of Angmar and other quest packs require payment unless you subscribe. If you stop subscribing then access to those quest packs disappear. Story line quests in such areas still work but everything else is behind one pay wall or another.

Po_gg · May 2018

Manestream said:

I bought the game + moria + Siege of Mirkwood but lost it all when Codemasters (european holders) decided to give it up and sent it back to turbine.

That wasn't the case, the game was always Turbine's, Codies just covered it here. They had no word in the move (and definitely not "decided to give it up"), Turbine simply pulled a "so long, and thanks for all the fish" move, and kicked Codies out, with a fairly short notice too as I remember.

Silmapelikone said:

If I can use my old account can I play _all_ the "Shadows of Angmar" (the base game) and "Mines of Moria" content if I subscribe?

As others already addressed that (was a long night here, and way too many comments

), if you subscribe you can play everything minus the expansions - and you even have content besides the expansions for the smooth leveling.
(you can take any level range, for example from 75 to 85, and you can find an expansion and quest packs to cover the range. Quest packs are open if you subscribe, so you can level all the way to the cap without the need of expansions, as a subscriber)

Silmapelikone said:

If I choose to stay in game is there any sense to buy newer expansions than "Mines of Moria" before my character is at Moria level cap?

Not really. Moria gives extra character slots and the 2 Moria classes, so if you want to play those classes, it is good to buy it early.
The others in the Quad-pack (maybe the best way of purchase) only have their respective zones and raids, you don't need those expansions before you reach their levels.
Helm's deep... if you like big battles, you can buy it early, since it scales you up and you can do them even as a low level character. If you don't like big battles, you can skip HD's purchase at all, or leaving it to the last.
Mordor, only endgame stuff too, and also expensive. Definitely wait with it until you reach there, plus when it is on sale. It has the high elf race bundled, but you can buy the race separately as well, in case you want to roll a high elf character.

Radiance, many of us loved when it was removed. As you can read above, with Mordor they brought it back sadly, in a slightly different form. With any luck, by the time you reach Mordor, probably they will come to their senses and remove radiance 2.0 as well from the game.

Rollerrat · May 2018

One question about the expansions.. How "linear" they are? I remember when I started to play LOTRO years ago when we had only the "Shadows of Angmar" content we were able to level in a few different areas and follow several quest lines. Then Moria launched and I didn't like how linear that expansion was. How it is after Moria?

ScotchUp · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

@ScotchUp

http://www.lotro.com/en/game/download

Do you mean that "Standard Resolution (PC)"?

Yes, after install, it should install the high rez file on the update, at least it did for me. I have put bug reports to Turbine (before SSG) way back when and they never fixed it. I know a few people because of problems with the install because of high rez they lost a few customers.

Po_gg · May 2018

That's weird, technically there's only one client, the hi-res version means just an extra texture pack (2 additional files in the folder) and you toggle the pack's use on and off at will.
Installing the standard client is mostly a bandwith sparing option, those two highres files are large (several Gb each).

Silmapelikone said:

One question about the expansions.. How "linear" they are?

There's always some sort of linearity due to the main storyline (the Book quests). You can of course ignore those, and roam free. In that way, there can still be a linear feeling due to the zone design: for example Lone-lands is pretty linear even if you skip the story, since as you are questing, you slowly move from west to east, alongside the Road.
North Downs on the other hand has a more open design approach if you skip the main story, different level mobs and quests are scattered around (though there's still a noticeable direction from Trestlebridge towards Angmar)

In that sense, Mirkwood is closer to Lone-lands design of linearity, Rohan is closer to ND, and Isengard is somewhere in the middle. Can't speak about Mordor, haven't pushed too far in it yet (I'm still hoping they will remove the new radiance and I can play it later without the pointless gear grind

). And Helm's Deep is different, that only has a linear storyline, within the big battles system.

Rollerrat · May 2018

@ScotchUp
I did what you recommended to do and installed first without highres file. I downloaded the file after the initial installation and all went fine, no errors.

@Po_gg
I made a new account. Rolled a Minstrel on Laurelin. I couldn't resist the call of High Elves anymore lol. So far it has been sweet

I don't like the in-game store but I guess it's an ordinary thing in every mmorpg today so I can live with it.

Got my baby elf out of the starting area and was about to start crafting and bam! Downtime coming. Talk about bad timing ggrrrr

How often downtimes?

Grunty · May 2018

Silmapelikone said:

Got my baby elf out of the starting area and was about to start crafting and bam! Downtime coming. Talk about bad timing ggrrrr How often downtimes?

Every Tuesday.

Lithuanian · May 2018

Wellcome to Laurelin. Should you need help from fellow-Minstrel, feel free to IM my main, Stormsong.

Downtimes to each server are announced to be once a week, promised not longer than 1 hour. Also, we have normal ones mostly once in a week. Of course, when new content comes, downtimes may take really long...

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