Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Looks expensive
Quizzical
Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
I've never played LotRO, but I was considering giving it a try, so I had a look. One thing that I always look at is the business model, to figure out how much it will cost to play a game the way I want to. In the case of LotRO, it sure looks like the answer is quite a lot.
Like a lot of games, LotRO has an optional subscription that they want you to buy. Unlike most MMORPGs that have such a subscription, it's not all-inclusive in giving you all of the basics to play the game, or even most of them. They want you to buy the subscription, and then also still buy a bunch of other things separately.
It looks like free players get access to very little content, while subscribers get access to somewhat more--but still only a minority of the game's content. There are quite a few other games that want you to buy the latest expansion to get access to it, but LotRO wants you to buy every single expansion separately. Mines of Moria released in 2008, but to play it, you still have to buy it separately, as it still isn't included in a subscrption. Without expansions, it sure looks like you're done at level 50, rather than just having to skip a little bit of side content as you would in DDO, or getting most but not quite all the way to the cap as you would in WoW.
I saw the announcement that they're now selling an expansion bundle, and this is apparently a large discount as compared to the previous offerings. But it's still $100 to get access to all of the game's content, on top of the $15/month subscription. And, of course, that excludes future expansions.
So the game is $100 plus a subscription? Oh no no, we're just getting started. There are seven races in the game. Subscribers get access to four. You can buy the others for about $13 each. There are ten classes in the game. Subscribers get access to seven. You can buy the others for about $10 each. Subscribers get 7 character slots, which is more than the 2 that free players get, but if you want to play those extra classes, then additional slots will run you about $8 each.
And then you want shared storage to pass goods back and forth between your characters? I can't think of any other MMORPG that has such a thing and has a subscription, but doesn't include shared storage in the subscription. In LotRO, it will cost you $13, or more if you want anything beyond the smallest possible capacity.
Want to stop gaining experience so that you can actually play through the content you've bought before you level past it? That will be a little more over $1. Per character. They're nickel-and-diming you on so many of the obvious things that I suspect that if I actually play the game, there are other critical things that I'd have to buy that I don't yet realize.
Yes, you can get discounts of sorts by buying points in larger bundles. So maybe I could play how I wanted by spending something like $100 up front, plus a subscription, with the prospect of needing to spend another $100, in addition to continuing the subscription, upon reaching the original level cap of 50. And that's without even touching the usual pay-to-win whale bait.
Is there something important that I'm missing? Because that looks way too expensive to consider picking up a older game that looks on paper like it might merely be decent. Most MMORPGs are a lot cheaper to play than that. Older games commonly offer a discount eventually to try to get people to give the game a try. LotRO seems to have gone in the opposite direction.
Like a lot of games, LotRO has an optional subscription that they want you to buy. Unlike most MMORPGs that have such a subscription, it's not all-inclusive in giving you all of the basics to play the game, or even most of them. They want you to buy the subscription, and then also still buy a bunch of other things separately.
It looks like free players get access to very little content, while subscribers get access to somewhat more--but still only a minority of the game's content. There are quite a few other games that want you to buy the latest expansion to get access to it, but LotRO wants you to buy every single expansion separately. Mines of Moria released in 2008, but to play it, you still have to buy it separately, as it still isn't included in a subscrption. Without expansions, it sure looks like you're done at level 50, rather than just having to skip a little bit of side content as you would in DDO, or getting most but not quite all the way to the cap as you would in WoW.
I saw the announcement that they're now selling an expansion bundle, and this is apparently a large discount as compared to the previous offerings. But it's still $100 to get access to all of the game's content, on top of the $15/month subscription. And, of course, that excludes future expansions.
So the game is $100 plus a subscription? Oh no no, we're just getting started. There are seven races in the game. Subscribers get access to four. You can buy the others for about $13 each. There are ten classes in the game. Subscribers get access to seven. You can buy the others for about $10 each. Subscribers get 7 character slots, which is more than the 2 that free players get, but if you want to play those extra classes, then additional slots will run you about $8 each.
And then you want shared storage to pass goods back and forth between your characters? I can't think of any other MMORPG that has such a thing and has a subscription, but doesn't include shared storage in the subscription. In LotRO, it will cost you $13, or more if you want anything beyond the smallest possible capacity.
Want to stop gaining experience so that you can actually play through the content you've bought before you level past it? That will be a little more over $1. Per character. They're nickel-and-diming you on so many of the obvious things that I suspect that if I actually play the game, there are other critical things that I'd have to buy that I don't yet realize.
Yes, you can get discounts of sorts by buying points in larger bundles. So maybe I could play how I wanted by spending something like $100 up front, plus a subscription, with the prospect of needing to spend another $100, in addition to continuing the subscription, upon reaching the original level cap of 50. And that's without even touching the usual pay-to-win whale bait.
Is there something important that I'm missing? Because that looks way too expensive to consider picking up a older game that looks on paper like it might merely be decent. Most MMORPGs are a lot cheaper to play than that. Older games commonly offer a discount eventually to try to get people to give the game a try. LotRO seems to have gone in the opposite direction.
Comments
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
------------
2024: 47 years on the Net.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
I always assumed that their systems would be very similar, it seems I am a bit wrong on that.
DDO makes it very easy to get started with a Sub, where all the non-expansion content becomes open to you, and truth be told, you don't need to do the Expansion content if you don't want to. Sure it has some nice baubles and good exp, but there is nothing stonewalling or even really slowing down your progress if you don't have them. We were grinding levels 1 - 20 before the Expansions, we can grind them now.
DDO also offers many favor rewards, like at 400 Favor, you unlock Drow Race, at 2500 Favor you get the Favored Soul Class, you can also unlock 32 point build, and veteran status, level 4 and 7. And that's just from playing the game, you don't need to do anything special or extra to get that.
Bank Space, Inventory Space, are earnable by favor to the various houses, like Bank Space is House Kundrak, and Inventory is Coin Lords.
You can earn and buy in-game Red (Collectable), Green (Ingredient), and Blue (gem) Bags, to help manage your inventory. You can also buy Huge and Colossal sizes from the store if you want MORE SPACE! but, overall, that's a personal choice, on what you want.
Now here is a kick, your Favor Earning is Character Bound, your DDO Points are account, and you get 25 points for every 100 favor you earn. This means if you earn say 400 favor one character (not hard to do), and then 600 on another (Again, not really that hard to do), that would give you a total of 250 points earned for your account. Which is super handy.
Also DDO has point sales, and pack sales, so if you want, you can play the game to mix the two, and save well over 50% on some of things you want, vs their regular price.
But from what I read, it seems that LOTRO is a lot more aggressive and imposing in their cash shop.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
I guess I was lucky...I was bored to tears by level 20 and didnt have to spend on the expansions.
First looks can be deceiving. While it might look like it is (and if you pay full price for anything it IS), the game has always provided ways to either lessen the cost or even negate it.
Buy your points while on sale so you get more for your buck and then buy your items while they're on sale and it won't be anywhere close to full price.
Everything in game can be gotten via points; either from the 500 free you get each month as a sub or just from the points you get from completing deeds in game. If you complete all the deeds in the first 4 free zones you'll have enough free store points to pick up the riding skill and buy your next region. And those deeds you pretty much complete by just playing the game.
And if you create different characters on some of the different servers (to let you see other classes and other servers populations) and do those same 4 regions, all those deed points will go into your account, which will make things easier to buy down the line.
Now as to your comment "to get the stuff that I'd want very early on". OK, it sounds like you want some stuff outside the norm to improve YOUR game enjoyment, so sure it might cost you some out of pocket money.
And now you have the current coupon code lotroquests2021 which will get you all the regions content for free forever and a 99 point sale for all the expansions from Moria to Mordor and it's not looking so expensive after all.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
You can earn Points completing deeds to upgrade the free experience. There is also a free store download each week with a code offered on the forums.
The grind for deeds is not all that bad. For the bigger store redemptions you are probably facing quite a few epic time sinks, especially if you are trying to accumulate enough points to buy an expansion.
The very fact that you can grind out points or simply let them accumulate with a base sub, and eventually purchase an expansion, seems pretty generous.
LOTRO is only an expensive game if your looking to power up quickly and skip core features.
I have played quite a few FTP games over the years. I was skeptical when (originally) Turbine switched DDO and LOTRO to these models. But I think they were brilliant moves in lots of ways.
These are businesses. I often feel the LOTRO and DDO FTP models are almost too generous. Play the game for free, if you like it and you can afford it, reward the developer with a sub or store purchase to keep things humming along.
Del Cabon
A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
Also some of the stuff mentioned above about per charater purchases are different know.
You can now buy a riding pack that is account wide. so thats great fore new players. Also the absolute best time to shop in lotro year after year is around black Fridays which is coming up.
It’s a pve game.
I’ve played this game many times over the course of years. There’s nothing to win.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
They still fully honor those - I look for those in game even today.