Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Thinking of returning, have questions
snoop101
Member UncommonPosts: 400
Hello all
I really loved LOTRO and played before it went free to play. I got about 20%-30% into Moria. I took a break from mmo's in general then LOTRO went free to play. I cant stand F2P and think its the worst thing that can ever happen to a game. I find it brings in people who just dont care. Obviously my opinion and im sure others think different. So here are my questions.
1) Has a lot changed since moria?
2) Has anyone been playing since before it went F2P and what are your thoughts on the community? I remember back in the day LOTRO had an excellent community.
3) Has it got harder, easier or the same?
4) Im just going to sub into the VIP, will it be just like before or will I still need to spend points on stupid crap to enjoy myself?
Thanks in advance.
Comments
1) They added Skirmishes and Mounted Combat, so some fairly big changes. But you still have to do the Legendary Item grind, and they lifted the virtue caps, so you have to grind those again, too.
2) I played since before Moria, and I always thought it had the worst community of any MMORPG I've played. The people are snobbish and insular, not wanting to talk or group to people outside of their guilds.
And very little has changed since F2P. Then again, I suspect I would be one of those people who "just don't care" that you dislike, so you might be right at home.
3) It's a MMORPG, it's as easy or as hard as you want to make it. If you have the best raid gear, maxed out virtues, starlight crystals, 1st age LI, then you'd probably find it easy. But personally, at higher levels, I have less hit points than the mobs, so I would say it's about right
4) Subbing really doesn't give you much, you still need to buy new areas with points or direct from the store. Basically the game between the starter area and Moria is free if you sub, but anything past Moria you gotta buy.
With that said, you really don't need to buy any store items other than the expansions. There are some scrolls and such to help your LIs, and starlight crystals, which are free DPS, and stat tomes which give your stats a free boost. But none are necessary, really (maybe if you raid?)
R.I.P. City of Heroes and my 17 characters there
In my view it would be pointless to go VIP straight away. You must have already bought the first expansion, so you can carry on exploring Moria and doing the quests there at no extra cost. As someone that previously subscribed, you'd be a premium player so would only need to buy a few TP's to open up some extra bank, auction spots etc and you'd have plenty of content to be getting on with.
When you are ready to move on from Moria you can decide whether to go VIP or not. As has already been said you need to buy the expansions for each new area after that whether you're playing as a VIP or freemium. Freemium is probably better for casual players because you only need to pay as you go. VIP is maybe better for hardcore players who want to put in many hours a week dungeon running and raiding.
1) There were some changes, in classes (for example I liked the old-time minis better, firstly they made it a dps class close to a fully attuned rk, then they completely redesigned the minstrel mechanics...), in the world (revamped areas, instances, quest lines), and in gameplay (radiance gone, then its stepbrother crawled back under the name finesse... wardens just loved it. Resistance changed too, mob aggro has been reduced meaning easier chicken runs, these kinda stuff).
2) community is still good, the people who just dont care as you said were mostly gone to the new servers when f2p launched. And a lot of them are pretty decent folks, might I add, fitting into the community well. Maybe it's because of Tolkien.
3) endgame is mostly the same difficulty (if you remember Rift then it's maybe a bit lighter
), levelling part became easier due to the revamps and the removal of forced grouping from the book quests. (almost forgot, that can go under 1. as well, they made the main book quest line solo-able, you don't have to gather a group)
4) as a vip it will be just like before, + you get the monthly 500 TP to spend in the store. But as the others said you don't have to rush with the subscription. As a former subscriber you are a premium user, with fully unlocked characters, some of them already in Moria. I'd suggest you just download the client, log in and start to play (btw Moria was revamped as well, it's got a much better flow now). After a few weeks you will see more clearly how hard the restrictions affect you.
(my guess would be, if you don't plan to create new alts in the near future and you don't pvmp, you will be fine without spending a cent. And you don't have to spend points on no crap except the expansions after you leave Moria)