I have been asking for this for a long time. Now it makes buying those expansions worth it. because i never had a high enough level character for those zones because i also had to buy low level zone quest packs.
Doesn't look like the Mordor expansion is included. You don't need it to hit "level 115" though for the later "quest pack zones" - there was lots of level 100 - 105 content. You don't need "light 2 gear" either for the later zones. (I'm assuming that the latest zones - which are quest packs - will be in the offer.)
Holy smokes I can't imagine hitting level 115 in this game...I was so burned out on the quests by level 38 that I never went back.
You don't have to do the quests. You could treat it more like an old school game where you explore, attack orc settlements or whatever you find and level up with some quests here and there.
It's true, at for me, that some of the quests in the later game leave something to be desired and that can be an issue. My latest attempt at going through the content forced me to just go to minas tirith as I didn't like the quests at my level.
But then I had to help a farmer find rakes or he wouldn't leave his farm. Part of the "help the people in the area and then you can progress (if memory serves) and that sort of killed it for me.
So when I go back here and there I have to mix it up more or else the quests will kill me.
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I have been asking for this for a long time. Now it makes buying those expansions worth it. because i never had a high enough level character for those zones because i also had to buy low level zone quest packs.
Doesn't look like the Mordor expansion is included. You don't need it to hit "level 115" though for the later "quest pack zones" - there was lots of level 100 - 105 content. You don't need "light 2 gear" either for the later zones. (I'm assuming that the latest zones - which are quest packs - will be in the offer.)
I own
mines of moria
shadow of angmar
siege of milkwood'
rise of isengard
riders of rohan
just bought the quest packs at the last sale a few months ago. Damn. I wish they would have given me a heads up on this...... lol. I even have the expansions, too. :-(
I think people don't understand the history of this game. It came to hair's breadth of being shutdown. Their F2P model was what saved it. So those comparing it to other games don't realise the fact this game is still here thanks to its model.
But it was very close lately to being on its last legs. This offering up all quest for free instead of paying for those packs has bought in a lot of players for them. This is why the change. You can thank the corona for this one.
I think people don't understand the history of this game. It came to hair's breadth of being shutdown. Their F2P model was what saved it. So those comparing it to other games don't realise the fact this game is still here thanks to its model.
Where are you getting that? I've never seen that anywhere.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
I won't fix the core issue the game has: Old maps are just... empty.
The game has so much great group content I couldn't ever experience because people either rush through or give up before it.
On populated servers starting zones are full with new characters... but one or two maps ahead and it is only you and the mobs.
So, to reach new zones you either ignore content, which is a travesty to such great lore and world design, or keep nagging for help... if you are lucky some top level will come and rush through it for you... but I wonder if that's a good thing.
I had help in clearing a dungeon but it was really bad cause I couldn't experience the mechanics the story and so on. So... yeah.
That was one of the reasons they came out with the VIP only Legendary Servers last year.
Everyone starting off fresh at lvl 1 and leveling up together with level caps in place so no one could get too far ahead of the others.
Many that missed the 'crowded' playing areas the first time around finally got to with those 2 servers. Lot's of group content done, the old raids and a few 'go slow' guilds were formed so they could experience everything in that portion of the game that was open.
- The game was originally Sub only and was dying.
- Game shifted to the current F2p method and was doing very well.
[...]
Agree with the rest, I couldn't follow that complaint either...
Just a small correction to the first point, LotRO wasn't dying. It was in a pretty good state, but after DDO's switch (and when Turbine saw how much money that switch brought in) they wanted to go all-in and switched LotRO too.
I'm going to dispute your claim here. Mines of Moria instances remained a buggy mess for it's entirety.
The Siege of Mirkwood mini expac was a sign that they were in need of cash and couldn't afford to spend the time needed to make another large expansion. The populations definitely fell off noticeably by SoM.
F2P happened the year after SoM released and was likely necessitated by the fact that all of their lifetime sub money was gone, mine was only $199, and the population as a whole was down a fair bit.
Switching to F2P didn't require SoM to be released early as you state in another post.
Why do people here cheer on one of the most nickle and dime companies out there but cry about any other game here that does less in their stores? I'm guessing because its lord of the rings...
-LOTR Online charges for.....
-Virtue slots on your character, each one unless you sub taking away strength of your toons
-Trait set bonuses unless you sub taking away good bonuses again taking away strength of your toons
-Expansions that cost a fortune compared to most games even the old ones are expensive.
-30 minutes of afk sitting around waiting on sticks/hide/ore stacks to process making most people buy crafting skill tomes to speed up the xp gain. Who seriously wants to sit afk for hours ?
-skirmishes, cosmetics,mounts, stat tomes, legendary grinding (dont even get me started on that)
I mean come on...i can keep going on and on. This company hands down puts any other company in the world to shame for pay to win games on the market , even korean grinders. If anything this company deserves to go out of business as a lesson to other companies not to be so greedy. I have played every single western mmorpg on the market and most korean/asian ones and I can say hands down this company is the greediest I have seen in 18 years of gaming.
I'm pretty sure you could. Maybe I can get started on how gamers are cheap asses?
sub for it. 15 dollars a month (it's nothing) and you get the game.
Yep, I too see that a lot, maybe it's the effect of a too successful landslide DDO has caused... people want free meals, when f2p back then wasn't the present era's "everything for free and we'll milk you later through lootboxes, shady mechanics and p2w".
In DDO and a year later LotRO f2p was just:
-players could pay through the subscription, as usual -they could play without a sub and unlock the game through individual purchases
-or play without a sub, and unlock the game with their time (a huge grind).
It was never about giving all for free "just because game X and Y do this and that", there were no other games.
And it was a successful model, might I add, they're f2p longer than a lot of games' entire lifetime, and are still here, with the same offer:
you pay for the game, either through sub, or by indiviual purchases, or with your time.
Free to play -> the sub ain't mandatory. Nothing more. No free meals, beyond level 30.
At least wasn't, for 10 years, until now. The coupon is a big giveaway, alongside the expansions for $1 each.
We'll see what this change will cause, but my guesstimate from earlier is still standing: those players will just simply move to goalpost over "why Mordor ain't free as well, other games give all for free, entry cost is too high, blah-blah"
I'm pretty sure you could. Maybe I can get started on how gamers are cheap asses?
sub for it. 15 dollars a month (it's nothing) and you get the game. Pay the paltry amount for the expansions as you get to them. what's the problem?
sporting even tickets, theater, movies, all way more expensive. And you cry over small change?
paltry prices for the VERY old expansions? And you also have to buy quest packs in many cases. their pricing was consumer gouging at it's most obvious.
The closest game to LOTRO out there imo is SWTOR. If you sub for jsut one month right now - you get all of the existing expansions forever. This means you can relevel thrpugh all of that content as long as you have character slots. Continuous subs are basically there to give you full access to endgame and many other convenience perks. the credit cap for non subs is the biggest detriment but is not really needed for those not doing endgame or collecting.
Oh and the entire legendary item system? It's designed to take forever and in many cases you need to run very downleveled dailies to speed it up. Oh, but if you pay cash you can get massive shortcuts to the process. And you can buy loot boxes with BiS gear very soon after they become available.
Legendary servers? Guess what - they don't rebalance the content and fix itemization, nor do they provide adequate testing. They also have been accelerating the release of expansions, most likely to reach level 100 where they can sell you the previously mentioned LI shortcuts.
I've also noticed during the last few expansions that the quests aren't nearly enough to get you to the level cap even when taking advantage of daily XP boosts from VIP. Mayhap because they want you to buy XP boosts?
They are a really crummy company that have boxed themselves into a
corner. They admit the LI system needs work, but they also know it gets
them too much money to scrap and replace with a player friendly one.
Now if you love the world so much that it's worth $15 a month to you then great. But the price of expansions and quest packs have been absurd and only hurt their chances to attract new players.
I'm pretty sure you could. Maybe I can get started on how gamers are cheap asses?
sub for it. 15 dollars a month (it's nothing) and you get the game. Pay the paltry amount for the expansions as you get to them. what's the problem?
sporting even tickets, theater, movies, all way more expensive. And you cry over small change?
Cheap? I sub to every game I play and have bought plenty of expansions over the years for games. Its not entitlement or being cheap I'm sorry because you like their game you rationalize predatory practices such as this. Cheap is someone who plays for free and wants everything for free. When you sub on LOTR online you hardly get anything worth subbing for other than a few unlocks like traits and virtues. You still have to pay for overpriced old expansions and you still have to grind for hours on crafting and legendary. If your sub lapses for whatever reason any new toon you make has to go through the same unlocks as listed. Just because you have money to burn on a million things doesn't mean everyone shares the same value of video games like you do. I compare giving them money to basically burning 100 dollar bills. There is much better games out there to spend money on. Its exactly why both wow and FFxiv are both sub based games not selling cosmetics and mounts and doing 100 times better than a game on its way out the door and has been for years. You rationalizing their nickle and dime practices is exactly the whale mentality that causes companies to do this.
I'm pretty sure you could. Maybe I can get started on how gamers are cheap asses?
sub for it. 15 dollars a month (it's nothing) and you get the game. Pay the paltry amount for the expansions as you get to them. what's the problem?
sporting even tickets, theater, movies, all way more expensive. And you cry over small change?
Its exactly why both wow and FFxiv are both sub based games not selling cosmetics and mounts and doing 100 times better than a game on its way out the door and has been for years. You rationalizing their nickle and dime practices is exactly the whale mentality that causes companies to do this.
Wow actually does sell mounts, on top of a sub, an ingame gld they sell too. and ff14 sells both mounts and cosmetics in their cash shop. just to add that.
paltry prices for the VERY old expansions? And you also have to buy quest packs in many cases. their pricing was consumer gouging at it's most obvious.
Unless something has changed, you don't have to buy quest packs if you sub for it and you own the expansions. I've played recently and haven't seen that at all. So if that's changed please show me where.
As far as "old expansions" they are only $20. that's not even two drinks at a bar. Unless you are PBR'ing it.
And they don't get rancid with age. they DO have problems, as another above pointed out, with not necessarily being able to do group content with Pickup groups.
But, and as a recent Fellowship I belonged to proved, you can join any number of fellowships that are active and will do group content.
To respond to Po_gg, I think it's definitely the whole free to play model that has gotten people used to paying nothing except "maybe" a few dollars here or there.
Suddenly people are faced with a pricing model that is "pre-f2p" and they don't know what to do. "How is this possible? I have to pay the amount for a modest night out on the town?"
I don't like everything that Standing Stone games does and I certainly didn't like everything that Turbine did, but I do understand they are a small company and they'd like to keep their jobs.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Cheap? I sub to every game I play and have bought plenty of expansions over the years for games. Its not entitlement or being cheap I'm sorry because you like their game you rationalize predatory practices such as this. Cheap is someone who plays for free and wants everything for free. When you sub on LOTR online you hardly get anything worth subbing for other than a few unlocks like traits and virtues. You still have to pay for overpriced old expansions and you still have to grind for hours on crafting and legendary. If your sub lapses for whatever reason any new toon you make has to go through the same unlocks as listed. Just because you have money to burn on a million things doesn't mean everyone shares the same value of video games like you do. I compare giving them money to basically burning 100 dollar bills. There is much better games out there to spend money on. Its exactly why both wow and FFxiv are both sub based games not selling cosmetics and mounts and doing 100 times better than a game on its way out the door and has been for years. You rationalizing their nickle and dime practices is exactly the whale mentality that causes companies to do this.
They are overpriced? They are $20. Way cheaper than when I first purchased them.
If your sub lapses then resub. There's no issue there. The legendary system has always "bit" so it's just poorly implemented no matter what. I find the crafting system boring as well. To add, which I should have, I can't comment on it because I haven't done a lot of it.
It's true that their storage system isn't great if you are a crafter but Elder Scrolls Online has a similar issue.
$15 is not money to burn. Ok, 35 dollars once you are ready for an expansion.
If there are better games out there then spend money on those better games. If one of your better games is disliked by another then they would be an idiot to spend money on it. If you think this game isn't worth the money then don't spend the money. This is regular life 101 stuff.
Paying small amounts of money is not whale mentality. It's essentially paying for your entertainment. I could point that finger right back at you and says you are cheap. So there is no merit in arguing a difference in opinion is there?
Also you buying expansions for games doesn't mean you get a get out of jail free card for buying an expansion in "another game." That's a ridiculous argument.
What this boils down to is you don't like the game "that much" and you resent that you would have to pay something to play it.
The idea of paying your sub and buying an expansion is not new and has been around for a long time. Just because other games are trying to give things away to entice players doesn't mean Standing Stone Games "should." But, to acknowledge your point, if they believe they can make more money by changing their monetary scheme they will. Until then I guess they don't.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Didn't they allow a lot of folk to get lifetime accounts that reduced their subs and they even perhaps hinted that that was an unwise choice. It wasn't doing swimmingly but DDO went very well with the conversion, that is true.
LotRO was still thriving at the time of the F2P switch. DDO was the one that wasn't. F2P may have saved that game but LotRO didn't need it to survive. However, it got a huge boost from the switch. Lifetime subs are still profitable too as those people with them such as myself have purchased multiple expansions over the years.
paltry prices for the VERY old expansions? And you also have to buy quest packs in many cases. their pricing was consumer gouging at it's most obvious.
Unless something has changed, you don't have to buy quest packs if you sub for it and you own the expansions. I've played recently and haven't seen that at all. So if that's changed please show me where.
As far as "old expansions" they are only $20. that's not even two drinks at a bar. Unless you are PBR'ing it.
And they don't get rancid with age. they DO have problems, as another above pointed out, with not necessarily being able to do group content with Pickup group
This game doesn't exist in a vacuum. The pricing just isn't consistent with what else is out there. they rely on people being so attached to the LOTR IP that they'll pay these absurd prices.
You seem to be saying that people should just sub if they want to play. If we look at it that way, WOW gives you all old expansions when you buy the latest expansion.
You remind me a lot of the LOTRO streamers who were blissfully ignorant of what the cash shop models of other MMO's were.
Let's just agree to disagree about how they parse up their product and have a massive pay for power, bordering on P2W, cash shop.
paltry prices for the VERY old expansions? And you also have to buy quest packs in many cases. their pricing was consumer gouging at it's most obvious.
Unless something has changed, you don't have to buy quest packs if you sub for it and you own the expansions. I've played recently and haven't seen that at all. So if that's changed please show me where.
As far as "old expansions" they are only $20. that's not even two drinks at a bar. Unless you are PBR'ing it.
And they don't get rancid with age. they DO have problems, as another above pointed out, with not necessarily being able to do group content with Pickup group
This game doesn't exist in a vacuum. The pricing just isn't consistent with what else is out there. they rely on people being so attached to the LOTR IP that they'll pay these absurd prices.
You seem to be saying that people should just sub if they want to play. If we look at it that way, WOW gives you all old expansions when you buy the latest expansion.
You remind me a lot of the LOTRO streamers who were blissfully ignorant of what the cash shop models of other MMO's were.
Let's just agree to disagree about how they parse up their product and have a massive pay for power, bordering on P2W, cash shop.
That point you make about pay for power, i would have to agree too, i have never been to endgame Lotro, (not really a goal, i just like to see the lands)
Some would defend it, since its PvE, but it bugs me too..some say in endgame those stats arent even noted, we, maybe not, but put those stats on a lowlvl char and he is way op. i really like the enironments and community, but this is true, you can buy power.
paltry prices for the VERY old expansions? And you also have to buy quest packs in many cases. their pricing was consumer gouging at it's most obvious.
Unless something has changed, you don't have to buy quest packs if you sub for it and you own the expansions. I've played recently and haven't seen that at all. So if that's changed please show me where.
As far as "old expansions" they are only $20. that's not even two drinks at a bar. Unless you are PBR'ing it.
And they don't get rancid with age. they DO have problems, as another above pointed out, with not necessarily being able to do group content with Pickup group
This game doesn't exist in a vacuum. The pricing just isn't consistent with what else is out there. they rely on people being so attached to the LOTR IP that they'll pay these absurd prices.
You seem to be saying that people should just sub if they want to play. If we look at it that way, WOW gives you all old expansions when you buy the latest expansion.
You remind me a lot of the LOTRO streamers who were blissfully ignorant of what the cash shop models of other MMO's were.
Let's just agree to disagree about how they parse up their product and have a massive pay for power, bordering on P2W, cash shop.
That point you make about pay for power, i would have to agree too, i have never been to endgame Lotro, (not really a goal, i just like to see the lands)
Some would defend it, since its PvE, but it bugs me too..some say in endgame those stats arent even noted, we, maybe not, but put those stats on a lowlvl char and he is way op. i really like the enironments and community, but this is true, you can buy power.
As a lifer I generally just return to level to the cap and see the story. I tried the LI grind and bailed. If end game or even PVMP was attractive I may have stuck around and would have bought more LOTRO points as I spent them like candy.
The lootboxes were not supposed to have the latest BiS items but they changed their stance on that.
I have some sympathy for SSG as they have a relatively small population and it's probably difficult to bring in the income they need to maintain their team of developers. But I just think they went way too far. I'd prefer it if they had no pay for power items in the shop and instead offered cool cosmetic only supporter packs ala POE as a way for people to help them out.
I know that probably them and maybe you even don't care but...
Outside USA that ain't cheap. Not at all.
A package cost to get all of them like many others mmo's do would be nice tho.
Thank you Nyctelios, that's a good point and something that I forget from time to time. So I'll gladly acknowledge that could be a challege to some people.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
This is worst then F2P P2W Korean games. How the hell do you lock players behind a pay wall to quest? And then you ask why the game is a failure.
Make a sub for everyone and unlock everything, or make the game f2p ( fully ) for everyone with a sub OPTIONAL which gives various bonuses and then sell some fancy items in the cash shop. Heck, you can even add some lighty p2w items..but DON'T lock f2p players, because in a F2P game, they are the reason why your game still exists. If they are around, paying players are also around. If you lock them out, they will leave and so the paying players, because the server(s) will be pretty much empty.
The above applies to very mediocre games. In this case however, only the name helps to survive and not the game and the features.
I disagree. The game has stooped to low levels with it's P2W (character boosts, buffs, items buffs, cash shop gear, lockbox keys, ...) and does indeed give Asian MMOs a run for their money. The difference with the Asian MMOs however, at least in terms of payment model, is the ability to 'earn' cash shop currency through regular play. By completing all deeds in 2 zones, you can purchase the 3rd zone, which after completing it nets you 1/3 to 2/3s of the next quest pack to unlock.
But yeah, as generous as SSG is at this very moment (I compare it to crack dealers handing out free samples), I would still advise everyone to not sub at all, except for that 1 single sub to unlock some of the content (currency cap, trait/virtue slots, ...) simple because of the incredible amount of P2W in the store (or as the fans prefer to call it; pay-to-convenience, which is funny considering how very inconvenient the actual game is).
Comments
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
I own
mines of moria
shadow of angmar
siege of milkwood'
rise of isengard
riders of rohan
Glad i only bought one.
But it was very close lately to being on its last legs. This offering up all quest for free instead of paying for those packs has bought in a lot of players for them. This is why the change. You can thank the corona for this one.
Where are you getting that? I've never seen that anywhere.
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
Everyone starting off fresh at lvl 1 and leveling up together with level caps in place so no one could get too far ahead of the others.
Many that missed the 'crowded' playing areas the first time around finally got to with those 2 servers. Lot's of group content done, the old raids and a few 'go slow' guilds were formed so they could experience everything in that portion of the game that was open.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
-LOTR Online charges for.....
-Virtue slots on your character, each one unless you sub taking away strength of your toons
-Trait set bonuses unless you sub taking away good bonuses again taking away strength of your toons
-Expansions that cost a fortune compared to most games even the old ones are expensive.
-30 minutes of afk sitting around waiting on sticks/hide/ore stacks to process making most people buy crafting skill tomes to speed up the xp gain. Who seriously wants to sit afk for hours ?
-skirmishes, cosmetics,mounts, stat tomes, legendary grinding (dont even get me started on that)
I mean come on...i can keep going on and on. This company hands down puts any other company in the world to shame for pay to win games on the market , even korean grinders. If anything this company deserves to go out of business as a lesson to other companies not to be so greedy. I have played every single western mmorpg on the market and most korean/asian ones and I can say hands down this company is the greediest I have seen in 18 years of gaming.
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 could play without a sub and unlock the game through individual purchases
and ff14 sells both mounts and cosmetics in their cash shop. just to add that.
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
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
LotRO was still thriving at the time of the F2P switch. DDO was the one that wasn't. F2P may have saved that game but LotRO didn't need it to survive. However, it got a huge boost from the switch. Lifetime subs are still profitable too as those people with them such as myself have purchased multiple expansions over the years.
Some would defend it, since its PvE, but it bugs me too..some say in endgame those stats arent even noted, we, maybe not, but put those stats on a lowlvl char and he is way op. i really like the enironments and community, but this is true, you can buy power.
Thank you Nyctelios, that's a good point and something that I forget from time to time. So I'll gladly acknowledge that could be a challege to some people.
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
I disagree. The game has stooped to low levels with it's P2W (character boosts, buffs, items buffs, cash shop gear, lockbox keys, ...) and does indeed give Asian MMOs a run for their money. The difference with the Asian MMOs however, at least in terms of payment model, is the ability to 'earn' cash shop currency through regular play. By completing all deeds in 2 zones, you can purchase the 3rd zone, which after completing it nets you 1/3 to 2/3s of the next quest pack to unlock.
But yeah, as generous as SSG is at this very moment (I compare it to crack dealers handing out free samples), I would still advise everyone to not sub at all, except for that 1 single sub to unlock some of the content (currency cap, trait/virtue slots, ...) simple because of the incredible amount of P2W in the store (or as the fans prefer to call it; pay-to-convenience, which is funny considering how very inconvenient the actual game is).