LOTRO Free-to-Play...

Thoughts?

Pros?

Cons?

LINK

cons = every free MMORPS sucks

cons = every free MMORPS sucks

True_Sounds

key word is "free"

But I guess the positive here is that LOTR was originally subbed. So we'll see if the rule applies or not.

I think Microtransactions suck, really, of course the game has got to survive, but it creates an elite in every game that has it. rmfd341

Pro = great for people that wanted to play but didn't want to pay (me).

Pro = great if you just want to play. Not to be competitive, but just to casually play. Plus who the hell buys this game for the PvP? Isn't this games primarily point to just be PvE? That is what I hear and what I experienced when I played the trial. So this game can probably carry over to F2P better than others (WAR... then again that game sucks as P2P).And then to that point, if you want to be the best PvE all I can say is who cares. That is like saying I can play chess agaisnt my imaginary friend better than someone else. There is no point to it.

Pro = I won't have to play with 90% of the people on this website because of how many anti F2P people there are.

Con = It is free so future updates may be lighter than previous ones.

Was this game good before it was free. Basically is it worth getting?

Damn, I just deleted LOTRO off my computer about a week ago, after the free week comeback thing. I think its a pretty fun game, it fills in free time when have nothing else to play and if its free then u have nothing to lose other then bordom.

well i think this works, free to play at first with microtransactions.

I actually like the microtransaction system.

Alot of games are doing this now, FIFA online, need for speed: world, Company of heroes Online.

Not a single one of them was released, I'm sure you'll hate Fifa Online when you won't be able to get players and play certain games because you'd have to buy tokens, and NFS WO isn't really free it gives you just a trial, you will be able to achieve a certain "low level" if you won't spend money and of course quite a few won't pay for it and they will be angry at the game and those that pay might enjoy it but I personally would hate to go against cars that don't stand a chance + the game is trash as for CoH O we don't know much about it but it will probably suffer from the same flaw.

Some games that have microtransactions make more money than pay to play MMOs/online games, but they come with a game braking flaw because of microtransactions, they're trash by default because of the inconsistent community and balance.

I actually like the microtransaction system.

Alot of games are doing this now, FIFA online, need for speed: world, Company of heroes Online.

ic4ruz

Its meant to be a pretty good game...when its free I will give it a go for sure. Being realistic though I am no fan of LOTR or MMORPG's so I guess i will get bored pretty soon but who cares,,,,its free!

It's not so much free as an infinite trial to level 20-25.

It's not so much free as an infinite trial to level 20-25.

shakmaster13

I bet it's free to play as long as you like but only at the begginers/noobs ground

I bet it's free to play as long as you like but only at the begginers/noobs ground

PredatorRules

It's good that they decided to make it free. This is going to bring a lot of new blood to the game, which I felt was previously a problem as on some servers it was painfully hard to find groups.

Yeah free to play, until you have to buy new areas, larger level caps, required items, game features, and everything else that's of extreme importance later in the game.

One major concern I have though is how with this affect the in-game community. This game before had one of the most friendliest communities I've seen in a MMO. I would hate to see this degenerate into the crap I see in WoW or even worse for that matter.

I think this is good for mmos in general. Becouse actually good games are going f2p the companies making these type mmos will have to adapt and make something equally good. This means that the tide of crap f2p mmos might be coming to an end. Also going f2p is a great second chance. So if AoC number ever go down so far the games future is in question, Funcom can go and try the f2p model. Also this trend might means that the lesser known or indie mmos have a better chance. Right now many people are just unwilling to pay a monthly fee for an indie title or something not backed by a large company. Saga of Ryzom is a wonderful game but not something many people will try becouse it is not made by a well known dev nor does it have the advertising of the bigger games. If Ryzom went f2p, this news would be enough to get thousands of players to try the game.

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

It's not so much free as an infinite trial to level 20-25.

Daytona_178

[QUOTE="Daytona_178"][QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

It's not so much free as an infinite trial to level 20-25.

FelipeInside

Was going to start subbing to try it out until I heard of the f2p thing the community it will bring is largely not the community I will want to interact with on top of micro transactions that I might have to pay in order to get more content that should be included in a sub so yeah it sucks.

Was going to start subbing to try it out until I heard of the f2p thing the community it will bring is largely not the community I will want to interact with on top of micro transactions that I might have to pay in order to get more content that should be included in a sub so yeah it sucks.

Empirefrtw

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, so let me try to clear things up. The free portion will allow you to reach the level cap of 50. During that time, you will be able to explore about 70-75 percent of ground that exists in the game. Only the expansion packs' content will require money. I played the game for over a year, so I can tell you that you are getting a huge amount of content here, for free.

The game's basic systems are much like World of Warcraft's, so most mmorpg veterans will not be lost playing this game. Still, it has a charm and style all its own. The scenery is one of the game's strengths. It also has some of the most fun group instances I have ever played. You really feel like you are part of the story at times.

Is there worthwhile PVP? and if so, can I do it for free or must I buy stuff?

Free to play has been bad on every mmo I have tried, eventually once you get higher and more commited you will find it hard if not impossible to progress or keep up with out buying what ever they are trying to sell.

Is there worthwhile PVP? and if so, can I do it for free or must I buy stuff?

Erratic_Knight

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, so let me try to clear things up. The free portion will allow you to reach the level cap of 50. During that time, you will be able to explore about 70-75 percent of ground that exists in the game. Only the expansion packs' content will require money. I played the game for over a year, so I can tell you that you are getting a huge amount of content here, for free.

The game's basic systems are much like World of Warcraft's, so most mmorpg veterans will not be lost playing this game. Still, it has a charm and style all its own. The scenery is one of the game's strengths. It also has some of the most fun group instances I have ever played. You really feel like you are part of the story at times.

Falconoffury

Thx for that info Falcon... Just a quick question? do you still play? or played recently? How is the population? How is the community?

I do not still play, and haven't played in over a year. The population was holding pretty strong when I finally quit. The community has always been very mature and polite. This is one of the bigger mmorpgs running in North America. I'm sure it will get much bigger, being free.

The adventures are very story driven, so if you like that kind of stuff, try it out.

Was this game good before it was free. Basically is it worth getting?

vigoureuxEVIL5

yes, its an excellent MMO, actually. Problably one of the best in the history of the genre.

and being "Free to play" is not going to hurt the core gameplay. It sounds like the majority of microtransactions are focused on non-combat stuff, i.e. more bags, no cap to gold, and priority login

Falconoffury

I do not still play, and haven't played in over a year. The population was holding pretty strong when I finally quit. The community has always been very mature and polite. This is one of the bigger mmorpgs running in North America. I'm sure it will get much bigger, being free.

The adventures are very story driven, so if you like that kind of stuff, try it out.

Why did u leave?

I stopped playing LOTRO because Darkfall Online came out, and I moved to that. LOTRO was always an in-between game for me. I am more of a PvP enthusiast, so Darkfall is a natural fit.

The PvP in LOTRO is very different from any other game I have seen. They have something called "Monster Play". You can make a monster character, which is very different from a normal character. Your options for customizing your equipment and skills is very limited, but you start out at a very high level. The plus side is that you can experience the PvP early in your time within the game. No need to grind up to near max level.

Darkfall is a very different game. It has twitch PvP with aiming like Mount and Blade. The skill system is like Ultima Online. It is a unique mix of action game and RPG.

For the people who don't understand how the F2P model will work, taken directly from LOTRO.com:

For the people who don't understand how the F2P model will work, taken directly from LOTRO.com:

Im_single

So wait, for the quests packs VIP gets all of Eriador, but premuim and free players only get 3 areas? Does that mean we have to purchase areas such as Angmar, Northdowns, Evendim, Trollshanks, Mistymountains, etc separately?