11 replies to this topic

[TheDeadPixel]

Hello! Me and a friend of mine are interested in lotr and we would like to play it but we don't like the idea of play a game which is p2w(i'm not sure if lotr is but i have the feeling it is.Could you tell me what the shop has to offer and if there are any restrictions if you don't pay and if you do pay.I have more answer but i'll ask later.

[Brrokk]

Give it a try and see if you like it. The introduction and first levels needn't cost anything to play, and you can then inspect what's in the store.

If you decide to play on Snowbourn server, send me a message in-game.

[Iorionael]

Or if you are into the RP (roleplaying) side, feel free to message my Kin the Map Maker's Guild, on Laurelin,  which has a large number of ftp low level members.

[TheDeadPixel]

Brrokk, on 27 June 2012 - 21:32, said:

Give it a try and see if you like it. The introduction and first levels needn't cost anything to play, and you can then inspect what's in the store.

If you decide to play on Snowbourn server, send me a message in-game.

Are you saying that you'll have to pay for the end-game content such as raids ect if there is such a thing in this game?
This may sound cliche but is it something like wow?I mean do you do quests grind and in the end just collect gear?

[Jedy2]

TheDeadPixel, on 27 June 2012 - 22:41, said:

Are you saying that you'll have to pay for the end-game content such as raids ect if there is such a thing in this game?
This may sound cliche but is it something like wow?I mean do you do quests grind and in the end just collect gear?

Yes, it's a standard MMO.

Gear is not terribly important though, and "comes naturally". Also though I am first to bemoan shop-pots. crystals and scrolls - LOTRO is NOT a "Pay to Win" game. You can do the end-game without those crutches.

You will have fun.

[JRonnie]

A lot of perks and buffs are effectively store only now, so yes there is a reasonable amount of Pay 2 Win or Advantage on the store now.  As Jedy2 says, it is possible to do end game without the items, however that's not to say that every time you wipe on hard content, there at the back of your mind is the knowledge that 'maybe we could have done that with some items from the store!'.

Examples of pay 2 win items are:

-5% incoming damage scroll
The best morale (health) and power (mana) potions in the game are store only and stack with non-store pots.
The best debuff removal pot (poison, disease, wound, fear)
+5% damage dealt scroll
Increase in morale scrolls
Increase in power scrolls
Increase in armour scrolls
Increase in mitigations scrolls
Increase in resistances scrolls

The last few used to be able to be obtained in-game through the perks system, but Turbine have effectively removed the ability to obtain them in any quantity so they're mostly store only now.

[nosam9]

Its not so much pay to win, but a lot of things you will want to buy in the store - like extra bag space. It is kind of pay not to be annoyed too much (or slowed down too much in game). P2NBA?

You will most likely want to subscribe for 1 month, so those characters you log on to have less restrictions, like quick travel and no gold cap. Plus you need to buy the expansions - so expect to eventually spend about $100 to get them. But you can play without a sub fee - and just spend a little in the store when you need to.

The game is kind of grindy, and has some weaknesses like a bad AH and not really enough bag space. It has its good points too.

[The MMO Troll]

TheDeadPixel, on 27 June 2012 - 20:21, said:

Hello! Me and a friend of mine are interested in lotr and we would like to play it but we don't like the idea of play a game which is p2w(i'm not sure if lotr is but i have the feeling it is.Could you tell me what the shop has to offer and if there are any restrictions if you don't pay and if you do pay.I have more answer but i'll ask later.

There are a lot of F2P games, but LOTRO is among the best. The shop offers everything from mounts to skill/trait unlocks, cosmetic outfits to enhancements for Legendary Items. Really, it has a little of everything, and you will have a difficult time playing wholly for Free without using the Store to some degree. Luckily, unlike most F2P games, LOTRO allows you to earn Turbine Points through regular play (grinding slayer deeds, for example), but this will become very, very grindy. That said, if you are dedicated to pulling it off, it may be possible to earn enough TP from grinding deeds to buy all of the absolutely-necessary items off of the Store and never spend a cent on the game. It used to be possible anyway, but with the new expansion on the way, I'm not sure on that anymore.

Regardless, LOTRO is a fine game to play, especially with friends. Welcome to Middle Earth!

[Maelendil]

TheDeadPixel, on 27 June 2012 - 20:21, said:

Hello! Me and a friend of mine are interested in lotr and we would like to play it but we don't like the idea of play a game which is p2w(i'm not sure if lotr is but i have the feeling it is.Could you tell me what the shop has to offer and if there are any restrictions if you don't pay and if you do pay.I have more answer but i'll ask later.

You will have to define what "winning" means to you. If it is "explore every place, and level every class to the maximum level" then you can probably play for free. You will have to level many characters through the free areas, to gain enough points to unlock further areas and advance to the maximum level, but it certainly is doable.

If you think "winning" is going fast and straigth to the maximum level, and then beat the hardest raid content, you will need to unlock many traits, zones, instances for which you won't have enough points. You then have the option of either levelling many low-level toons through the starter zones to farm points for your main, or buy things with real money to unlock content (starting with a single VIP month for traits and bags, and the levelling you can do in that month).

If you think  "winning" is to have the most efficient character, you will need the store perks.

Edit: final words : I haven't spent a single penny on the game since it went F2P, and I don't plan to. I am a lifetime VIP, and buy extensions with my small stipend to recoup the lifetime cost since I felt that the F2P move was a onesided move which was not beneficial to me. But since I am VIP, I have free access to quest packs, skirmishes, etc. So my view might be skewed by that.

[Brrokk]

I think I'd say that LOTRO is quite a good MMO among others. But if you're a Tolkien enthusiast it's the only game there is. It depends on the player and what they are looking for in a game.

[Thrabath]

Technically you can earn almost everything by grinding a lot. There are things you have to buy in the store to make playing easier/ the lvl-ing process more fun (quest packs, expansions, bag space) but you can grind your way by doing deeds with different chars.

There is a lot of content, like most quests and most instances, you have to buy and some items are only acquirable in the store which improve your character, but if you don't PvP or do the end-game content on hardest tiers you don't need that kind of buffs.

[Spidey]

If you PvP its most certainly P2W now. You can PvP without the store, but you will be severely gimped.