Other Games: Lord of the Rings Online

Hey guys - looonnggg blog entry alert.

The reason I'm posting this is to bring attention to a current event taking place in Lotro. All premium and expansion content is available to all players until August 31. Additionally, you can add all current quest packs** to your account for free on a permanent basis as well as purchasing the older expansion content for a pretty big discount, also until August 31. More information can be found here: Free Questing coupon.

Descriptions of what is available until August 31.

Instances

Skirmishes

Quests This includes descriptions of the different quests available, including quest packs**

More information and/or blabbing

Account types:

Free to play- one has not purchased any content or account upgrades such as more bag space/inventory slots, traits and some other crap.

Premium- This is achieved after a "real money" transaction from the in-game store and offers a few more perks than F2P.

Premium- former subscriber. This is the type of account I have since I subscribed for a year or so back in 2011 but I don't currently have a sub. More perks than the "regular" premium account and also unlocks stuff like extra inventory bags, trait slots and such, but only for characters created while being a subscriber.

VIP- A fancy-schmancy term for a subscriber. Subscriptions vary by price, with the average being $15.00 per month. I'm not sure what other countries pay, but there are players from all over the place, (mostly Canada, UK and Europe). The longer subscription options offer more discounts all the way to $8.00 per month if you purchase the yearly sub option. VIPs get access to all content except game expansions which must be purchased separately, similar to what other game companies require.


A quick note about Player vs Player:

Lotro's version of PvP, which consists of player vs monster player. If you happen to be really into PvP than you might be disappointed. There are *no* pvp servers and there is only one main instanced zone for PvP. I've read that PvP isn't a particularly high priority with the game developers, but I don't know anything about that from personal experience. I do find the idea of creating an evil character (and eating Hobbits) intriguing. Don't judge me!

Is the game fun? Yes, obviously I think so.
I've been playing Lotro off and on since 2011. It's free to play, so anybody can make an account and start playing. If you like role playing games and/or MMOs and/or are a Tolkien fan, than Lotro may be your cup of tea. There are some things that are annoying or perhaps troubling, but...*shrug* You will have to weigh things that bug you over your enjoyment of the game and decide what is right for you.

Resources:

Official game forum list

General Discussion.

New player questions

Player created Installation Guide since the game installer is stupid sometimes.

The Lotro-Wiki