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Lord of the Rings Online Going Free-to-Play

by Alice O'Connor, Jun 04, 2010 7:20am PDT

Lord of the Rings Online publisher Warner Bros. has revealed that Turbine's Tolkien-inspired MMORPG will go free-to-play this fall, supported by microtransactions.

"Expansions, quest packs, items, and account services" are among the goodies players will be able to purchase with points either earned in-game or bought with cash money.

The 'Siege of Mirkwood' expansion pack.

'VIP' subscriptions with access to all premium content will also be available at a yet-unspecified price, similar to the model Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online MMORPG adopted when it went free-to-play in September 2009 with 'VIP' status costing $15 per month. Turbine reported a 40% rise in subscriptions following the switch.

"The popularity of DDO validated the extraordinary demand by gamers for quality entertainment they can experience at their own pace and within their budget," said Turbine CEO Jim Crowley in the announcement. Extending free-to-play to LOTRO will offer another premium game to a broad spectrum of fans."

If you're interested, you can sign up for a closed beta test due to begin on June 16.

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19 Threads | 61 Comments

#61

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By: fustah x Show Full Post

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FTP is really the only way to compete nowadays with the juggernaut that is WoW. If Mythic and Funcom adopted this I think their numbers would go up. The difference here is that Turbine is a really really smart company. They know how to adapt to their market and give the players what they want (minus being able to play the forces of Mordor in a full campaign). DDO is one of the best FTP games out to date for the sole reason is that it's balanced. You can buy certain things to enhance your characters or make leveling faster, but nothing that gives you a huge advantage. Lotro is an excellent game, but suffers from the economy that usually restricts people to one mmo. Its going to be interesting to see how much more this game which has maintained around 700k subs grows.

Here's to progress Turbine, cheers.

Jun 06, 2010 11:20pm PDT

FTP is really the only way to compete nowadays with the juggernaut that is WoW. If Mythic and Funcom adop... : fustah

#6

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By: Schnapple x Show Full Post

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Honest question from someone who does not deal with MMO's at all: does the concept of going "free-to-play" mean that the game is in trouble? I mean, WoW will never go free to play and it doesn't need to. I've seen a few MMO's go free-to-play and then go under anyway. But I'm also seeing people in this thread say it works for DDO, also made by Turbine.

Jun 04, 2010 7:50am PDT

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Honest question from someone who does not deal with MMO's at all: does the concept of going "free-to-play... : Schnapple
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 19 replies.

#38

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By: oneshot x Show Full Post

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It will last maybe a few months into this and then another DEAD MMO. Once someone spends a few hours raiding getting some loot and then another guy goes "Hey nice Sword , i will be right back" and then goes buys the same thing in about 2 min times from some NPC with his 50k points he just bought..

Jun 04, 2010 10:16am PDT

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It will last maybe a few months into this and then another DEAD MMO. Once someone spends a few hours rai... : oneshot
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.

#56

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By: Ayeffkay x Show Full Post

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This will work out well for Turbine - the game is RNG-grind hell at the level cap but the first 50 levels or so are fun, and you'll need to purchase a lot of add-ons to get there. The game has long suffered from a lack of population below the level cap so this should revitalize those areas for a while.

For those interested the player tier chart shows what you get -
http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/vipchart.html
It's a smart move delivering Ered Luin, the Shire, and Bree-land for free. Those zones are fun the first time through, they feel the most like LotR out of anything in the game, and may actually make the player desire more enough to pay for it.

Jun 04, 2010 3:22pm PDT

This will work out well for Turbine - the game is RNG-grind hell at the level cap but the first 50 levels... : Ayeffkay

#43

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By: AgentPothead x Show Full Post

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This is the relevant information. http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/vipchart.html I don't know how to feel about this yet.

Jun 04, 2010 11:56am PDT

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This is the relevant information. http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/vipchart.html I don't know how to feel ... : AgentPothead
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 6 replies.
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  These two items confuse me. Level Cap: 50, Crafting: Tier 1-5 available. That's 15 levels and a Craft Ti... : AxeMan808
  - Check the fine print. * Purchasers of the Mines of Moriaâ„¢ expansion get access to the Mines of Mori : AgentPothead
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  Wow 3 inventory bags and a 2 gold cap. I know it's free and all but that seems like a pretty huge limitat... : natepalm
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    You get 45 bag spots instead of 75, which is reasonable. The 2 gold isn't really a huge issue I think, bu... : AgentPothead
    - I hear ya but when I played it seemed like those bags filled up super quick. : natepalm

#10

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By: SlingBlaze x Show Full Post

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Officially gonna give it a try.

Jun 04, 2010 7:58am PDT

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Officially gonna give it a try. : SlingBlaze
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- Me too. I can't wait to explore the mines of moria : AMikaboshi
- We are The Ghosts Of Gladden Fields, on Silverlode. (Moria is my favorite region so far, too!) : AxeMan808

#46

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By: natepalm x Show Full Post

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I wonder what limitations on content it will have as free-to-play. I just recently played the 10-trial and thought it was a pretty well made game. This definitely has my interest.

Jun 04, 2010 12:36pm PDT

I wonder what limitations on content it will have as free-to-play. I just recently played the 10-trial a... : natepalm

#23

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By: sonicbrewz x Show Full Post

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Thanks for screwing all your paid subscribers who own all the boxes/digital downloads etc.. What say you about your lifetime members as well? As far as I am concerned the last two years has been the nail in the coffin for the MMO industry for me and other old school players. They can shove their micro's were the sun don't shine I am done with MMO's all together.

Jun 04, 2010 8:43am PDT

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Thanks for screwing all your paid subscribers who own all the boxes/digital downloads etc.. What say you ... : sonicbrewz
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 8 replies.

#17

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By: balth x Show Full Post

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I wonder what this means for people that have already purchased the game. I've got the box with the original game and first add on. I've never even bothered to getting around and installing it since I've been playing WOW for 5 years. I didn't need another monthly fee.

Jun 04, 2010 8:28am PDT

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I wonder what this means for people that have already purchased the game. I've got the box with the origi... : balth
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 5 replies.
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  It means you got ripped the fuck off. : Blazer1982
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    LOL. Except someone gave this to me so I don't feel as bad. I do feel for the people that have actually b... : balth
    - *shrug* They got what they paid for. : Johnny Law
    - They've been spending money this whole time and they've been playing this whole time. They don't have to ... : Hemtroll

#34

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By: Miller_TYM x Show Full Post

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Cool - LotR Online is really a great game. They've done an astoundingly great job of emulating the Middle Earth most of us picture in our heads as we read the various books. While it lacks that mysterious "gotchya forever" of WoW, it's the one other MMO besides WoW that I keep going back to once or twice a year to fiddle around with and experience.

Jun 04, 2010 9:31am PDT

Cool - LotR Online is really a great game. They've done an astoundingly great job of emulating the Middl... : Miller_TYM

#31

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By: StriderNL x Show Full Post

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Is it this fall yet?

Jun 04, 2010 9:16am PDT

Is it this fall yet? : StriderNL

#15

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By: khindjal x Show Full Post

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i enjoyed the free trial. i will certainly try it out and if i like what they've done with the microtransactions i may even buy something.

i don't mind paying for microtransactions that give add aesthetic stuff like shinier armor but if it affects gameplay over a long time it turns me off.

Jun 04, 2010 8:20am PDT

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i enjoyed the free trial. i will certainly try it out and if i like what they've done with the microtrans... : khindjal
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- i dont understand this at all. you WILL pay money for something that DOESNT do anything... and WONT pay m... : radio_babylon

#2

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By: Wombat Woo x Show Full Post

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Nice. Hopefully more shackers will join now. Very high quality game feature a level of Blizzard polish, and in a world of WoW it's mainly guilty of not being able to keep up with content.

Jun 04, 2010 7:32am PDT

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Nice. Hopefully more shackers will join now. Very high quality game feature a level of Blizzard polish,... : Wombat Woo
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
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  I'll plan on playing. : Nation
  - Yea, same here. I used to have a sub to this game but WoW called me back. : xpogox

#20

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By: Blazer1982 x Show Full Post

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I might try it until Old Republic comes out, theres no fn way im going back to World of Warcrack, great game but I need an addiction like that like I need a hole in my head. Its like quitting smoking, you know its bad for you but your tempted every so often to go back to it.

Jun 04, 2010 8:33am PDT

I might try it until Old Republic comes out, theres no fn way im going back to World of Warcrack, great g... : Blazer1982

#7

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By: MuteMode x Show Full Post

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I will now play this game.

Jun 04, 2010 7:54am PDT

I will now play this game. : MuteMode

#5

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By: kelerian x Show Full Post

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I like this. I havent had time to justify a full subscription, but with this I can get an mmo fix and not worry about it!

Jun 04, 2010 7:45am PDT

I like this. I havent had time to justify a full subscription, but with this I can get an mmo fix and not... : kelerian

#4

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By: razoric x Show Full Post

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Wow this is going to be huge. Very smart idea.

Jun 04, 2010 7:34am PDT

Wow this is going to be huge. Very smart idea. : razoric

#3

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By: Onward, to futility! x Show Full Post

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Wow, I guess DDO is doing pretty damn well for them to decide to do this. I mean, LOTRO hasn't really been struggling at all, has it?

Very cool though, I shall be playing! :D

Also, perhaps Mythic will take note and finally get Warhammer some players. :P

Jun 04, 2010 7:32am PDT

Wow, I guess DDO is doing pretty damn well for them to decide to do this. I mean, LOTRO hasn't really bee... : Onward, to futility!

#1

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By: jonin x Show Full Post

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oh boy

Jun 04, 2010 7:27am PDT

oh boy : jonin

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