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Shortline/Dod
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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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http://www.lotro.com/news/709

Didn't see that coming. Hopefully it will boost the ingame populations, but I can say at this point....I'm not a fan. I already pay a monthly subscription, but now if i want special items I can either wait a few months to build enough points or just bite the bullet and buy it? No thanks. I'm afraid it'll just bring a more immature players to the game...but we'll see. In my experience free MMOs while sometimes can be fun, more often that not suck...

/sigh

Definitely a bold move though...lets see if Turbine can back it up.

Anyone for The Old Republic? :P I've been looking forward to that game for awhile...but until then I'll just continue plodding along in LOTRO and hope things don't get screwed up too badly...

--Dod


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re: mixed feelings...

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I hope it draws in quality players however there will always be an influx of the obnoxious. And I hope the new model doesn't distract too much from creating new content. This fall they're adding a new starter zone and Book 2 of the Rangers but no mention of the next xpac?


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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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Interesting.....

And yes, I hope they don't loose focus on expansions. A new low area is nice, but not something that does much for me. I also see nothing that will bring back our members that left because of the content issues. There is a reference to changes to Radiance and LI's, but that is months off.

I have never played a game with this new model, so I hope it will help, but I really can't see anything in the near future.
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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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Wait. What?


I am lost. What does this mean to Swifty account? closed beta onward, cancelled 6 months ago.

They keep saying 'Free to Play' but then I keep reading things in the FAQ like

'As a LOTRO Founder, you automatically become a VIP and will keep all of your membership privileges as long as you PAY your monthly fee.'

Free and PAY don't belong together at all. It hurts my brain.

I want answers!!!

Swifty!
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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=335135

This seems to be trying to tie up a lot of questions people are having....its starting to make a little more sense to me now, but I still think its gonna be confusing for awhile.

Quote:
I am lost. What does this mean to Swifty account? closed beta onward, cancelled 6 months ago.


I'm guessing Swifty, that you'll by default get "Premium" member status...and the benefits/restrictions it has.

From the FAQ on it:

Quote:
I am a former subscriber to LOTRO. What will Free-to-Play mean for me when I come back to play when LOTRO Free-to-Play is available?
As a former subscriber to LOTRO, you are always welcome back to join the fight. You will, by default, be awarded the status and privileges of a Premium player, and you can join the game and play for free.



--Dod


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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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And make no monthly payments? I just can't believe that. But I like it!
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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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Yep, make no monthly payments.... as long as you don't want a special service that costs more, like extra character slots, or more vault space.... that costs more....

Really going to have to wait an see who this shakes out for someone like you, Swifty.

For me, they take anything away or charge me to keep it, I be some pissed.... But I think they are taking pains to make sure that does not happen for founders/lifers and the like.
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re: Skeptical

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This seems like a desperate move on the part of Warner Brothers, the new parent company that bought Turbine. They did not need to do this with the new Hobbit movie coming. Interest would have spiked as that release approaches, and all they would have to do to capitalize on it would be to continue growing the game, fix the broken systems that have driven people away, and not suck.

My #1 concern is that a move like this presages the servers going dark--not immediately, but long term. It just has the whiff of surrender, especially with no new content--not even the second book of the rangers--coming until the fall...

Anyway, here till the ting is melted. Or they kick me off. confused


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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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I dont think it spells doom at all for Lotro. Seems like they want to follow the way they are running DDO. DDO has been making some money at least from what it seems and is still getting new content. Overall we shall see, i fear if it really goes downhill its back to WoW for me sadly.


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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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Ord74 wrote:
I dont think it spells doom at all for Lotro. Seems like they want to follow the way they are running DDO. DDO has been making some money at least from what it seems and is still getting new content. Overall we shall see, i fear if it really goes downhill its back to WoW for me sadly.


It could work...but a big difference between DDO and LOTRO is, from what I understand, DDO was pretty much a dead game and the F2P brought life back to it. LOTRO isn't dead yet, so introducing it while there are still a decent amount of subscribers (not near where it use to be I know, but still a fair amount) could potentially serve to alienate them.

One of my biggest fears at this point is that they'll make enough money off the F2P to maintain the servers and very little else. They won't make enough to give us new content. That was the biggest draw when this game was 1-2 years old...there was always something new coming around the corner....that's, I think, one of the biggest reasons they've lost people. Because they lost the "new content" schedule and because the end-game isn't very broad, once you've gotten there, there isn't a whole lot to do for people who are use to games like WoW. Going F2P isn't going to fix that...if anything i'm guessing its going to make it worse because the content will be even slower in getting released.

But I do still have hope that i'm just overly pessimistic and everything in the end will actually work out for the better. I sure hope so! This has been an amazing game for over 3 years (in part due to a most epic kin :P ). Hate to see it lose that.

--Dod


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re: LOTRO Free to Play?

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Heres a good read on the model they used on DDO which is what they are implimenting on Lotro. http://doublebuffered.com/2010/05/13/login-2010-how-turbine-supercharged-ddo-by-adopting-a-hybrid-business-model/.


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re: Re: Skeptical

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Damworth Incorporated wrote:
This seems like a desperate move on the part of Warner Brothers, the new parent company that bought Turbine. They did not need to do this with the new Hobbit movie coming. Interest would have spiked as that release approaches, and all they would have to do to capitalize on it would be to continue growing the game, fix the broken systems that have driven people away, and not suck.


I actually think that's it's purely a business move. DDO wasn't dying when they switched it, but they thought they could increase revenues by changing the business model. As an added benefit they got to do a dry run to work out the kinks before they switched a far more lucrative franchise (LOTR) to the more profitable model.

I think that it bodes better for the longterm success of lotro than the subscription model did because of the constant stream of new blood. By lowering the barrier of entry to just downloading the game, they can get people hooked and then when they run out of content they see they can buy some little pack of quests and a new place to go for a few dollars...rinse, wash, repeat.

Of course we don't know how it will actually work out, but I predict good things from this. It looks like some subset of the community is worried about an influx of preteens and that somehow eroding the existing community, but I suspect that there's enough adults who act like preteens in the existing community that there won't be much difference at all.

Hope everyone is well and I'll be sure to pop in at least once a month or so to pick up my points before launch of the new system. I, for one, welcome it because I'll easily accumulate enough points via my lifetime sub to be able to never have to spend a dollar on lotro (for expansions or anything) again, but still have full access to any new stuff I'm interested in exploring.
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