Posted August 08, 2010
As a huge fan of Tolkien, I couldn't let the MMO go without playing it. For a long time, I've said no, because I'm against paying a monthly fee for a game. But recently, I saw the summer promo and bought me the whole game (LOTRO + Moria + Mirkwood) + lifetime membership for just around 130 €, which means, in fact, just paying one year of membership at once an never be bothered ever after. So far, I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made concerning video games !
The game is awesome. Lots of side quests, plus the main quest is divided in chapters with a real story and real benefits. What is nice is that you can very well solo a good part of the game if you want, but some areas will be especially difficult. Some classes don't solo very well, but happily they also are the most demanded classes when grouping, so it's never a problem to choose these classes and find a group.
The atmosphere is awesome : the Shire is especially beautiful. Arriving in Rivendell by the road is simply breathtaking. You feel like in The Hobbit!!
Certainly the best paying MMO i've ever played and one of the best out there.
Beware, the F2P very is very limited : yes, you can reach level 50 BUT :
- you are limited to the 3 starting regions : Bree, The Shire and the Hall of Thorin. Very large areas yes, but just a very very small portion of the whole game
- you will have to buy packs of missions if you want to reach high levels or go out those areas.
- you will not have a priority access to the servers. Which means that during busy times, you might have to wait before being able to connect.
- you will have a limited access to the chat system
- you can't have more than 3 gold coins (which is already quite a lot). If you earn more, then it will be on an account and you'll be able to use it only when you will have less than 3 gp.
- by the way, you can buy horses in game (with the game's money, not real money) but the really fast ones cost 4 gp... see what I mean ? ;)
So, I think the F2P version is a very nice way to discover the game and its possibilities, but if you want to really enjoy its complexity and its depths, you'll have to pay a monthly fee.
The game is awesome. Lots of side quests, plus the main quest is divided in chapters with a real story and real benefits. What is nice is that you can very well solo a good part of the game if you want, but some areas will be especially difficult. Some classes don't solo very well, but happily they also are the most demanded classes when grouping, so it's never a problem to choose these classes and find a group.
The atmosphere is awesome : the Shire is especially beautiful. Arriving in Rivendell by the road is simply breathtaking. You feel like in The Hobbit!!
Certainly the best paying MMO i've ever played and one of the best out there.
Beware, the F2P very is very limited : yes, you can reach level 50 BUT :
- you are limited to the 3 starting regions : Bree, The Shire and the Hall of Thorin. Very large areas yes, but just a very very small portion of the whole game
- you will have to buy packs of missions if you want to reach high levels or go out those areas.
- you will not have a priority access to the servers. Which means that during busy times, you might have to wait before being able to connect.
- you will have a limited access to the chat system
- you can't have more than 3 gold coins (which is already quite a lot). If you earn more, then it will be on an account and you'll be able to use it only when you will have less than 3 gp.
- by the way, you can buy horses in game (with the game's money, not real money) but the really fast ones cost 4 gp... see what I mean ? ;)
So, I think the F2P version is a very nice way to discover the game and its possibilities, but if you want to really enjoy its complexity and its depths, you'll have to pay a monthly fee.