Thread: Official Discussion: Isengard LOTRO Store availability and Turbine Point Cost

We know you’ve been waiting for information on when the Rise of Isengard Expansion will be available in the LOTRO Store and what the cost will be. We’re happy to announce that you will be able to purchase and experience Isengard on DAY ONE by purchasing its components from the LOTRO Store using Turbine Points.

The break down below shows you what features will cost and when they will be available. Please be aware that the store doesn’t allow for a ‘pre-purchase’ option so the Expansion instances cannot actually be purchased until they are released as part of Update 5. This is also why they’re not included in any of the bundles listed below.

Isengard Expansion Quests
Available in the LOTRO Store September 27 (Isengard Launch) for 3250 Turbine Points
Over 375 Quests and more than 40 Deeds for characters level 66-75 in the following regions

• Dunland -- Adventure amidst the bright forests in the foothills of the southern Misty Mountains. Beware the Dunland Clans, rugged warriors tempted by the dark promise of power.
• Gap of Rohan -- Battle over the legendary pass between Eriador and the plains of Rohan. This key strategic point must be defended against the ambitions of Sauron.
• Isengard -- Explore Orthanc, one of the iconic Two Towers as it rises over the once beautiful Isengard valley. The once beautiful vale now desecrated beyond imagination by the Wizard Saruman the betrayer.

Raid: Draigoch’s Lair
Available in the LOTRO Store September 27 (Isengard Launch) for 1250 Turbine Points

• Face the ancient evil of Draigoch, one of the most powerful creatures in Middle-earth! Prepare for the ultimate challenge where nothing less than the strength of an entire force of 24 heroes stands the chance of victory

Derudh’s Stone
Available in the LOTRO Store September 27 (Isengard Launch) for 995 Turbine Points
A permanent pocket item that grants +25% XP on Monster Kills when equipped. This item binds to the purchasing character. Usable by characters level 1-64.

Expansion Instances
Available with Update 5, currently slated for December, for 1495 Turbine Points

• One 12-player instance
• One 6-player instance
• Three 3-player instances

..which puts the total cost of the expansion, excluding the preorder pocket item, to 5995 Turbine points.

Wow. So much for VIPs saving up their points.

Do VIPs who preordered the expansion have to pay for the 5 new instances in update 5?

Per this thread anyone who pre-purchases RoI, or who purchases RoI via the store gets the 5 instances free (http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...99#post5630499). Are those just broken out to give people the option of purchasing the instances WITHOUT purchasing the Isengard expansion?

Originally Posted by Sapience

We are currently preparing five new instances for release post Isengard.

Rise of Isengard will be released on September 27 along with a 24 Player raid. There will be 3 Three player, 1 Six player and 1 Twelve player instance released in Update 5, the first update after the release of Rise of Isengard. These instances will be free to any player who has pre-purchased the Rise of Isengard expansion or who purchases after launch via the Turbine Web Store.

Originally Posted by Redstar

Do VIPs who preordered the expansion have to pay for the 5 new instances in update 5?

No, this was cleared up a while back.

Originally Posted by grinko.at

..which puts the total cost of the expansion, excluding the preorder pocket item, to 5995 Turbine points.

Wow. So much for VIPs saving up their points.

While it is a bit higher than I'd have guessed, people wanted the info before release, now they have it. And can make decisions as best suits their game play desires/budget/etc. Answer is apparently there is 1 expansion per year, and it takes most (or all) of your VIP TPs to get it. If you are surprised that Turbine wants people to purchase expansions for cash and use TPs on fluff, well, you shouldn't be. If they had made the TP cost closely competitive with the cash cost, next time around nobody would pay cash and many of those who HAD paid cash already for ROI would be rather bitter.

As a lifer who had been waiting for this information release, I'm going to buy the $30 deal. I'm content to use TPs on other things, and OK buying an expansion per year for cash...

Fair enough - as lifetimer I have way enough points for everything I'm interested in.
Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by grinko.at

..which puts the total cost of the expansion, excluding the preorder pocket item, to 5995 Turbine points.

Wow. So much for VIPs saving up their points.

I still despise the Store, but to be fair, VIPs who've been around since F2P launched will have earned roughly 6k TP from their monthly allotment alone. So folks who did save up will be able to get all this with their saved points - those who spent points on in-game advantages, additional storage, or cosmetics might find themselves shy a few points.

Originally Posted by Skigorn

Per this thread anyone who pre-purchases RoI, or who purchases RoI via the store gets the 5 instances free (http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...99#post5630499). Are those just broken out to give people the option of purchasing the instances WITHOUT purchasing the Isengard expansion?

The Web Store (Digital River) is not the LotRO Store. It boils down to if you pay cash, the Instances in Update 5 are free, if you use TP the Instances are seperate.

Thank you for the information, Sapience. While I still deplore that Turbine is charging anyone for a raid that was slated to be free, I don't begrudge it being a separate purchase from the quest content. The availability of the pre-order pocket item on a per-character basis is an interesting touch.

I have one final question: Will the instances that are available with Update 5 be free to VIP players?

Originally Posted by Gedachtnis

The Web Store (Digital River) is not the LotRO Store. It boils down to if you pay cash, the Instances in Update 5 are free, if you use TP the Instances are seperate.

Ah yes I see that now. The working words are "web store", not "Lotro Store".

Originally Posted by Redstar

Do VIPs who preordered the expansion have to pay for the 5 new instances in update 5?

No. As I mentioned in another thread, those who prepurchase or who purchase via the web store will recieve the 5 instances in Update 5 for free.

If you buy the expansion via the web store (which is not the LOTRO store and will only accept real currency, not points), you get the instances for free. I believe this is whether or not you pre-order. Your access to them is dependent solely on how you purchase Isengard; not whether you are Free, VIP, or Premium.

If you purchase the expansion with Turbine Points in the LOTRO Store, it does not include the instances. They will be a separate purchase.

Originally Posted by Lestache

I still despise the Store, but to be fair, VIPs who've been around since F2P launched will have earned roughly 6k TP from their monthly allotment alone. So folks who did save up will be able to get all this with their saved points - those who spent points on in-game advantages, additional storage, or cosmetics might find themselves shy a few points.

Don't forget they aren't automatically interested in everything. Personally I couldn't care less about the raid, and I don't need the +25% xp ring either. So I will get full experience of what I expect in Isengard without having to purchase the parts I'm not interested in - not a bad deal.

Originally Posted by grinko.at

..which puts the total cost of the expansion, excluding the preorder pocket item, to 5995 Turbine points.

Wow. So much for VIPs saving up their points.

F2P is one year old. At 500 points a month, if a VIP had saved their points all this time, they'd have 6000 (not counting TP from deeds or lotteries or prizes.

The key word in 'saving up' is 'saving'.

Though I must admit, the cost of all this is rather a bit high compared to the Moria and Mirkwood bundles no? Aren't they on the store for about 3k each? And that's with instances and classes and slots and whatnot?

I really thought we would at least get the Draigoch raid with the quests, but apparently they are going away from the expansion pack in favor of breaking everything out for TP purchasers. Not too sure what I am going to do now though. Been saving TP, but I don't have 6000.

Originally Posted by Lomeloth

...

I have one final question: Will the instances that are available with Update 5 be free to VIP players?

More specific, if a VIP purchases RoI through the LotRO Store will they get the U5 Instances free?

VIP's are billed as getting Content Updates free, which we have, but this is a new area (xpac launch) since F2P has realeased, some clarification on how LotRO Store purchases/sub levels will interact, would be appreciated.

Could someone from Turbine (And I don't mean this as rudely as it sounds, but not some random person here with an old, potentially no longer valid, response from a pre-pricing thread.) clarify please?

VIP members get Update 5 instance content for free as long as Isengard was purchased, correct? Even if purchased through the Turbine store? Expansions are paid for, and update content is included "free" for being VIP is how I understood VIP to work.

I ask because having that price there without further clarification is otherwise potentially misleading.

The total cost for all of these things is 6990 TP.

This actually makes the cash pre-order offers (which include all these things, plus mounts, cosmetics, and more) look significantly more attractive for players who want them all.

Wow, I just have to say that these prices are outrageous. I'm glad I preordered, but seriously.

Who is going to pay 14 bucks for access to the raid? So much for actually getting groups of 24. There's no way this shouldn't have been included for 3250 for a raid originally billed as a free update.

Simply out of control in my opinion.

What about T7 Crafting? Is that included for 3250 or is that another add on?

Originally Posted by Gedachtnis

More specific, if a VIP purchases RoI through the LotRO Store will they get the U5 Instances free?

VIP's are billed as getting Content Updates free, which we have, but this is a new area (xpac launch) since F2P has realeased, some clarification on how LotRO Store purchases/sub levels will interact, would be appreciated.

No, unfortunately you will only get the instances for free if you purchase them through the out-of-game store.

Originally Posted by grinko.at

..which puts the total cost of the expansion, excluding the preorder pocket item, to 5995 Turbine points.

or.... the cost of 3 exclusive mounts for just 1 toon.... (I don't have a problem with the points pricing of the xpac, but I really wish someone would balance the costs or possibly the applications of other items)

Also note that the stone you included for 995 TP is only for one toon, while if you preorder every toon you ever make will get it. I think dropping $30.00 now is the far better deal in the long run, but people have their options. (also don't forget the extra quest packs for those non-vips if you bump up to the $50.00 version).

Thanks for the info. Like others, I hate the idea of in-game purchases as a point of principal, but I also appreciate that if the game is to survive and prosper you guys need to make a profit and make it worthwhile, so as long as it's not too intrusive, I'll put up with it to get new content.

I have enough points to get what I want (and have never bought any, as I'm a VIP - Codemasters Lifetime Sub) so I'm happy, and I am grateful it's an option.

(Oh, and since I don't raid, I can save money on that - a nice touch for me, thanks!)

Originally Posted by Jadzi

F2P is one year old. At 500 points a month, if a VIP had saved their points all this time, they'd have 6000 (not counting TP from deeds or lotteries or prizes.

The key word in 'saving up' is 'saving'.

Though I must admit, the cost of all this is rather a bit high compared to the Moria and Mirkwood bundles no? Aren't they on the store for about 3k each? And that's with instances and classes and slots and whatnot?

I expect that there is some TP inflation going on here. Thing is, many F2P players will (just a guess) never be buying Isengard. They won't last long enough, or will be content with the experience up to Moria and run a few characters up to there, etc. For the VIP/lifer folks, many may well want Isengard and have large pools of TPs. Turbine wants to get some cash from these folks for expansions. If the once a year expansion were about 3000 TPs, say, that would mean that you could allocate half your monthly TPs to the expansion, half to fluff, and not throw in extra cash. I'm guessing that isn't the model Turbine wants to encourage...

Originally Posted by Mateusaran

I really thought we would at least get the Draigoch raid with the quests, but apparently they are going away from the expansion pack in favor of breaking everything out for TP purchasers. Not too sure what I am going to do now though. Been saving TP, but I don't have 6000.

Originally Posted by Gedachtnis

More specific, if a VIP purchases RoI through the LotRO Store will they get the U5 Instances free?

VIP's are billed as getting Content Updates free, which we have, but this is a new area (xpac launch) since F2P has realeased, some clarification on how LotRO Store purchases/sub levels will interact, would be appreciated.

These are related so I'll answer them in one shot.

What your status is isn't as important as how you pay for the expansion. Pre-purchase gets you everything. Wait until launch day and buy the a la carte options in the store and you will get what's shown above. It doesn't matter if you are VIP, Free, or Premium. It's how the packages break out.

Also, for those who are comparing Moria, Mirkwood, and Isengard, you should notice that there is no "expansion" option for Isengard, jut the a la carte items. This is due to the instances coming later (currently slated for December). The LOTRO Store doesn't allow us to put things in that don't exist in game yet. So we can't put an 'expansion' bundle in the store until then.

Important question: is the complete epic story line included in the "quest pack" that costs 3250 points? Or will you need the instance pack to complete them?

Originally Posted by Sapience

No. As I mentioned in another thread, those who prepurchase or who purchase via the web store will recieve the 5 instances in Update 5 for free.

First of all, thank you for providing us with this information. Regardless of one's feelings about the Store or the prices of content therein, it's nice to actually be able to make an informed decision as a consumer.

At the risk of opening a small can of worms, I do have a question regarding update 6 and beyond. We already know that update 5 will be free to those who purchase RoI with cash and incur an additional cost to those who purchase RoI with TP. At this time, is this the general plan for future updates? Will VIPs who purchase expansions with cash receive all content updates in between expansions at no additional cost?

(I realize that information, terms, and conditions are subject to change. I'm just wondering if the current plan is to continue to try to keep the VIP experience as unchanged as possible, or if the future is more uncertain - i.e., will the cost (or lack thereof) of non-expansion content updates to VIPS be determined on a case-by-case basis?)

Originally Posted by Sapience

Isengard Expansion Quests
Available in the LOTRO Store September 27 (Isengard Launch) for 3250 Turbine Points
Over 375 Quests and more than 40 Deeds for characters level 66-75 in the following regions

• Dunland -- Adventure amidst the bright forests in the foothills of the southern Misty Mountains. Beware the Dunland Clans, rugged warriors tempted by the dark promise of power.
• Gap of Rohan -- Battle over the legendary pass between Eriador and the plane of Rohan. This key strategic point must be defended against the ambitions of Sauron.
• Isengard -- Explore Orthanc, one of the iconic Two Towers as it rises over the once beautiful Isengard valley. The once beautiful vale now desecrated beyond imagination by the Wizard Saruman the betrayer.

Thanks for letting us know the costs in Turbine Points. That said I realize that it is 3 zones but taking into account the number of quests and deeds you get, 3250 TPs seems a bit much. =( I mean if you look at Moria as an example you pay 1495 TPs and you get 350+ quest and over 40 deeds. Am I missing something?

Edit: Also just realized for your purchase for Moria for 1495 TPs you also get 7 instances and 2 raids. Now I am really confused.

Originally Posted by Sapience

Raid: Draigoch’s Lair
Available in the LOTRO Store September 27 (Isengard Launch) for 1250 Turbine Points

• Face the ancient evil of Draigoch, one of the most powerful creatures in Middle-earth! Prepare for the ultimate challenge where nothing less than the strength of an entire force of 24 heroes stands the chance of victory

Sapience, is there any chance you could talk to marketing about changing the last sentence of my quote? It's rather a less than honest or accurate advertisement as the T2 version of the raid is to only do it with 12 people.

Thanks!
Keirion

Originally Posted by Jadzi

F2P is one year old. At 500 points a month, if a VIP had saved their points all this time, they'd have 6000 (not counting TP from deeds or lotteries or prizes.

The key word in 'saving up' is 'saving'.

Though I must admit, the cost of all this is rather a bit high compared to the Moria and Mirkwood bundles no? Aren't they on the store for about 3k each? And that's with instances and classes and slots and whatnot?

Well, as it was stated that Isengard will be priced "somewhere north of Moria", I expected the whole expansion to be in the 3500-4000 points range. I had to buy some now mandatory items like the relic unslot scroll to keep my hard-earned 2 Adamant Gem of Dreams, but still have 4000 points in reserve for the expansion.

But twice the price of the previous expansions is insane.

Will the Isenguard expansion still be available in the digital river "real money" store after it is released at the same $29.95 price as the pre-order?

I get the dis-incentive for VIPs to try to get the expansion for "free", but if the effective price doubles just because you didn't pre-order....

Originally Posted by Korrigan

Important question: is the complete epic story line included in the "quest pack" that costs 3250 points? Or will you need the instance pack to complete them?

I have not seen anything to indicate the epic questline will no longer be free, so I would hope the epics are available to anyone, whether or not they have purchased any of the Isengard content.

Originally Posted by Sapience

Also, for those who are comparing Moria, Mirkwood, and Isengard, you should notice that there is no "expansion" option for Isengard, jut the a la carte items. This is due to the instances coming later (currently slated for December). The LOTRO Store doesn't allow us to put things in that don't exist in game yet. So we can't put an 'expansion' bundle in the store until then.

I am guessing this is something that can not be answered yet, but just in case...

Does this mean that once the instance cluster is out that there will be an 'Isengard expansion' option added to the LOTRO Store that includes all of the above pieces parts?

Originally Posted by Blndiebby25

Thanks for letting us know the costs in Turbine Points. That said I realize that it is 3 zones but taking into account the number of quests and deeds you get, 3250 TPs seems a bit much. =( I mean if you look at Moria as an example you pay 1495 TPs and you get 350+ quest and over 40 deeds. Am I missing something?

Yea, you forgot to mention a raid, and several 6 mans. If you pay 2.4k you get two classes, a raid, several 6 mans, skirm soldier upgrade raise, and 2 char slots.

Originally Posted by Gedachtnis

More specific, if a VIP purchases RoI through the LotRO Store will they get the U5 Instances free?

VIP's are billed as getting Content Updates free, which we have, but this is a new area (xpac launch) since F2P has realeased, some clarification on how LotRO Store purchases/sub levels will interact, would be appreciated.

Free players, VIP, or Premium who purchase through the LOTRO Store will need to purchase all the options they want. This means if you want the Quests and the Raid you will need to purchase both. There is no break down across account status.

The same holds true if you pre-order. You will get everything that way regardless of whether you are free, VIP, or premium.

Also, it's worth noting that the mounts included with the pre-order will NOT be available in the LOTRO Store.

Originally Posted by Keirion

Sapience, is there any chance you could talk to marketing about changing the last sentence of my quote? It's rather a less than honest or accurate advertisement as the T2 version of the raid is to only do it with 12 people.

Thanks!
Keirion

Maybe the dragon auto-wipes the group when he hits 5% morale and your group has fewer than 24 people, and we're never meant to beat T2 or the Challenge.

(Kidding, of course).

First of all, thank you for finally confirming the pricing and availability as it will put a stop to a lot of the whining around here lately.

Personally, I think the prices are a too high for everything and I am very happy I preordered now. This pricing puts it as the most expensive QP when you include the cost of the instances that are normally part of a QP. Not necessarily surprising since it's the newest content. However, the cost of QP + instances (not even including the raid) is something like 2-3 times most of the QPs in terms of cost per content. They're basically devaluing the Turbine Point for this new content.

In my opinion, the ONLY way it makes sense to buy the items this way is if you a) don't want all three of QP, instances, and raid or b) if you have saved up a ton of TPs for RoI either from buying a big pack on sale (6900 for $50) or saving up VIP points. The preorder deal of $50 for RoI QP + RoI instances + Dragoich + Derudh's Stone on all characters + 1000 TP + fluff + Path of the Fellowship content is far superior.

As a premium person, I really appreciate the ala carte model, but this tells me I should definitely not bank TPs (i.e. avoid big TP packages on sale) since their value is likely to be low, at least when purchasing new content. I think I'll stick with using my TPs for convenience items, accelerators and such.

I guess I can see how it would be troublesome to have to put in a bundle minus the instances, and then have to replace that bundle later. And to still find some way of crediting the people who bought the pre-U5 bundle having the U5 instances, while keeping pricing fair to those that bought it before and after.

Still, that is about three months without a bundle. Ouch. Makes me glad indeed that I pre-ordered.

Originally Posted by Thornglen

I have not seen anything to indicate the epic questline will no longer be free, so I would hope the epics are available to anyone, whether or not they have purchased any of the Isengard content.

Hopefully. I'm absolutely not interested in raid or instanced content - other games do it way better - I just want to keep on following the story and do the "outdoor" quests, which is what LOTRO does well.

Originally Posted by Sapience

These are related so I'll answer them in one shot.

What your status is isn't as important as how you pay for the expansion. Pre-purchase gets you everything. Wait until launch day and buy the a la carte options in the store and you will get what's shown above. It doesn't matter if you are VIP, Free, or Premium. It's how the packages break out.

Interesting.

Is there content in Update 5 that is not those instances? If so, will that content be free to VIPs? Or is the stance now that VIPs no longer get any free content updates? Or something in-between?

Can we get an answer if T7 crafting is included with any of this or is that being parted out separate too?