I'm a returning player from a year ago, finally decided the company and f2p model here is the best. Currently have a few questions tho. I did a forum search, and some questions I just want to confirm, while others are plain nowhere to be found (with my noob search tho), so here goes:
1. Which is more efficient, RoI Legendary or MoM expansion box? I aim to hit up the 30-day VIP -> Premium, and can only choose one purchase, then it's TP grinding all the way. Assume amazon still provides MoM for $20-25, and I want to have all contents eventually (except decorative stuffs)
2. Is Digital River still buggy for RoI purchases?
3. Lorewise, is it better to read the LotR books, Silmarillion etc, or the game first? I don't mind waiting a few days reading the books if it means understanding the Tolkien world better later on.
4. Also lorewise, at what level do the races, classes, etc converge in storyline, or not at all? Again, I want to know more about the world (gameplay isn't the only thing that interests me). I'm willing to level all possible varieties if needed since I'll grind each server anyway for TP, but ofc going for an Elf Hunter repeatedly is faster overall.
5. Any passable/time-limit stuff I can miss in this game? As in, if I pass a certain level then some titles/deeds/skirmishes/crafting/etc will be impossible to get, or some quests I would be too late to complete. I'm a collector, and would like to know if I can just move through everything then do a checklist at end game, or have to resort to a walkthrough. Ofc, festival items from past events would be missed, but I'm more concerned about things I could still get now.
6. Out of curiosity, this game seems to include dps parses. With that said, how come people are still arguing about top dps class, etc? Wouldn't it be easier to compare than other MMORPG?
7. This may have changed from my perception last year, but how far do you think is the LotRO population in terms of game content? Is a typical player already stuck to 75 with First Age stuffs with several toons or still questing through the game. In other words, is the player pace faster than the game updates?
1. Which is more efficient, RoI Legendary or MoM expansion box? I aim to hit up the 30-day VIP -> Premium, and can only choose one purchase, then it's TP grinding all the way. Assume amazon still provides MoM for $20-25, and I want to have all contents eventually (except decorative stuffs)
Depends on how badly you want two character slots and access to the Rune Keeper and Warden class and the 30 days of VIP. IMHO - The Isengard Legendary offer is a much better buy to get a massive amount of content.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
2. Is Digital River still buggy for RoI purchases?
No idea. They are less troublesome than Turbine.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
3. Lorewise, is it better to read the LotR books, Silmarillion etc, or the game first? I don't mind waiting a few days reading the books if it means understanding the Tolkien world better later on.
The game is based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Turbine does not have access the other works - You will never see any reference to the Silmarillion. You can play and enjoy the game with out the books. If you going read something read the trilogy.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
4. Also lorewise, at what level do the races, classes, etc converge in storyline, or not at all? Again, I want to know more about the world (gameplay isn't the only thing that interests me). I'm willing to level all possible varieties if needed since I'll grind each server anyway for TP, but ofc going for an Elf Hunter repeatedly is faster overall.
Everybody is together once finish the starter experience. That should occur around level 6.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
5. Any passable/time-limit stuff I can miss in this game? As in, if I pass a certain level then some titles/deeds/skirmishes/crafting/etc will be impossible to get, or some quests I would be too late to complete. I'm a collector, and would like to know if I can just move through everything then do a checklist at end game, or have to resort to a walkthrough. Ofc, festival items from past events would be missed, but I'm more concerned about things I could still get now.
There are some quest content that is level limited. I believe it is all Lotro Store introduction quests. I think you get mails for them. My characters were beyond this point. I do not really understand this area.
There is what are called tasks. They are level limited on both ends. You are interested in doing specific tasks, you need to do them while they are avaiable. You have a five task per real time day limit to start with. In most of Middle Earth there are task boards except for Moria, Lothlorien, Mirkwood and Endewaith.
There is some content that you can never do. It is not available any more. There are some fork choices - you can only do one fork. You have to choose which fork. You want the other fork - you need another character. There is some content that is content limited. For example, if you fail to do all the starter experience content before leaving. You can't do it. There are several points in the game where you will hit this situation such as the Mirkwood Landing Instance or the Volume 2, Book instances for Moria access. There are four racial starter experiences. There are some racial quests like in Endewaith - you will be offerred one of a set four quests based on your race. There is the class quests - you need a character of every class.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
6. Out of curiosity, this game seems to include dps parses. With that said, how come people are still arguing about top dps class, etc? Wouldn't it be easier to compare than other MMORPG?
We argue about everything associated with classes. Hunter players roll around on the floor kicking and screaming about the Hunter class. I think this is common all games.
The DPS parses are done via a plugin. You get into what gear. What skill rotation. What build. What were you fighting. PLus this kind of fussing - You can not be serious - You would not want to do that as a Hunter in a group. Yes you are maximizing your DPS but reducing overall efficiency of the group. You going to pull aggro and get killed.
Originally Posted by KiraZ;[128094
7. This may have changed from my perception last year, but how far do you think is the LotRO population in terms of game content? Is a typical player already stuck to 75 with First Age stuffs with several toons or still questing through the game. In other words, is the player pace faster than the game updates?
It is really easy to level cap. Someone that knows what they are doing can go from level 1 to level 75 in a little over a month. It is not hard to do 2 levels in one daily play session. The population is characters at all levels. New arrivals. Alts. People coming back.
Since first ages come from raid content 12 person instances. The vast majority of characters do not have a first age. I had 7 65s when the level cap went up. Now it is a 66, 72 and 5 75s. I've never had a first age of any kind. The kind of gear you have depends on how much group content you want to do. How much time you want to spent with a level capped character gearing the character. You find level 75 walking with a level 75 3rd age, no or low end relics, still earning item XP. You will find someone with a level 75 1st age, maxed out all tier 6 legacies - really sweet item.
When the level 65 1st ages arrived - I bumped into a Champion with a "finished" sword end of the first week.
Last edited by Yula_the_Mighty; Apr 22 2012 at 09:41 PM.
Unless stated otherwise, all content in this post is My Personal Opinion.
There are some quest content that is level limited. I believe it is all Lotro Store introduction quests. I think you get mails for them. My characters were beyond this point. I do not really understand this area.
There is what are called tasks. They are level limited on both ends. You are interested in doing specific tasks, you need to do them while they are avaiable. You have a five task per real time day limit to start with. In most of Middle Earth there are task boards except for Moria, Lothlorien, Mirkwood and Endewaith.
There is some content that you can never do. It is not available any more. There are some fork choices - you can only do one fork. You have to choose which fork. You want the other fork - you need another character. There is some content that is content limited. For example, if you fail to do all the starter experience content before leaving. You can't do it. There are several points in the game where you will hit this situation such as the Mirkwood Landing Instance or the Volume 2, Book instances for Moria access. There are four racial starter experiences. There are some racial quests like in Endewaith - you will be offerred one of a set four quests based on your race. There is the class quests - you need a character of every class.
God, that's quite a handful. Any guides specifically detailing them, or maybe some link to exhaustive and updated database for each quest? Or I have to experience those firsthand with TP grind chars, thus can't start my main straightaway?
Overall that's good to know. I prefer to do things slowly, completing deeds as I go, then watch some sceneries, etc. There's surprisingly a lot to experience here which is good. Also happy with the way uber gearing and end game works from what you said.
Also, some more questions. Hope you don't mind:
1. Once the VIP starts, some features are only available when I logged each char into the game. Do they actually have to be eligible for the quest (like getting to 20 for the mount) or I can just create my 3 mains and leave it at level 1?
2. Rough figures for the TP saved from Free -> Premium with the added features? My CC is not accepted by Turbine and I want to know if it's worth it creating Paypal or new CC. I counted 3960 TP. Is this even remotely correct?
3. Since stat points are fixed, top end equipment and traits for each battle rather agreed upon and available on guides, does it mean that the only character customization possible is in appearance? It'd suck that every lvl 75 Hunter is the same, effectiveness-wise. There will be less flexibility and unique feeling you get if this is true.
4. Personally, what keeps you going this far (multiple high level toons)? The overall nice package of the game? The player experience? The slow creep towards uber gears? Or simply the brief euphoria from new end game content before becoming bored again like in many other MMORPGs?
God, that's quite a handful. Any guides specifically detailing them, or maybe some link to exhaustive and updated database for each quest? Or I have to experience those firsthand with TP grind chars, thus can't start my main straightaway?
The quest forks and limitations are minor and occasional - certainly not enough to delay starting your main character.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
1. Once the VIP starts, some features are only available when I logged each char into the game. Do they actually have to be eligible for the quest (like getting to 20 for the mount) or I can just create my 3 mains and leave it at level 1?
Level 1 is enough to unlock all the ex-VIP perks except for the riding skill - you have to be level 20 while VIP to do the riding skill quest. Note that you have to LOG IN with the character, not just create it, for it to take effect.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
2. Rough figures for the TP saved from Free -> Premium with the added features? My CC is not accepted by Turbine and I want to know if it's worth it creating Paypal or new CC. I counted 3960 TP. Is this even remotely correct?
A month of VIP opens:
Currency Cap - 395TP
Bags - 990TP
Traits - 1435TP per character
Riding Skill - 95TP per character if you get them to L20
And you can't buy permanent Swift Travel, so it's hard to put a TP value on it.
Originally Posted by KiraZ
3. Since stat points are fixed, top end equipment and traits for each battle rather agreed upon and available on guides, does it mean that the only character customization possible is in appearance? It'd suck that every lvl 75 Hunter is the same, effectiveness-wise. There will be less flexibility and unique feeling you get if this is true.
Definitely not set in stone. There are some pieces that everyone aims for, some traits that everyone slots, but it's definitely not identical builds for every player. And it's very rare anyone will be rejected from a group based on their choice of gear (of course if their gear is of low quality they could be rejected, but not because they've chosen/found a different set of good gear).
Originally Posted by KiraZ
4. Personally, what keeps you going this far (multiple high level toons)? The overall nice package of the game? The player experience? The slow creep towards uber gears? Or simply the brief euphoria from new end game content before becoming bored again like in many other MMORPGs?
The community of (generally) far superior and more mature players than any other MMO I've been involved in.
1. Which is more efficient, RoI Legendary or MoM expansion box? I aim to hit up the 30-day VIP -> Premium, and can only choose one purchase, then it's TP grinding all the way. Assume amazon still provides MoM for $20-25, and I want to have all contents eventually (except decorative stuffs)
While the RoI legendary is likely the best bang for the buck package available at the moment the downgrade perks from VIP are really important especially later in the game and especially the swift travel.
The savings from currency cap and bags are diminished if you plan on several charcaters as these are account wide unlocks if bought with TP but trait slots, riding skill and swift travel are not.
The best way if you want to have multiple alts is to make sure that you can create enough alts during VIP to get the perks i.e. you need to be able to get all the character slots you need.
Of course if you want to just have TP grinding chars it does not matter as you can throw them away but I could never do that - I want each char that I invest some time to be useful and not a TP grinding machine.
Since I started playing I earned around 15k TP - probably more - by just playing the game. Of course it takes longer than a few weeks but a carefully planned VIP time makes sure that playing is fun.
But I have to end my post with that the RoI legendary gives a lot of content for a low price.
While the RoI legendary is likely the best bang for the buck package available at the moment the downgrade perks from VIP are really important especially later in the game and especially the swift travel.
The savings from currency cap and bags are diminished if you plan on several charcaters as these are account wide unlocks if bought with TP but trait slots, riding skill and swift travel are not.
The best way if you want to have multiple alts is to make sure that you can create enough alts during VIP to get the perks i.e. you need to be able to get all the character slots you need.
Of course if you want to just have TP grinding chars it does not matter as you can throw them away but I could never do that - I want each char that I invest some time to be useful and not a TP grinding machine.
Since I started playing I earned around 15k TP - probably more - by just playing the game. Of course it takes longer than a few weeks but a carefully planned VIP time makes sure that playing is fun.
But I have to end my post with that the RoI legendary gives a lot of content for a low price.
I also feel that deleting is a waste, but I found I had too little a time to eventually play those class in all 28 servers. What I'm planning is one unique class/race combo in each server to familiarize myself with each class (except RK and Warden ofc). I plan to get to 20 based on http://www.f2plotro.com/ on each server, leave it at that and then actually starting my main class(es) with all the goodies and QP. I may be buying RoI for premium and also option to skip introduction, but as it is, I'm not comfortable with using CC online and has err on the side of using cash to buy boxes or cards, which I can't since I'm in SE Asia. Sad since I'm a student with PT job and can afford at least RoI.
I also feel that deleting is a waste, but I found I had too little a time to eventually play those class in all 28 servers. What I'm planning is one unique class/race combo in each server to familiarize myself with each class (except RK and Warden ofc).
Well the goal for me was to have as many chars as wanted on a single server to profit from crafting the most and to be able to bring that missing class into the group that you run with your kin.
Of course the focus is mostly on a single or maybe two classes unless you really have a lot of time but - for me - it is quite an important part of the fun to be able to sustain myself properly via crafting.
God, that's quite a handful. Any guides specifically detailing them, or maybe some link to exhaustive and updated database for each quest? Or I have to experience those firsthand with TP grind chars, thus can't start my main straightaway?
There are probably guides. I would not have a clue as to where to look. I have played this game since summer of 2007. The information is contained in Yula archives from personal experience. I know all the decision points. I do not remember the details, I stop. Go research the information. There are very few cases where a choice has much effect. There is a place in Lothlorien where the choice results in one of two titles - One of the the Titles is Poacher. I forget what the other one is.
In Endewaith there is a choice involving whether to kill cows over and over or not. You choose not to kill the cows, it opens up a daily quest that gives a Gold Endewaith Barter Token. All my character went with - Sorry I killed your cows. Here is the meat and hides - almost forget the tails and hooves. I will not do it again. What can I do to make it right?
As long as aware that choice quests exist. You will now to scan the quest text at each step. If there is red text, that is a indication to read and understand. That information is vital. It either tells you that some special action is required like a specific emote. Or that you have reached a decision point where you are going lock yourself out some content.
Most of the time all you do is change what NPC say to you. There is a place in Endewaith where your choice will pick which NPC fusses at you in conversation and which one is nice and friendly. Either A like you and B hates you. Or A hates you and B likes you. The reward is basically the same on the two choices. I believe I thought both rewards were vendor trash.
Unless stated otherwise, all content in this post is My Personal Opinion.
There are probably guides. I would not have a clue as to where to look. I have played this game since summer of 2007. The information is contained in Yula archives from personal experience. I know all the decision points. I do not remember the details, I stop. Go research the information. There are very few cases where a choice has much effect. There is a place in Lothlorien where the choice results in one of two titles - One of the the Titles is Poacher. I forget what the other one is.
In Endewaith there is a choice involving whether to kill cows over and over or not. You choose not to kill the cows, it opens up a daily quest that gives a Gold Endewaith Barter Token. All my character went with - Sorry I killed your cows. Here is the meat and hides - almost forget the tails and hooves. I will not do it again. What can I do to make it right?
As long as aware that choice quests exist. You will now to scan the quest text at each step. If there is red text, that is a indication to read and understand. That information is vital. It either tells you that some special action is required like a specific emote. Or that you have reached a decision point where you are going lock yourself out some content.
Most of the time all you do is change what NPC say to you. There is a place in Endewaith where your choice will pick which NPC fusses at you in conversation and which one is nice and friendly. Either A like you and B hates you. Or A hates you and B likes you. The reward is basically the same on the two choices. I believe I thought both rewards were vendor trash.
After playing through the game, I have understood more of what you said about level limited quests, tasks, and decision forks. For content-limited titles and deeds, would Berrys Completionist Tracker suffice to cover my lack of game experience? Also, is it safe to assume all such quests to always have red text? I just realize that the amount of text and lore in this game is enormous, and so I might confuse some storyline and miss something.
3) The books are not easy reading past the "main" 4 (hobbit + 3). The rest take a while to really absorb, and can be rather difficult to read, certainly not casual reading by and large. Play the game. Read some too, but if you wait to understand it all first, it could take you a fairly long time to read all the works.
4) The main quest is the same after the first intro chapter, which is similar but slightly different for all races.
5) Very few things expire, mostly fun stuff (cosmetics and toys) from festivals. The bulk of the world is in stasis and time changes only as the player moves along the story, really. The one thing you can do to make a mess of the time line is to do the main quest all out of order (very possible to do). If you avoid that, you should be pleased with the result.
6) DPS parses are third party, and often quirky. Also, people cheat to get ultra good parses. A hunter for example can do a combo to one shot a mob, effectively doing 30,000 damage in 0.1 seconds. The parser then happily tells you that you have 300k dps --- not really representative of the class. Also, dps is very subjective. In a 10 min raid boss fight, dps means one thing. In a pvp fight, it means another. Against a wave of aoe trash, or soloing wimpy elites, it means yet a third thing. Then there are gear issues (is this runekeeper as well geared as that champion?) and play issues (is the player behind this hunter the problem, or is it the hunter class?). So, to sum it up, there is plenty to argue about --- its is just about impossible to be scientific by reproducing the same fight for two equally geared players with equally skilled humans at the controls and equally well built trait setups and so on. The lack of control for the testing combined with people that try to cheat to look better and lots of other issues lead to a back and forth neverending discussion.
7) A large number of players are at max level but without the best gear. A number of people never raid at all, others have been set back by the current game performance, and more. The "average" player has mostly teal gear, including second age legendary items, and maybe has "dragon raid" level gear or at least a 2-3 pieces of that.
Draegon:
"stack all the morale you want but dont come on here wonderin why you aint hittin hard! "
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Originally Posted by KiraZ
No idea. They are less troublesome than Turbine.
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