Thread: Expansion Help

Hello,

I'm a relatively new player and also relatively new to MMOs. Within the past month I decided to spring for VIP membership. I'm kind of confused by all the expansion business. I play almost exclusively solo and usually put small fellowship quests on the backburner until I'm a higher level and can solo it. I don't really get into raiding or dungeons. I'm mostly focused on basic questing and following the main story.

My question is, for someone of my playstyle, which expansions would be considered "essential" for lack of a better term in order to see most of the content? I've read that Mines of Moria is mostly group-focused, for example, which isn't something I'm all that into. All I have now is the base game and what VIP membership affords.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Well this would be a lot easier to answer if I knew your character levels.

But if your VIP then you don't need to worry about any quest packs until you hit about level 45, then you will want Moria. Some people like it, some don't but it will take you roughly 10-15 levels depending on how much you want to do there, and then your going in and out doing the epics. Personally I wouldn't go without it. I completely skipped Mirkwood myself, apart from the epics, a VIP, or anyone who has purchased it, has Enedwaith to go instead if they choose. I wouldn't say no to Isengard either. Many people say its impossible to get to level 75 with that little content but it certainly makes it a LOT easier to reach it, and now there's the great river area to help out as well. I would wager that it will be near impossible to reach 85 without Rohan or a LOT of grinding, but thats just a guess as no one can know for sure. I would say that unless you level very fast I would wait for Rohan to go on sale, same could go for Isengard unless you are close. But as you haven't gone to Moria yet I somewhat doubt that.

Hope this helps.

You still want the Mines of Moria expansion because it is the only zone in the game that will assuredly get you to 50-60, with on-level quests for that content. It also has instances, but you need not do those.

For 61-65, you can either purchase the Mirkwood expansion or do Enedwaith, which is also 61-65 and not an expansion.

For 66-75, you want the Rise of Isengard quest-pack; the expansion would include access to instances, IIRC. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm a solo based player too. The best thing you can do is become vip for a month then stop, and you'll have all 5 bags, unlimited gold cap, quest packs to get you to at least level 20, and when you get out of VIP you'll be premium and still have some of the goodies that a VIP would have as I said. You'll need to get the trollshaws, eregion, enedwaith, lothlorien, and great river quest packs, they are solo based, lead you straight to level 75 and offer the most experience. You need to stick with the epic quests and make sure you're always above the required level by a little just in case you slow down your leveling which usually happens around levels 20, 50, and 65, which are also the major level points in the game. Your welcome for the advice, and I hope you'll find it very useful!

Originally Posted by larry138

Hello,

I'm a relatively new player and also relatively new to MMOs. .

First of all, I want to say Welcome to Middle Earth.

Second, since you're new to MMOs, I'll tell you to ignore all the negativity you may see here in the forums. It's the same in every MMO forum under the sun. Play the game your way and pay your $$$ the way you see fit.

To answer your question, I can tell you that Moria is very solo friendly. I know, my guard Buttercakes is in there now.

Laire and Brina gave out some really good advice.

If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to come here and ask. There are a lot of helpful people here.

I don't know who told you that Moria is mostly group focused, because I don't find it to be. I'm 99.9% solo, and I have been having a really fun time in Moria. (The recently revamped sections were great fun to play - the ones that haven't been revamped yet, I'm having more trouble getting into, especially now that I'm up to Book 6 in the epic and just about out of there.)

If you want to see most/all of the content, you'll need to buy the expansions. There's really no way around that. However, you can put off the purchases until you're at that level, if you like.

I just buy them as they come out - I started playing between Mirkwood and Isengard, and even though my main was maybe only in the high 30s during Isengard preorder, I preordered anyway. My main just hit 60 today, and I preordered Rohan on the first day. I know that I'll get to the content eventually, and I'll spend the money eventually - why not spend it now and get the preorder goodies?

The person above me offered some advice as to what quest packs to get (which is really only relevant if you drop your subscription) - I would suggest different ones. I leveled my main mostly in Evendim and Angmar, with only smatterings of Misty Mountains and Trollshaws. I probably didn't need to do either of those; there were quests in Evendim and Angmar I didn't get to. I would suggest Evendim, Angmar, and Eregion for pre-Moria zones to purchase if you drop VIP. (Past Moria, I can't say, because I'm not there yet!) However, if you're a content fiend (like me), you might just want to collect them all anyway!

Thanks for all the help! I wasn't expecting such an overwhelming response. All of this has been enormously helpful and I don't feel as hopelessly lost when it comes to expansions.

Originally Posted by larry138

Thanks for all the help! I wasn't expecting such an overwhelming response. All of this has been enormously helpful and I don't feel as hopelessly lost when it comes to expansions.

Glad to see you found help, if i may offer my opinion: buy moria, it has alot of endgame group content however the quests are 99% solo. I also found mirk was a fun expansion though you can opt to just buy qp isen you almost have tO buy. Try some pvp once you level you never know you may love it. And finally i sugest you still try some group instances. They can be reaally fun and provide great armour

You still didn't say what your level is and how inclined you are to spend money.

There are only four expansions to this game: Mines of Moria, Siege of Mirkwood, Rise of Isengard, and the future Riders of Rohan. Everything else is accessible by subscribers without further payment.

If you're willing to spend a little bit more cash, the Rise of Isengard Legendary Edition is the best value for cash. It includes the full Isengard expansion, as well as the Moria, Mirkwood, Lothlorien, Eregion, and Trollshaws quest packs. It's the single bundle that includes access to the most number of regions, including all existing expansion regions (just not Rohan of course ). It's very good value as is, and if you wait till it goes on sale yet again, then it's even more value. It all depends on when you want access to those content. You don't need to buy the Moria expansion separately if you buy this package. The only things that you're missing from not buying the Moria expansion directly are the premium classes and two character slots, but you can unlock all of those separately via the LOTRO Store whenever you want, so there's no actual need to buy the Moria expansion.

If you want to buy the expansions with TPs, then you need to buy the Moria expansion and the Isengard expansion from the LOTRO Store, and possibly the Mirkwood quest pack and the Lothlorien quest pack as well. (Not too sure how Mirkwood and Lothlorien access works for subscribers now. The Mirkwood expansion is no longer available, it's now a mere quest pack in the LOTRO Store. Lothlorien used to be part of the Moria expansion, but it is now a stand-alone quest pack in the LOTRO Store and no longer a part of the Moria expansion. I bought all those expansions before Turbine made the changes, so I can't tell.) Depending on your playstyle, you may be able to accumulate enough TPs from normal gameplay and the monthly subscription to buy all of these without spending anymore cash.

As for future Rohan, unless you're wanting the pre-purchase bonuses very badly, there's no reason to rush to buy it now. We already know that the soldier skin and the xp token will be available on the LOTRO Store, so the only really exclusive pre-purchase bonus you get if you buy right now are some not-very-good cloaks. The expansion itself will still be available for purchase in various forms, and probably even on sale, when you actually get there in the future.

Originally Posted by Nymphonic

First of all, I want to say Welcome to Middle Earth.

Second, since you're new to MMOs, I'll tell you to ignore all the negativity you may see here in the forums. It's the same in every MMO forum under the sun. Play the game your way and pay your $$$ the way you see fit.

Best advice ever regardless of game. Play the way that is fun for you. Never let anyone direct it for you.