Well hello there. I played this game about a year after it was released. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I stopped playing because none of my friends/guildies from other games were playing it, so it was pretty lonely :P But, now I've convinced my roommates to give this game a try because, well, we're all very bored lol.
I only made it to about level 35ish with a Warden. I have a couple questions, since I have no idea what all this "Free to Play" stuff is, and I'm still pretty much a noob in this game.
1. This is a new account, because I can't remember my details from my first one that had my lvl 35 on it. But...if I were to call Turbine and if they could help me remember my information, would I still have that Warden on there? I know I have to purchase the class now since it has a new business model, but would I have to purchase my Warden on my original account to play him?
2. I read that Free and Premium accounts don't have access to all the traits. I don't remember how the trait system works, so I'd like to know how much of a disadvantage does that give me? Does it really make a big difference to have all of my traits?
3. Is there still player housing? How much does it cost? About what level will I be able to afford a house?
4. I plan on leveling a Hunter by myself, but my roommates want to level together on their characters. One of them will be a Captain, the other will be a Minstrel, but I wanted to level a Minstrel also...is this feasible? Will having two Minstrels be detrimental, like, will our buffs not stack or will we mess up this "coda" thing I read about? If it's better for me to be a different class, any recommendations for what would level best with a Captain/Minstrel? I was thinking Champion if I couldn't go Minstrel?
5. Should I become a Premium or VIP member? I mostly just want to level up with my roommates, and level up by myself when they're not around. I really loved the questing in this game, it was quite peaceful and immersive. Am I really missing out on anything by being a Free member? What are the biggest things that I don't have as a Free member?
Well, that's pretty much all the questions I have. Looking forward to getting back into Middle-Earth (downloading as we speak). Sorry for the long post, lol, but this new business model is quite confusing :P
Oh, and if anybody has any recommendations for what server I should play on, it'd be much appreciative. Or if there's any guilds recruiting casual (yet experienced mmo gamers) players that'd be awesome too
Well hello there. I played this game about a year after it was released. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I stopped playing because none of my friends/guildies from other games were playing it, so it was pretty lonely :P But, now I've convinced my roommates to give this game a try because, well, we're all very bored lol.
Welcome back! A LOT has changed so you may want to approach this as a new game.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
1. This is a new account, because I can't remember my details from my first one that had my lvl 35 on it. But...if I were to call Turbine and if they could help me remember my information, would I still have that Warden on there? I know I have to purchase the class now since it has a new business model, but would I have to purchase my Warden on my original account to play him?
It depends. If you were in Europe and played on Codemasters servers, your account is gone. You missed the window for transferring it to Turbine.
If your account was with Turbine, congrats! Your account and your Warden are still there, and that account is a Premium account. Anyone who every paid any RL money at any point is a Premium account. It would be good for you to recover that account; you won't have to buy the Warden class (or the Moria expansion) again.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
2. I read that Free and Premium accounts don't have access to all the traits. I don't remember how the trait system works, so I'd like to know how much of a disadvantage does that give me? Does it really make a big difference to have all of my traits?
It makes a difference, but only once you get above 65 or so. By then you may have earned enough Turbine Points (TP) to unlock slots.
Since your Warden was played while you had a subscription, all the slots will be unlocked on that character. You'll only need to unlock slots on new characters you make while not subscribed.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
3. Is there still player housing? How much does it cost? About what level will I be able to afford a house?
Individual housing still exists! A standard house costs around 1 gold and a Deluxe house is around 7 gold. A Kinship house is around 15 gold.
It really depends on whether you concentrate on making income or if you like to spend money in the Auction House. If you save up, you should be able to afford this in your 20's.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
4. I plan on leveling a Hunter by myself, but my roommates want to level together on their characters. One of them will be a Captain, the other will be a Minstrel, but I wanted to level a Minstrel also...is this feasible? Will having two Minstrels be detrimental, like, will our buffs not stack or will we mess up this "coda" thing I read about? If it's better for me to be a different class, any recommendations for what would level best with a Captain/Minstrel? I was thinking Champion if I couldn't go Minstrel?
Go for the Minstrel. With two in a group, one of you can go Warspeech to do a lot of damage while the other goes into Harmony stance and does more of the healing. Your Harmony (or no-stance) minstrel will need to help keep the Captain alive but your group will be very effective. You can coordinate the ballads and codas you use and have lots of fun buffs running.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
5. Should I become a Premium or VIP member? I mostly just want to level up with my roommates, and level up by myself when they're not around. I really loved the questing in this game, it was quite peaceful and immersive. Am I really missing out on anything by being a Free member? What are the biggest things that I don't have as a Free member?
If you recover your account, you'll be a Premium member. Most folks who have at least a little bit of money to spend on the game become Premium eventually. You and your roommates should consider subscribing, at least for a short time, because after your subscription time is up, you are Premium with extra benefits. Do a search on this forum for "VIP --> Premium" and you'll find out more.
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
Oh, and if anybody has any recommendations for what server I should play on, it'd be much appreciative. Or if there's any guilds recruiting casual (yet experienced mmo gamers) players that'd be awesome too
Servers depend on what time zone you're playing in, what times of day, and whether you prefer a busy server or a more open one. If you want roleplay, you should consider Laurelin or Landroval. You might want to read the server forums for some interesting servers to see what kinships are recruiting.
1. As Shukar says, if you played with Turbine before it's probably worthwhile to try to get your old account back. In the current model, there are many benefits to being premium (having ever spent real money on the game) and even more to having characters who were logged in while you were a subscriber (which is now called VIP). And then you would have the Moria expansion including the Warden/RK classes, without having to buy them again. (Although, be aware that the warden class has been revamped, so if you remember anything at all from before - forget that, and just learn it anew. And don't forget to visit your class trainer, if you get your old warden back. A lot of things have changed.)
2. Having a limited number of traits is not a huge problem as you're leveling, though it is kind of annoying. But the worst part is that to unlock them from the store you have to pay for each trait slot, on every character individually. I was at around level 65 when I first thought about getting trait slots unlocked, but I just decided to subscribe for a short time just to get them all at once. It's a permanent unlock for any characters logged in while VIP. Again, if you get back your old account you won't need to worry about that on your old character, but any new characters you create will still have most of the trait slots locked.
4. I wouldn't worry too much about choosing classes that "fit together" best. Play the classes that you think you'll enjoy, and you should have fun. There are all sorts of seemingly bizarre combinations that people have a great time with. And for what it's worth, I absolutely love playing with another minstrel. There was an annoying bug for a while with the coda, which I guess you've heard of, but they've been working out the bugs so you should be okay.
Server: Personally I'm a fan of Landroval, but I guess it might not be for everyone. Other than the specific RP servers, there isn't really that much difference between them. Some servers have larger populations in the US or European or Pacific timezones. But I'd guess that the best server will be whichever one your friends are on. Just pick one and have fun there!
The f2p business model is rather confusing, so if you have any other questions come up, don't hesitate to ask. The worst thing is paying money for something and then finding out later you could have done it differently. Be an informed consumer.
2. I read that Free and Premium accounts don't have access to all the traits. I don't remember how the trait system works, so I'd like to know how much of a disadvantage does that give me? Does it really make a big difference to have all of my traits?
...
5. Should I become a Premium or VIP member? I mostly just want to level up with my roommates, and level up by myself when they're not around. I really loved the questing in this game, it was quite peaceful and immersive. Am I really missing out on anything by being a Free member? What are the biggest things that I don't have as a Free member?
It was touched on above, but many FTP Players drop the $10 and go VIP for one month, when their character(s) are Level 20-35. This permanently unlocks MANY great features - the diff in waiting levels determines which ones are unlocked. (Lvl 20 is when Riding can be unlocked - if you can afford 95 TP, simply buying that asap (Lvl 7?) is recommended, and MUCH more convenient.)
In that 30 day period of VIP, you can then:
create another character (you'll have 1 extra char slot)
grind up a Tier or two of Crafting (good idea to have Crafting Rep items stored up in advance)
have Quick Travel open for anywhere you want (to then get those Stables/Travel locations)
get 2 more item bags
get your GP cap raised
get your Trait slots opened
...and probably more stuff that I'm forgetting. And get up to Level 50 or so and go straight into Moria (which you would have to buy, one way or the other).
(If you like the game, it's only $10 - brown-bag a couple lunches, mow someone's lawn, skip buying a six-pack of your preferred beverage a couple weekends. And you're supporting a great product. When was the last time you bought a game this good for that little?)
It was touched on above, but many FTP Players drop the $10 and go VIP for one month, when their character(s) are Level 20-35. This permanently unlocks MANY great features - the diff in waiting levels determines which ones are unlocked. (Lvl 20 is when Riding can be unlocked - if you can afford 95 TP, simply buying that asap (Lvl 7?) is recommended, and MUCH more convenient.)
A single month of VIP is $15. 3 months is $30. A year is $99.
But I agree, even a short time as VIP leaves you with permanent benefits that are much more expensive if you buy them with TPs. Note that you get these benefits ONLY on characters you log in with while VIP!
Junior Member Online status:
Reputation:
Grand Member Online status:
Reputation:
Originally Posted by MalachiDraven
My characters are listed at my lotro-wiki page.
Poster of Note Online status:
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
