Thread: New Store Item: Hobby Horse

What I would like to know is why do fun items have to be at such a high cost? Actually why do many of the items in the store have to be so high in cost? Not everyone can afford things like this for example. I mean when I saw the dwarf no shirt cosmetic I thought oh this is so cool I want it. Then when I saw the price, I am like uh you can't be serious in charging this for just a cosmetic. So I guess the thinking is if you cannot afford the high prices your just outta luck. Which I think in the long run is just gonna drive more away from the store.

Originally Posted by NickStern

OMG lol really 5000 TP to ride a lore breaking ridiculous hobby horse around in Middle-earth??

How long untill Flying Mounts seem like a good idea??

On that note I'd pay 5000 TP for a flying mount. It doesn't need to be a Great Eagle either. I'd be more than happy to ride around on a Fell Beast.

It's a nice, fun novelty item that would be entertaining to break out for special events/occasions. I don't think it should be as fast as a "slow" starter horse. Perhaps a speed in the range of a warden in Forced March would be appropriate. And I don't think it should have morale of more than 60, which I think is the morale of the goat I got from the Mirkwood Advernturer's Pack.

I would possibly pay up to 295 TP to use it in the manner I stated above. Regardless of price (and I think 5,000 TP is ridiculous), it saddens me to see that this toy's proposed use is the same as that of an "actual" game horse, with similar speed and morale numbers. One of the best things this game has going for it is the wonderful lore created by JRRT. To see players outdistancing enemies while riding a wooden stick-horse through dangerous territory is, IMHO, to see Turbine thumb their nose at that lore.

I can only hope that the person who came up with this idea is an overzealous newbie in the marketing department who is unfamiliar with the term "jump the shark."

Originally Posted by xRaina

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

No, it clearly is a joke. That's more than I paid for an entire expansion.

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

If it cost 10% of the current price and I felt like using free TP, maybe.

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Well, nothing would entice me to spend money on yet another overpriced, Store-only item. However, I would use my free TP to buy it if it was faster and a lot cheaper (see 2.).

Originally Posted by xRaina

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

You seem to miss the point of why many don't like Store-only items.

Firstly, they don't like having items unavailable to them if they already pay a sub. It's fine to charge Premium's for this sort of thing but VIPs have long since lost any benefits to their price plan now.

Secondly, it isn't about being forced to buy an item. It's the fact those items exist. Subscribers don't like finding more and more items being put out of their reach (and no, monthly 'free' TP doesn't cut it). The 'entirely optional' argument is invalid.

Thirdly, if these items are for fun, why do they cost extra for VIPs? People pay to have fun in this game. If you're going to start charging extra for fun, what is the point of VIP?

Finally, at least your company acknowledges customer complaints about their current business model, even if they are completely ignoring it for the sake of squeezing more dollars.

Originally Posted by xRaina

We know store items cause heated discussion. We know some longtime players find them problematic. Please try to be level-headed. We appreciate the passion you all have about LOTRO.

Want me to be level headed? Stop making Store-only items that are over-priced and not available for VIPs to earn in-game. You could sell end-game armour for all I care, providing it's available in-game too.

Originally Posted by Nellaen

May I suggest perhaps a 'crumbling' verson of the hobby horse, similar to the temporary travel mounts, for a much reduced TP price. As a joke item, it may be a more popular to buy in a 1-2 hour item. I can see it used much more often in kin races, and events in that way.

I think it's a brilliant idea and the way to go. However, the price for this "crumbling" Hobby-horse should be LOW (50-75-100 TP) to ensure that people are able to buy it en masse and on a whim.

To your questions:

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.
It's up to Turbine to set their prices. It's up to players to pay or not to pay it, and voice their dissatifaction. I consider this price too high.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?
Yes, I would, but not at this price. I would certainly buy "crumbling" hobby horses (see above). I will not even start consider buying it for 5000 TP, nor even at a 50% sale.

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?
An expansion. A large amount of shared wardrobe / storage slots, account-wide. Definitly something lasting and beneficial for the gameplay. Not a joke/fun/cosmetic item.

A few questions

1. Who comes up with such an insane price?

2. Can we get some of the Pipeweed they are smoking?


Your target price should be no more than 250 TP or something SLIGHTLY higher for account-wide. I wouldn't pay over 1000 TP if the thing sprouted wings and flew.

Well, I really can't think of any features that would make me pay 5000 TP for the hobby-horse. I've tried to consider it seriously, since you said it's not a joke, but I'm at a loss.

For less than that price, I can get two class steeds with matching war-steed cosmetics. Or a full expansion. Don't get me wrong, I think the hobby-horse is really funny, and my 6-year old son loves watching when I do the Harwick quest.

On the other hand, if you were to add it, as someone as suggested, as a consumable item for fun events, then yes, I'd probably buy a few of them. If the price were reasonable.

5000 TP??
Sorry not going to buy it.

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Non-committal?... yes. THIS is the kind of stuff that should be in the store. I have talked with others about how the hobby horse (as quested in Harwick) should be obtainable in game. Of course, I'd rather there be an absurd way to earn it in game as well... but I think the item and price is fair... its neat, fun, and doesn't have any pay to win mechanic tied to it.

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Acount wide. This price for a single toon is rough.

Other items that are more common need to come down in price. People can stomach big ticket items easier if EVERYTHING isn't a big ticket item. (see war steed dyes, cosmos, scrolls, tomes, and exclusive mounts threads for how current prices are too high). If I feel less stressed over all items, splurging on a big deal every once in a while becomes more feasible.

Slightly off topic, but since you asked... bug fixes need to be fixed quicker and more communication needs to occur. I can't justify spending money when the game stability is under question at great lengths of time. I'm a person willing to spend several hundred dollars a year on entertainment and Turbine only got $40.00 this past year (1 expansion and I plan to spend less next year). A more stable game with good communication would have likely upped my TP purchases 20 fold over what I spent (for things just like this hobby horse). I hope this feedback helps.

WOW< that is one outrageous price!! But then I think many of the prices in the Lotro store are far too high.

I would not buy an item like that. Especially at that price. I don't really care either if someone else buy it.

To what items I would pay that much tp for? An expansion or premium freep pvp.

2995 Was the cost of the ACCOUNT WIDE +68% reviler's steed

5000 TP for a hobby-horse, huh? Ok, in order for me to ever even consider spending 5000 TP on such an item, it better be the very best mount in the game. Period. It had better be as fast as the fastest war-steed (or perhaps just a tad faster even), and you can't be knocked off it, ever. And it has to give you a really awesome stat boost of some type. And account wide. Or if it flies, it might be worth it. But currently, as is, I would NEVER pay that much money for that. I have been playing for almost 2 years now, and have put well over $1000 in this game already, but that is something I would not ever want to pay for. Sorry. Can't do it.

This is a stick horse. Something to bring out just for laughs.

5k TP - Way too much.
-500 TP - I could see people either using their 500 TP from VIP or spending $7.99 to purchase enough to get it.

We visited the pricing issue quite a bit when the warsteed dyes went in the store. Dyes were for customizing an existing item that you would be using every day and the cost was still too expensive for the majority of players. Especially since they weren't account wide! (The sale price they later sold for was much more reasonable). So, Turbine is left with either selling a few at this price or lowering it and selling much more which would likely garner more revenue than turning everyone off right at the start with greedy pricing. I can't think of anything I'd spend 5k TPs for outside of an actual expansion. There's "useful fluff" and then there's "silliness". Silliness should be cheap.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?
Would it be a lot cheaper? Maybe. I don't like expensive per char items and tend not to buy them even if I'm sitting on 6k TP I don't exactly know how to spend.
To tell the truth I'd like to see it as a skill, not a mount. And much cheaper. Would be nice to see events where the hobby horse is involved. You could make it slower so there's no need to make it super rare.
Plus, you know people WILL get angry. And even if they don't come flaming on the forums, not being able to afford something silly they'd like to have is not going to make them happy.

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?
Now, if I read it correctly you're asking about "an item" not this item, right?
Then the answer is it should be something valuable (like a cool 68% steed, a rare warsteed set, the XP stone, something that is usually costly and per char) AND account wide. I'll never pay 5k TP to look stupid on a hobby horse :P

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.
Wow... 5,000 TP seems REALLY high

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?
As a cosmetic item I might buy it for 250-500 TP

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?
Hmmmm.... for 5,000 TP id expect something pretty awesome like:

- Purchase applies to all character on the account and and grants the ability to swift travel to any known swift travel location on 10s cd (No. Im not joking. I would want something like that for $50.)

OR

- Purchase applies to all characters on the account and includes all existing war steed equipment dye colors & war steed horse dye colors. IE Its a fun cosmetic and a super bundle pack to dye your war steed and its equipment whatever color you want. (Once again Im not joking)

OR

- Purchase applies to all characters on the account and grants all emotes and all of the gag festival skills (DRAGON, silk glove slap, etc)

UPSHOT
In order for me to spend 5000 TP one a single purchase:

A.) I would have to feel that it was DEAL to spend all of those points. IE Some sort of super bundle discount etc.

OR

B.) It would need to give me a significant in game play experience enhancement that doesn't break immersion
- Unlimited swift travel for all chars
- Ability for all of my legendary items to level up with me
- A house that has a real purpose in the game and has unlimited movable hooks
- Etc

ADDITIONAL COMMENT
I feel I should comment on the high value I place on the immersive element of LOTRO. I'm not a huge RPer, but I enjoying playing in the beautiful and "realistic" world you have created. I often pause to enjoy the sunsets in Rohan and marvel at the new lightning storms. The first time I am riding across middle earth and get outrun/passed by a player on a fluff hobby horse item I will know this game has lost the believability that I enjoyed. Please do not ever give an item like this unrealistic immersion breaking speed etc

Would you be willing to purchase this item?
It's a cute idea, but 5000TP? There is not the slightest chance I would buy this anywhere but on Bullroarer.

What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

For $25, I could buy a *real* hobby horse, made with real material. Or for $50, I could buy a digital copy of a fake hobby horse that someone created once and can now copy an infinite number of times for zero cost, essentially allowing Turbine to print their own money. I'm glad they're going into the discussion already conceding that this is pure greed, that's something.

All these new revenue streams, and some of us still wondering when it will lead to increased content.

Okay, sorry, that was even less constructive than my last post. But I feel better.

First of all, the way you worded your question makes me happy. You guys are listening, even if you're having to do things you might not really want to do in the name of the Store.

That said, fun fluff items are exactly the sort of thing I like seeing in the Store. 5000 points though? Does marketing really have serious projections that that would sell at that price? We got some seriously wealthy players then. Not me, though. Maybe for 495, and then I would wait for a sale.

Also, I would like it to not be able to go over the running speed of the character (which is already pretty fast, indeed). There is nothing at all lore-breaking about a toy, but if that toy gives you superhuman movement then it is immersion breaking.

And in all seriousness, thanks for asking. It says a lot that you're willing to run this by the forum community before it hits live.

Originally Posted by xRaina

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

Let's see... well-thought out answers... okay.

Your proposed price is joke.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Yes, sure. I will just stop eat food for few days and the money will add-up. Easy question.

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Hm... now that I think about it... many things. Winning from lottery, finding a gold chest full with pearls, catching the gold fish and one of my wish to be endless money, finding 3 000 litres petrol in my pocket, succesfull bank robbery, marrying for the most beautiful and richest princess in the world. Countless of things.

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

Constructive commenting and questions ONLY

I find the opening of such topic insulting toward me and the fan-base. Forgive me for replying you in the same manner. But... you want 5000tp for cosmetic horse, I want my rich princess. And beautiful, we shouldn't forget she should be beautiful.



Now I will be serious. If all employers of Turbine buy this horse for 5000tp points I will buy it too. If the price is ok for your employers, it's ok for me too.

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

I haven't had time to play more than my main, so I'm not up on the current shennanigans on Bullroarer. The Dev tracker is your friend when you're away from home for a time though.

Originally Posted by xRaina

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

I've read the item description and price. The item in question is not-well-thought out and full-on horse-pants crazypants, so there's that.

Originally Posted by xRaina

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

Incorrect, a mount costing more than an expansion, is without a doubt a joke. For that matter, a mount in LOTRO costing two-and-a-half times as much as the next-most-expensive RMT mount I am aware of (and five times the majority of RMT mounts in the MMOs I've played) is a "someone has stopped taking their meds" joke.

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Gods no. I pay cash for pre-ordering expansions (I like to get all the extras). Other than that, I get 500 TP a month as a VIP player, I *never* pay more than 500 TP for any one item (with the exception of the occasional sale on shared storage).

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

None. Ever. In fact, if this goes live, I will /ignore everyone I see on the damn thing. What's next? Flying broomsticks and a quiddich field next to Hengstacre farms?

Originally Posted by xRaina

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

Reduce the cost to 300-500TP and remove the speed buff. It's a hobby horse, you can't even jog effectively on one of them. I'm a real-life kindergarten teacher and here in Europe, we still love our wooden toys.

Originally Posted by xRaina

Constructive commenting and questions ONLY

Trying my best, I wouldn't still be subscribing (uninterrupted for over five years now) if I didn't love the game. But I was already in a foul mood after getting the email about the "sale" on War Steed dyes and finding out that these ridiculous prices were per character. Sweet gods no.

Originally Posted by xRaina

We know store items cause heated discussion. We know some longtime players find them problematic. Please try to be level-headed. We appreciate the passion you all have about LOTRO.

I think a level-headed response would be to take everyone who has any input into recent store item pricing and reassign them to the customer service phone banks to deal with customers issues with the live game and keep them away from any and all design or planning.

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

Then I urge you to reconsider the proposed price. As it stands, it is far too high a price to pay.
I also don't think you will have success selling this at this price.

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

No. Not at this price. Probably not unless it cost under 300tp. 5000tp is the cost of 2.5 class mounts!

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

It would have to be a really BIG expansion pack. As in, bigger than RoR, RoI and SoM together. (Well, you did ask for feedback, I'm giving it to you in a calm, emotionless manner)

Originally Posted by xRaina

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

Constructive commenting and questions ONLY


We know store items cause heated discussion. We know some longtime players find them problematic. Please try to be level-headed. We appreciate the passion you all have about LOTRO.

Yes, well. I understand why this proposal would make people raise the pitchforks. This just is not a good idea as presented. I hope fervently that the decision-makers will learn that this sort of thing isn't likely to garner a favourable response. This is more likely to upset and enrage and drive people away from the game.
I'd prefer it if people stayed, so I urge you not to walk down the path that will drive your loyal customers away from the game.

Ok, my response after giving it quite a bit of thought is going to come in two parts because I think there's a lot more going on here than just throwing in a fluff item for 5000 TP.


First, the hobby horse:
It's cute. I love it! I absolutely love the idea. Yes, we will always need more of the serious-business type stuff but something fun, for pure fluff or RP or just messing around, is always needed just to break up everyday activities. I think it's a really nice idea in and of itself. Would I be willing to purchase it? You bet. I've wanted one since Rohan came out, just to mess around with. However, I would not pay more than 10% of what you request for this item. No way. If it was completely account-wide, I might be able to see as much as 995 points, especially considering that at a 40% speed it is obviously not meant for long travel so it isn't *useful*.

Now, on to the pricing:
The LOTRO store's pricing is getting out of control. I understand the need to make money, this isn't a charity and I doubt anyone seriously thinks WB/Turbine is a nonprofit organization here to just throw us pixels for jollies. But the fact that you are even considering putting anything in the Store for 5000 TP means that you are overreaching here. For that price, I would expect nothing less than a full and complete expansion. The problem is, more and more stuff is coming out at price points that seem to be getting higher and higher. Like someone else said, big-ticket items become easier to swallow if they don't completely dominate the store. Now I'll be honest here. I saw the original post of this thread before I got on BR, and my initial response was "The price is not a joke? Hmm what are they charging, hopefully no more than 500 points right?" I was seriously floored when I logged in, went to buy, and saw the price. It is absolutely unreal. I don't like where this is going. I'm getting a very strong feeling that you want to know exactly how far you can push us, and that's a very uncomfortable feeling considering how much money I've put into this game. What I would want for a significant price, is a significant amount of content. I'm sorry but this is one price I cannot justify. There must be a lot of careful thought into what YOU decide to price for more than 1995 TP (and for a lot of people, lower) because I feel for most people, myself included, that that's the threshold where WE have to think carefully about what WE are BUYING.

5,000 TP for a fun/fluff item is just plain crazy. 295-495 TP per char or 995-1495 account-wide would be a much more reasonable price point for this type of item (I assume you want to actually sell some of these). It would have to provide numerous, near game-breaking buffs to be worth a purchase at its current price, and would no longer be a fun/fluff item at that point.

1. The price isn't the joke here? 5000TP is absolutely insance. I paid $30 for the BASIC edition of ROR. And you're saying a model and animation already developed is worth more than 5 entire regions of deeds/quests/visuals/balancing/etc....? You're simply insane. When I heard about WOW's $20 horse armor, I though, wow, that's insane, but this is insane to top insane.

2/3. No, I will never, ever, ever, ever, 4997 times "ever" buy this. I dont even need to be on Bullroarer to know that you're insane to ask 5000TP for a play horse.

A followup to my earlier reply.

I would not pay 5,000 TP for any cosmetic item but I suspect some of your customers would. If you are trying to create "High End" in store cosmetics I would suggest 2 criteria

1.) Make it meaningful/cool and noticeable (NOT in an eyesore sort of way)
For example:

- Glass spider moors skin. No in game advantage, just cool looking, with built in rareness because very few people will be willing to shell out $50 to look like that. (If you are willing to pay $50 to look super cool and unique then you can)

- Ability to have a players name permanently inscribed on a tombstone in the graveyard outside of Bree. (Meaningful because it would allow players to add an in game memorial for someone that passed away in real life)


2.) Make sure these high dollar items DO NOT break immersion and DO NOT give a competitive advantage (real or perceived). You will lose more players than its worth if you destroy your immersive world or blatantly give advantage at a super high price.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.
I honestly hope that was an actual joke as for a bit of fluff and fun that costs more than the Riders of Rohan expansion in the store is worrying.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?
I wont be purchasing this item for that price when there are other items in your store which are far worth my time which are the same 'proposed price'. If it's for fluff and a joke item, it should be around 200-800 in my honest opinion depending on if it's account wide or a temporary item. If it's supposed to be a joke, then why oh why is there the speed buff that is the same as regular mounts and the increased health?


3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?
Making it account wide for one. Giving the riding skill for another (which should also apply to all other horses / goats seeing as you're forking out a lot of money). Currently as stated above, an expansion is far worth more of my money due to the number of features in it.

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

Well I hope you take all this feedback into consideration as for what you're asking is utterly ridiculous. We all know you have to make money but the store in general is overpriced in a lot of items. If the costs we're reduced or there were more 'packs' (such as the skirmish 'Attack and Defend') available for a decent price, then I would imagine a lot more people would be willing to buy more.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.
Dream on then, I will never purchase a mount for 5000TP unless its a fully functional 600% speed Fell Beast, and even then I would have to seriously think about it. Do you at Turbine just pull random numbers out of a hat when deciding on prices? The majority of times you all are sane and seem to know what youre doing, other times like this makes me question your sanity and if I should even bother to continue playing the game at all.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?
No, never. As a matter of fact I will do everything possible to not buy it and Ill personally lead a game-wide boycott on this item and any such other nonsense in the future. Let me expand on this and do hear me out. Unlike a great majority of the player base, who may be younger, tight on money and finances, I am not. I have a full time, very well paying job. I probably have $50 in the cushions of my couch and I wouldnt even miss it if it disappeared. I spend $50+ on an outing of food and movies and throw-away money several times a week. I will not, however, dump $50 into an item such as this, never.

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?
Nothing, I will never buy an fun/joke item at this price point. I wouldnt pay more than 200TP at the very extreme most. When I can ride through Rohan and play for more than 2 hours without crashing, not encounter a single bug that prevents me from playing, when I KNOW THAT TURBINE ARE ACTUALLY DOING THEIR JOBS IN FIXING AND IMPROVING THE GAME...I *might* think about it.....

Originally Posted by Piedtendre

Yes I still have a passion about Lotro, I'm not saying Turbine is evil, but still I think that kind of thing is a big waste of time when we are waiting for very important bugs fixes, improvement for our classes, bugs fixes, fix for pvmp, bugs fixes ...

/agree 100%

I wont spend another dime, until i can ride across Rohan without rubberbanding, or lagging... plain and simple

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

The price is pretty good. If anything, it should be higher.

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Absolutely not.

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Make it account wide. Also make it not such a humiliation.

Originally Posted by xRaina

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

Constructive commenting and questions ONLY


We know store items cause heated discussion. We know some longtime players find them problematic. Please try to be level-headed. We appreciate the passion you all have about LOTRO.

I don't like this item, and I would prefer not to have to see other players prancing around on them throughout the world. Maybe I have been taking this online Middle Earth too seriously, but this seems to be extremely vulgar.

Edit: Change it's speed from +62% to -30% and I might not hate it as much.

If my herald can follow behind me banging together two halves of coconuts, I'll pay anything you ask. I'll feed my crafting alts to a balrog if that's what it takes.

I admit. When I first saw the hobby horse doing my dailies, the first thing I said was "I totally want this as a real mount". Obviously not to really use for the main game. Just as a joke every now and then, for fun.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

Seriously? I mean, I look at this, and I just get plain old sticker shock. That's a ton for a little novelty horse. In some ways, I feel like I already paid for the dev cost of this item by buying Rohan, since this already exists as part of Hytbold.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Nope. Not at this price. Most other store horses are....1500 points? Even that is rather pricy to me sometimes. The only horse I've purchased so far was the Steed of the Burglar, and that's because it came with the War Steed Appearance.

I'd put this much more in the realm of emote, or cosmetic gear. 500 points. It could still be a mount, but it shouldn't move anywhere near as fast as a regular steed.

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Honestly. Nothing really comes to mind. We're talking a price point that usually entails a whole expansion, plus some extras on top. For a singular item or feature from the store? I got no idea.

In some ways, I resent the idea that the store would even be starting at the price first, then looking for what they could sell for that price. Shouldn't the idea be to design something cool, then think of an appropriate price for that item?

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

I'm not going to rant about how evil Turbine is, but even you guys have to look at this price and roll your eyes. It's just absurd. I will not buy, as I do not want to encourage such pricing policies. Perhaps even my purchase of a Class Steed pushed things too far. While it is there "for fun", I just can't imagine many people having $50 worth of fun with it. Especially since they're unlikely to have many friends willing to have hobby horse races, or other fun activities that might result from such an item.

If this hobby-horse becomes easily acquired ( in this case , very cheap ) , then middle earth would be filled by them , at least for a while.

I need to believe that the suggested price , only exists to keep this as something ''rare to see''' and ''proud to have'' ( lol ) and is not just another greedy move.

Turbine stuff ain't as stupid as people might think. They would earn far more money if they let that horse in smaller prices , cause obviously more people would buy it.

My suggestion : Put the hobby-horse on the store for 1995k TP ( or whatever your best mounts cost ) and tie it to actual content accomplishments.

Example : Hobby-horse , requires 50 non-store mounts to unlock. ( thats just an example , don't know how many mounts you can get from rep/stable_master/meta-deed in a total )

Also , give players some motivation , make it special and not something you will never use again when it gets out of fashion or get bored of it. For example , make stable-travels completely free for those who ride it.( since you make them lol badly every time they see you)

That would make a few peeps re-run content like instance-based meta-deeds , reputation dungeons and would also give you a decent ammount of cash.

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

Ok here goes

Originally Posted by xRaina

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

$50? uhm nothing polite I can say here sorry

Originally Posted by xRaina

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

no

Originally Posted by xRaina

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

68% mount speed
WS varient
The next expansion included

Originally Posted by xRaina

4. Any rants about how evil Turbine is for making store items, even those that are entirely optional and up simply for the fun of those who are willing to pay for them, will be disregarded. This item is an experiment item. We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

$30 Moria
$30 Mirkwood
$30 RoI
$40 RoR
$50 for what ammounts to a cosmetic
is kind of asking for rants
the above price points taken in context; it's not inconceivable someone would feel rather insulted

Originally Posted by xRaina

Constructive commenting and questions ONLY

Originally Posted by xRaina

We know store items cause heated discussion. We know some longtime players find them problematic. Please try to be level-headed. We appreciate the passion you all have about LOTRO.

Tbh when I first read this I had to make sure it wasn't April:

Verified : not April
Realized this was an actuall item: Jaw dropped
logged in looked at store: jaw fell off
Wrote 3 not very polite feedbacks(that I thankfully was able to prevent myself from posting): Took some time before commenting after locating where my jaw was

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Okay so

Point 2, 5000 turbine points in real money that is enough to feed a family of 3 for a week, most people would never ever spend that much money, i could but wouldnt for the item presented as it is

Point 3, I have 3 suggestions that would justify this price.

1, make the horse able to block parry evade give it 100k moral and allow it go to anywhere water/mountains/instances and allow gathering materials off it. I am not joking for the ultimate crafting and exploring mount this could be fun.

2, Make it not only account bound but KIN bound, every player in my kinship would get one of these on all there kin characters, then it would be a nice christmas treat.

3, Every step i ride on it generates 1k xp

I know these ideas are ridiculous but that is the only way i would spend this much money on one item that is fluff, i spent 3k instantly on my champs level 85 second ager i hate grinding

My suggestion if you want to sell a good amount of these is 250-500 tp, if you want to limited them to keep immerasion a factor then 2000.

I dont know if you read this and take the feed back but, if mounts of class(mini champ ect) were account bound i would be adding 6k tp now and buying 3 of them, even though i would likly only use them on one character each the principal behind it is the same, i wont buy 3 single horses for 6k but i would buy 3 account horses for 6k even if i then only used 3

Originally Posted by zombie3000

/agree 100%

I wont spend another dime, until i can ride across Rohan without rubberbanding, or lagging... plain and simple

I already commented, but wanted to add a bit more. Those of you who think something like this is an insult, need to take a chill pill. YOU DONT HAVE TO BUY IT! when it comes to outrageous prices on the store, the best way to show how your feel about it, is to speak with your wallet! DO NOT BUY IT! Words wont change a thing. You have show them your serious.. if you dont like the way the game is going, STOP SPENDING MONEY on it. Cancel your sub, DO NOT BUY turbine points... the only thing that will make them listen is a drop in profits, plain and simple. Like they say, this is a business after all.

And if you have to say that "This price is not a joke" then you, yourself realize that the price is too much.

Originally Posted by xRaina

Some of you may have noticed a new item in your store on Bullroarer: the Hobby Horse.

The store wizards would like your feedback (well-thought out, non-crazypants) on this item.

1. The price is not a joke. That is the proposed price for this item.

Joking aside and in all seriousness: If you need to preface it with a statement like this you already have your answer... it is one thing to release a price point that people might call "high", but if people are going to think your price is a "joke" something is wrong.

2. Would you be willing to purchase this item?

Priced in the range of 500 TP or less, yes. More than that no

3. What sort of features might entice you to purchase an item at this price point?

Nothing. Not even if you offered a package of a full set of end game raid armor, first age symbol, 3 star-lit crystals, and the extra legacy scroll. Full expansions are the only things that should be offered at that kind of price.

4. ... We simply want your feedback on the type of item presented and what might be added to it or done to it to make it a better item. We are not forcing you to buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it. It's something to be there and be fun for those who may want it.

I would caution you with this statement though. We all know everything in the store is "optional". We know we don't have to buy it. But there is something to be said about a brand image. Adding super-expensive items in the store and just calling them "optional" still sends a message about your brand.

There is a reason McDonald's doesn't give the "option" for people to buy $30-$50 restaurant style entrees. They have a specific brand they are trying to build. As you indicate in your statement, you are very well aware there are players that just feel Turbine is just evil and greedy having a store at all. There are also players who do not feel that way and see the store as acceptable to build a profitable business model for Turbine. That is the brand you have built.

In my opinion: the second Turbine starts introducing things into the store this outrageously priced, brand image for Turbine will take a serious hit and the population of those that feel it is "evil and greedy" will drastically increase. I feel it is a mistake to introduce items at this price range into the store. This kind of pricing is the kind of thing you would expect from those small browser games (like Kabam's games) because their entire game is built around making you spend outrageous amounts of money. That is the brand Kabam has. I feel that kind of brand would not be in the best interest of Turbine and LOTRO long term.

The only thing I can currently think of that may be worth 5,000TP is an expansion considering I paid 4295 for RoR. A horse is especially not worth 5K even if it is unique; I cringed at the one I bought for 1995 a couple of years ago but I had the TP saved up and I did like the horse, though it's obsolete now. It's bad enough we have ~$20 horses but $50?! No way, no how, and probably not even if it is account-wide though being account-wide would make it a bit better of a deal. I can go buy a full game or buy 3 months of game time for another game I've been playing for that price. Which do you think I'm most likely to do, spend $50 on a hobby horse that is of no use in Rohan (as far as I know) or take that $50 elsewhere? I'm not opposed to getting things from the store, I've spent 7,958 points in the past two-three weeks but just like with real money (since points can be bought with real money), I'm going to look for what I consider a value and a $50 mount is not a value buy to me.

If it's going to be a mount, then price it like the other mounts, even though those are overpriced as well, in my opinion. The other mounts are, what, 1495 to 1995 for +68% speed and 250 morale? Since this is a stick-horse and you should not be able to go real fast on it nor have a lot of morale, lower the price to around 900-1000TP maybe. I still wouldn't buy it but others probably would for the 'fun' factor. Now if it were an emote for 295 or less, that I might go for.

So this is $50 for a single character?

On a second, though semi-related note, the Universal Toolkit that is on Bullroarer in the store for 250 TP is definitely on my shopping list once it hits the live servers, and I will gladly pay even more than 250 TP for it as it is on Bullroarer. Account wide, totally universal crafting tools that give decent crit chances? Bring it! I will pay 595 TP for those. Easy. But yeah, still can't see paying 5000 TP for a hobby-horse mount, that is a character level purchase and doesn't come with any bells and whistles. Whoever proposed that price is either 1. insane, 2. a noob to working at Turbine, 3. an orc, who is actually working for Sauron and wants everyone to quit playing LOTRO. Don't let the orcs win! Kill them all!