I'm leaving Lotro. Definitely.

[KeityElen]

I will give my reasons why I finally decided to stop playing Lotro. It became unsustainable.

Problematic server performance
Lots of bugs everywhere
Lots of lag
Bugs appearing in different locations frequently
Crashes
Connection failures
Problems with texture and objects
Slowness in actions on screens and interaction with objects and functions
Serious problems in places with a large flow of people. The problem gets worse when players are doing some action.
Crashes so serious that they can only be resolved by reloading the game.
Problems with Pvmp that make the whole thing impossible.
15 years and little or no improvement progress. Most of the problems that existed at the beginning of the game were never fixed.
Many problems with internal folders that must be solved with hard hacks for the player.
Badly thought out decisions that affect all players and create irreparable problems (like the anniversary event).
Several issues you would expect from a game in the beta testing phase, not a game that was released 15 years ago.
A heavy atmosphere in the game that makes you tired of playing in a few hours. It's not something light and relaxing. It's not very catchy and seems to work with difficulty.
Years of accumulating bugs that are never fixed and only frustrate players more and more.
Impossibility of making the game run with lightness and smoothness. Too much weight and vulnerabilities to crashes.
A game that works on a quick work basis and can't handle a wave of new players, just presenting new problems.
Very frequent updates but little improvement on serious and recurring issues. Not infrequently updates just create another bigger problem.
Just answers like: "we're working on it" for bugs that never get fixed and no visibility of drastic and complete changes, just repairs to an old sock.

And my main reason: the terrible customer service.
Tickets without response for many months and years.
Strong problems between the communication team and the client. One of the frequent examples is in the weekly updates where several players just go and reinstall the game. This is because a wider communication system doesn't exist and players are so used to errors and crashes that any problem will trigger a reinstallation.
Failure and delay in responding to bugs after new packs. In general, you never know what really happens and major solutions to prevent problems from happening again are not communicated.
Lack of initiative for a donation campaign to improve the game system and the LOTRO team. There are several players who love Lotro and are willing to help improve the server or contribute to broad changes but there is no initiative in this regard.
Game trouble tickets never responding.
Lack of a more secure login system as a two-factor authentication login.
Lack of security. You can never know if you're going to invest time in the game and money on new expansions and just lose it all overnight and never get it back.
Hacked and stolen players with no response from support and never been refunded.

All these things made me leave the game. I'm leaving at once. I'm going to play Eldevin.

I feel sorry for Lotro. I had many good times. But it is no longer possible.

[Nebless]

Well I'd have to say the first half of your post looks to be on your end as my gaming experience is nothing like yours.

- Problematic server performance - Lots of bugs everywhere - Bugs appearing in different locations frequently - Years of accumulating bugs that are never fixed and only frustrate players more and more.

Not seeing it

- Crashes - Crashes - Crashes so serious that they can only be resolved by reloading the game - Connection failures

I think the last time I crashed was back in 2010 or so when they used to have that bug that would lock up / crash the game when you went through doors. Since they fixed that, no crashes at all, no lost connections etc...

- Lots of lag

I'll get some from time to time, but it's never excessive or game breaking

- Problems with texture and objects

Yeah, OK, don't know about problems, but slow to load at times

- Slowness in actions on screens and interaction with objects and functions

Had that happen a couple of times today, but thats a first for me

- Serious problems in places with a large flow of people. The problem gets worse when players are doing some action.

I'll give you that one as Bree and Festivals have been a pain since day 1

- 15 years and little or no improvement progress. Most of the problems that existed at the beginning of the game were never fixed.

Don't agree

- Many problems with internal folders that must be solved with hard hacks for the player.

The only thing I can even think of concerning this has been with the switch to 64 bit where it was suggested copying the existing 32bit user pref and renaming it to use as the 64bit user pref

- Badly thought out decisions that affect all players and create irreparable problems (like the anniversary event).

Don't agree and have no clue what you mean concerning the anniversary

- A heavy atmosphere in the game that makes you tired of playing in a few hours. It's not something light and relaxing. It's not very catchy and seems to work with difficulty. - Impossibility of making the game run with lightness and smoothness. Too much weight and vulnerabilities to crashes.

What does that even mean? Can you play long hours in Moria or Mordor? Probably not. Yondershire -sure you can.

- And my main reason: the terrible customer service. - Tickets without response for many months and years. - Game trouble tickets never responding.

Well I'll give you that one.

- Lack of initiative for a donation campaign to improve the game system and the LOTRO team. There are several players who love Lotro and are willing to help improve the server or contribute to broad changes but there is no initiative in this regard.

Is that even legally possible? Plus nothing's stopping anyone from just subbing to the game or buying a ton of points to give money to SSG

Bottom line, if you want to leave, nothings holding you back. Yes SSG is not perfect, but many of us do find the game playable and don't seem to have the problems you do.

[TesalionLortus]

Not saying the game doesn't have *some* problems but... a post like this coming from a Newbie account but speaking as if they were here from launch kind of raises my eye brows. Just saying

There was a time when I was experiencing lots of bugs / delays / crashes but that was some years ago and on laptop with HDD / Win7. Lately, last few years, with LOTRO on SSD, a bit better modern hardware and Win10 (what's important also installed on an SSD obviously) my problems were much less, not to mention after the 64bit client. I run into update/installation corruption issues once or two but never since SSD. I guess it would be a good idea to make it a rule that everybody who complains about such issues with such bold attitude posted their full specs always no exception... who knows what could be revealed

That being said, yes, the server problems do exist, sometimes longer load times of some windows/NPCs dialogues/use actions but it's not THAT catastrophic, doesn't make it super unplayable in any case and it's something that pretty much has been there always. As for customer service, don't think of it as an excuse because when it happens it makes me angry too, but... it's important to note customer support sucks everywhere all across the board and month after months new 'improvement' after 'improvement' (or automatization) is getting far worse. I don't remember the last time I had a positive, helpful customer service interaction with a bit more complex issue, it's always a dead end and people on the other site could as well be programmed bots sometimes and I wouldn't notice a difference. Not saying it as an excuse... but THESE ARE STANDARDS THESE DAYS UNFORTUNATELY. And perhaps LOTRO's, even with all the faults that it has, isn't in the worst boat yet

Also, what texture and model issues??? First time hear

[MourneBlade]

I will give my reasons why I finally decided to stop playing Lotro. It became unsustainable. SNIP....

Okay see ya!

Quite a bit from some one who's been here less than a year and a half, whatever....

[AlacrityFitzhugh]

Yah, ok now and again there's a bit of back-end lag, but I don't see anything like what you're seeing, and I've been around since Beta (off and on). Maybe uninstall/reinstall the game? Update your OS? Get a new computer?

[Ellethariel]

I usually don't reply to these posts because we all have our reasons for playing these games, as well as exiting them when they don't suit or aren't what we expected from an entertainment perspective. After all, we choose to play games with our time and one should be satisfied with how that time is spent. A lot of what you stated was seemingly correct, overall in-game there are some issues that are well known if you've played any length of time.
The one statement though, that piqued my curiosity I guess you could say was;

"A heavy atmosphere in the game that makes you tired of playing in a few hours. It's not something light and relaxing. It's not very catchy and seems to work with difficulty."

I wondered about this and yes, this game is derived from the books written by J.R.R. Tolkien called The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps you've read the books, or perhaps seen Peter Jackson's movies, but yes. The storyline, ie., the "Epic" questline in the game is a journey we take based on these books. It is a saga of many dimensions and many characters of varying personalities. It is indeed dark at times, with war and strife and sadness and death. However, another theme running through these works is that when good people strive to do good, even at their own peril for the good of all, there can be found light in the most dire situations. That being a very simplistic explanation, as there is so much more to be found in the literature.

You either love it or don't I suppose, and certainly there are many games which provide entertainment in "lighter" ways. Is The Lords of the Rings catchy? Well, the books were published between 1954-1955. LotRO's release date was April 24, 2007. Amazon's Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series will debut on Amazon Prime September 2, 2022.

Idk, kinda catchy

[blacknazgul13]

- Badly thought out decisions that affect all players and create irreparable problems (like the anniversary event).

Don't agree and have no clue what you mean concerning the anniversary

I believe he is referring to the many gifts of the valar given out, which affected new players that didn't know what they did and irreversibly levelled themselves up.

[gcpate]

Can I have your stuff?

[KeityElen]

Can I have your stuff?

Of course I can send you everything.

[Sovereign50]

Awwh, I didn't see monetisation listed anywhere. Mark my words, the recent lootbox-only cosmetics that appeared at the end of the anniversary are just the subtle (-ish) beginning. You don't give away so many goodies without a mitigation strategy behind it.

[KeityElen]

Awwh, I didn't see monetisation listed anywhere. Mark my words, the recent lootbox-only cosmetics that appeared at the end of the anniversary are just the subtle (-ish) beginning. You don't give away so many goodies without a mitigation strategy behind it.

No doubt.

[KeityElen]

Take care. And when you return /we always do/ i hope the game will be in beter state.
To be honest lag is not so bad / for me atleast/ last week

Thanks for the answer. Take care too.

[DavidmeetHal]

I get it. I really do. I quit WoW because it became unbearable for me, so I totally know what it’s like to just not have fun anymore with a game when you reach the breaking point.

[Polymachos]

Well, I've been playing for ten years. My biggest gripes are by now two things.

1. The Lag

2. They cater for raiders, which is fine for me; but they lock casual players out from certain content, which is not fine for me.
I am supposed to run the Fall of Khazad-Dum instance in order to finish my epic questline and get the respective deed rewards, but no one is doing it any more. Everyone and their cousin are running Hiddenhoard of Abnankara instead.

And please don't tell me 'ask your kinship'; because after the sudden death of our tank (in real life) it is falling apart.


Greetings, Polymachos

[MourneBlade]

Well, I've been playing for ten years. My biggest gripes are by now two things.

1. The Lag

2. They cater for raiders, which is fine for me; but they lock casual players out from certain content, which is not fine for me.
I am supposed to run the Fall of Khazad-Dum instance in order to finish my epic questline and get the respective deed rewards, but no one is doing it any more. Everyone and their cousin are running Hiddenhoard of Abnankara instead.

And please don't tell me 'ask your kinship'; because after the sudden death of our tank (in real life) it is falling apart.


Greetings, Polymachos

Running The Fall of Zhazad-Dum Raid is not required for the epic in any way. It's just a stand alone raid. Not required for anything, crafting crit items or any of that like. Just some raid armor and jewelry.

[DiorEluchil]

And ofc the thread gets filled by the fanboys must defend their invested time and money into the game.

I have recently returned and if it wasnt for a friend wanting to explore the world of Tolkien in-game I would be gone too. The lag is terrible and the customer service non-existant. Fully understand why a new player wouldnt stick around.

The game is still fun at least on the lower levels. Havent really done anything 120+.


Suggesting that OP is wrong because "I havent experienced it" means either you're extremely lucky, in denial or outright lying.

[Brutus778]

It wouldn't really be a lotro thread without someone immediately claiming they don't experience much or any lag, no other issues and the game is very good and often perfect. Predictable.

I feel you OP. I believe lotro has done very well financially the last few years unless I recall it all wrong. Makes me wonder when is all that money going to show up on the screen? Or will it ever? Whose pockets is it going into?

[paintpixie]

It wouldn't really be a lotro thread without someone immediately claiming they don't experience much or any lag, no other issues and the game is very good and often perfect. Predictable.

That's how I feel going to literally any game forum.

Person makes legitimate complaint.
A bunch of people downplay the issue or ignore it, claim the game is doing something marvelous, they can do no wrong, etc.
Person leaves game, along with others who experienced the same issue but didn't care enough to go to the forums and say anything.

But even the devs have admitted there's a lag problem in this game, from what I know. It's not like it's a big conspiracy by people who hate the game or something.

(I have found that sometimes lag is remedied by relogging, but your experience with that may vary.)

[Sakuko]

Every Publisher from a Game give nothing on Players the use the Game. The best Examble was the New Skill System developed from Turbine for Lotro (2013). All was Play Beta write in the Forum, we dont like it and nobody want it, you think Turbine take care in the opinion of the players ? Nop the bring the new Patch and Skillsystem and many many Players leave the Game in 2013/2014


You're nothing special just because you play long, since Release examble.
SSG doesn't care about the lag or some Bugs, as long as enough players play the game to earn Money.

This is the World of MMO and Lotro is not the only MMO who don't listen to players.

Lotro could have a lot more players today if they had listened to the community in some Points. (PvP, Raids, Skillsystem, Housing, Server Location for EU Players in EU, Server Perfomace)

but it is the way it is.

[Pavbg]

This is the World of MMO and Lotro is not the only MMO who don't listen to players.

Yes is not the only one, Eso is the second.
For the rest, you can just check forums

[paintpixie]

Every Publisher from a Game give nothing on Players the use the Game. The best Examble was the New Skill System developed from Turbine for Lotro (2013). All was Play Beta write in the Forum, we dont like it and nobody want it, you think Turbine take care in the opinion of the players ? Nop the bring the new Patch and Skillsystem and many many Players leave the Game in 2013/2014


You're nothing special just because you play long, since Release examble.
SSG doesn't care about the lag or some Bugs, as long as enough players play the game to earn Money.

This is the World of MMO and Lotro is not the only MMO who don't listen to players.

Lotro could have a lot more players today if they had listened to the community in some Points. (PvP, Raids, Skillsystem, Housing, Server Location for EU Players in EU, Server Perfomace)

but it is the way it is.

^This, exactly.

It's not even just players. Developers often warn about things too, game breaking bugs, etc. Nope, gotta push the release, doesn't matter if all players hate it and devs are telling you it's trouble.
It's not even a problem with games, just companies and bureaucracy in general.

[asimon]

I'm leaving at once.

Good for you.
May I remind you that this forum is not an airport and you do not need to declare your departure.

[KeityElen]

[QUOTE=Sakuko;8140495Lotro could have a lot more players today if they had listened to the community in some Points. (PvP, Raids, Skillsystem, Housing, Server Location for EU Players in EU, Server Perfomace)

but it is the way it is.[/QUOTE]

It would change the whole thing for the better in so many ways.

[KeityElen]

Yes is not the only one, Eso is the second.
For the rest, you can just check forums

Pavbg, the adm deleted some of our messages. Those that proved the game's lag with videos. They don't really care about keeping the player, they really want to drive them away and hide any evidence of their negligence. It's unbelievable how this company works. I'm closing the account tonight, no delay.

[Arnenna]

It wouldn't really be a lotro thread without someone immediately claiming they don't experience much or any lag, no other issues and the game is very good and often perfect. Predictable.

I feel you OP. I believe lotro has done very well financially the last few years unless I recall it all wrong. Makes me wonder when is all that money going to show up on the screen? Or will it ever? Whose pockets is it going into?

The Producer said on a Q&A stream not that long ago that LOTRO had a great year last year. All the talk of no money comes from players, who have no way of knowing anything about it.