LOTRO: What You Still Need to Buy - Monetization Update Guide

[@silenceoftheyams7647]

i'm glad they finally did this. lv 95 for free is amazing considering just how much stuff there is to do in Lotro. hopefully this will bring the numbers back up for a bit. i really don't wanna see this game die. lol

[@arvhenvondegerfeld5033]

as a "new" ,ex casual player, I can say that this is a great update BUT the game is so confusing about a lot of stuff. The Ui, the bag space and items (is a nightmare), the general management of the "extra" skills to unlock and stuff, the values,too much stuff but whit a bad,bad,bad UI. Personally this is the thing that is keeping me out from the game, I would like to log in and just play the game,while levelling, unlocking skills and so on, not manage the bag all the time, having an hard time looking on that horrible map, losing my self in the 100001 windows for skills,how to unlock stuff,and so on. It is frustrating.

[@joshholmes1372]

@@arvhenvondegerfeld5033 true

[@gunboatwillie8536]

I started playing the first year it came out and was debating joining the VIP membership when they had a Lifetime Subscription sale. It was $199, you would get 500 points a month and all the other usual goodies. So I decided to go for it. Here we are 15 years later (and I will admit I have not played for a bit) but I still log in on occasion to check things out (so lost now lol). But as soon as the expansions become available with points I pick them up (I can wait) so I can say that it was by far the best $199 spent on a game ever as I have not had any reason to spend anything on it. Despite the company change etc my Membership is still recognized and accepted.

[@moonlambo5229]

$199 well spent!

[@DragonSlayerCommentariesHQ]

there's so many zones to go to post Helms Deep. I see why many people play on Treebeard because it seems so hard to remember where you should go. SSG should at least put a tooltip on the zone names that tells you the level range so that players can male a conscious choice of where they can or want to go in the game. It isn't really good to have to go to the Lotro Wiki to look up zone level ranges.

[@Classic_DM]

This is a great update. Hopefully they can get the RK issue resolved today. Considering how ESO works, it's a good move for SSG to give out older content. Returning players would have to spend a lot of cash to unlock everything prior to this. Personally, I love EQ2's method. With each expansion, you get access to everything before.

[@MsBellaGames]

Good video. They should put this one up on the LOTRO main page so people can understand what their options are after the update goes live.

[@mr.pressato]

true!

[@beherenow8243]

Great Video! It would be nice if you did a video regarding how many lotro points these expansions packs cost and how many points F2P player can acquire in the regions till lvl 95 in total and so on.

[@trickpa80]

Bag space, Auction House , gold cap , still a big problem for a free to play , when you play a mmorpg u need it a lot, and specially on craft system

[@chrisv384]

That craft system with all the convoluted drops that fills your bags in 2 seconds made me quit.. and I, play their other MMO which also have the same systems so I kinda knew what was going to happen, but when your not in the circle year after year, its just confusion.

[@shaun9156]

gold cap? I am new and have 10gold, heard the old cap was 5gold. It doesn't seem to be there anymore. Also at level 33 I have plenty of space still. With normal leveling I have only bought one 5 space bag increase with LP. Whats up with the auction house?

[@mercster]

Have you ever made a guide about the kinda-sorta-mandatory other content you wanna buy if you are a hardcore player? Premium wallet, horse riding skill, etc...

[@belwynne1386]

Universal crafting tools and improved universal crafting tools are musts for me…

[@kevangibbs2139]

SO many comments about the UI on a youtube channel that specializes in informing people on LOTRO. A couple more clicks and they would find that the game has an add-on system and that the UI can be completely altered. I ditched the standard UI the second I downloaded this game and you guys should too. Honestly not a great excuse to miss out on such a great game!

[@Jacob468100]

Very difficult to get back into this game now even with the new f2p monetization updates. There are several obsolete menus, vendors, and systems in place that have been abandoned and need to be wiped from the game completely to help with unnecessary confusion. I appreciate the efforts, but the devs really should put more focus and investment on total game revamping instead of just creating new content.

[@moondog548]

It feels like they really are doing that (overhauling everything that needs it) for the first time in a long time... the problem is that they're contending with so many years of neglect. It's just that huge of a problem but they're already working on it and the LI improvements and store changes as first meaningful steps (though they still have so very far to go).

[@harvain731]

@@moondog548 Yeah pretty much they are only starting the process of 11+ Years of Stagnation especially in 2021 with with New Legendary Item System and the Upcoming Update 33 Changes on April 20th, 2022. LOTRO has a long way to go & there is hope but hope is not victory. The fight for this Middle-Earth goes on.

[@arvhenvondegerfeld5033]

indeed,as I said in a comment belove. I would love to get into the game, but as a new player it so confusing ,the ui sucks,the map too, all those useless item (or maybe they are not, idk, there so many of them) the "skills" management,all those windows and values. I mean, I play mmorpg since years,but lotro REALLY need an update.

[@jmannxiiiaaron]

I'm trying to get into the game now, but I play on 3440x1440, and the UI is absolutely terrible. I've researched everything I can think of, but can't find a way to scale the UI to my monitor resolution. It's really off-putting and making the game unplayable.

[@Sotsvamp]

@@jmannxiiiaaron what? I play on 3440x1440 too and think the UI looks really good. It's kinda small but that's how I like it. It's still easy to see but isn't in the way.

[@ogoid1990]

Could you maybe make an updated video on this topic? As a new player im very confused as to what i NEED to buy to get access to everything. I just went to the store and got so confused i just left...

[@arvhenvondegerfeld5033]

Nice update and ty for the usefull video. I would really , really love to get into the game (i played it few months,alone) but honestly there are things that really won't let me do it : most of all the UI, the BAG space, all those items, it is SOOOOO confusing (I am a "veteran" mmo player,so I am used to manage inventory,items and so) but the lotro one is the worst. And all the content like "skills", extra abilities and so on, so much stuff really hard to get into as new player while having an horrible UI anda management: If only they change it, it would be a great improvement, since I know that I am not the only one to complain about it.

[@mrseventysix495]

You keep mentioning Lotro Store and Lotro Market but are not clear on which is which for those of us watching that are new.

[@Shagrath06]

Kitty sneaking like a burglar @3:26 :D

[@danabell2709]

Thanks for this primer! I quit after Isengard because I could not stand the mounted combat they were introducing with Rohan (I think those are the areas, it's been a while). I may pop back since they are opening the game up to lvl 95 and see if I can find a way around that stuff. All in all, it'll be interesting to visit again I think. I had a guardian and a hunter at 75 I think so maybe I'll give one a whirl this weekend :)

[@Harry-uq9qd]

Yeah I took a break before Rohan, came back after, you can level up without going through it. Forgot how I did it, sometimes I even did warzones and exp boosts, so maybe some of that

[@harvain731]

One thing, if you didn't Transfer your Characters back during the 2015-2016 Server Mergers they'll be stuck in Transfer Limbo. The SSG LOTRO Team are still working on getting a working Transfer Process for Closed Servers but there is no ETA for when this might happen & this work has been going on for a good while. If your Characters were on the remaining 5 EU & 5 NA Servers, then you'll have no issues. Otherwise you'll have to create a New Character.

[@danabell2709]

@@harvain731 I have a max level guardian (75) and mini (79) on Brandywine which was my main server back in the day I think. The Hunter may have been on Windfola (which was a server I played on occasionally). Still, it seems enough to work with. It's hard to mourn characters I only kinda half remember :)

[@harvain731]

@@danabell2709 Yeah, just a heads up. Folks keep returning & surprised by Characters they can't use. Some even stating they won't return until they have access to their Old Characters.

[@danabell2709]

@@Harry-uq9qd Well they gave me a couple level boosts with today's anniversary gifts. . . so I think it'll be a while before I need to figure that out :)

[@jannecapelle_art]

im so so glad they made this move to make so many things f2p. i mean, ive played more than 1200 hours over like 10 years on and off, while only paying 6 euros every few months or years to purchase a new quest pack. and that is obviously not an unreasonable amount of money to pay for a game that needs servers and updates etc etc, so i was already pretty happy with the game. but now ive got SO MUCH new content to play, so im playing more than ever (still going at my own, very slow pace though) and now i finally feel comfortable with introducing friends to the game and asking if they wanna play with me! before, i always felt a bit bad bc if you wanted to go farther than lvl 35, they wouldve had to pay for a quest pack, but now that you can get up to lvl 95 for free...i mean i myself havent gotten to that level, and getting there with a friend will take like, 500 years so im not scared of running out of content 😂

[@haberak3310]

Honestly, they could've just made all of the pre-Moria Eriador areas free (with maybe all the expansion areas up to the most recent being included in VIP) and I would've been happy, but them going all the way to 95 is incredible!

[@ryanyoung5922]

"If I may be so bold", As a completely fresh starter.. All I would need to do is purchase something from the store to gain VIP status and then buy the latest Gundabad expansion to have complete access to all areas and quest packs?

[@Kenjerich]

Hey! Love your videos. Really make me want to get back into the game. I bought the game and mines of moria when they first came out WAAAY back when, and I think I've gotten everything up to Helms Deep. I think it never stuck cause all my friends played WoW. Anyways once gain great videos and thank you for all you do for this community! Sidenote do you have a kin that is recruiting?

[@ailurusfulgens1849]

Nice, I just bough the High elf yesterday

[@harvain731]

Could always contact SSG Customer Support for a Refund. Can't say how quickly they'd get to your Ticket though as it seems Customer Support still has a bit of a wait time but since you got such so recently, more than likely a Refund could happen.

[@glennvanzanden8060]

Left field question here. When Gundabad becomes available for LOTRO points in May, and I have done my deeds to level 95, can I purchase the Gundabad expansion without buying ANY of the quest packs or expansions in between? If so, I can get to level 140 just from quests and running dungeons etc and would never have to buy any of the rest unless I felt like it, and go straight to end game without spending any real money.

[@Louey7]

Currently, yes! In the future they may release another level cap update with new endgame that would also have to be purchased

[@urnotmyfather8322]

Requesting a short video with your opinion/impression of Yondershire!

[@veiby2546]

Im so confused. Like, Im planning on buying the Starter pack whenever, but apart from that, I want to do quests and the overall story. What do I gotta buy? Im watching the vid and still have a trouble understanding :((

[@josephmartino7354]

me too, I just want to know what quest packs are included in the expansions. It looks like there are a few quest packs that are between expansions that you would need to get regardless such as western, Central and Easter Gondor , Old Anorien, Far Anorien, March of the king and battle of the black gate. from there you can just buy Mordor Expansion and from there back to buying a few quest packs Legacy of the necromancer and where dragons dwell then you would get Minas Morgul Expansion and that is where i start to question, if that has quests from 120-130 do i need Vales of Anduin and mists of wilderland ?

[@icaromiranda9981]

It's confirmed, update 33 will be up on april 20th

[@samcs1453]

What if you become a VIP for 3 months (Mordor, Minas Morgul, Three peaks free ), then revert to non-VIP, will this restrict you from accessing the aforementioned 3 expansions?

[@Dadsezso]

That's a good question. I know in ESO if you let your ESO + membership run out you lose access to all the store DLC that aren't part of expansions you don't already own.

[@vegassims7]

Will Riders of Rohan be available for free too? I had bought the Isengard Expansion awhile ago, but I am no finding out that parts of Rohan are not available.

[@harvain731]

Yes, Riders of Rohan Expansion is part of the Content being given to All Accounts & was removed from the LOTRO Store fairly recently due to that.

[@sidey2368]

Any chance you can update this as of now? I'm thinking of coming back, but I'm WAY behind on xpacs. If I come back, and get into a character, I won't be willing to spend a LOT of money to catch up. At this time I plan to pay/vip while I play. As much as I'm interested in returning, I'm not really willing to invest time right now without understanding whats required to hit endgame. If it matters, I have a 2007 account.

[@Mailomaily]

Thx for this vid

[@dennisrehrmann6710]

Thank you.

[@ericread2369]

I just started playing about 3 days ago and really enjoying the Champion class.

[@tchevensky7802]

whats your lvl? also started few days ago, still deciding if its worth it my time as f2p

[@georgemichael1842]

Do you guys think they did this in order to "save" the game or to prepare for more to come ? I recently got back into the game, and then learn about this dope new update (I am a F2p players). But I am curious, usually it's not the best sign for a mmoprg to go more f2p, but in some case it helps (SWTOR for example). So I am curious because there is a chunk of the Middle Earth that has not been explore, and I would love more about the EAST side (oriental, and what we see in the Shadow of Mordor games), with Rhun and Harad. Because now I am tempting to get a pack or a quest pack for pass 95. I am a big LOTR fans and universe (never read the book ironically), but yea, you seem to know quite a lot about the game, maybe you even get in touch with the developers. Thank you also for your content it helps as a returning player.

[@harvain731]

It wasn't to "save the Game" as much as correcting 11+ Years of Stagnation. This wouldn't seem like a "Uh oh...is this a bad thing and/or a last ditch effort?" if things had been done every Year to give a little bit of Content + Monetization + Free to Play Changes to All Accounts. All signs point to LOTRO having "Years" still under it's belt so it's not like they are in Panic Mode or anything. One thing to note for the rest of your comment, LOTRO is based off the Books: The Hobbit & the Lord of the Rings so what happens in Movies, other Games, etc has no affect on this LOTR MMORPG. So for the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor/War, those are more than 95% (if not 99%) Non-Canon and mostly just using the base Lore and Movie Version of things to have those 2 Games out so the "Oriental" Nazgul backstory in those Games are Non-Canon and don't represent what would be seen in LOTRO.

[@georgemichael1842]

@@harvain731 Awesome thanks for your help. Ya I thought it was indeed inspire of the books but also have their "own" take, and on the game map there is the two oriental regions so I was just curious. Idk that much more about the lore or the Middle Earth, but it seems they gonna run out of stuff in the current maps (i Could be wrong). Glad it seems to be less of a panic mode than I think, but my first thought was they doing this and the "suppose" graphic adjustment and improvement in order to match the new upcoming series. I would love to see them get idk 100-200k new players just because they saw this game and the new series coming up would be an idea marketing tool (I would at least). Even tho base on the few shots we might be disappointed as Lord of the Rings fans (we will see as we don't know much more and it's just images the end result might be better).

[@vidacheto]

There's a new LOTR show coming out, so it's definitely to prepare for something.

[@werskantti]

For free to play, the 95 cap is awesome. However, does free to play players need to buy the area (like legacy of necromancer) to continue book quests? What I think should be done, is start include "mini expansions", like legacy of necromancer, to the Mordor expansion because all of it is lvl 115 stuff. Same with 120 and 130caps. And at the same adjust the lvl 100 cap too, there are just too many areas which "needs" to be bought

[@Louey7]

Ahh, forgot to include all the details on that in the video! All of the "Epic" book quests (Volumes I through V) are free, but the Black Book of Mordor is (or at least pre-U33, haven't heard changes to this) requires either the Mordor expansion or Minas Morgul expansion, while the Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarfs is free

[@harvain731]

Basically being VIP covers all of that for the Level 95/96 to Level 130 Content. They still want ways to make Money plus this seems like the way they'll "Improve" their Monetization & Free to Play Model probably on a Yearly Basis where a bit more Content is added to All Accounts. But this is all new to LOTRO for everyone, we've not had Content given to All Accounts since Nov 2010 so it's wait & see if the SSG LOTRO Team will keep doing things that are for the good of the Game.

[@sobrirosdriana3901]

Just need real confirmation. I dont need to purchase the quest packs? At least until 95? What about the instances?

[@johnnyparallax7321]

@@sobrirosdriana3901 instances are included

[@ZelevasUZ]

Hey, thanks for all the content youre doing, have been watching a ton of your vids. i want to try LOTRO and im not afraid to sub . do you think the legendary servers would be a good start for a new player? or would it be better to simply play on a normal server.

[@BeyondDaX]

Well you need to sub anyway if you want access to a legendary server

[@Lau2356Fr]

I suggest the Treebeard server! The progress is slower and you have more time to learn the game and profit from each region. You also have more people in the low level regions to quest and group with! Perfect to start playing :)

[@ZelevasUZ]

@@Lau2356Fr Thanks! I will try in treebeard then^^

[@Lau2356Fr]

@@ZelevasUZ If you're looking for a kinship, I'm in Better Biscuit Bureau, we love to help newcomers! :)

[@ademuran]

Is there something I miss on your level or in the gameplay of this video you are destroying elite mob with one more level than you in a few hit ?

[@Louey7]

These are non-elite (regular) mobs

[@arjanbisschop1377]

Do you think you get to keep the 3 expansions and questpacks after you subbed for a month?

[@Louey7]

Probably not

[@MsBellaGames]

I don't know what it will be like after the changes, but as of now, no you don't keep any expansions or quest packs after a sub runs out. I wish, as I wouldn't have had to spend so much LP on my alt account to get it filled out.

[@Stromn83]

yea stout axe was not given with vip sub , wish i would of watched this video thou , as i just purchased every single expansion and according to what you say here , i didnt need to get them all just gundabad and bts....f*******....

[@moonlambo5229]

I just downloaded the game and want to be a high elf. What do I need to buy to unlock this? Thank you for your help.

[@Louey7]

Nothing! High Elf is free now

[@MZHussaink]

Will there be interface update in future cause that interface looks so outdated.

[@tweezyg6561]

You just seem like the kindest human being on the planet lol, I love it

[@moondog548]

Clutch!!!!!

[@ErikWroblewski]

I am just wandering if they will refund the ton of money people put in the game to get that content they are offering for free now. All races, classes, quest packs and expansions.

[@harvain731]

No, they won't. It's better to look at Update 33 like this: The SSG LOTRO Team are doing what should have been done a bit at a time over 11+ Years where once some Older Content was "Old enough" it was given to All Accounts in an Update along with once in a while some key things like how All Accounts have the Trait Slots, Premium Wallet & Gold Cap Pre-Update 33.

[@MrFlaner]

I am downloading the game right now and this video almost made me stop the download, so much confusion to play the game, that is not a good sign.

[@seenochasm7101]

Is this still up to date?

[@Louey7]

Only difference is now Before the Shadow mini expansion is also "needed" to get all the content (which is currently on LOTRO Market only until spring 2023)

[@hanzswan6498]

PvMP was prob the only reason I wanted to level, shame it's dead. At least on my home server brandywine. Haven't been on in a year or so.

[@PsYchotic666Joker]

Brandy was my home for many years and I switched to arkenstone with plenty of my friends. Brandy was THE server for most players and most active pvmp (now Brandy does t have as many compared to ark) but now it is ark and even then it only has peak times from my understanding not positive though.

[@charlesmartel3995]

Can I buy a brand new user interface please? I simply cannot see the inventory unless I'm playing at a very low resolution.

[@shaun9156]

Settings, UI, increase the size.

[@freddy902]

I think yondershire should be free to all players since it is an addon to the shire.

[@runkorko]

This game dont have addons. It have plugisn, expansions and quest packs. Expansions and quest packs are not free. And yes, your thinking is WRONG. Sorry By your logic every new zone should be free because its an addon to world map

[@harvain731]

@@runkorko That could have been stated far better. LOTRO always has Newer Content for a period of time where they don't get Sales and so on until we get some Newer Content. What it seems like SSG will be doing is that the 3 Newest Quest Packs & 3 Newest Expansions will be something that Free to Play Accounts & Premium Account must get through whatever means (LOTRO Points, Codes, etc) and then eventually when Newer Content comes down the line, the Oldest of those 3 Quest Packs + 3 Expansions will be given to All Accounts. Granted there is no way to be certain this is how it'll happen as Update 33 is the first time LOTRO has seen Content given to All Accounts with an Update since Nov 2010 when the Lone Lands Quest Pack was given to All Accounts. It remains to be seen if the SSG LOTRO Team will keep doing Yearly or Multiple Times a Year where Content is given to All Accounts.

[@steamline4597]

pretty disappointing imo. they should make everything free to lvl 105 before mordor, why to 95? Helms deep expansion was 9 years ago...

[@harvain731]

Just what they went with and granted this isn't the "Announced Plan" or anything but it seems like what they are doing is having some Older Content available to give to All Accounts again sometime in the Future. Not saying this will occur in 2022 but likely if the SSG LOTRO Team keep up with things, we'll see more Content given in 2023 to All Accounts. It's wait & see. This also gives them Money they can make still and an incentive for folks to get LOTRO's VIP Subscription as an Account would have Access to everything in Post-Update 33 up to Level 130 Content and would only need the Fate of Gundabad Expansion for the Level 131 to Level 140 Content. Fate of Gundabad Expansion will be on the LOTRO Store in May 2022.

[@Daniel-xv3nw]

🐙

[@af6756]

too expensive..too outdated..too bad

[@InspireCreativity2023]

dude looks like a hobbit...lol

[@vaithwhy]

Sorry but Standing Stone have no clue how to make a Game truly fFree to Play. They just should make the Base Game and every Addon directly Free to Play, as a normal Version, only selling Content Pack of Skins for these Addon like Pre Order or Headstart for these upcoming Content. A System like they have dosnt work anymore in 2022. Thats why the Game died out, WB did a good job, even Turbine did a good Job. But Standing Stone nah.

[@Extracted74]

TL;DW You wont have to buy anything because this montetization rework is 30 years too late for a subpar wow clone.