I want to get Lord of The Rings Online onto my computer,for gameplay. I've seen 2 available ways to bring that game,and it confuses me. The gamesite does have a game download button,but this site's gamelist says that it is being sold in stores.

 Which is the right way?

I don't play LOTRO, but most MMO don't need to be bought in stores and you can just download the game to your PC.

The reason they use store boxes is more to promote the game and to have a store presence so people can pick it up.

the game is f2p so get it off the site

Just download it, it's easier. It's a pretty large client, but it comes with a downloader so you can pause and start it back up whenever you want.

Here is the download link: http://content.turbine.com/sites/clientdl/lotro/lotrostandard.exe

I recommend buying the game and downloading it online.  The game has been around awhile so if you buy the box version, you'll be spending a lot of time patching anyway.

It really depends on your intentions for the game.

If you just want to try it out for free and see if it's something you like then I'd recommend the free account download off their website.

If you already think you'll like it and want a good starter package for a fairly cheap price then I'd recommend the Retail Mithril Edition for $30, http://mithril.lotro.com/ .  It comes with a horse, 2000 TP (about $20 worth of in-game store currency) and several quest packs to help with leveling through the 35-65 range (35 being where the free quests end).

Your final option I see is if you know you're gonna be playing a while and want the best bang for your buck.  This option would be to get the Legendary Isengard expansion, http://isengard.lotro.com/purchase.php .  It's the more expensive option at $50 but it also gets you the most.  Lots of cosmetics, horses, 1000 TP ($10 value), ALL the quest packs mentioned in the above Mithril option (35-65) as well as the quest pack of Mirkwood (60-65+) and the latest Isengard expansion (65-75).  This means that with this option you can easily quest from the end of the free quests (35) all the way to the current cap (75).

A few things to keep in mind no matter which option you choose is that TP can be earned in-game, though somewhat slowly, and so if you're not looking to spend any money yet you can unlock content as you go, through TP grinding.  Also, if you go VIP ($15/month) for just one month you will get a bunch of free permanent unlocks, like bag space, trait slots, gold cap removal, etc. for your characters that you'd normally have to pay TP to unlock.

Kuala's reply can't be beat.  It's all you need to know.  My unsolicited advice?  Try b4 you buy.  I love the game, but it's not for everyone.

If you can still buy a boxed version definitely do. Just make sure it's the US version, as the old Codemaster's EU version is obsolete. However, a retail box version is great value as you get a load of stuff unlocked for for good, eg storage space, traits, travel routes, maybe more. You'll get all quests open for the first month with no further payment and even a bonus 500 Turbine points. You don't get any of that with the free download.

If you want to carry on after that, grab the legendary edition of the new expansion. That includes virtually all the quests packs you'll need from lvl 35 onwards, a selection of nice mounts, cosmetic clothing and another 1000 points to add to the 500 you got with your boxed starter disk. Thats enough for two lower level quest packs such as Evendim and Misty Mountains.

With all that, you could play for years without spending any more real life money. A Bargain!

Originally posted by Robsolf

 I love the game, but it's not for everyone.

I agree totally.

For immersion, it cannot be beat. If you are a PvP junky, you might not want to waste your time with the download.

The only complaint I have had against LotRO is that the download is very time consuming.  I've downloaded the client 3 times this year to three different machines.  The fastest download I had was just under 4 hours.  Not really what I'd call encouraging an impulse decision.

It's definitely worth it for me, but I really did wish I'd had a box copy to speed that download.