General Discussion

So turbine is selling lifetime memberships to LoTRO again and I am considering getting one.  LoTRO is  a fun game to RP in and has a very good community (right now) and I enjoy playing it.

My concern is that in a few months, with AoC coming out very soon and WAR a few months down the line, LoTRO is going to be a ghost town.  No matter how good a game is, when the servers empty it just isn't fun anymore (DAoC) and this will be especialy true with LoTRO since it is the community that makes it worth playing at end game.

Don't worry about that. Turbine have very good experiences way back to  Acheron's Call 2. They know how to deal with empty servers.

AoC may get a rush of players at launch, but it will be short lived. That's not to suggest that AoC isn't a good game, but it will cater to a certain niche crowd and it isn't a 'general MMO' that will appeal to MMO fans across the board. Like LoTRO its confined to the vision of the author (Robert E Howard) so you can't expect new races or new content as you would with a ground floor fantasy MMO. I think it will appeal to PK and Raiders, along with a scant handful of Howard/Conan fans.

I enjoyed testing the game in beta, but I can see that its going to appeal to a select group of players. If you enjoy LoTRO then by all means play it, if you're having fun that's kind of the most important element to playing any game.

It all depends on your personal playstyle. Just look at your past experience: How many MMOGs have you played? For how many of them a lifetime subscription would have been the better option retroperspectively?

LotRo, WAR and AoC cater all quite different audiences, so there is no doubt that the servers will continue to run for a long time. Also, LotRo has already quite a good number of lifetimers, who will stay as a basic pillar of the community for a long time.

When it comes to gaming, stick with what you know. you know LOTRO is good ...so thats a sure thing.

AoC and WAR are both unknowns at this point.

AoC is going to draw alot of curious people but not retain them imo.   As one poster said, LoTRO is a known the others are not at this point.   And the most important thing is you like the game.   The community in LoTRO is going to be in LoTRO long after AoC comes and goes.

It is this kind of threads, that are ruining the community.

Lotro is NOW. AoC is SOON. WAR is far away.

why is lotro even on the list, lotro is worse than swg atm

Games come and go so fast, I can't possibly see paying a lifetime membership for any of em, no matter how much I like em.  As horrid as LotRO engame is I'd have to put that at the bottom of the list to even qualify for such a purchase.