Hey folks,

I bought the game when it came out and played it till about level 15 I think (the first dungeons). Now I am thinking about trying it again as it seems like it might be a more laid back dort of game.WHile I used to love to raid back in EQ1 and vanilla WoW, currently my RL schedule is very busy with finishing up a dissertation, interviewing for jobs and having a full time family. I have heard great things about the community here and that intrigues me as I am an old school RPer who stared with RPGs back in the early 1980s... Now, I normally log on 1-3 hours a night , at late night (PST) times.. that said ai have a few inquires:

1) What is the best pricing plan? Should I get the monthly subscription or is it better to buy things piecemeal? AT first I will definately just go for the free sub (premium my account syas). But if I do plan to stay for a while aht''s good?

2) Is the RP still good here? and for that matter the community in general?

3) How soloable is the game.. sadly I have odd hours and often times have to log off for crazy toddler agro et al. Will I still be able to progress in the game to the point where it's fun?

4) How min/max driven is the game? Can a casual player get along fine without researching the forums for FoTM min/maxiness?

5) and finally, building off of #1, how bad is the cash shop? Is it pay to win or otherwise crazy?

thanks in advance!

hey, except to solo a lot because most of the people are high level by now.

I started over the game 2 months ago too and pretty much soloed for 99% of it up to lvl 45. had to take a break because it was getting boring.

to answer your Qs:

1 - best is to buy a Mines of Moria expansion pack, get a month free with that.

it will also unlock nice goodies worth over 15$.

After that stay on premium until you want to PVP actively and unlock things piece by piece.

Having bought mines of Moria and played through for one month, I had over 1500 points accumulated and that was enough to buy quite a lot of stuff.

2 - community is good, but I guess it could be better. most players are high level so there's that disadvantage...

RP...I never ran into an active RP community, but I'm sure it's there. there's a dedicated RP server too

3 - it's soloable for the most part. there are certain areas where you're expected to have a small fellowship, but not required and some classes do well there too.

most main story quests will give you a buff for parts where you're supposed to have a group and it will be too easy usually.

you can solo with any class too

4 - I don't think min/maxness exists in LOTRO simply beause there's never a need to have the best gear as you're still quite powerful even without it

for Monster Play (PVP), you'll be more powerful than monsters even with crappy gear, unless they're ultra high rank

the only major issue is that once you get to your legendary items, you'll have to spend a lot of time grinding mobs to make yourself more powerful and that gets annoying. also there's no FOTM per se as everybody can get to the same level through...grind really. 

5 - it's not pay to win as ..there's nothing to win. you're not fighting other players, you're fighting monsters that have a different system alltogether

cash shop is by far the best in any game. 

items that they do sell give you only brief advantage and can make the game easier, but not make you OP

so it's quite good

Landroval is the unofficial RP server.  The game since launch has been geared toward a more casual/solo friendly playstyle. 

I've recently checked out "LOTRO" after "SWTOR" fiasco and it was such a nice surprise! I remember playing "Lotro" on its release, didn't win me over "WoW" then. 

But now - I'm hooked. It's hard to believe but the graphics are in many ways (not all, of course) better than "SWTOR" (high res textures...),  and definitely better in the artistic sense. Quests and story are fun (for those who can read), mechanic-wise nothing original or suprising but it just... fits. And it works. The sound, music, ambience - top notch. Community is very nice (I'm on RP server), there are still new Kinships (Guilds) being formed so it's socially-fun even on lower levels (there are problems with low level instances though, couldn't find a group; but then again - I love to solo so it's not big problem for me). 

I really like some ideas that "LOTRO" doesn't try to copy from other games and/or does it differently: skirmishes, some cool elements of crafting, hobbies, festivals, outfits, mounts (you can have one at level 5!). 

The world seems alive, fantastic and realistic at the same time. I even don't bother to kill boars, spiders, bears and goblins in almost every quest (that may change, though, I'm only level 21 ;))) while in "SWTOR" I couldn't bare to kill ANOTHER bunch of droids. Apparently in "LOTRO" those elements just work.

I subscribed already and playing this along "WoW" should be a fun way to wait for "GW2" for example. But some friends told me I shouldn't subscribe, just buy some expansions from the Store... Don't know what is the best possible option here. Subscribing is a mistake? Help me out guys :)

Originally posted by angriel

(...)

But now - I'm hooked. It's hard to believe but the graphics are in many ways (not all, of course) better than "SWTOR" (high res textures...),  and definitely better in the artistic sense. Quests and story are fun (for those who can read), mechanic-wise nothing original or suprising but it just... fits. And it works. The sound, music, ambience - top notch. Community is very nice (I'm on RP server), there are still new Kinships (Guilds) being formed so it's socially-fun even on lower levels (there are problems with low level instances though, couldn't find a group; but then again - I love to solo so it's not big problem for me). 

I'd just buy Mines of Moria (for access to all classes) and go VIP member, full CS and full PvP is included and both are worth trying out in LotRO.

World design is obviously better than in SWTOR along with graphical fidelity. Why is that hard to believe? SWTOR has obviously only invested in the animation/character department and mashed some rocks and trees up on pretty much any planet: That's not a question of (engine)age, that's a question on how much focus was on world design during the development. And in LotRO, there obviously was a lot of effort put into making middle-earth atmospheric and beautiful... But you're right, it kind of makes you shake your head in wonder looking at LotRO with dynamic shadows, interactive water, high-res textures and draw distance practically to the horizon at 150 fps when you come from SWTOR that made you turn off shadows because it couldn't render an indoor battleground without stuttering...

M

Originally posted by Meridion

 it kind of makes you shake your head in wonder looking at LotRO with dynamic shadows, interactive water, high-res textures and draw distance practically to the horizon at 150 fps when you come from SWTOR that made you turn off shadows because it couldn't render an indoor battleground without stuttering...

 

My thoughts exactly! That's why I was so surprised with LotRO graphics (and by graphics I mean not only textures quality but overall worldbuilding, artistic style and atmosphere). Playing SWTOR I was feeling disconnected, couldn't suspend my disbelief and just immerse in the game world because it felt so artificial, uninspiring and boring. Like it was made in a crappy editor by people lacking good taste and/or abilities to create virtual worlds. Very dissapointing.

Maybe that's why I'm so happy that I've came back to LotRO - it feels like I'm playing a game that's worth my time and I'm discovering worlds I couldn't build with a crappy editor tools.

Thanks for advice - I will buy "Moria" then. Cheers :)