they went too far

http://www.lotro.com/lotrostorenew

example:

Golden Robe of the Benefactor  Fine cloth robe Tier I: +92 Armour, +3 Vitality and +3 Will Tier II: +184 Armour, +6 Vitality and +6 Will Tier III: +277 Armour, +8 Will, +8 Fate and +8 Vitality

Here I thought they were doing so well...

That's the line not to cross... and they leaped over it.

Turbine's Adam Mersky: "This is us coming up with solutions to problems players are reporting to us."

Transation (assmuming we take him at his word): Game is broke, pay us extra to fix it. 

Its either business is bad or someone at Turbine HQ read on Massively interview about the

Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages.

wow as a lifetime sub was considering reloading and spending some of those turbine points Ive been amassing but for real I mean serious what the heck are they thinking so much for armor crafters.

*Writhes in pain*

My first thought is that they are doing it because lower level crafting might not be enough to satisfy demand.

and that's the only positive suggestion I can offer as i just want to rant. And to be honest I'm just so sad, I love the Lord of the Rings Universe and they just didn't have the vision to pull this game off.

Well, "In my opinion". Maybe their upcomnig expansion will be acceptable.

I don't get it...these items are quite crappy and it's only for lvl 20 chars. I guess they're adding these for lower lvl chars that just want to get into skirmishes/instances and get over the leveling part sooner?

If they add lvl 75 items though, it will spell the doom for LOTRO

I didn't see it as that big a deal til' I saw the 8% speed buff on the footwear. 

Other than that, it's inferior to most craftable stuff.

Still, this is a line they shouldn't have crossed.

5 years ago people would be outraged at this, today its not really a big deal as some posters have stated. conditioning of mmo players base at its finest. in 3 or 4 years time buying the top armour will be totally acceptable. The devs are taking small steps introducing you to cash shops so when they make the final leap "it wont be that big of a deal".

There is a thread in the lotro store sub section of the forums where a poster has asked others to sum up their opinion of the store in one word.  The replies are quite creative and overwhelmingly negative.  Unfortunately, I doubt anyone with the power to change things over at Turbine will take notice.  It's worth a look just for the amusement value of some of the posts.

Originally posted by nerovipus32

5 years ago people would be outraged at this, today its not really a big deal as some posters have stated. conditioning of mmo players base at its finest. in 3 or 4 years time buying the top armour will be totally acceptable. The devs are taking small steps introducing you to cash shops so when they make the final leap "it wont be that big of a deal".

It is a BIG deal to many including myslef I was paying subscription untill recently, they chose to do this and left for GOOD and never looking back.

I have no problem with the gear, I do have a problem with the massive amounts of restrictions that are applied to a free player.

Originally posted by RedKatana

Originally posted by nerovipus32

5 years ago people would be outraged at this, today its not really a big deal as some posters have stated. conditioning of mmo players base at its finest. in 3 or 4 years time buying the top armour will be totally acceptable. The devs are taking small steps introducing you to cash shops so when they make the final leap "it wont be that big of a deal".

It is a BIG deal to many including myslef I was paying subscription untill recently, they chose to do this and left for GOOD and never looking back.

yes it is a big deal to me and you but a generation of players will grow up with a pay2win model and the rest of us can either accept it or find a new hobby. Look at how sandbox players have been pretty much exluded from the mmo genre.

Originally posted by nerovipus32

Originally posted by RedKatana

Originally posted by nerovipus32

5 years ago people would be outraged at this, today its not really a big deal as some posters have stated. conditioning of mmo players base at its finest. in 3 or 4 years time buying the top armour will be totally acceptable. The devs are taking small steps introducing you to cash shops so when they make the final leap "it wont be that big of a deal".

It is a BIG deal to many including myslef I was paying subscription untill recently, they chose to do this and left for GOOD and never looking back.

yes it is a big deal to me and you but a generation of players will grow up with a pay2win model and the rest of us can either accept it or find a new hobby. Look at how sandbox players have been pretty much exluded from the mmo genre.

  Call me odd...but 5 years ago I would have been no more outraged by this, as I am now.  I have a load of alts.  I have a LOAD of points.  I don't have as much time as I'd like to farm/create armor for all of them.  I now don't have too, I can buy it instead and spend my time having fun.  I am by no means rich, however you don't need to be with LOTRO - the absolute ridiculous ease at which yopu can gain points - and in significant amounts makes this even more of a non-issue for me.

Originally posted by Eliandal

Originally posted by nerovipus32

Originally posted by RedKatana

Originally posted by nerovipus32

5 years ago people would be outraged at this, today its not really a big deal as some posters have stated. conditioning of mmo players base at its finest. in 3 or 4 years time buying the top armour will be totally acceptable. The devs are taking small steps introducing you to cash shops so when they make the final leap "it wont be that big of a deal".

It is a BIG deal to many including myslef I was paying subscription untill recently, they chose to do this and left for GOOD and never looking back.

yes it is a big deal to me and you but a generation of players will grow up with a pay2win model and the rest of us can either accept it or find a new hobby. Look at how sandbox players have been pretty much exluded from the mmo genre.

 

  Call me odd...but 5 years ago I would have been no more outraged by this, as I am now.  I have a load of alts.  I have a LOAD of points.  I don't have as much time as I'd like to farm/create armor for all of them.  I now don't have too, I can buy it instead and spend my time having fun.  I am by no means rich, however you don't need to be with LOTRO - the absolute ridiculous ease at which yopu can gain points - and in significant amounts makes this even more of a non-issue for me.

You are missing the point of even playing the game cause you don't need to play you can drop some $$$ and you have the gear which you didn't bother to get yourself. So if your money is doing all the work why are you playing? I play to achive things in the game myself that's the whole point of me playing the game in the first place.

Things that push me to play a mmorpg: Grow in levels and become stronger, update my gear/weapons, get new skills, thus exploring more areas.

Things you are looking to get from a mmorpg: Instant gear, levels, and show off to other online gamers that you have them. So you are not playing the game at all pretty much you're just showing off something you didn't do.

Not a good thing to start doing.  Turbine was doing so well with their cash shop, but this crosses a line.  Admittedly, I haven't played the game in a while.  I have been playing SWTOR, but I was planning on going back.  Now....maybe not.

This is pretty low level gear, and as others have suggested, doesn't really compete with the better crafted armor.

But I do see this as a useful thing.  Armor just doesn't exist at the lower levels in the Auction House.  Most crafters are making the lowest level gear to grind their gear, and are ignoring the more useful pieces.  For instance, try to find any light or medium armor (made from Tailoring) for the 2nd tier armor (Level 14-22).  Usually, there are one or two pieces of the level 14 gear, and nothing until level 24.  The in-game crafters just aren't making the armor that the players are wanting.

Part of the problem is the insane cost of Sapphire (and Ruby) shards in the AH.  The high end (level 22) Tier 2 armor requires 1 Sapphire Shard per piece, and might sell for 90-100s per piece.  The problem is that most AH vendors want 250-400s for each shard.  A single player can only earn 6 Sapphire Shards from Bounties, which will make one single set of level 22 gear. To anyone complaining that offering this gear through the store will upset the in-game economy, don't worry, it's already broken.  Real world manufacturers who would pay 300 for a single part and hope to sell the finished good for 100 are soon out of business.  Why wouldn't the same be true in a simulated economy?

No one is making the level 22 items for sale, and Turbine identified a quick way to soak up some TPs.  I don't really see these items competing with items purchasable from the Skirmish vendors.  And I don't expect many people will buy a TP card ($20 or $25) to equip a single lower level character.  So, it is unlikely that this is a direct money grab, as I just can't see it generating more income for Turbine.

I play on 4 servers, and have most of my characters just approaching level 30.  This economic situation exists on all of the servers I am familiar with.

Originally posted by Mendel

This is pretty low level gear, and as others have suggested, doesn't really compete with the better crafted armor.

But I do see this as a useful thing.  Armor just doesn't exist at the lower levels in the Auction House.  Most crafters are making the lowest level gear to grind their gear, and are ignoring the more useful pieces.  For instance, try to find any light or medium armor (made from Tailoring) for the 2nd tier armor (Level 14-22).  Usually, there are one or two pieces of the level 14 gear, and nothing until level 24.  The in-game crafters just aren't making the armor that the players are wanting.

Part of the problem is the insane cost of Sapphire (and Ruby) shards in the AH.  The high end (level 22) Tier 2 armor requires 1 Sapphire Shard per piece, and might sell for 90-100s per piece.  The problem is that most AH vendors want 250-400s for each shard.  A single player can only earn 6 Sapphire Shards from Bounties, which will make one single set of level 22 gear. To anyone complaining that offering this gear through the store will upset the in-game economy, don't worry, it's already broken.  Real world manufacturers who would pay 300 for a single part and hope to sell the finished good for 100 are soon out of business.  Why wouldn't the same be true in a simulated economy?

No one is making the level 22 items for sale, and Turbine identified a quick way to soak up some TPs.  I don't really see these items competing with items purchasable from the Skirmish vendors.  And I don't expect many people will buy a TP card ($20 or $25) to equip a single lower level character.  So, it is unlikely that this is a direct money grab, as I just can't see it generating more income for Turbine.

I play on 4 servers, and have most of my characters just approaching level 30.  This economic situation exists on all of the servers I am familiar with.

True, I agree.  But the thing is, instead of creating this armor, they should have solved that problem.  Either increase the output of shards or provide more opportunities to get them.  What's the limit on doing the shard missions?  3 times?  5 times?  can't remember.  THERE SHOULDN'T BE A LIMIT.  If someone wants to make 10 shard armor pieces and sell them, why not let them do it?

My big beef is the 8% move speed.  Move speed in this game is near and dear to the hearts of most players, I'd bet.  I know I've kept my wayfaring cape(like a 5th level item) indefinitely just to have that move speed.  IMO, this makes the shop boots more appealing than crafted items that have better stats.

Oh noes! They added ugly inferior low level armour to the store! I'm never gonna play the game again!

/sarcasm off

Had this been good looking, better than crafted high-level armour, i would have been outraged but not with these crappy  ones.