Lifetime Account Members Thread

Ok I have 2 opinions on this. My inital reaction:

I left DDO when they went F2P because it looked stupid, the whole Turbine/ Atari BS could have been avoided if someone had done their job and read the fine print(IMO), done just a little more research. But then again I signed up for AC2 right before they announced its death. I have not been back to DDO since F2P, gave my sub to a friend and have not looked back.

I signed up for LOTRO due to the fact it was a normal MMORPG. You log on, run quests, craft AND EARN WHAT YOU GET. Buying ingame items is cheesy and no different than gold spamming with this one exception: Turbine is now the gold spammer. < CHEESY

My opinion after 3 cups of coffee, 2 smokes and pain meds:

All it would take is a continuation the storyline, nothing more; nothing less. open up the next area, introduce the next form of battle, step back from boring repetitive skirmishes, and get on with the book. That would keep people that are not lifers playing because that is what they signed up for. You make a game based on a group of sentients facing and problem and solving it together and turn it into a 1v1 slaughterfest with pvp and skirms and expect not to lose people then come out with a marketting plan that runs away loyal customers. I see LOTRO ending before Mordor is even thought of by any Dev.

Quit beating around the perverbial bush and finish the story.

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Originally Posted by BellusDuFenna

On the downside, the game will become flooded with new players who are not here for the community, not here for the setting, not here to contribute, but are only here because it's F2P. This will most certainly damage the LOTRO community, and negatively affect my enjoyment of the game.

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These are generally people who don't stick around very long, and I'm sure that every server has several of these already. If they're really obnoxious, then use /ignore and /report. I've seen the community beat down of players to get them in line - doesn't always work but some eventually get it.

But I'm ambivalent about the change; I've seen easily a dozen friends leave the game in the last couple months, for various reasons. Some will come back, some won't. Getting new players is over all a good thing, I do want to get to Mordor.

Changes such as this aren't quick to make, and Turbine obviously was watching DDO for its success as F2P; the decision was based on that and not driven solely by the WB acquisition. They are a business, if they aren't making money they aren't going to operate LOTRO as a favour to us.

As a lifetime player the question becomes how many points must you buy per month to effectively play the game. (Note: I don't use the word required).

Looking at the DDO store there is a ton of items that effect gameplay. How long before the raid leaders start saying everybody pop store hope, store DPS boost, store morale, store power? Then after spending $50 across the raid to beat the boss you get - okay who's turn is it to pop a loot booster before we open the chest. Please spare me the "it won't happen" posts because I'll believe those about as much as I believed the "Lotro won't go F2P" posts.

The 500 free points is minimal, there's a reason they sell points in blocks of 5000, and seems more like a way to get everybody in the store spending points.

For now, I got a lifetime so it costs me nothing to stick around so I might as well. But I'm not playing the swipe the credit card every 3 days to play game again.

Plus - Am I reading this right? No new content till the fall? Really?

I'm taking a "wait and see" attitude.

I expected this to occur after seeing all of the related threads in the forums...but it still hit hard when I [first] saw it posted on our Kinship website with a link. :eek:

I never played DDO or any game that was F2P or had a "store" where you could buy game stuff with points.

One thing I see that I have to believe will affect the game is selling consumables through the Turbine Store....a lot of players earn coin by cooking up and selling heal/power pots, waybread, potions, etc.. Isn't this going to "drop a bomb" on any players selling consumables on the AH to make coin?

I love this game and don't intend to leave [which is why I bought a lifetime subscription in the first place]....but I have a very "uneasy" feeling about this latest announcement. :confused: [Like when I was a kid and my mom would threaten, "WAIT TIL' YOUR FATHER GETS HOME!" ]/facepalm

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Originally Posted by BellusDuFenna

On the upside, this change could certainly keep LOTRO afloat for a very long time to come, which is great. It means my Lifetime sub still continues to gain value month after month.

On the downside, the game will become flooded with new players who are not here for the community, not here for the setting, not here to contribute, but are only here because it's F2P. This will most certainly damage the LOTRO community, and negatively affect my enjoyment of the game.

So, on the whole, I'm not very happy with the change. I'll live with it, because I have to (I love LOTRO, for better or worse), but this looks like a dark day for LOTRO to me.

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I think you are jumping the gun with this assumption.

Until this goes live we can only speculate at best what type of ppl the influx from the F2P model will bring. Surely, not all the new players and perhaps...not even most will fit into your pre-assessment categorizing of them.

Welden

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Originally Posted by Clovenshield

One thing I see that I have to believe will affect the game is selling consumables through the Turbine Store....a lot of players earn coin by cooking up and selling heal/power pots, waybread, potions, etc.. Isn't this going to "drop a bomb" on any players selling consumables on the AH to make coin?

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Don't feel like looking up the quote, but it basically said that F2P players can purchase items on the AH, but can't sell on the AH. Since F2P players aren't purchasing TPs, they can't "buy" pots and food from the Turbine Store. If the F2P want these items, they either have to craft them or buy them on the AH. There actually may be a BIGGER market for crafters to sell items to. It's all in the perspective.

Edit: Remember there are 3 levels of players VIP, Premium, F2P. I'm only talking about the F2P purchasing from the AH. VIP and Premium members can purchase these items from the Turbine Store.

Turbine, I am not so sure this is a good model for LOTRO. It may work for DDO but I think a portion of your monthly LOTRO subscribers may jump ship. The only thing I regret was misunderstanding the Founder's requirements. I thought you mean logging into the game and not the website. Plus, I think I had problems logging into the website as well and therefore out of 500 points... >:-(

Now I am hoping your parent company will open some deep pockets for development and infrastructure.

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Originally Posted by Sporati

...

Besides Monster Play, will anything be restricted to VIP members only?

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It looks like VIPs will get quite a bit more...

- VIP Priority log-in
- VIP unlimited chat functions, Standard and Premium limited
-VIP AH unlimited, Standard and Premium limited
-VIP mail unlimited, standard and premium limited
- VIP Rest xp, standard and premium not available

and a bunch of other stuff!

http://www.lotro.com/news/709

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Originally Posted by welden

I think you are jumping the gun with this assumption.

Until this goes live we can only speculate at best what type of ppl the influx from the F2P model will bring. Surely, not all the new players and perhaps...not even most will fit into your pre-assessment categorizing of them.

Welden

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Ever played F2P games before, such as Anarchy Online (for example)? That is precisely what happened there, so I don't think I'm jumping the gun here. Obviously not all free players coming in will be a blight on the community, but far too many will be. It is a standard occurrence in F2P games.

As a double Founder and Lifer (two accounts), let me put it simply:

When Harry Potter hits Beta, send us lifetimers an invite, and we'll call it even. :D

I'll throw in my first born for an Alpha invite. :eek:

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Originally Posted by BellusDuFenna

Ever played F2P games before, such as Anarchy Online (for example)? That is precisely what happened there, so I don't think I'm jumping the gun here. Obviously not all free players coming in will be a blight on the community, but far too many will be. It is a standard occurrence in F2P games.

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I played DDO right after it went F2P and it was a great experience. Lots of people will be asking questions, but if you've been to a starter area recently guess what... those people are already there.

Oh... and you can turn off /advice.

Finally, for all the people who are thinking that the naming will go down the tubes, or that we're going to get an insane amount of crazies, I direct you to the Legollas, Battman, and a dozen other "dumb" names I've seen in the past month as I have been levelling a new alt.

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Originally Posted by AnderlornLOTR

Turbine, I am not so sure this is a good model for LOTRO. It may work for DDO but I think a portion of your monthly LOTRO subscribers may jump ship. The only thing I regret was misunderstanding the Founder's requirements. I thought you mean logging into the game and not the website. Plus, I think I had problems logging into the website as well and therefore out of 500 points... >:-(

Now I am hoping your parent company will open some deep pockets for development and infrastructure.

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I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with logging into the WEBSITE. If you log into the game once per month, for more than a few seconds, you qualify to earn the bonus points for THAT MONTH.

Maybe *I'm* misunderstanding your post, but I'm pretty sure you don't have to log into the website at all...

Founder/Lifer
A lot of good things have been said. I like how a lot of our concerns have turned to cautious optimism after we get into the details.
Do I feel "cheated" because new people will be able to pay for free? No, because as a longtime player I look at the restrictions on the free accounts and it looks pretty restrictive to me. Great for someone who wants to try the game and see if they like it. So, it all makes sense to me.
Yes, there is the potential for some really usavory players to be in the game at low levels, but the reward outweighs the risk. LOTRO stays healthy and financially stable, thus I get to keep playing with my lifetime sub. And the biggest reward is that we'll have much more of a population base in the lvl 1-50 zones. Even Angmar and Moria have felt a bit lonely lately. We need players in these level ranges to keep the game healthy. Right now it is the occasional alt leveling up, and they usually have a kinship helping them.
When the low level zones were crowded the months after launch, there were tons of great players and tons of idiots. We delt with the idiots by choosing whom to group with, or leaving a bad group and finding a new one. Was easy to avoid most of the immaturity because there was enough players about. I don't think it will be that hard to do the same again.
As for what we will spend all of our free points on, we'll have to see. We lifers already have all the major store items in my opinion. We already have: 7-9 character slots, 5 bags, shared storage, cosmetic slots, expansions, Warden/RK access, access to all zones, access to LI's, all crafting tiers, etc etc. Those would be the first things I'd spend points on, but I don't need to. So, first up will probably expanding my shared storage from 20 slots to 50.
As far as consumables, game designers always do things in balance. Sometimes they get the balance wrong, so then they adjust. I'm sure that purchaseable consumables will be of less quality than crafted consumables. And no major loot/crafted items will be available (stated in the FAQ). So, I am pretty much worry free with this, especially if it keeps LOTRO healthy and keeps low-mid zones populated.

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Originally Posted by KenR

Looking at the DDO store there is a ton of items that effect gameplay.

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You mean the consumables? The last time I checked almost all of the consumables were also quest rewards or random drops (actually at pretty high drop rates, some of them), as well, or versions of them were widely available, so the cash shop items were solely for lazy people.

I have a question.. I am a lifer, and I bought the lifetime subscription so that I don't lose anything if I don't log in for a long time, and not worry about my subscription expiring.

My only question is; do I have to log in every month and spend turbine points to remain VIP? If so that would piss me off as one of major reasons I bought lifer in the first place is that I do not want expiration.

I have 9 slots already used up on two servers, do I have to spend turbine points to unlock them on VIP?

I am not a 'lifer', but I wish I was because as a 'suber' I will have to continue to pay a monthly fee to remain a VIP and accrue those 500 additional Turbine Points each and every month. You guys don't have to. You still are getting benefited by your 'lifetime accounts'.

Lifetime Accounts = No Pay (now or ever) for VIP Play
Subscriptions Accounts = Pay (now and ever) for VIP Play

So..., Turbine has opened the flood gates to allow everyone a 'free to play' pass that up till now only 'lifers' had previously access to that exclusive pass.

But..., these new 'free players' are not VIPs nor can they be unless they pay for it just as I will have to do if I/they wish to have continued access to the 'perks and privileges' that the members of this elite group undoubtably will have available only to them.

Again..., what is the real issue or complaint here?

The way I see it you 'Lifetimers' are still the "Creme de la creme" of LOTRO!

Welden

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Originally Posted by Siegfriedpf

What Sapience said. Read it carefully--you don't lose anything you already bought. Take a few deep breaths and relax. And then think about what spiffy outfits you'll buy with the free points. :)

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Spiffy outfits that may have been able to have been earned thru questing gameplay before vs. having to spend money on them in the store to get them now.

They will be designing new content with 'paying for it' in mind, not questing, exping for it. They have no incentive to offer enhancements for F2P people. They will be making changes that encourage you to spend money that you didn't have to spend before.

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Originally Posted by welden

The way I see it you 'Lifetimers' are still the "Creme de la creme" of LOTRO!

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Some lifetime account types don't want to be the "creme de la creme" of a f2p MMO. Have you played one before? You should try it - its free...

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Originally Posted by duvelmoortgat

I have a question.. I am a lifer, and I bought the lifetime subscription so that I don't lose anything if I don't log in for a long time, and not worry about my subscription expiring.

My only question is; do I have to log in every month and spend turbine points to remain VIP? If so that would piss me off as one of major reasons I bought lifer in the first place is that I do not want expiration.

I have 9 slots already used up on two servers, do I have to spend turbine points to unlock them on VIP?

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As a lifetime subscriber, your account will automatically be given a free VIP flag and you will earn 500 turbine points every month to spend however you wish. This requires no action on your part and will remain this way for the rest of the game's life. Your "lifetime account" still remains so when the game goes F2P.

Starting now, for every month you log in up until when the F2P model is released you will earn another 500 Turbine Points that will be credited to your account. So if F2P comes 4 months from now and you log in at least once every month, when F2P comes around your account will have an extra 2000 points for you to spend.


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Originally Posted by Ryinnik

Some lifetime account types don't want to be the "creme de la creme" of a f2p MMO. Have you played one before? You should try it - its free...

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I've played DDO, which has a community like every other MMO I've played, including LOTRO. Lots of jerks, lots of cool people. It's all about who you meet and what server you join.

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Originally Posted by Sapience

The FAQ can put things a bit bluntly and maybe doesn't get to the meat of things, so let me try and explain a bit better.

As a lifetimer, you entered into an agreement that you would never pay another subscription fee with us again. You still won't. For you, nothing has changed. You will not be billed a subscription, your status and access to the game will not change. You will be getting an additional benefit, however, in the form of Turbine points.

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And that's all I needed to hear to make me absolutely fine with this move to F2P/RMT.

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Originally Posted by Kylani

Spiffy outfits that may have been able to have been earned thru questing gameplay before vs. having to spend money on them in the store to get them now.

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Take note of this. This is the kind of thing that worries me as a lifer. I LOVE fluff. I play the game and play with a LOT of fluff. cosmetics, mounts, etc. That has been a huge part of the game for me and I DO NOT, DO NOT want to pay for it now. That's what I already payed for.

If there are legitimate ways to get the fun outfits, minigames, and other fluff that don't involved me paying, then fine. Turbine had better be pretty darn careful about deciding what is payed for.

Because core game for one person is side fare for another. And vice versa.

This makes me sad. Very sad. :(

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Originally Posted by BellusDuFenna

Ever played F2P games before, such as Anarchy Online (for example)? That is precisely what happened there, so I don't think I'm jumping the gun here. Obviously not all free players coming in will be a blight on the community, but far too many will be. It is a standard occurrence in F2P games.

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Hmmm...
One example is usually not considered a trend setter and I am sure there are other factors that need to be considered but you may be right --- only time will verify your words to be true or not. I for one, do not own a crystal ball or have yet achieved prophetic status in life so I will hold my judgment till I see what tomorrow brings the rising of the sun. Just saying! :)

I can imagine that Sapience is having a blast reading and writing as fast as possible. I give credit to that because it's hard to do.

Anyways, I'm not so bothered by this after thinking about it because pretty much any game goes this route eventually. I am a little disappointed that it happened already, but if F2P with cash options vs P2P actually makes more money for Turbine, then I agree with the decision. More money for Turbine equals more money, eventually, for development and new ideas. Only so that I'm clear on a few items, I'm just interested in the following questions.

1 - Will the spending points have a maximum allowed per account or per character?

2 - Will spending points expire after a certain amount of time being unused?

3 - Will future expansions be purchaseable by the spending points (both minor releases and major)?

4 - If I do not log in to the game for literally two minutes once per month, am I only losing out on the pre-accumulation of points or am I forfeiting the 500 points a month entirely when the game goes F2P? (this important for those of us that travel a lot for work)

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Ryinnik

Some lifetime account types don't want to be the "creme de la creme" of a f2p MMO. Have you played one before? You should try it - its free...

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I am sorry, but I am not quite sure what your point is here?

Perhaps you will clarify.:)

Welden

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Originally Posted by theonekane

Take note of this. This is the kind of thing that worries me as a lifer. I LOVE fluff. I play the game and play with a LOT of fluff. cosmetics, mounts, etc. That has been a huge part of the game for me and I DO NOT, DO NOT want to pay for it now. That's what I already payed for.

If there are legitimate ways to get the fun outfits, minigames, and other fluff that don't involved me paying, then fine. Turbine had better be pretty darn careful about deciding what is payed for.

Because core game for one person is side fare for another. And vice versa.

This makes me sad. Very sad. :(

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It clearly states that as a lifer, you receive 500 points a month for free. If something you want in the store is too expensive, you simply need to wait until you have enough to buy it. -OR- you can pay for more points.

At no time are you ever required to buy points.

Think of it this way, they are about to add MORE fluff... for FREE... and you LOVE fluff.. ;)