Is anyone else holding back from purchasing?

[Niapants]

I rarely post on the forums but I wondered whether many others were doing the same as me. I'm excited for Mordor and from what I have seen so far, it looks great. I've got over the initial shock of the prices for each edition and am ready to hand over my money. However, it seems these forums are so full of negativity and anger that I'm not sure that SSG are capable of ignoring it. Or are they?

I've seen it mentioned that upgrading is impossible. So what are the chances, do you think, that SSG might pop a few extra things into the latter two editions to appease the ragers? I read that it has been done before but there's so much silence from the people who are capable of making changes that I can't guess whether it may happen. There must be quite a few people that are holding back and waiting to see what happens, right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm buying the game for sure. I just hope I buy the right edition =/

[RazorsKiss]

I was never going to buy any of the pre-order packs with cash. As soon as I saw what was on Bullroarer, I decided that. It was barely Alpha. When they announced the release date, the packages, and the little tidbit that you couldn't buy this xpac with points on launch day, unlike every previous one since points existed, I took a hard pass - and canceled two subs until I can buy it with the LPs I bought, in December.

Wait and see. They haven't given you any reason to buy it early. It's not even really a pre-order. Buy it whenever it's convenient - or just wait and see if it's any good before you do. Heck, you can always go into Mordor and look around before you do. The price is going to be the same after launch.

[Pfeifenkraut]

Yes, I haven't decided what level of package I want to purchase yet (with the possibility of getting nothing). I still don't feel as if I have enough information about some of the included incentives, and there are still some "why did they do that" questions in my head. If I had more money, I'd probably just buy the big package and not think about it; but I'm more picky now that I live on a fixed income.

Also, I have a great many questions about the state of things from Bullroarer, and the expectation that most of the questions will go without answer because they now only have a week and a half left before the launch date (example question: why are they tripling the amount of stats we get from items, but not adjusting the stats we get from other sources like Virtues, Tomes, Legacies, LI passives, etc?)

I also can't make up my mind about the High Elf. I want to play with it! I don't want to make more characters: the sheer amount of time it takes to unlock access to quests and faction vendors and travel routes and crafting guilds as well as earning trait points and virtues is insane. Plus you need a new name and there's all the extra TP a new character takes: extra LI slots, extra Milestones, all three travel skill cooldown reducers, etc... it adds up. And yet, I want to play with it. I really wish there was a paid race-change service. Right now I'm torn between love of a shiny object and hate of the people that think I should have to spend an extra thousand hours of work to play with it.

[thinx]

The main part of negativity is the prices of the better editions. The rest (bugs, etc) is business as usual. You also might call me "negative", but in the end my negativity is just that I will definitely not buy any enhanced edition this time. So the main "negativity" is loss of income from me.

[Macdui]

Well you get to see the epic quest line for free.

Yeah you are right levelling your new Elf through the game has a serious amount of store purchases to be made to be viable. Frankly they should be at least giving them away to generate sales in the store over the long term.

Mac

[Marancil]

In so much as holding back for all 4 my accounts, yes I hold back.

[Emere]

Yes, I will not be buying it. I figure I will have enough lotro points by winter and by then, maybe some of the bugs, which we know will come with it, will have been fixed.

[Niapants]

I also can't make up my mind about the High Elf. I want to play with it! I don't want to make more characters: the sheer amount of time it takes to unlock access to quests and faction vendors and travel routes and crafting guilds as well as earning trait points and virtues is insane. Plus you need a new name and there's all the extra TP a new character takes: extra LI slots, extra Milestones, all three travel skill cooldown reducers, etc... it adds up. And yet, I want to play with it. I really wish there was a paid race-change service. Right now I'm torn between love of a shiny object and hate of the people that think I should have to spend an extra thousand hours of work to play with it.

I hadn't really thought about it this way and it's a very valid point. I suppose I should be asking myself a few more questions before I buy. Levelling to max is pretty easy but I never think about all the things along the way like virtues, trait points, rep grinds and souping up LIs. Do I want a High Elf bad enough to go through it all again? Hmmm. Probably. Just.

[Arnenna]

I'm definitely holding off for now. If they improve the top two packs, I'll seriously consider the Ultimate. The Collectors is more likely, but again, depends on what happens next. Basepack, easy purchase as far as I'm concerned, so if nothing changes or no acknowledgments come between now and actual launch, I'll probably go with that.

[Rugongrod]

I will continue to sub on one account while the other with 3 105's is premium with all content except Mordor already purchased. As far as buying the expansion with real monies, nah, not this time.

[OghranNasty]

Well you get to see the epic quest line for free.

Yeah you are right levelling your new Elf through the game has a serious amount of store purchases to be made to be viable. Frankly they should be at least giving them away to generate sales in the store over the long term.

Mac

I am leveling a cappy now and the only store purchase I made was a stone of the tortoise. What's not viable?

[Macdui]

I am leveling a cappy now and the only store purchase I made was a stone of the tortoise. What's not viable?

Depends on account type but if not vip then trait and virtue slots. I miss spoke, I'm talking about end game capped character.

I have too many toons at cap and want all to have good gear and LIs. I like the variety of playing different classes.

A large part of my LP goes into stuff that is available in game and the store. However stat tomes, at least the ones I need and Solvents to make the hundreds and hundreds of Essence I've crafted for those characters just don't drop in enough quantities so the store is the only way to get them if you don't want to buy on the AH and perhaps be buying from exploiting gold seller accounts.

It's just the drop rate is off and promotes use of the store.

Also spend a bit on MC too but not a lot else. Just a load on solvents.

And as we get a new set of gear and essence to grind it's another load of solvents to buy, yup I do feel like a mug sometimes.

But I'm a lifer who still regrets that point purchase to SSG... thinking it was a new beginning rather than the same old same old. But as a lifer I never have this huge stack of LP stored up, it all goes on redressing the imbalance in drop rates of things you can get in the store too. We all know they want us to use the mighty store and we are persuaded to in different ways but being a lifer I mitigate it somewhat.


Mac

[Macdui]

Could be you have something there. You are slowly levelling up a cappy, not going over level for the content and you don't have much cause for using the store.

Drop a Valar and you are at 105 and voila the mighty store is there for you to spend, spend, spend.

[Araryth]

I'm waiting.

[OghranNasty]

I am still vip (for a few more days) so yes, that is a factor. I don't have to spend much on quest packs and such.
I have 5 toons at cap, but only one is more or less well equipped.

I started leveling a new toon during the merge/MT drama just to have something to do while Turbine sorted out the performance issues (yeah, I know ...), and enjoyed revisiting the content a lot. When that toon hit cap things were much improved, but far from good, so I rolled another one, now slow leveling and Stoned most of the time. Really nice, but probably my last one. My capped toons are parked, the prospect of having to run hundreds of MT dailies and FIs is too off putting for me. I can stand only so much repeating content.

Coming back to the store issue: Mordor reduces the need for store items a lot, judging from what I've seen on BR. Virtues and stat tomes have become insignificant with the new stat levels, and the number of essence slots has been slashed.

[Arabani]

Why should I hold back? I play the game, I like it, It's my hobby, I have no desire to stop playing it or unsubscribe. I never planed to buy Collector or Legendary, I've never done it in any game (and I have 4 active subscriptions in 4 different games). I just do not find exclusive mounts, cosmetics and other stuff interresting, in-game means are enough for me.

So I'm fine, I expected the expansion to be around 40$, I'm ready to pay it and I will. As for HE, that is a bit inconvinient, I thought I'd be able to buy them for lP at the start, but I do not mind waiting. I have 17 toons after all

[Amcyr]

Yes, I'm also holding back waiting to see what plays out.
Not that I can't afford any of the packages, but I'll probably buy Mordor with points even if it means waiting.
I'll probably also wait until HE goes on sale at the Store (20% off or better) likely in 2018 sometime.

[Murtanion]

Other than the instance and raid cluster coming in a post-expansion Dot update, there isn't anything that particularly interests me.

300 new quests? Cool. We got those for free with Gondor.

Allegiance system? Sounds like a fancy rep gated gear system.

Hundreds of new deeds? I love grinding deeds. Especially in an expansion where Virtues become worthless due to stat bloat.

Aria of the Valar? I actually love that SSG is including this, but the caveat for me is that I have many level capped characters and no desire to play the classes that I don't have capped.

High Elf? Loved the new starter instance. Was hoping that the racial traits would be more unique or superior in some way. Disappointing.


If they had launched with a comprehensive bug fix on the classes I love, or even a balance pass on all classes/PvMP I would have dropped cash for this expansion. It all just feels very underwhelming 10 years in.

[ShireDweller]

I'm waiting till I can get it with LP, and even then that'll depend on what I read about players' experiences. By then I might have moved on.

[BigLotroFan]

Yes I am holding back. I usually buy things with points and I purchased a $60 bundle recently in anticipation to use it for Mordor. Except I can't do that for another 5 to 8 months....

Before they were announced, I had been considering buying a higher tier bundle for cash even though I had already spent money on LP. To "support the game I love" and all of that. Specifically I wanted Mordor style cosmetics. Lo and behold they actually have that and they look fantastic in my opinion....but it's in a $130 bundle and my expectations were that such a thing would cost around $80. So I can't justify paying that.

The real $80 bundle doesn't do it for me.

The $40 one would have been ok had I not bought points already....

So I'm waiting. Either leveling an old alt or taking a break. If the top bundle comes down in price at a later date I may still consider it if I still haven't gotten Mordor, but otherwise I'll get it with LP whenever they decide to finally make it available. The LP price they listed is fairly cheap, would have paid double that amount at launch...hence why I bought a bigger bundle.....

[Arnenna]

Yes I am holding back. I usually buy things with points and I purchased a $60 bundle recently in anticipation to use it for Mordor. Except I can't do that for another 5 to 8 months....

Before they were announced, I had been considering buying a higher tier bundle for cash even though I had already spent money on LP. To "support the game I love" and all of that. Specifically I wanted Mordor style cosmetics. Lo and behold they actually have that and they look fantastic in my opinion....but it's in a $130 bundle and my expectations were that such a thing would cost around $80. So I can't justify paying that.

The real $80 bundle doesn't do it for me.

The $40 one would have been ok had I not bought points already....

So I'm waiting. Either leveling an old alt or taking a break. If the top bundle comes down in price at a later date I may still consider it if I still haven't gotten Mordor, but otherwise I'll get it with LP whenever they decide to finally make it available. The LP price they listed is fairly cheap, would have paid double that amount at launch...hence why I bought a bigger bundle.....

Contact support, get your bundle price refunded, then have the option to buy the basepack and go in at launch, and be $20 better off.

[Rothan117]

Not buying any of the packs, all are very poor deals. Base deal includes no extras unlike every previous base pack for expansions in LOTRO. I can wait until December and buy it with points, there are quite a number of other games to occupy my time until then. And if they pull back the idea of selling it for points at all, then those other games will continue to occupy my time.

[kickman77]

Depends on account type but if not vip then trait and virtue slots. I miss spoke, I'm talking about end game capped character.

I have too many toons at cap and want all to have good gear and LIs. I like the variety of playing different classes.

A large part of my LP goes into stuff that is available in game and the store. However stat tomes, at least the ones I need and Solvents to make the hundreds and hundreds of Essence I've crafted for those characters just don't drop in enough quantities so the store is the only way to get them if you don't want to buy on the AH and perhaps be buying from exploiting gold seller accounts.

It's just the drop rate is off and promotes use of the store.

Also spend a bit on MC too but not a lot else. Just a load on solvents.

And as we get a new set of gear and essence to grind it's another load of solvents to buy, yup I do feel like a mug sometimes.

But I'm a lifer who still regrets that point purchase to SSG... thinking it was a new beginning rather than the same old same old. But as a lifer I never have this huge stack of LP stored up, it all goes on redressing the imbalance in drop rates of things you can get in the store too. We all know they want us to use the mighty store and we are persuaded to in different ways but being a lifer I mitigate it somewhat.


Mac

You do know you do not NEED the stat tomes and as far as essences, there are going to be less slots per amor in Mordor... in fact the best set (jewlery and armor) that was in Bullroarer (which was listed as the t2 set) had like 12 slots total

[The-Prisoner]

I will definately be holding back.
Will purchase the expansion with LP - but I will BUY the LP for the purchase.

I am so against the content of the expansion packs and I refuse to buy something (basically the AoV) which I have absolutely no use for.

I disagree with the handing and pricing of the High Elf too.
But after seeing streams and reviews its just a cosmetic for the normal Elf. So I will by passing on that.

It's a shame, as I have been with the game since beta and purchased all the expansions until now in the deluxe versions.

SSG really dropped the ball with this release.

[LagunaD2]

I'm extremely unimpressed by what I've seen on Bullroarer, and by Turbine/SSG's epic mismanagement of the game and expansion. I've cancelled my sub (start date: January 2008) and am just planning to do the epic quest/destruction of the ring before calling it quits.