Returning to game, content question.

[Psycoris]

I originally purchased a physical copy of the "Complete Edition" that included "Shadows of Angmar" and "Mines of Moria". I continued my subscription during the early FTP portions having VIP. Now returning to the game my Shadows of Angmar content is locked, this was transparent while I was VIP. I understand now the Shadows of Angmar content is now the "Eriador quest pack".

Is there anyway for me to get this content applied to my account?

[Sapience]

I originally purchased a physical copy of the "Complete Edition" that included "Shadows of Angmar" and "Mines of Moria". I continued my subscription during the early FTP portions having VIP. Now returning to the game my Shadows of Angmar content is locked, this was transparent while I was VIP. I understand now the Shadows of Angmar content is now the "Eriador quest pack".

Is there anyway for me to get this content applied to my account?

No. You will need to purchase it. When the game was subscription only, you purchased a copy of the client and then paid monthly for access to all of the content. No Subscription/VIP meant no access to anything. When we went F2P we made some of that original SOA content free to everyone. The rest requires you to either purchase the quest pack you want, or become VIP to access the content. If you become VIP, you'll have access as long as you remain VIP the same as before.

[Psycoris]

Strange right on the cover it says includes SOA and MOM. So false advertising, should have read includes the client for LOTRO SOA and further expansions. Essentially this is an attempt to double dip into my pockets. Sadly I will have to find some other game I want to play, if this is truly how the transition to FTP panned out for original players.

[Sapience]

Strange right on the cover it says includes SOA and MOM. So false advertising, should have read includes the client for LOTRO SOA and further expansions. Essentially this is an attempt to double dip into my pockets. Sadly I will have to find some other game I want to play, if this is truly how the transition to FTP panned out for original players.

You are still able to abide by the original terms of the client agreement if you wish. You need only subscribe to the game. As this was the original agreement and marked clearly on the box as "subscription fees apply." If you choose to stop your subscription, now instead of losing access to 100% of the content and being completely unable to log in at all, you will retain access to some content and be given the option to purchase unlimited, no subscription required, access to portions of it.

Moria, by the way, was an expansion pack and you'll still have access to all of that assuming you're still using the same account. Including the additional classes, etc.

[Robeauch]

You are still able to abide by the original terms of the client agreement if you wish. You need only subscribe to the game. As this was the original agreement and marked clearly on the box as "subscription fees apply." If you choose to stop your subscription, now instead of losing access to 100% of the content and being completely unable to log in at all, you will retain access to some content and be given the option to purchase unlimited, no subscription required, access to portions of it.

I just had a forum flashback to fall of 2010, when that point was explained several thousand times.

[Thornglen]

I just had a forum flashback to fall of 2010, when that point was explained several thousand times.

True, but it is still worth explaining again. If someone had only been VIP back then and is coming back now without having seen any of those conversations, it can be confusing.

[Psycoris]

You have me there sapiance.

Yeah sorry for the flashback at the time I knew there was something that was upsetting about the conversion to FTP for premium players. Although at that time I was VIP and maintained my sub. At the time that was filed under not really my concern, and stopped playing not because of a pay to play vs pay for perk issue.

Well issue resolved then I suppose. Still is tough to come back to a game that is supposed to be FTP, and not having access to all the content that I ran through dozens of times, on top of learning how to maximize the new specialization system, and other class changes after 2 years.

[Annariel]

Well issue resolved then I suppose. Still is tough to come back to a game that is supposed to be FTP, and not having access to all the content that I ran through dozens of times, on top of learning how to maximize the new specialization system, and other class changes after 2 years.

Are you familiar with any other free-to-play games? Because I think most of them use a much more generous (for the company!) definition of 'free' than LOTRO does. No, you're not getting everything for free that you used to pay $$ for every month - Turbine does need to make money. But you have two options:

- pay the same amount as before, and get access to all of the content you used to play PLUS some of the new areas (expansions not included) PLUS 500 TP to spend however you want OR
- without any monthly fees, have access to a handful of areas, with the opportunity to either buy or earn TP with which to buy other areas.

Is that so bad?

Also, if I'm not mistaken, you probably have a decent amount of TP that was granted to subscribers when the transition happened. That might cover a few quest packs, maybe even expansions.

Other than the addition of the Store (which I know some people dislike, even quite vehemently), I don't think the current deal for subscribers is significantly different from what it was before. It's just that there's a new option on the menu, namely the Premium model.

Bit of advice:

If you didn't log in during the period that FTP had started and you were still subscribing (i.e. VIP), you might be missing out on some of the benefits which apply to both current and former subscribers, such as having the 4th and 5th bags. If so, you might want to look at going VIP for one month. Just make sure to log in at least once for every character you have! (For more details, just search the forums.)