LOTRO Referral Program Feedback

[Nyel]

Quick affirmation of some others' thoughts: I don't like the way this referral program works. Putting pressure or even perceived pressure on my friends to buy for my benefit feels bad.

I would prefer somethings that gives us a mutual benefit (or even just a benefit for me) that is not dependent on their spending. A shared benefit could be something like matching cosmetic cloaks, a pack of 15 enhanced experience items (like the ones from the store), some destiny points for both of us, or even a predefined set of gear that is mailed in game to each of the two based on the first class that they create after referal. for each, a chest, hands, feet, legs, one ring, one bracelet and a pocket item that each have 3-5 points in good stats for that class or morale/power just to get the new characters a jump and reward their playing together. I think giving away these things to the new player should give them something to be excited about and will probably generate more good will between the recruiter, the recruited and the game than giving the player who has been at it longer even more rewards for getting a buddy to spends some money.

If Turbine would prefer to reward only the veteran player, they could give him or her a mount, housing items, emotes, maybe a choice of cosmetic gear or even access to one LI (not level cap first age, but maybe a second age or a pair of appropriate weapon/class item third ages). This should be upfront, and one time only for each recruit, and any benefit that received from my recruiting friends joining shouldn't give any indications of their spending, and should be cosmetic or minimal in terms of game enhancing.

Heck, I am certain that Turbine could even let the players choose their own rewards by having a special section of the store dedicated to the referrals. That way, with say a small referral stipend, both players can get stuff that is important to them, but have no feelings of obligation or financial awkwardness around each other.

Hope the thoughts are helpful.

[DarkSparkle]

Has anyone had ANY luck getting help with fixing a missing referral link? I've been trying to get a response out of Turbine for about 3 weeks now and it feels like I'm just getting the runaround.

I first called Tubine and was told the referral program and any problems with it are only handled by the "Web/community" team and the only way to reach them was to submit a ticket through the web site (which I did, making sure to use the response that let me choose Referral as the problem category).

First response I got back after nearly a week was and I was told that the referral account that was created did not exist, so to just try again. Of course, the account DID exist (something I was able to confirm because I had created the second account for my wife and was able to log into it and create a character), so I told them they were mistaken.

No response for several days, so I called again to follow upon the issue. I was again told that phone support couldn't do anything with the referral program, but after I asked, the person said they would try to escalate the issue with the web/community group.

A few days later I got a response saying they were looking into the issue, but it would require a manual investigation which would take some time. I immediately sent more information providing the details of the problem and did not get any response.

I've generally had very good support with the phone support team and almost never get a response when submitting a ticket via the web site, so it is very frustrating that the phone team can't help with this issue. I've got money burning a hole in my pocket just waiting to be used to by TP on my wife's account, but Turbine is sure making it hard for me to give them my money.

[KevStrong]

I want to ask about refer a friend progam, because I bought 5000 tp last moth, and my friend referal me before. He never got his referal points. Now, I bought 6900 tp yesterday and again my friend didnt receive any point.

Someone can help me, I really worried about this. My friend referal me with in Twitter.

[Fredelas]

I want to ask about refer a friend progam, because I bought 5000 tp last moth, and my friend referal me before. He never got his referal points. Now, I bought 6900 tp yesterday and again my friend didnt receive any point.

Someone can help me, I really worried about this. My friend referal me with in Twitter.

After you purchase Turbine Points, your friend has to manually redeem his bonus. Your friend can do this by visiting his own referral page at http://my.lotro.com/referral

[DarkSparkle]

After you purchase Turbine Points, your friend has to manually redeem his bonus. Your friend can do this by visiting his own referral page at http://my.lotro.com/referral

Thanks for the link. I've been trying to create a referral account for my wife and the first time it didn't work so I'd been trying to get them to fix the link problem. Their last response essentially said that if the link didn't get established when the account was created there is no way for it to be added later.

I just created a new account and this time it worked (as I was able to confirm using the link you provided). Still pretty annoyed they can't add a referral link between two accounts if there was a problem when the new account was created, but at least this gives me another option. I'm just glad I hadn't spent any money on TP for the original account under the assumption they'd be able to fix the referral link problem.

Overall I think this referral system was just not done very well. There is no way for the referee to know if the referral process worked (or even that they were referred when they clicked on the link) or if the referrer will get the referral credit when the referee buys TP. And if there was a problem with the referral link....well, Turbine doesn't seem to care because they get their money regardless.

Moving on, but still very disappointed in such a poorly executed referral system. I certainly won't be referring anyone else.

[-Aelg-]

Some wouldn't call this feedback, but I think it counts...


What "Referral Program"?

[Aurorawing]

Hi! I'm Aurorawing! I have two friends one who has joined and the other I'm not sure if they joined yet or not. I'm truly blonde and don't understand your referral program. Help plz!!! Can I get points from these? If so how?

[Elderban]

I have to wonder if the referral program is even around anymore.

I clicked on the Facebook link on the referral page, and it lead me to a page on Facebook that gave me a 404 error.

Just like everything else around here, it seems broken.

[znul]

I cannot refer more enemies. All browsers say there is a redirect loop or connection to the server was lost.

[Amoeborin]

I concur with some of the other comments in this thread; that the referral program is one-sided. Since LoTRO currently only provides the referrer with the benefit, the recipient has little motivation to accept the referral - and the "gift" of the referral does not improve the bond between the parties or enhance the in-game experience.

Other vendor's referral programs benefit BOTH parties - so both are enriched because of the relationship. Take some nameless Sat TV provider - referring a friend nets both parties $100 in service credits ($10/month for 10 months) on 2-year commitments. This enriches both (with 10-month's of reminders), and motivates everyone to refer additional friends - thus gaining more subscribers, and maintaining them in the long-term.

To be effective, the referral program needs to reward both parties with something beneficial and enhance Turbine's revenues.

[For comparison, the current advertised program offers a 10% share of TP purchased by a friend. On a $200 purchase, that 10% equates to $20 or roughly 2,000TP (at 1 TP per $0.01)]

Some suggestions (perhaps used in combination):

1) Provide the new player with a free horse (replacing the 500 silver starter horse, but still requiring the 95TP riding skill), or a larger starting Vault (the 45 silver upgrade), and the referring player with a nice cosmetic.

2) Both parties earn a one-time bonus of 1,000TP ($10 or 10%) if the friend buys an annual subscription ($100). This benefits both players and Turbine with new long-term revenue, but is a large hurdle for the beginning player.

3) Both parties receive a discount (10%) to their monthly subscription fees for a year. This is a smaller hurdler, and still enriches everyone and nets Turbine additional long-term revenue.