Summer LOTRO Executive Producer’s Letter

[Oelle]

Any words on how exactly the inspired items will grow with us?

Will we ever start growing again (higher lvlcap)? when?

When will there be a craftingupdate with craftable items for lvl100? or for the next lvlcap? it should be there right from the beginning!

When will it be possible to craft green an purple essences and essence-slot-armors for lower tiers?

[C.B.]

So, will the transfer be complete (including ALL items available on your toons) or just for the account level items (currencies)? Please, clarify. I want to escape my dead server, but don't want to give up all the things I worked for past 5 years.

[Ellieni]

Frelorn, please could you give us information on whether we will be getting level 100 non-essence crafting recipes for amour any time soon?

Not everyone likes essence armour, and crafting is an important feature to many. We've been waiting very patiently for new recipes and it was disheartening to not see them mentioned in the letter.

[Valamar]

This is directed to whoever is in-charge of Support these days as well as to Vyvyanne and Frelorn as you prep for the future.

There are a number of significant documents in the Turbine Support Knowledge Base which have not been updated in years.
Keep in mind that the Lorebook service was terminated with the revision of the LOTRO Forums in July of 2013.
These are documents which will (frequently already are) become incorrect when the Server Moves and Consolidations take place.

A superficially partial list (just a few that caught my attention) there are undoubtedly others:

* LOTRO Kinship FAQs: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/94/LOTRO-Kinship-FAQs
Topic #: 24001-94Date Created: 11/29/2010Last Modified Since: 05/29/2014

* LOTRO Character Naming Policy: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/37/LOTRO-Character-Naming-Policy
Topic #: 24001-37Date Created: 11/22/2010Last Modified Since: 06/11/2012

* LOTRO Character Rename FAQs: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/437/LOTRO-Character-Rename-FAQs
Topic #: 24001-437Date Created: 12/08/2010Last Modified Since: 04/24/2014

* My character was renamed without my knowledge. What do I do?: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/48/My-character-was-renamed-without-my-knowledge-What-do-I-do
Topic #: 24001-48Date Created: 11/23/2010Last Modified Since: 03/28/2012
(Note that this document includes the "DDO Character Naming Policy."

* LOTRO Housing FAQs: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/27/LOTRO-Housing-FAQs
Topic #: 24001-27Date Created: 11/22/2010Last Modified Since: 05/14/2013

* LOTRO Friends List and Ignore List FAQs: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/504/LOTRO-Friends-List-and-Ignore-List-FAQs
Topic #: 24001-504Date Created: 12/13/2010Last Modified Since: 10/18/2011

* My character is missing and/or RED and unavailable to access. Help!: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/Article/155/My-character-is-missing-and-or-RED-and-unavailable-to-access-Help
Topic #: 24001-155Date Created: 11/30/2010Last Modified Since: 06/03/2013
(Note that this document includes a list of servers as well as references to DDO and Asheron's Call.)

* LOTRO Store: http://support.turbine.com/link/portal/24001/24001/ArticleFolder/52/LOTRO-Store
This is an index document for pages about the LOTRO Store.

And I won't get into all of the problems with the Mac Support items, like How do I send Technical Support my Mac's System Information?:
http://support.turbine.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=3791&hitOffset=113+8
Topic #: 24001-3791Date Created: 08/09/2012Last Modified Since: 11/05/2012
This article is completely bogus -- it was reasonable back in 2012, but has not been true since then.

[infinitewhimsy]

So, will the transfer be complete (including ALL items available on your toons) or just for the account level items (currencies)? Please, clarify. I want to escape my dead server, but don't want to give up all the things I worked for past 5 years.

According to the OP, you will be able to pick what kind of transfer you want for a character. One that transfers just character bound stuff, or one that transfers character bound and everything account bound. See:

Once implemented, server transfers can be account or character based so that all your account level items including marks, Mithril coins, etc. can be transferred.

[Leixy]

I'm glad there won't be any new level caps this year, and hopefully we'll only get another level cap if turbine actually does a Mordor expansion.

If no paid expansions coming, no level caps please.

[BINKLEY1]

Kudos for the format and openness of the Producer's Letter. I look forward to more communications like this one.

Cheers,
Gloimli @ Windfola

[Oelle]

if there will be no new lvlcap until we come to mordor, all players, who level through the content after that cap comes will be at cap before even entering the new area. theres just too much experience going nowhere in gondor. its time to have a use for it.

[SilverHug]

OH MY GAWD! Reading this forum thread is much more entertaining than reading the OP ED in the NY Times! Thanks folks for the entertainment! (sips coffee, takes bite of bagel with cream cheese) I can't wait for more! LOL

[danielbrown1969]

In response to the naming conundrum, I am sure (or at least hope) that those in charge have already written a highly complex algorithm which (again hopefully) covers every possible scenario.

An exaggerated, simple and hypothetical scenario:

Player A creates a character and names him Ted. He does this on 1-1-10. He is VIP and logs in every day.
Player B creates a character and names him Ted. He does this on 1-2-10. He is VIP and log in every day.

Who gets to keep their name? Obviously Player A and Player B gets a free rename.

Every scenario can be (and hopefully is) accounted for. All that is needed is a simple set of rules - such as:

Lifers > VIP > Premium > F2P.

In the above simplistic scenario, if Player B had been a lifer, he would get to keep his name.

Also a time period needs to be established for what constitutes an active character in-game. IMHO 181 days is a generous allowance.

In the above simplistic scenario, if Player A hadn't logged in to the game in 7 months, then Player B would get to keep his name.

It is a very complex issue, but also extremely simplistic as well. Set rules and parameters and then a not-so-simple series of "If this, then this" commands (or maybe "If this, then this .. unless this in which case that")

In any event, if we are a mere couple of months away from this server merge, I would think (hope) that every decision has already been made and for us to worry and argue about it is a moot point. What will be - will be. Some will not like it. Some will tolerate it. This is the nature of life.

[infinitewhimsy]

In response to the naming conundrum, I am sure (or at least hope) that those in charge have already written a highly complex algorithm which (again hopefully) covers every possible scenario.

An exaggerated, simple and hypothetical scenario:

Player A creates a character and names him Ted. He does this on 1-1-10. He is VIP and logs in every day.
Player B creates a character and names him Ted. He does this on 1-2-10. He is VIP and log in every day.

Who gets to keep their name? Obviously Player A and Player B gets a free rename.

Every scenario can be (and hopefully is) accounted for. All that is needed is a simple set of rules - such as:

Lifers > VIP > Premium > F2P.

In the above simplistic scenario, if Player B had been a lifer, he would get to keep his name.

Also a time period needs to be established for what constitutes an active character in-game. IMHO 181 days is a generous allowance.

In the above simplistic scenario, if Player A hadn't logged in to the game in 7 months, then Player B would get to keep his name.

It is a very complex issue, but also extremely simplistic as well. Set rules and parameters and then a not-so-simple series of "If this, then this" commands (or maybe "If this, then this .. unless this in which case that")

In any event, if we are a mere couple of months away from this server merge, I would think (hope) that every decision has already been made and for us to worry and argue about it is a moot point. What will be - will be. Some will not like it. Some will tolerate it. This is the nature of life.

A system like you describe, which results in an extremely large amount of renames, is not a good one. A 2 component name system is preferable imo, especially b/c surnames are already in the game.

[marandtron]

I am super excited about ALL the upcoming changes and ready to finally be able to go into the White City!

[Rufkin]

if there will be no new lvlcap until we come to mordor, all players, who level through the content after that cap comes will be at cap before even entering the new area. theres just too much experience going nowhere in gondor. its time to have a use for it.

I'm using quests to grind out heritage runes through LI decons. So it is not entirely useless. Players that follow when a new cap is unlocked can skip ahead to the new level cap regions, or use all this xp to level early. It gives you options, which is one of the best parts of LotRO. Don't like Forochel? Well go level in the Trollshaws then. Had enough of Dunland? Take on Mirkwood instead. When we don't have those options then leveling can get extremely boring. Don't like Rohan? Well I hope you like farming task items and running skirmishes... for 20 levels.

[hobold]

Well, I can honestly say that even the thought of having 5 years of accumulated #### swapped to another server is stressful. And this time I have designated movers!

However, I'm pretty sure that after transferring all my crapola I'll not be wanting to do it again...ever. That said can the devs consider just adding brandywine as a prime locale for immigrants from imladris should we choose (seem to recall when I first started playing we had a choice of 2 servers when the game first went FTP and imladris was one of them). I'm hoping for the option to be ported to one of the major servers (*crosses fingers*) is available, so as to prevent this kind of situation in the future.

Doing so would produce some strain on the chosen servers, that's a given. However, given that once vibrant servers have become nothing short of abandoned "gold-boom towns" is a sign that the game is slowly atrophying and the best way to future proof against repeating this player migration is to build up the server infrastructure for 1 or 2 to be "super-servers" (cause lets be honest the game is going that way, harsh but honest). This situation will likely repeat itself in the next few years when the mid-level population servers are singing the same song as the near abandoned servers *cricket-chirp*

Enough of my rant, come september I'll be entering second year Nursing school and will be really hoping that nothing gets screwed up regardless of how the transfers take place, cause I wont have the time to deal with devs over lost gear/hide (enough of that #### in my bank to make the devs think they're transferring hudson bay company over).

Anyhow cheers,
Tree

[Cigfreed]

So nothing on crafting...that is disappointing.

The Episodic thing seems fun though.

I don't know why they even wasted the time putting crafting in Central Gondor. With no upper level recipes, no vaults and no suppliers who is going to do crafting there? Essence armor plus no comparable recipes made all the time we spent leveling crafting almost a complete waste.

[girlsonlygirls]

[QUOTE=Oelle;7373632]

uh yeah , that's correct - they're gonna max out b4 , cuz i said so & it'll make things much easier. p.s. arkenstone breaks me down faster on weekends. can everyone go 2 brandywine or evernight maybe? & don't worry 'bout wasted time for crafting. u learned 2 sit still 4 awhile which is virtuous.

[Lorthriel]

Out of curiosity Frelorn, with this new store upgrade, will there be any possibilities of a gifting option? I always have a ton of Turbine Points that I rarely spend on myself, and gifting expansion packs, or cosmetic items, using either TP or even paying for them for some of my friends that can't afford them at the time has been something I've wanted to do for quite a while. Everything sounds great so far though!

[Giliodor]

I would just like to know why Lifetimers should have the priority (one of the posts mentioned this)? When last I checked, they paid a lot less than those of us who pay their monthly fee.
VIP's and Lifetimers should be treated equally.

[goober2]

the new t2 3 mans are still way to hard to do with very little offered for doing them and the imbued weapon grind has stopped many players from having alts because who wants to grind out 60ish empowerment scrolls pr toon?and to be totally honest im really pissed about the spring fest being pushed back so long because of the lame excuse we don't wanna take the game down.... ya didn't have to take it down to close the spring fest I don't understand why ya have to to restart it and furthermore ill take a few hours down time to actually have something to do being im not playing alts anymore nor can I successfully do the 3 man t2.... and yes trolls im geard out great they are just to hard to do

[Seeker]

Thanks for the letter Frelorn and Vyvyanne. 2015 is going to be great year for LOTRO and I eagerly await the changes and new adventures! The episodic one sounds kind of cool. I am concerned about one thing about the transfers. Will we be getting more character slots for free??? No one seems to be talking about this. At present F2P gets 2 slots, Premium get 3 and VIP gets 5. It would be nice if F2P gets 3, Premium goes up to 5 and VIP gets 8 or 10. If people need more the extra character slot should be sold for a discount, say 100-150 TP for a limited time to help us place our characters into the new servers. I hope that only a few people will be affected by the server changes. I know and appreciate that you guys are busy with the move right now but please keep us updated as much as you can.
Thanks for not cancelling the Spring festival. I rather have it late and fixed than not at all. Thanks for all your hard work. See you guys in game!

[Giliodor]

the new t2 3 mans are still way to hard to do with very little offered for doing them and the imbued weapon grind has stopped many players from having alts because who wants to grind out 60ish empowerment scrolls pr toon?and to be totally honest im really pissed about the spring fest being pushed back so long because of the lame excuse we don't wanna take the game down.... ya didn't have to take it down to close the spring fest I don't understand why ya have to to restart it and furthermore ill take a few hours down time to actually have something to do being im not playing alts anymore nor can I successfully do the 3 man t2.... and yes trolls im geard out great they are just to hard to do

Sounds like you're just bad. Maybe you should've focused on playing 1 charachter, instead of 6 at once.

[danielbrown1969]

A system like you describe, which results in an extremely large amount of renames, is not a good one. A 2 component name system is preferable imo, especially b/c surnames are already in the game.

Perhaps this is preferred at first glance, but imagine if on your server there were 10 or 20 or 100 characters named - Infinitewhimsy Brown and Infinitewhimsey Smith and Infinitewhimsey Jones ... etc. It would be a nightmare. IMO anyhow. I would prefer that Turbine do more work upfront to reduce the problems on the backend.

I would just like to know why Lifetimers should have the priority (one of the posts mentioned this)? When last I checked, they paid a lot less than those of us who pay their monthly fee.
VIP's and Lifetimers should be treated equally.

I should clarify that I am only a VIP. JIC you perhaps thought I was playing favorites. As to my rationality regarding lifers having topmost priority ... it just stands to reason - they were the ones many years ago that were willing to COMMIT to the game when Turbine asked for it. Yes, they paid less - but they earned more loyalty by doing so. As a business owner with over 25 years experience, I often give my long-standing customers preferred treatment - even over the newer customers who currently spend more. New friends are great, but old ones are golden.

Perhaps Turbine doesn't agree. It was merely my opinion of what I felt to be fair business practice. In the end it matters not what I think or what you think - it matters only what Turbine does ><

[Deorwyn]

I too am a little worried about losing the character names I have been using for 8 years (for some toons). I know this may result in alot of work for turbine, but when naming conflicts occur, maybe they could check if the existing character on the target server has been logged in recently, is of high level and maybe even check the creation date. I believe older, more active and more high level characters should not be forced to rename, especially if they are eight years old but are logged in almost every day - and just happened to be created on a server that was chosen to be closed.

[Beaniemooch]

I too am a little worried about losing the character names I have been using for 8 years (for some toons). I know this may result in alot of work for turbine, but when naming conflicts occur, maybe they could check if the existing character on the target server has been logged in recently, is of high level and maybe even check the creation date. I believe older, more active and more high level characters should not be forced to rename, especially if they are eight years old but are logged in almost every day - and just happened to be created on a server that was chosen to be closed.

Why should my character be renamed just because I may not log in as often as you and created my toon only say 6 years ago as opposed to 8, but you come to my server? How is that fair to me when I still play but maybe not as often as you or perhaps aren't as high a level? And for you to come to my server and take my name and identity? Just no.

[Jurny]

Why should my character be renamed just because I may not log in as often as you and created my toon only say 6 years ago as opposed to 8, but you come to my server? How is that fair to me when I still play but maybe not as often as you or perhaps aren't as high a level? And for you to come to my server and take my name and identity? Just no.

I couldn't agree more!! ^^^^


I wish they would just let us know what they are planning to do! The stress this is causing so many people and now to have this whole conversation brought back into light again!! Stop beating around the bush and let us know!

I don't know why they don't just leave the transfer policy the way it is now. Otherwise people will be playing in fear not knowing when a person might come to thier server and steal thier name. This is just not right!

Priority should remain the way it is today, who ever was on the server first, keeps thier name.