Account Types
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There are three Account Types available to new players in Lotro today, Free to Play, Premium, and VIP (subscribed). They give different benefits and bonuses. This page summarizes these differences.
Free to Play
- Free to Play (abbreviated F2P) was launched in the fall 2010 and introduced a new business model. Players can play for free with significant restrictions and remove those restrictions by making a purchase in the in-game Lotro Store with Turbine Points (TP).
- You can download the game for free and start playing without a subscription or even a credit card. Anyone can join the game for free as a Free player.
Premium
- You will automatically be upgraded to Premium player status with your first purchase of something for real world money, e.g. Turbine Points, etc.
Founder
- A player who pre-ordered the original Shadows of Angmar release in 2007. Benefits at the time included participation in the beta testing, special lower pricing for monthly and lifetime subscriptions, and special benefits for all characters (a ring of agility +3 and a special cloak). When Free to Play was released in 2010, Founders automatically became VIPs, as long as they kept paying their monthly fees (or were Lifetime members).
Lifetime
- Lifetime subscriptions were offered to Founders at $199.00 USD. After release, the Lifetime Subscription was offered to others for $299. This subscription option was discontinued in 2009.
VIP Account Discussion
VIP status is one of three types of account a new LOTRO player can have today. As a player with a VIP account, you have unlimited access to all game content, only expansions must be purchased. VIP is another way of describing a subscriber.
For a monthly fee, Lotro’s VIP program offers the best value and the most options for players who like the convenience of having unlimited access to all of Lotro’s game content and features.
Acquiring VIP status
VIP status can be acquired with the following methods:
- Maintaining an active subscription through the LOTRO account web interface (requires a credit card).
- Adding game time from 60 day or 12 month Game Cards. Available at many retailers and the Turbine on-line Store.
- Adding the key from a physically purchased Moria box to an account will add 30 days of VIP time. Note: These are old boxes from before Free to Play. Also note that European (CodeMaster) keys are no longer valid.
- Having a Lifetime Membership. Note: no longer purchasable.
Benefits
While LOTRO can be played for free without an active subscription, being a VIP player unlocks many elements of the game that non-VIP players would have to unlock with Turbine Points or cannot use at all. Benefits of VIP status are:
- Access to all Quests, Instances and Skirmishes except for those acquired through expansions (Moria, Mirkwood, Rise of Isengard, and Riders of Rohan).
- 500 Turbine Points per month.
- 5 Character slots per server.
- 5 Inventory bags.
- All trait slots available.
- Swift Travel to more than to the starting zones.*
- Can acquire the horse riding skill for free from a quest at level 20.
- Maximum Gold limit.
- Automatic Rest XP.
- 20 Wardrobe slots.
- 30 Active Auction House listings.
- Unlimited Crafting Guild access.
- Can earn and spend Destiny Points on in-game perks.*
- Full Freep access to PvMP.*
- All monster classes available.
- Priority Login.
- Minimal Chat restrictions.
- Maximum mail availability.
(*)= These features cannot be purchased from the LOTRO Store and are exclusive VIP features.
See: official LOTRO player differentiation list and Free to Play for more detailed information.
Drawbacks
Having VIP status also has some elements that some players may find undesirable. These are:
- Need to pay a monthly fee, unless the VIP is a lifetime subscriber.
- Inability to purchase Quest Packs, Skirmishes and other elements that are unlocked while VIP. This makes it impossible to take advantage of sales in anticipation of a downgrade to Premium status.
- Automatic rest XP. A possible side-effect is that quest content may be out-levelled before it is finished.
Downgrading
If a subscription is cancelled or the time of a game card expires, a VIP account is automatically downgraded to a Premium account at the end of the remaining subscription period. Some features are maintained while most are no longer available.
Features maintained
Some features are maintained when downgrading from VIP to premium. All these features are only maintained for characters logged into while the VIP status was active; characters created after downgrading from VIP and characters that were created before or during VIP but were not logged into during VIP do not have access to these features. The per-character unlocks also function for content the character hasn't reached yet due to level or other restrictions. For example, trait slots the character isn't eligible for when downgrading are still available when he reaches the appropriate level for them.
The following features are maintained on a per-character basis:
- Swift Travel
- 5 Inventory bags
- All Trait slots available
- No maximum Gold limit
Handling of removed features
Downgrading removes all VIP features not described in the previous paragraph. Handling of the removal of some of those features is described below:
- Monster classes that become unavailable cannot be played until that class is purchased.
- If downgrading causes a player to go over his character slot limit, he must select one or two characters to give up. These characters are not deleted, but become unavailable until he purchases the extra character slot(s) or resubscribes.
- Deeds and quests in progress can be finished.
- Rested XP can be consumed, but is no longer generated.
- Items placed in the wardrobe can be used and dyed but not replaced.
- Crafting guild access is maintained but can no longer be increased.
- Auctions in progress are maintained but no new auctions can be posted above the cap.
Account type comparison table
Here are the benefits for each player status:
| Feature | VIP | Premium player | Free Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | |||
| Turbine Points (TP) | 500/month Can purchase more Or earn through gameplay |
Purchasable Or earn through gameplay |
Purchasable Or earn through gameplay |
| Content | |||
| World Access | Free | Free | Free |
| Epic Story | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Races | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Classes | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Premium Classes | Purchasable | Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Level Cap | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| Character slots ** | 5/server Can purchase more |
3/server Can purchase more |
2/server Can purchase more |
| Quest Packs | Eriador, Lothlórien, Great River | Ered Luin, Shire, Bree-land, Lone Lands Can purchase more |
Ered Luin, Shire, Bree-land, Lone Lands Can purchase more |
| Key features | |||
| Inventory | 5 bags *** | 3 bags Can purchase more |
3 bags Can purchase more |
| Gold Limit | Unlimited *** | 5 Gold Can purchase cap removal |
2 Gold Can purchase cap removal |
| Priority login | Priority | High | Standard |
| Chat | Unlimited | Limited | Limited |
| Auction | 30 active listings; 20 active bids | 5 active listings (can purchase more); 20 active bids | Listings purchasable; 20 active bids |
| Unlimited | Limited by currency cap | Cannot mail currency | |
| Rest XP | Automatic | Not available | Not available |
| Shared bank ** | Purchasable | Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Skirmishes | Maximum | 11 Can purchase more |
11 Can purchase more |
| Legendary items | 6 slots (Can purchase more) | 6 slots (Can purchase more) | 6 slots (Can purchase more) |
| Traits | All *** | 1 or 2 slots per trait type Can purchase more |
1 or 2 slots per trait type Can purchase more |
| Crafting | Tier 1-7 available | Tier 1-7 available | Tier 1-7 available |
| Crafting Guilds | Unlimited |
Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Housing | Available | Available | Available |
| Music | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Cosmetic system | 3 outfits Can purchase more |
2 Outfits Can purchase more |
2 Outfits Can purchase more |
| Shared Wardrobe | 20 slots Can purchase more |
Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Destiny points | Can earn and spend on perks | Can earn but cannot spend on perks | Can earn but cannot spend on perks |
| Monster play | Unlimited |
No freep access Reaver class available, can purchase more |
No freep access Reaver class available, can purchase more |
| Community features | Read/Post | Read/Post | Read/Limited posting |
| In-game Support | Full access | Full access for 30 days following the purchase of Turbine Points | Self-service online |
| Technical Support | Full access | Full access | Full access |
| Account Management | Full access | Full access | Full access |
(**): Purchasers of the LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack got 2 extra character slots and 20 slots of shared bank storage. (Option no longer available).
- The maximum number of Character slots per server is 17.
(***): This feature is permanently unlocked on a per character basis; A character played during VIP status will have these features and retain them after the VIP time expires and the subscription status is downgraded to Premium. See Official Definitions below for more explanation.
LOTRO Expansion sets
- Purchase of the Moria expansion adds:
- Access to Mines of Moria content.
- Premium classes (Rune-keeper and Warden).
- Two extra character slots.
- Skirmish trait max rank raised to 15
- Purchase of the Mirkwood expansion adds:
- Access to Siege of Mirkwood content.
- Purchase of the Rise of Isengard expansion adds:
- Access to Dunland, Gap of Rohan, and Nan Curunír content, plus Draigoch's Lair.
- Skirmish trait max rank raised to 35
- Some editions have additional benefits: see official details of the Isengard Expansion offers.
- Purchase of the Riders of Rohan expansion adds benefits based on the version purchased.
The current Best Buy
August 2012: the current "best buy" for a new F2P player upgrading to Premium or VIP status is to purchase the 'Mithril Edition' of Lord of the Rings Online. (as the previous "best buy", The Rise of Isengard Legendary Edition, is no longer available)
- Purchase of the Mithril Edition expansion includes:
- Access to the Path of the Fellowship Quest Packs including the Trollshaws, Eregion, Lothlórien and Moria
- 2,000 Turbine Points for use in the Lotro Store (enough to purchase any one of the currently available expansion packs)
- An exclusive mount at level 5 and above: Steed of the Horse-lords (62% faster than running)
April 2013: Turbine is constantly changing it's product offerings. They no longer "obviously" offer the Mithril Edition expansion directly at store.turbine.com, however, it can still be found at mithril.lotro.com and is available from other vendors such as Game Stop for discount prices.
The Mithril Edition is the current "Box Set" (a physical box including the Game Disks, Starter Guide, and Keyboard map). Both the previous "box sets" || Siege of Angmar (SoA) and Mines of Moria (MoM) having been discontinued. (Note: while it is possible to still install from the MoM disk set and update, it is a tedious process, and it is NO LONGER possible to update from the SoA disk set!)
Current Quest and Expansion structure
- April 2013:
There are four Expansions:
| LOTRO Store reference | Press release | Wiki description | Quest levels | Turbine website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 LOTRO Store Mines of Moria | The Mines of Moria | Moria | (Lvl 51-60) | |
| 2 LOTRO Store Siege of Mirkwood | The Siege of Mirkwood | Mirkwood | (Lvl 51-65) | |
| 3 LOTRO Store Isengard | The Rise of Isengard | Isengard | (Lvl 66-75) | isengard.lotro.com |
| 4 LOTRO Store Riders of Rohan | The Riders of Rohan | East Rohan | (Lvl 75-85) | rohan.lotro.com |
The existing Quest packs are:
| LOTRO Store reference | Wiki description | Quest levels |
|---|---|---|
| 1- Quest Pack:North Downs | North Downs | (Lvl 18-40) |
| 2- Quest Pack:Trollshaws | Trollshaws | (Lvl 30-50) |
| 3- Quest Pack:Evendim | Evendim | (Lvl 32-40) |
| 4- Quest Pack:Misty Mountains | Misty Mountains | (Lvl 39-50) |
| 5- Quest Pack:Forochel | Forochel | (Lvl 39-52) |
| 6- Quest Pack:Angmar | Angmar | (Lvl 40-52) |
| 7- Quest Pack:Eregion | Eregion | (Lvl 45-55) |
| 8- Quest Pack:Lothlorien | Lothlórien | (Lvl 55-60) |
| 9- Quest Pack:Enedwaith | Enedwaith | (Lvl 60-75) |
| 10- Quest Pack:Great River | The Great River | (Lvl 72-75) |
Points to note
- All quests in The Shire, Ered Luin, Bree-land, and Lone-lands are available to all players.
- All landscape areas in The Lord of the Rings Online are open to free players. While free players can explore and kill monsters in these areas they cannot complete the side quests contained there without first purchasing the Quest Packs for those areas.
Official Definitions
- Premium -- In order to be Premium, you need to have purchased something with real world money at some point; e.g. Turbine Points, box or digital copies of the game, or subscription fees (pre or post launch of Free to Play).
- VIP -- In order to be VIP you need to be currently subscribed to the game, using a credit card or game cards as payment.
- Any current subscribers (After Free Play Launch) who continue to keep an active subscription (including Lifetime subscriptions) are VIP.
- Downgrade Possibilities -- Once your account is upgraded to Premium, that is the minimum status it can have. If it is upgraded to Premium, it will never downgrade to Free. You can un-subscribe from VIP to Premium access (but won't ever go back to Free).
- "Types" of Premium -- There is only one type of Premium. However, individual characters can have increased access if the account was previously VIP, or subscribed prior to the launch of Free to Play.
- Swift Travel (updated February 2011)
- Swift travel is available to VIPs for free.
- Swift travel can be temporarily unlocked with the Writ of Special Passage (1 hour, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days). The swift routes in the Starter Areas are free to all players.
- Premium players get to keep unlocked access to swift travel routes they had access to while playing as VIP. Notice, this is only for character played during VIP, and each character will only have access to the swift travel routes which that specific character could access; for newer characters normal limitations apply.
- Do points transfer between games or separate subscriptions on an account?
- No. Turbine points are specific per Lotro account. Points are not bound to server.
