Account Type

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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 in-game store LOTRO Store interface (requires a credit card).
  • As of June 2016, one activates or manages a VIP subscription via the on-line Store.
For details see: https://www.lotro.com/en/Upgrade-to-VIP
  • 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.
  • If a product key includes 30 days of play time, those 30 days count as VIP access. Please note that many, but not all types of keys include play time. If the key does include an upgrade, but no time, it won't include any VIP access.
If a product key does give 30 days, the account will be full VIP during that time, and will downgrade to Premium automatically at the end, the same way any other VIP account will downgrade to Premium, unless a subscription plan is selected. This includes the same perks such as the trait and riding access noted above, the monthly VIP points, etc.
Product keys can be used to upgrade accounts, even Beta or Trial accounts. If they include time, that will be added when the key is applied for the upgrade. Only one key of a specific type can be added to an account. Keys can't be used to add time if it isn't also applying an upgrade. There are some restrictions about adding keys that might be considered a downgrade (adding an Angmar key to a Moria trial). If you have any problems when trying to upgrade, please contact the Account Management department.
  • Having a Lifetime Membership. Note: no longer purchasable, but occasionally awarded as Prizes for participation in Beta events.

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:

Tooltip explanation of the VIP Bonus Experience
  • Access to all Quests, Instances and Skirmishes except for those acquired through expansions (Moria, Mirkwood, Rise of Isengard, Riders of Rohan, and Helm's Deep).
  • 500 Turbine Points per month.
  • 7 Character slots per server.
  • 5 Inventory bags. (75 Inventory Slots)
  • All trait slots and class bonus skills available.
  • Swift Travel to more than to the starting zones.*
  • Can acquire the horse riding skill for free from a quest at level 20.
  • No currency cap (Maximum Gold limit)
  • VIP Bonus XP (Automatic Rest XP) - Daily +100%XP for 30% of your next level
  • Weekly Gold Hobbit Present
  • 20 Shared Wardrobe slots
  • Maximum Active Auction House listings
  • Unlimited Crafting Guild access.
  • Can spend Destiny Points on in-game perks.*
  • Freep access to PvMP.*
  • All monster classes available
  • Priority Login
  • Unlimited Chat
  • Maximum mail availability, including access to mail anywhere in Middle Earth. A mail-box is not required.

(*)= These features cannot be purchased from the LOTRO Store and are exclusive VIP features.

See: official LOTRO VIP information 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. This can be counteracted with the store-bought XP disabler.

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 on a per-character basis when downgrading from VIP to Premium.
However, these features, listed below, are only maintained only for characters who have entered Middle-earth (logged in) while the VIP status was active; characters created after downgrading from VIP to Premium and characters that were created before or during VIP but were not logged into the game during VIP do not have access to these features.
These per-character unlocks also function for content the character hasn't reached yet due to level or other restrictions.
The following features are maintained on a per-character basis:
  • Swift Travel
  • All trait slots and class bonus skills unlocked
  • 5 Inventory bags including any additional +5 Inventory slots purchased.
  • 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 Play: Aside from the Reaver, your monster play characters will become locked and unavailable to play. The characters will not be deleted, they will be available to play again once VIP status is reacquired or 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.
  • Rest XP can be consumed, but is no longer generated.
  • Items placed in the Wardrobe as a VIP can be used and dyed but not replaced.
Your total available number of Shared Wardrobe slots is reduced by 20 (including the Maximum number of Shared Wardrobe Slots available). I.e. the 20 Shared Wardrobe slots received as a VIP player are removed. You must purchase those 20 slots from the LOTRO Store to again utilize them.
  • 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.
  • Swift travel is available to VIPs for free.
Swift travel can be temporarily unlocked (1 hour, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days) with the Writ of Special Passage from the LOTRO Store for Free or Premium players. The swift routes in the beginning areas are free to all players.
Characters of Premium players who downgraded from VIP keep access to all swift travel routes, even travel routes that character did not unlock while VIP (contradicting official information, which states only unlocked travel routes are maintained). Please note that only the characters played while the subscription was VIP will have access to swift travel routes; characters created after a subscription downgrade from VIP to Premium will only have access to beginning area swift travel routes.

Account type comparison table

Here are the benefits for each player status:

Feature VIP Player 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 (up to Volume III Book 9
see note **** below)
Unlimited (up to Volume III Book 9
see note **** below)
Unlimited (up to Volume III Book 9
see note **** below)
Races 4 4 4
Core Classes 7 7 7
Premium Classes ** Purchasable Purchasable Purchasable
Level Cap 105 105 105
Character slots ** 7/server
Can purchase more
5/server
Can purchase more
2/server
Can purchase more
Quest Packs All packs except expansion packs 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 (75 slots) ***
Can purchase additional +5 Inventory Slots
3 bags (45 slots)
Can purchase additional +5 Inventory Slots
3 bags (45 slots)
Can purchase additional +5 Inventory Slots
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
Mail 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 traits and class bonus skills unlocked *** 1 race slot and 2 virtue slots unlocked
Can purchase more slots and class bonus skills
1 race slot and 2 virtue slots unlocked
Can purchase more slots and class bonus skills
Crafting Tier 1-9 available Tier 1-9 available Tier 1-9 available
Crafting Guilds Unlimited
Purchasable Purchasable
Housing Available Available Available
Music Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Cosmetic system 3 outfits
Can purchase more
3 Outfits
Can purchase more
3 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
Hobbit gifts 1 silver per day, 1 gold per week
Can purchase more
1 silver per day
Can purchase more
1 silver per day
Can purchase more
Monster play Unlimited
No freep access
Reaver class available, can purchase other classes
No freep access
Reaver class available, can purchase other classes
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

(**): The maximum number of Character slots per server is 28. (As of World Transfers - August 2015)

Purchasers of the LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack got 2 extra character slots and 20 slots of shared bank storage. (Option no longer available).
The introduction of the Beorning in Update 15 allowed for the purchase of one additional character slot. (Beorning and Character slot Bundle)
  • The World Transfer (Server Consolidation) process (Update 16.3 - August 3, 2015) allowed 2 additional character slots for VIPs.
  • Also, as part of this World Transfer process, the number of purchasable Character slots (in the on-line store) has been doubled to 26 for a F2P account.

(***): 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.

Special Note TRAITS: With the release of Update 12, Helm's Deep, the old "trait system" was replaced with Trait trees. Each Character gets two "slots" for storing "Trait Tree Configurations." Additional configuration slots can be purchased for Mithril Coins. See: Traits

(****) With the launch of the Helm's Deep Expansion (Update 12), the Epic Quest line is integrated into the expansion. This means that progress beyond Volume III Book 10 requires the purchase of the Helm's Deep Expansion FOR ALL ACCOUNT CLASSES.

LOTRO Expansion sets

There have been five expansions to the original The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Released: 24 April 2007).

1- Purchase of the Mines of Moria (18 November 2008) expansion adds to your account:

Over 350 quests designed for Levels 50 - 60
The Mines of Moria instance cluster includes:


See: LOTRO Store Mines of Moria

2- Purchase of the Siege of Mirkwood (1 December 2009) expansion adds to your account:

  • Skirmish trait max rank raised to 25
  • Access to Siege of Mirkwood content:
Over 150 Quests designed for levels 60 - 65
The Tower of Dol Guldur Instance cluster consists of
See: LOTRO Store Siege of Mirkwood

3- Purchase of the Rise of Isengard - ROI - (26 September, 2011) expansion adds to your account:

over 375 Quests designed for levels 65 - 75

Draigoch's Lair in Enedwaith includes:

The Isengard Instance Cluster includes:

See: LOTRO Store Isengard

4- Purchase of the Riders of Rohan - ROR - (15 October 2012) expansion adds to your account:

Note: Access to Mounted Combat is available to all account types at level 75 with a Medium Steed.
  • Access to the Rohan Quest content:
See: LOTRO Store Riders of Rohan

5- Purchase of the Helm's Deep - HD - (launched 20 November 2013) expansion adds to your account:

See: LOTRO Store Helm's Deep
  • All LOTRO clients contain all expansion content. Purchased expansions are enabled by adding codes at myaccount.turbine.com.
  • You can check the in-game Store to see what you have unlocked. Whatever expansion doesn't show up in the Store anymore, you have access to!
  • The LOTRO Market (store.lotro.com) automatically applies account upgrades directly to the account you are logged into the Market with (i.e. the account you have used to log into the LOTRO Fourms (forums.lotro.com). If you're purchasing content, you'll experience the ability to access that area's content immediately.
You won't receive a code, or need to make any manual updates to myaccount.turbine.com; store.lotro.com does it for you.
  • If you're logged into the game while purchasing, you'll need to log out, shut down the game, re-start and log back in. This will typically correct any syncs your account has to make for most recent information, including recent account upgrades.

The current Expansion Best Buy

June 2015:
  • The current "best buy," for any player wishing to purchase the first four expansions, is the Quad Pack bundle, available from the LOTRO Market (not the in-game store), which includes the following expansions detailed above:
  • Mines of Moria
  • Mirkwood
  • Rise of Isengard
  • Riders of Rohan
The fifth expansion, Helm's Deep, is frequently on sale at checkout for 50% off, when you purchase the Quad pack, especially when the Quad Pack itself is on sale for 50% off.

Important notes

  • Note that these Expansions include ALL Quest, Instance, and Skirmish related materials. Purchase of the expansion means you do not need to purchase those items separately!
  • Note also: The "Quad Pack" IS different from the "All Quest Packs" bundle also available from the LOTRO Market. That bundle includes ONLY the first 11 quest packs available from the LOTRO Store (see list below) and does not include any corresponding Instances or Skirmishes!
  • Note that the web store, "store.lotro.com", (aka the LOTRO Market) and the in-game store (LOTRO Store) are two different things.
The Web Store expects "cash" and does not use Turbine Points (however, you can purchase them); but it has much better deals on content than the in-game store.

Current Quest and Expansion structure

September 2015:
  • There are five 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)
4 LOTRO Store Riders of Rohan The Riders of Rohan East Rohan (Lvl 75-85) rohan.lotro.com
5 LOTRO Store Helm's Deep Helm's Deep West Rohan (Lvl 85-95) www.lotro.com/helmsdeep


  • The existing individual quest packs are:
Quest Pack Levels Points
Quest Pack: North Downs 18-40 595 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Eriador Bundle 18-65 3995 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Trollshaws 35-50 595 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Evendim 32-40 595 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Misty Mountains 39-50 695 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Forochel 39-52 595 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Angmar 40-52 795 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Eregion 45-55 695 LOTRO Point 
Expansion Quests: Moria 51-60 1495 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Lothlorien 55-60 695 LOTRO Point 
Expansion Quests: Mirkwood 61-65 695 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Enedwaith 65+ 695 LOTRO Point 
Expansion Quests: Isengard 65-75 1495 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Great River 72-75 795 LOTRO Point 
Expansion Quests: Rohan 75-85 1495 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack: Wildermore 83-85 795 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack:Western Gondor 95-100 795 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack:Central Gondor 100 795 LOTRO Point 
Quest Pack:East Gondor 100 795 LOTRO Point 


  • Note: The current Level Cap is 150. Access to quests in Western Gondor and Central Gondor are free to VIP or included in the Western or Central Gondor Quest Pack and are Level 95-100.

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 (or Expansions) for those areas.
  • Except for the Epic quest line within the areas unlocked by the Helm's Deep expansion, all Epic Quests are free.
  • As a VIP you get access to the following content:
all quests, deeds, instances and skirmishes in Angmar, Central Gondor, Enedwaith, Eregion, Evendim, Forochel, Great River, Lothlorien, Misty Mountains, North Downs, Trollshaws , West Gondor, Wldermore

Official Definitions

Official Turbine Free-2-Play-F-A-Q . (Outdated)
  • 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. Contradicting this official statement, in reality characters played during VIP have access to all current and future swift travel routes.
  • 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.

Fraud Prevention FAQ

Originally posted by Fricassee on the official LOTRO forum on 13 June 2015[1]
Updated and adapted for this Wiki
Note that this information applies to both LOTRO and DDO.

Account Hacked / Stolen – What to Do

If you believe that your account may be hacked or stolen, here are the steps you should follow to reclaim ownership:

  1. Immediately run antivirus and anti-spyware programs on your machine to detect any possible viruses, key loggers, etc. If you have trouble doing this, please review any of the common antivirus websites or programs. This step is VERY important, especially if a keylogger has ended up on the PC. A key logger will record not only your LOTRO game login, but any keystroke you enter. This can also include your email login, any credit card and billing details you type in while it is installed, and more. I cannot stress how important it is to remove a key logger from your computer ASAP if one is installed, and not just for game security.
  2. Attempt to login to your account at https://myaccount.standingstonegames.com to determine if any of your login information has been changed. If it has, and you cannot log in, attempt to recover your password through the "Forgot Password?" link.
  3. If you were unable to log in and recover your password, you will need to contact the Account Support department to update your account information. Please have the card holder call (or email) with the following information:
    • the last 4 digits of the credit card on file
    • the name of the card holder
    • the billing address on file
    • the email address you want to have on file.
  4. After running antivirus/anti-spyware programs and logging into your account, change your password immediately to a new and secure password you do not use anywhere else.
  5. Please note that your account may have been identified as potentially being accessed by a third-party by our In-Game department. Your account may be temporarily suspended to prevent any further access to your account. Please note that this does not indicate in any way that Standing Stone Games has been compromised; in most cases this indicates a security issue on the computer used to play Dungeons and Dragons Online or The Lord of the Rings Online. If this has happened, please understand that this suspension is not a punishment, but a way to prevent further unauthorized access to the account. If the account is banned, please contact Fraud Prevention by e-mailing via the form here. State your account name, that you have completed these instructions, and ask for the suspension to be lifted.
  6. Once you have regained control of your account, log into each character. If you believe any items or currency are missing; please submit a separate in-game ticket for each character. To ensure that your reimbursement ticket is dealt with as quickly as possible, please select Cheating as the primary category, then Account Compromise as the secondary category. These will be researched and a GM will contact you after the investigation. Please note that this process may take up to a week or more but you do not have to remain in the game and can play your character(s) while you wait to hear back. If you believe you are missing characters, please submit an in-game ticket listing the names of the characters missing and the In-Game team will research further. If you do not have the ability to open help tickets from within the game but you feel your characters are missing items, currency, or were deleted due to a compromise; you can submit a single ticket at https://help.standingstonegames.com to request assistance. Be sure to select "Game Support", “Game Moderation Appeal” and "Compromised / Hacked Notification" for your type for the fastest response (as tickets to other departments may need to be re-routed).

How To Keep Your Account From Being Compromised in the First Place

In most cases accounts are compromised due to malware (keyloggers) on a player's system, the use of gold buying websites, exploit programs, or phishing scams. We will always help provide access to the owner of the account; however the security of the account is always the responsibility of the end user.
Keeping your system clean and secure, not accessing suspect websites, not creating accounts with suspect websites, and never providing your password to anyone should prevent the vast majority of hacked account issues.
We recommend that you do not use your specific game login (username and password combination) for other websites. Especially other gaming websites! Using a password manager can help with keeping passwords unique.
A few important things to note:
  1. GMs will always have a + in their name. Only GMs can have a + in their name. For example, "+LilBeholder" would be a GM.
  2. No one who works for Standing Stone Games will ever ask you to give them money (in game or out of it) to avoid being banned.
  3. No one who works for Standing Stone Games will ever need your password.
  4. No one who works for Standing Stone Games will ever ask you to log into a website to keep from being banned.
  5. You should only ever log in with your game/Account Management username and password combination on official Standing Stone Games websites (which include):
    -the game
    -the Account Management website: https://myaccount.standingstonegames.com/
    -the forums
If you have questions about the security of your account (username, password, email) please contact the Account Management department. If you have questions about your account in-game, please contact a GM. If you can't because you are banned, or want to provide additional feedback for GMs, you can email the supervisors of the GMs via the form here.
If you are the payment method holder, we can also remove your information from an account. Please note that in order to remove the card, the next billing plan may need to be changed, since you can't have a re-occurring billing plan without a credit card on file.

Why Gold Buying, Account Selling, and Power Leveling is Bad

Gold farming, gold selling, gold spamming, gold buying, powerleveling, account sales and purchases, and/or the unauthorized purchase of in-game items with real-world money is strictly forbidden on all of our servers.
The Code of Conduct clearly states:
"...10. You may not advertise the intent to, commit the act of, or facilitate the ability of others to commit the act of, unauthorized selling, buying, transferring or sharing access to any Game account."
"...11. You may not advertise the intent to, commit the act of, or facilitate the ability of others to commit the act of, unauthorized selling or buying of Game items for real-world monetary values or other consideration."
Any time you pay real money for a service, item, or currency to an unauthorized third-party, you are violating the Code of Conduct and may be subject to disciplinary action. This can range from a warning to a permanent account suspension, even for a first offense. These penalties are harsh because these actions affect significantly more than just your account.
All of the activities above directly encourages and supports the following:
  • Disruption of the in-game economy
  • Hacking or theft of player’s game accounts
  • Theft of credit cards from third-party sites
  • Spamming in the game
  • Identity theft
There are other reasons not to engage in these activities. By buying gold or items that are not available within the LOTRO Store, you devalue the efforts of your fellow players and seriously damage the fun of playing the game. Additionally, you put yourself at risk of theft from risky websites and organizations; please understand the majority of our compromised accounts are a result of visiting websites or engaging in services of this type.
Be safe! The only authorized way to purchase items or services is through Standing Stone Games websites, games, or Standing Stone Games authorized online stores.
If you have any questions about whether a service being offered or a website is authorized by Standing Stone Games, please contact a GM in-game or submit a ticket to https://help.standingstonegames.com BEFORE you make the purchase. The Fraud Prevention team will be happy to research that for you without you putting your money and account in jeopardy.

The Difference Between Compromised Accounts and Friendly Hacks

First, a reminder: The security of an account is the responsibility of the end user. It is up to you to be diligent and make sure that your account is and remains secure. Always choose a unique password for your account that is not used on any other online game. Never share your password with anyone, not even trusted kin/guild members. Keep your account information up to date so that in the event of unauthorized changes you are notified via email. And finally, be wary downloading programs or add-ons (especially programs that claim to get you free points or access) as they could contain malicious software designed to steal your login information.
Second, a definition: A compromised account is when a third party accesses your account and possibly does harm to your characters, items, and currency. If you believe your account was compromised, please follow the instructions at the top of this post!
Third, a clarification: A compromised account is NOT when:
  • You have shared or traded your password with someone and they won’t give the account back.
  • You have purchased an account off an auction website and you’ve lost access.
  • You have sold an account on an auction website and are having second thoughts.
These are what we in the business call “Friendly Hacks” and the difference now is that Standing Stone Games’ Terms of Service has been broken. When this happens our ability to assist becomes limited and the Fraud Prevention Department must make a determination on the account based on the details we have available. Please understand that we may not be able to assist with account recovery or with missing items, progression, or character restoration if the Terms of Service has been broken. Sharing, trading, buying and selling game accounts is against the Terms of Service to protect you and prevent this kind of stress in the first place.
Finally, a warning: Standing Stone Games does not assist with or get involved in ownership disputes. If we receive conflicting information regarding an account owner from two (or more, it’s happened) different parties, the account in question will be permanently banned so that no one will have access. If you are currently struggling with any of the issues from Point Three, we at the Fraud Prevention Department urge you to contact the person accessing the account and attempt to resolve the issue with them directly. We are not in the business of barring players from enjoying the game, but we must uphold our company’s Terms of Service. It’s kind of our thing.

I Didn’t Spend That! What to Do When You Don’t Recognize a Payment

Firstly, be sure to breathe! The Fraud Prevention team regularly monitors all payments for fraudulent activity. Additionally, there are multiple fraud systems in place to prevent unauthorized payments on your account. There’s a few sanity checks below but when in doubt you can always call Account Support or submit a ticket at https://help.standingstonegames.com and we will be happy to look into your account activity for you. We are on your side and we are here to help.
Turbine transactions will appear on your statement with some form of TWX WB Games. While you’re looking at your statement, you may want to make sure that the payment has completed all the way. Payments that are in Pending status on your statement have not finished; if something is in Pending status for longer than a day, it will NEVER finish and the funds will clear back to your account in a few days.
Payment still there? Now it’s time to check your Standing Stone Games account. Log into https://myaccount.standingstonegames.com to check your VIP status. Many times when customers think they have a fraudulent payment on their hands they actually have a reoccurring VIP payment. If you have a yellow banner over your subscription you are active as a VIP. You can view your next renewal date and cancel your reoccurring subscription from this page at any time.
You should also log into the game to check your recent point purchases in the store; perhaps you had forgotten a really good points sale which is why there’s now a charge on your credit card. In addition to the sales receipt that is sent to the email address on file, the in-game store also holds a record of recent purchases by character.
Finally, we urge you to contact Account Support by email or phone BEFORE you claim a payment as fraud with your bank, credit card company, or PayPal. The Fraud Prevention team takes claims of fraudulent payments very seriously (it is in our name after all) and action may be taken against the account while a fraud investigation is ongoing. In order to save yourself the headache and heartache of not being able to play the game, we always suggest you contact us first!

Support Contact Information

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References