With the release of the LOTRO Mac Client (Beta Version) there are many overlapping areas of information between First time users and on-going activities.
The information is split to improve readability.
This download has not been updated. Consequently after the Steam Download, an extended Patch (Update) session is needed to bring the client current.
This "patch" frequently takes longer than the original download, as it includes both Expansions (Update 8 - Riders of Rohan; and Update 12 - Helm's Deep) as well as the various updates along the way.
The Steam download of LOTRO of the Mac Client for LOTRO requires roughly 20GB of disk space. Download time is approximately 2.5 - 3 hours depending upon your communications speeds.
NOTE: The Mac Client downloaded via Steam is identical to the Mac Client downloaded from lotro.com. Steam is simply a download mechanism.
You first need to download and install the Steam engine for the Mac, if you do not have it installed. When you visit the Steam Store at the link above, a pop-up "Got Steam?" will greet you as soon as you click the "play" (download) button. The Steam client is a 1.5 MB download.
If you currently have the Steam Mac Client installed, simply navigate to the "Store," search for "Lord of the Rings," click "Play" and the download will begin. Do not be intimidated by the initial estimate of 11 days for the download -- it's a bug in the Steam Client.
As always, following the download the Mac Client will initialize and patch. This process will take an addition 20-40 minutes depending upon your CPU and disk speed.
There is no indicator that anything is happening during portions of this process, especially the "applying Forward Iterations" section -- no slider movement, countdown timer, etc.
Steam Notes
Steam installs the Mac Client itself in:
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Lord of the Rings Online/The Lord of the Rings Online™.app
Location of Steam files under ~/Library/Application Support/Steam
All other file locations and comments are identical to the Turbine Mac Client Download information (see below).
If you want to keep Steam on an external drive, simply move the contents of the folder "~/Library/Application Support/Steam" to your external drive, and then provide a symbolic link back to the original location:
cd ~/Library/"Application Support" (note that the space needs to be "escaped")
ln -s "/Volumes/<external-drive-name>/Steam"
To launch LOTRO without using the Steam interface
Option 1 -- launch LOTRO once via the Steam Interface. Once "the ring" appears in your dock -- but BEFORE you enter your Userid and password, right-click on the ring icon, select Options, Keep in Dock.
Option 2 (use when Steam is failing) -- Using the finder, navigate to the application in the location above and double click on it.
Once installed, all patching and client updates are handled by the client in the normal Turbine manner, Steam is not involved.
All DLC (as Steam calls it) for LOTRO requires that the "CD Key" be entered at your account on "myaccount.turbine.com"
LOTRO Points (LP) can be purchased through your Steam Wallet, or by using Steam cash in the LOTRO on-line Store.
When purchasing "DLC" via STEAM, you must take the "CD KEY" from Steam and enter it at myaccount.turbine.com.
To find your "CD KEY" the instructions in that FAQ are slightly different - Note also that this does NOT describe the "Big Picture" mode:
go the Steam Library
find the SMALL entry in the upper left corner of the screen -- NOT the large icon in the center
Right click on that name: "Lord of the Rings Online(tm)" and select "View Downloadable Content" from the pop-up menu.
That will bring up a window labeled ""Lord of the Rings Online(tm) - Properties"
Trouble Shooting under Steam
The Steam overlay has been known to cause "issues." Those issues come and go and have no consistent symptoms. If you have "strange" problems, simply launch the game without the Steam Interface as described above.
NEVER Verify Cache when using the Mac Client under Steam! This will ALWAYS result in a complete re-downlad of the LOTRO Mac Client!
The Verify simply compares the "checksums" of what it has to download with what is on your computer. These will ALWAYS be different because the Patching of the LOTRO Client is done directly by Turbine, and the Steam Download is never patched. Consequently, the checksums will always be different, and will always result in a complete download of all patched files... which then just have to be patched again!
DDO Download under Steam
DDO download size -- 7.6GB
Steam installs the Mac Client itself in:
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Dungeons and Dragons Online/DNDLauncher.app
DNDLauncher.app - is the actual game launcher.
Accessibility Message
If you get the following messages:
The first comes from Steam: Steam - Game Overlay Access
The in-game Steam overlay requires access to assistive devices to be enabled.
The second comes from OSX (10.9.4 or later)
Steam.app would like to control this computer using accessibility features.
Note the following. (Explanation from HenryG of Valve)
10.9.4 is stricter with application updates than previous versions of the OS. Also, our recent "blue" update was a big one-time change under the hood, and it reorganized the way our application bundle is organized for better compatibility with 10.9.4 and 10.10. The change in bundle structure is confusing OS X until the next system reboot.
This issue doesn't affect everybody, and once you get the issue resolved, it will no longer occur with future updates. Also, it shouldn't occur for anyone who does a fresh install from the website for the first time. The corruption issue only affects users who already authorized the old-style (pre-blue) application on a 10.9.x or 10.10 system and haven't restarted since the update.
Here are the steps - somewhat more detailed that previously posted:
Quit Steam - Really quit it, don't simply hide it.
Open System Preferences under the Apple Menu
Select "Security and Privacy"
Select the "Privacy" tab.
Select "Accessibility"
The display will state: "Allow the apps below to control your computer."
"Click the lock to make changes" -- enter your system password
Unckeck "Steam.app"
Close the System Preferences window.
SHUTDOWN your system
Boot your system.
Run Steam.
Run LOTRO
When prompted enable Steam's access via system preferences
(What you did in steps 2 through 8 above, with the exception that in step 7, CHECK "Steam.app")
Quit LOTRO
Quit Steam
Run Steam and launch LOTRO again: this time you should not be prompted for anything
This sequence does work under 10.9.4 and later versions of OSX, including Yosemite.
