LOTRO + F2P = FTW

Turbine's The Lord of the Rings Online went free to play this September, following the success established by Dungeons and Dragons Online going F2P last year. Gamasutra was among many sites to report DDO's incredible success since adopting the "freemium" model, and the general consensus was that ditching the monthly subscription requirement and replacing it with a choose-your-own-adventure store with VIP options was perfect for the dungeon-based MMO.

I'm probably not the only one who was skeptical about Turbine's plans to change LOTRO's subscription to DDO's freemium model. I'm a big fan of DDO, and was really excited when the 14.99/month bar of entry was lifted. Like many MMO gamers, cost is a factor for me in choosing which online game I'm willing to shell out for at any given time, and I think it's awesome to be able to jump in to DDO, grab a party and run an adventure for free. If I feel a hankering for one of the new modules Turbine has been cranking out (and as of yet, I haven't), I can shell out a couple of bucks and make it happen. Or, if I've got a bunch of money burning a hole in my pocket (which happens never) I can return to the monthly subscription and get access to everything as a VIP.

lotro.com

Sounds great, right? Well it is, especially for DDO's instanced dungeon-based setup, but I was worried when the news first hit that Turbine was going to do the same with LOTRO. The thought of the Fellowship running around with money hats and dialogue options that say, "Want to fight the Nazgul - Buy Now!" was pretty much the antithesis of the immersive world that Turbine had created. Having played through the original campaign and the Mines of Moria expansion to the level cap, and leveling several alts to satisfy my ADD, I had an image of LOTRO as an engaging, well-polished MMORPG, and its immersiveness was one of the main things keeping me coming back to it. An in-game store simply didn't jive with that image.

So imagine my surprise after logging in, clicking through a kind of kitschy new character screen, and finding that nothing much has changed. Well, I should say, where only one thing has changed: IT'S FREE. Turbine has masterfully implemented the new LOTRO store with minimal intrusiveness to the core gameplay experience; if you want to do some quests, smoke some pipeweed, or roleplay using /emotes and archaic words that kind of creep out everyone around you, you won't notice anything different from the original game. If you want to explore new areas, grab helpful items or any of the new classes or expansions, the LOTRO store is literally a click away, yet is so well-integrated that it doesn't seem to detract from the overall game experience at all.

lotro.com

It does help that I've already purchased the original game and first expansion, so the intrusiveness of the LOTRO store is next to nothing when I'm punching orcs in the face. I absolutely love the fact that running around in Middle Earth no longer requires a monthly fee, making it much easier to jump in and level my Minstrel's legendary weapons without feeling like I have to juggle the game with other subscriptions. Heck, I'm even scoping out the LOTRO store regularly for good deals, especially on the Siege of Mirkwood expansion!

Don't believe me about how awesome LOTRO is? Well, you have issues. The response for the new free to play model has been overwhelming, as Joystiq recently reported that the game "has doubled its revenue and created over a million new accounts since going free-to-play." So go get this game! The adage about the best things in life being free, or at least freemium, holds true for LOTRO, and we definitely think it's worth your money!