Dagorlad wrote:
Is this game any good? I've just downloaded the program and joined, but I've not actually logged in yet (heading off to work in a second).
The best thing about it is exploring Middle Earth, seeing the world come to life. For instance:
-I got lost in the Old Forest, and ****** off a horde of Black Hearted Huorns.
-met Tom Bombadil and Goldberry at their home
-picked flowers in the Old Forest
-I raided Barrows in the Barrow Downs for treasure, fighting off hordes of barrow wights, spiders and wraiths/shades, then traded the treasure for a sweet looking helmet and cape in Bree
- got drunk and passed out in the Prancing Pony (well, not literally, there was a little role play involved)
-I became a pioneer Dwarf base jumper by jumping off the top of Amon sul (Weathertop). With predictable results... Unfortunately, no parachutes were available at the time.
-aided a Ranger of the North in reclaiming Amon Sul, killing a cave troll in the process
-put Gimli's cross country running skills to shame by crossing the length of the Shire dozens of times delivering mail to lazy hobbits
-went skinny dipping in the Brandywine river
-drove undead from Agamaur (a haunted marsh to the east of Weathertop) on behalf of the Wizard Radagast
Next up: I need to buy some new content (am currently a premium player, have only spent £5 / 500 Turbine points so far) so I can explore the North Downs (where Fornost is), and Evendim (the site of the largest lake in Middle Earth and the Arnorian city of Annuminas). What I want to do most is explore MORIA and the Misty Mountains (you can visit Gollums cave!). But thats a long way off - they're high level areas e.g. lvl 50 to enter Moria.
If theres any cons that I've noticed so far (having played through the free content for a month and a half), its that the free content is very limited
-Money is capped at 2 Gold (but you can subscribe or pay 395 points about £4 to remove the money cap. Any money over 2G, you get back when the cap is removed).
-free players can't use mounts. Must subscribe or pay 95pts (£1) for the Riding Skill. Getting it then lets you use horses etc in-game without paying more in RL.
- you only get "three bags" in your inventory. You dont notice it much at low levels but as you progress you start to get desperate for more inventory space. Its expensive to increase the space
-ditto for the "bank" space. You can pay ingame for more space but it doesn't go far, and gets exponentially more expensive.
-some content is off limits altogether for free players. e.g. destiny points which can be used to pay for buffs or upgrade your "monster characters" in the pvp area (vips only
Its not unreasonable, but it does get irritating as you progress and learn more about successive features of the game, only to find theres an upfront fee which must be paid to use said features. I've been advised that its a good idea to get a one month subscription then revert to free/premium as certain features are retained by past subscribers.