LOTRO: The Benefits of Being a VIP For a Month
I recently created a new Brawler class character in the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. This is the first time I’ve rolled a new alt while not subscribing. Hence I suddenly became aware that a great deal of features and functionality that I usually take for granted were not available. I started unlocking these services in a piecemeal fashion but soon realized that this wasn’t very cost effective. So I started digging around online to see what the exact benefits are of subscribing to LOTRO and becoming a VIP player. There is a comparison chart available if you do a Google search but it is far from comprehensive. For example a free player has to pay to unlock skill point set bonuses, which surprised me. Overall, the entire monetisation of LOTRO is somewhat arcane. However, if you subscribe for one month to become a VIP, when you stop paying you drop down to Premium player status, rather than return to that of a Free player. This has benefits.
So after some research, here is what I discovered regarding the benefits that are maintained on a per-character basis, when downgrading from VIP to Premium. It should be noted that the following benefits are only maintained for characters that have been logged into the game while the VIP status is active. To clarify, if you create a new alt while a Free player, upgrade your account to VIP and then log into the game with the aforementioned new alt, the following benefits persist when you stop subscribing and drop down to Premium. If you have an alt that you created as a Free player and do not log them in while a VIP, you will not see any benefits afterwards. Also note, these per-character unlocks also work for content that the character hasn't reached, due to level restrictions and other qualify criteria.
After downgrading from VIP to Premium you keep the following:
All trait slots unlocked for all your characters on all servers.
Swift travel from all stable NPCs.
Riding skill quest for all your characters at level 20.
All 5 inventory bags remain unlocked.
The currency cap of 2 gold for Free players and 5 gold for Premium players is lifted.
You keep access to the last level you reached within the Crafting Guild.
You can still access items placed in the shared wardrobe and dye them but you can no longer replace them.
You lose the following features after downgrading from VIP to Premium:
Two character slots (VIP has 7 by default, Premium has 5 premium. You may have to disable two characters).
Access to all quest packs and skirmishes.
Access to the Legendary Servers.
Shared wardrobe if not used by other alts (20 slots).
Rested 100% XP.
Monster play.
Ability to spend destiny points.
30 auction house listings.
Access to your Mailbox everywhere.
Access to crafting guild advancement.
As you can see there are tangible rewards to be had from subscribing, if for only one month and then dropping to Premium status. It is definitely superior to being a Free player. Ultimately your decision to do so is dependent upon your personal gaming budget and your own views on video game monetisation. However, it is useful to be aware of the differences in customer status in LOTRO. In the meantime do not forget the current offer available from Standing Stone Games in which they are giving away all quest packs within the game, permanently. The code LOTROQUESTS2021 can be redeemed up until the 31st of November. This combined with subscribing for one month and thus becoming a Premium player unlocks a significant amount of content and will save players a lot of money.
