LOTRO: Buy or Subscribe?
I’ve been playing the MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online, since December 2007. During that time I have purchased all the expansions that have been released throughout the games lifecycle. Initially, I subscribed to LOTRO as this was the only way to play the game. When Turbine adopted a free-to-play hybrid business model in 2010, I continued with my subscription as it offered a means to access new content (all updates are free to VIP account status players) and provided a monthly stipend of 500 LOTRO points. Naturally, over time one’s relationship with a game changes, especially an MMORPG. So in more recent years I have played LOTRO mainly when there is new content available. Hence I only subscribed on such occasions. Then in 2020, Standing Stone Games, made all the content included in the VIP subscription, free for a limited amount of time. I claimed this offer and found myself the owner of everything in the game up to Update 27: The Great Wedding.
So today’s release of Update 29: The Wildwood raised the question as to whether I should subscribe to LOTRO once again. It only costs £8.99 and I’m certain I could complete all relevant new content within a month. However, another option would be to buy the quest pack for the new content from the LOTRO store (currently priced at 1195 LOTRO points). The decision was an easy one to make as I still had 2000 plus LOTRO points available from past subscriptions and previous points purchases. Hence I bought the quest pack and unlocked all the relevant content. Although all the PVE content in The Wildwoods is level 45 (level cap players get to play scaling missions), I shall still complete it all. Not only does it provide a new story arc to enjoy, it also is a source of virtue deeds. As the virtue level cap has been raised to 74, completing deeds in the new zone is a convenient way to maximise those virtues I have currently equipped on my primary alt.
This situation raises the question as to whether I shall ever subscribe to LOTRO again. I play the MMO mainly when there is new content to experience and once completed I tend to put the game on hold. If I did not own all the prior released content, then subscribing when I do play would be the sensible thing to do. As it stands now, a subscription offers very few tangible benefits. The biggest is the stipend of 500 LOTRO points. However, there is very little in the store that I want. A great deal of items on sale are cosmetic. If I buy anything it tends to be deed and reputation accelerators. As for the benefits of accessing your mail away from a mailbox, it is certainly something I can manage without. I believe that the daily login Hobbit Presents are superior for subscribers but again, I am not aware of anything essential that I am effectively missing out on. And because I have subscribed in the past I do not have to worry about the currency cap, chat restrictions and reduced wardrobe and inventory slots.
I suspect that this situation is far from unique to me. LOTRO has a long established player base. Many of which bought lifetime accounts. Those that didn’t, like myself, really considered last year’s content giveaway by SSG to be the next best thing. Therefore many others must also consider subscribing to be of no major value. Such a scenario may impact upon revenue. Perhaps it is time for SSG to reconsider what VIP status offers players and improve rewards to make subscribing more worthwhile. However, this needs to be something wholly new and beneficial rather than just gating an existing function behind a paywall. Perhaps the new owners, EG7, may have some thoughts on the existing subscription service. Some players spend money in game simply to support SSG but basing your business model on the charity of your players doesn’t strike me as ideal. It will be interesting to see if any changes of this nature occur this year.
