I’m not currently playing LOTRO but it hasn’t escaped my notice that there’s been a “wee stooshie” this week regarding Standing Stone Games handling of the “Incomparable Gear” debacle. To summarise, the cost of some specific high-end gear was set too low (about 75% cheaper than it should have been). Naturally, players bought these items from the barter vendor in good faith. Once the error was discovered, SSG’s initial solution was to patch the game and remove the item(s) from those who currently had it, without adequatecompensation. Naturally this was not well received by those affected by the issue, many of whom had bought the new items, then broken down and asset stripped the gear it was replacing. Drama, rancour and poor public relations ensued, further damaging community relations between SSG and the LOTRO player base. It should be noted that SSG is still trying to recover from the last marketing blunder they made back in July when they announced the profligate pricing range of the Mordor expansion.