new player

[jkyle87]

hello everyone im downloading the game now and was wandering if anyone has anytips for a noob , also as a free to play player i was wandering if there's a LOT or a LITTLE bit of content exclusive to paying players , just wandering though iv always wanted to give this game a try . hoping for the best , c u all in the game.

[Hiritier]

hello everyone im downloading the game now and was wandering if anyone has anytips for a noob , also as a free to play player i was wandering if there's a LOT or a LITTLE bit of content exclusive to paying players , just wandering though iv always wanted to give this game a try . hoping for the best , c u all in the game.

In theory, you can be totally free to play, but you will need lots of patient to farm the game cash to buy stuffs. Things like quest pack and expansion, required if you want to level and doing dungeon after level 32, or access to trade, and many more "convenient" things like gold cap, bags slot, aution house slot, swift travel...

[jkyle87]

do you mean their's way to get the expansions and ect. in game , just from playing. or got pay money?

[Moldy-Cheese]

I am a VIP player that just started but am taking the free 2 play route also. I haven't decided what class to make as my "main" so I am playing around and making different characters and doing the deeds. I started with 500 TP (it's what you get for being a VIP monthly) and have earned almost 200 in 3 days. Is that a lot? No clue. It is nice to get the points just for playing the game though.

[Flixxer]

you did well with your tp, just one advice have fun, no matter what you do ingame, as long as you have fun it is good, try to get into a fun kinship, it will contribute to a nice atmosphere ingame

[Grimdi]

do you mean their's way to get the expansions and ect. in game , just from playing. or got pay money?

You can buy expansions with real money, or with Turbine Points which can be earned in-game. But the amount of TP you can earn is limited per character (though the number of characters to earn TP is basically unlimited). At a certain point it requires a lot of grinding to stay completely F2P.
The only thing you cannot earn at all in-game is PvMP access for your normal characters, that requires an active VIP subscription.

[Peresbert]

You would need to grind 695 TP to get Evendim. That is the one you want for leveling F2P and acquiring more TP. Remember all points earned on an account count towards account. You cane have a toon on a different server than your main and the TP you earn can be put towards purchases for it. I have a kinnie who has every expansion/qp he's needed from grinding F2P. I would spend some money on the lowest denomination of TP though. It gives access to lotteries and a free 3rd character slot. Use the 3rd character on your main server to grind TP via rep consumption. Save the extra rep you grind from landscaping on your main 2 and consume it with 3rd and then rinse (delete char) and repeat. The TP earned that way is epic.

[Shukar]

hello everyone im downloading the game now and was wandering if anyone has anytips for a noob , also as a free to play player i was wandering if there's a LOT or a LITTLE bit of content exclusive to paying players , just wandering though iv always wanted to give this game a try . hoping for the best , c u all in the game.

You get all the content and stuff you need to level to about 30. Level cap is currently 85, and will be 95 in the fall after the Moria expansion. (When the game launched, level cap was 50... so level 30 is quite a good chunk.) The content up to level 30 consists of deeds and non-Epic quests, since Epic quests are always free to everyone, in every zone, up to level cap and beyond. Deeds are the primary way to earn Turbine Points (TPs), which is the in-game currency you need to buy more content and other stuff.

Once you get a character to level 30 you'll need to decide on how to get more deeds and non-Epic quests, given that leveling up without them is tedious, boring, and you miss out on a lot of interesting stories. Your choices are:

• Become VIP by subscribing. All the non-expansion zones become available while your subscription is active. There are a lot of other perks, some of which you keep once your subscription lapses. If you decide to play long-term, I recommend you go VIP for at least a short time (1 month) for these perks.
• Buy something with real-life money, which permanently upgrades you to Premium. Some good choices are a TP package, that new quad-pack (all 4 expansion for $40), or the Sam Gamgee starter pack. If you buy TPs, you don't need to spend them in order to be Premium.
• Earn TPs in game by playing with disposable characters. People can get 200-250 TPs per character with a couple of hours of work. Delete the character and repeat; all the TPs you earn, no matter what server the character is on, go into a common account. There are people running around at level cap, with all zones unlocked, who have never paid any real-life money to play.

The only content that is EXCLUSIVE to paying players is the ability to take your freep (hobbit, elf, human, or dwarf) character to the Ettenmoors for PvMP. You can play monster characters without paying (though all but one class needs to be unlocked with TPs), so PvMP is not completely closed to free players. You need to be VIP and have a character of at least level 80 to bring them to the Ettenmoors. You can create a monster character anytime after you get a freep character to level 10.

Please give the game a try. I hope you like it!

[YamydeAragon]

welcome to the game

[YamydeAragon]

I am a VIP player that just started but am taking the free 2 play route also. I haven't decided what class to make as my "main" so I am playing around and making different characters and doing the deeds. I started with 500 TP (it's what you get for being a VIP monthly) and have earned almost 200 in 3 days. Is that a lot? No clue. It is nice to get the points just for playing the game though.

Since you just bought VIP for a month or whatever time it is, i recomend you to save that tp & as soon your VIP end, use the tp to unlock permanently the quest packs. There are other important stuffs you can get. Be carefull that you dont get seduced to spent your hardly earned tp on stuffs you can get in game for a few silvers or free (example: horse skill, outfits, potions).

[Rhuvor]

You get all the content and stuff you need to level to about 30. Level cap is currently 85, and will be 95 in the fall after the Moria expansion.

"...after the [Helm's Deep] expansion".

[Rhuvor]

Hello Kyle,

Welcome to the game!

I have had a subscription (VIP) account since the game launched (March 2007), but I decided to create a F2P account a year ago just to get an idea how F2P worked and to have a couple more characters.

You can get to about level 30 before deciding if you want to invest money in the game. Pure F2P has its challenges, such as limited bag space and a gold cap, but you can have hours upon hours of fun before having to reach for your wallet.

[LordofTime]

I've been f2P the whole 2.5 years (mostly because I'm a broke student) but I've been able to get all the expansions and some of the quest packs, plus other stuff from the in game turbine store.
One important thing to do is to wait for the expansions and quest packs to go one sale. The sales change every Thursday and you can check it online or in game (sometimes it takes a bit for the new sale to show up). Depending on what you are getting, you can sometimes save over 100TP, meaning you can spend less time farming and more time gaming.

Have fun!

[Vexendynamus]

hello everyone im downloading the game now and was wandering if anyone has anytips for a noob

Welcome to Middle Earth.

Make sure you end up on the right server for your play style. If you enjoy grouping, pick a server with a large and active group population. If you prefer quiet, solo play, pick a less populated server. If you want other players around to adventure with, pick a server that "peaks" at the same time you play. If you role play, pick a role play server. If you prefer a North American, European, or Pacific community, pick a server where those players congregate.

Read a guide describing the differences between Free to Play, Premium, and VIP account status. It will take some effort to understand the nuances, but allow you to make informed buying decisions.

You may create two characters on each and every server without purchasing anything. Try out all classes that look interesting until you find the one you like. It may take 200 hours to push a character from level 1 to 85. Do not be afraid to sacrifice an hour or three at the start to find the race and class you enjoy most.

The game features three starter areas: the Shire, Ered Luin, and Archet/Comb in the Bree-lands. You may freely move about between all three areas using the stables. If you do not like the quests in one starter area, switch to another.

The character creation screen displays darker skin tones than those that appear in game. Once you leave character creation and enter the game, make sure your character looks right to your eye (in good lighting). If not, delete and try again.

If you have more questions, ask in the forums or in game. Many people regularly take time to help new players.

CTRL + \ unlocks the interface so you may move elements around.

CTRL + O brings up the Options panel. You may want to lock your quickslots to avoid accidentally removing a skill from your bar.

Good luck and have fun!