New to Lotr:O with some questions!

[FearJon]

First off, this is the first game in the last 4 years that I have tried that has actually kept my attention! No game has been able to keep my playing like GW1 has for the last 9 years. I have been looking for a new game to take me away from it and I think I have found it! But there are a few questions that I have that may make my play time more enjoyable.

1: Every time I log in I have to change my key settings. Is there a way to keep them saved forever so I don't have to keep taking the time to change them back to what I like?

2: I have never PTP'd for a game in my life. I don't want to feel as if I'm missing a lot. Is it worth PTP'ing if I choose to stay with this game for hopefully years to come?

3: In GW1 I always played a Monk, I've seen that Ministrels are healers. But I also read that Rune-Keepers are as well. What is the difference between the two? Would it be worth the money to unlock the RK to be more of a healer?

4: Any suggestions to a new LOTR player? (Lvling, farming, pvp)

5: PVP is all I ever do in GW1, how is the PVP in LOTR?

Any other helpful info would be nice! I have taken quite a bit of time and read a lot of the posts in these forums already but I feel some more input could help me have a much more enjoyable experience!

Thank you, Jonathon

[Zetsubousensei]

1: Every time I log in I have to change my key settings. Is there a way to keep them saved forever so I don't have to keep taking the time to change them back to what I like?

They should save. Are you sure you're saving them after change, and not just closing the window?

2: I have never PTP'd for a game in my life. I don't want to feel as if I'm missing a lot. Is it worth PTP'ing if I choose to stay with this game for hopefully years to come?

Ultimately this is for you to decide whether it is worth it. You have free content up to level ~30 to get a feel of the game. Also note that you can earn Turbine Points in game, which you can use to pay for content slices.

3: In GW1 I always played a Monk, I've seen that Ministrels are healers. But I also read that Rune-Keepers are as well. What is the difference between the two? Would it be worth the money to unlock the RK to be more of a healer?

Minstrel is the pure healer class. Rune-Keeper is a hybrid DPS/Healer, doing either-or as situation demands. Their heals are more to HoT side where Minster tends to big single heals.

4: Any suggestions to a new LOTR player? (Lvling, farming, pvp)

Have fun, enjoy your time, and welcome. Look into class-specific subforums for more specific how-to-play-class advice.

[Brya]

1: Every time I log in I have to change my key settings. Is there a way to keep them saved forever so I don't have to keep taking the time to change them back to what I like?

It should save when exiting the game unless yesterday's deployment of Update 13 caused any issues. Note that as the game will save settings on exit, if your client crashes while exiting the game, settings will most likely not be saved.

2: I have never PTP'd for a game in my life. I don't want to feel as if I'm missing a lot. Is it worth PTP'ing if I choose to stay with this game for hopefully years to come?

Opinions vary depending on who's asking. It's perfectly possible to play entirely free, but that means you'll have to spend more time and effort unlocking the content. Buying the odd thing here or there would certainly make your life easier. A one-off 1-month subscription to permanently unlock a lot of features on all characters created and logged in while subscribed would be recommended, even if you don't sub long term.

3: In GW1 I always played a Monk, I've seen that Ministrels are healers. But I also read that Rune-Keepers are as well. What is the difference between the two? Would it be worth the money to unlock the RK to be more of a healer?

Both are capable healers. It's a bit more complicated than the generalisms i'm about to write (and the lines are certainly a bit more blurred since the introduction of trait trees), but i'd compare them as follows:

Minstrel healing tends to be more reactive - Seeing someone take damage, then applying large heals "in one go" to them

Rune-keeper healing tends to be more proactive - Having some protective abilities and heals-over-time on the target already, and supplementing this with larger heals when people start to take considerable damage.

4: Any suggestions to a new LOTR player? (Lvling, farming, pvp)

Do Quests
Don't Rush
Read quest text (at least once)
Go exploring off the beaten track.

In short: Take your time and enjoy the game - The best thing about LOTRO is the journey and the experience, not the blind rush to endgame for the sake of it.

5: PVP is all I ever do in GW1, how is the PVP in LOTR?

Depends on the server you join as to the scale and style of PvMP. Some people do find that PvMP can be quite laggy too, due to how much can be going on at time.

Personally, I don't really consider LOTRO's PvP anything special. There are plenty who love it though. To each his own.