A new quest pack, and then some

Yup, the F2P experiment is still ongoing, only there was so much new stuffs to explore on the main account that I...well...was a bit too busy to pay too much account to F2P noob mini ;)

But as I've been playing it a bit more lately, I thought I'd update again. Or rather, I used the second character slot to roll another mini and use her as a TP generator until I cannot generate any more and she'll bite the bullet and gets deleted (only to be re-rolled again) :) Though for now Ithilielle (I know, I'm VERY inventive when it comes to my character names) is still going strong in her first incarnation and it'll be terribly hard to delete her. But it must be done. (Edit: This has now been done and Ithilielle the Second is roaming around.)

Thanks to some sales, I have been able to acquire another quest pack (Eregion), and seeing that Update 13 is just around the corner, I'm also wondering whether to get the North Downs and / or Misty Mountains. Then again, mebbe there will be a 50% off sale during the Anniversary Festival, which means I can get the Moria Expansion. That would obviously take priority over quest packs as it would give me the runie as a class and 2 extra character slots.

Buying Eregion was quite handy, btw, as it comes with two instances (aka, more deeds) and I've always been quite a fan of both the School and Library at Tham Mírdain. Even though I still have difficulties telling them apart :P Library is the one with them birdies, right? ;) Isquarieth has reached Moria now as well, so getting the expansion would really make sense from that point of view as well. I also bit the bullet and got her one of them "trait" slots (on sale of course) and the riding skill (got kinda silly to always run around on foot). Now I just wish I could unlock the swift travel options somewhere in the Store :( Makes playing through the 'bigger' areas a bit iffy. Or you just ask for a hunter's or captain's help ;)

Ithilielle is currently still finishing off in the Lone Lands, but already started on Evendim (as I was going crazy in Garth Agarwen). Understandable, right? Am tempted to scrap her once more, but then again, Evendim isn't all that bad now that it's nicely streamlined. Wish me, and Ithilielle, luck ;)

Wynnie.

A Big YAY for Reputation Deeds!

So I'm level 25 now and still haven't moved on from Bree. I still have to do the Southern Barrow-downs and the Bree-land rep dungeon(s).

I still remember when Haudh Iarchith was one massive dungeon for higher levels (if memory serves, late 30s and 40s), but with the introduction of Free to Play, it was split up into smaller dungeons all over the Barrow-downs. The level was also lowered significantly, so now level 20s can go and kill the Undead, Barrow-spiders, and so on. There are also quite a few deeds, e.g. the Spider Slayer deed gives one Zeal, which has become one of THE virtues to have.

I made the mistake of taking on the Barghest boss Brishzel, which was a bit too much for me with its 3,250 morale. Will have to come back when I'm a bit 'bigger' (edit: was helped by a kinnie, so boss went bye bye). However, overall the rep dungeons are brilliant as you can do quests in there to gain reputation with the Men of Bree and you get rep items as well. That, together with some really cheap items on the Auction Hall got me Kindred and a fair amount of Turbine Points.

I also found some Thorin's Gate rep items on one of my many characters and got Kindred there as well now. And the AH was my friend once more for the Mathom Society. Now, I do understand that part of this was only possible because I have a VIP account. However, making money isn't all that difficult as monster drops sell for quite a bit, and if you're on a semi-busy server, chances are that you get rep items quite cheaply on AH. Just keep checking.

I also found out something else, which struck me as somewhat odd, but I'm not going to complain. Apparently you can get rep with other factions even if you haven't unlocked the area said factions call their home. I saw some ridiculously cheap Rangers of Annuminas items and bought them, and I could actually use them! And no, I haven't unlocked Evendim yet. Handy this, isn't it?

So with the Shire and Ered Luin (except for Sarnúr obviously) done, and only some Barrow-downs stuff to finish, it's slowly time to move eastwards. Already looking forward to more deeds and a warm shower of Turbine Points. And now that Evendim is on sale this week, things really are looking rather brightly. Wish me luck!

Wynnie.

Edit: This doesn't work as easily any more unfortunately as rep items are now level capped (aka you have to be a certain level to use them). But it's still worth it for the TP!!!

Level 20 at last!

Considering the fact that I have no Enhanced Experience, I'd say I got there quite fast as well. I still remember the good, or not so good, olden days when especially Bree-land hadn't been revamped yet and Wyn got level 20 by going around and killing stuff...on a guardian. Also, that was before the big experience revamp which netted me about five levels or so when it hit the live servers.

So compared to Wyn, Isquarieth is pretty quick. I still have lots of Bree-land quests to do, including almost the entire Old Forest, am nowhere near done in Ered Luin and haven't even been to the Lone-lands yet. I have to say, I'm very glad Turbine decided to make the Lone-lands free to all players (I know, it's been a while) as it enables players to gather enough Turbine Points to easily be able to buy a quest pack or maybe even two (on sale that is).


310 TP and lots of deeds still to be done. Speaking of Turbine Points, I finally reached the 300 mark, and with lots of deeds still outstanding and my intention of doing all deeds available, I might even get to 450 or more before hitting the Lone-lands. And obviously there's a few instances to check out before moving on as well (Great Barrow and the Bree-land reputation barrows). I'm currently planning to go to Evendim afterwards, and then hopefully straight to Eregion and then into the Mines which will be much better apparently come Update 7.

I know people have mixed feelings about it, but I think it's going to be great. Making the place a bit lighter is on me the changes people feel strongly about...but given the fact that the dwarves are reclaiming Moria, it kinda makes sense. I will go and get the expansion pack, as it comes with my beloved Lore-breaker class (i.e. the Rune-keeper) and two character slots.

I intend to skip Mirkwood and rather go to Enedwaith or even Dunland after, but before I will go and level a Rune-keeper to get more Turbine Points. If needed (well, it probably will be needed) I'll level another Minstrel through the three starter areas (i.e. Ered Luin, the Shire and Bree-land) and maybe rinse and repeat. Yes, I know it'll take ages, but it's a fun thing to do when I'm not levelling or raiding on my main account.

For now the goal is finishing quests and deeds and then moving on to the Lone-lands. Will hopefully manage some of it over the long weekend; yay for bank holidays. Wish me luck!

Wynnie.

Almost 200...

...but nowhere near 20. Yes, I almost have 200 Turbine Points now. However, due to the Festival being rather addictive, Saruman needing to be killed, and my interwebs being dead for three hours on Thursday, I'm still not level 20. Meh!

We're also finally clearing Lightning and Fire and Frost Tier 2 in Orthanc, which means I don't have all that much time to muck about on the F2P account...

However, when I do get to focus on my little project, I've to say that getting points at the moment is just ridiculously easy... I'm currently questing in the Shire, and am still getting new deeds and such, so there's more Turbine Points coming my way. I'm also getting close to completing certain class deeds, which makes me happy (as they will make it easier to kill stuffs).

As there's no raid planned for tonight, I'm hoping to get somewhere finally, unless the pull of the Festival proves too strong once again and I stay glued to Bree. Wish me luck!

Wynnie.

The First 15 Levels

The first 5 TP So I reached level 15 yesterday, and went from the first five Turbine Points to over 100. So far I can only see one annoying thing about being on a F2P account. Three bags!!! I'm a hoarder and this is just terrible. Plus, with all the tasks you can do early on, I have about half a bag if not more filled with task items. So yes, I think bags will be bought soon as well (I already bookmarked them in the Store). However, one thing that my kinnies asked me, isn't an issue yet - the currency cap (though that as well, is bookmarked).

Also, the lack of a blue bar (Enhanced Experience) is not a problem either. When the game first came out, it took us much longer to get levels which is why it took me about nine months to get Wyn to level 50 (that and the fact that I was a chicken). Also, I like to do loads of quests, but it's much more fun if you get at least some kind of experience for killing mobs and doing quests and if you level too fast, that's not the case any more. Of course, right now is Welcome Back 'Weekend' so I'm getting more XP, but I'd be fine without it as well. Or so I think. We shall see.

I'm still very much doing the starter quests in Ered Luin, the Shire and Bree-land right now, but I'm already looking forward to going to the Lone-lands which I normally skip. I also did a few Anniversary Festival quests; maybe I can grab some of the housing items that way (as I already got all the maps on the Lifetime account).

Off to getting level 20 and the Undying title today, wish me luck!

Wynnie.

But You Are a Lifer...

Welcome to my brand new blog. My name is Wyn or Wynnie (or crazy person) and I've been playing The Lord of the Rings Online for five years now...and I have both a mount and icon to prove it ;-) All in all, I have a lifetime accounts and a premium one, however I mostly play on my lifetime account (for obvious reasons).

I currently have four characters on level cap...my Minstrel Ithilwen, my Guardian Wyn (she was the very first character I created back in 2007), my Burglar Wynniekins, and my Rune-keeper / Lore-breaker Isquariel. I have to say I really enjoy the endgame contents at the moment, big yay for finally downing Lightning Tier 2, Challenge Mode in Orthanc...but for a while now I've been wondering if it's really possible to play the game without investing any money whatsoever.

So I finally decided to go and begin Project: F2P as one of my kinnies called it yesterday. Plus, I'm a completionist anyway, so levelling a new character and really doing every last bit of available content...doesn't sound half-bad.

On my main account, everything's unlocked of course, so while Wyn pretty much did everything there was in the Shadows of Angmar days, Ithil already skipped quite a bit of content (the back then infamous Everswim for example). Deeds were only done if the virtue at the end was deemed useful and as such a lot was left unfinished. And while I could go back now and do some of those deeds, the 15 Turbine points at the end aren't enough to make me do it. I get 500 per month anyway, so why bother?

On my new F2P accounts things will be different. I won't spend even a penny on it (I have a premium account already and don't want another). And I will do what I used to do on Wyn back in the days...do every quest and deed I can and probably be still in Bree by the time I hit level 25 (been there, done that).

I'm going to enter the lotteries whenever possible to get every boost I can get, and I'm also promising to myself to not go on spending sprees in the LotRO Store like I sometimes do. Just the other day for example I bought a relic removal scroll (for the full price and about four hours before it went on sale, darn it) knowing full well that I had two in my Shared Storage. If and when I buy something on the F2P account it will be only when stuff is on sale. And I'm guessing the first investment will be the Evendim quest pack. How things change, eh?

At the moment, my new minstrel Isquarieth is level 9, so one level off being able to enter the lotteries. I decided to go for a mini again as, well, it's my main and as such I sorta know how to play it, and minis can kill stuff and heal themselves...perfect combination if you ask me. However, I decided on an elven character this time, just to see how that works out.

Okay, so I think that's about it for now. Wish me luck!

Wynnie.