Like many games today, The Lords of the Rings Online also opened up free-to-play mode, and added premium currency called Turbine Points (known as TP).
Turbine's current model features three account levels: Free, Premium, and VIP. There are some differences between the 3 account types, including some special ones. In general, free accounts get a taste of much of the content and features of the game, and can unlock additional features and content using TP in the lotro store. Subscription players (called VIP accounts) have more content and features available to them, but some must still be purchased in the lotro store using TP. However, subscription players get a monthly allowance of TP. There is also a 3rd class of account, called Premium, which you reach by making any cash purchase in the Turbine store.
There are two ways to go about getting TP in lotro: you can either buy them with real money in the Turbine store, or earn them in-game by completing various deeds. Though TP earned the latter way are "free", completing the deeds for them usually requires a lot of grinding (see http://lotro.mmorsel.com/p/tpfinder.html for details).
The following is a side-by-side comparison of the various account types:
| Feature | VIP | Premium | Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level Cap | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| Quest Pack | 18 | 5 | 5 |
| Skirmishes | 15 | 11 | 11 |
| Monster Play Classes | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Character Slots | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Inventory bags | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Traits | All | Purchesable | Purchesable |
| Rest XP | Automatic | --- | --- |
| Gold limit | Maximum | 5g | 2g |
| Auction Listing | 30 | 5 | Purchable |
| Maximum | Limited | --- | |
| Shared Wardrobed | 20 | Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Crafting Guilds | Unlimited | Purchasable | Purchasable |
| Free Monthly Turbine Points | 500/month | --- | --- |
| Priority Login | Priority | High | Standard |
| Chat | Unlimited | Limited | Limited |
| Offical Forums | Read/Post | Read/Post | Read/Limited Posting |
| In-game support | Full Access | Full access for 30 days following the purchase of Turbine Points |
Self-Service Online |
A lot of the features listed above are upgradable via premium currency for all type of accounts.
If you wish to learn more about how to play lotro make sure to purchase the following guide, which comes with free updates as the game evolve