One of the most confusing things about this change from a subscription model to a Free-to-Play model is what each of the different tiers will offer you. Turbine has created this great chart that show you what each of the three tiers gets you.

Free Players are those players who download the game and play without buying a subscription or buiyng any Turbine Points from the LOTRO Store.

Premium Players are players who have paid money to purchase Turbine Points from the Turbine Store at some point. Players who earn points and game to use will NOT be upgrade to Premium.

VIP Players are those who have a Lifetime Account or who pay for a month-to-month or multi-month subscription to the game. This is the only Tier that receive an “allowance” of points each month.

PLAYER TIER VIP PREMIUM PLAYER FREE PLAYER
TURBINE POINTS 500/month Free
(can purchase more) or earn thru gameplay		 Purchasable
or earn thru gameplay		 Purchasable
or earn thru gameplay
CONTENT
World Access* Free Free Free
Epic Story* Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Races 4 4 4
Classes 7 7 7
Premium Classes* Purchasable Purchasable Purchasable
Level Cap* 50 50 50
Character Slots*/** 5/server
(can purchase more)		 3/server
(can purchase more)		 1/server
(can purchase more)
Quest Packs* Eriador Ered Luin, Shire, Bree-land
(can purchase more)		 Ered Luin, Shire, Bree-land
(can purchase more)
KEY FEATURES
Inventory 5 bags 3 bags
(can purchase more)		 3 bags
(can purchase more)
Gold Limit Unlimited 5 Gold
(can purchase cap removal)		 2 Gold
(can purchase cap removal)
Priority Login Priority High Standard
Chat Unlimited Limited Limited
Auction Unlimited Limited Limited
Mail Unlimited Limited Limited
Rest XP Automatic Not available Not Available
Shared Bank** Purchasable Purchasable Purchasable
Skirmishes* 9
(More in Mirkwood Expansion)		 4
(can purchase more)		 4
(can purchase more)
Legendary Items* Requires Moria Expansion Requires Moria Expansion Requires Moria Expansion
Traits All 1 or 2 slots per trait type
(can purchase more)		 1 or 2 slots per trait type
(can purchase more)
Crafting* Tier 1-5 available Tier 1-5 available Tier 1-5 available
Crafting Guilds Unlimited Limited
(can purchase more)		 Limited
(can purchase more)
Housing Available Available Available
Music Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Hobbies Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Cosmetic System Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Wardrobe 20 slots
(can purchase more)		 Purchasable Purchasable
Destiny points Can earn and spend Can earn but cannot spend Can earn but cannot spend
Monster play Unlimited Not available Not available
Community Features Unlimited Unlimited Limited
Customer Service Full access Full access for 30 days following the purchase of Turbine points Self-service online

One quick note:

  • If you bought Mines of Moria, Siege of Mirkwood or The Adventurer’s Pack, you get you can expand on some of the features without purchasing Turbine Points. One example would be the character slots. If you Purchased the Adventurer’s Pack, you can have all of the character slots that you have earned.

A fairly detailed list explaining the different tiers.

See you in-game!