A recent article on www.lotro.com provides a beginners’ overview of the new LOTRO store.  See the original article, along with screenshots of the store, here.  I provide a summary of the article below, with some of my own concerns and questions.

Options for accessing the LOTRO store:

  • Click LOTRO Store button on the character creation screen
  • Click LOTRO Store button on the character selection screen
  • Click LOTRO Store button from a character’s menu bar:
  • Hold down Ctrl + S (remember: S for Store!)

***Point of Interest***

Quote from the article:  “As you come across premium features and adventures, you’ll see Turbine Point icons, “Buy Now” buttons, or even little help ads that you can click on to open the Store. Clicking on these buttons/banners will open the Store automatically and often right to that particular item or feature for easy purchasing.”

My question is this:  What exactly does that statement mean? Are we now going to be subjected to POP-UP ADS in our beloved game?  I would not be very happy with such an intrusion, and I am positive that I would not be alone in my irritation.  I don’t subscribe to cable television precisely because of the fact that I absolutely cannot stand commercials, and I would be really insulted and disappointed to see advertising showing up unwanted and unannounced throughout the game.

Options for searching for items:

  • Search bar — type in your desired item
  • Cool Stuff and Featured Items (again, does this mean that there will be “ads” sprinkled about on the store page?)
  • Bestsellers — a current list of what the Joneses have been buying, so that you can be sure to keep up with them
  • Browse:  organized into categories —> sub-categories
  • Today’s Deals — what’s on sale, for those who are thrifty or just plain cheap
  • Recent Buys — your own purchases over the last 7 days

Making a purchase:

  • For character-specific items/buffs, you must be logged into the appropriate character to make a purchase
  • Items you can’t currently use are automatically filtered out
  • Click the “BUY” button if you want to add something to your cart
  • After clicking “Buy”, you will have the option to save the item in your shopping cart and continue shopping, remove an item from your cart, or procede to checkout
  • If you’re ready to part with your hard-earned Turbine points, click “Place Order” to confirm the transaction, and feel secure in knowing that a confirmation email will be sent to you shortly
  • Use the “View Cart” button to see what you’re planning to buy
  • Remember that most items are bound to the account/character (so you can’t buy something awesome to send to that really cute guy/gal you’ve been chatting up)
  • There are no refunds! (of real-life money! or of Turbine points!)
  • Free players will become Premium players upon making a purchase at the store, but must completely log out and then back into the game in order to upgrade their status

***Point of Interest***

Quote from the article:  “If you’re buying a feature, it will be unlocked automatically when you place your order. If you’re buying an item, the item will be automatically placed in your inventory when you place your order.”

My question is this:  Egads!  What happens if my inventory is full when I make that purchase? Will my computer implode?!  I haven’t been able to use my Beta Key to try out the store (*grumble* stupid full hard drive *mumble*), so can anyone enlighten poor anxious little me?

Information about gaining Turbine points:

  • Make note of the “My Points” indicator on the store’s main screen to see your current total
  • Gain points by completing various deeds and traits — monitor your accumulation of points through the deed log
  • Buy more points through the “Get More” button (caution: real money will be changing hands during this procedure!)
  • Points are organized by “bundles” (amounts), so you cannot simply choose a specific amount
  • Pay by credit card, debit card, or Paypal (see, told you so — real money!)
  • After your purchase, your points value will update immediately in the “My Points” indicator
  • VIPs (see here for a recap of what makes a VIP) receive 500 Turbine points free every month
  • After your purchase of points, you will receive an email receipt and confirmation screen to print for your records (because we know you’ll all be claiming Turbine points on your taxes, right?  BTW, email us if you actually figure out how to claim Turbine points on your taxes…)
  • It may be possible to win points through contests and special promotions
  • Through “My Account”, you can set up a prefered payment option and redeem gift cards and coupons

That’s all the info I could glean from this little article, and now that I’ve read it, I’m feeling a bit more excited about the Turbine store.  Though I’m taking a stand, right here and now, and I vow never — I repeat “never” — to purchase a mount of any size, shape, or colour, from the Turbine store!

See you all in the check-out line at the store on September 8th.  Until then, happy gaming!