Hi, and welcome to this wonderful game we call Lord of the Rings Online. I think you’ll like it here. The people are really friendly, the scenery is beautiful, and the adventure is second to none! Since you’re new to the neighbourhood, I thought that I could give you a few tips to help you get the most of your time here.

1) Don’t spend any money right away!

  • Unless you’re sure that you’re going to be playing the game for a while, hold off on spending any Turbine Points until you get a handle for the game. That way, it will reduce the change of you buying something that you’ll regret later.

2) Explore your first zone completely.

  • You’re going to start in one of three zone: Bree, Ered Luin, or The Shire. Each of these is broken down into small areas (for example, the Dwarves start at Thorin’s Gate in Ered Luin, while the Elves start in Celendim, also in Ered Luin) and you should try to finish all of the quests and the deeds before you move on. Not only will this allow you to get the most out of the game before you decide whether or not you want to spend any money, but you’ll also most likely earn enough Turbine Points to purchase the Lone Lands quest pack.

3) If you do decide to stick around for a while, but you’re not sure that you want to have a subscription, buy some Turbine Points.

  • The moment that you spend some real money for Turbine Points, you get bumped to the Premium Tier. This will unlock all of the benefits of the Premium tab, and this stays with you account forever. You don’t ever have to purchase Turbine Points again.

4) Don’t forget about your Professions.

  • At level 5, you get to choose a Vocation (More info on Vocations here). This is the way for you to get into the crafting portion of the game. It’s much easier to gather the materials that you need as you’re going through the zone than it is to go back and get it once you’re a higher level.
  • If you have no interest in crafting items, potions, food, etc for yourself or your friends, then pick up the Explorer Vocation, as this will include the Prospecting Profession, which will allow you to gather and process Ore during your travels, and the Forester Profession, which will allow you to gather and process Wood and Hides. All three of these items, processed, can make you quite a bit of money on the Auction house, which you will have access to if you decide to go to VIP in the future. Even if you’re not VIP, this character can be a great gatherer for you other character(s).

5) The community in this game is great! Ask for help on the /advice channel. Don’t be scared…

  • Unlike many other games, you won’t get spammed with “Noob!” comments if you ask a question on the advice chanel. And if someone decides to be a jerk and make a rude comment, the community is pretty great at shutting them down and making THEM feel like the noob, so don’t worry. Ask away!

6) Do the Volume (Epic) Quests!

  • The Epic Quests (Volume 1, Book 1, etc) are something fairly unique to LOTRO. There are very few other games out that that have a quest line that takes you from level 1 to the maximum level (they keep adding quests to the epic story as they add levels!). These quests form a long story of your efforts to aid the peoples of middle earth. Often times, you will find that you are working with the members of the Fellowship (Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli), but more often than not, you are doing things that will help them while they are on their way to Mordor. It’s a pretty interesting way in which Turbine has tackled the story in this game. I love it, and I highly recommend that you make sure that you follow those quests as you level.
  • They’re free! That’s right, Turbine has said that the Epic Quests will not be part of quest packs, so that you, as a Free player, can get through Volume 1 in its entirety without having to purchase anything. Mind you, you’ll have to grind like crazy to level, but hey, at least you can!

7) Check out the adjustments that you can make to the UI!

  • Hitting Ctr+\ will let you move almost any window on the screen.
  • In the UI options menu, select “Loot All”. You can thank me later.
  • Turn on “Target Forwarding”, also in the UI option menu. That means that if you are a healer, and targeting a friend, you can use a damage skill to attack the mob that they are attacking without having to re-target.
  • If you group, ask about the Raid Assist Window.

8) Many people love The Shire, so start there. If you don’t like it, you can always move to another starter zone.

  • The Shire is a different starter zone that Bree (Archet) or Ered Luin. There are many quests that are more in line with the last safe place in Middle-Earth. If you’re in for a different experience than just “go here, do this”, The Shire is probably for you.
  • You can easily catch a horse there from any other starter zone.
  • If you don’t like it, see previous point. It works both ways.

There are a few different things to think about as you start your journey in LOTRO. Hopefully you’ll get as much enjoyment out of the game as I have.

What about those of you who have been in the game for a while? What advice would you give to new free to play players?

See you in-game!