Lotro Tips for Free to Play and buying Expansions and Quests

As a Free to Play (f2p) player you can experience the Lotro Game up to level 30, just for free. After that, you need to have enough Turbine Points (TP) accumulated, to buy quests in different regions (lands). But you can also buy eaxpansion packs and Quests packs (they are NOT the same!) from the Lotro store, from Ebay, Amazon or Steam.

In this guide I show you what the most interesting Quest Packs and Expansion are to buy in the stores. And, for free to Play Players, what the benefits and drawbacks are of a free to play player and how you can get your most wanted Turbine Points .

PART 1 - FREE TO PLAY OR PAY TO PLAY?

As a f2p player you don't have to pay every month your subscription fee. That can be handy if you cannot afford a subscription for a long period of time. So, what are the drawbacks of free to play (remind that the developers did n't make the game for free), and what are the benefits?

1.1. F2P advantages and drawbacks
The advantage of free to play is - of course - that you never have to worry about a lot of cash to play. A subscription cost nowadays:
    $14.99 per 1 month - $29.97 per 3 months
    $59.94 per 6 months - $119.88 per 12 months
There was in the past also a $199.00 and $299.00 Lifetime subscription, but sadly, it is no longer available.

What do you get as f2p?
- free access to all regions in the game
- 2 character slots per server
- up to 2 gold per character
- free access to all quests in the following zones: Bree-land, Ered-Luin, Shire 
  and Lone-lands. These lands are for level 5-30 quests.
- free access to all epic quests (flaming ring quests) in all zones of the game

What you DON'T get as a f2p player
- free access to all quests beyond the starter regions
- the riding skill for riding a horse
- quick travel at the stables
- unlimited gold
- 6 character slots
- all slots for skills and virtues

Free Starter Pack Giveaway
On occasions (at least some years ago) Turbine is (was) offering a Free Starter Pack Giveaway for Lord of the Rings Online. Each starter pack included:
Riding: the riding skill (for free) and a chestnut steed. Cosmetic Armor: 1 cosmetic piece of armor (masterwork breastplate).
Boost packs: 5 Universal Healing potions, 1 Experience Boost (+100%XP), 1 Skill Deed Boost, 1 Slayer Deed Boost.

You definitely want this, but you have to search the web for keys...
Some are fake and will get you viruses, so be aware and read carefully the lotro forums about these starter pack giveaways.

PART 2 - BUY THE GAME EXPANSIONS

When I started the game, I bought the Shadows of Angmar DVD. If you buy it, you get unlimited access to all the regions west of Moria and north of Eregion. These days the Shadows of Angmar DVD doesn't work anymore, even if they DVD and key is unused.

After Shadows of Angmar, the Moria expansion came out. This DVD had access to Lothlorien, Moria and Eregion.


Shadows of Angmar
On the Lotro Forum it is advised to stay away from old DVD boxes, especially the Shadows of Angmar one. It doesn't unlock any content, so at most you'd get 30 days of VIP time, and for that it's not a good deal. To unlock the old Shadows of Angmar areas you either have to buy them in the ingame store, or have a active VIP subscription. 

The Shadows of Angmar came with the following regions:
-  Ered Luin (lvl 5-20)
-  Bree (lvl 5-20)
-  The Shire (lvl 5-20)
-  Lonelands (lvl 18-30)
-  North-downs, level 18-35(-40) 
-  Trollshaws, level 30-45(-50)
-  Misty Mountains, level 39-50
-  Forochel, level 39-52
-  Evendim, level (25-)30-40 (lvl 25 Starts in Oatbarton)
-  Angmar, level 38-52


Mines of Moria
The Mines of Moria box should still unlock the following regions:-  Moria (lvl 48-60)
-  Eregion (lvl 45-55)
-  Lothlorien (lvl 55-60)
-  2 extra Character Slots, 30 days of VIP
-  Access to Legendary weapons and items (very important)
Remember that you can get all expansions from lvl 50 to 85 for $39.99 in the Lotro store, by buying the Quad Pack. If you want all the Eriador quests (like the ones from Shadows of Angmar), you can better buy the Eriador pack, which costs 3000 tp.

If you are buying boxed sets, you always have to double-check that you're actually buying a Turbine box. Do not buy an old Codemasters box which is no longer functional in any way.

Mithril  Edition 
These days only available at Ebay. Never buy a used DVD, which is useless. Always buy a new, unused DVD, which must be a Turbine Box.
The Mithril Edition has 2000 TP (Turbine Points) included. You will get access to all the quests and instances of Trollshaws, Eregion, Lothlorien and Moria. And you will get a good horse at level 5 without buying it from the Store.

Drawbacks: the Mithril Edition does not contain the quests of: North-downs: (595 TP points), Misty Mountains: (695 TP points), Forochel (595 TP points), Evendim (595 TP points) and Angmar (795 TP points). But since you get 2000 turbine points free, you can at least unlock North-downs and Angmar int the Lotro Store, as Quest Packs. And, arriving at level 39, you can also buy Misty Mountains, since you will have almost surely farmed 85 Turbine Points. 

The three regions (Angmar, Misty Mountains and Northdowns) will costs you 2085 TP. When you reach level 39, and you didn't spend any earned Turbine Points, you have earned these 85 points by doing deeds in the regions of level 1-40.

BTW: don't forget Evendim, its one of the most beautiful regions of Middle Earth, and a very convenient region to level from lvl 28 to 4.

• With boxed sets like the Mithril Edition, always check that you're actually buying an unused Turbine box. 
• Do not buy an old Codemasters box which is no longer functional in any way.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Quad Pack [Download]

The best way these days is to access a lot questpacks and expansions , is to buy the Quad pack in the Ingame Store, on Amazon or on Steam.

The Quad Pack gives you the expansions: 

• Mines of Moria, levels 50 - 60, 2 additional character slots, access to legendary weapons, raise the rank cap on your skirmish soldier and skirmish traits to 15
• Siege of Mirkwood, levels 60 - 65, raise the rank cap on your skirmish soldier and skirmish traits to 25
• Rise of Isengard, levels 65 - 75, raise the rank cap on your skirmish soldier and skirmish traits to 35
• Riders of Rohan, levels 75-85, mounted combat and access to a warhorse, exclusive Rohirrim Mount.

The pack sets you up to easily level from 50 to 85, and costs $40. You can buy it on Steam or on Amazon as downloadable content.


Buy online TP Points

I found this announcement for 1.50 euro:
Its the Steely Dawn pack for 1.50 euro and 500 TP points, onyl usable for Steam Lotro Accounts. Dunno if it works, but sounds good:

• Steely Dawn Cosmetic Armor Set: This cosmetic set pairs bright white armor with dark grey trim for a very cool look.
• Evendim Quest Pack
• Five 100% XP Boosts for 60 minutes.
• 500 Turbine Points: Customize your experience in Middle-earth with 500 Turbine Points. Buy cosmetic gear, rare mounts, experience boosts, buffs, and more.

https://www.g2a.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-steely-dawn-starter-pack-steam-cd-key-global.html?

 

How To Activate Expansions with a Steam Purchase

1. In order to get the CD code from an expansion purchase, assuming you have the LOTRO client installed through Steam, simply go to the expansion store page (for example, you bought Helm's Deep), and select the green [play now] tab found there. This will start your LOTRO client launchpad, and steam will offer up the CD key for the expansion you purchased.
2. Once the Launchpad opens, do not launch the game, as the expansion will *not* automatically activate. Instead, click on "account" which should be above your login information, the middle of three blue buttons near the top edge of the launchpad.
3. Login in when the Turbine:My Account web page opens.
4. Once logged in, enter the CD key steam gave you in the area designated for it under login information, "Have a Product Key?", and follow the prompts from there.

PART 3 - BUY GAME TIME FOR 1 MONTH
Well, if you like the game, but don't have the money, you can also buy 1 month playing time for $15. Your f2p status will change for 1 month to VIP, and after the subscription ends, you well be a premium player. With a Premium account you are still free to play, but you will get some more advantages than a f2p player:

• Traits: traits are permanently unlocked on a per character basis. A character played during VIP status will retain them after the subscription expires and your status is downgraded to Premium.
• 3 characters per server (in stead of 2)
• Gold cap is increased to 5 gold (in stead of 2)
• You can mail up to 5 gold to a person
• 5 active listings on the Auction Hall (can purchase more); 20 active bids
• Priority login is high (in stead of low)

Disadvantages of a Premium account, compared to VIP

• You still have a Gold cap (5 gold)
• You still must buy quest packs and their instances, the same as a f2p player (if you dont like that, grind for TP points, or buy a cheap Moria expansion in a discount store)
• Only 3 character slots per server in stead of 6 (VIP)

TIP: you can earn many benefits during your 1 month subscription and finish them during or after your subscription ends. It is best to buy game time when you have finished most of the Lone-lands quest, or if you reach level 26-30 and levelling in the Lone-land is slowing your down. This is how it works:

1. Subscribe for one month to become a VIP
2. You will get 500 TP
3. All your traits, bags, virtues are now unlocked. 
4. You can learn the riding skill for free, no need to spend 95 TP on that
5. Go to every quest locked zone for a f2p player in Eregion (these are: Trollshaws, Angmar, Misty Mountains, North Downs, Evendim and Forochel) and kill at least one mob that gives a new deed (you can aske a friend for help)
6. After the VIP 1 month subscription ends ends, you can still finish the opened deeds and get lots of TP for them. 
7. VIP also changes you account permanently from f2p to Premium.

Table with slayer deeds in the lands of Eriador for level 5-55:

Kill at least 1 animal, undead or humanoid to open the deed:

Defeat at least 1 critter in	BL	EL	SHI	LL	ND	EVE	TS	ANG	MM	FOR
Zone-level	5-20	5-18	5-20	20-30	25-38	30-40	35-45	38-55	38-55	40-55
angmarin								x		x
barghest	x
bear									x
bog-lurker				x
brigand	x	x	x
crebain				x			x
crawler							x
dourhand										x
gauradan						x				x
giant						x	x		x
goblin		x	x	x	x	x
grim										x
harvest-fly			x
hendroval		x				x
kergrim						x
limrafn						x
neekerbreeker	x
orc	x			x	x			x
sabre-tooth										x
salamander						x
shade					x
sickle-flie	x
slug			x
snow-beast									x
spider	x	x	x	x
tomb-robber						x
trees in Old Forest	x
troll				x	x		x	x	x
uruk								x
warg				x	x			x	x
wight	x			x			x	x
wolf		x	x	x			x
worm (dragon)					x			x	x	x

 

BL = Bree-land EL = Ered-Luin SHI = The Shire LL = lone-lands ND = North-downs
EVE = Evendim TS = Trollshaws ANG = Angmar MM = Misty Mountains FOR = Forochel

PART 4 - DON'T PAY AND GRIND TURBINE POINTS
Well, if you like the game, but don't have the money, you can also earn Turbine Points (TP). With these points you can buy extra character slots, questpacks, the riding skill, virtue slots or removing the gold cap. The points are free to gain for doing certain deeds in the game. You always can ask for a TP card for your birthday!

How to claim Free Turbine points
If you know how to get free turbine points in the game, it is an interesting option for players who cannot afford more than $40 (buy the Quad Pack or a Mithril Edition). There are advantages and drawbacks by earning free turbine points.

The advantage is, that you can do quests for turbine points on every server, on every created character. These points will be accumulated to your account, not to your character on the server. So, if you earn 50 TP on one server, you can spend it on another server. That's a real advantage. You can make several characters on several servers to grind for turbine points.

Drawbacks: Grinding for TP points is boring. If you do it every week, I think you will bored to death and skip the game for ever. But some players do farm, and they don't mind. It's up to you, but remember that TP farming is very, very time consuming.

PART 4A - TP FARMING BY DOING EASY DEEDS

10 TP BY CREATING A STARTER CLASS

Strategy: Create a character, do 1 quest

Time: Less then 10 minutes

1. Create a new character on any server
2. Select a Race: choose MAN
3. Complete the new user tutorial, after finishing you will be send to Archet
4. In Archet: go to the Hunters Lodge  (check it on the map by pressing the M-key), open the door, go inside and take the quest "A little extra never hurts" from the NPC Jon Brackenbrok
5. Finish the quest and as a reward you will get 10 Turbine Points

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5 TP BY DOING THE DEED: PLACES OF THE DWARVES

Strategy: Go to Thorin's Hall in Ered Luin and do some horse traveling at the stables

Time: Less then 5 minutes

1. Go to a stable with a horse-ride to Thorin’s Gate in Ered Luin (stables are at Michel Delving, Celondim and West gate Breetown)
2. By passing Frerin’s Court near the stable you get the Deed
3. At the stable: after unmounting go back to Frerin’s Court, turn left, follow the stairs to Thorin’s Gate.
4. After Thorins Gate, go back to Frerin’s Court and turn left until you reach the Silver Deep Mine
5. Go back to the stable, buy a ride to Noglond
6. At the stable in Noglond, buy a ride to Gondamon. 
7. At stable of Gondamon: deed finished.

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10 TP BY DOING THE HIDDEN BOAR SLAYER DEED

Strategy: Visit 7 different regions ('lands' with a separate map) and kill at least 1 boar, ask a friend of high level for help, best to ask a hunter with fast-travel skills

Time: Less then 15 minutes

A. Do it yourselves, or ask a friend for help, to kill at least 1 boar in the following regions:

    1. Bree-land (E of eastgate Bree-town, or in Archet)

    2. Shire (NE of Michel Delving)

    3. Ered Luin (NW of Celondim, at Falathorn, 22.6S, 93.9W)

    4. North Downs (200m N of Threstlebridge)

    5. Lone-lands (100m NE of Forsaken Inn)

    6. Trollshaws (200m E of Last Bridge)

    7. Angmar (only 1 boar, called Grimgore, north of Aughair)

    -. NO boars in Evendim! 

B. Works on every character, on every server  
C. You wil get: 10 Turbine Points, 300 marks and the Title Pork-chopper


Note: there is also a hidden boar slayer deed in Rohan. For killing 30 boars you get 5 Silver Riddermark tokens, a rank in mercy, 700 shards and the title Boar Slayer of the Eastemnet.

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10, 15, 20 & 25  TP BY EARNING REPUTATION POINTS

Strategy:Farm reputation tokens, and for each level you get, you will earn some Turbine Points.

Click right or left on the reputation tokens to get reputation, you need the following reputation points to earn a title and some Turbine Points:

Acquaintance: get 10.000 rep points +  5 Turbine Points
Friend      : get 20.000 rep points + 10 Turbine Points
Ally        : get 25.000 rep points + 15 Turbine Points 
Kindred     : get 30.000 rep points + 20 Turbine Points

Time: hours when grinding, 10 minutes for 50 TP when buying reputation items at the Auction Hall (you need a total of 85.000 reputation points to earn the kindred standing)

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 10 TP BY DOING THE RIDERS QUEST AT LEVEL 20

Time: Less then 5 minutes

1. When you hit lvl 20, go to Hengstacers farm in Bree-land
2. Get the quest and earn10 TP

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25 TP BY DOING A SERIES OF DEEDS IN THE SHIRE

Strategy: run from town to town by delivering post-packages to  the postman in that town. After each delivery you will get a follow-up quest from the target postman to the next town in the shire. Avoid the Nosey Hobbits, since if they see you, you will fail the mission and have to restart (their movements are predictable, so avoid the eye markers indicating a Nosey Hobbit on your radar-map)

Time: Less then 20 minutes

Quest-line series:
A: The Life of a Bounder: Complete 15 quests in the Shire, +15 TP, +1 Compassion
B: Restoring the Quick Post: Complete all Quick Post quests, + 5 TP, +1 Patience 
C: Sights of the Shire: + 5 TP

1. Buy a horse ride to Michel Delving
2. Go to Little Delving, speak to the postman and begin the "Restoring the Quick Post" quest-line series.  
3. Tuckborough: before taking the package-quest, head east over the hill past the Great Smials to take a peek at The Great Willow in the center of the small bog. Return when you have seen it (the name appears in your screen)
4. Bywater: before taking the package-quest, head south to see the Methel-Stage. 
5. Be sure to take the quest between Bywater and Frogmorton, it doesn't have you carry a package but it guides you to the next. 
6. Woodhall to Stock: while running with your package, head to the shoreline of the Brandywine and do a quick run-by of the Stock Tower directly south of Stock. 
7. Budgeford to Scary: while running with your package, stop by the Budgeford Wall, over the farmlands to the east of where you started the quest. 
8. Scary: before taking the package-quest, head into the Quarry adjacent (east) to the town. 
9. After you finish the last quick-post quest run south to Bag End and see the Party Tree to finish "Sights of the Shire" for a quick 5 TP
10. Go back to Michel Delving to accept your rewards for the quick-post quests from the postman there for another 5 TP as well as turning in your 15th quest for another 10 TP for completing "Life of a Bounder" Part one.

PART 4B - TP FARMING BY DOING MORE BORING DEEDS
Objective: doing slayer deeds buy killing a certain amount of enemies or animals
Advantages: getting better traits and virtues, getting better stats, getting free TP points
Drawbacks: slayer deeds to earn solely TP points are more or less boring. And it will cost you a lot of time. The game feels like work... And if a game feels like work, it will increase the chance that you became so bored, that you quit the game. In my opinion it is far better to buy some game time or an expansion or quest packs, please read part 2 and 3.
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 15 TP BY KILLING SPIDERS IN THE SHIRE

Spiders:
Objectives: 
A. Kill 30 spiders for part 1 of the deed and earn 5 TP
B. Kill 60 spiders for part 2 of the deed and earn 10 TP.

1. Go north-west from Brockenborings into the Bindlebole Wood to grind both Spider slayer deeds.  
2. Or go to the Quarry (ant the cave) in Scary (these spiders are somewhat dangerous and of a higher level)

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15 TP BY KILLING WOLVES IN THE SHIRE
Objectives: 
A. Kill 30 wolves for part 1 of the deed and earn 5 TP
B. Kill 60 wolves for part 2 of the deed and earn 10 TP.

1. Go to a wolf den in the shire
2. Wolf dens are near a farm or in the Wolf-den ruin, north of Stock

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3 x 15 TP BY KILLING ANIMALS AND ROBBERS IN THE SHIRE
Objectives: 
A. Be at least level 12 (champs, wardens, minnies) or 15 (others)
B. Complete the following slayer deeds:

1. Kill 90 brigands: go to Odo's Leaf farm to grind lower level brigands until you are high enough to continue with the more dangerous and numerous mobs at the waterfall south of Woodhall
2. Kill 90 harvest flies: after finishing the brigands in Woodhall, go to a hill near the Stocktower. Atop of this hill are many harvest flies and slay them all. They re-spawn quickly.
3. Kill 90 goblins: head to the far north of Greenfields, north of Brockenborings to kill goblins in the two orc forts. If they are too dangerous, go to the forest SE of Overhill and S of Brockenborings.
4. Kill 90 slugs: head to the west to the Rushock Bog and kill Slugs.

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PART 4C - MORE BORING DEEDS

If you like doing boring deeds, there are many tips on the web. For example, follow these links for some other easy zones in LOTRO:

• Deeds in Bree-land
• Deeds in Ered-Luin 
• Deeds in The Shire 
• Deeds in Lone-lands