The new Isengard expansion that’s due for release in Fall of 2011 will also be available for purchase directly from the LOTRO store. Those are all available for purchase, as are both of the expansion packs that came out prior to the game becoming free.
Depending on the type of account you have, much of the content and classes may not be available to you for free. This is a huge oversight in my mind, and hopefully something Turbine will eventually change, as the rest of the store’s interface is really very good. I understand not letting you purchase something you can’t use, but most people have a few alternate characters or “alts,” and if the store could show you things your other characters might need and simply grey them out, it would save the time of logging in and out repeatedly to browse the store. The store loads its inventory based on the character that the player is currently logged in as, showing you only things available to that class and level. It is, unfortunately, a rather large complaint. As well, they have daily deals that load on the front page of the store when you first open it, and two featured items sections, “new to LOTRO” and “staff picks,” that make it easy to find some of the newer additions if you’ve checked the store recently and just want to see what’s been added.Īs far as interface goes, I really only have one complaint. Categories are easy to browse, making it quite easy to tell what they have for sale. The store can be opened at any time from an easily noticeable button labeled “LOTRO store” on your toolbar.
In changing their MMO to a free to play model, all of the company’s revenue comes from charging for premium content through the store, so the interface and usability of the store is pretty crucial. In September of 2010, Lord of the Rings Online, or “LOTRO” for short, an already quite successful MMORPG set in the Lord of the Rings universe, became free to play. LOTRO: Interface For the LOTRO Store (3 out of 5)
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