Thanks to the data center in Europe and 64-bit technology, you can soon experience Lord of the Rings Online without lag and smoother than ever before. And that even if you do not have VIP status.
What does VIP status have to do with it? When the European data center for Lord of the Rings Online was introduced last year, only the new, legendary server Mordor was running there. However, access to this world is only granted if you have an active VIP status. The associated subscription costs 13 euros per month, 27 euros for three months, 54 euros for six months, or about 90 euros for a year.
All EU servers of the Free2Play version of Lord of the Rings Online, however, are still located in North America – in early 2016, there was the harshly criticized move of the servers to New Jersey. The developers did not reveal any concrete plans at that time to create these worlds in the new EU data center.
The trailer for the new expansion of Lord of the Rings Online:
What new plans are there? It is now clear that in the future, Free2Play players of the MMORPG will also gain access to new 64-bit servers. During a stream on Twitch a few days ago, there were specific details about it.
- The four new 64-bit servers are referred to by the developers as mega servers because they can accommodate much larger populations than the old realms. They are expected to go live in the first quarter of 2025.
- There will be two servers each for the EU and US regions. The two European servers are named Orcrist (normal rules) and Meriadoc (role-playing server).
- For now, there are no plans to close the old servers. However, players will be encouraged to transfer to the new servers. If this succeeds in sufficient numbers, they will consider merging or even shutting down the old worlds.
- All character transfers to the new servers will be free and available in unlimited numbers. The limit is only defined by the number of possible characters per server per account.
- There will be a short, exclusive name reservation phase for VIP players.
How is the community reacting to the announcement? Players are excited about the provision of more modern servers:
- Anatar9 clarifies on Reddit: “Most importantly, the EU servers will physically be located in Europe (like Mordor).”
- Abakus_Grim is pleased (via Reddit): “Maybe this will bring me back to the game.”
- Vakke is more confident (via Reddit): “I will definitely come back. Thank you very much for this change SSG and hopefully everything goes well!”
- VPN_FTW writes on Reddit: “Interesting. Sounds like they might finally conduct server merges once the servers have been out for a while, as they want everyone on these new servers.”
There should be an official article on the topic soon on the official website of the MMORPG. Improvements such as 4K resolution, a new launcher, and a crafting overhaul are also set to occur in 2025: What’s the status of the technical modernization of Lord of the Rings Online? Developers give an update
