For 15 years, Lord of the Rings Online has immersed players in the world of Middle-earth. To celebrate the anniversary, there is now a big birthday event – and plenty of gifts for the players.
This is happening for the 15th anniversary: In Lord of the Rings Online, there will be a big 15-year celebration featuring a new quest. Among other things, a fantastic fireworks display is set to be launched for the birthday.
Additionally, there are some new contents, such as the new Corgi pet. This dog will be available as a gift for the birthday event, and more can be obtained in exchange for anniversary coins, festival coins, or mithril coins.
Furthermore, the gifts during the event include collector’s editions of the Mordor expansion, Minas Morgul expansion, and the War of the Three Peaks, which will bring some content, as well as the “Horse of Starlight.”
These are just some of the many gifts that players can secure for the birthday event. You can find the complete list in the patch notes (via Lord of the Rings Online).
How do I get the gifts? To receive the birthday gifts, players just need to log in between April 20 (4:00 PM) and May 11 (9:00 AM) and be at least level 2.
But there is much more to come: In addition to the birthday gifts, Update 33 also brings a major upgrade for F2P players since numerous contents will become playable from then on.
Quests, classes, and more: Lord of the Rings Online brings more content for F2P players
This is changing now: Several points are mentioned in the announcement of the new update. As stated in a producer letter a few weeks ago, all content released between the launch of HDRO and the Helm’s Deep expansion will be playable for free.
This also includes the entire High Elf race, as well as the classes Runekeeper, Guardian, and Beorning, plus much more.
Among other things, quest packs, instances, regions, and skirmishes up to level 95 will be playable for free. This includes content from:
- The Shadows of Angmar (base game)
- The Mines of Moria
- The Siege of Mirkwood
- The Rise of Isengard
- The Riders of Rohan
- Helm’s Deep
The detailed list looks as follows:
- Expansion Quests: Helm’s Deep, Isengard, Mirkwood, Moria, Rohan
- Instance Group: Isengard, Rohan
- Instances: Hall of Night, Abandoned Inn
- Quest Packs: Eriador Pack, Angmar, Enedwaith, Eregion, Evendim, Forochel, Great River, Lorien, Misty Mountains, North Downs, Trollshaws.
- Raid: Draigoch’s Lair,
- Skirmish: Assault at Dawn, The Defense of the “Prancing Pony”, Bruinen Ford, Battle at Amon Sûl, The Storm on Methedras, Survival: Barrow-downs, The Icy Chasm, Burglary and Mischief.
- Eriador Pack includes: Quest Pack: Angmar, Quest Pack: Enedwaith, Quest Pack: Eregion, Quest Pack: Evendim, Quest Pack: Forochel, Quest Pack: Misty Mountains, Quest Pack: North Downs, and Quest Pack: Trollshaws.
Additionally, VIP players will also receive the expansions Mordor, Minas Morgul, and the “War of the Three Peaks” in the standard edition as a permanent bonus. The Gundabad expansion is still missing.
What’s coming next? In Update 33, the “Far Auen” will be released as a new adventure pack, which will focus on a Hobbit conflict. It is intended for characters between level 20 and 23 and will be available for free for VIPs or can be purchased in the shop.
Players are excited about gifts
This is how players react: If you look at the Games or HDRO subreddit, the many contents that are now playable for free are well received.
- “The fact that they are giving all this away to everyone is quite impressive. I can’t wait for tomorrow,” writes user “ACloudCastle” (via reddit).
- “It’s hard to describe how much content is being given away here, but keep in mind that LOTRO has been regularly updated with new content since 2007. Basically, 75% of that is F2P (up to level 95) and another part is being given away during the anniversary event,” summarizes another user (via reddit).
- “I wish I had started playing LOTRO again now instead of a few months ago when I bought all the stuff at full price,” writes one user (via reddit): “Nevertheless, it’s good news because I haven’t acquired everything yet!”
This is how HDRO is currently rated: If you take a look at the Steam ratings, Lord of the Rings Online is currently rated as “very positive,” with 81% positive ratings out of over 15,000 total ratings (via Steam). It is among the highest-rated MMORPGs on Steam.
The atmosphere in the game, which brings Middle-earth to life – including landscapes and locations from the books – is praised. Criticism, however, is directed at the somewhat outdated graphics, occasional performance issues, and various paywalls.
However, it is quite possible that this last point will not weigh as heavily in light of the new F2P content in the future.
What do you think about the MMORPG Lord of the Rings? Are you checking out the new update, or is that not for you? You can find some exciting alternatives in the list of the best current free-to-play MMORPGs.
