How I Got My 5,000 Turbine Points September 10, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: LOTRO Store, Turbine Points
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As I posted last night, I ended up with 4,500 Turbine Points as part of their loyalty rewards program.
Today, Turbine sent me an email with the details, including a nice little chart detailing how those points were doled out.
A Nice Little Chart
I have that accounting that I was looking for now.
Of course, I figured way back, and boy I’ve linked this post quite a bit lately, that I was going to get 5,000 points. But they went live with Free to Play a month earlier than I figured they would.
But the note from Turbine also included a bonus.
Also, as a LOTRO Beta participant this summer, you also receive a point code for additional 500 Turbine Points. To redeem the code, go to the LOTRO Store and click the Add Points button in the top-right section. Then, click on the REDEEM MY CARD button. Finally, select Turbine Points Code as the type of points code to redeem, then copy and paste your code into the Enter Points Code field and click REDEEM NOW.
500 additional points, rounding me up to an even 5,000.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Now about my bank slots….
I Want My Fast Horse NOW! September 9, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online, Runes of Magic, World of Warcraft.Tags: Cash Shop, LOTRO Store, Mounts, Turbine Points
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More tales of the LOTRO Store.
While I was on with Silinus, who is level 39 and who owns a fast mount already, I started digging through the various sections of the LOTRO store to see what was available.
Naturally, I ended up in the mounts section. There you can purchase both temporary and permanent mounts.
A permanent fast mount is 695 Turbine Points, which run a penny a piece, making it a bit cheaper than the controversial Runes of Magic $10 horse of last summer and a lot cheaper than the World of Warcraft greed steed.
Permanent Mounts
Temporary Mounts
The temporary mounts don’t look like an outstanding bargain. But then as they stand, they are likely to get you to spend just another dollar or two to get the perm version, which is probably the plan.
As I am looking at the mounts, Potshot logs on. He was interested in the mount question as well.
However, he logged in as Garfinkle, a level 25 minstrel. When he goes to the LOTRO store and looks at the mounts, the store tells him that there is nothing available for his class/level.
I took a closer look at the mounts.
It says "Level 5"
Helpful friend that I am, I tell him it says level 5 minimum, all classes.
He cannot see the mounts.
I log off Silinus and come back with Roderigo, a level 24 burglar and check out the store.
With Roderigo I am also told that there are no mounts available for my level/class.
This seems a bit odd.
Again, here is a key item for the LOTRO Store, here is a character prime to purchase it (at least once they settle my missing vault slot issue), and for some reason I am being denied.
They don’t want my money.
Well, okay, I didn’t spend any money directly on those Turbine points. But I know how accounting works. At some point in the operation, there is somebody who is getting paid to get people to spend those points no matter what their origin.
On a whim, I decided to see if, perhaps there was still some link between mounts and the Hengstacer Farm in the Northern Bree Fields.
Sure enough, when I got there, Eogar (son of Hadogar and cousin of Teri Garr) had the big golden quest ring over his head. And when I spoke to him, he was offering up the quest Proving Your Quality.
It had been updated. It is now a level 20 quest.
The Horse Quest
And it also lacks the lead-in quests that used to have you riding to Bree, Michel Delving, and Othrikar. Those were easy enough at level 35. By that point you had probably been to all of those places and were high enough level to not have to worry about the fauna taking a bite out of you.
Now it is just a matter of racing through the gates set around the farm.
But I have to wonder what the plan is for mounts. I only went to the Hengstacer farm because I already knew that was where you had to go for a mount.
Having already gotten my notice to visit the farm for a the old level 20 mount, I am going to guess that there is no trigger event to send me back there for another horse. I wonder when new characters will get that note.
And I’d also like to know if you could really get a mount at level 5. You have to finish a level 20 quest to get it. Will it be available to you at that level?
I might have to roll up a new character to see.
The Amazing Disappearing Turbine Points September 9, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: LOTRO Store, Turbine Points
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I did get on the morning of the 8th to find that the LOTRO Store was open for business at last.
I was also able to check my Turbine Point balance. I previously calculated that I might end up with as many as 5,000 of those points that will now be driving, if not the Middle-earth economy, then at least Turbine’s bottom line.
I turned out to be pretty close. I had 4,540 Turbine Points.
I dug about in the store to see if they had accounted for the various bonus rewards that went into to creating that particular total, but I was unable to find anything. How it all added up to 4,540 will be left to my imagination I guess.
I did not have time to start spending those points however. That was going to have to wait.
When I got home, my point total had changed. Now I had 4,515 points.
25 Turbine points had melted away. Did I have a leak in my purse? Was I given 25 points to which I was later deemed to not be entitled?
Again, no accounting was available. The total simply was.
Still, 25 points… not that big of a deal I suppose. And it is day one of the store. Besides, I was more interested in spending a few of those points.
Silinus, my hunter, was feeling particularly constrained when it came to vault space, so the first item on the list was to buy him another 15 slots. He was at 58 of 60 slots filled.
And the price was just 95 Turbine Points. Not that dear at all. And so my point total was down to 4,320
Only, I didn’t get any increase in the number of vault slots. Or any sort of token that would increase said slots.
I got a receipt for the vault slot upgrade.
95 Turbine Points for what?
I opened a ticket, to which I got a very quick, if less than satisfying response. The rep suggested that I log out and log back in. If the additional slots were still missing, and they were, I would have to contact the account support team, who are apparently a different group.
So I realize we’re just in the first 24 hours of the store going live, but I’m already down 120 Turbine Points and I have yet to successfully obtain anything from the LOTRO Store. And I’m just one guy who is pretty tolerant on the subject of day one MMO blues.
This coming Friday though, there is going to be a lot more people headed into Middle-earth, and the business plan is to get them to spend money and feel so good about it that they spend some more.
I am not keen to try spending any more and I want to. How are the fresh faced masses going to deal with it?
Now to figure out how to contact the account support team. It will be in the forums somewhere I am sure.
Among the Free (to Play) Peoples of Middle-earth September 8, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: Free-To-Play, LOTRO Store, Turbine, Turbine Points
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I was wrong. The game patched up quicker than I anticipated and I was looking at the new game launch splash screen much sooner than I had anticipated.
Money for nothing, Adventure for free
Of course, the first thing I wanted to know was how many Turbine Points I had. I speculated previously on how many I would end up with via the various Turbine incentives. In theory, there might be as much as 5,000 waiting for me. Now was the time to find out.
Only the LOTRO Store was down.
Gandalf Says, "We are closed now!"
I will have to wait to figure that one out.
Still, I earned a good fifty Turbine Points with a set of new deeds and titles for which I qualified. And that was just on one character.
The actual titles though… as much I love titles…
We were talking about being “Known to the Eglain” on Saturday night. It sounds a lot like you’re one of the usual suspects. Somebody’s scabbard goes missing and you’re “known to the Eglain” so they pick up you for questioning.
And “Known Through Bree?” Me, Bill Ferny, and the town drunk as well I’m sure.
Well, at least the game is up and running and, aside from the store being down, looking good.
I’ll have some time to explore tomorrow night.
LOTRO F2P – Now Patching September 8, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: Free-To-Play
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And the update appears to be going at a brisk pace. I probably won’t be playing tonight, but I’ll be ready for tomorrow.
Patching in Progress
I like the unblinking eye of fire graphic. Granted, you can’t currently get to Mordor.
One does not spend Turbine points in Mordor.
Not yet, in any case.
EVE Online Suicide Ganking – A How To Guide September 7, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EVE Online.Tags: Hulkageddon, suicide ganking
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Over at his blog, TooNuRacoon has a pretty thorough look into the basics of setting up and executing a suicide gank in EVE Online. If you’re interested in that sort of thing… intellectually or otherwise.
Theoretical targets only... right?
TNR goes through ship choice and outfitting (simple), target choice, fleet formation and execution, and the economic results of such a venture.
An interesting read, even if you are not planning to participate in the next Hulkageddon.
DIY Political Satire – LOTRO Edition September 6, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Humor, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: Glenn Beck
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Finding humor in the Trollshaws. Make your own caption.
For our overseas readers, the reference being reached for is here.
The Wisdom of Facebook Ads September 5, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Dungeons & Dragons Online, entertainment, Facebook, Humor.Tags: Facebook Ads, Turbine
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Simplicity itself! Stop playing BORING Games!
Now why didn’t I think of that.
The limitations of the medium show in this ad. They had so much they wanted to say in a limited space that they couldn’t even fit in the full name of the allegedly non-boring game they were pushing.
While Dungeons & Dragons may not necessarily be boring (depending on your group), the ad actually links to Dungeons & Dragons Online.
In what category is Dungeons & Dragons Online #1? They didn’t have room to elaborate on that either. And I’m not sure how “No download needed” isn’t a complete lie.
Finally, for the record, if I find a game boring, I pretty much stop playing of my own accord, generally without even much conci0us thought on the subject. I tend to just find myself doing other things.
LOTRO Free to Play Email September 4, 2010
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Lord of the Rings Online.Tags: Free-To-Play
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Lord of the Rings Online goes free to play next week. September 10th is the official date.
But those who are already subscribers get to be the initial… guinea pigs?
Well, whatever we are, we get a head start, and Turbine has been sending out reminders.
Strider says, "Click Here!"
The reminder includes the grim visage of Aragorn, son of Arrowroot who, incidentally, is now part of the human new player intro. While the children of Durin got Gandalf and the seven dwarves and the elves Elrond, men were stuck with Amdir, who not only isn’t a “name” in the books, but ends up under the sway of the Nazgul. But men now have a new champion to lead them into Middle-earth.
Anyway, the message links to details on the LOTRO site about who has to patch up what and where. But once patched, you might be able to start playing as early as September 7th, if they’ve got your server up and running.
And while I have been mostly focused on the increase storage options that will be made available with the LOTRO Store, I was interested to see that skirmishes will now kick in at level 20 and you will be eligible for a horse as early as level 5.
Until then, I guess current subscribers have one last weekend of peace before the flood gates open and the starter zones are overrun.
Enjoy the OOC channel while you can.
