I suggest you subscribe from lvl 20+ [yes you can still] . Buying each zone and wondering which zones are worth buying is really not the way to play the game. If you subscribe it works exactly like WoW , not silly restrictions on everything. You might have to pay for the expansions with Turbine Points [just like you have to pay for them in WoW] , but at least you're not paying for something every 2 steps.
If you subscribe you get TP per month anyway [so if you ever stop subscribing you can use it to buy stuff] . Turbine's model is generally like this:
1. Your initial month : Play for free, maybe spend $10-$15 on whatever you need in the cash store (spend it on account wide unlocks, like races/classes etc)
2. If you get really into it , months 2-6 : subscribe and see how things go
3. If you are STILL going strong at month 5 or 6, then you can start considering buying the content and moving back to F2P . Buying all the content is the equivalent of a lifetime sub , so if you know you're going to play this game for a year plus , then yes, buy all the content and remain F2P , anything shorter you're better off paying $15 a month with a sub.
The problem with F2P and Lotro is basically : Imagine WoW, imagine you hit lvl 10 and want to go to The Barrens....now imagine you have to buy the barrens first for $15 . Now you must decide is Barrens a good area? Is it worth $15? Maybe there's another lvl 10 area to buy? Does my friends have this area [so i can group and enter the dungeons] ? Maybe i should just grind lvl 9 mobs in Durotar and skip Barrens?
...at the end, it might actually ruin the immersion of the game.
