Wow - this is a good game.
bought the compilation pack on saturday, patched it and started playing it sunday.
I'm level 12 at the moment so still struggeling to figure out everything.
I have a couple of questions.
How do i get a mount?
The LOTRO store will that only be implemented once the F2P version hits or can one buy stuff from the store already?
I assume you're playing on the European version/servers. The USA version is already F2P, no idea when the EU one will catch up. Also technically you should not have "bought" this game, since it is suppose to be "free" [the client and all] . The reason is that the F2P version will remove the subscription cost , BUT it will lock the content [which you may already have accessed] . You will then need to pay -again- to unlock the content which you may or may not have already accessed while subscribed. That's how the F2P model works ,it's not truly free, you will say get Bree-Land "free" but when you want to go level in Lone Lands you need to pay for the "zone" [once off] . So it can get expensive if you bought the full client -and- paying a sub -and- suddenly the game goes F2P 'right under you' while you're in those zones that is not free. So the new F2P model is in fact more a kind of "Pay as you go" model.
As for the Store itself, chances are the store will have things in there that you, as subscriber already have -now- [but will need to buy when the game goes F2P] , hence why i doubt they'll make the European shop fully available.
But all is not lost, if Turbine do the same as with DDO [dungeons and dragons Online] they will KEEP the subscription option there , which unlocks most content and gives you "turbine points" [the currency used for DDO and LOTRO] every month to buy things in the shop.
That's why most of us ex-subscribers [i have a lvl 63 char on Snowbourn] are waiting for the EU version to officially go F2P to see what the damage is to access the high level chars again . Chances are i'll have to pay for various areas and/or classes to even continue on my high level. Sounds a little messy to me. So even for "first timers" i'd either play the USA version for now, or wait for the EU one to go F2P to see what it will REALLY cost.
Either way regarding the mount.
If you bought the gold edition you would have received a mount as an extra item [can't remember how you claim, try /claim or something in game] , which you can use at lvl 12ish, but normally you can only start riding a mount at about lvl15- 20 . You buy the mount north of Bree [there's a horse farm , you will see the horse drawings on the map of breeland] . At lvl 40 you get a faster mount after completing a quest-chain [also at the Bree Horse Farm] . To put it another way, you will find the Horse Vendors soon enough when you can actually use mounts.
