A small change in Lord of the Rings Online causes a big Pay2Win discussion in the community

A seemingly small change in the Lord of the Rings Online reward system sparked big debate and concern in the community. The game could drift towards Pay2Win is the allegation of many players. We at MeinMMO summarize.

What will be changed? With the next update, the developers behind Lord of the Rings Online want to make a change to the system with which you can earn the so-called Embers.

These are especially important in the endgame, as you can use them to get the armor and weapons you want and don’t have to rely on random loot. While it may not be the best gear in the game, Ember gear is a good choice for many endgame activities. However, getting this should now be more difficult.

So far, you could get Embers through the daily quests. Or by melting down equipment that you didn’t need. The last part is now deleted.

So you can still get to Embers via the daily quests, but melting down unnecessary equipment probably brought a lot more Embers.

Where does the Pay2Win accusation come from? In Lord of the Rings Online, as in many other loot games and MMORPGs, you can buy loot boxes for real money. You can also earn this currency with in-game gold, but that takes much longer than buying it with real money.

However, these loot boxes can still be melted down and processed directly to Ember.

Some players are of the opinion that this would be a big step towards Pay2Win, as you can buy Ember equipment almost easily if you melt down enough loot boxes and get Ember out of it.

Other fans, on the other hand, are convinced that the food is cooked hotter than eaten and the changes are not half as bad.

The conflict heats up the minds

What do the Pay2Win fearers say? A reddit Thread on the subject received a lot of attention. Despite the low upvotes, discussions and comments were very intense there. The creator of the thread writes that he sees the changes in the MMORPG as a step towards Pay2Win. He also describes how he finds it problematic when hard-working hobbits get less good equipment than those who simply invest money in the game.

The creator then received a lot of encouragement from the community, who also see the changes as a creeping movement towards Pay2Win and are not satisfied with what developer SSG is doing there.

One user even writes that he is now forced to play different content than what he has always played before and likes to play in order to get what he needs at the same Ember.

What is the other side saying? A comment in the same thread received over 100 upvotes and therefore also a lot of approval. He explains that the daily quests now give more embers and explains in detail that as a Free2Play player you could even get more embers than before.

He also emphasizes that the Ember items are now account-bound and can no longer only be used on one character. That would mean the average gamer would also need a lot less Ember to equip their characters.

He goes so far as to claim the update would make Lord of the Rings Online even less Pay2Win-heavy. Casual players and solo players would now have a better way to get to Ember. Only the hardcore dungeon grinders don’t have as much advantage as they did before.

The developer responds with understanding

What does the developer say? In response to the turmoil within the community, the developer has shared more detailed patch notes, detailing exactly why certain changes are being made as they are.

Regarding the Pay2Win issue, the developer is vague and admits that this is a point that can be discussed. Standing Stone Games do not see the changes as a confirmation of Pay2Win and would keep a close eye on the effects.

What do you think of the conflict in the Lord of the Rings Online community? Do you play the game yourself and are you directly affected by the changes? Or do you look at the whole issue from the outside and which side are you on in this conflict? Feel free to write it to us in the comments here at MeinMMO.

By the way, Lord of the Rings Online is one of the 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings in 2022.