The really good MMORPG about Lord of the Rings makes a lot of content free from today – Excites the players

For 15 years, Lord of the Rings Online has transported players into the world of Middle-earth. There is now a big birthday event for the anniversary – and lots of gifts for the players.

This is what happens on a 15th birthday: There will be a big 15th anniversary celebration in Lord of the Rings Online, which will come with a new quest. Among other things, the focus is on a fantastic firework display to be fired off for a birthday.

There is also some new content, such as the new corgi pet. One such dog is given as a gift for the Birthday Event, and you can get more in exchange for Anniversary Coins, Celebration Coins, or Mithril Coins.

Also included in the gifts during the event are, for example, Collector’s Editions of the Mordor expansion, Minas Morgul expansion and War of the Three Peaks, which will bring some content, as well as the “Starlight Steed.”

However, these are just a few 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 presents? To get the birthday gifts, you just have to log in between April 20th (4:00 p.m.) and May 11th (09:00 a.m.) and be at least level 2.

But there is much more to come: Besides the birthday gifts, Update 33 also brings a big upgrade for F2P players. Because a lot of content will be playable from then on.

Quests, Classes and More: Lord of the Rings Online brings more content for F2P players

This changes now: Several points are addressed in the announcement of the new update. As announced in a producer letter a few weeks ago, all content released between the release of HDRO and the Helm’s Deep expansion will be playable for free.

This includes the full High Elf race, as well as the Rune-keeper, Warden, and Beorning classes, but much more.

Among other things, quest packs, instances, areas, battles up to level 95 can be played for free. This includes content from:

• Shadows of Angmar (main game)
• The Mines of Moria
• The Siege of Mirkwood
• The Rise of Isengard
• The Horsemen of Rohan
• Helm’s Deep

The detailed list looks like this:

• expansion tasks: Helm’s Deep, Isengard, Mirkwood, Moria, Rohan
• instance group: Isengard, Rohan
• instances: Hall of Night, Inn of the Forsaken
• task packs: Eriador Pack, Angmar, Enedwaith, Eregion, Evendim, Forochel, Great River, Lothlorien, Misty Mountains, North Downs, Trollshaws, Wildermark
• raid: Draigoch’s Cave,
• skirmish: Dawn Attack, Defense of the “Prancing Pony”, Bruinenford, Battle of the Amon Sûl, The Storming of Methedras, Survival: Barrow Heights, The Frozen Rift, Thievery and Calamity
• Eriador Pack containing: Angmar Quest Pack, Enedwaith Quest Pack, Eregion Quest Pack, Evendim Quest Pack, Forochel Quest Pack, Misty Mountains Quest Pack, North Downs Quest Pack, and Trollshaws Quest Pack.

In addition, for VIP players there are also 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 next? In update 33, the “Ferne Auen” should appear as a new adventure pack that focuses on a hobbit conflict. They are intended for characters between level 20 and 23 and appear free for VIPs or are available in the shop.

Players appreciate gifts

How the players react: If you look around the Games or HDRO subreddit, the many content that can now be played for free are well received.

• “The fact that they’re giving this all away to everyone is pretty impressive. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow,” writes the 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 them are F2P (up to lvl 95) and another part will be given away during the anniversary event,” summarizes another user (via reddit).
• “I wish I had gotten back into LOTRO now and not a few months ago when I bought all that stuff at full price,” writes one user (via reddit): “Nevertheless, it’s good news because I haven’t gotten everything yet!”

This is how HDRO is currently rated: Looking at the Steam ratings, Lord of the Rings Online currently stands as “very positive,” with 81% positive ratings out of a total of over 15,000 reviews (via Steam). It is among the top rated MMORPGs on Steam.

Above all, the atmosphere in the game, which brings Middle-earth to life, is praised – landscapes and places from the books are also well implemented. Meanwhile, there is criticism for the rather outdated graphics, some performance problems and different paywalls.

However, it is quite possible that the latter point will no longer be so important in the future with the new F2P content.

How do you see the MMORPG for Lord of the Rings? Are you checking out the new update, or is it not for you? You can find some exciting alternatives in the list of the best current free-to-play MMORPGs.