After the move op north in EVE Online I opened the Lord of the Rings Online launcher, started it patching, and went to bed. I suspected it was going to take a while. It was certainly still chugging along when I took a peek when I got up to use the bathroom later. One does not simply log into Mordor.
Mordor, we have an eye on you!
But by the time the morning came the launcher was ready to let me log in. That sent me to the character selection screen where I could behold the wonder of the character model update.
At least you can tell the difference
My thought there was mostly hoping that they didn’t spend a lot of time or money on that update. You can see the improvement when you’re zoomed in close, but somehow I doubt you will notice it on other characters you pass in the world unless you’re one of those people who have to get up in everybody’s face. Ah well.
From there I got myself into the game, dug out the code that Standing Stone sent me, opened up the LOTRO Store, and plugged it in. I was rewarded with a success message.
My redemption validated… or something
I am not sure what “Premium Access DNT” is, but at least I recognized “Mordor Standard Edition Mordor Standard Edition” to be correct, if repetitive. I could not bring myself to shell out for the more expensive packages.
The game also game me a pop-up of the sort when you are given or finish deeds.
Mordor Account Item Claimed Yes
You couldn’t actually click on it or anything, just dismiss it. But I guess they felt that was necessary. There was also the standard email from their payment service, Xsolla, which always makes me wonder, “Who is Xsolla?” when I see that name in my email. I suppose getting a return address that says “Standing Stone” or “LOTRO” would cost extra.
So I was set. Sort of. I still needed my character boost, which did not show up with the transaction. That had me a bit worried, since the top story in the launcher was about people having problems claiming their boost. Joy.
However, logging out of the game and back in resolved that. That wasn’t in the instructions that came with the purchase of the expansion, but I seemed to recall it being mentioned elsewhere. And “turn it off, then back on again” is the universal first step for tech trouble shooting.
Once back in the game I found what I was looking for in my inventory.
The Package of the Valar
Now the big question: Which character to boost?
Yes, I managed to get a blog post out of every “which character should I boost?” situation. But this one has a bit more edge to it. While I think I will likely go with my champion, if I make the wrong choice I am a bit stuck. Standing Stone has not yet added the Aria of the Valar to the LOTRO Store.
Moreover, when they do get around to adding it, I suspect it will be quite pricey. In the last week they changed up the other boosts they offer, returning the level 50 boost for 3,995 TP.
They removed the level 50+ to 95 boost, which was 2,995 TP, leaving the all levels to 95 boost in the store for 5,995 TP.
Given that pricing, I expect that the Aria of the Valar boost to level 105 will be more, likely ringing in at 6,995 TP when it shows up. Translating that to real world money is a bit of a chore, as SSG, and Turbine before them, engage in the usual scheme of base points, bonus points, and more points per dollar for the more dollars spent. But calling it $70 wouldn’t be totally off base to my mind.
Current LOTRO Point pricing
So I want to choose wisely because currently there is no second choice, and when that option does appear it is likely to be expensive.
Of course, I appear to have time to think as the LOTRO launcher stopped being able to contact the game last night, so I couldn’t log in and use the Aria of the Valar even if I wanted to currently.
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