There seems to be a lot of confusion on how the Siege of Mirkwood Pre-Launch offers work. I don’t really blame anyone because I believe the way they are wording things is a tad confusing. I do believe I have a grasp on how things work and will list out your options here. This is all the information we’ve seen so far. As soon as we have more information we will do our best to get it to you!
The LOTRO Adventure Pack
The Adventure Pack is $19.99 and Includes:
- 2 additional character slots
- 1 shared storage (20 storage slots)
- Harbringer’s Cloak (8% speed boost)
- Dusky Nimblefoot Goat Mount
Siege of Mirkwood expansion is not included inherently in the Adventure Pack, however, there are many ways to get SoM when purchasing this pack.
The Cloak is an item you receive IMMEDIATELY. You do not have to wait for SoM release for this item. [source]
The remainder of the items come with SoM launch. [source]
The goat is a normal speed mount and requires riding skill. You must do the level 35 mount quest in order to use it. However, the goat will be granted to all characters on the account. Even if you make a new character later. [source]
Multi-Month Subscribers
If you currently have an active account on a multi-month payment plan or you change your payment plan multi-month before October 31st you get Siege of Mirkwood for free. If you already are on the multi-month plan you have to do nothing and get the expansion! [source] You just have to have an active account on the plan when Mirkwood launches, you do not have to wait for your account to be billed. [source]
You can still purchase the LOTRO Adventure Pack for $19.99 if you want the items included in the pack but you need not purchase the expansion.
Lifetime Subscribers
Current lifetime subscribers or if you plan on purchasing the $199 lifetime subscription you have the option of paying $19.99 for the Adventure Pack and will get SoM for free. This is if you pre-order and that is for a limited time!
This is where it is a bit confusing for folks as it seems a little backwards. Usually you would purchase an expansion and get the bonus goodies for free. Instead Turbine is selling the bonus goodies and offering the expansion for free.
All Other Subscribers
If you are not interested in the Adventure Pack at all and will not be purchasing lifetime/multi-month package, Siege of Mirkwood expansion can be purchased on its own for $19.99 at SoM launch.
You can get the Adventure Pack bundled with your purchase for $39.99 starting December 1st. This will not include the cloak (or mount – see update below) as it is only available in the pre-order offers. [source]
Update October 14: We stated above that the cloak was a pre-order item only. From some of the dev posts I read, it made it sound like the goat was to be included in the Adventurer’s Pack even after the pre-order. Sapience clears up this misunderstanding in this post here that the goat is a pre-order item only.
Loading ...
September 29, 2009 at 11:46 pm
good explanation
I took a shot of the cloak in-game:
http://docholidayj.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/new-cloak/
September 30, 2009 at 3:57 am
Thanks Goldenstar for an excellent explanation. I’m a new casual player but I think the $199 is too good to turn down. My main is in his 30′s so I can see me playing for a while yet. Really like your podcast by the way, listen to it every week, thanks. Mark.
September 30, 2009 at 6:42 am
Thanks Mark, much appreciated. As founders who jumped on the $199 deal, I seriously recommend it. It has paid for itself over our playtime; and the reason that you won’t see people like Blizzard doing this is because they would actually lose a lot of money doing this. I think it’s a great idea that I hope more companies will consider.
September 30, 2009 at 6:42 am
Awesome Doc! Thanks for the pic. I just upgraded this morning
September 30, 2009 at 6:42 am
Thanks Hatch/Mark. I’m glad you are enjoying the podcast!
I agree that the $199 is a great deal if you plan to be playing for a while. That’s what we purchased our lifetime memberships and it’s been fantastic. I’m really happy we did it!