It appears a new starter pack has arrived in the LOTRO Market. The Samwise Gamgee Starter Pack is priced at $9.99 USD and includes:
- The Bay Steed & Riding Skill
- 4th Inventory Bag
- Currency Cap
So this really is something aimed at those just starting LOTRO and wanting to start out with some niceties.
Value of this Bundle
Turbine claims this to be a bundle worth $25 for $9.99 so lets break things down.
Bay Steed
The horse is a regular 62% speed horse you’d buy at Hengstacer Farm in Bree-land. These sell for 695 Turbine Points in the store so technically that is it’s value but personally I think anyone who spends $7.00 on a standard horse is silly since this can be easily purchased in game for 500 silver (after that you’ll get a discount making other steed purchases 200 silver).
It may sound like a lot to someone new to LOTRO but personally, I think you can reach this easily and save yourself the TP. There are of course other ways to get a 62% steed such as through festivals so I wouldn’t consider this particular steed a “must buy” for every character especially given the in-game options. Its nice that it is added but I wouldn’t call the horse the major draw of this bundle.
More casual or those unable to keep any coin in their pockets (*coughMerric*) may see the adding of the horse to this bundle as way more convenient than trying to earn 500 silver.
Riding Skill
A must purchase for any new player to allow you to skip using the starter steed and start using the sturdier and faster steeds. VIPs can earn this with an in game quest at level 20 but for impatient folks like myself, the low cost of this item is worth buying early.
This is valued at 95 Turbine Points per character. This package seems to be an account wide unlock of this trait which is pretty flipping handy. The savings on this will add up if you are an altoholic like Merric.
Buying this package would make you premium giving you 3 character slots so we’ll multiply this by 3 since if you were to use all your character slots, each would end up buying this.
4th Inventory Bag
With Rohan these bags saw a cost jump to 995 Turbine Points as an account wide unlock. This alone is nearly the value of the entire $9.99 purchase price. No way to earn this in game, it’s a purchase or not purchase item from the store.
Currency Cap
This sells for 395 Turbine Points as an account wide unlock. While not be something you need right away as a new player, I can definitely see the appeal in having access to all your gold at all times. No way to earn this in game, it’s a purchase or not purchase item from the store.
Total
- Bay Steed – 695 TP
- Riding Skill – 95 TP * 3
- 4th Inventory Bag – 995 TP
- Currency Cap – 395 TP
= 2370 Turbine Points or roughly $24 USD.
It is close enough to a $25 value if you didn’t catch a turbine points sale or something to count, I think.
Take out the more optional item of the bay steed and the total value is 1675 TP or about $17 USD so the $9.99 is a good price for what you are getting regardless of the bay steed.
A simple and basic package for a new LOTRO player. Might also make a nifty gift to someone just getting started.
November 16, 2012 at 2:17 pm
“The savings on this will add up if you are an alcoholic like Merric.”
Merric is an alcoholic or an altoholic??
November 16, 2012 at 6:31 pm
stupid autocorrect
November 16, 2012 at 2:47 pm
“The savings on this will add up if you are an alcoholic like Merric.”
I also smiled at this. It’s perfectly clear what you want to say, but it still made me smile.
November 16, 2012 at 3:03 pm
I remember in the good ol’ days when the riding skill was free, but the pony costed 4g220s and you had to wait until lvl35 (or rather hope you could earn that amount by that level). You kids are so spoiled today
November 16, 2012 at 3:10 pm
What Glompf says!
November 18, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Yeah I remember that too. By the time they reduced the price I’d bought one full-price steed and one festival steed on every character except my main. Half of that was before they applied the second-steed discount. I spent a fortune on horses!
One thing that annoyed me with the horsey system was when they changed the festival race requirement so lower-level characters couldn’t do it. I’d not been playing long when my first festival rolled around. My char sat on his little autumn fest token for 20 levels before he could get his horsie, and he was so proud when he did. He’s the one who never bought a ‘regular’ steed, went straight to festival.
BTW You can still wait till you hit the right level and do the riding quests to get the skill for free I think.
November 16, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Would have helped me with at least two of my alt accts, which I always ended up paying to have the currency cap removed always, (have to in order to buy a deluxe house lolol) as well as other stuff I ended up getting too.
November 16, 2012 at 4:20 pm
and with an account-wide steed, you don’t have to hike all the way up to Henstacer’s farm (those who have the horse quest get a free map (and /reclaim) but they have the preorder steed, making the map redundent
November 16, 2012 at 5:17 pm
I’m assuming that the Bay Steed would be an account-wide steed as well, so you need to multiply that times 3. Makes it an even better deal.
November 16, 2012 at 6:35 pm
I could but since I think it’s an optional nicety added into the mix when there are other free (in-game) options for such a thing I debated even counting it once. Every thing else is a “must buy from the store” with no alternative.
If you want to feel like it’s a stellar deal, feel free to do your own math.
November 16, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Also agree with Glompf,,,
Soon all the new players will be hearing from the old-timers “I remember when I was a newb, I had to hike back and forth from quest to quest, town to town, on my own 2 legs…and up-hill both ways” lol. Looking back, that was probably the hardest part of this game for me, lvl 35 was a long way off at the time too, we didn’t get as much xp, or silver from kills and quests…
November 16, 2012 at 6:23 pm
As a dwarf,…I waited until I got to Moria to get my first mount(a goat) at lvl. 60. Didn’t want my first mount to be a horse.
November 16, 2012 at 7:23 pm
If only buying the horse would allow you to dye your warsteed black …
Wonder why there’s no cosmetic cook backpack in the bundle. Sam did carry his pans and pots a loooong way
November 17, 2012 at 3:37 am
I like the idea of an alternative: Getting all of these items, plus the 5th bag as well by signing up for VIP for the one or two month option. This will unlock the 4th and 5th bags, Gold Cap, as well as the Riding Skill. And best of all, you have full VIP access during that time and will then be lowered to Premium afterward.
November 17, 2012 at 7:28 am
I can see how this could be interesting for a newcomer. On the other hand to put it into perspective (and I know most regular players know this but…)
Assuming that they have not quietly nerfed it, I struggle to see how anyone would go for this rather than a month as VIP. OK, the riding unlock is not permanent, it costs $5 more, and you don’t get the horses. On the other hand, as VIP you get a month to get your 3 characters to 20 and do the quest. Since the horse is able to be bought with in game cash, it isn’t a real selling point.
The other bits get unlocked permanently by going VIP, along with a bunch of other more useful stuff (5th bag, traits, swift travel etc) and that ignores the temporary access to all the SoA content and getting 500TP towards other purchases.
November 17, 2012 at 9:44 am
I’m just glad that they didn’t include rope. That would’ve been lore-breaking in a Samwise Gamgee starter pack!
November 17, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Wait wait, so this will give me an account-wide riding skill for all the new alts I create in the future?!
November 17, 2012 at 5:02 pm
As a F2P/Premium player I can say this is actually most amazing. I often find myself doing a TP grind using the horse whistle and other items provided to starting characters. I can tell you: having a mount makes everything so much faster and easier. If you are like me and keep on creating/deleting accounts in order to get a lot of turbine points then this deal is preferable to the single month unlock (which I did). Unfortunately I already have unlocked the gold cap and all of the bags so my current gain would just be the riding skill. But an account wide riding skill unlock would be… precious to me…
November 18, 2012 at 2:55 am
I’ve already got 4th and 5th inv bags… will this unlock the 6th for me, or must it be the 4th rather than simply an additional bag?
Account-wide Riding sounds good… gonna wait for Black Friday in any case…
November 18, 2012 at 7:54 am
they are all unlocked separately so no it do not believe it will give you the 6th bag unfortunately.
November 18, 2012 at 3:12 pm
That sucks. They should consider a 295 or 495 point account-wide Riding skill then…
November 19, 2012 at 4:09 pm
From Turbine support “I have reviewed your help request in detail and I can confirm that the Samwise Gamgee’s Starter Pack only includes the 4th Inventory Bag. This would not give you the 6th Inventory Bag if you have already purchased the 4th and 5th.” Suckage.
November 20, 2012 at 8:08 pm
It won’t give 6th bag, but would it give 5th if you already have 4th?
November 20, 2012 at 8:37 pm
It gives you the 4th bag. Not the 5th, not the 6th. Just the 4th. If you have the fourth bag on all your characters already, you will net nothing from the bag addition.
November 19, 2012 at 2:07 pm
What I really wish to know is how Sam managed to get reins on his horse (see the picture) when we all know that these horses are all directed by invisible reins.
December 20, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Has it been confirmed that the riding ski|| wi|| un|ock account-wide?