Like other online games, LOTRO has 3 types of accounts – Free-to-Play (F2P), Premium and VIP. In this guide I want to take you through each of those and give you to pro’s and cons of each. I’ll also pass my personal opinion on whether LOTRO VIP is worth it or not. But mostly, I want to help you find the right account for your Lord of the Rings Online experience.
So let’s get down to it.
What are the LOTRO Account Types?
The simple definitions are:
- Free-to-Play/F2P: Any account that has never been VIP, nor purchased anything for real money in the LOTRO Store.
- Premium: Any account that has either been VIP in the past, or has purchased something for real money. This usually means buying
LOTRO Points. - VIP: This is LOTRO’s term for “subscriber”, where you pay while you play.
For the purposes of Premium, spending LOTRO Points earned through deeds does not count as “real money”, given you didn’t part with any!
Do LOTRO Expansions Change My Account Type?
The answer is “No”, but I want to explain it in more detail given expansions can be purchased from two places.
From the LOTRO Website
These expansion purchases take place outside of the game experience, so do not change your account status. Packs are usually delivered in the form of a code to apply to an account. This allows you to purchase for yourself or others, and someone could buy the expac for you too.
What about Supporter Packs?
Buying a supporter pack does not change your account status either, as they are delivered in the same way as expansions.
From the In-game LOTRO Store
Some quest-packs/expansions are available in the in-game store. These are not the same as Before the Shadow Ultimate or Fate of Gundabad Ultimate which have the added extras. These are pretty much content-only.
As they’re in the LOTRO Store, you can purchase them with LOTRO Points. But when you buy an expansion this way, it is not that transaction that changes your account type. It is the loading of real money in the form of LOTRO Points to convert into your expansion, that does.
Features that Vary per Account Type
Shortly, I will try to compare and explain the pro’s and con’s of each account. But first, I thought it would be good to explain various features that change depending on your account status. This should help newer players particularly.
So what features are limited or unlocked depending on whether you’re Free-to-Play, Premium or VIP? Here are the main ones that benefit from explanation!
Character Slots
This is how many active characters you can have before you need to purchase more. And by “how many”, this means per server not in total.
There’s nothing to stop a F2Per creating two characters on Evernight, then switching to Crickhollow and doing the same.
Quest Packs
Unlike any other game I’ve come across, LOTRO offers Expansions and Quest Packs. Expansions usually cover various new regions, as well as their quests, deeds, factions etc. Expansions are sold in various packages, with a varying amount of in-game items. Months after release the content-only version hits the LOTRO Store.
Quest Packs also relate to other regions added that do not form part of a wider expansion. The Wildwood of Bree-land and the Angle of Mitheithel are examples of these.
Auction House
If you’ve played another MMO, you’ll be familiar with a player-to-player market. The Auction House (or ‘AH’) is almost the same in LOTRO – except often players can place bids – and be out-bid too.
LOTRO’s account types grant varying levels of access to the AH in terms of how many items you can sell and how many items you can bid on.
Rested XP
Rested XP (or Rest XP) is a kind-of passive XP boost.
This is not progression XP – you won’t level up while you sleep! But when you log on again and start earning XP, it will be at a higher rate until the amount of Rest XP you have is used up.
The official page
says you get
100% XP for 30% of a Level (daily upon login)
Destiny Points
Whether you are aware of it or not, every a character of your levels up after L10, you gain destiny points.
All players will gain points, but only VIPs can spend them.
Shared Wardrobe
This is one of LOTRO’s best features! It allows you to create a bank of cosmetics which all characters can use to make outfits. Even better it is class and level agnostic. If you have a Level 100 item in your wardrobe, your new Level 5 character will be able to wear it cosmetically – except if it’s an incompatible weapon (or shield, etc).
All account types can unlock slots, by the way, and is one of the things players wait for a sale on!
Hobbit Gifts
Also known as “Hobbit Presents”, these are random free items selected from either “Silver” or “Gold” lists. These are often buffs like XP boosts, damage or defence buffs – or potions (instant or HoT). They also deliver a small 
Virtue XP ‘potion’ every time.
Each day you log on, you’ll be able to see if you’ve claimed your Hobbit Gift or gifts. Silver ones are available daily, but do not “bank up”. See them as log-in bonus items.
LOTRO Free-to-Play / F2P Accounts
What Exactly Does F2P Mean?
A Free-to-Play account is the starting status when you first sign up to play LOTRO. The game is not pay-to-play. You can enjoy everything within the limits of a free account without paying a single penny, cent, centime or…some other tiny coin in another currency!
Does Free mean Free?
Yes it does. A LOTRO F2P account is not time-limited, and characters can level to the current level cap. This is true even if your free account does not have the latest content. Level up using LOTRO Festivals and Events if you like!
Is the Free-to-Play Experience Any Good?
In my opinion, yes. The Lord of the Rings Online has one of the best free-to-play (F2P) setups even now. When I first started playing…eight or nine years ago now, I couldn’t afford content. But I knew I could earn it and other unlocks just by completing deeds.
That same experience is still in-play in 2024, when I wrote this post. The major difference is how much free content you have now – and it’s massive in comparison to when I first started!
My daughter sometimes plays LOTRO with me doing any combat, but I have an F2P account that can one day be hers.
This is one of her characters and there are no real reasons not to start LOTRO as an F2P-er.
Free-to-Play Pro’s and Con’s
F2P Account: Pro’s
- It’s Free: No upfront, monthly, quarterly or annual cost.
- Loads of Free Content: All content up to Helm’s Deep (Level 95) available for free.
- Don’t Miss the Epic: The core story (also known as the ‘Epic’) is always free.
- No real currency limit: I think the maximum for all players is
9,999, 
999, 
99
per character! - No time limit.
- Free First Mount: You can earn the riding trait at Mossward for free and get your first mount at the same time.
- Freedom to Roam: Explore Middle-Earth! You can go (almost) anywhere as an F2Per, even in areas you have not paid for yet. You’ll only be restricted if you cannot access an unlock quest. Exploring and defeating enemies is open to you even when quests aren’t.
On the second point, I had to unlock everything after the Lone-lands by using deeds when I first joined!
F2P Account: Cons
- No Swift Travel: Swift-travel horses are the same as regular horse-taxis but without the journey. Without that you need to walk, ride or take a regular horse taxi to destinations. The only exceptions are those between starter zones.
- Login Queue: I don’t know if this is still an “issue”, but it still exists. Your login to the game worlds will be deprioritised compared to VIPs.
- Few Initial Character Slots: You start with only two available character slots per server. Honestly, that’s not an issue. You can still cover six Crafting Professions, meaning you can pretty much gear up both characters.
- No Crafting Guilds: As an F2P you will need to purchase access to Crafting Guilds.
- Content After Level 95 must be purchased: while this may be true for VIPs too, VIPs get some other Quest Packs for free. F2P players must earn or buy LOTRO points to acquire that content.
- Auction House Limit: F2Pers cannot sell items, but can still bid on (or simply buy) items sold by other players.
The Black Book of Mordor
I had to check this one, but free access to the “Epic” does not include the whole of the Black Book of Mordor story. To get this, you need to purchase Mordor or Minas Morgul (for real money or LOTRO points. Though, if you’ve done deeds to earn 3000LP in one go, you probably need medical assistance).
You can also get the Black Book by purchasing any expansion that relates to the questline “The Song of Waves and Wind”. While that’s confusing terminology, it includes the questpack Gondor Renewed (aka King’s Gondor) and the Corsairs of Umbar.