Perhaps the most controversial items in the F2P Lotro Cash are the stat tomes which give permanent increases to of a characters base stats. For example approximately €5 buys you a tome of Vitality which permanently increases your vitality by 10. You can purchase up to 5 ranks of each stat tome for a total of +50 to each stat (in Europe the limit is currently +30 soon to be lifted). To put these numbers in perspective: 50 points of might would increase my Champions melee damage by about 3% and a piece of end game armour typically gives a total increase of between 100 and 150 points spread across several stats. 50 points in any stat is not a game breaker but it does make a difference.
In theory the stat tomes drop in the game but the drop rate is extremely low and nobody seriously believes that farming them is realistic. If you want the benefit of those extra stats you have to pony up the cash.
Since so much of an mmorpg players time is spent trying to earn infinitesimal upgrades to a character's basic abilities it does feel a bit like cheating to be able to buy this type of upgrade in the store. I personally would prefer if they weren't there. The one mitigating factor is that Lotro has a fairly low cap on each stat (currently 650). A character equipped in end game gear will probably hit that cap on their most important stats once they are buffed up for raids and instances.
My Champion has his key stats of might and vitality over 600 un-buffed and any time I join a raid these are buffed up to the cap. Given this I had planned to ignore stat tomes completely but then Turbine / Codemasters sucker punched me with a 50% off deal on stat tomes. Sure I don't need those extra points but wouldn't it be nicer to have them than not? What about your auxilliary stats like Fate and Will - currently languishing about 150. Sure these aren't very important for Champions but wouldn't it be nice to have a bit more power or a bit more in combat morale regeneration? Don't forget of course they will probably never be cheaper again.
I caved in a blew the bulk of the free points Codemasters gave me on a 20 point boost for each of my basic stats. At least I didn't spend any real cash yet but having seen how easily I can be suckered into buying something just because it is on sale I am now worried about what they will put on sale to tempt me next week.
In theory the stat tomes drop in the game but the drop rate is extremely low and nobody seriously believes that farming them is realistic. If you want the benefit of those extra stats you have to pony up the cash.
Since so much of an mmorpg players time is spent trying to earn infinitesimal upgrades to a character's basic abilities it does feel a bit like cheating to be able to buy this type of upgrade in the store. I personally would prefer if they weren't there. The one mitigating factor is that Lotro has a fairly low cap on each stat (currently 650). A character equipped in end game gear will probably hit that cap on their most important stats once they are buffed up for raids and instances.
My Champion has his key stats of might and vitality over 600 un-buffed and any time I join a raid these are buffed up to the cap. Given this I had planned to ignore stat tomes completely but then Turbine / Codemasters sucker punched me with a 50% off deal on stat tomes. Sure I don't need those extra points but wouldn't it be nicer to have them than not? What about your auxilliary stats like Fate and Will - currently languishing about 150. Sure these aren't very important for Champions but wouldn't it be nice to have a bit more power or a bit more in combat morale regeneration? Don't forget of course they will probably never be cheaper again.
I caved in a blew the bulk of the free points Codemasters gave me on a 20 point boost for each of my basic stats. At least I didn't spend any real cash yet but having seen how easily I can be suckered into buying something just because it is on sale I am now worried about what they will put on sale to tempt me next week.
Comments
I certainly think that cash shouldn't make you better than time could possibly make you.
I'm really more fond of the subsciption method...everyone on even ground, and no "advertising" in your face everywhere you go! I see in-game shops that use real money as advertisements.