After a long wait, Lord of the Rings is now free to download and play for players in Europe. Read on for how to sign up, and details on some of the new additions to the game. You'd be a fool of a Took not to try it.
To create a free account simply head to the Lord of the Rings site and sign up on the right hand side. If you're signing up as a free player, you won't even have to enter your credit card details. There are several tiers at which you can play the game, free players won't suffer from level caps or a lack of quests, but VIP members who pay a monthly fee will have access to a larger inventory extra chat, mail and auction services.
The update also adds the item shop. In-game Turbine points can be used to buy items, quest packs and expansions. These points can be earned by questing in the game, or purchased to save time. Lord of the Rings Online went free-to-play in the US not long ago, and earned itself an extra million subscribers in the process. It seems likely that it'll see similar success in Europe, so there's never been a better time to get your Gandalf on. See you in Hobbiton.
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Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.
