As of 4am EST this morning, the LotRO servers came down to prepare for the launch to F2P. Most likely they'll be back up sometime tomorrow for the head-start folks. Everyone else will be able to start on September 10th. Even the LotRO website is down for maintenance, presumably to get the F2P shop set up and possibly incorporate some new features.
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!
I've been playing LotRO for the past week, and it's been enjoyable. Mostly I've been leveling my minstrel a bit and catching up on deeds in the starter areas, North Downs, and Lone-Lands. Yes, I know I'll get Turbine Points for deeds finished after F2P launches, but I wanted to get those out of the way, and as a Founder/Lifer, I'll already be getting a large chunk of Turbine Points tomorrow, which will likely be spent on as much wardrobe space and vault space as I can get.
I also rolled a new Champion alt. Originally my champion was to be a human from Rohan, but the more I thought about it the more I like the idea of an elf Champion (from Lorien). They're a bit more unusual and the elf racial stealth skill should add an interesting element to the class.
Also, for anybody starting LotRO on the 10th: Paislea will be on Landroval, in the Shire, crafting up fresh organic fruits and veggies, cooking up some yummy buff and healing foods for the new folks, and answering questions in the /advice channel. If I have enough leathers I'll also be happy to craft up some light and medium armor sets, although I don't know how much better they'll be than the quest rewards. I hear that there will be other folks on hand in the various starter areas with music, armor, jewelry, food, and other goodies, so we hope to see you there!
