Good to know. Thats what was expected, but there is still a bit of hope/fear untill it is officially stated.

Well, I haven't followed the F2P / P2W discussions much so far. I can (somewhat) understand the arguments about the RoR expansions price - with the (obviously, as usual) simple solution to wait with buying. But about P2W? This only makes sense in the PvP section and that never was a really strong point of lotro.....

About the RoR price.... yeah, 80% of the current community may find it too much. But honestly, how many of those are lifetime subscribers? With 500 free Turbine points each month? Where WB / Turbine are getting about 0.0 money from them?
I have a lifetime sub too. I probably could afford getting RoR from the points I get each month / achieved with gameplay for free, as I did with the Isengard expansion. But I've put money down for it. Because I want this game to continue.

I have no hard data to back it up, but read something about less then 100k logins on the european servers in the last few months. That's not "being in dire straits" but also not a healthy population to work with / for in the long run.
So yeah, like it or not, the (potential) additional players from Steam should help - a lot.

Depends on your perspective. An MMORPG is a grind. No matter how you slice it, you are paying to advance/achieve/progress, etc. Even if its just to advance story or quests. Winning is most often defined as reaching your goal. Paying to get an item that fulfills that goal is paying to win. I know people disagree with PVE pay to win... but hopefully you can see how it bothers some.

Paying cash for a better item than anyone else can get is pay to win... pve goals are simply different goals than pvp. And, those items can certainly be used in the pvp environment as well. Regardless of popularity, it exists and has a cost structure in the store.

Not really. Raid gear still >> anything crafted or bought in a store. Haven't seen many "nerf raiding!" threads lately - or ever at all....

Yeap. However, the big question is: is there something you can buy at the store, you can't earn in the game? I may be wrong but I'd say no.

they are going the other way on raid gear... solo gear is near raid gear. Only missing a couple of points of a single stat or two. And there are TONS of "boost solo gear" threads. The general sentiment is that soloers demand the same rewards from soloing that raiders get. They think raiders are elitist for wanting special gear. (note: this is more likely the noisy crowd, than the majority... but they are quite noisy).

There are quite a few things in the store not available in game. relics is one. And they are the best... at least when released... I haven't followed them much lately. Other things just need logic. Stat tomes are now +70. Can a stat tome drop in game? yes. Do they? not really :/

So the crystals for sale in the xpac will also be in the store. No word yet on if they will drop in the game or at what rate. If they are stat tome rates... they don't really drop in game for 99.9% of the player base.

I played Lotro 5 years from beta(lifer/funder). Have 2 75 and 7 low lev alts(71-11 lev) and i repeat Lotro change 2 P2W from F2P with new overpriced expansion Riders of Rohan in my opinion. I can pay for new expansion, but many, many players no = less player base no ppl in kins for raids etc here is problem !

Lotro as single player game is awesome/the best mmo on market !!!, but end game group content is bugy and unplayable for players from europe (lags, lag spikes, crash 2 desktop in tower of orthanc)also pvmp lags like hell and... need love from devs side... now with RoR incoming flame/rage from creeps side. No creeps no pvmp... for me pvmp in Lotro is awesome but unbalance and lags killing it.

Ofc new meats from steam help (hundreds of new players) but how many buy all expansions and make 85 lev ?
Example:
steam ed (15 $ now /30$ later) + 1 vip month 2 unlock bags traits etc (15$) + RoI Legendary ed for expansions questpack (50$) now + RoR expansion (40-70$)= 120-150 $ minimum for new player ! If that palyer wants more must buy many quest pack and other stuff from lotro store=next 50-500 $ = Lotro is for ppl with many free time for grind TP in game or with full wallet $$.

From: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?462486-The-Riders-of-Rohan-Pricing-Discussion-Thread/page12
What other major MMO has lag issues like Lotro? What other MMO has the travel system (horses/swift travel) that does not work some times? Not to mention an key end game raid that does not work a % of the time.

They are already or they intend to do? If we're on the "they intend to do" page, I'd say wait and see as pretty much all is still speculation.
If they are already, then I haven't seen it so. My mainchar is on 75 a while now, but I can't say anything of my gear comes close to anything Draigoch.... not to mention main weapon (crafted 2.age with questitem) compared with 1.age weapon. That isn't just a couple of points or one / two stats away. We're talking about 1/3 to 1/2 better in comparison.

As far as relics or crystals goes: yeah, that may be so. However, aren't we a lot closer to that one / two stats or a couple points away in this case?

That's not really a LOTRO problem, but a general one. It was around way before WoW came out and haven't vanished since.

If the price is too high for a lot of players, it won't be sold as much, which in return points to a rather fast discount on it. Rise of Isengard dropped by 50% just one month after release.
Yes, less player base. However you ignored that WB / Turbine has to make money in the first place, or you won't be playing LOTRO much longer at all. You're a funder too - how many dollars they've gotten from you in the last 2 years? I know they didn't make 1 from me before I pre-ordered RoR.

I agree that they should polish a lot better. Just the fact that this isn't happening up to now however, should point you to the problem they are facing: they aren't making much money with lifers/funders anymore, if at all. They NEED to make money with expansions and new players. Otherwise, we're not getting any expansion at all.

I pay always for all expansion (CE moria) Mirkwood max, RoI Legendary ed. and i prepared to pay 50 $ for RoR. But when i read what i get for 50/70 $ im in shock. Crap bonus for pre pursche/ pre order and overpriced questpack without instance cluster (sapience on turbine forum confirmed this ). First time i dont buy pre order when start. I want 2 support Turbine, i want see Gondor and Mordor and other zones but 40/70 $ for questpack its 2 much for me (and not only for me). I have almost 10000 TP and can take RoR for it. I planed pay because i love lotro and always support Turbine, but this time... im angry ( in this year after u6/u7 my kin lose 30-50 members<lags/unplayable raids etc> now we lose next players. This is reason why im angry on WB/Turbine.

The problem with these F2P MMOS is the constant advertising/need to spend money. I am fine with players being able to spend money, but I cannot tolerate constant load screen advertisements, and an in-game economy where you are required to spend real money to be "the best", or optimum.

I was a subscriber to LOTRO from the getgo, and played for over a year. I wish they had an option for those who spend at least X dollars a month to disable all in-game ads and real-money store notifications.

I play a Turbine MMO and aside from a newsletter (which you can disable) exactly how do you get spammed? The only time you get a notification at all is if you try to enter an area you do not have, should you still sub and be a VIP I'm pretty sure LOTRO works like DDO and that wouldn't be an issue.

Also, calling their store "real money" is a bit of a stretch as things go their store actually is nice, you earn points by playing the game that can be redeemed in the exact same way as points purchased with cash. VIPs get an extra allotment of free points per month. The store is meant for VIPs to buy buffs from or whatever, some of the consumables are handy in a pinch.

Are you annoyed by the loading screen tips or something?

Survey about ROR expansion:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZHGFTSL

It's one of Pay 2 Win games?

I don't see it that way, though some seem to disagree here. So basically it boils down to what your definition of P2W is....

In a nutshell - not really a competitive PvP game in the first place and the part that is, is dominated by raid gear / high lvl, not by pay stuff. That's my viewpoint which doesn't fit my definition of P2W.

Some people are convinced that anything with a cash shop is P2W, which is straight up stupid, but you'll never convince them. I don't see how offering a bunch of cosmetic items or items that speed up leveling by 20% or that gives you an extra bank slot (like your 6th one) in a cash shop (especially when the fucking game in question gives you free points that can buy the same shit) means P2W. Can games with a cash shop mean P2W? Sure, and a lot of times it does. But picking on Turbine for this, which has been 98% a class act with their shop, is asinine. They're the people F2P game developers should be trying to emulate.