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The Daily Grind: How many MMOs have you sampled this year?
Betas. Trials. F2P. Friend keys. Special deals. Bargain bin boxes. Steam weekends. Welcome back weeks. If you're anything like me, then the siren's call of MMOs is constantly pulling and constantly tempting you to try worlds other than these. If you're anything like me, then you'll have given in to that call repeatedly, even though you technically have no more time in your gaming schedule to shove in time with another title. Even if you have no intention of staying past a day, week or the initial month, sometimes it's just fun to add variety to your game rotation and spend a little time with the forbidden fruit of a temporary MMO. So fess up: How many MMOs have you sampled this year? Are you loyal beyond belief to your main game and wouldn't think twice about looking at a fetching up-and-comer, or do you find yourself downloading betas, trials and one-time subscriptions to satisfy your curiosity? Has a friend's strong recommendation prompted you to at least see what his or her mad raving is all about? Looking back over the year to date, how many MMOs have you gotten under your belt?
Turbine announces LotRO Welcome Back Week
Turbine is offering a special treat for former Lord of the Rings Online subscribers: another Welcome Back Week. Beginning today and running through May 31st, all inactive accounts have been reactivated free of charge just in time to participate in the Third Anniversary Celebration. Players can return for free, join the party, and catch up thanks to a 5% XP boost that stacks with rest XP for even faster leveling. The game isn't the only thing you can enjoy free during the event -- Stable-masters in the game are offering free travel as well. As always, the event is open to all former players. All of your old characters are waiting for you in Middle-earth, so log in, get your Writ of Virtue, and check out what's new in Lord of the Rings Online since you last visited!
Codemasters offers free week for LotRO's EU players
When North American players are treated to special promotions and events that are denied to our friends in Europe -- usually due to different publishers -- we often hear a bit of grousing (and rightly so). So it was with a recent Welcome Back Weekend that benefited only NA players, while EU gamers tiptoed up to the table and held out their empty bowl, saying, "Please, sir, I want some more." Happily, Codemasters is doing the EU community one better, by offering a Welcome Back Week from May 10-17. This only benefits former players, however, who may jump back in the game for an entire week of play. On top of the free game time, all players will enjoy the benefit of a 5% bump in XP gain, as well as free travel at the stables. So grouse no longer, fair folk of Europe -- enjoy your full week of play with no strings attached!
Lord of the Rings Online offers Welcome Back Week for EU players
Siege of Mirkwood is nearly here, and Codemasters is offering former European Lord of the Rings players a chance to jump back in and do some catching up before it arrives. Welcome Back Week begins November 23rd and continues through the 30th -- any former LotRO player can return and enjoy a week of free play, courtesy of Codemasters. They're also offering a bonus: those taking advantage of Welcome Back Week will get a 25% XP boost that week. Players interested in returning for the event need only download the game, or patch to the latest version. Codemasters has re-activated the accounts, so you'll find your characters ready and waiting to head back into Middle-Earth and prepare for the arrival of Siege of Mirkwood. Codemasters is also using this week to remind players to get in on the Siege of Mirkwood pre-order deals. The expansion is set to launch in Europe on December 3rd.
Free Lord of the Rings Online for former subscribers until August 24th
Do you miss the rolling hills of Bree-land? Home sick for The Shire? Well think fondly no more, as all subscribers are being welcomed back to Lord of the Rings Online! Past subscribers can jump back into the game until August 24th and enjoy all of the updates and changes made to the game. No links have to be clicked, and no accounts have to be re-opened. All you have to do is download the client, patch the game, and log in! Even more exciting is the fact that all players will be rewarded with a +25% exp boost, as is common with these welcome back periods. Free game play and bonus experience, how can you turn that down?But wait, there's more! Act now and you can go out adventuring with Massively's very own hobbit, Gibbi! Yes, the wonderful Gibbi, as played by Shawn Schuster, can be yours to adventure with all if you play on the Brandywine server.So what are you waiting for? Get to it!
One Shots: A heated moment
Oh, Lord of the Rings Online, how you dazzle us with your lovely screens. And when we've strayed from your arms, you tempt us back with your free-time Welcome Back promotions, like the one running right now until the 24th. But as this is a posting dedicated to all things cool and MMO to check out, we'll just say that this is one of the many types of graphical eye-candy waiting patiently for players return to in Lord of the Rings Online. It was sent in to us today by Rawdge, who writes in: I've had this screenie sitting around for awhile, but noticed there weren't any shots of it in the existing One Shots gallery. This guy has quite the reputation, between the books and the movies, and I thought he might fit in well. Since his email also contains what might be considered an encounter spoiler for some, I'm adding the rest behind the break. Those curious should definitely read a bit more on this big bad beastie. The rest of you should email us images to oneshots AT massively.com so we can feature your favorite games from your viewpoint. Now, on with the story!%Gallery-9798%
Welcome back week for Lord of the Rings Online Europe starts next Monday
Hey just a friendly reminder for our European readers, Codemasters Online is running a welcome back week for Lord of the Rings Online starting on Monday. All former subscribers are welcome to come back for a great week of bonus experience and free gameplay. Who can turn down leveling faster and leveling for free?Don't worry about fiddling with your account or clicking any "re-activate" links either. Codemasters will turn all of the accounts online on their own, so all you have to do is re-install the game or simply patch up to the latest version, Book 8: The Scourge of Khazad-Dûm. We have lots of information on Book 8, plus we even got a tour of it from Turbine! If you're not up-to-date, now's the perfect time to check out all of our coverage!
LotRO's 2nd Anniversary brings another "Welcome Back Week"
The Lord of the Rings Online is turning two, and its not just the current players that can celebrate. A number of incentives are being offered to lure former subscribers back into the world of Middle-earth, and emails spreading the word have gone out. There is a "Welcome Back Week" of the kind that we're becoming accustomed to seeing quite often now, starting on the 24th of April and ending on the 30th. This means that past subscribers can jump right back into the game for free during the week. The 25% experience bonus (on top of any rested experience bonus) of the last weekend will also be in effect, for all players.As well as this, special subscription pricing of US$9.99 a month (for 3-month or longer plans) is available again. Both current and former subscribers are able to take advantage of the promotional pricing, but 1-month plans remain at the usual price. For the last little treat, monsters in-game will be dropping rare loot that can be traded for anniversary gift boxes containing a range of special items. Stay tuned to Massively for much more detailed coverage of LotRO's birthday tomorrow.
LotRO to welcome back previous players for free
Codemasters has announced today a special Welcome Back Week for Lord of the Rings Online players. From February 2nd through February 9th, they're inviting players to come back and try the again game for free. This only applies to those who have tried the game previously, and let their game time expire. Also, as far as we can tell, since this is through Codemasters, it only applies to the European servers.During this Welcome Back Week, monsters may drop special rare items that can be exchanged for gift boxes containing helpful in-game items. There will also be a Great Musician, a Great Fishing Tournament and a Fashion Maven in game. You can read more information at the Codemasters forum.[Update] It has been confirmed to only apply to the Codemasters/EU servers
Dungeons and Dragons celebrates second anniversary this weekend
Our favorite D&D fan Schad dropped a note to remind us that the Dungeons and Dragons Online second anniversary celebration is set to go on as scheduled on Sunday. We're not quite sure what that entails, but whatever it is, it'll show up ingame on Sul, Therendor 2nd (that's Sunday, March 2nd for non-nerds -- I kid!), and Schad tells us that there will be cake. We'll believe it when we see it.And in case you've been away from the game, the anniversary celebration will also feature a "welcome back" week, offering old players their characters back and a 25% XP bonus until March 11. Apparently that was nerfed from last year, but more XP is always good XP, right? Plus, if you left the game before Module 6 was introduced, now you can go see all those vidoegame-inspired levels in the Shroud.%Gallery-14446%
