Yes, it’s true. Now that Lord of the Rings Online has gone Free to Play (F2P) I have started playing again. The pricing model works very well for me since I don’t put in as many hours per month as a hardcore player does. I get the quests in the basic areas for free, then drop a few bucks here or there as I level up and start exploring new areas. This way if I go an entire month and only play 1-2 hours I don’t feel like I’ve wasted my $15 (or whatever the monthly charge is now).
