For those of you that are confused about the whole Mines of Moria pre-order program, Turbine has started a couple of forum threads just for you. These threads allow discussion on the topic and answer basic questions for you.
Both are pretty straightforward and I’m sure you’ll find what you need there. Personally, my plan is to pre-order the Complete Edition through Gamestop (who offer two bonus items). I was going to get the Collector’s Edition, but I know I won’t use any of those bonus items.
The official LotRO Web site was updated essentially out of nowhere today. It’s now sporting a blue color scheme and is heavily focused on Mines of Moria. With it also came some good news: Turbine has finally announced the official release date of the expansion and detailed their pre-order program.
The November 18th release date every online store has had in their system for months now is the official date. I know, I know, it’s a big surprise.
Pre-ordering either the Complete or Collector’s Edition versions of the game will net you the following bonuses:
The Cloak of Sunset, a unique cloak emblazoned with an image of the Hollin Gate.
An exclusive in-game Moria character title — “Moria Expeditionary”.
1 in-game token, which allows players to choose 1 of 8 unique in-game items after launch
$199 lifetime subscription or $9.99 monthly subscription when paying for 3 or more months at once
Soundtrack CD
If you’re going the digital upgrade route, you can order it early. It’s the same deal, except you don’t get the soundtrack CD and you get 3 tokens instead of 1.
Keep in mind, only certain stores are part of this pre-order program: Best Buy, Gamestop, Hollywood Video Game Crazy and Fry’s. This does NOT include Walmart or Amazon.
I’ve also noted that Gamestop is selling the Collector’s Edition for $79.99 instead of the announced $89.99. I’m not sure if that’s universal yet.
More importantly, it looks like certain stores will have exclusive items in addition to all of this. Gamestop is promising two: the Deep Miner’s Helm and the Seeker of Khazad-dum. At this point, I’ve not been able to find any details on what other stores might carry .… Personally, it looks like I’m going with Gamestop.
Additionally, Turbine is running a contest at moria.lotro.com (just find the big contest link in the Flash the site plays), where you can compete for $25,000 in prizes. You get codes for entry by pre-ordering the game and in advertisements. Of course, you can also click a link for a free entry code.
Today the pre-order details for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King were announced and I found myself wondering if anything new had happened with Mines of Moria. You might have noticed that no store of note was offering a pre-order for the Collector’s Edition of the game.
Apparently that changed recently, as Amazon has listings for both versions of the game on their Web site:
I’m going to be picking up the Collector’s Edition myself, although honestly the $89.99 price tag is a bit hard to swallow. That’s a good $10 more than these typically go for … Although I have to admit the packaging for this is nicer than what we usually see.
Either way, for those of you considering playing the game for the first time, remember that both versions include the original The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar game as well. So there’s worrying about picking up two separate games.
For those of you still waiting it out, there’s not been any indication thus far that different stores will have additional pre-order bonuses or different in-game items. Shadows of Angmar didn’t do this either, so I’d be surprised if that will change (despite both Age of Conan and Warhammer Online doing it).
Amazon is claiming both as November 18th releases still, although Turbine has yet to comment on that.
I’ve been wondering when retailers would start pre-ordering Mines of Moria considering we were told what the various packages would be weeks ago. While North America is still being ignored, Codemasters has put up their pre-order page for the game in Europe.
To my surprise, it looks as though Europe is getting a different set of items in their Collector’s Edition package. Not only does it look completely different, but it will include a Moria broach as opposed to a replica of the One Ring. It also includes a Fellowship map, a soundtrack, 3 in-game items and 60 days of free play time.
While Codemasters is still saying Autumn, Massively has noted that Play and Amazon are both saying the game will hit Europe on November 14th. Here’s hoping!
Turbine sent out a press release today concerning Mines of Moria. It turns out that Warner Bros. will be distributing the title to retail in North America. Midway distributed the original release in the area.
The release states that three versions of the game will be available:
