Lord Of The Rings Online Cleans Up Cash Shop In Preparation For Update 33

Next week’s big Lord of the Rings Online anniversary update will not only kick off anniversary festivities in Middle Earth, it will also mark a big change in the long-running MMORPG’s monetization scheme.

As Standing Stone Games revealed last month, they’ll be making a whole host of paid content free for all players with the release of Update 33. These include all content and expansions released since the game first launched in 2007 up to, and including, Helm’s Deep. The Beorning, Rune-Keeper, and Warden classes, as well as the High Elf race will also become permanently free when the update comes out.

In light of this, the team has removed all associated items from the cash shop, including expansion quests, quest packs, instances, skirmishes, and the Draigoch's Lair raid. A detailed list of the removed items can be found on the official forums.

In addition to making a ton of content free, Update 33 will also open up the new Yondershire zone to the north of the Shire. The sparsely populated forest region is home to reclusive and outcast Hobbits, and those considered to be troublemakers.

“Since the time of Bullroarer Took, the Yondershire has squabbled with the more comfortable parts of the Shire. The upstart Lotho Sackville-Baggins aims to bully the local Hobbits, but they’re none too keen on his designs. Explore the Yondershire, and experience some more delightful Hobbit adventures, our first expansion of the Shire in years!”

You can find out more about the new zone here.