We caught up with the Turbine team to check out some of the latest content to come out this fall, including the gorgeous land of Enedwaith and, of course, LOTRO's shift to F2P!

Looking around the land of Enedwaith, it's easy to see just how much fun the team had developing this space. Gondorian ruins are scattered across the landscape, along with lush forests and tons of great scenery; we even got to check out Maur Tulhau, a stray settlement of Hobbits who live in that same laid-back fashion as their cousins in the Shire. In reality, Enedwaith gives everyone - both players and the development team - a solid reprieve from the gloom of Mirkwood, while also allowing adventurers the chance to dig into the history of the Rangers and to appreciate all that they've done. The team notes that you will even have a chance to play as one of these heroes of the past!

With regard to other new content, the team noted that they've also gone back and made many of their old dungeons scalable, by bringing some of their new technology (skirmishes) back into the older instances that players know and love. You can definitely expect new characters to feel a little bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content available at level 20, but we don't think anybody's ever complained about having too much to do - especially if there's great loot to be had everywhere!

But of course, the biggest change for Lord of the Rings Online that's coming this fall really has little to do with the new lands (gorgeous as they are!), as everyone's really abuzz about LOTRO's transition to the free to play market. Much like DDO, LOTRO will feature an in-game store that is easy to access, and it will feature a large variety of custom fashion items, in addition to luxury convenience items. Of course, the team also notes that they will be following DDO's footsteps that nobody will need to "pay to win." In fact, players can still earn and play their way without paying a cent; not only will you have access to the entire epic quest line without having to pay, but you can also earn Turbine points by fulfilling deeds.

With regard to future developments, the team noted that this new transition really just means that there will definitely be a steadier cadence of updates coming from the team. In reality, there is no better way for Turbine to understand their player base than to simply keep an eye on the in-game LOTRO store. Of course, if players really love those massive expansions, like Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood, the team can still do that; it's really about reading and keeping in touch with their community. In reality, the change doesn't feel as significant as it really is, but it's definitely significant that more players will be able to pay for, and play, this stellar MMO in whatever way they really want.