My House Survived!

Not my real house. It made it through Ike just fine. I'm talking about my house just outside Bree in Lord of the Rings Online. I heard the siren call this past week and finally gave in and reactivated my account. I had been MMO free since early June. But LotRO has got its claws in me for some reason and I just couldn't resist coming back.

Housing in the game is a great feature. Not only do you get to deck out your yard and interior, it grants cheaper prices at the local store and a one hour cooldown hearth. Usually when you quit the game and your weekly upkeep runs out, the game moves the contents of your house to a special bank vault. After another couple of weeks, even that is eliminated. Last time I quit the game and came back, not only was my house forfeit, but all the cool stuff I had gathered was gone too. Turbine must have changed policy in recent months because today when I logged back in, I had an icon informing me I was locked out of my house. After I paid a 95 silver fee, I regained access. I took quick stock and everything was there, right down to my bear statue.

Woot!

I scanned the ranks of my guild and observed that many officers and members haven't played in weeks. I think currently operating MMOs have suffered population attrition across the board, as new MMOs are launched and gamers distribute themselves across numerous title options. I had not the urge to return to Age of Conan though. I did have mild pangs for World of Warcraft, but in the end, I wanted to play my dwarf minstrel more than I did my blood elf pally. And with Mines of Moria coming out in the coming months, I've got a lot to look forward to in this game I've come to love as much as one of my children.

Don't tell Wifezilla I wrote that.