U18 Will Cost 1,995 TP; Why?

QuartermasterU has explained the 1,995TP cost (for non-subscribers) of the new update in a post on the Official LOTRO Forums.

There have been some questions around the pricing of the new region pack: “Region Pack: Far Anórien”.

We took into consideration of current pricing, historical pricing, free points, and what the goals were for this particular set of content.
*Quest packs: typically 595 – 795tp. Current pricing since Great River has been 1x Quest Pack = 795tp (some of these, have in fact, included instances)
*Instance Clusters: 1495tp (Rohan and Isengard)
*Raids: As we’ve only sold one individually at 1295tp, we took this into consideration as well.

The plan:
For u18, the Region Pack will give you access to all new quest content (70+ quests), deeds,
the instance cluster (3 instances), and also give you access to the raid (more information TBD)
when that arrives with u18.2.

1495+795 = 2290 tp
Current price: 1995 tp

In that same thread there are those that are asking for the 1,495 portion to be separate from the 795 portion to give people the option to purchase one at a time.  This does make some sense in that not everyone will have 1,995 saved up right away but may have the 795 to get them going on the new content.  Perhaps this will be an option?

With that said, LOTRO is a business.  Without funding it will cease to exist.  The LOTRO FTP model is excellent (beyond most MMOs on the market) in that it allows people access to a fantastic game, and I fully support it.  However, FTP does require cash injections beyond that of the regular subscriptions to sustain the game long term.  LOTRO has been on the market for 9 years, and in that time has only released 5 X-Pacs that required additional payment (in dollars), with the last one being in 2013.  Where do these cash injections come from then; the LOTRO Store and the buying of TP.

Not everyone can afford a VIP subscription, and some have several accounts making it a much higher cost, and I understand that.  But I also understand that Turbine cannot operate a completely free model.

For me, I have held a VIP subscription since LOTRO went live (kicking myself for not buying the Lifetime) and I fully feel that I get good value.  I get a full month of fun for less than I would spend on seeing a movie, or going for a beer, or a couple of coffees … you get the picture.  I also get 500TP per month with VIP (a $6.45 value if I bought 1,550 TP @ $19.99).

A VIP subscription costs as little as $8.33/ month which comes with:

VIPs Receive:

•   Mailbox Field Access
•   Custom character portrait frame
•   Access All Character Trait Slots
•   Daily +100% XP*
•   500 Turbine Points per month
•   Free weekly Gold Hobbit Present
•   Access All Quest Packs and Skirmishes*
•   Access All Monster Classes
•   Unlimited Chat
•   Access All Crafting Guilds
•   20 Slots of Shared Wardrobe Space
•   No Currency Cap
•   Additional Inventory Slots
•   Maximum Auction House Listings