LOTRO server closures have made me sad

Hey all,

This is kind of random but I need sympathetic ears right now! I love Lord of the Rings and I've played Lord of the Rings Online since 2007 or so (was in the beta and then subscribed not long after launch.) My main is a champion called, unsurprisingly, Laurelinde, and I absolutely love her to bits. She is badass and brave and noble and good and beautiful and basically all the things I would love to be but am not IRL.

The game has had population issues for a long time now and most of my kinship is retired, but we've been hanging along on Gilrain. Turbine have finally decided to close some servers and offer free transfers to promote people being able to do more group stuff, which is great! Except...

As soon as they announced server closures were coming, I went through all the servers, both US and EU, to check name availability. My minstrel's name was already taken on every server bar one (the French one), but I managed to reserve Laurelinde on a few. Unfortunately, all of the EU servers where I have the name saved are closing except for the French server again, and even if it made sense, it's not possible to do an EU-US server transfer.

So now my choice is basically to go alone to the French server and hope my French is good enough to manage; to go with the remnants of my kin/server to Evernight but have to pick a new name; or to just stop playing.

I'd always thought I'd make it all the way to Mordor but the thought of not being Laurelinde anymore is just devastating in a way that makes me annoyed with myself, because it's so minor. My closest friend left in the kin thinks I'm being stupid for putting the character name above the chance to play with more people again. It's just...I have no backup, I have no alternatives. Even different spellings feel wrong. She is Laurelinde, and I am Laurelinde, now, almost more than I am my 'real' name, and I don't know what to do. I should be excited that the game could be revitalised but I just feel sad, and angry at myself for how sad I feel over something so petty in the grand scheme of things, as a name in a videogame.

Gah, another rambling long woe-is-me post from me, I'm sorry. I need more RL friends to vent to, I think, but talking to people is scary.

Update: I should shut my pie-hole (pie-fingers? that doesn't work) and stop unloading on the internet because a friend logged in on the new server and the 'other' Laurelinde hasn't played in ages so I should, theoretically, get priority - my server is in the first group to close/merge. So, crisis averted, potentially. Carry on with your lives and just pretend the sad mopey bear has actually blended into the wallpaper and disappeared as she is now metaphorically attempting.

I completely understand. Your character's name is a really important part of your identity in an MMO. I have a lifetime sub to LOTRO but haven't played in years. I should see if I can remember my account info.

I have a kin that's on Llandroval. If people are interested I can start inviting people into it as an unofficial forum Guild. We've got a kin house and everything!

I would love to play in a kin with other Mary Sue-ers, but EU to US transfers aren't possible, it seems. However I will let you all know where I end up if there are any EU players who want to join up or something!

Ack, I'm late to the discussion, but I will chime in anyway. I'm an old-timer, open beta player, lifer/founder. If you are on Landy and you see Meneliel, or any characters in the kinships Nost Elenath, the Guild of Venturers, the Bagshot Row Irregulars, or We Must Away, it's me! Be sure and say hi

Laurelinde, I am sorry to hear about your name issues. I totally get it. I would probably feel the same way when faced with name loss. It's an important part of the character and sometimes no other name will do. I do urge you to give it a try, though. I see you have been looking into it and seeing if you can transfer and get the name by being recently active. I hope you get it!

*waves to Katherine* If any of you do want to get together, I play on Landroval too. Laurelinde, I will check next time I log in to see if the name is available there in case you want to start an alt over on the US side. I will be glad to help anyone get started there with gold, items, crafting mats, cosmetics, etc. I'm also willing to make alts on the EU side if anyone wants to start something up there. I usually solo but am willing to play with others if I know them.

Ooooh! Have you got a kin? If not I can invite you into mine.

So far the only members are me and my wife.

No worries Vel, I went through some months back when they announced closures and checked them all.

I'm coming to terms with it a bit more and I've got a possible alternate (using Laurelinde and my real name/my real name in Quenya which is very similar), so mostly now I'm just waiting for Turbine to put us out of our misery and let us move! It will be nice to have more people around to try to grind Central Gondor rep, for example (I'm kindred with absolutely everybody except the Ale Association and those three now, but they are hard to solo grind.)

Our kin met and we're moving to Laurelin, ironically enough. If you all get a TMS kin going let me know and I'll roll up a Beorning or something. ^^ Never got round to levelling mine on Gilrain but I really need a bear, obviously!

Katherine, I have four (I know, I may be a little overzealous) personal kinships, but I would be willing to make a new alt to join your TMS kin. I never have a problem making alts, and we do have these nice new character slots Turbine handed out!

Laurelinde, I hear ya on the Gondor rep grind. I gave up on it myself, but I guess I will have to get back to it eventually. Still haven't finished Dol Amroth rep yet, I am a slacker! Sounds like you have a good handle on things; I hope the move goes smoothly for you.

If you guys want to hang out on Laurelin, I think I have a level 1 alt there--I'll run her through the intro and stuff. Maybe an EU branch of the TMS kinship?

Makes me want to come back. LOTRO is the only MMO I never tired of, mostly because I liked to log on and just look at all the pretty stuff, enjoying being in Middle-earth.

At some point I'll have to log on again and see which server my characters were on...

Mysterycycle, you might want to log in if you want to retain your character names (if you are on any of the remaining servers). Characters who have been active within the past year will retain their names in case of a name collision with an incoming character.

Transfers between the remaining US servers (Landroval, Crickhollow, Arkenstone, Gladden--Brandywine is open for outgoing only), are up now and will be up for 48 hours. I just transferred some lowbie alts from Crick to Landy as a test and it worked fine.

Crap. My mini on Brandywine is missing. I was hoping to get her over to Llandroval.

Oh no! I know they've been having problems with the moves but I thought it was just login issues. Have you tried contacting Turbine support?

Not yet. I can't even remember what her name was which is going to make it problematic, since I haven't played her in so long.

Argh, I hope you find your mini, Katherine. I would freak out.

Well, some news on this. Our server/kin moved Monday from Gilrain to Laurelin, the RP server. Miraculously, all but one of my characters made it across without requiring a name change. My little hobbit burglar-farmer, Lilyrose, was already taken, so after trying: Orangeblossom, Iris, Lily, Hyacinth, Lilac, Freesia, Wysteria, Laurel, Laurelia, Poppy, Constance, Clover, Vinca, Periwinkle, and a few others, the only thing that worked was 'Buddleia.' It's kind of a stupid name, but it's not like I didn't try.

Unfortunately, the rest of the move has not been so pleasant. As I had feared, the existing Laurelin community has not, overall, been welcoming. It is probably a few nasty busybodies more than anything, but world chat was incredibly toxic on Monday and hasn't improved overmuch. Names that can be blocked via loopholes are being reported and their owners having the names force-changed, even though they are not offensive. There is a lot of 'us and them'.

I can appreciate that the RP community are often mistreated and mocked in MMOs and that they want to preserve the community they had prior to the merges. Unfortunately, enough players are being totally inflexible that it is, ironically, ruining my own immersion and enjoyment of the game. I spent a long time on my names, going through Quenya and Sindarin wordlists, Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse dictionaries, lists of flowers and gems and so on, to try to develop appropriate names for my characters. But I am feeling like my names could be reported because I'm using the 'wrong' Elvish or it's too close to the server name, because 'this plant might not have grown in Middle-earth' (even though there's no definitive list of all M-e flora and fauna!), or it inadvertently coincides with a real-world place or person, as happened to another former Gilrainian last night.

The nature of world chat seems to indicate that there are some people who just plain didn't want anyone new to come to Laurelin - even though there is literally one other English option for us in the EU - and are deliberately trying to spoil it for us and get us to leave. 'Don't like it, go to Evernight' is a refrain I've heard countless times in the last four days, and I'm sick of it.

We didn't ask to leave. Our kin, and most of the others on Gilrain, voted for Laurelin as it was meant to be more mature and welcoming like Gilrain was! But I'm regretting it already because I haven't seen that side of the server at all.

So, my original drama was (maybe?) unnecessary, but now there's more. :/ Sorry to unload. I might end up going to Evernight even despite the need for a namechange and the fact I'd be alone, but right now, playing feels like trying to crash an MRA party or something with how 'welcome' I feel.

P.S. Is there any way to transfer to a US-based server if I pay money? Might be worth me trying to play with you guys. :/ Let me know where you end up.

I'm sorry to hear about that, Laurelinde. That frankly sucks. I read the forum threads about your fellow Gilrainians, and thought it was ridiculous. Ardbeg is a name I would not even blink at. Absolutely, names like 'Yomomma' and 'Jetpilot' and 'Suxxorz' and the like should be reported, on a server with naming rules. But names that are simply fantasy-ish and not obviously offensive or against ToS should just be left alone, IMO. Your names sound fine to me, and I think they are probably fine to 99% of the RPers on Laurelin. But you always have that 1% of jerks who like to cause trouble. I am sorry you guys are being treated like that.

I remember back when the EU servers were brought in by Turbine, and oh the huge row between the Landroval and Laurelin communities! People were ripping on each other over who would get to be the official RP server, whether there should be no official RP server, etc. It was really nasty. RP communities are usually great, but they can also be full of major drama, sadly.

Sadly, there is no way to transfer between EU and US servers. I wish you guys could come to Landy! We are a welcoming lot. If you do decide to make some alts on Landy, let me know and I will gladly do all I can to help you get settled. My main there is Meneliel.

Thanks! I never got around to levelling up my Beorning on Gilrain so maybe I can be a fuzzy babe on Landroval!

You can hang out with my fuzzy babe on Landroval!

Well, after reading the discussion of 'orangeblossom' on the forum, I will never ever play on Laurelin. I can't believe that argument. You are playing a game where you will see pumpkins and giant riding goats in the Shire, dude. Yet you throw a fit over the word 'orange'? Sheesh.

Laure, I hope you guys are able to settle somewhere that will be a good home for you. I cannot believe people are being so dang petty (but I guess I really am not surprised). I'm sorry you are having to put up with that stupid drama.

Oh, I also have a fuzzy babe on Landroval. Maybe we should start a bear group!

Ha, yeah, that Radhruin guy is a real piece of work, isn't he? 'Oh, I am ze great Tolkien lore expert, I am far too evolved to play with the likes of you peasants.' (Laurebear on the forums is me, by the way, if that wasn't already screamingly obvious.)

I'm going to sit tight and just kinda...hide out until cross-server transfers open. If things haven't improved, I'll probably bail for Evernight, lag or no lag. I'll miss my kin, because I've been with them since 2008, but hardly anyone plays anymore in any case and I'd rather feel comfortable joking around, helping people with crafting/advice, etc. in chats than feeling as restrained as I do now. Plus, while I have no problem with RPers or RP, the way most of the kinships I've seen advertising seem kinda hardcore, like 'militaristic dwarf kin', or 'Rohirrim only kin', or 'Lorien elves and Beornings kin', that's just not my cuppa.

My guess is that once the bigger servers like Withywindle and Snowbourn start transferring, the few naming police will be so overwhelmed they will just give up, and Gilrainians won't have a big target on our heads anymore.

Wow! Whenever I play an MMO I usually pick a RP server if one is available, because I usually find those servers to be the LEAST elitist. I'm really sad to hear that LOTR fans prove to be the exception :/

I think it's just a couple of bad apples, really. It just sucks that I'm so prone to being paranoid that I'm afraid to talk in chat channels. Doesn't help that my main's name is practically the server name even thought it is genuinely a coincidence...I don't know if it would be considered poor form. I did go ahead and save an alternate on the server though, which is a mix of Laurelinde and the Quenya form of my real name, just in case!

Some news on the name front. Vyv posted that Laurelin's naming policy will be relaxed until transfers are done. She urges new arrivals on Laurelin to contact a GM in-game for a free rename token to hang onto if you think you may need to change your name. Good to know Turbine is keeping an eye on the uproar about this.

I hope you are figuring out a good solution, Laure.