A couple months ago one of our readers pointed us to a German site that measures LOTRO server populations by tracking logins. Obviously, logins aren't a perfect metric since they don't say anything about how long that player was logged in, but it's a decent starting spot.
And, as it turns out, incredibly interesting! Not only has the server with the most logins shifted with the launch of Free-to-Play (F2P), but the overall number of logins has skyrocketed.
HdRO Live (that's LOTRO Live in English) measures logins for US, EU, Russian and China servers. We don't know anything about their methodology but the numbers seem credible. And what the numbers show is this:
Is F2P Shifting LOTRO Server Populations?
The Biggest Servers Aren't Anymore
The old "big three" - Brandywine, Elendilmir, and Landroval - had fewer logins than Firefoot, Gladden and Nimrodel last week. All four of the new servers topped the old leaders too.
What's going on here? We're not sure. Maybe the Servers Suggested for New Players message in the patcher is doing it's job, or the login queues are motivating folks to consider other servers. What do you think?
What's going on here? We're not sure. Maybe the Servers Suggested for New Players message in the patcher is doing it's job, or the login queues are motivating folks to consider other servers. What do you think?
Week 6 through 13 (August 2nd through September 26th) shown above. Click the image above to see the original chart on HdRO Live, and data for more weeks.
