Weeks after the 64-bit servers launched for Lord of the Rings Online, we finally have a firm date for when housing will be turned on. Here’s what you need to know.
When the 64-bit servers first launched, much of that early rush by players to transfer was due to the land rush for housing plots, for both premium and classic neighborhoods. As a result, Standing Stone Games shut down housing on the new servers in an attempt to cool some of the demand.
Now, three or so weeks later, we have a timeline for when housing will turn back on. On the forums today, community manager Cordovan announced that housing will turn on starting on March 31st and will roll out in phases. Premium housing neighborhoods will open first, followed by the Classic housing neighborhoods.
Housing for all servers will turn on the same day, but will see a staggered release based on region. The EU servers Meriadoc and Orcrist will turn on starting 12pm eastern and 12:10pm eastern, respectively, while the North American-based Glamdring and Peregrin will kick on at 6pm and 6:10pm eastern, respectively.
The first neighborhood to open will the the Belfalas housing on Monday, March 31st, and each successive neighborhood will roll out each day of the week.
Per Cordovan on the forums:
Monday, 3/31: Belfalas
Tuesday, 4/1: Eastfold / Erebor
Wednesday, 4/2: Kingstead / Lyndelby
Thursday, 4/3: Bree-land / Falathlorn
Friday, 4/4: Shire / Thorin’s Hall
Cordovan added some additional context for those looking to rush the housing brokers come Monday:
“Some additional notes, this is being localized and will be added prior to transfers on Monday:
We will be adding extra housing brokers for each neighborhood at all starting area stable-masters (Michel Delving, Celondim, Thorin’s Hall, Mossward, and Combe).
Please note: Housing can only be purchased through the housing brokers. The “For Sale” signs will not be available at this time. We encourage you to take advantage of these extra brokers to secure your home more easily!
We will also have temporary discussion channels available on the LOTRO Forums and LOTRO Official Discord to provide updates and answer any questions during the housing rollout.
All Individual neighborhoods within a region will all be available when a specific region’s housing opens.”
Additionally, it should be noted that this schedule is subject to change, especially if the team runs into any issues following the launch of the Belfalas neighborhood.
For those who haven’t migrated over to the new servers, there will be two more, one in each region, opening up here soon, so if you don’t see a pressing need to jump into the fray just yet, you can hold off until necessary. Hopefully the housing rollout is smooth, as many players (myself included) have been eagerly awaiting emptying out our housing escrows following the transfer (and I really need to get my Rohan house set up again – I loved that place).
