The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 4:00AM Eastern (-5 GMT) to prepare for the launch of the Head Start of The Lord of the Rings Online™ Volume III: Allies of The King, Book 2: The Ride of the Grey Company.

Head Start Information!
Open to current and former subscribers as well as recent participants in the closed beta, The Lord of the Rings Online™ Head Start begins 09/08/10. Players who join us for this event get exclusive access to play early. The head start allows all participants to fully experience the new game content and features, including the new region of Enedwaith, the new LOTRO store and the Free-to-Play option, before the general public is admitted on 09/10/10. Reserve your character names on the new servers, play the new content first, or simply get a jump on trying out the latest game features. It all begins on September 8th!

NOTE: The head start will happen on the live game servers. Current and former subscribers as well as recent participants in the closed beta may be able to patch up and start playing as early as the 7th, dependent upon server availability. Beta players who did not previously play on the live service will need to download and install the live game client prior to playing, and will log into the live servers using their beta logins, which will be converted to live accounts in time for the beginning of the head start on 09/08/10. The Beta (Bullroarer) game software will not work to access the head start. To download the live game client go here for the standard version and here for the high res version.

Some games require only a very minimalistic UI while others, like MMOs, require a more complicated UI to provide players with the large amount of information vital to their gameplay. The Lord of the Rings Online™ has quite a bit going on behind the scenes.

Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Narrel and join the discussion!

Do you still have questions about Free to Play or Volume III, Book 2? Join us for a Developer Chat hosted by Warcry on Tuesday, September 7th at 1:00PM Eastern (-4 GMT). Visit Warcry.com for the full details!

Current Subscribers and returning players will be able to access LOTRO Free-to-Play on the North American servers starting September 8th and Head Start players will be the first to play on our newest servers! The following worlds will be available starting September 8, 2010:

• Riddermark
• Crickhollow
• Dwarrowdelf
• Imladris

To help players organize their friends and Kinmates, the official server forums for these worlds are now available.

Coming to PAX in Seattle (Sep 3-5)? Make sure you stop by the Turbine booth to say hello! The Turbine team (including Rowan, Zombie Columbus, Patience, Sapience, and Tolero) will be on hand with cards for free Turbine Points for the LOTRO Store and special swag for community members (while supplies last). We look forward to seeing you at PAX!

Using the LOTRO Store is quick, easy, and fun! Whether you’re looking for something practical (like a potion) or something to spice up your day, buying from the LOTRO Store is as easy as a click of your mouse!

Read more about the LOTRO Store in today’s content update and join the discussion!

Book 2 is almost here, so let's talk about crafting! This update brings improvements for two more crafting professions, revisions to many older reputation recipes, a bunch of new class item recipes for Tailors, and updates for crafted Athelas Essence and Celebrant Salve potions made by Scholars.

Read more in The Crafting Revision Developer Diary and join the discussion!

Weekend lotteries are back! Win Assorted Tokens, Pipe Weed, Beer, Wine, Skirmish Marks and Symbols of Celebrimbor! Log in to my.lotro.com and visit your character page to enter! It's your last chance to win before Free to Play launches!

Do you play an Warg Stalker? Is there something you feel your class needs? How do you feel about the Warg Stalker's skills? We’re looking for Warg Stalker class feedback in this week’s Tell the Community Team thread. Warg Stalkers, sound off!

Volume III, Book 2 will address two main issues with the Captain class. Today we will discuss the changes to Captain Standards, and the Leader of Men and Lead the Charge Trait Sets.

Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Ken "Graalx2" Burd and join the discussion!

For Volume III Book 2 we decided to convert the bank to the same system the current Shared Account Storage uses. This article will briefly go over the key features of the Shared Account Storage, which have been incorporated wholesale into the new vault.

Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Ransroth and join the discussion!

Volume III, Book 2 will introduce the Wardrobe System, a system guaranteed to take your hoarding habit to the next level.

Read more about the Wardrobe System in the latest Developer Diary from Elliot “Avon” Gilman and join the discussion!

Turbine Entertainment released another promo shot in time for Gamescon 2010, where they are showing off the new F2P version of Lord of the Rings...