Kinship housing in The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) offers a unique and valuable communal asset, providing a dedicated space for a kinship to congregate, store items, and engage in social activities. The selection of a kinship house represents a significant in-game investment, and the decision should be guided by a clear understanding of the options available.
This report provides a detailed, side-by-side comparison of all available kinship houses, focusing on the key metrics of internal and external decoration hook counts and ongoing financial costs. The analysis identifies a fundamental dichotomy between two distinct housing tiers: Classic and Premium. Classic kinship houses, located in Eriador, are purchased with gold and incur a persistent weekly gold upkeep. Premium kinship houses, situated in the lands beyond, are acquired with Mithril Coins or Homesteading Coins, with upkeep costs being waived for VIP subscribers.
Key findings indicate that Premium housing provides a substantial advantage for decorators, offering significantly more decoration hooks than their Classic counterparts. The Erebor Kinship House, in particular, leads the field with the highest total hook count, while certain Premium properties offer "mobile hooks" that provide unparalleled creative flexibility. In contrast, Classic houses are a more accessible, gold-based investment with a lower initial cost. The report also highlights the critical distinction between a true kinship house and other large-scale properties, such as the Kingstead Mead Hall, which may be misleadingly perceived as a functional equivalent.
This document serves as an authoritative guide for kinship leaders, offering the data and strategic context necessary to make an informed decision aligned with their kinship's long-term priorities, whether they are focused on decoration, fiscal responsibility, or establishing a central social hub.
A kinship house, or Kinship Hall, is the largest and most accommodating of the three house types available in LOTRO, surpassing both standard and deluxe personal houses in size, decoration capacity, and storage.1 These properties are designed to function as the central, permanent hub for a kinship. The purchase of a kinship house is a privilege reserved for the kinship leader, and it is contingent upon the kinship achieving a rank of 7 or higher.1 Reaching this rank signifies a kinship's active lifespan and stability, a process which takes a minimum of three months to accomplish.2 This in-game requirement serves as a prerequisite for a legitimate long-term investment, ensuring that the property is acquired by an established community.
The primary functional benefit of a kinship house, and its most compelling advantage over even the most opulent personal deluxe house, is the universal "Travel to Kinship House" skill.3 This skill allows any member of the kinship to instantly travel to the hall, a benefit that a privately owned house, no matter how grand, cannot replicate. This utility transforms the house from a mere decorative property into a fully functional and accessible gathering point for the entire kinship, making it an invaluable tool for organizing events, raids, and role-playing sessions. The communal nature extends to its storage capacity, as kinship houses can hold up to three shared storage chests, providing a central repository for the entire group.1
The housing landscape in LOTRO is divided into two distinct tiers: Classic and Premium. This distinction is central to understanding the financial and decorative differences between kinship houses.
The single most important functional constraint is that a kinship is limited to owning only one kinship house, whether it is a Classic or Premium property.5 This ensures that the choice between these two tiers is a strategic one, requiring careful consideration of the kinship's financial model, member demographics, and long-term goals.
Classic kinship houses are defined not only by their location but also by their distinctive architectural and aesthetic styles, each reflecting the culture of their respective races. The Bree-land, Thorin's Hall, and Falathlorn kinship houses share a largely similar two-story floor plan.6 This layout consists of a main entrance hall, a grand hall, and several smaller rooms, including one upstairs.7 Player observations note that these layouts are often simple "re-skins" or "flips" of one another, maintaining the same basic dimensions and room placements while altering the visual textures and structural elements.6
The Shire kinship house, however, is a notable exception to this shared blueprint. Its design is a single-story layout where hallways replace the stairwells found in the other classic homes.6 While a rough calculation suggests the square footage is comparable to the other houses, the absence of stairs gives the Shire house a more open and spacious feeling, as the usable floor space is not visually broken up by vertical transitions.6 Another key difference is the lack of a stage in the Shire's grand hall, which further contributes to its impression of being a larger, more expansive communal area.6 These differences in layout and feel are a critical consideration for kinships prioritizing a specific aesthetic.
A persistent challenge for players comparing housing options is the presence of conflicting information regarding decoration hook counts. Official in-game descriptions and even some wiki entries can be outdated due to the numerous revamps and updates that classic houses have undergone over the years.10 The most reliable data is often found in detailed, community-sourced information, which tracks these changes and provides precise hook breakdowns.
The data confirms that the base count for a classic kinship house is approximately 121 interior and 11 exterior hooks.4 However, more detailed breakdowns reveal that specific homesteads have a slightly higher count, indicating that updates have been applied unevenly or were not fully implemented across all house types simultaneously.
A precise breakdown of the confirmed hook counts for Classic Kinship Houses is as follows:
The financial model for Classic housing is straightforward and operates entirely on the in-game gold currency. The purchase cost for a kinship house varies slightly based on the specific address within a neighborhood. Data from multiple sources confirms that the price range is approximately 14 gold and 250 silver to 17 gold and 250 silver.7
Similarly, the weekly upkeep fee is not a fixed number but depends on the chosen address. The maintenance costs range from 285 silver to 345 silver per week.4 While these weekly fees are a relatively small amount on their own, they represent a persistent, recurring financial obligation for the kinship. Over the course of a year, the total upkeep would amount to approximately 14 gold and 820 silver, which is a significant sum that a kinship must budget for indefinitely. This recurring cost is a key distinction from Premium housing, which offers a path to zero long-term upkeep.
Premium kinship houses are a newer addition to the game's housing system, offering luxurious properties in the regions beyond Eriador. These homes were designed to be grander in scale and offer a substantially greater number of decoration hooks, providing more creative potential for ambitious decorators.5 The data confirms that Premium Kinship houses eclipse their Classic counterparts in raw hook count, providing a distinct advantage for players who prioritize elaborate decoration.
Beyond the raw numbers, premium housing introduces a feature that fundamentally alters the nature of house decoration: mobile hooks.16 While not all premium houses possess this feature, properties like those in Erebor and certain Lyndelby houses with a "Stately" designation offer fully mobile yard hooks. This capability allows decorators to move and position items freely, adjust their height, and even stack them vertically to create elaborate, multi-level structures and scenes that are impossible with standard, static hooks.16 The absence of this feature, such as with the Lyndelby kinship house, is a critical point of consideration for a decorator.
Furthermore, player reviews highlight the aesthetic advantages of Premium housing locations. The Cape of Belfalas is frequently praised for its breathtaking sea views and stately, high-ceilinged interiors.2 These qualitative factors, while not quantifiable like hook counts, are a crucial part of the decision-making process for a player investing in a property.
It is essential to clarify a common point of confusion: the Kingstead Mead Hall in the Kingstead Meadows Homesteads, while a magnificent and appropriately themed property, is not a kinship house.3 Despite its grand name, it is classified as a personal deluxe house. The critical difference is its lack of the "Travel to Kinship House" skill, a core functional benefit that makes a kinship house a viable communal hub.3 While a kinship leader could purchase the Mead Hall and grant access to other kin members, they would have to travel via the "Travel to Kinship Member's House" skill, which can be less convenient.3 This distinction is critical to avoid making a costly mistake, as the Mead Hall's purpose is decorative, while a true kinship house is a blend of aesthetics and communal utility.
A comprehensive financial analysis extends beyond the initial purchase price to consider the total cost of ownership. The two housing tiers present distinct financial models that cater to different economic philosophies.
To provide a more nuanced comparison, a cost-per-hook metric can be calculated, which illustrates the return on investment in terms of decoration potential. By dividing the initial purchase cost by the total number of decoration hooks, it is possible to determine which house offers the most "value" from a purely decorative perspective.
This analysis reveals that, while the raw cost of a Premium house is higher, the sheer number of hooks it provides means that the cost per unit of decoration potential is significantly lower. This indicates that a player's initial investment in a Premium house is exceptionally well-spent if their primary goal is to maximize decorative capacity.
|
Homestead & House Type |
Initial Cost (Gold/MC) |
Upkeep (Silver/MC) |
VIP Upkeep Waiver |
Interior Hooks |
Exterior Hooks |
Total Hooks |
Key Features |
|
Bree-land Kinship House |
14-17g |
285-345s/wk |
No |
130 |
12 |
142 |
Two stories, classic man-style layout, fireplace 7 |
|
Shire Kinship House |
14-17g |
285-345s/wk |
No |
121 |
12 |
133 |
Single-story, open floor plan, no stage 9 |
|
Falathlorn Kinship House |
15-17g |
300-345s/wk |
No |
131 |
12 |
143 |
Two stories, classic elf-style layout, grand hall 11 |
|
Thorin's Hall Kinship House |
14-17g |
285-345s/wk |
No |
121 |
12 |
133 |
Two stories, classic dwarf-style layout, stage 8 |
|
Belfalas Kinship House (Hills) |
707-745 MC |
5 MC/wk |
Yes |
180+ |
36+ |
~216 |
Overlooks the bay, stately, high ceilings 2 |
|
Belfalas Kinship House (Island) |
894 MC |
5 MC/wk |
Yes |
180 |
63 |
243 |
Private island, has boats to mainland, waterfront views 14 |
|
Lyndelby Kinship Smial |
950 MC |
5 MC/wk |
Yes |
Not specified |
67 |
67+ |
Built into a mountainside, river-hobbit style 15 |
|
Erebor Kinship House |
1000 MC |
5 MC/wk |
Yes |
183 |
78 |
261 |
Largest hook count, dwarf-style Great Hall, elevators 13 |
The decision of which kinship house to acquire in LOTRO is a multi-faceted one that transcends a simple comparison of costs. The choice is a direct reflection of a kinship's collective priorities, whether they are focused on decoration, financial management, or social utility. Premium housing presents a compelling case for decorators with its significantly higher hook counts and unique features like mobile hooks, while its upkeep model favors VIP kinships. Classic housing, conversely, remains a reliable and accessible choice for kinships that prefer to operate entirely within the game's gold economy. Ultimately, the "best" house is not a universal constant but a subjective one, determined by which property best fulfills the unique needs and long-term vision of a kinship.
|
Hook Type |
Bree-land Kinship House (Classic) 7 |
Erebor Kinship House (Premium) 13 |
|
Interior Hooks |
130 |
183 |
|
Ambient Music |
2 |
Not specified |
|
Ceiling |
7 |
Not specified |
|
Floor |
11 |
Not specified |
|
Furniture |
50 |
Not specified |
|
Wall |
49 |
Not specified |
|
Exterior Hooks |
12 |
78 |
|
Doormat |
1 |
Not specified |
|
Yard |
8 |
Not specified |
|
Huge Yard |
2 |
Not specified |
|
Enormous Yard |
1 |
Not specified |