Low-level store-bought items contain game-changing stats.

Lord of the Rings Online will begin selling PvE stat gear in its cash shop, developer Turbine has announced.

Users will be able to buy light, medium, and heavy armour in the game's official cash shop, with various stats attached to each piece. These include specific stats such as an eight per cent increase to out-of-combat run speed on store-bought boots.

Turbine has officially stated on the LOTRO forum that high level armour is not available, and this new inclusion of potentially game-changing gear to the store is simply a way of bypassing the lack of low-level armour available in the auction house.

"It's lower level gear. Many players have given us feedback that there is a sparsity of gear on the AH at these levels and they wanted an alternative. We're trying to accommodate that."

This echoes issues seen in 2011 when news hit that CCP's EVE Online would introduce a "pay-to-win" scheme, allowing users to buy game changing objects and gear with real world money.