What are you working on?

[Zetor]

My guild has returned to lotro after getting bored-as-heck [again] with WOW, and so far we're really enjoying the new changes. (Plus, I replaced my router, so the disconnect problem resolved itself. Sorta. ) Our characters are in the low-mid 30s on Silverlode, but a few of us are rerolling for the new preciousss moria classes. We'll probably do a few instances and epics this weekend; overcoming the timezone boss is the hardest of them all.

I'm liking that I have a ton of abilities and there's no clear 11121113 rotation to maximize efficiency, and I like the flexibility of classes in general. However, I second the frustration about the UI. In fact, the robust / customizable UI is the thing I miss most from WOW: as a LM I have a ton of situational reactive dispels, and not having a Grid-like debuff view, a focus frame / castbar, cooldown alerts and whatnot makes CCing / offhealing / dispelling while trying to do damage / debuffs a micromanagement PITA. Maybe it'll get better when I unlock the aoe dispels though, and the two lower-level instances we did a while ago (barrows, GA) were fairly straightforward and didn't need that much target-switching.

In more recent news, I hit 35 yesterday and got my horse yay! I also murderized eleventy billion wargs for the bree teleport. BTW, the horse race can bugger right off with my 150-200 ping... I got it on my second try though. :p


Out of curiousity, does anyone here "do" monster play? If so, how is it? I was a fairly big pvp nut in GW/WOW/WAR, so I'm interested to see whether it can be fun (talking about small 1-3 person monster groups mostly, we don't have too many pvp enthusiasts in guild)


-- Z.

[Ard]

In fact, the robust / customizable UI is the thing I miss most from WOW: as a LM I have a ton of situational reactive dispels, and not having a Grid-like debuff view

Just to clear something up fast, debuff curing as a loremaster is made drastically easier if you have the trait that turns Leechcraft and Tend the Sick into party spells.  You can't hit anyone outside your own party anymore, but you hit everyone at once instead, including pets.  It eats a trait slot, but damned if I'll ever be without it from here on out.

Edit:  trait is Proof Against All Ills, and it also lets you use Leechcraft in combat.

[Jherad]

Just to clear something up fast, debuff curing as a loremaster is made drastically easier if you have the trait that turns Leechcraft and Tend the Sick into party spells.  You can't hit anyone outside your own party anymore, but you hit everyone at once instead, including pets.  It eats a trait slot, but damned if I'll ever be without it from here on out.

Edit:  trait is Proof Against All Ills, and it also lets you use Leechcraft in combat.

I'm working on that trait at the moment - probably a day or two away from getting it. Is it really party-wide, or just AoE as the descriptions says? If the latter, how big is the AoE?

[Ard]

I'm working on that trait at the moment - probably a day or two away from getting it. Is it really party-wide, or just AoE as the descriptions says? If the latter, how big is the AoE?

There's a range, but it's pretty damn large.  I'm not sure of the exact size, but when in actual combat with a party, I've never missed anyone.  The other upside is that you also don't have to target anyone.

[Jherad]

Fantastic, thanks. Guess I'll slot it straight away, rather than wait for a new slot to open.

[Riggswolfe]

I'm in Eregion with my wife. We're pretty much down to just the School and Library stuff. I'm wondering if we could duo it (we're both 51) or if I need to find us a third. We're a Champ and a hunter so we can put out the hurt. I'm a man so I also have my 2k heal, plus the champs dire need heal plus another heal that I can't remember, so I have a ton of survivability in emergencies. Her huntress...not so much.

[rturja]

I think you need third fellowship member for Tham Mirdain at your level. I've myself only done school so far as duo with my minstrel (lvl60) and a loremaster friend (lvl56) when our hunter had a long disconnect and we got impatient. Tham instances aren't so much about optimal group, but rather adopting tactics for the current one so about any class would do, but in your situation I'd try to pick minstrel, captain or loremaster as the third.

[Riggswolfe]

I think you need third fellowship member for Tham Mirdain at your level. I've myself only done school so far as duo with my minstrel (lvl60) and a loremaster friend (lvl56) when our hunter had a long disconnect and we got impatient. Tham instances aren't so much about optimal group, but rather adopting tactics for the current one so about any class would do, but in your situation I'd try to pick minstrel, captain or loremaster as the third.

We have a friend who has a 56 Captain who skipped those quests and will probably come back and help us. Or his wife who is a 56 hunter. I may also do what they did and leave it behind. I have the feeling I'll hit 60 in Moria easy even if I skip these last few quests in Eregion.

[Tarami]

We have a friend who has a 56 Captain who skipped those quests and will probably come back and help us. Or his wife who is a 56 hunter. I may also do what they did and leave it behind. I have the feeling I'll hit 60 in Moria easy even if I skip these last few quests in Eregion.

You will, but it would be a shame because they are really quite fun, compact (30 minutes) instances to do.

[EWSpider]

I think you need third fellowship member for Tham Mirdain at your level. I've myself only done school so far as duo with my minstrel (lvl60) and a loremaster friend (lvl56) when our hunter had a long disconnect and we got impatient. Tham instances aren't so much about optimal group, but rather adopting tactics for the current one so about any class would do, but in your situation I'd try to pick minstrel, captain or loremaster as the third.

We have a friend who has a 56 Captain who skipped those quests and will probably come back and help us. Or his wife who is a 56 hunter. I may also do what they did and leave it behind. I have the feeling I'll hit 60 in Moria easy even if I skip these last few quests in Eregion.

You'll hit 60 in Moria with a couple hundred easy solo quests leftover...

[Sjofn]

I'm working on finally picking a class to level past the 20's with Ingmar's captain. I can't decide! I never thought it would come to this, but apparently Ingmar is finally MOTIVATED. 

[Nebu]

I'm working on finally picking a class to level past the 20's with Ingmar's captain. I can't decide! I never thought it would come to this, but apparently Ingmar is finally MOTIVATED. 

If you find one, let me know.  I get bored with every class I've tried by about 20.  Too much running.

[veredus]

Nebu what times do you play mostly? I am not much farther then you level wise it sounds like (a couple low 20's and others) but the game is so much more fun with at least someone you duo with regulary. Yes you can solo but then it's lots of running by yourself and you have to skip the group quests. Me and a friend of mine play pretty regular weeknights 9ish to 11ish PST. Welcome to join us.

[Nebu]

Nebu what times do you play mostly?

That's my problem.  I don't have times that I play mostly.  Some days I'm on at 8pm, some days it's 3am.  I work a lot so my play is spurratic. 

The bottom line for me is that if the game isn't fun solo, then it's not for me.  Right now, I spend more time running than doing "fun stuff".  If that doesn't change in another week, I'm out.   Shame really... the world is beautiful, the classes seem interesting, and the story is decent. 

[EWSpider]

Nebu what times do you play mostly?

That's my problem.  I don't have times that I play mostly.  Some days I'm on at 8pm, some days it's 3am.  I work a lot so my play is spurratic. 

The bottom line for me is that if the game isn't fun solo, then it's not for me.  Right now, I spend more time running than doing "fun stuff".  If that doesn't change in another week, I'm out.   Shame really... the world is beautiful, the classes seem interesting, and the story is decent. 

If travel time is really getting to you than I would say to go with Hunter or Warden.  Both have nice run speed buffs and additional travel options (teleports basically).  Moreso the Hunter especially if you're like me and use their escape ability (Desperate Flight) as an additional method of travel.  Hunter also has the bonus of Tracking which can really cut down on travel time when you're doing a quest that requires killing a specific mob or mob type.  The only downside to the Hunter is the sheer number of them.

[HaemishM]

Hunter's what I went with, and yes, it's a really good solo class. The run speed buff (level 13? 14?) is a big help, the teleports as well. I've also found that using the LFF channel to find a group for group quests works fairly well most of the time.

[squirrel]

Nebu what times do you play mostly?

That's my problem.  I don't have times that I play mostly.  Some days I'm on at 8pm, some days it's 3am.  I work a lot so my play is spurratic. 

The bottom line for me is that if the game isn't fun solo, then it's not for me.  Right now, I spend more time running than doing "fun stuff".  If that doesn't change in another week, I'm out.   Shame really... the world is beautiful, the classes seem interesting, and the story is decent. 

If travel time is really getting to you than I would say to go with Hunter or Warden.  Both have nice run speed buffs and additional travel options (teleports basically).  Moreso the Hunter especially if you're like me and use their escape ability (Desperate Flight) as an additional method of travel.  Hunter also has the bonus of Tracking which can really cut down on travel time when you're doing a quest that requires killing a specific mob or mob type.  The only downside to the Hunter is the sheer number of them.

Yeah my Hunter (new to LoTRO) just hit 15 last night. It's a great solo class and the tracking skill is really useful on quests like finding the crows in the Barrows or Wolves in the Old Forest. On Brandywine anyway there's not too many young hunters so it hasn't been too bad. But I know that will change - saw some data suggestion 20 - 25% of players play a Hunter main. I can see why, it's a really fun class so far.

Also have a lvl 4 Warden that I'm waiting for Book 7 to play. Was going to do a Rune Keeper but it just seems to similar to a Hunter in playstyle (solo particularly) ie. ranged DPS.

[Mrbloodworth]

The bottom line for me is that if the game isn't fun solo, then it's not for me.  Right now, I spend more time running than doing "fun stuff".  If that doesn't change in another week, I'm out.   Shame really... the world is beautiful, the classes seem interesting, and the story is decent. 

Nebu, as you already know, book 7 (Tuesday March 17) has an XP change, a refracting and ordering of the lower level quests (less back and forth to the same spots), new horse routes, horse rates have been lowered and more quests in the 1-20 range. I THINK this address most of your current issues. Here's to hope =)

[Soln]

Just to chime-in

GROUPHUGLALALALALA   


When I first started in LotRO I also made a Hunter.  It's by far the most solo friendly class, although the Warden's ability to heal in combat at low levels is pretty sweet.

Go Hunter.  Get fire potions (ought to be cheap because there are Tier2 level grind item for Scholars).  Get food.  Wait till Tues XP and travel luv.  Go crazy.

[Ingmar]

I just read about the whole dwarf-digging-up-the-balrog session play. I now have a Goal.

[Sjofn]

For some reason the hunter REALLY did not do it for me. I actually made it further on a loremaster, which I also intensely disliked.

My candidates are basically the minstrel (I somehow clawed to 19-ish solo, now she's 20 but got left behind so I'd have to solo a little to catch up), the guardian (level 24, a hobbit, and adorable), the champion (level 21 or something) and a captain (level 26, my highest evar!). I feel like any of those could work fine with a captain.

Or I could level my level 13 burglar. Or a warden.

CAN'T DECIDE. 

[Tarami]

CAN'T DECIDE. 

But that's essentially a good thing, isnnit?

[Nebu]

Rerolled Warden.  It's better so far.  We'll see after 10.

(name is Tyrk)

[Sjofn]

CAN'T DECIDE. 

But that's essentially a good thing, isnnit?

Not totally, it more means I'm indifferent to all the classes than LOVE all the classes in this case. It there was one I felt really passionate about, odds are they'd be higher than their 20's. :P


EDIT: Mm, that probably comes off a bit harsh. What I really mean, I guess, is that none of them are so awesome they help me get past some of the things I don't like about LotRO. The classes themselves are fine (the burglar's skills, for example, amuse me to no end). I also get frustrated that Ingmar and I can't seem to DUO TO VICTORY on fellowship quests like we can in the other MMO's we've played, and I can't tell if it's a classes-we-prefer-just-suck-as-a-pair thing or what.

[Soln]

not sure if this helps, it's meant as helpful from painful experience also trying to DUO fello quests...

"fellowship" quests in LotRO are almost *always* designed for a full, 6-person team at or near +-2 the level the quest specifies.   Even when you have a highbie with you that does not guarantee success. A highbie can still be overwhelmed by greys and can't heal, for instance.  I've seen in happen.

there are "small fellowship" quests which are supposed to be manageable for a 3-person squad, but so far I've seen two of those bugged.

[squirrel]

Not to disagree - but at 15 I've managed to duo all the FS quests I have with another solo character, Maybe we're low enough level that it doesn't matter but I've done all the FF quests to level 16 in a pair no prob so far. I'm sure I'll be a liar next level :)

[Modern Angel]

Warden's are fucking retarded good soloers. You won't kill some evil big mob fast but you will kill it. I promise you will kill it. Four stacking self heals, two dot/heal combos, hitting the defense cap, passive +786 in-combat morale regen...

[Megrim]

not sure if this helps, it's meant as helpful from painful experience also trying to DUO fello quests...

"fellowship" quests in LotRO are almost *always* designed for a full, 6-person team at or near +-2 the level the quest specifies.   Even when you have a highbie with you that does not guarantee success. A highbie can still be overwhelmed by greys and can't heal, for instance.  I've seen in happen.

there are "small fellowship" quests which are supposed to be manageable for a 3-person squad, but so far I've seen two of those bugged.

I'll just back-up what squirrel said; a few nights ago a friend and i did the Bree "get the chest out past the Bone Man quest thing" with a Warden/Runekeeper combo both at lvl16 - the Warden tanking like 6 of the wights at a time. Not sure if that's good or not, but i seem to recall having a lot more trouble last time around with a bigger group.

[Tarami]

Warden is sorta overpowered at the moment.

And yeah, early fellowship quests are easier than later fellowship quests, probably to take into consideration that low-level players can be rookies. Later in the game quests doable with 2-3 people are flagged as small fellowship rather than full.

[Tannhauser]

I'm probably going to start a Elf Warden Tuesday night after the patch.   I have a 12th Men Warden and it's a fun class but I want to check out the new elf story line.  Also going to play my Minstrel and see how much gooder the patch makes playing them.  My RK is 21 and is fun but is in the Lone Lands, which I dislike (too much running around).

[Soln]

yeah after 20 things get harder   

[Nebu]

So... if I level this warden up am I going to run into umpteen bajillion other wardens when I try to get a pug for fellowship quests? 

If so, I'm sticking with the burglar.

[Sjofn]

I think another of my problems is that there are so fucking many fellowship quests. And a lot of them are in quest chains, which drives me insane. Unless you're sending me into an honest to god instance (or the epic storyline, I can deal with that too, even though I won't really like it), I should not need an entire freaking group to finish a quest series. I have this problem with other MMOs, so it's not just LotRO, but LotRO seems to do it a lot more often.

And yes, yes, I know I don't have to do ANY of them if I don't want to, but I hate starting a series without finishing it, and I DOUBLE hate having the rings taunting me every time I go to that quest hub until it finally turns grey. And fellowship quests take forever to freaking turn grey.

Clearly I need a minimap filter to turn off ANY AND ALL fellowship quest rings.

[EWSpider]

So... if I level this warden up am I going to run into umpteen bajillion other wardens when I try to get a pug for fellowship quests? 

If so, I'm sticking with the burglar.

There are a lot of Wardens in the lower levels because it was a new class and everyone has one for an alt (oooh new shiney).  As you level up though their numbers start to thin out and you'll find there aren't that many in the upper levels (no more than any other class at least).

[Modern Angel]

They're not overpopulated and there are even less good ones. It's not a hard class to play (because MMOs are not hard) but it's hardER than most others. There's a little nuance and planning to doing the warden thing well but a good warden is fucking amazing.