My Willpower is Broken - Reguarding LotRO

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I've broken down and decided to start playing LotRO, but first there are a few things I have to know about it.

The podcast today really is what sent me over the edge in wanting to play. I'm going to be that guy that is still playing in the starting zone even when it doesn't give any more experience just so that I can finish every quest in the zone. I'm a complete content whore.

I'm VEEEEERY anal retentive when it comes to starting a new game. Picking a class usually takes hours of debate. The aestetics of my character usually has me at the character creation screen for days. So I'm just trying to get as much of the details hammered out before I start playing.

The class names have me a bit thrown for loops. So let me break it down in WoW terms as it seems to me:

Burglar - Seems like a rogue?
Captain - Seems like a paladin?
Champion - Seems like an fury warrior?
Guardian - Seems like a prot warrior?
Hunter - Seems like... a hunter?
Lore-master - Seems like a mage/warlock?
Minstrel - Seems like a priest/holy pally?

Also, what class is the least played? What is the most played? What is the most wanted for groups?

What server is everyone here playing on?

I saw that captains can only be humans. Any major differences in the starting zones for these? How hard are captains to solo with?

I may have more questions throughout the day, but this is all I can think of for now.

Also, anyone have a free trial they could hook me up with until I go out and buy the game?

champion is a combat rogue on roids
burglar is a subtlety rogue with strong debuffs at the cost off less damage on a backstab
hunter is a mage with medium armor and dual wield (level 20)
lore master is a lock with heals and strong debuff
minstrel is a song based priest with spammable nukes like a rogue's sinister strike
guardian is a prot warrior with spammable shield bashes
captain is boring as hell, er I mean...

fangblackbone wrote:

captain is boring as hell, er I mean...

Oh really?

Yeah you can't leave that open-ended like that give it to us straight. I may pick up LoTR as well, I just haven't really decided yet.

As for balance, to be honest, I see a pretty good mix. Guardians and Minstrels are generally in the most demand (as tanks and healers always are).

Every class is potentially soloable, and they generally defy some of the rock-paper-scissors qualities of other MMOs. Guardians are pretty much "pure tank" but the other stereotypes are really more subtle.

There are boards for each class on the official lotro.com forums. I'd start with the stickied posts in each thread there to get started.

And WELCOME!

>_> Broke down and got myself an account here. Been reading for awhile but this kind of made me want to register. I can offer just a bit of advice on the captain.
edit! oops. I get these two mixed up all the time >.<

Champions are like really strong rogues but their problem is one of the skills that they use that makes them generate the equivalent to rage. But when they keep that skill on it makes them unable to dodge and parry (correct me if i'm wrong folks) so that's why people generally don't like them. However, I did play one up to 10 and I thought they were rather nifty.

Captains on the other hand are like a paladin who has a follower who.. looks like a poor homeless man that follows you around. However they come with a ton of group buffs and heals a perminate aura buff (Or maybe it's activated. Either way rather cool). They work best with two handed weapons as well. Other than that, I can't exactly see why they'd be boring. I've never played one myself but my friend, NomadHeretic does and he hasn't any complaints and he's made it to 20.

But if you'd like rather in depth discussions follow Rabbit's advice and hit up the fourms. Unlike WoW fourms they're rather helpful and 90% less annoying.

Reguarding guilds the GWJ people reside on the server Landroval which is rumored to be the 'unofficial' RP server for Lotro. Their guild is Emyn Ien, and from the people that i've run across while playing they are really nice folks. (Partially how I learned about the site.)

I hope that helps. Welcome to LotRO

For the record, I have a blast with my Captain, and stay _very_ busy in party combat at times. They are certainly a bit along the classic Paladin flavor.

FYI, we're playing on the Landroval server.

I've always enjoyed a paladin class. Swinging a big two hander and buffing the party. Captains seem most like that.

Loremasters (LMs) are a fun class to play but not very comparable to WoW warlocks (never tried a mage). They have pets but the pets are not the tanks that they are in WoW and they have trouble holding aggro.

The spells (lore skills) you have are pretty variable, which is nice. Direct damage and AoE spells aren't the strong suit of the LM. What LMs do best is debuff and crowd control. You also have a nice assortment of light healing spells (some good self-healing spells, weak ally healing spells, disease healing, and wound healing). You can also control power (mana) by sucking it from enemies and transferring it to allies.

The play style is drastically different between soloing and working in a group, which I appreciate. In WoW, I pretty much did the same things when in a group as when alone. In LOTRO it is a lot of fun to be a LM in a group since they are the best support class in LOTRO (not counting healing). I haven't had too many problems soloing though. With your crowd control skills it's entirely possible to take on 2 or 3 mobs at once with just you and your pet (if you take on 3, make sure they're lower level than you). Anyway, those are my thoughts.

I was just dissapointed with the Captain. It was my first pick in LotRO and while it certainly matches the character description, it didnt meet my expectations. Some of its more powerful buffs or its heal can only be cast after you kill a foe. They do get 2 handers and a pulling nuke but it was slow going to level 10 when you get your pet. And then the pet is pretty lackluster despite having a might buff. Pets do jack diddly dps in LotRO as well as have minimal health and as mentioned above, do not hold aggro.

Captains arent bad. The burglar and the captain were the slowest to level 10. Yet the burglar gets a big boost with dual wield and medium armor at 10. This far outshines the boost from the captain's pet at level 10.

Its just that I feel every other class has special attacks or spells that are more fun than the captain. Some get more or more powerful specials. The minstrel, hunter, champion and guardian get both.

Sadly, the captain only truly shines when they're in a party around level 20+. The early Captain game is unfortunately lacking, especially compared to say a champion or a hunter, which are really fun right from the get go.

Here is my run down although a lot of people touched on these topics. I played every class to about 20 (give or take) other then the minstrel in my time from closed beta till live. I had the most expereince with a garudian (currently almost 43, burglar almost 30 in beta, and lore master).

Burglar - Can be Hobbit or Man only dual wield medium armor. These guys are about 3rd - 4th in the dps area basically equal to a captain in that department. They are debuffers, crowd control, and the only class that can start conjunctions on demand (has skill cool down limits but still). In solo play they can get to places that others can not hope to reach and have a lot of tools to stay alive.

Captain - Man only 2 handed weapons heavy armor (only class that can use halberds). As mentioned above competes with burglars for the 3rd-4th position as dps. Unlike the burglar they are a pet class and specialize in buffs. They can make an OK tank and an OK healer. Are fairly effcient soloers because of how skills work.

Champion - Any race but hobbit dual wield/2 handed weapons heavy armor. These guys are AOE dps and depending on the situation are either 1 or 2 on the dps. With the changes in this patch they are decent off tanks especially if they stop using fervor and have some aggro control abilities. Can use a shield but really should only do so if needing to tank which is not the best role for them but they can do it. Fervor is the skill that lets a champion really dish out the damage but using it as mentioned disables the ability to block, parry, or evade attacks.

Guardian - Any race heavy armor heavy shields. These are the tanks. With minstrels rank last in the dps area. Can use 2 handed weapons but usually that results in you being weaker actually. Has multiple skills for gaining aggo and has AOE aggro abilities. Has a lot of reactive abilities that makes it important for the Guardian to be the target of the monsters attacks to be fully effective.

Hunter - Any race medium armor dual wield, bow/xbow(are the main users of ranged weapons). These are the nukers of LOTRO. The do a ton of single target damage. Via with champion for the 1 -2 damage spot. Has some aoe abilities too but that is not the strength of this class. They also get a group run speed buff, self teleports, and eventual group teleports. Can set traps that can basically root target(s) for short period of time.

Lore-master - Man or Elf, light armor, and only people to use a staff. These guys are very different then what most people think about with this type of class. They are a pet class but while the pet can tank for short periods it is often best to think of the pet as a multi use spell that can act as crowd control and function as a dot. The main role of a lore master is crowd control, debuffs, and the healing of others (they can heal others and pet but can not heal self directly with a couple exceptions). These guys really should get in there and mix it up in melee using staff and staff special attacks while adding support using spells. They also have the ability to drain power from a target and to donate power to another so often they function as a power helaer in a group in addition can be a decent healer/off healer for a group. Between melee, pet control, crowd control, morale/power healing, and spell usage for debuffs/damage these guys can get rather busy in a battle.

Minstrel - Any race use light armor and a variety of 1 handed weapons and light shields. Can use medium armor with the use of a trait. The healers of LOTRO. With gaurdians are at the bottom for dps. Have single target and group heals. Can remove the effects of dread on others and I believe eventually on a party for temporarily countering dread causing encounters. Has limited crowd control in the form of a fear.

While some of these guys can map to WoW I think it is better to just look at what they can do and not try to make the comparisons as it will lead you astray in many cases I think.

If you have a specific question ask and I am sure one of us will have an answer as I think with the exception of Lore-master we have as a group expereinced every class to at least level 30.

Mordiceius wrote:

Also, what class is the least played? What is the most played? What is the most wanted for groups?

Least played at least in the Kinship is Lore Master, though we don't have tons of Minstrels either.

Hunters are ranged nukers, who can deal decent melee damage but are squishy (though tough enough to solo). Hunters are also the transportation class, with a group run buff, and later group ports.

Badferret wrote:
Mordiceius wrote:

Also, what class is the least played? What is the most played? What is the most wanted for groups?

Least played at least in the Kinship is Lore Master, though we don't have tons of Minstrels either.

Hunters are ranged nukers, who can deal decent melee damage but are squishy (though tough enough to solo). Hunters are also the transportation class, with a group run buff, and later group ports.

We have a lot of hunters basically and not a lot of other classes that are played often.

That said play what ever you want as it is better to have 500 hunters who all enjoy the game then 499 hunters and 1 unhappy Lore Master.

Just whatever you do get to 40+ fast.

Well in my two years I've played WoW, the main core classes I have played are a priest and a paladin. It is not so much the healing that I have been drawn too, but it is the support and utility. I enjoy my paladin because of the great buffs I offer the party and I can take a couple hits or offtank if needed. This seems to most mirror the captain, correct me if I am wrong.

maladen wrote:

Just whatever you do get to 40+ fast. :)

Ahah, I have no worries of that. I leveled my Blood Elf paladin on WoW from 1-70 in 5 weeks of average play time.

What is the name of the Goodjer guild? Are there any plans of doing any raiding (or whatever it is in LotRO)?

Some more in depth characterizations of my earlier hastily typed post:
(Take note that most of these class impressions are only from level 1-12ish)

The champion gets better armor than a WoW rogue but as mentioned above, its powerful specials use a form of rage that can be gained by starter attacks or a toggle skill that generates it at the cost of not being able to parry, dodge (or block?)

The hunter has less utility than a WoW mage but can match its ranged dps and exceed its melee dps. They have powerful skills that use a type of rage also that is gained from starter bow shots. There is also an out of combat skill that will give full rage and is very powerful in combination with the hunter's big damage aimed shot type skill.

The loremaster has 2 pets. The first one is a raven and its pretty weak that does small damage quickly. (like 2 damage every 1.5 seconds when monsters have 150 hp) I dont have the bear pet yet. I would hope its better in both survivability and damage support. The lm's primary skill is a dot that ramps up quickly with level. Thge other primary skill is a strong melee debuff. They have a power drain that unfortunately doesnt do any damage. They also get a small heal.

The minstrel rocks the house with its repertoire of small range nukes that spring from the strings of your lute. The number and variety of nukes is available early, providing choices to play style. One is longer range and has a longer cooldown. The others provide buffs in the form of +defense, +attack speed, +max hp, etc. The class also gets heals that Ive never used playing solo.

The guardian is how shield based classes should be done. The class piddles away with its one hander while waiting for its powerful shield skills to refresh. I cant wait to use spiked shields with them! They get a toggle skill that increases their chance to block and a weapon attack that increases block and parry. These are both useful for a big damage shield bash that is usable after a block that complements a moderate damage shield swipe. They also get a multiple target weapon attack. The class definitely feels heartier without sacrificing so much dps to be boring.

Being in the same rough boat as Mordiceius, I'm thinking I'm gonna hit this up along side WoW. I rolled a hunter in the beta, and seeing it described more like a mage, and thinking about that, I have a better feel for what I didn't like so much; it was honestly the class. I'll very likely wind up as an elf of either Lore Master or Minstrel variety. FFXI bards always rocked my socks.

fangblackbone wrote:

captain is boring as hell, er I mean...

lol and that's what everyone says about paladins in WoW. that's why I think it was meant to be.

Mordiceius wrote:
fangblackbone wrote:

captain is boring as hell, er I mean...

lol and that's what everyone says about paladins in WoW. that's why I think it was meant to be.

Yea, I can agree with this. I haven't spent the kind of time with my paladin that I'd like to, but there's something about AoE grinding on elite mobs that just makes me grin.

fangblackbone wrote:

The loremaster has 2 pets. The first one is a raven and its pretty weak that does small damage quickly. (like 2 damage every 1.5 seconds when monsters have 150 hp) I dont have the bear pet yet. I would hope its better in both survivability and damage support. The lm's primary skill is a dot that ramps up quickly with level. Thge other primary skill is a strong melee debuff. They have a power drain that unfortunately doesnt do any damage. They also get a small heal.

This doesn't sound like a glowing recommendation - is there a significant upside to being a LM? I'm thinking of signing on (enjoying the 10-day pass) but the classes don't grab me. I played a minstrel and loved it in beta but would like to play something kinda different.

Sorry that was a repost remnant.

FYI I would rely on maladen's guide due to more experience. Just sprinkle in my thoughts for flavor. I would take my negative impressions with a grain of salt if a particular class really tickles your fancy. This is especially so if mal's thoughts show that more patience with the class yields greater benefits.

My gut tells me that Mord would really hit his stride with a guardian.

I cant put my finger on it, but I tried and tried to play a LM. I started one over 3 times. The 4rth time I chose an elf and for whatever reason, it was enough to flip the switch from frustration to fun. And that fire dot does do really really big damage as you level. Hit that spell and crit with your staff and the monster is seriously ailing.

Since you seem to like the minstrel as much as me, I would say stick with it. The hunter is fun and gets that awesome aimed shot skill I talked about above at 12. Something about the animation and the way the skill fires makes me want to call it a shot gun skill complete with the requisite, "Say hello to my boomstick!" taunt.

hubbinsd wrote:

This doesn't sound like a glowing recommendation - is there a significant upside to being a LM? I'm thinking of signing on (enjoying the 10-day pass) but the classes don't grab me. I played a minstrel and loved it in beta but would like to play something kinda different.

I like that LMs are kind of jack-of-all trade classes. I imaging that they're the most versatile in how you play them compared to the other classes but outside of group play I guess there's no single reason to recommend them. It is a lot of fun to take on 3 mobs and win.

The raven provides strong Shadow protection and other buffs including skills to increase the damage you deal with fire spells or to provide more protection from ranged attacks, it's not supposed to be a tank pet. The bear is a better for tanking, he (or she, I respect my bears privacy) can roar to draw more aggro and has a few nice attack skills. There is a 3rd pet (an Eagle) you get at level 50.

maladen wrote:

With the exception of Lore-master we have as a group expereinced every class to at least level 30.

I'm working on it

AnimeJ wrote:
Mordiceius wrote:
fangblackbone wrote:

captain is boring as hell, er I mean...

lol and that's what everyone says about paladins in WoW. that's why I think it was meant to be.

Yea, I can agree with this. I haven't spent the kind of time with my paladin that I'd like to, but there's something about AoE grinding on elite mobs that just makes me grin.

From my expereince one of the better classes at soloing elites in this game is the Guardian. We take a year and a day to kill it but I have killed equal level elites which is something most classes can not do. If this is something you like you may consider a guardian. Also I read lore masters can solo elites well but they do it a very different way.

Mordiceius wrote:

Well in my two years I've played WoW, the main core classes I have played are a priest and a paladin. It is not so much the healing that I have been drawn too, but it is the support and utility. I enjoy my paladin because of the great buffs I offer the party and I can take a couple hits or offtank if needed. This seems to most mirror the captain, correct me if I am wrong.

Yes I would say it is close to a paladin just go into it with the idea that you are a pet class though and will need to use him to be effective.

Capatains can solo well because they do OK damage, and the nature of some of the skills kicking in after something is killed lets them basically recover from fights fast.

My biggest issue with playing a captain was I would often forget to use a skill that became available after I killed something so bascially I was a crappy captain. Lupus on the other hand is great to have in a fellowship because of the off healing, buffs and what not his captain provides. (Just hope he gets back to the game soon we miss em).

hubbinsd wrote:
fangblackbone wrote:

The loremaster has 2 pets. The first one is a raven and its pretty weak that does small damage quickly. (like 2 damage every 1.5 seconds when monsters have 150 hp) I dont have the bear pet yet. I would hope its better in both survivability and damage support. The lm's primary skill is a dot that ramps up quickly with level. Thge other primary skill is a strong melee debuff. They have a power drain that unfortunately doesnt do any damage. They also get a small heal.

This doesn't sound like a glowing recommendation - is there a significant upside to being a LM? I'm thinking of signing on (enjoying the 10-day pass) but the classes don't grab me. I played a minstrel and loved it in beta but would like to play something kinda different.

Yes there are a lot of reasons to play one but you haev to approach it with an open mind. Georob plays one and Robear I think is playing a lore master too so they can talk about his expereinces but here are some great reasons to be a lore master:

1. Crowd Control - Can basically perma mez a humanoid or animal. Has roots and stuns too. With some practice can keep 2 targets in mezzed.
2. Party Healing - Lore masters make decent healers and if they slot the trait for it can pretty darn good at it. Even without the trait they can provide great support healing and even primary heal to some extent.
3. Diverse game play - They do a lot of things, pets, crowd control, healing, debuffs, power transfers, ranged spells, melee staff skills (they eventually can dual wield with a staff in 1 hand I believe but do not quote me on this).
4. Busy/Interesting to play - this goes with number 3 but because they do a lot of things they can be really busy in combat.
5. Interesting Class quests - This is an odd one but wanted to put this out here the level 15 quest for lore masters you need to actually think and pay attention a bit otherwise you are dead period. To some this is frustrating but it is interesting to many with how the quest is solved is what a lot of people think is a "lore master" way.
6. Relatively rare - With only 7 classes hard to be too rare but if you want to be a class that is loved by others in a fellowship but also rather rare then this one is it.

fangblackbone wrote:

I cant put my finger on it, but I tried and tried to play a LM. I started one over 3 times. The 4rth time I chose an elf and for whatever reason, it was enough to flip the switch from frustration to fun. And that fire dot does do really really big damage as you level. Hit that spell and crit with your staff and the monster is seriously ailing.

Since you seem to like the minstrel as much as me, I would say stick with it. The hunter is fun and gets that awesome aimed shot skill I talked about above at 12. Something about the animation and the way the skill fires makes me want to call it a shot gun skill complete with the requisite, "Say hello to my boomstick!" taunt.

In the interest of full discloser this class is not my favorite. I have a low level alt of one in the live game (level 6) and got close to 20 in closed beta. Something about the class made me want to love them but at the end of the day I liked my Burglar and Gaurdian much more.

Still they are a solid class and as long as you do not approach it with the I am a WoW warlock/mage sort of mind set I think people would like them much better. If you ask me they are sort of closest to an EQ enchanter and that is a big sort of.

Yeah minstrels seem to be a great class, although it was one I never did and that is because my partner is always one, keep in mind that they are not a dps machine. Early on when there is not a big spread in the damage and "tankability" of classes it may seem that way they eventually end up fighting sort of like a gaurdian slowy widdling things down often with melee damage mainly while needing power to keep themselves healed.

Also like fang said take my information with a grain of salt too as classes is a big personal choice and what I really like about one class may be a real turn off to you and vice versa.

Badferret wrote:
Mordiceius wrote:

Also, what class is the least played? What is the most played? What is the most wanted for groups?

Least played at least in the Kinship is Lore Master, though we don't have tons of Minstrels either.

Hunters are ranged nukers, who can deal decent melee damage but are squishy (though tough enough to solo). Hunters are also the transportation class, with a group run buff, and later group ports.

Yeah, all the cool kids are playing hunters. I picked my main based on a lot of factors listed above- I knew I'd be soloing a lot, so moderate survivability was important, and the run buff and eventual teleports really cuts down on the travel time.

My biggest issue with playing a captain was I would often forget to use a skill that became available after I killed something so bascially I was a crappy captain.

This is so true it hurts. This crucial aspect of the class becomes apparent as low as level 4. It wont start effecting you with any sort of relevance until level 9, however.

Also, one key i found to playing a captain was to eat rations. Captains are power hungry so the significant boost in hp and power regen from food helps from say level 6 onward. The food buff lasts 3 minutes I believe.

fangblackbone wrote:
My biggest issue with playing a captain was I would often forget to use a skill that became available after I killed something so bascially I was a crappy captain.

This is so true it hurts. This crucial aspect of the class becomes apparent as low as level 4. It wont start effecting you with any sort of relevance until level 9, however.

Funny thing is Captains in closed beta were the fastest/best for soloing hands down. They tweaked them some and now are just good at it but I just found that I was a bad Captain (it was my first class in closed beta FYI).

Nobody pointed out that Minstrels get zero-cooldown out of combat Rez, and at a pretty low level (20 I think?) which makes everyone your best friend.

Noone has really spoken up about the burglar, so I'll jump in. I have a 23 Hobbit Burglar that I haven't been able to spend much time with lately. What I like about it is that I can jump into most roles and do an adequate job. I can pull using stealth, use different abilities to stun the target, I do more damage from behind, can self-heal in a pinch, have a range of debuffs and can emergency tank using my 'Touch and Go' skill which adds 50% pts to my Evade skill for 30 seconds. Also, the ability to kick off Fellowship Maneuvers is a huge benefit. While soloing, add distracting targets and picking pockets, and it makes for a very fun flexible class.

I cannot heal the party or do damage from afar though.

*edited to remove redundancy*

fangblackbone wrote:

My gut tells me that Mord would really hit his stride with a guardian.

Except I don't like tanking. I'll off tank as needed, but I don't like tanking. I've always been a healer/buffer. With the priest I was a hardcore healer and with my paladin it is much the same (except I like the pally more for the buffs than the healing) and even though I am spec'd to heal, I can take a couple hits and often offtank things.

I also play a hunter on WoW (it's the character I use for farming) so I am used to pet classes.

Now the real question is... does anyone have a spare trial key? (I ask because I'm not sure if it is like WoW where if your trial person signs up, you get a free month).

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