LOTRO Guides: Tips and tricks for succeeding in Lord of the Rings Online

Rexthalion’s School of Champions

EDITOR’S NOTE: This excellent guide was originally published as a three-part guide by Rexthalion, an Elven Champion of the Landroval server, on his kinship’s website Defenders of the Fellowship. Many thanks are in order for his kind permission to include it in LOTRO Guides!

If you have had any experience with LOTRO at all, you’ve surely run into a Champion of some sort. We are often viewed as the nuttiest of classes as we are understood to die too much or pull too much aggro, but these are signs of inexperience in a Champion. Playing this class is similar to the game Othello, it takes a minute to learn to play and it may take forever to master. I’m writing this to shed some light on what may be the most misunderstood class in LOTRO.

The General Roles:

Champions are commonly brought into fellowships to fulfill a DPS spot or even sometimes simply for their ability to interrupt. A well-played champion is a boon to any fellowship, a versatile warrior in the sense of off-tanking and aggro management. I find the most fulfilling role to be that of the “utility” champion, rounding out the focus of my character and bringing to the group as much as I can.

Focus and Stances:

Champions have various stances to accompany the various roles that they can play in a group. It is quite common for a champion to focus solely on one of the roles and build his character’s stats to fulfill that single role better, I’ll cover the various roles and which stats are crucial respectively.

DPS, the most common of all champ roles in PvE, has a high focus on dealing out as much damage as is possible in a constant fashion. Some champions accomplish this through the use of slow hard-hitting weapons while others may use quick accurate weapons to produce a stream. For those interested in this role Might and Agility are key to build for optimizing DPS. DPS champs are often found in Fervour, or Controlled Burn for bosses.

Survival champs are more commonly found in the Ettenmoors and in end-game raids. These champions are characterized by their high morale and raised B/P/E rates. It is more likely to see champs of this orientation to don a shield and to run without stance, with Ardour, or, when tanking, in Glory. The main focus, I feel, for this type would be Agility and Vitality. Damage for this champion comes from being in the fight longer, more of a slow burn than a wildfire if you will.

The “utility” champion is one of a build somewhere between the Survival and DPS types. Adjusting with the needs of the battle, a champ of this type would be seen switching stances more than once in a long fight and may switch out weapons or gear. This playstyle, I feel, is more diverse and requires more of the user. The focus for this build is as much of a balance in the Might, Agility, and Vitality as possible.

How Damage is Dealt:

A champion knows that more hits equals more damage, and so those wishing to better themselves are always looking for a way to sneak in extra hits. Auto-attacks in this case are your friend, the ~2 seconds between Auto-attacks is all the time a champion should need to show off his skills, this timing is crucial as it promotes combo DPS. Essentially a champion’s attack pattern should resemble this: Auto-attack, wild attack, auto-attack, swift strike, auto-attack, brutal strikes….. or something akin to that. This is often called a DPS rotation and it may vary from champion to champion, mine changes based on a number of things including weapon type and how much aggro I feel I should be generating.

DW vs 2h
It is a common debate among champions whether it is better for DPS to wield two weapons or to swing one big one. I feel it is a matter of comfort and preference, but as a warning the play-style is different for each. Personally, I prefer to dual wield but I do carry my two-hander with me at all times.

Mistakes and Misconceptions:

I must say that I feel a little bad every time I hear someone say something about champions in general that is in error. Champions are seen as the dummy class, the class that you simply hack-and-slash your way to end-game with. This is possible to do with any class, champions just happen to be better at farming a level or two below themselves. The difference between an inexperienced champion and one with experience is night and day.

Champions feel that it is their job to produce big numbers, I feel that this is simply testosterone-driven competition to compete with the numbers of hunters. The idea behind the class is constant DPS, not big numbers, and sure big numbers are nice for soloing but in groups DPS is supplemental to the group, not standalone.

Champion Tanking:

What is a tank?

Well, if you are to be a tank, I suppose you should know what the position entails. A tank, in short, is a set target for NPCs so as to minimize the number of targets the Minstrel must heal. Gaining and holding aggro is more important than damage in this respect, and more often than not, champions confuse the roles. The idea behind tanking effectively is to maintain group aggro while not taking a severe beating(your minstrels will thank me).

The setup:

For the tank role, I highly recommend traiting and slotting your heavy shield(as well as all of your other “green” traits). It would probably be better to focus on equipping armor pieces that have a B/P/E bonus or a heal, should you have to choose go with the former. The stats I would focus on building for this role are Vitality and Agility, avoiding damage with higher evade rates and mitigating more non-common damage is quite helpful, and I would recommend going for as high a morale setup as you can. As for your weapon, I use an Ornate Black Ash Spear as it has a parry buff, an ICPR buff, and is quite fast, I recommend anything with a parry buff that you are comfortable with the timing of(though a slow hard hitting weapon seems silly to me). If you slot no other “green” class traits, slot the heavy shield and Call of the Wild, and for legendaries I recommend equipping both Raging Blades and Ferocious Strikes. Also, make sure you have learned and have slotted both Champion’s Challenge and Rising Ire, you’ll need them.

The Method:

Well, for starters, any champion that intends to tank should be in Glory, extra threat generation for everything you do is rather nice. The opening move here should usually be your Champion’s Challenge, this will give you ample time to start building your threat. Once in melee range, if it is possible, position your enemy between yourself and the rest of your fellowship, this minimizes the damage they take and maximizes the damage they can do.

Much like dishing out DPS, Tanking uses a skill rotation, and as such building fervour pips should be done through the use of Wild Attack and Blade-wall. Once available Raging Blades should be the first of your legendaries to pop off, and once the cycle is completed repeat it but alternate Raging Blades and Ferocious Strikes.

Threat Management:

As a champion is it harder to maintain aggro than it would be if you were a guardian, most classes will not be able to pull aggro from you but you must be wary of other DPS classes. It is important to instruct the rest of your group on how you intend to be tanking, that means to tell hunters to be in endurance and tell other champions to use Ebbing Ire on you after going through their skill rotation once or twice. Other than the initial pull, Champion’s Challenge should be reserved for mobs that find their way to the Minstrel, since you are getting more Minstrel love than most Guardians whilst tanking, its important to take care of them. While you are tanking, since you are facing the group aren’t you, it would be quite beneficial to use Rising Ire on the second most threatening person(usually a hunter) but if no other DPS class is in the group the Minstrel should be the prime target.

The Purpose:

I feel that it is important for every champion to know how to tank, even should they never have to apply these skills. I chose this as the first of my lessons as Champions are known for pulling aggro from guardians, and by placing yourself in the shoes of one you will develop a second nature for how aggro works in-game. Threat management is a higher level skill in terms of champion ability but at this point it is important to note how you can still dish out the damage and let the tank do his job.

DPS is an acronym for damage-per-second, which in turn is an average amount of damage done per unit of time. This average can be reached in one of two ways, large numbers with lower frequency or smaller numbers with higher frequency. What I aim to do in this article is tell you how you can optimize this number and maybe even a few ways that you can improve upon it.

DPS is the mainstay of the champion, the arguement over the DPS dispute between champs and hunters can be explained through a further application of the two methods above. A hunter has the capability of putting out higher numbers but cannot maintain consistency for extended periods of time, this is opposite of the champion who is built to have power left over when everyone else tires out. Fervour is the sole reason behind the longevity of a champion’s DPS, it allows us to increase damage output and maintain it through boosting base damage and in-combat power regen, ICPR.

Champion DPS:

DPS Rotation:

Damage is optimized in the form of skill combos a champion uses through the course of the fight. In order to form these combos a champion must time his skills to work with his auto-attacks to promote as constant a stream of damage as he/she can. The general idea behind these combos is to build fervour pips, then use the higher damage skills, and do it all over again. The rotation is slightly different between dual wielding and using a two-hander.

DW:
Dual wielding is something that every champ should be familiar with. One weapon in each hand with an attack speed that is the average of the two weapons. Heavy hitting main hand with a slightly faster off-hand is the usual way to go for a dual wielding champion. The damage rotations of DWing focus on skills that utilize both weapons such as Wild Attack, Blade-wall, and Relentless Strike. Flurry can be used to speed up the rhythm of the rotation but generally I find it to have diminishing returns with faster weaponry. The pattern I suggest for DWing is auto-attack, wild attack, auto-attack, traited blade-wall, auto-attack, relentless strike…. rinse and repeat.

2-hander:
Using a two hander is a lot like swinging a really big stick, if we could use clubs then we really would be swinging big sticks…. anyway, you hit hard but it feels kinda sluggish. Flurry comes into play a lot more with a 2-hander than when DWing. Building fervour with a 2-hander can be done the same way as with DWing but usually champions opt to use Swift Strike rather than Wild Attack to build fervour when 2h-ing. Due to the recovery time of swift strike I recommend using a traited blade-wall in rotation, it is faster than wild attack and hits more than one thing(unless you’re near mezzed targets, then use WA). In the way of striking it is better to opt for built in combo moves like Brutal Strikes and Savage Strikes if you prefer(got an idea that I will come back to later). The rhythm is AA, Swift, AA, Blade, AA, Brutal.

Ferocious Strikes is a great move to substitute in in either method of attack. Class traits have a great way to add onto the amount of damage a champion can do. Deadly Strikes adds 25% more damage to critical hits of Strike skills, Deep Strikes adds a bleed on critical hits of Strike skills, and Vicious Strikes adds 4% to the critical chance of Strike skills, these traits can add to the damage output of a champion. Other traits will help with the generation of fervour pips which will allow for damaging skills to be accessed faster. As with all things involving champions it is best to find out what works best for you.

AOE Damage:

Area-of-effect skills are another thing that champions are renowned for. Effectively killing multiple targets at the same speed is what separates the champion from the other classes in LOTRO. To effectively use AOEs you must know three things:

1) The range of the attack
2) The number of targets you can hit
3) Your ability to handle all of the targets that you attack.

It is not uncommon for a champion to forget about these things and often reaches behind his/her capability. Effectively knowing the range of your attacks and the targets can place you far ahead of other champs in terms of group dynamics. Breaking mezzes is probably the top reason most champions are deemed unfit for end-game raids, by knowing your range and attack limit you can AOE effectively even when there is a mezzed mob in the area.

The AOE of a champion differs from most AOEs in game because a champion’s AOE is based on the location of the Champion and not the target. With a few steps to the side, or back, a champion can pull his/herself out of range of a mezzed target and AOE, though I would recommend lots of practice before trying this out. AOEs can be chained just like strike skills.

AOE chains are similar to strike chains the only difference being that you are focusing on multiple targets. Stalwart Blade is essential to any champion that expects to be decent at AOEs, this trait allows a champion to generate fervour by using blade-wall (but you knew that already). Also, slotting Fervent Rage and Eye of the Storm allow for even more AOE damage to be dealt. A typical AOE chain would look like this: AA, BW, AA, WA, AA, BW, AA, Blade-Storm, Cleave…. rinse and repeat.

Using Raging Blades or Sound the Attack are both plausible alternatives to the Blade-Storm/Cleave combo. If you have Fervent Rage slotted and Raging Blades slotted, a personal favorite is AA, BW, AA, WA, AA, BW, AA, Sound the Attack, Battle Frenzy, Raging Blades. Sound the Attack stuns the targets and keeps them from avoiding Raging Blades, you could very well do the same with Blade-Storm and Cleave….. or even link them all together but we’ll keep it simple for now. As a note, Cleave is more effective when 2h-ing than when DWing.

Adjusting your Champion:

It is not that uncommon that you will find a champion traited as either an AOE champ or a Strike champ. Focusing on one will greatly improve your effectiveness in your chosen category. Personally, I lean more toward the Strike skills, like most end-game champions, as your AOEs are still very effective even when you aren’t traited to use them all the time. Stalwart Blade is one trait that I recommend you always keep on you, a 180 AOE that generates a fervour pip is quite awesome(it costs less than swift strike and hits faster than wild attack). Of the Strike traits I would recommend Deadly Strikes, an extra bit of damage on crits doesn’t hurt and it adds 1% to all damage while in Fervour. I recommend trying out different trait sets and find one that you like.

Sneaky Damage:

Sure, we have all of that damage on the front end. Toe-to-toe with a mob and you are just exchanging blows, but what if you could sneak in more damage? In game I often like to say that I’m a “bleed effect” when I’m fighting, I have a set amount of damage I do with my DPS rotation and it stays constant. After experimenting a bit I’ve actually found ways to sneak in more damage. Some of the underused skill of champions may in fact be blessings in disguise. Exchange of Blows is a skill that will reflect damage back to its attacker at least half of the time, Cleave might leave a bleed effect on the target, and it stacks with a Deep Strikes Strike skill critical hit. So if you have all of those effect on a target at once, you’ll be doing an extra 60 damage in bleeds every 3-4 seconds and another ~30 every other hit you take. This is all on top of the damage that you are already doing.

Another way to sneak in some damage is to throw in a Clobber. After messing up my skill queue one day I actually found out that Clobber stacks on top of other skills. My personal favorite for my 2-hander is sneaking a Clobber in just after my Swift Strike, I end up with a 4 hit string in under 3 seconds. Clobber can also be snuck in behind any Strike Skill to change that 2 to a 3 or that 3 to a 4. Clobber can be strung together with Wild Attack or Blade-wall but I don’t recommend it as it lags the combo by about a half second(and we don’t want that).

In addition to these single target DPS bonuses Champions also get the ability to sneak in a bit more damage with their AOE attacks, you can set up your Champ to deal an extra 8% damage with your AOEs. This does knock a little damage off of the top end of Fervour but I do recommend trying it at least once. At Level 26 your Champion can learn a skill called Fighting Dirty, this skill is only usable when the target is under 25% morale but in turn it adds 25% total to your next AOE attack. I recommend practicing with this skill and chaining it with Raging Blades or Blade Storm.

Gold Grinding Spot for Levels 30+

OK, it’s time for me to come clean on something: I find that making gold in LOTRO can be kinda tough. While just like any other MMORPG there are numerous different ways to make gold (like the auction house), so far I’ve found the easiest and most reliable way to make gold is simply by grinding.

In any game like LOTRO, grinding monsters and NPCs for their money and drops is probably the simplest way to accumulate cash though it can be so tedious many players ignore it and instead illegally buy their gold from shady online stores, focus solely on playing the auction house (which is not necessarily a bad strategy) or they just get used to being poor.

While LOTRO is definitely a game that does not reward grinding, it also does not penalize you for it, either. And while grinding for experience points is largely useless, I’ve found that grinding for gold is a really good way to make some relatively quick cash without having to stress your brain cells. There are other and even better ways to make gold in LOTRO (selling ore comes to mind), but for a quick infusion of cash I’d say grinding is the way to go.

My favorite monsters to grind for gold once I hit around level 30-33 are by far the Rauta-Lehma of Nan Amlug East in the North Downs.

Sure, there are probably some mobs with better drops, especially as you move away from the low-30s in your leveling, but so far I have found none that go down so easy for the amount they do drop. Grinding trolls is a very lucrative hobby, but also a very difficult one that requires a lot of downtime. Grinding Rauta-Lehma is far, far easier.

While I believe there are more types, these are the basic mobs you will be fighting. They wander all over Nan Amlug East, but you will find the best concentrations of them in their camps to the east of the road that runs from Dol Dinen to Angmar.

Also, don’t forget that one of the most important parts of grinding in any MMORPG, but especially LOTRO, is that you must hang on to the “vendor trash” - those items which are completely useless but NPC vendors will buy from you. This is where the bulk of your gold will come from regardless of what you choose to farm for gold. So have plenty of bag space when you set out and come back when your bags fill up.

Virtue Compendium

One of the interesting ways to advance and customize your character in LOTRO is through the Trait system. By advancing your traits and choosing which of them to equip you not only help give your character some extra personality, but define his combat bonuses as well.

There are four types of traits in LOTRO: Race, Class, Legendary and Virtue. In this post I have compiled a complete list of the Trait category common to all classes and races in LOTRO - Virtues.

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Harvest Festival Troves and Trickery

Apparently the goodly denizens of Middle Earth enjoy a good piece of tomfoolery now and then. The antics reach their apex during the Autumn Harvest Festival when adventurers and crafting folk are invited to play tricks on others in return for harvest tokens and four special masks.

The masks are divided racially:

  • Dwarf Mask - Bucket Head
  • Man Mask - Beaver
  • Hobbit Mask - Jack O’ Lantern (Pumpkin)
  • Elf Mask - Rabbit

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Harvest Festival Games

The Harvest Festival is once more upon us, and the good Free Peoples of Middle Earth are once more celebrating the seasonal turn with games and merriment.

There are several different components of the Harvest Festival: horse and pony races, trick-playing, harvest party games and the carry over farming event from the Summer Festival. In this post I’ll go over the four repeatable party games.

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Ruins of the Arthedain

Quest Level: 28

This is an exploration quest which will take you on a tour of the North Downs around Esteldin. You will need to click five founding stones scattered around the map.

To start this quest, visit the tower located in the northeast corner of Esteldin. Inside the door (a small instance) you will see the a book Of Arthedain and its Settlements. Click the book to start the quest then speak to Istuienn who, as luck would have it, is standing right outside the door of the tower.

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Cooking: A Taste of Skill

Advancing in cooking isn’t all just collecting ingredients and pushing buttons. In order to advance through the tiers of Cooking and emerge a Grand Master, you must complete the following five quests.

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Class Guide

This post was originally a page on the site which I have moved. The URL is the same, but sadly I last the original commentary. Updated Jan. 10, 2009 to add Rune Keeper and Warden classes.

This is intended to be an exhaustive guide for those new to LOTRO who are looking for help choosing a class to play. This guide will not only tell you the specific roles that each classes fulfill, but also give you some information about the strengths and weaknesses of the four races and what I feel is the best race/class combinations.

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Ered Luin Deed: Elf-Ruins Exploration

Ered Luin, also known as Ered Lindon and the Blue Mountains, is the LotRO home to the Dwarf and Elf races. Like Bree-land and the Shire there are a good number of deeds to be completed here.

Like the Bree-land deed The History of the DĂșnedain, Ered Luin has the deed Elf-Ruins Exploration which you can complete by visiting several areas representing ancient abodes of the Elves in the area. For completing this deed you will receive the Virtue Trait Wisdom+1.

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Shire Deed: Shire Brew-Master

What do Hobbits love more than full dinner plate and a smoking bowl of pipe-weed? A good-sized tankard of beer, that’s what!

One of the more sought-after titles in LOTRO, “Shire Brew-Master,” is a lot easier to get than most people think. Well, it’s not that easy … but at least you don’t have to dodge any Hungry Hobbits.

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