Wrangling Rep

One of the major features of in LotRO is the reputation ("rep") system. The idea behind it is that there is a faction in each zone, and the characters somehow gains renown with that faction, and can buy special rewards (the most important reward is a mount). Reputation points are gain via tokens, quests, and deeds. In most cases, there are five levels of reputation: neutral, acquaintance, friend, ally, and kindred.

Prior to the F2P launch in September, I didn't really spend much time worrying about reputation. The only factions I had gotten kindred with were the Mathom Society (in The Shire) and The Woodworker Guild. Unfortunately, I was so disappointed with the Kindred rewards offered by the Mathom Society (a measly tunic), I did not worry much about the rep grind. Nonetheless, Being a completionist, I dutifully picked up the introduction quests and turned in the tokens whenever I was in the area.

Not long before the F2P launch, I picked up the rep quests for the Men of Bree. At the time, this quest was around level 48. I wasn't quite ready to do the quest, so I continued on my way with other things.

With F2P, though, the level of this quest was dropped into the 20s. I decided to attempt it, and found that I did not have to grind the dungeons in Haudh Iarchith, but I could craft special tokens. It turns out that many factions are associated with a particular vocation, and the Men of Bree just happened to be associated with the Woodworking craft. Thus, I went to Thorin's Hall, crafted tons of figurines, viols, and spears for the rep. In short order, I was kindred. This time, the reward was nice - a mount!

With that incentive, I looked at my reputation panel to see where I stood with the various factions. I discovered that I was closest to kin with the Eglain, so I headed to the Lone-Lands.

And hit a wall.

It turns out that there are two primary ways to grind rep: through tokens and through quests. In the original release, Shadows of Angmar, the primary method is through tokens. In the Mines of Moria, rep is obtained via a combination of tokens and quests. With the Siege of Mirkwood, rep is obtained solely via quests, most of which are repeatable.

Though it is a SoA zone, the Lone-Lands underwent a major revamp in March 2010 (just before I started playing the game), and the newer method, that of repeatable quests (mostly in Garth Agarwen), was implemented. I was about 20,000 points from kindred, but didn't see how I could actually get any more points.

Luckily, the faction vendor in Ost Garuth offers crafting quests, with reputation as a primary reward. I was able to craft enough yew fishing rods to level up. Of course, I had to run around to gather enough yew, because it turns out that the critted version of the fishing rod doesn't count. The primary rewards here are a Return to Ost Garuth skill and (since the Winter-Home patch in November 2010) a mount.

For the most part, gaining rep with the remaining factions was uneventful. Either the tokens dropped from the MoBs often (in zones I'd outleveled), or I was running quests in the zone and able to burn through the grind as I did the quests there.

The only exception is the Inn League and Ale Association. Gaining reputation with these two factions is particularly difficult because 1) There are so few repeatable quests for each faction, 2) The delivery quests take a great deal of time to complete, and 3) Gaining rep with one faction inevitably causes you to lose rep with the other faction. I was finally able to complete this grind during the Harvesmath 2010 festival.

At this point, I am kindred with nearly every faction. I am still grinding reputation with the Eldang (The Rift), The Malledhrim (Mirkwood), The Grey Company (Endewaith), and the Algraig (Endewaith). The Eldgang reputation is slow going, because it's hard to get groups to go into the zone, and there are few repeatables available. I have only recently made my way into the zone.

Similarly, I've only recently started both Mirkwood and Endewaith, so I just haven't spent enough time working the quests.

A few notes on the reputation system:

1. There are typically three tiers of tokens for each faction: In Tier 1, 10 tokens = 300 reputation points. In Tier 2, 10 tokens = 500 reputation points. In Tier 3, 1 token = 700 reputation points.

There is an introductory quest for each tier. The introductory quest is gated by character level (not reputation level), but the tokens fall regardless of whether the introduction has been completed. If the faction vendor does not yet offer the quest, hold on to the items and check back at a later date.

The exception to the rule is the Men of Bree and Thorin's Hall. There are only two tiers here.

The tokens are not bound, so you can share them with other players or with your alts, as needed.

2. In Moria, work on getting reputation with the Iron Garrison Guards first. This faction offers a legendary skill for each class.

3. If you've completed the "An End to the Poaching" quest in Lothlorien, killing a protected species will reduce your reputation. These creatures sometimes attack, so be careful.

4. Some areas reward tokens that are used as currency with the reputation vendors. As a result, you might find that you have to continue grinding the quests to obtain enough tokens to barter for special rewards (like a mount).

5. With the Winter-Home release in November 2010, nearly every faction now offers a mount as a reward (even the Mathom Society). These mounts are general around 5g each, and the price is not reduced because you've previously purchased a mount.