We grind deeds & virtues; we grind for reputation; we grind dungeons for gear; we grind for relics...and now, we grind for anniversary tokens.
Yes, you heard that right. It's the 4th anniversary of LoTRO's release, and, rather than giving us a fun, light enjoyable event - they give us another grind.
Now, I don't really want to make this blog into a negative place: I love the game, mostly because of the landscapes and well-thought-out stories. But lately I have to wonder if Turbine is actually listening to their users. And the chorus of angry voices is getting louder, it seems.
In the past, there was the end-game radiance and Legendary Item grind. The radiance grind was compounded by the confusing number of sets, and the fact that it was a ladder: you had to grind several instances to get a basic radiance set and unlock a second set of instances, which you then repeated to get a second radiance set and unlock yet another group of instances...
The Legendary Item was not so much a grind as it was a lottery. You rolled the dice and prayed you'd get the legacies you wanted on your item, only to fail and deconstruct it for relics. After deconning literally hundreds of items, you might get the one thing you want.
With Echoes of the Dead, grinding was taken to new heights. The Devs increased the number of tokens required to purchase an item (200-300 tokens), but designed it so that the instances do not drop many tokens. I ran the North Cotton Farm instance once, and got a whole 10 tokens (and most of those were for completing a side quest). The psychological factor comes into play: you see a long road ahead of you and just cannot help but sigh, and might decide that the journey is not worth it. I've pretty much done that with end-game gear; I simply don't like endlessly repeating the same ol' thing (that's also why I'm not crazy about skirmishes).
One of the Turbine folks had the audacity to say that they wanted everyone to enjoy the anniversary event - but grinding out 2 tokens from once-daily races and then repeating a melee event every 10 minutes is hardly enjoyable. I really like the offerings, but trying to get the 250+ tokens seems nigh on impossible. I'll probably get the 30 for the horse and be done with it.
BTW, the title of this post is not mine...it was coined on the official LoTRO forums.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Another Favorite Place
Nen Harn, the lake in the northern area of Bree-Land (and the source of the unnamed river that is eventually spanned by the Trestlebridge) is one of my favorite areas in the game.
There's a beautiful waterfall off the lake.
Not many people seem to go here, so it is very quiet and serene. There is an entrance to the North Downs here (leading into Meluinen, where the elf encampment is located).
This is a good area for completing the Sickle-Fly deed, and for gathering barrow-iron and silver. There are also two NPCs that offer some repeatable bounty quests (one of which rewards a sapphire shard). For most people, it will be the introduction to turtles, which will be important in Moria later.
I went up here on my Guardian, Pentalidor, to complete some deeds and gather crafting mats. I forgot how much I love the area. I'd love to build a cabin just off the waterfall.
There's a beautiful waterfall off the lake.
Not many people seem to go here, so it is very quiet and serene. There is an entrance to the North Downs here (leading into Meluinen, where the elf encampment is located).
This is a good area for completing the Sickle-Fly deed, and for gathering barrow-iron and silver. There are also two NPCs that offer some repeatable bounty quests (one of which rewards a sapphire shard). For most people, it will be the introduction to turtles, which will be important in Moria later.
I went up here on my Guardian, Pentalidor, to complete some deeds and gather crafting mats. I forgot how much I love the area. I'd love to build a cabin just off the waterfall.
Friday, April 15, 2011
A Dummy's Understanding of Gear in LoTRO
Weapons, armour, and jewelry...you can't play the game without them. And the better the gear, the more effective you will be...
The information in this post is not meant to be definitive. It is merely my understanding of how gear works.
Obtaining Gear
The primary ways to obtain gear are:
Levels
Gear comes in four levels, coded by color:
Gear Sets
In a gear set, the more pieces in the set that equipped, the greater the boost to the stats. Individually, the pieces might not be all that outstanding, but together, they are great.
In general, pieces of armour will work with other pieces of armour, and pieces of jewelry will work with other pieces of jewelry (you might even be able to equip multiple sets of jewelry).
I've yet to encounter any weapon sets (i.e., a matching sword and shield). However, my main is a Lore-Master, and the class can only equip a staff until completing a legendary book sometime after level 39. I've yet to find a set on my Guardian. At level 45, you can do the prologue to Volume II to obtain your first Third-Age Legendary Items. After obtaining them, you'll pretty much never be without an LI.
Your first encounter with armour sets will either be the set obtained from the Wardens in Evendim or the Fém set in Angmar (I can't remember if any other lower-level set exists). Most armour sets come in multiple flavors that are designed specifically for a class (that is, both a Guardian and a Lore-Master can wear a version the Evendim set, but the versions boost different stats).
There's also a set rewarded for running Carn Dûm, Urugarth, and Barad Gularan in Angmar; this set will introduce the idea of amour tokens. There is a specific token required to obtain a specific piece of armour, and the tokens drop from bosses in the instances. If you so choose, you can run the three instances to complete the level 45 class quest, but you'll probably need to run them multiple times to get all the tokens.
Most armour sets come in 6 pieces (helm, shoulder guards, gloves, armour/robe, leggings, and boots). However, there are some sets with fewer pieces, and, though rarely, some include a cloak. Jewelry sets typically come in pairs or triples.
You are not required to equip all items in a set. Most sets grant increasing bonuses based on the number of pieces that are equipped; thus, for maximum returns, you can equip part of one set and part of another.
End-Game Gear
There are five primary end-game armour sets:
They are all teal sets, and, generally, they are obtained by completing various instances and raids. In many cases, you'll get some kind of token that can then be bartered for the specific pieces of the sets.
The barter/amour tokens include:
As you move through Moria and into Lothlorien/Mirkwood, try to equip the most teal items as possible. As you move into Enedwaith, you can begin equipping gold jewelry and weapons. The weapons should all be secondary items (relative to the main Legendary Item). I'm pretty sure there are no gold armour pieces yet.
Developing a Look
Most people find the appearance of the armour to be ugly, but the solution is to wear cosmetics. The best looking cosmetics are available from skirmish vendors, and require running skirmishes to obtain Campaign Marks. Some of these marks are only available from high-level skirmishes. Nonetheless, you can always augment your look and use dyes (made by scholars) to obtain the perfect look.
In an earlier post, I showed off the look my Lore-Master is currently (and probably permanently) sporting. Earlier in life, he wore a black Scholar's Robe with a black hooded cloak (I still return to this look periodically, as seen here). Later, he equipped a crimson Law-giver's Robe with gauntlets and a cloak from the Lossoth in Forochel.
In addition, functional armour can be used as cosmetics. My guardian is currently wearing a robe dropped as a quest reward, augmented with level 28 and 38 crafted items. I already found a set of boots that I think I'd like to cosmetically equip, provided I can find other pieces to work well with them. The items are all dyed forest green.
The information in this post is not meant to be definitive. It is merely my understanding of how gear works.
Obtaining Gear
The primary ways to obtain gear are:
- Vendor: You can buy gear from the various vendors around Middle Earth. However, most of this gear is terrible, and you shouldn't waste your money.
- Loot drops: Various MoBs will drop armour and weapons, with a few pieces of jewelry for good measure. For the most part, loot drops are the worst armour, and should be sold unless you absolutely need it. Trust me, though, you won't want it. However, until level 7, the only way to get gear is through loot drops. After level 7, you have other choices.
- Quest rewards: When you complete a quest, you'll often be offered gear as a reward. This gear is decent. These rewards will introduce most people to gear sets, which will be discussed below.
- Crafted Items: Until end-game, these items are pretty much the best you can get. Most people are encouraged to join a kin to have access to crafters who will usually supply kinmates with items for free, or at least very cheaply. Otherwise, choose a crafting vocation wisely, or check the Auction House.
- Barter Tokens: Most especially at end game, completing an instance rewards special tokens. These tokens can be traded with special vendors to obtain gear.
Levels
Gear comes in four levels, coded by color:
- Green: Purchased and looted items are the most basic gear in the game. The items might have traits that boost basic stats (agility, fate, might, vitality, and will), but the boosts are minimal, and generally restricted to a single stat.
- Purple: Crafted items and quest rewards generally give a boost to two or three basic stats and provide special bonuses to more advanced stats (hit-chance, melee crit, etc).
- Teal: Like the purple gear, these items give a significant boost to the basic stats, with a bonus to advanced stats. These items can also affect specific skills (i.e., the cooldown on a skill).
- Gold: This gear is super-charged Teal gear, offering tremendous boost to all kinds of stats.
Gear Sets
In a gear set, the more pieces in the set that equipped, the greater the boost to the stats. Individually, the pieces might not be all that outstanding, but together, they are great.
In general, pieces of armour will work with other pieces of armour, and pieces of jewelry will work with other pieces of jewelry (you might even be able to equip multiple sets of jewelry).
I've yet to encounter any weapon sets (i.e., a matching sword and shield). However, my main is a Lore-Master, and the class can only equip a staff until completing a legendary book sometime after level 39. I've yet to find a set on my Guardian. At level 45, you can do the prologue to Volume II to obtain your first Third-Age Legendary Items. After obtaining them, you'll pretty much never be without an LI.
Your first encounter with armour sets will either be the set obtained from the Wardens in Evendim or the Fém set in Angmar (I can't remember if any other lower-level set exists). Most armour sets come in multiple flavors that are designed specifically for a class (that is, both a Guardian and a Lore-Master can wear a version the Evendim set, but the versions boost different stats).
There's also a set rewarded for running Carn Dûm, Urugarth, and Barad Gularan in Angmar; this set will introduce the idea of amour tokens. There is a specific token required to obtain a specific piece of armour, and the tokens drop from bosses in the instances. If you so choose, you can run the three instances to complete the level 45 class quest, but you'll probably need to run them multiple times to get all the tokens.
Most armour sets come in 6 pieces (helm, shoulder guards, gloves, armour/robe, leggings, and boots). However, there are some sets with fewer pieces, and, though rarely, some include a cloak. Jewelry sets typically come in pairs or triples.
You are not required to equip all items in a set. Most sets grant increasing bonuses based on the number of pieces that are equipped; thus, for maximum returns, you can equip part of one set and part of another.
End-Game Gear
There are five primary end-game armour sets:
- Moria.
- Annumias.
- Helegrod.
- Lothlorien.
- Enedwaith.
They are all teal sets, and, generally, they are obtained by completing various instances and raids. In many cases, you'll get some kind of token that can then be bartered for the specific pieces of the sets.
The barter/amour tokens include:
- Annuminas Marks. Obtained by completing instances in Annuminas. This set also requires skirmish marks and Superior Third Marks.
- Helegrod Marks, obtained by running the Helegrod raids in The Misty Mountains. This set also requires skirmish marks and Superior Third Marks. Note that I said running, not completing. This instance provides special daily quests, and completing the quests rewards a mark. Most people run the Drake and Spiders wings and complete specific slayer quests daily to farm 2 marks. The giant wing isn't as popular, but some people will run it to get a third mark.
- Medallions of Moria, obtained by running instances throughout Moria. Grand Stairs is the most popular one. You'll also have to run the Turtle or Watcher Raids to complete the set.
- Medallions of Lothlorien, obtained from running Halls of Crafting and Dar Narbugad. Both instances are technically in Moria. The set also requires special armour tokens that drop from the bosses.
- Medallions of Dol Guldur, obtained from running many of the Dol Guldur instances in Mirkwood.
- Medallions of the Free People, obtained from running the instances in the Echoes of the Dead cluster, including North Cotton Farm, Stoneheight, The Glacier Fortress, The Lost Temple, and Ost Dunhoth. This set also requires special armour tokens that drop from the bosses.
As you move through Moria and into Lothlorien/Mirkwood, try to equip the most teal items as possible. As you move into Enedwaith, you can begin equipping gold jewelry and weapons. The weapons should all be secondary items (relative to the main Legendary Item). I'm pretty sure there are no gold armour pieces yet.
Developing a Look
Most people find the appearance of the armour to be ugly, but the solution is to wear cosmetics. The best looking cosmetics are available from skirmish vendors, and require running skirmishes to obtain Campaign Marks. Some of these marks are only available from high-level skirmishes. Nonetheless, you can always augment your look and use dyes (made by scholars) to obtain the perfect look.
In an earlier post, I showed off the look my Lore-Master is currently (and probably permanently) sporting. Earlier in life, he wore a black Scholar's Robe with a black hooded cloak (I still return to this look periodically, as seen here). Later, he equipped a crimson Law-giver's Robe with gauntlets and a cloak from the Lossoth in Forochel.
In addition, functional armour can be used as cosmetics. My guardian is currently wearing a robe dropped as a quest reward, augmented with level 28 and 38 crafted items. I already found a set of boots that I think I'd like to cosmetically equip, provided I can find other pieces to work well with them. The items are all dyed forest green.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Meet PAXton
Turbine offered a special gift to LoTRO players that attended the PAX East conference in March. The gift was the Cremello mount, a "Golden Fringe" horse designed GoldRushSE's that won the most recent "Design a Horse" contest.
A Casual Stroll to Mordor obtained a few codes for the horse and have been giving them away in Twitter contests this week (they are doing a Facebook contest next week, so be sure to follow them).
In short, I won the contest today...so, here's PAXton:
And here's the pony version, ridden by my hobbit cook, Paldered.
A Casual Stroll to Mordor obtained a few codes for the horse and have been giving them away in Twitter contests this week (they are doing a Facebook contest next week, so be sure to follow them).
In short, I won the contest today...so, here's PAXton:
And here's the pony version, ridden by my hobbit cook, Paldered.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Vilya Kinship Ride
On Sunday, March 27, a bunch of kinships came together to ride from one end of Middle Earth to another. Here are images from that run.
At Frerin's Court, waiting on the run to start...
And we're off...
Crossing the bridge at Duillond...
Regrouping in Needlehole...
And we're off again...
Regrouping at the Party Tree in Hobbiton...
Many of us made a wrong turn (or rather, didn't make a turn) and ended up at the Southfarthing Gate near the Shire Homesteads. We had to backtrack to regroup.
Regrouping at the High King's Crossing in Evendim...
Regrouping in Trestlebridge...
Regrouping in West Bree...
Riding toward the Prancing Pony...
Regrouping outside the Bree South Gate...
Regrouping at The Forsaken Inn...
Regrouping atop Weathertop...
Regrouping at the Last Bridge...
Regrouping at the Fords of Bruinen...
Into the High Moors...
Following the Bruinen...
Heading into Eregion...
Regrouping at Gwingris...
Riding into the wilds of Eregion...
We regrouped at Echad Eregion, but I was too late to get a screenshot. We had several low-level characters on the run; by this time, they were beginning to aggro everything in sight, and the high level characters were helping them out by killing off the baddies. By the time we had cleared the MoBs, the leaders were heading out again...
Regrouping at Echad Mirobel...
Heading into Enedwaith...
We regrouped at Echad Degoras, but again, I was delayed by helping the remaining lowbies. Once we left this encampment, it was a non-stop run to the end. It was quite entertaining to see the lowbies aggroing everything for miles around...
Regrouping at the Southern End of Enedwaith...
I'm not sure if any of the lowbies made it this far, but I think at least one person did. It was quite an accomplishment for them, and a fun distraction for the rest of us.
At Frerin's Court, waiting on the run to start...
And we're off...
Crossing the bridge at Duillond...
Regrouping in Needlehole...
And we're off again...
Regrouping at the Party Tree in Hobbiton...
Many of us made a wrong turn (or rather, didn't make a turn) and ended up at the Southfarthing Gate near the Shire Homesteads. We had to backtrack to regroup.
Regrouping at the High King's Crossing in Evendim...
Regrouping in Trestlebridge...
Regrouping in West Bree...
Riding toward the Prancing Pony...
Regrouping outside the Bree South Gate...
Regrouping at The Forsaken Inn...
Regrouping atop Weathertop...
Regrouping at the Last Bridge...
Regrouping at the Fords of Bruinen...
Into the High Moors...
Following the Bruinen...
Heading into Eregion...
Regrouping at Gwingris...
Riding into the wilds of Eregion...
We regrouped at Echad Eregion, but I was too late to get a screenshot. We had several low-level characters on the run; by this time, they were beginning to aggro everything in sight, and the high level characters were helping them out by killing off the baddies. By the time we had cleared the MoBs, the leaders were heading out again...
Regrouping at Echad Mirobel...
Heading into Enedwaith...
We regrouped at Echad Degoras, but again, I was delayed by helping the remaining lowbies. Once we left this encampment, it was a non-stop run to the end. It was quite entertaining to see the lowbies aggroing everything for miles around...
Regrouping at the Southern End of Enedwaith...
I'm not sure if any of the lowbies made it this far, but I think at least one person did. It was quite an accomplishment for them, and a fun distraction for the rest of us.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A View From The Top
My Guardian, Pentalidor, is currently questing in Evendim, which has been revamped with the Echoes of the Dead update. As part of the revamp, an encampment and quest hub has been added at High King's Crossing, the bridge over the Brandywine and one of my favorite sights in the game.
One of the quests offered here is to climb a rope to the top of the bridge. I jumped at the chance. Here's the view from the King's Crown.
I've always loved the architecture in Evendim, and this makes me appreciate it even more.
One of the quests offered here is to climb a rope to the top of the bridge. I jumped at the chance. Here's the view from the King's Crown.
I've always loved the architecture in Evendim, and this makes me appreciate it even more.
Monday, April 4, 2011
A New Title Has Been Bestowed Upon You!
You may now be known as Elahedor Taterlord:
Student of the Woods
Bestowed for completing the new crafting introduction quests.
Each vocation has it's on title. My cook, for example, is "Drudger".
The Shrewed
Bestowed for stomping 160 shrews.
Tamer Of The Shrews
Bestowed for stomping 400 shrews.
Same Old Song
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 1 - 10
The Peculiar
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 11 - 20.
Writing On The Wall
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 21 - 30.
The Enlightened
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 31 - 40.
The Poetical
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 41 - 50.
Spring Dandy
Bestowed for completing 9 Spring Festival quests.
I can't believe I actually completed this deed. The Advanced Bullroarer Challenge took me forever to get the hang of. I've completed the fence a few more times to get the cosmetics and housing items. As of today, I want to run it one more time to get the Greenfields Hat (the last festival item I'll need for this go around).
I'm so proud of myself for doing the challenge that I'm now wearing this title.
Amazeling
Bestowed for completing 5 quests in the Hedge Maze.
I lucked out and hit the maze just when the chicken dash quest was made available. It appears only to be available at the top of each hour.
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Breakfast Connoisseur
Bestowed for consuming 4 type of breakfast foods (9 of each type).
My cook, Paldered, hit Supreme Master, so I had him craft all the foods needed for the 4 food deeds. I'm still working on the cake-eater deed (consume 100 lembas @ 5 per day).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Carnivore
Bestowed for consuming 12 types of meat dishes (3 of each type).
Not shown are Roast Pork and Coney Pie.
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Vegetarian
Bestowed for consuming 6 types of vegetable dishes (6 of each type).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Pie Maven
Bestowed for consuming 5 types of pies (7 of each type).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Avenger of Khazad-Dûm
Bestowed for completing books 1 - 6 of volume II (also granted my last legendary trait, Improved Sticky Gourd).
Stalwart Against The Shadow
Bestowed for completing books 7 - 9 of volume II.
Explorer of Endewaith
Bestowed for completing 10 quests in Enedwaith.
Exile of Erebor
Bestowed for locating the 5 dwarf markers in Enedwaith and 1 marker in Thorin's Hall.
Ambassador Of The Grey Company
Bestowed for locating 5 locations in Endewaith
Follower Of The Long Road
Bestowed for locating 3 hobbit lamp-posts in Enedwaith and 1 post in The Shire (also granted the golf-chip emote).
I obtained all of these titles since the Echoes of the Dead Update on March 21.
Student of the Woods
Bestowed for completing the new crafting introduction quests.
Each vocation has it's on title. My cook, for example, is "Drudger".
The Shrewed
Bestowed for stomping 160 shrews.
Tamer Of The Shrews
Bestowed for stomping 400 shrews.
Same Old Song
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 1 - 10
The Peculiar
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 11 - 20.
Writing On The Wall
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 21 - 30.
The Enlightened
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 31 - 40.
The Poetical
Bestowed for collecting fortunes 41 - 50.
Spring Dandy
Bestowed for completing 9 Spring Festival quests.
I can't believe I actually completed this deed. The Advanced Bullroarer Challenge took me forever to get the hang of. I've completed the fence a few more times to get the cosmetics and housing items. As of today, I want to run it one more time to get the Greenfields Hat (the last festival item I'll need for this go around).
I'm so proud of myself for doing the challenge that I'm now wearing this title.
Amazeling
Bestowed for completing 5 quests in the Hedge Maze.
I lucked out and hit the maze just when the chicken dash quest was made available. It appears only to be available at the top of each hour.
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Breakfast Connoisseur
Bestowed for consuming 4 type of breakfast foods (9 of each type).
My cook, Paldered, hit Supreme Master, so I had him craft all the foods needed for the 4 food deeds. I'm still working on the cake-eater deed (consume 100 lembas @ 5 per day).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Carnivore
Bestowed for consuming 12 types of meat dishes (3 of each type).
Not shown are Roast Pork and Coney Pie.
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Vegetarian
Bestowed for consuming 6 types of vegetable dishes (6 of each type).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Pie Maven
Bestowed for consuming 5 types of pies (7 of each type).
This deed is hidden until you complete it.
Avenger of Khazad-Dûm
Bestowed for completing books 1 - 6 of volume II (also granted my last legendary trait, Improved Sticky Gourd).
Stalwart Against The Shadow
Bestowed for completing books 7 - 9 of volume II.
Explorer of Endewaith
Bestowed for completing 10 quests in Enedwaith.
Exile of Erebor
Bestowed for locating the 5 dwarf markers in Enedwaith and 1 marker in Thorin's Hall.
Ambassador Of The Grey Company
Bestowed for locating 5 locations in Endewaith
Follower Of The Long Road
Bestowed for locating 3 hobbit lamp-posts in Enedwaith and 1 post in The Shire (also granted the golf-chip emote).
I obtained all of these titles since the Echoes of the Dead Update on March 21.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)