Unfortunately, despite the hype, Legendary Items (LIs) do not really "grow" with you. In fact, you'll probably obtain and destroy multiple LIs during your time in Middle Earth.
This post is an overview of the system. There are plenty of guides available on the Forums and in the Lorebook; these guides provide a much more in-depth explanation of the system.
The Legendary Item system is made up of multiple parts (and a key thing to remember is that you're not just leveling the weapon itself; you're also leveling individual components). I'm going to give an overview of each component.
The Legendary Items
Each class can equip at least two Legendary Items (LIs): A weapon and a class item.
Unlike the weapons players obtained earlier (either from crafting or from loot drops), all Legendary Weapons are class-specific, and generally takes the form of the primary weapon(s) intended for the class.
For example, Lore-Masters can only equip a legendary staff, but most other class can equip legendary swords, axes, clubs, and hammers. However, there are specific legendary swords for Guardians, a separate sword for Wardens, another sword for Minstrels. A Warden cannot equip a Minstrel Sword.
The Legendary Class Item is a support item. Each class has single a specific item. Lore-Masters have a Legendary Book, Minstrels have a Songbook, Rune-Keepers have a Satchel, Guardians have a Belt, Hunters have a Bow-Chant, Champions have a Rune, Captains have an Emblem, and Burglars have Tools. Wardens are unique in that they do not have a Legendary Class Item; instead, they have access to a Legendary Javelin. Hunters are also unique in that they can equip three legendaries: A weapon (main hand), a bow (ranged slot), and the Class Item.
There are several ways to obtain an LI:
1. During the course of Volume II, Book 1, you'll be given your first LI. After completing Chapter 11 in this chain, you'll be able to use the Forge-Master and Relic-Master, NPCs that are the heart of the Legendary System.
2. Sentient MoBs (goblins, orcs, etc) will drop LIs. The loot can be an LI for any class (not your own), though you will not be able to use them. They will not go to waste, though.
3. Certain NPCs will accept special barter tokens in exchange for an LI.
4. Legendary Items can be crafted. Weaponsmiths and Woodworkers craft weapons; Jewellers, Tailors, Scholars, and Metalsmiths craft Class Items. Cooks currently cannot craft a Legendary Item.
Once you obtain a legendary item, you must identify it before you can do anything else with it (though you can trade and sell unidentified items). This service is provided by Forge-Masters, which are pretty much available in every major hub (though they are not everywhere). Generally speaking, the higher the zone's level, the more common Forge Masters are.
After the item has been identified, you can choose to equip it or slot it. If you intend to use it, it must be equipped, just like any other weapon or piece of jewelry/armour. Equipped items are automatically slotted on the Legendary Panel (use Shift + I to launch the panel). This panel is used to manage your legendary item.
Other items - ones you don't intend to use - can also be slotted on the Legendary Item panel (and this is something you will need to do). You can only slot items designed for your class (i.e., Lore-Masters can only equip Staffs and Books; they can't equip a Guardian's Belt). By default, you can slot up to 6 Legendary Items. Two extra slots can be purchased from the store, allowing you to slot up to 8 items.
You'll probably need multiple LIs, especially Class Items, that support the different Trait Lines for your class, or that support the different roles that will be expected of you in instances. You'll also want to slot as many extra items you need so that you can level them and obtain extra components for the LIs (more on this later).
Legendary Items gain experience and level just as your character does. Killing MoBs and completing quests/instances grants Item Experience (IXP) which is distributed between all slotted LIs (it is possible to disable leveling on a particular LI). In addition, certain quests, instances, and deeds reward Heritage Runes, which are a stored wealth of IXP. These items "store" IXP of 650 or more points, which can be applied directly to a specific LI. Deconstructing an LI also can return an IXP rune.
Every 10 levels, the item must be reforged. While waiting for a reforge, the item will not receive any IXP. Thus, it will be necessary to find a Forge-Master as soon as possible.
The max level for Legendary Items is 60. However, a Scroll of Delving can be used to add 10 more levels to the item (for a total of 70 levels).
After a Legendary Item has reached the end of its useful life (because you've out-leveled it, because you have leveled it as far as you really need to; because you obtained a better item), you can visit a Relic-Master (most of these NPCs are located near a Forge-Master) and deconstruct the item. Deconstructing the item breaks it into its various parts, which can be used to enhance other LIs. Generally, you'll get Legendary Shards or Fragments (used to craft LIs), various Relics (another component to be covered later), IXP runes, and Scrolls of Renewal. You can also extract a Legacy when an LI of level 30 or higher is deconstructed. Obviously, the only reason to slot "extra" LIs is so that you can obtain these items.
In order from lowest to highest level, there are Third Age Items, Second Age Items, and First Age Items. Third Agers are the most common items; they will typically be the ones that you level and deconstruct for parts. They typically have a minimum level range up to 59, and can be crafted easily; they don't require any special symbols or items (except Legendary Shards).
Second and First Agers are more rare, but do much more damage. They generally have a level range of 60-65. Second Agers are more difficult to craft. These LIs require a Symbol of Celebrimbor, which can be obtained in instances in the Mirkwood cluster or from Skirmish Vendors.
First Agers are much more difficult to craft; they require a Symbol of the Elder King, which only drops in Ost Dunhoth. Level 60 First Agers can also be obtained by trading Bright Tokens of Nimrodel (These Tokens drop in the Turtle and Watcher raids, which is why the instances are so popular. They also drop in a few other instances).
Base Stats
Most LIs are identified with a boost to a couple of the base stats (Agility, Fate, Might, Vitality, or Will). These modifiers cannot be changed in any way; however, additional modifiers can be added using some of the other components of the LI.
The modifiers will apply to stats that are critical to your class. A Lore-Master's staff, for example, should never be identified with a boost to Might.
The LI will also get a modifier to other useful stat boosts, such a morale or power regeneration.
Legacies
Legacies enhance your skills or boost more advance statistics. A legacy could, for example, reduce the cool down on a skill, increase the damage inflicted, increase the time that the skill is effective, or increase the number of people affected by that skill, or change a single-target skill into an area of effect skill.
Legacies are specific to the type of item: there is one set of legacies for the weapon and another set for the class item. In addition, Legacies are divided into Major and Minor Legacies. Up to 7 Legacies can be added to an item. By default, when the Forge-Master identifies an item, it will be given 3 random Major Legacies. When the item is reforged at levels 10, 20, and 30, another Legacy can be added. The game randomly selects 2 Legacies to choose from; these will usually be Minor Legacies, but there is a slight chance that it will be a Major one. Thus, the typical LI will have 3 Major Legacies and 4 Minor Legacies.
Legacies are measured in both tier and rank.
The tier is a measure of quality; each legacy can be upgraded through Tier 6. The rank is the measure of how powerful the legacy is. The higher the rank, the affected skill inflicts more damage, lasts longer, affects more targets, et cetera.
The higher the Tier, the more powerful each rank becomes.
There are two ways to increase the tier of a Legacy:
1. When an item is reforged at Levels 40, 50, 60, and (possibly) 70, you will be given the opportunity to Tier a Legacy. At this time, the game randomly selects two Legacies on the item from the legacies already on the item), and you must choose which one to upgrade.
2. A Scroll of Empowerment automatically upgrades one Legacy. These scrolls can be obtained from Skirmish Vendors, from the store, or from quest rewards.
The Tiers can be upgraded even when an item reaches its maximum level.
The rank is increased using Legacy Points. These points are earned by leveling the item, and they can be applied at any time. At reforge, all Legacy Points can be reset (returning each legacy to Rank 1). After reforge, the points can be redistributed. By default, the points are refunded. In addition, you can apply a Scroll of Renewal to reset the points at any time. The higher the tier, the less points are required to level the rank.
If an item is deconstructed after the level 30, you can select one legacy to retain. You'll receive a scroll, which can be used to replace a Legacy on another LI with the select Legacy. In this way, you can eventually obtain a "perfect" LI that best boosts your skills and supports your role in the game. There are some restrictions on how the replacement works (even some stats can be replaced).
Legacies are probably the most important part of the item. You should spend some time determining which Legacies are available for the items, which best fit your play style, and which will be required for special class roles. For example, Lore-Masters often require two Legendary Books: one to support the DPS role, and one to support the Crowd Control/Debuffing role.
Relics
Relics are used to further modify the character stats. There are four types of relics:
1. Settings: These relics typically modify a base stat plus the offence rating stats.
2. Gems: These relics typically modify a base stat plus the defence raiting stats.
3. Runes: These relics typically modify healing (power or morale) and Block/Parry/Evade ratings.
4. Crafted Symbols: These relics typically modify a single base stat, provide increased morale or power, or increase the critical and offense rating.
Note that these relics are unique to the LI system; they have nothing to do with the relics used by scholars in crafting or for bartering with certain factions for reputation.
Settings, Gems, and Runes can be obtained by:
1. Deconstructing Legendary Items. Typically, this is the fate of any items that don't belong to your class. Deconstructing a higher-level legendary item yields more relics than deconstructing a low-level item. Thus, you should always slot a few LIs that you will never actually use; you can level them up and decon them to obtain relics. Most people decon "trash" items at level 31, which returns a good number of relics, a Legacy scroll, and a significant IXP rune.
2. Buying Sealed Relics. Several vendors, most notably Skirmish Vendors, offer these items. They can be deconstructed by a Relic Master for the actual relic.
3. Looting chests in instances and completing instances. Sealed Items are particularly offered as rewards for completing dungeons throughout end-game. In a few rare cases, non-sealed Relics are given as rewards.
4. Buying them in the Store. There are also store-exclusive Relics.
While Sealed, any relic can be traded or sold (i.e., on the Auction House). A Relic-Master can deconstruct Sealed Relics.
Any Legendary Relics obtained by deconning an LI or a Sealed Relic (including the Crafted Symbols) are placed in a special inventory.
Like Legacies, there are 6 Tiers of Relics (there are three additional Tiers: Unique, Singular, and Extraordinary). Most follow a logical progression and have an increasing impact on the stat that they modify. Unlike Legacies, higher-tier relics are obtained by combining lower-tier relics. The Relic-Master offers this service. Most people randomly combine relics up to Tier 6, and then meld them to obtain whatever Tier 6 relic they need.
Relics can be refined to obtain Shards. Shards are a special currency in the Relic system (they have nothing to do with the Legendary Shards that are used to craft LIs). Shards can be used to meld Relics, to purchase stat Legacies, to purchase various scrolls, and to purchase Legendary Items. Also, when combining relics, you can have a critical success, which also provides shards (and higher-tier relics).
Melding changes one Relic into another. The melding process requires a certain number of relics and shards, but it an easy way to obtain a relic that better fits your class. In addition, melding is the only means to obtain unique, singular, and extraordinary Relics.
Prior to the Echoes of the Dead Update (March 2011), there were 9 Tiers of Relics (and no melding/refining process). You might periodically see some people with these higher-level Relics, but they can no longer be obtained in game.
Four Relics - one of each type - can be slotted on each Legendary Item. Once slotted, it cannot be replaced without destroying the original relic. When an LI is deconned, all slotted relics are destroyed (without giving Shards). However, a Scroll of Removal (available from the store) can be applied; this scroll unslots all relics (except the crafted Symbol) and returns them to the Legendary Relic Inventory.
Crafted Symbols can be crafted by anyone who is kindred with a guild. There are two levels of crafted symbols: minor and regular.
1. Minor symbols require a Compendium of Middle Earth, Vol I (obtained from running a quest from the Relic Master in Anazârmekhem in The Flaming Deeps in Moria).
2. Regular symbols require a Compendium of Middle Earth, Vol II (obtained from running a quest from the Relic Master in Ost Galadh in Mirkwood).
Both Compendiums can also be purchased from a Skirmish Vendor.
Generally, to obtain the symbol:
1. A player crafts a special token
2. This token is given to the Guild Leader in exchange for a sealed symbol
3. The sealed symbol is deconstructed by a relic master.
While sealed, the symbol can be traded or sold in the Auction House. Most people do an even swap: the Symbol they can craft is exchanged for whatver Symbol is needed.
Titles
A title can be applied to the Legendary Item; the title can make the weapon more effective against certain types of creatures, increase certain types of the damage output (light, lightning, or fire), change the type of damage (Beleriand or Westerness), or increase tactical/melee defense ratings.
Only one title can be applied to an LI.
Title scrolls can be obtained by completing specific quests or bartering with reputation vendors.
Conclusion
The Legendary System can be confusing and overwhelming when you first begin. However, with a little research, some foresight, and a bit of work, you can obtain the item you need.
For more information, I recommend the Legendary Items Guide in the Lorebook. In particular, this guide provides a list of Legacies for each class. Also, I recommend reading the Forum for your class; most have a "stickied" thread containing a guide to the Legendaries for that class.
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