I can’t tell ya about the Loremaster as 97% of my time has been as a Hunter, but I believe we’re all on Arkenstone these days.
I’ve been levelling a blue-line LM (just hit 20), and it’s a stress-free way to go, for sure. Your pet does all the tanking. You sit back and plink away to kill it faster. So basically a Wow Hunter.
Oh that sounds fun, I might have to try it.
Can someone explain what is meant by ‘blue line’?
Each class has three specs: Red, Yellow and Blue. They usually have different playstyles: healing, tanking, or AOE vs single-target DPS, etc.
EDIT: you can mix and match, btw…but talents outside of your chosen “line” cost double the points.
Thanks. I haven’t played LOTR in several years and I don’t recall this. Maybe it’s somewhat new? Anyway I’m a lifetime sub so I should probably give it a whirl.
Yeah, they did a complete overhaul of the class skill system several years back by now. If I recall correctly it was around the Isengard expansion.
You must specialize in a line AKA skill tree. There are 3 for each class: blue, red, and yellow. You “unlock” additional skills/passives via the line + passive bonuses specific to that line specialization at certain point investment thresholds. You can dip into another line for twice the cost but you can’t earn the aforementioned passive bonuses without specializing.
Red or Blue line tend to be the best.
BTW I head planted straight into the Minas Morgul content without realizing on my 120 Warden.
I was just doing some back and forth Black Book Quests in the Vales of Auduin and all of a sudden I am now in Mordor during the end of the 2nd Age…time travel, only this time it isn’t a private solo instance.
Banzai
3729
They got the feel of the shire just right. Happily protecting pies and filling in shrew holes.
Wow, you guys weren’t kidding. Lore Master with a bear is VERY fun.
The only downside I’ve found with the pets is that they tend to get stuck in the landscape fairly often. It’s a bummer to have to wait for your stupid pet to catch up to send him into the next mob.
Besides that, it’s a very low-maintenance way to play LOTRO.
And I thought the Hunter was low-maintenance. Wow.
The Shire might be my favorite area of the game, maybe tied with Rivendell. So damned pretty.
The main benefit of The Hunter is you can “teleport” everywhere. It really seems unfair to other classes just how time saving that is. Also it is the pew pew class of the game. I would bet there is more Hunters than any other class.
Personally I think the Warden is the best class but it is much harder to play well requiring a lot of focus. Being the only one left alive tanking the boss while the rest of the fellowship lays dead around you never gets old. The blue line is immortal mode, outside of fear effects or getting stun locked to death, you can’t really die while cycling your heal/resolution chains (on level assuming you aren’t 1 shotted)
When reading the books as a kid I pictured the shire with more and taller shade trees (but otherwise the same). Since LOTRO came out I am disappointed.
:(
Played a Loremaster over the weekend and am having a good time. I’m still a little fuzzy on what being a VIP will get me, but I may sub for a month or three just to make sure I get the extra benefits.
I believe I have all the quest packs up to level 60 or so (Moria?). I see no quest packs for sale Below level 60.
Just got a regular mount thanks to some daily reward cashola. So that’s pretty cool.
Trying to maintain an attitude of casual play with the game but man, MMOs are such timesinks.
Is there any crafting discipline worth pursuing for a filthy casual? I took the Historian trio for the quests but am not wedded to it.
Banzai
3736
Rolled a guardian hobbit named banzgar on arkenstone and am strolling through the shire atm.
Back when there was a distinct possibility that Turbine/WB (before the LOTRO guys split off into Standing Stone Games) was going to lose the Tolkien license, I started playing again in earnest, determined to finish off all the “classic” zones, kind of saying goodbye to each as I went along. Rivendell was the hardest of all for me to leave behind, even more so than The Shire. The combination of music and scenery in Rivendell is just so tranquil and beautiful, it perfectly defines the feeling of Middle Earth. I would actually try to log out each night at the waterfall, or a bridge, or some other location where I could just sit for a few minutes and enjoy the sights and sounds of Rivendell.
Lothlorien, where I am now, is similar, but it’s not quite as impactful as Rivendell.
As for a class that is casual easy mode…Champion with Yellow Line specialization (dual wielding, multiple targets and AoE damage) is top of my list. That’s what I am playing now, and groups of monsters pretty much just fall over clutching their chests as soon as they see me. ;-) I probably won’t be in high demand in the end-game content, but I also won’t get there until 2025 at the earliest…
Oh, and anyone creating new characters on Arkenstone…send me a message if you see me (Slainte - Champion) online and I will send you a guild invite for Knights of the Quarter To Three. I haven’t checked in a while, but I’m pretty sure I’m still an officer with invite powers.
Might have to hop back in now that LOTRO has that nifty x64 client.
Not like I have enough computer-y time-sinks in my life
Dude, I was so surprised to see how laggy Bree WASN’T with the new 64-bit client.
And all the 64-bit naysayers were proved wrong yet again.
Yea, if it wasn’t for the 64-bit client I doubt I’d bother to play it much, since the performance issues with the old client were… just so god damn annoying.
