warden guide

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The Unofficial Lord of the Rings Online Warden Guide

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Table of Contents

2Important

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2The short version

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2The long version

10Introduction

11Character Creation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Server Selection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Race Selection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Race Statistics: Man

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Racial Statistics: Elves

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Racial Statistics: Hobbits

. . . . . . . . . . . 13How These Racial Characteristics Affect Your Warden

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Completing Character Creation

15Common Game Terms

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Basic Game Terms

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16More Advanced Game Terms

17Vital Statistics

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Gaining Trait Slots

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Class Trait Sets

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Way of the Spear

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Way of the Shield

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Way of the Fist

20How Combat Works in LotRO

21The Gambit System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21How Gambits Work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Gambit Basics

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22A Low Level Gambit Example

24Gambit Skills List

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Spear Gambits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253-Stroke





. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Shield Gambits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Fist Gambits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284-Stroke

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285-Stroke

29The Warden's Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Gambit Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Stances

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Active Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Mustering Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Passive Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Summing Up Skills and Gambits

33The Warden's Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Warden Class Trait Set Pairings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34The Way of the Shield

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34The Way of the Fist

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Warden Class Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Defiant Challenge

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Grand Master Weapons Training

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Confidence

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Deadly Insult

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Deadly Thrust

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Efficient Shield Work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Efficient Thrust

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Expert Hurler

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Find Weakness

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Force of Personality





. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Know Your Enemy

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Master of the Fist

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Master of the Shield

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Master of the Spear

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Mighty Blow

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Never Say Die

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Perseverance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Sharp Blade, Sharp Wit

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Shield Trickery

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Skill and Power

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Skillful Blocking

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Strong Voice

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Terrible Visage

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Javelin of Deadly Force

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Wary Blocks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Legendary Traits of the Warden

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Bullroarer's Boy

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Chieftain of the Dunedain Book=

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39The Watch Against the Night Book

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39A Final Note On Class Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Utilizing Virtue and Racial Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Working in Fellowships

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Working Solo

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Racial Traits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Traits of Men

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Traits of the Elf

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Traits of Hobbits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Summing Up Racial Traits

44Arms and Armor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Armor Types Styles

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Light Armor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Medium Armors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Shields





. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Where Armor Shields Come From

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Weapons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Melee Weapons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Ranged Weapons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Where Weapons Come From

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48A Final Word on Weapons and Armor Bonuses

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Armor Mitigation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Weapon Bonuses

49Why Quest? The Four Quest Types

50Leveling Your Warden: 1-15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Introductory Quests

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Men: Bree-land

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Hobbits: The Shire

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Elves: Ered Luin


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Bree-land (Levels 0-20)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53The Barrow Downs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53The Old Forest

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Deeds in Bree-land

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Before You Leave Bree-land

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55The Lone Lands (Levels 15-28)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Deeds in the Lone Lands

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Before You Leave the Lone Lands

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57The North Downs (Levels 20-35)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Deeds in the North Downs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Before You Leave the North Downs


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Evendim (Levels 32-40)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Deeds in Evendim

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Before You Leave Evendim

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62The Trollshaws (Levels 32-45)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Deeds in the Trollshaws

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Before You Leave the Trollshaws





65Leveling Your Warden (40-50)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65The Misty Mountains (Levels 39-50)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Deeds Within the Misty Mountains

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Before You Leave the Misty Mountains

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Angmar (Levels 40-50)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Deeds in Angmar

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Before You Leave Angmar

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Forochel (Levels 44-49)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Deeds in Forochel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Before You Leave Forochel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72The Ettenmoors (Levels 40+)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Deeds in the Ettenmoors


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Entering Moria

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Deeds in Moria


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Western Mirkwood (Levels 60-62)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Central Mirkwood (Levels 62-63)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Eastern Mirkwood (Levels 63-65)

79The Epic Quest Line

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Book: Prologue

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Book 1: Stirring in the Darkness

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Book 2: The Red Maid

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Book 3: The Council of the North

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Book 4: Chasing Shadows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Book 5: The Last Refuge

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Book 6: Fires in the North

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Book 7: The Hidden Hope

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Book 8: The Scourge of the North

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Book 9: The Shores of Evendim

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Book 10: The City of the Kings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Book 11: Prisoner of the Free Peoples

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Book 12: The Ashen Wastes





. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Book 13: Doom of the Last-King

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Book 14: The Ring-Forges of Eregion

84The Warden's Level 50 Class Quest

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Warden's Agonizer (Javelin)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Warden's Piercer (Spear)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Battle Medallion (Necklace)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Gold Star Earring

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85The Required Quest Items

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Weapon Reward

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Jewelry Reward

87Raids and Instances

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87The Rift of Nurz Ghashu

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Helgerod

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Carn Dum

89Warden Play Strategies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Solo Strategies (PvE)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89At Lower Levels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89At Medium Level

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90At High Levels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Group Strategies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90At Lower Levels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91As a Tank

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91As a DPS Machine

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91At Medium Levels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91As a Tank

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92As a DPS Machine

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92At High Levels

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92As a Tank

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92AS a DPS Machine

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Raiding Strategy

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93As Off-Tank

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93As Secondary-DPS

94Gold Crafting in Middle Earth





. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94The Basic Gold Skill All Should Know

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95The Explorer: Gathering For Gold

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95The Crafter: Making Items For Money





Introduction

"Indeed in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the

estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him."

--Haldir, Warden of Lothlorien,

(The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)

Patrolling at the edge of firelight, the vigilant Wardens of the lands of Middle-Earth

protect fragile civilization from that which lurks in the Wild. The Warden is a quick and

cunning skirmisher, brandishing spear and shield with guile and fore-swearing heavy

armors in favor of quickness and flexibility.

Striking a balance between defense and offense, the Warden is neither a Guardian nor a

Hunter, standing midway between tanking and DPS. The Warden is a supremely flexible

solo class and offers an equally flexible anchorage point for a fellowship to build around.

The Warden allows simplicity of play and complexity of detail, according to your

gaming style. While those who randomly punch buttons and jump around the screen can do

well with a Warden, knowing how to manipulate his strengths and weaknesses and to

utilize his powerful Gambits--both while interacting with the game strategically--can make

the Warden one of the strongest classes in the game.

This unique class has more than one road to mastery, and your choice of path will dictate

your Warden's style and individuality.





Character Creation

- Server Selection

- Race Selection

- Race Statistics: Man

- Completing Character Creation

Server Selection

After you have logged into The Lord

of the Rings Online, you will be

presented with a server selection page.

Selecting your play server will affect

only which other players you will be able

to interact with and otherwise does not

affect the game. Be aware that there are

"beta" and "testing" servers, but you will

not likely have access to those without

permission. Refer to the server-specific

sections of the Lord of the Rings Online

forums. If you have friends already

playing the game, you will likely want to

choose the server they use so you can

play together.

Race Selection

Now that you have chosen a server, you

will be presented with the race selection

page. Since you will be playing a Warden,

you are limited to the races of Men, Elves,

or Hobbits. Any of these may be male or

female at your choice. Before you choose,

an overview of what the three races offer

you, statistically, is warranted.

How you wish to play your Warden, or

what your vision of your new character's

abilities and traits will be, will ultimately

decide which race is best for you. Since

the Warden is a very flexible class, you'll

likely wish to "build" your character

before you've created her on the screen.

So before you actually click through and

create your new Warden, let's look at

racial characteristics and how they'll affect

your Warden's game play.





Race Statistics: Man

Humans (referred to in-game as Man)

are a race of resourcefulness and

courage. Men hail from various parts of

Middle-Earth, including Gondor,

Bree-land, and Rohan, but where your

character is from does not affect his or

her statistics.

Men have specific racial characteristics

which affect them in-game: Gift of Man

(+15 Fate), Diminishing of Mankind (-8

Will), Easily Inspired (increased

regeneration), and Strong Men (+15

Might).

After looking at the traits of Elves and

Hobbits, we will discuss how these traits

can affect your game play.

Racial Statistics:Elves

Elves are one of the old races of

Middle-Earth and are an ally to nature. A

secluded and protective race, Elves hail

from lands such as Rivendell, Lorien, or

Mirkwood. Where your character is from

does not affect his or her statistics.

Elves have specific racial

characteristics that affect them in-game:

Sorrow of the Firstborn (-20 maximum

Morale, -1 non-combat Morale

regeneration), Agility of the Woods (+15

Agility), Fading of the Firstborn (-8

Fate), Suffer no Illness (+1% Disease and

Poison resistance).

Racial Statistics:Hobbits

The smallest, most joyful, and most

energetic of the races of Middle-Earth,

Hobbits are also dependable, strong, and

willful. Hobbits come from the lands of

Fallohide, Harfoot, or Stoor. Where your

character is from does not affect his or her

statistics.

Hobbits have specific racial

characteristics that affect them in-game:

Small Size (-8 Might), Hobbit Toughness

(+15 Vitality), Rapid Recovery (+1

non-combat Morale regeneration), Hobbit

Courage (+1% Fear Resistance), Resist

Corruption (+1% Shadow Mitigation).





How These RacialCharacteristics Affect

Your Warden

A full explanation of the traits in the

game and how they affect your character

is not appropriate to this book, as this

information is readily available from the

Lord of the Rings Online game forums

and booklets.

The three races to which the Warden

class is available (Men, Elves, and

Hobbits) can each change how your

Warden is played during the character's

lifetime.

A Man as a Warden, for instance,

would be highly adaptable and quick to

recover, but would not stand up to fear

and shadow as well as others.

Elves, on the other hand, will begin the

game with lower morale and less ability

to gain more morale throughout game

play, but their increased agility and

resistance to disease and poison creates a

strong skirmisher.

Finally, Hobbits, while they lack

strength to hit their opponents harder,

will have higher overall morale and

recovery and less chance of succumbing

to fear or shadow.

As you can see, your initial choice of

race can affect how you'll play your

Warden, at least in the beginning stages.

As your character progresses, you'll be

able to manipulate these statistics through

items and deeds, honing them to match

your style.

So there is nothing wrong is choosing

your Warden's race based entirely on

aesthetics, as any shortcomings are

compensated by strengths, both of which

can be further changed using Traits and

items to enhance or minimize them.

If you prefer the Hobbit over the Elf, the

Elf over the Human, etc. then there is no

reason to compromise your enjoyment of

the game by choosing one because it might

have better statistics at the very beginning.

These will change quickly.

Completing CharacterCreation

Now that you've chosen your race, you

will be given the classes available to that

race, which will include Warden.

After choosing the Warden class, you

are presented with the character

customization screen. Here is where you

customize the appearance of your

character, including facial features, scars,

hair color, and so forth. Only hair color

and style can be changed later, so make





your choices carefully as this is how your

character will look to others in-game.

You will also be able to give your

character a name and a place of origin.

These are also permanent choices, so

think carefully. LotRO has specific

naming policies and will not allow

profanity or objectionable names. In

addition, names which may be

trademarked or copyrighted will also be

disallowed.

There is an on-screen guide as you

create your character that will give you

an idea of common names, including

prefixes and suffixes, according to the

race you've chosen.





Common GameTerms

Before we get too deep into the

workings and play of the Warden class, a

few game terms should be reviewed. You

will see these both in this book and while

playing in-game. These are the

"shorthand" players use to communicate

game information.

Basic Game Terms

LotRO: Also seen as "LOTRO" is

simply a short version of Lord of the

Rings Online. Capitalization is not

mandatory, so you'll also see "lotro."

Morale: This is your character's health

points, measured as Morale points, and is

a number representing how much total

damage you can take before you

succumb to your wounds.

Kinship: Kins, kinships, guilds, or

even families are groups of players who

band together for various reasons in the

game in a more or less permanent way.

Officially called Kinships in the game,

these groups can be formed as clubs,

families, large group play (raid) teams,

and so forth. Many players find that,

especially early in their game careers, a

good kinship can be a big boost to their

development.

Monster Play/PvP: Monster Play or

PvP is an aspect of the game that comes in

later levels. When your character reaches

high enough level, you'll be allowed to

create a monster or take your Warden to

play in the special Player vs. Player (PvP)

area of the game: The Ettenmoors--or

"Moors" for short. PvP play is very

different from the usual PvE (Player vs.

Environment) play of the LotRO game.

Aggro: Short for "aggravation," this is

the term used to describe who monsters in

the game view as the largest threat in a

group. For example, if your player group

(fellowship) consists of a Guardian, a

Champion, a Warden, and a Minstrel, it's

likely the mob will aggro on the Guardian

or Champion because of their greater

perceived threat (due to class bonuses).

Certain skills and tacticts can increase or

decrease aggro for specific players or

mobs depending on the situation.

DPS: Damage Per Second, the game's

basic measurement of the damage dealt by

an item, affect, or attack type. For

example, a sword with a DPS rating of

24.6 will average 24.6 points of damage

per second.

Armor, AR, or AC: An armor rating

for a piece of armor, an armor set, or for

the character as equipped. This number





determines how difficult it is for enemies

to hit you in combat.

Stats or Vitals: Statistics, usually

referring to the character's vital statistics.

These include Agility, Morale, Will, etc.

We will cover these more in-depth in a

later chapter.

Mob: Another word for monsters or

enemies in the game. Named Mobs are

those which have given names (rather

than generic titles) and these are often

the targets for quests or specific item

drops.

Cooldown: How long it takes

(measured in seconds, minutes, or hours)

for a skill, item, or benefit to be reused.

More Advanced GameTerms

Mitigation: This is the percent of

damage that is negated before an effect's

damage is dealt. For instance, if you have

a Fire Mitigation of 12%, you will suffer

12% less damage when fire damage is

inflicted on your character.

BPE or B/P/E: Block, Parry, and

Evade percentages. These are listed for

you on the character profile and are

calculated based on several factors such

as weapons, armor, vitals, etc.

HoT: Heal over Time, which is the

effect that some items and spells have on a

character. This means that they do not heal

morale all at once, but instead heal in

pieces over time. Many of your Warden's

skills will utilize HoT.

DoT: Damage over Time, works

similarly to HoT, but is damage caused

rather than heals.

AoE, AE, or AOE: Area of Effect, a

designation given to items, spells, or

actions that have an affect in an area (hit

more than one mob) rather than targeting

only one enemy.

Drops: Items or objects that can be

looted from mobs you or your fellowship

have killed. These items are sometimes

quest items, sometimes random items of

use, and are almost always worth money

in the game.

There are many other terms you'll see

used by players of Lord of the Rings

Online, but the list here should get you

started towards understanding what is

being discussed in in-game chat or on

game-based message boards online.

If at any time you see a term you aren't

familiar with, don't hesitate to ask what it

means. Most players are happy to explain

things and you'll find that LotRO is a

game with a very friendly atmosphere.





Vital Statistics

There are several vital statistics in the

game of which you should be aware.

These are the numbers that will affect

your Warden's performance in-game and

should be watched as your Warden levels

to see how they are doing.

Your Warden's major vital statistics

can be seen on the equipment and

character screen (press "C" in-game),

which contains several items of which

you should be aware. Without going into

too much detail, since this information

can be found in the Lord of the Rings

Online Players Guide, these numbers

affect how your Warden performs in the

game.

Some of these numbers are

self-explanatory. Morale, Armor, and

Power are all numbers that are easy to

understand: bigger is better. Morale is

your "health," Armor is your armor's

strength or efficiency, and Power is your

mana from which you draw special

abilities.

Other numbers, such as Vitality,

Fortitude, and so forth (listed under

Morale and Power) are modifiers that

affect one of the big three. Again, the

higher the number, the better. You raise

these numbers by gaining, increasing,

and slotting (equipping) Traits.

Traits

Traits, which are acquired by leveling,

completing Deeds and Quests, and by

using some skills, produce three effects:

primary, secondary, and tertiary effects.

The primary effect will increase faster

than the secondary which rises faster than

the tertiary effects.

The Deeds, listed later in this book,

focus on Virtue Traits, but the other Trait

types are also accomplished in the same

way. Often with similar Deeds or even

overlapping Deeds.

These other Trait types, however, rarely

affect your base stats but instead impart

special abilities or other bonuses.

Dwarves, for instance, have a Racial Trait

that gives them the ability to do a

small-damage head-butt attack. Fun,

maybe, but generally useless otherwise.





Gaining Trait Slots

Traits slots (in which Traits are

equipped) are gained at specific levels in

the character's development. As you

level, your Warden will visit Bards (NPC

characters) and slot any Traits that need

to be equipped so that they will become

active. You are given slots for each Trait

type at different intervals.

These slots are gained as follows:

Slot Virtue Race Class Leg.

Slot 1 Lvl 7 Lvl 13 Lvl 15 Lvl 41



Slot 4 Lvl 17 Lvl 31 Lvl 33 -

Slot 5 Lvl 23 Lvl 37 Lvl 39 -

Slot 6 - - Lvl 53 -

Slot 7 - - Lvl 57 -

Virtue and Class Traits are the ones

which really affect your Warden's

development statistically, and therefore

have the largest impact on your character

over time. Virtue Traits are covered later

on in this book in the Leveling Your

Warden chapters.

Class Traits, almost exclusively, are

gained merely by using your Warden's

attack maneuvers repeatedly. The Deed

to gain the new Class Trait is usually

gained as soon as you being using a new

attack form you've gained through

leveling. For that reason, listing all of the

Class Traits available to the Warden here

would be redundant. What is important,

however, is knowing what to do with those

Traits once you get them.

Class Trait Sets

The benefits from Class-based Traits

(Class and Legendary Traits) can "stack"

with other similar Traits, becoming Class

Trait Sets that increase the overall effects

of the individual Traits when added

together.

The Legendary Traits for higher-level

characters (over 40) are utilized as

"cappers" to a Trait Set, giving that set

even more effect on the character's overall

stats.

Below are the three Class Trait Sets for

the Warden and how they are used

in-game to maximum benefit. Note that

these complete sets will not be gained

before level 40 and will likely not come

into play until levels 53 or higher.





Way of the Spear

This Trait Set focuses on

damage-dealing for the Warden. This is a

good choice for solo players or group

damage-dealers.

Traits in this set: Skill and Power,

Efficient Thrust, Find Weakness, and

Veteran. The Capstone Skill is

Warden's Triumph and the Legendary

Capstone is Way of the Spear.

This set greatly increases the Warden's

Spear Gambits as well as javelin throws

while lowering Power costs for each.

Way of the Shield

This Trait Set is all about defense and

heal-over-time (HoT) Gambits. This set

is preferred for tanking or off-tanking

Wardens in groups.

Traits in this set: Wary Blocks, Shield

Trickery, Perseverance, and Skillful

Blocking. The Capstone Skill is

Conviction and the Legendary Capstone

isWay of the Shield.

This set transfers threat from each

member of the fellowship to the Warden,

applies HoTs to fellows, and increases

Block and Evade skills.

Way of the Fist

This Trait Set focuses on threat and

damage-over-time (DoT) Gambits. This

set is chosen by off-tanking Wardens in

larger groups that might want to split

enemy forces.

Traits in this set: Know Your Enemy,

Deadly Insult, Strong Voice, and

Terrible Visage. The Capstone Skill is

Desolation and the Legendary Capstone is

Way of the Fist.

This set greatly increases the Warden's

control over threat and its management. It

also ads a long-term (DoT) damage ability.





How CombatWorks in LotRO

Whether you're new to the game or

have been playing for some time, the

combat system since the introduction of

the Mines of Moria update has changed

considerably.

The biggest change is to the way

mitigation and damage dealing work and

to how the buffs that affect these two

attributes are rated. The former "100%"

system wherein everything was a

percentage is no longer in use here, being

replaced by a sliding scale of numbers.

These numbers are base modifiers that

raise or lower damage in the game. As

you progress in levels, you will see this

modifier change automatically as well.

This means that armor that was very

protective at level 15 might be so many

rags in comparison at level 25.

For old players to the game, hovering

the mouse over the new numbers will

show the percentage equivalent for

reference.

The new system is based almost solely

on those rating numbers rather than on

character level versus mob (enemy)

level. This allows several things, one of

the best of which is the ability to fight

"up-level." This means it's feasible for a

player to fight monsters that are much

higher level than the player's character and

still have a chance at success.

The higher the skill's rating number, the

better the Wardenis at that particular skill.

Some skills have the ability to "peak" and

thus receive a chance to gain new "partial

avoidances," which means they can ad to

the mitigation (ignored) damage of a

particular type.

What all this means is that a relatively

low-level character can still have high

enough skill numbers to take on much

higher level foes because those foes will

do less damage than they would otherwise.

It also means the character's attacks could

do more damage as well.

Critical chances to hit in tactical, ranged

and melee now also have what's called a

Devastation chance. This is devastating

damage over and above the critical hit

damage and also triggers any critical

response skills your character might have.

Thus high Tactical, Ranged, and Melee

Ratings can allow your character to hit

harder and with more effect, even on

enemies of much higher level.





The Gambit System

Unique to Wardens, the Gambit

System is what makes the Warden so

versatile and distinctive. In their basic

sense, Gambits are attack sequences that,

when performed correctly, act as a recipe

that culminates into a big finale. These

can combine to give one of three major

effects:

1.an attack (represented by a red spear

icon),

2.a heal (represented by a green shield

icon),

3.or a taunt (represented by a yellow

fist icon).

In order to fully understand the special

skills and unique character play the

Warden offers, a good understanding of

how Gambits work is essential.

How Gambits Work

Gambits are most easily understood if

you consider them to be recipes that, when

properly mixed and baked, produce

"uber-effects" that can make or break a

battle. Because they take time to complete,

Gambits are what require the player who

wishes to truly master the Warden class to

think ahead and consider not only what is

happening now in a battle, but what will

likely be happening ten seconds from now

as well. We'll discuss this more, but first a

look at the core of how Gambits work.

Gambit Basics

On your character screen is a Gambit

Panel which has space for icons that

represent different attacks. When you

perform an attack, it takes up the next

available slot in the Gambit Panel, from

left to right. At the far right is an icon

representing what the Gambit currently set

up will ad up to.

The first maneuver (attack) you use will

determine how your Gambit will end, so

beginning with a weapon attack will end in

a Gambit which causes your enemy

damage. Likewise, beginning with a shield

gambit will end in healing yourself and





beginning with an aggro (fist) gambit

will end in increasing your perceived

threat. Combinations of end effects are

possible at higher levels.

While it sounds complicated, Gambits

are actually quite simple once you've

used them. They do require a lot of

forward thinking and tactical observation

to be used to their maximum, however.

A Low Level GambitExample

At beginning levels, your character

will be limited to Gambits that require

only two maneuvers to complete. Using

this starting point in our example, we can

illustrate how Gambits work.

Your low level Warden has available

to him five basic maneuvers that, when

used, will have a specific effect on the

Gambit Panel:

- Quick Thrust - a Spear icon is added

to your Gambit Panel.

- Shield Bash - a Shield icon is added


- Warden's Taunt - a Fist icon is added


- Quick Recovery - removes the most

recently added icon from the panel.

- Recovery - clears the Gambit Panel

entirely.

In combat, you wish to pull off a Deft

Strike (which results in a powerful blow),

so you do a Quick Thrust followed by

another Quick Thrust, resulting in a Deft

Strike, which costs 51 Power points and

results in you doing your main hand

weapon damage plus 33 more points. After

you've pulled off the Gambit, your Gambit

Panel will clear, ready for another.

If, on your next maneuver, you put in

two spears and then realize that you are

getting low on morale, you can use

Recovery to clear the Gambit Panel and

then begin an Impressive Flourish (a

Shield Bash and a Warden's Taunt), which

heals for 32 morale initially and continues

with an HoT while dealing light damage

on the enemy and draining your Warden of

75 power points.

As you play the game, this system will

make more sense and the next chapter,

which lists all of the Gambits available,

will give you an idea of what can be

accomplished using your Warden's

Gambits.

Gambits are gained slowly over your

character's development, so don't fear that

you'll need to memorize the entire list.

Most of them will be learned naturally

through repetition in-game, but the list

below will show you what's available, how

they can be utilized, and act as a reference





should you wish to refresh yourself later

in the game.





Gambit Skills List

The three basic skills of the Warden's

Gambits include Spear Thrust, Shield

Bash, and Warden's Taunt, as discussed

in the last chapter. Another skill, named

simply "Gambit Default," is the default

symbol and effect if a Gambit is

incomplete and set off early. This default

does eighteen extra damage on top of

your weapon and other bonuses and costs

46 Power to use.

Since Gambits are basically broken

into three categories, we'll organize them

that way here. Remember that as your

Warden gains levels, larger and more

complicated Gambits will become

available. So you'll start out with 2-piece

Gambits and eventually gain 3, 4, then 5

stroke Gambits.

We'll use the following symbols for the

actions that build the Gambits: {S}

Spear, {G} Shield, and {F} Fist. Melee

range Gambits affect targets within

immediate reach (out to 2.5 meters)

while medium range Gambits affect

targets up to 10 meters away.

Spear Gambits

All spear Gambits start with a Spear

({S}) strike and have a cooldown of one

second (1s). As you play, you'll find that

the Spear Gambits that do DoT can be

stacked, so you can perform a 4-stroke

Mighty Blow and a 3-stroke Power Attack,

resulting in a combined potential of 128

damage every four seconds over and

above the initial attack damages. We'll

discuss strategies for these combinations

later in the book.

2-Stroke

Deft Strike: {S}+{S}, results in a

powerful blow from your main hand

weapon that deals +33 damage. Costs 51

Power, melee range.

Offensive Strike: {S}+{F}, results in a

double-strike from your main hand

weapon and increases your threat level.

Costs 51 Power, melee range.

The Boot: {S}+{G}, results in a

powerful kick that interrupts inductions

(casting, invoking, etc.) and has a chance

of dazing the target; does 137 common

damage. 25% daze chance, which lasts for

five seconds. Costs 62 Power, melee

range.





3-Stroke

Combination Strike: {S}+{F}+{S},

results in double-strike from main hand

weapon with +33 damage to each strike

and increases your threat level. Costs 62

Power, melee range.

Onslaught: {S}+{G}+{S}, results in

multiple fast attacks (3 total) that each do

87% of your main hand weapon's

damage, interrupting inductions. Costs

62 Power, melee range.

Power Attack: {S}+{G}+{F}, results

in a massive attack which deals main

hand weapon plus 95 damage plus an

additional DoT of 51 every 4 seconds for

16 seconds. Costs 62 Power, melee

range.

Reversal: {S}+{F}+{G}, results in a

negation of Corruption abilities (common

to undead) and deals an extra +33

damage over main hand weapon damage.


4-Stroke

Boar's Rush: {S}+{F}+{S}+{F},

results in a fast charge, shield front, that

has an increased chance of a critical hit

and of stunning the target; deals 206-275

common damage. Costs 51 Power, melee

range.

Mighty Blow: {S}+{G}+{F}+{S},

results in a heavy blow that does 110% of

main hand weapon damage plus 112 more

and an additional DoT of 77 every 4

seconds for 16 seconds. Costs 51 Power,

melee range.

Wall of Steel: {S}+{G}+{S}+{G},

results in a weaving pattern of attacks (3

main hand) that interrupts inductions and

raises your parry chance for incoming

blows (+1040 for 20s). Costs 51 Power,

melee range.





5-Stroke

The Dark Before Dawn:

{S}+{G}+{S}+{F}+{S}, available only

when Warden is below 50% Morale,

results in two main hand weapon attacks

at plus 84 damage and gives +280

Power. Melee range.

Shield Gambits

All shield Gambits begin with a Shield

strike and have a cooldown of 1s. Many

of these are staples of the Warden's

tactics and are what he relies on, rather

than heavy armors, to protect himself.

2-Stroke

Defensive Strike: {G}+{G}, results in

a mainhand weapon +18 damage attack

and adds +1040 to block rating for 20s.


Impressive Flourish: {G}+{F},

results in 62 light damage plus 15 light

damage every 4 seconds for 16 seconds,

heals 32 Morale and 32 more every 3

seconds for 12 seconds. Costs 75 Power,

medium range.

Persevere: {G}+{S}, results in a quick

thrust which does main hand weapon plus

28 damage, heals 50 Morale plus another

50 Morale every 3 seconds for 12 seconds.


3-Stroke

Maddening Strike: {G}+{F}+{G},

results in a quick attack doing main hand

weapon plus 41 damage plus transfers

slight amount of threat away from each

member of the fellowship to the Warden.


Safeguard: {G}+{S}+{G}, results in 52

damage and heals for 78 Morale plus 78

Morale every 3 seconds for 12 seconds.


Shield Up: {G}+{S}+{F}, results in a

defensive posture which gives +1040

block, evade, and ranged block ratings

(each) for 30s. Costs 54 Power, any range.





4-Stroke

Celebration of Skill:

{G}+{S}+{G}+{S}, results in an attack

dealing main hand weapon plus 28

damage and heals for 78 Morale plus 78



Dance of War: {G}+{F}+{G}+{F},

results in up to ten targets in a radius of

6m being affected by a loss of ability to

hit Warden, giving him a +1040 evade

rating for 20s and transferring a moderate

amount of threat from each member of

the fellowship to the Warden. Costs 65

Power, medium range.

Shield Mastery: {G}+{S}+{F}+{G},

results in +1040 block, evade, and

ranged block ratings (each) for 1m. Costs

36 Power, any range.

Fist Gambits

All fist Gambits begin with a Taunt and

have a cooldown of 1s. These are the

Warden's primary aggro pullers and those

affects stack when combined.

2-Stroke

Goad: {F}+{F}, affects up to three

targets within 6m, causing 62 light damage

and 15 light damage every 4 seconds for

16 seconds while moderately increasing

Warden's threat, building over 16s. Costs

97 Power, medium range.

Precise Blow: {F}+{S}, results in a

main hand weapon plus 18 damage attack,

increasing threat initially and then over

time for 18s. Costs 76 Power, melee range.

War-Cry: {F}+{G}, affects up to 10

targets within a 10m range causing 15

light damage every 4 seconds for 16

seconds, slightly increasing the Warden's

threat while also increasing threat over

time for 16s. Heals 32 Morale plus 32


Costs 97 Power, medium range.





3-Stroke

Piercing Strike: {F}+{S}+{F}, results

in two attacks, dealing main hand

weapon plus 10 and 52-103 light damage

while moderately increasing threat. Costs

65 Power, melee range.

Fierce Resolve: {F}+{S}+{G}, affects

up to 8 targets in a 6m range, draining

31.5 Morale every 4 seconds, giving it to

the Warden. Costs 113 Power, medium

range.

Brink of Victory: {F}+{G}+{F},

results in 62 light damage plus 62 more

every 4 seconds for 16 seconds while

slightly increasing threat. Costs 65

Power, melee range.

4-Stroke

Resolution: {F}+{S}+{G}+{F},

affects up to 10 targets in a 6m range,

draining 162 Morale and giving it to the

Warden. Costs 113 Power, medium

range.

Spear of Virtue: {F}+{S}+{F}+{S},

results in two attacks, dealing main hand

weapon damage plus 33 and 69-137 light

damage while slightly increasing threat.


Surety of Death: {F}+{G}+{F}+{G},

results in main hand weapon plus 95

damage plus 62 light damage and 62 more


moderately increasing threat. Costs 65

Power, melee range.

5-Stroke

Defiant Challenge:

{F}+{S}+{F}+{S}+{F}, affects up to 10

targets in a 10m range, forcing them to

recklessly attack the Warden for 5s during

which time 38 points of their delivered

damage are returned to them and the

Warden's threat is thereafter increased.

Effects last for 30s and Warden must have

the Defiant Challenge Trait equipped.

Costs 86 Power, medium range.

Exultation of Battle:

{F}+{S}+{G}+{F}+{G}, affects up to 10

targets in a 6m range, draining 62 Morale

and giving it to the Warden every 4

seconds for 16 seconds while increasing

threat over time. Costs 101 Power,

medium range.





The Warden'sSkills

A Warden's skills are what set him

apart from other character classes,

combining with the potent Gambits and

Traits to give them maximum flexibility

and resourcefulness.

Skills are gained as your Warden

achieves new levels, with active skills

(attacks, ports, etc.) being gained on even

levels (4, 6, 8) while passive skills

(increased defense, etc.) are gained on

odd levels (3, 5, 7).

The skills listed here are only

attainable by Wardens, while generic

skills available to many or all classes are

left out. Because of their unique class

abilities, Wardens have very specific

skills. The skill's level is listed next to its

name in paranthesis.

Gambit Skills

These are the three simple skills,

mentioned earlier, that can build to

become Gambits. These three skills are

actually attacks, so when you're "slotting"

them to create a Gambit, you're Warden is

also performing the attack that skill

represents.

Quick Thrust(1): a fast melee attack

resulting in main hand weapon damage.

Costs 27 Power, 1s cooldown.

Shield Bash(2): quick shield strike in

melee doing 52 common damage with

15% chance of giving +1040 to block

rating for 20s. Costs 38 Power, 1s

cooldown.

Warden's Taunt(4): taunts the enemy

while doing 30 light damage plus 15 more


slightly increasing threat. Has a 10m

range, affects one target, costs 38 Power

and has a 1s cooldown.





Stances

These are the basic stances you

activate in order to put your Warden into

a specific frame of mind, giving inherent

bonuses according to which stance is

chosen. They are toggled and left on until

changed or deactivated and have no

power cost.

Conservation(22): Increases power

regeneration and gives minor defense

bonuses. +361.2 in-combat Power regen.,

+416 evade and block ratings.

Determination(12): Increases morale

during combat. +835.8 in-combat Morale

regen.

Recklessness(34): Gives attack and

damage bonuses, but lowers defenses.

-13% attack duration, +5% melee

damage, -416 evade and block ratings.

Active Skills

These skills are used in active combat or

require you to activate or otherwise enable

them in order for them to work.

Ambush(10): Ranged weapon damage

plus 103, causes 5s knockdown of target,

gives +50% run speed to Warden for 5s,

and has 25m range. Costs 86 Power, 30s

cooldown.

Careful Step(14): Allows Warden to

move stealthily for a short period (20s) at

half speed. Costs 54 Power, 3m cooldown.

Critical Strike(10): Victims of Ambush

skill or otherwise dazed opponents can be

targeted with this skill, causing main hand

weapon plus 104 damage. Costs 54 Power,

30s cooldown.

Forced March(14): Being used to hard

marching allows your Warden to move at

+25% speed out of combat. Toggled skill

(no duration limit), automatically turned

off when in combat. Power cost is 80% of

maximum Power, 1.5s cooldown.

Hampering Javelin(28): Special aiming

allows javelin to slow down the opponent,

doing ranged weapon plus 25 damage,

-35% run speed to target for 20s. Range of

25m, costs 70 Power, 45s cooldown.

Javelin of Deadly Force(48): Throw

javelin with such force, it penetrates





multiple targets. Ranged weapon plus

142 damage, 30m range, affects up to 10

targets. Must have trait of same name

equipped. Costs 76 Power, 45s

cooldown.

Javelin-Toss(1): Javelin thrown for

+25 damage, 25m range. Cost 59 Power,

8s cooldown.

Shield Piercer(20): A special javelin

skill which causes the javelin to pierce a

shield, giving a chance of the javelin

bending and causing the shield to

become useless. Takes -2288 Block

rating from target for 21s, has 25m

range. Costs 65 Power, 45s cooldown.

Wages of Fear(38): Ranged weapon

+125 damage, 25m range, used when

target's back is turned. Costs 97 Power,

45s cooldown.

Mustering Skills

While these skills are technically

Active Skills, they are skills which are all

related and have no in-combat effects.

These skills allow your Warden to "port"

directly to a location.

Unlike the Hunter and Captain's

similar skills, however, only the Warden,

and not his fellowship, can be

transported this way. These skills are:

- Muster in Ost Guruth (26)

- Muster in Esteldin (28)

- Muster in Evendim (40)

- Muster in Rivendell (44)

- Muster in the Twenty-First Hall (50)

Passive Skills

These are the passive skills your Warden

gains as she levels and are automatically

equipped and working once gained. These

weapon skills reflect the Warden's mastery

of these basic weapons of war. They are

all gained at level 38.

Master Spear Training: +15% spear

damage, 5x intrinsic spear bleed damage,

higher bleed damage chance.

Master Sword Training: +10%

one-handed sword damage, +2% to-hot

modifier for sword use.

Master Club Training: +10%

one-handed club damage, inherent club

attack speed debuff increased by 4s, club

attack speed buff happens more often.

Other Passives not listed are generic and

are all automatically active once learned.





Summing Up Skills andGambits

The combination of skills and Gambits

are what make Wardens both strong and

flexible. They are what allow a Warden

to be both front-line tank and the

spear-head of a fellowship's attacks.

These combinations of abilities are also

what make Wardens so formidable as

solo players and what will, at later levels,

make them so fearsome in PvP.

Before we talk about how skills can be

mastered and combined with Gambits to

make for powerful game play, we must

first look at the other major modifier to

your Warden's abilities: Traits.





The Warden'sTraits

While skills give the Warden quick

abilities for attack and defense and

Gambits give him powerful combinations

in battle, Traits are what influence the

Warden's overall prowess the most.

Traits create modifiers to the Wardens

statistics, affect both attack and defense

capabilities, and even impart special

skills that can be used for more powerful

effects.

Characters in Lord of the Rings Online

have access to four types of Traits:

Virtues, Racial, Class, and Legendary.

While in this book we'll be mostly

concerned with the Class Traits available

only to the Warden, other traits in the

Virtues and Legendary slots will also be

important.

You have already seen how some skills

can only be obtained by achieving and

slotting a Trait. Your character can have

more Traits than slots available to

activate them, so choosing which ones

you'll use is important. You choose

which Traits to slot by visiting a Bard

in-game, which are available in most

cities and large towns in Middle Earth.

Luckily, with the Mines of Moria

upgrade, the Lord of the Rings Online

saw vast improvement in how your Traits

are displayed and organized in your

character development screens.

Class Traits are generally achieved by

using specific class skills multiple times

over time to "master" that skill, thus

gaining the Trait mastery.

Warden Class Trait SetPairings

There are three Trait Sets that can be

created to make three separate "themes"

for your Warden's ability focus. These

three themes follow the three Gambit

focuses of the Warden. Each trait set is

"capped" by a Legendary Trait which does

further damage.

Trait icons have colored backgrounds

which correspond to the trait set they are

paired to. Although trait set pairs are not

required in the game, they can be a great

complement to your style of game play.

The Way of the Spear This trait set

includes all of the class traits which

improve Spear Gambits and javelin skills.

This trait set gives bonuses of increased

damage and reduced Power costs for using

Spear Gambits. It culminates in the

Legendary Trait Warden's Triumph.





The Way of the Shield

This trait set includes all those traits

which improve defense and HoT effects.

This set gives bonuses to Block and

Evade skills and higher heal effects to

healing skills. It is capped with the

Legendary which improves the

Conviction skill.

The Way of the Fist

This trait set, as its name implies,

includes those traits which improve or

enhance the Warden's damage and threat

enhancement skills. This skill is

culminated by the Legendary which

enhances the Desolation skill, giving a

global increase in the threat your Warden

generates as well as the number of mobs

that can be targeted by it.

Warden Class Traits

These traits are specific to the Warden

class and are, for the most part, gained by

using a skill or Gambit enough times to

master the Trait. Your character's Trait

panel will show which of these are

available to you and specifics on what you

need to accomplish to gain them. Those

requirements are listed here for reference

as well. These Class Traits are those which

can be combined to make the sets

mentioned above.

Defiant Challenge

Allows the use of the Gambit of the

same name, forcing all nearby enemies to

attack. Requires collection of all of the

Bullroarer's Boy Pages to achieve.





Grand MasterWeapons Training

Your preferred weapon gains a +5%

damage bonus (spear, sword, club) plus

inherent bleeds from spear, attack speed

debuff from club, and +1% to hit bonus

for sword. Collect all Chieftain of the

Dunedain Pages to achieve.

Confidence

+1 Pulse DoT from skills, part of the

Way of the Fist set. Strike with Brink of

Victory 350 times to achieve.

Deadly Insult

Warden's Taunt Resist Rating -2244,

part of the Way of the Fist set. Strike

with Warden's Taunt 250 times to

achieve.

Deadly Thrust

Spear Gambit critical rating +408, part

of the Way of the Fist set. Strike with The

Dark Before Dawn 250 times to achieve.

Efficient Shield Work

Shield Gambit Power cost -5%, part of

the Way of the Shield set. Use Shield Up

350 times to acquire.

Efficient Thrust

Quick Thrust power cost -40%, part of

the Way of the Spear set. Strike with

Quick Thrust 200 times to achieve.

Expert Hurler

Javelin skills cooldowns lowered by 15s,

part of the Way of the Spear set. Use

Javelin skills 500 times to achieve.





Find Weakness

Critical Strike critical rating +1020,

part of the Way of the Spear set. Achieve

critical hits with Critical Strike 75 times

to acquire.

Force of Personality

Target Fist Gambit resist rating -1020,

part of the Way of the Fist set. Strike

with Surety of Death, Resolution, or

Spear of Virtue 500 times (in total) to

achieve.

Know Your Enemy

Goad affects three additional targets,

part of the Way of the Fist set. Use Goad

200 times.

Master of the Fist

Gives Master of the Fist Deed, which

gives access to Fist and Spear and Fist and

Shield basic Gambits (if equipped); part of

the Master of the Fist set. Strike with

Exultation of Battle 500 times to acquire.

Master of the Shield

Gives Master of the Shield Deed, which

allows Shield and Spear and Shield and

Fist basic Gambits (if equipped); part of

the Way of the Shield set. Strike with

Shield Mastery, Celebration of Skill, or

Dance of War 500 times (in total) to

achieve.

Master of the Spear

Gain Master of the Spear Deed which

gives Spear and Fist and Spear and Shield

Gambits (if equipped), part of the Way of

the Spear set. Strike with Mighty Blow,

Wall of Steel or Boar's Rush 500 times (in

total) to acquire.





Mighty Blow

Ads +10% to javelin skills damages.

Strike with Ambush 350 times to

acquire.

Never Say Die

Pulse HoT skills give +1, part of the

Way of the Shield set. Strike with

Safeguard 200 times to achieve.

Perseverance

Pulse HoT skills have +1, part of the

Way of the Shield set. Strike with

Persevere 500 times to achieve.

Sharp Blade, SharpWit

Earns A Keen Response Deed,

providing +15% physical damage to

Warden fist skills; part of the Way of the

Fist set. Use Precise Blow 350 times to

acquire.

Shield Trickery

Ads 10% to chance for block bonus

when using Shield Bash skill, part of the

Way of the Shield set. Use Shield Bash

250 times to achieve.

Skill and Power

Gambit default damages gain +30%,

part of the Way of the Spear set. Strike

with Deft Strike 200 times to acquire.

Skillful Blocking

Block rating +408, part of the Way of

the Shield set. Block incoming attacks 500

times to achieve.





Strong Voice

War Cry gains chance to fear enemies

for a short time, part of the Way of the

Fist set. Use War Cry 500 times.

Terrible Visage

DoT skills damage gain +5%, part of

the Way of the Fist set. Strike with

Fierce Resolve 500 times to achieve.

Javelin of DeadlyForce

Javelin can be thrown with such force

that it penetrates up to 10 targets doing

ranged weapon damage +120 with a 30m

range. Collect all of the Watch Against

the Night pages to acquire.

Wary Blocks

Defense buff strike duration increases

+10%, part of the Way of the Shield set.

Use Defensive Strike 200 times to achieve.

Legendary Traits of theWarden

The Legendary (or "capstone") Traits of

the Warden all require the finding of book

pages from books specific to the Warden

class. The traits themselves are listed

above, along with the books whose pages

must be located to achieve that Trait.

Because these Legendary Traits are the

hardest to achieve, in general, it's

important that you be prepared to find

these book pages when the time comes.





Bullroarer's Boy

To achieve the Defiant Challenge

Trait, your Warden must find all the

missing pages of the book Bullroarer's

Boy. These pages are random drop items

found in specific locations from specific

mobs.

Pages 4, 7, 10, and 12 can be found on

humanoid creatures in the land of

Angmar. Pages 17, 21, 25, and 33 can be

located on humanoid creatures in the

Misty Mountains.

Chieftain of theDunedain Book=

The acquisition of Grand Master

Weapons Training requires the location

of the missing pages from this book.

These pages are random drop items, as

above.

Pages 3, 12, 13, and 17 can be found

on humanoids in the Angmar area while

pages 18, 23, 29, and 32 can be found on

humanoids in the Misty Moutains.

The Watch Against theNight Book

This is the required book to complete in

order to achieve the Javelin of Deadly

Force Trait. Like the other two, the

missing pages of this book are random

drop items on specific creatures.

Pages 5, 7, 13, and 17 can be found on

humanoids in Angmar and pages 21, 25,

41, and 44 can be gained from humanoids

in the Misty Mountains.

A Final Note On ClassTraits

The game mechanics of Traits in Mines

of Moria, as I said earlier, is very different

from those used earlier in Shadows of

Angmar. The largest change is the

introduction of trait "sets." To finish out

clarification of how class Traits are treated

in LotRO, at maximum level (60) you will

have 7 open slots in which to equip

standard Traits and two slots for

Legendaries.

To "fill" one of the three sets of traits

(Way of the Fist, Spear, Shield) requires

only five of those slots to be filled, plus

the appropriate Legendary Trait. This





leaves two open slots for extra

customization of your Warden. Further,

you are not required to use the Trait Sets

at all and can mix-and-match your

Warden's Traits as you'd like.

Most likely, you will find that your

Warden will benefit most from utilizing

the appropriate Trait Set and will use it,

but that may not always be the case. The

Class and Legendary Traits are, however,

only two of the four types of Traits

available to you in the game. What about

the other two?

Utilizing Virtue andRacial Traits

Your choice of Virtue and

Race-specific Traits will be according to

your personal play style and how you

envision your Warden's role in the game

overall. The choices of achievable Virtue

and Race Traits are the same for all

players, regardless of class.

That being said, there are some of

these Traits that may be more useful to

you than others. So they bear listing here,

though in a much briefer form.

All front-line classes, like the Warden,

can benefit from those Traits which most

effect melee chances to hit and damage

and those which raise healing abilities.

Working inFellowships

If your Warden will be working

primarily in fellowships as the main or off

tank, then you will likely want to use those

Traits which buff her armor, healing,

threat, and attack/damage attributes.

While at first glance it would seem that

a higher Morale would be a good thing, in

actuality the stats that protect your Morale

are much more important. This is because

while Morale is the amount of damage you

can take, if you don't take the damage in

the first place, you're better able to handle

more situations. While in a fellowship,

you are also likely to have a healer to

which your Way of the Shield Gambits are

only augmentations rather than your only

regeneration source.

So Virtues such as Empathy, Honesty,

and Loyalty are often a better choice

because of their armor augments. Of the

three, Loyalty and Honesty may be a

better choice if you wish to also increase

your maximum Power.

Other Virtues also affect specific

defenses, such as ranged or melee, and

have other bonuses that make them

desirable. These include Discipline and





Zeal, which also add to your Warden's

to-hit percentages.

Working Solo

When playing solo, the strategy for

your Warden's Virtues will change

somewhat. Because the Warden's

primary abilities are mainly DoT and

HoT, the time needed for them to do

their work means that the Warden will

have to be able to take some damage in

the meantime.

In this case, in-combat Morale

regeneration and resistances to wound,

disease, etc. may be more useful. So

Tolerance, Determination, and Justice

become a higher priority, although the

wound resistance of Charity and disease

resistance and to-hit bonuses of

Discipline can also be great bonuses.

Racial Traits

Men, Elves, and Hobbits all have

different Racial Traits that may affect your

Warden. These are those that are gained

through achievement in Middle Earth. A

quick overview of what those Traits are

will likely be enough to show you which

will better benefit your style of play.

Most of these Traits are gained by

killing a specific type of mob and are

usually consecutive, meaning they build

upon themselves. For instance, to achieve

Hobbit-resilience, your Hobbit Warden

would have to achieve Enmity of the

Spiders III, which requires completion of

Enmity of the Spiders I and II first.

Traits of Men

At level 13, two Racial Traits become

available to humans: Man of the Fourth

Age and Upper-Cut.

Man of the Fourth Age gives +20 Will

and is achieved by completing Enmity of

the Wargs (killing 50 wargs).

Upper-Cut gives a weak, short-range

attack and is acquired by completing

Enmity of the Dead (killing 50 undead).

Tactics and Might Bonus becomes

available at level 19 and gives a 5% bonus





to green and red Conjunction colors. This

Trait is achieved by completing the

Enmity of the Dead II (killing 100

undead).

Man Sword-damage Bonus is

available at level 25 and gives a 2%

bonus to 1 and 2-handed sword damage.

You gain this Trait by completing

Enmity of the Dead III (killing 150

undead).

Return to Bree is available at level 29

and enables a teleport to the city of Bree.

This is achieved by completing Enmity

of the Wargs II (killing 150 wargs).

Balance of Man becomes available at

level 30 and gives a 1% bonus to B/P/E.

This is achieved by gaining Enmity of

the Hillmen I (killing 150 Hillmen).

Duty-bound begins at level 35 and ads

a bonus to fellowship Morale. This Trait

is achieved by gaining Enmity of the

Wargs II (killing 150 wargs).

Strength of Morale is also available at

level 35 and restores 3,000-3,005 Morale

on activation, once per day. You achieve

this powerful Trait by achieving Enmity

of the Hillmen II (killing 250 Hillmen).

Traits of the Elf

Sylvan Shadows is available at level 13

and enables Stealth Movement, at

decreased movement speed. This Trait is

achieved by completing Enmity of the

Goblins I (killing 50 goblins).

Friend of Man is also available at level

13 and ads +20 Fate. This is achieved by

doing Enmity of the Orcs I (killing 50

orcs).

Tactics and Conviction Bonus begins

at level 19 and ads 5% to blue and green

Conjunction colors. This is achieved by

gaining Enmity of the Goblins II (killing

100 goblins).

Elf Bow-damage Bonus is available at

level 25 and gives a 2% bonus to damage

with a bow. This Trait comes with Enmity

of the Goblins III (killing 150 goblins).

Return to Rivendell is available at level

29 and enables a teleport to Rivendell.

This is achieved by gaining Enmity of the

Orcs II (killing 100 orcs).

Elf One-handed Sword Damage

Bonus begins at level 30 and gives a 2%

bonus to one-handed sword damage. This

is gained by gaining Enmity of the Drakes

I (killing 100 drakes).

Eldar's Grace begins at level 35 and

ads 75% parry chance for 10s. This is

achieved by completing Enmity of the





Orcs III (killing 250 orcs).

Power of the Eldar also begins at

level 35 and ads a bonus to your

fellowship's Power by 2% for 10m. It's

gained through Enmity of the Drakes II

(killing 150 drakes).

Traits of Hobbits

Hobbit-stature is available at level 13

and more than negates the loss of

strength for being small, giving +20

might. This is achieved by completing

Enmity of the Spiders I (killing 50

spiders).

Stoop for a Stone is also available at

level 13 and gives a Throw Stone skill,

allowing a short-ranged attack dealing 9

common damage. Achieving Enmity of

the Wolves I (killing 50 wolves) gives

this Trait.

Guile and Conviction Bonus begins

at level 19 and ads 5% to yellow and

green Conjunctions. This is gained by

doing Enmity of the Wolves II (killing

100 wolves).

Hobbit Club-damage Bonus is

available at level 25 and gives a 2%

bonus to 1 and 2-handed club damage.

This is achieved by completing Enmity

of the Wolves III (killing 150 wolves).

Hobbit-stealth begins at level 29 and

gives the Hobbit the ability to move with

stealth at half speed. This is achieved by

gaining Enmity of the Goblins I (killing 50

goblins).

Hobbit-silence is available at level 35

and gives the skill Hobbit-silence, a 30s

feign death ability. This is gained by

finishing the Enmity of the Goblins II

(killing 100 goblins).

Hobbit-resilience is the other level 35

Trait and gives your fellowship a +1

(non-stacking) Hope bonus. This is gained

by completing Enmity of the Spiders III

(killing 250 spiders).

Summing Up RacialTraits

You can see that these Traits can greatly

influence your play style. Your main

choices will be dependent on whether you

play solo or in groups.





Arms and Armor

A brief overview of how weapons

(arms) and armor can affect your Warden

is important before we begin discussion

of actual game play with your chosen

character.

As your Warden levels, he will have

access to better and more potent weapons

and stronger, more resistive armors.

Because Wardens are limited to the use

of one-handed weapons and light and

medium armors, these choices can be

game makers or breakers.

In the chapters ahead, we'll be looking

at leveling your Warden starting from

scratch and working all the way up to the

level cap at 60. During that discussion,

we'll look at the weapons and armor

available at those points individually.

First, though, a quick look at how the

statistics of that armor can affect your

Warden's abilities is warranted.

Armor Types & Styles

All armor fits within three categories,

which are then generally broken into three

more by level. The first three categories

are Light, Medium, and Heavy. The

sub-categories (heavier) armors are named

differently for each armor type, but are

basically 3-tiered levels underneath the 3

major tiers of Light, Medium, and Heavy.

Light and Medium, which are available to

your Warden, will be described in the

basic armor descriptions below.

Light Armor

This is mostly cloth-based armor, such

as linen, padded, etc. These armors do not

induct a very high armor class rating, but

offer maximum flexibility. In the very

beginning, your Warden will be wearing

this kind of armor.

Light armors are broken into three

sub-categories: standard (no name

adjective), heavy, and crafted (or

"critted"). Standard light armors will have

a plain name (e.g. Cloth Leggings) while

heavy will have an adjective (Heavy Cloth

Leggings) and crafted armors will have a

stronger adjective (Superb Cloth

Leggings).





The adjectives change occasionally

with various levels, but the degrees are

the same. Crafted armors are always

superior to heavy which is superior to

standard. Light armors are crafted by

Tailors.

Medium Armors

These armors are leather based and

will soon be available to the beginning

Warden. These offer a medium AC

rating and good flexibility. Like Light

Armors, they are available in three

sub-tiers, broken down the same way and

are made by Tailors.

Shields

Similar to armor, shields are another

protective device that your Warden will

utilize throughout his life in the game.

They are very much like armor in their

abilities and styles with one exception:

there are Warden-only shields available

as well.

All shields for the Warden are either

light, medium, or Warden shields.

Warden shields, for all intents, are

basically medium shields with different

kinds of bonuses.

Shields are otherwise fitted into one of

two sub-categories: standard or crafted (or

"critted"). Shields are made by

Metalsmiths.

Where Armor & ShieldsCome From

Armor and shields can be acquired in

several ways. They can be purchased from

a vendor in most any city or town, found

on mobs (usually humanoid), and

purchased or traded with other players

who craft. The quality of the item rises

with each of these sources.

Your Warden will begin with basic

armor and will gain new pieces through

the beginning levels. It's not likely that

you will find it necessary to actively seek

out better armor and shields until you are

past the beginning stages of your

character's development (levels 1-10).





Weapons

Similar to armors, weapons can make a

huge difference in your Warden's ability

to progress quickly in the game. With

only sub-par weaponry, your Warden

will likely find himself having a hard

time completing quests and finishing

Deeds.

Weapons for your Warden are

basically broken into two categories:

melee and ranged. Those two categories

can hold a myriad of choices, but will all

do one of six types of damage:

Common This damage type is just

what it's name implies and has no special

bonuses.

Beleriand This damage type is best

against ancient evil, half-orcs, spiders

and insects, and the dead and unseen.

Fire This type of damage is best

against creatures of Nature, a few beasts,

and troll-kind.

Light This damage type is best against

orcs and goblins, the unseen, and

troll-kind.

Westernesse This type of damage is

best against the dead and ancient evil.

Ancient Dwarf-Make This damage

type is best used against dragon-kind.

No matter the damage type, all weapons

will do damage to all types of creatures,

but at varying degrees of success. Until the

later levels, the above damage types are

not likely to affect your Warden's success

from one quest to the next. Once you are

high enough level to enter Sarnur or

Moria, however, the damage type your

weapon deals will be important.

Other factors affecting a weapon are its

speed and damage total. The damage and

speed rating are shown on the weapon's

stats, but the combination of the two,

called DPS (Damage Per Second) is what

you'll likely look at first.

DPS Damage Per Second is a number

representing the average damage per

second the weapon, by itself (without your

character's bonuses), will deal. This

number will be something like 7.1 or 29.7

depending on the weapon and level.

Hint: when you are equipped with a

weapon, look at your character screen

overview and note your character's DPS

rating in the bottom right column. This is

your total DPS, all bonuses included, with

the weapons you've currently equipped.

As with armors, weapons come in

standard or crafted versions, with crafted

weapons being superior.





Melee Weapons

The melee ("up close and personal")

weapons available to your Warden

include almost all one-handed weapon

types: swords, clubs, hammers, and the

Warden's specialty: spears.

All weapons are made by

Weaponsmiths except spears and

javelins, which are made by

Woodworkers.

Ranged Weapons

The ranged weapons for your Warden

are limited to javelins. Similar to spears,

javelins are different in that they're made

to balance more perfectly during flight

through the air and are weighted so that

maximum penetration is achieved on

impact.

Many of the Warden's core abilities,

such as the Ambush skill, require the use

of a javelin.

Outside of their ability to be thrown at

range, javelins are otherwise identical in

statistics to other weapons in the game.

Where Weapons ComeFrom

Weapons are acquired from vendors, as

special drops from mobs and from players

who craft as Weaponsmiths or

Woodworkers. The quality of the weapon

will increase with each of these

respectively.

As with armors, in the beginning levels

(0-10), quests will provide you with

weapons of good enough quality to get

you through without purchasing or crafting

your own.

By the time you've leveled your Warden

into the 40s and higher, you'll likely have

several weapons in your arsenal to choose

from based on your intended goals in each

play session or scenario.





A Final Word onWeapons and Armor

Bonuses

Both the armor your Warden wears and

the weapon she wields will give bonuses

of one kind or another over and above

their inherent damage or protection. With

armor, this is mitigation and buffs, and

with weapons this is damage type and

critical effects.

Armor Mitigation

This word merely means the amount of

damage (of whatever kind) the armor

will turn away.. Higher armor value (AC)

means higher mitigation, but the statistic

buffs given by the armor also affect this.

Mitigation buffs that directly affect

Morale are Vitality and Fate.

Weapon Bonuses

Weapons can boost character stats just

as armor can. The stats most important to

dealing damage to enemies are those

which increase chances to hit and to

making critical hits. The two stats most

associated with these traits are Might and

Agility. Might increases damage and block

chances while Agility raises chances to hit

and chances to crit.





Why Quest? TheFour Quest Types

The question of "Why should I quest?"

is a common one to players new to the

Lord of the Rings Online. This question

usually comes from players who're used

to another type of game or come from

another online game that doesn't focus on

story as much as LotRO does.

The short answer is that questing not

only makes the game more fun and

interesting, but it is the fastest way to

gain experience and level your character

as well.

The second question involves the quest

types that are in LotRO. These fall into

four basic categories and are found in

just about every area of the game:

- Book Quests - these are the storyline

quests that follow the story inherent to

the Lord of the Rings books and movies.

For many things in the game, completing

these quests is mandatory.

- Collection Quests - these are the

sometimes fun, usually exploratory

quests that require you to collect certain

item or items (flowers, lost goods, etc.)

and return them to the owner. These

quests are great for exploring new

territory and gaining or completing

location Deeds.

- Hunt and Kill Quests - these are the

quests that require you to kill so many of a

certain mob, such as boars, bears, goblins,

etc. Some of these quests will also require

that you collect something from the dead

mobs once you've killed them (boar meat,

bear hides, goblin tabards, etc.). These

quests are great supplements to "slaughter"

deeds (Enmity of...).

- Grinding Mobs Quests - these are

similar to Hunt and Kill Quests, but are

more slaughter-oriented. These quests

require that you kill large numbers (20,

sometimes more) of certain beings, often

in a specific area. Goblins, orcs, spiders,

wargs, and so forth are common targets for

these quests. These are a great way to gain

or complete Deeds that have similar

requirements and are often the way the

game subtly introduces you to the Deed

itself.

As we delve into the questing areas in

Middle Earth, you'll notice overlap

between one area and another. When you

move from one area to the next is up to

you, as LotRO is an open game with

plenty of flexibility.





Leveling YourWarden: 1-15

Now we get into the nitty-gritty of the

game. Building your character from the

ground up in LotRO can seem to be a

daunting task, but it's quite fun. This

guide is meant to supplement your game

play, not replace it with boring power

leveling and item acquisition.

The experience of Middle Earth is

what the game is all about and whether

you're into building a multi-faceted

character, interacting with other players,

experiencing the areas and scenery of

Middle Earth, or are a power player

wanting to speed through the levels

quickly to get to PvP, there is something

in LotRO for you.

Each area of Middle Earth has specific

tasks (quests), deeds, crafting bonuses,

materials to find, and so forth. Other

important aspects of your character's

development will require money (gold

and silver), weapon and armor upgrades,

etc.

Depending on your choice of race, you

will begin in one of three areas. We'll

briefly describe those areas (commonly

called the Introduction areas) and what

you'll find there before moving on to

each stage of your Warden's leveling

process.

Introductory Quests

No matter your chosen race, your

character will begin with an introductory

quest located at her starting point. Whether

you're new to LotRO or a seasoned pro, it

is highly recommended that you complete

these introductory quests. They will level

your Warden to somewhere in the 6-8

range, depending on how well you've

done.

Be aware that during this time, your

character will be offered the chance to

gain a craft. Make sure to read the Gold

Making and Crafting chapter (ahead in this

book) before you make your choice of

craft.





Men: Bree-land

Men begin their careers in Bree-land.

Specifically, in post-war Archet and

eventually moving into Combe, Staddle,

and then Bree itself. After the

Introductory Quests, this is also where

you're likely to continue your career until

around levels 15-20. More on that later.

Bree-land is one of the busiest places

in Middle Earth, which has good and bad

benefits. The best being that it's easy to

find groups for fellowship quests, the bad

being that this many people means a lot

of chatting and gold spammers.

Watch out for these quests: A Blade

for a Life (gives earring with +4 Vitality)

and Big Problems (Sandheaver's

Hammer, +15 Max Power).

Once you choose a profession (craft),

make sure your resource tracker is

always on as Bree-land is full of copper

and tin ore, barrow-iron ore in some

areas, and plenty of wood and relics.

Light and medium hide animals are

plentiful too.

Hobbits: The Shire

Hobbits start their careers in the Shire

and proceed there until about level 12-13,

at which point your Hobbit Warden will

go to Bree. The quests in the Shire are fun

and often entertaining, but are not very

heavy on battle, so if you'd prefer that,

proceed into Bree-land quickly (go east

along the Great East Road) or to Ered Luin

(go north, through Michael Delving and

the swamp). You can do starting-level

quests in both of those areas as well.

While questing in the Shire, watch for

the quest chain starting with "A True

Friend to the Quick Post" which yields a

cloak that gives you +4 Agility.

Once you've chosen a craft, make sure

it's resource tracker is on as the Shire is

full of copper, tin, and barrow-iron ore as

well as woods and animals to kill for light

or medium hides.





Elves: Ered Luin

While this area is actually the

Dwarves' stronghold, it is also where

Elves begin their careers. You will begin

inside Thorin's Gate for the immediate

introduction and then quickly be taken to

Celondim. Your quests will then take

place between the two, which are at the

north and south ends of the map

(respectively). Quests here go to around

the level 14 mark and can be quite

rewarding.

Watch for the quests "Tangled Up"

(rewards an earring with +4 Vitality) and

"The Plundered Port" (rewards a bracelet

with +4 Might). Once you have

completed questing here (or have

reached level 12-14), it's best to head

through the Shire (to the south and east,

past Duillond) and into Bree-land

(proceed directly east through the Shire

on the Great East Road).

Ered Luin is full of copper and tin ore,

wood, and animals that yield light and

medium hides. So if you've chosen a

craft, make sure your resource tracker is

on.






At levels beginning with 13-15, you'll

be questing primarily in Bree-land

(specifically the Barrow Downs and Old

Forest) and then be proceeding to the

Lone Lands, which are just south of Bree

and then possibly to the North Downs,

which are north of Bree.

Hint:By now, you've probably noted

that if you visit every quest-giver

(marked by a ring above their head) and

get all the quests available to you, you

can often get these quests done

simultaneously, thus speeding up your

quest completion and leveling.

Bree-land (Levels 0-20)

- The Barrow Downs

- The Old Forest

- Deeds in Bree-land

- Before You Leave Bree-land

The Barrow Downs

There are a few quests here, not already

mentioned, that you will likely find helpful

to you. "Lalia's Safe Passage" and "Find

Malin" are both level 16 quests that have

good item rewards your Warden can use

(boots, shield, and cloak). "An Ancient

Story of Evil" is a level 23 quest that you

can undertake in a small fellowship at

level 17-18 that also has good rewards

(gauntlets, necklace).

In this land, you'll find copper, tin,

Barrow-iron, rowan and ash woods, and

several ruins with scholar items in them.

Most beasts drop light and medium hides.

The Old Forest

Chapters 9-12 of the Book 1 quests take

place in this location and should be

completed here—they are level 15-18

quests.





Deeds in Bree-land

The following Deeds to raise Virtues

can be had while in Bree-land:

The Spider-Slayer Deed (Honour +1)

can be accomplished early on in

Bree-land. You'll find them in Archet,

Midgewater Marsh, and the Old Forest

for the most part.

The Brigand-Slayer (Advanced)

Deed (Justice +1) is in Bree-land.

Brigands are everywhere and give good

item drops as well, including crafting

components and stackables.

The Orc-Slayer Deed (Valor +1) is an

important one for the Warden to

complete as soon as possible. They drop

money, armor pieces, and crafting

recipes and can be found in the north and

south ends of Bree-land.

Barghest-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Determination +1) involves killing

Barghests, which are the dog-like

creatures you find in the Barrow Downs

and other areas with undead.

Bree-land Adventurer Deed

(Empathy +1) is completed by finishing

a token amount of quests within

Bree-land (any quest will do).

Bree-land Adventurer (Advanced)

Deed (Charity +1) is a continuation of

the first Deed of this name.

Bree-land Adventurer (Final) Deed

(Loyalty +1) is the final of the three Deeds

of this name.

Bree-land Woodsman (Advanced)

Deed (Fortitude +1) is accomplished by

killing sentient, evil trees within the Old

Forest. You'll likely find that this Deed

requires you to be in a fellowship to

complete as these trees are not easily

killed. They do drop decent experience

and a few worthwhile items to loot.

Flowers of the Old Forest Deed

(Idealism +1) involves merely finding and

examining several special flowers

throughout the Old Forest. This is an easy

Deed to complete and you will probably

complete it while doing other quests

within the zone.

Lore of the Cardolan Prince Deed

(Wisdom +1) involves finding missing

pages to a book, all of which are found in

the Barrow Downs. These mostly drop

from wights and are easily obtained while

doing other quests in this zone.

Neeker-breeker Slayer (Advanced)

Deed (Fortitude +1) is completed by

killing Neekers in the Midgewater

Marshes. This is an easy, but

time-consuming Deed to finish.

Sickle-Fly Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Discipline +1) is done by killing

Sickle-flies in the Midgewater Marshes

and can be accomplished in tandem with





the Neeker-Slayer Deed above. The

Barrow-Downs Deed (Patience +1)

involves merely finding five locations

within the Barrows and will likely be

accomplished while you are questing

there.

The History of the Dunedain

(Idealism +1) involves finding six

locations in and east of the city of Bree

and will likely be completed as you

accomplish other quests in the area.

Wight Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Mercy +1) is accomplished by finishing

the first Deed of this name and then

killing more, all in the Barrow-Downs.

Since wights drop good scholar craft

components and stackable items to sell,

they are a good mob to farm. You'll

likely get most of this Deed done while

questing within the Barrows.

Before You LeaveBree-land

You should have completed the

following before you leave Bree-land for

the Lone Lands:

- Your Warden should be at least level

15.

- You should be wearing Medium

armor of good quality and carrying a

javelin for distance attacks.

- Your Warden should be through at

least the Prologue book.

The Lone Lands (Levels15-28)

Beginning at The Forsaken Inn, this area

is where most of your 15-27 leveling will

take place. In the beginning, you'll be

around the Forsaken Inn, moving to

Weathertop, and finally Ost Guruth.

Several of the quests in this area require

fellowships to complete, especially

"Retake Weathertop" and "A Dwarf's

Duty." Most of the quests in these lands

center around killing goblins, orcs,

spiders, and wargs.

For crafting, the Lone Lands are full of

Barrow and rich iron, rowan and yew

wood, and ruins with scholar materials in

them. Many creatures drop medium or

sturdy hides as well.

Hint: Set your home map to Bree or the

Forsaken Inn (later Ost Guruth) to

facilitate quicker travel and to save on

horse rentals.





Deeds in the LoneLands

The following Virtue Deeds can be

done in the Lone Lands:

Bog-lurker Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Discipline +1) requires that you slay

several Bog-lurkers, which you'll find in

the swamps near Ost Guruth. This one is

a hard grind, since there are only one or

two quests that require these be killed

and they don't drop very good loot.

Combined with wights and done in a

fellowship, it will go quickly, though.

Craban-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Honesty +1) requires that you kill

several of these birds. They are literally

just about everywhere and you'll easily

complete this Deed as you quest

throughout the Lone Lands.

Defenses of the Lone-lands Deed

(Fidelity +1) is an explorer Deed in

which you'll need to find several points

within the Lone Lands. You'll find most

of these during your quests, though one

is within Garth Agarwen, which requires

a full fellowship to get to.

Garth Agarwen Exploration Deed

(Confidence +1) is very difficult to

complete. This Deed will take you into

Garth Agarwen (called GA in this area)

and requires a full felloswship. This is a

level 29 area, but even a solo level 50 will

find it rough going.

Goblin-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Valour +1) requires that you slay several

goblins in the Lone Lands.

Orc-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Valour

+1) requires that you kill several orcs

within the Lone Lands.

Spider-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Honour +1) requires that you kill many

spiders within the Lone Lands.

Tales of the Lonely Road Deed

(Charity +1) requires that you complete

several quests within the Lone Lands. This

is the first of three Deeds with this same

name.

Tales of the Lonely Road (Advanced)

Deed (Compassion +1), as above.

Tales of the Lonely Road (Final) Deed

(Idealism +1), final of the three Deeds.

The Grimfens Deed (Confidence +1)

are located in the south-eastern portion of

the Lone Lands. Visiting a handful of key

points in this area earns this Deed.

Troll-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Honesty +1) is a rather rough one to do

because of the relative lack of trolls in the

Lone Lands. They are mainly in the

south-eastern area in and around the

Grimfens. This Deed is best done in a

group. They drop good silver, however.





Warg-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fortitude +1) is an easy Deed to

complete in this area because of the

number of warg-killing quests you will

have while you're here. Wargs drop hides

as well. This Deed can be coupled with

the Spider, Craban, and Orc Deeds as

these mobs are all in the same areas.

Weathertop Exploration Deed

(Wisdom +1) is an exploratory Deed

wherein you find several points in and

around Weathertop, which is at roughly

the halfway point of the Lone Lands

map. Several quests center around this

area, so you will likely complete this

Deed while doing them.

Wight-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Mercy +1) is a medium to hard level

Deed to finish because few wights in the

Lone Lands are alone. The east side of

the swamp just east of Ost Guruth, near

Garth Agarwen, is the easiest place to

farm these. They drop good loot,

however, and are a good source for

Scholar items.

Before You Leave theLone Lands

Before you leave the Lone Lands, your

Warden should have completed the

following:

- Achieved level 20.

- Should have completed the Deeds for

and slotted both a Discipline and a Valour

Virtue. This helps with buffs.

- Should be wearing Sturdy medium

armor to maximize protection.

- Your Warden should have completed

his level 15 Class Quest.

The North Downs(Levels 20-35)

North of Bree-land, you'll have to travel

back through the Lone Lands and then up

through Bree-land to arrive here. This area

starts at Trestlebridge, goes north to

Fornost, and east to Esteldin.

The quests around Trestlebridge involve

recovering stolen items and wreaking

havoc on or putting a stop to the orc and

troll invasions that are a constant

happening. Be sure to complete "Vile

Poison," which gives a dagger with +8





Agility as a reward.

North of Trestlebridge is Mincham's

Camp and then Minas Vrun. East of there

are the farms and then Esteldin. There

are too many quests here to mention

without missing at least one or another of

importance, but "Scattered Belongings"

rewards with a ring giving +8 Might.

There is Barrow and rich iron,

creatures that drop medium to

exceptional hides, many ruins for

scholars to find materials in, and several

types of wood to continue your crafting

and gold income.

Hint: You'll be able to purchase a

horse, saving you travel time and rental

costs, at level 35. These will cost you

about 4 gold, so make sure to start

saving!

Deeds in the NorthDowns

The Eastern Ruins Deed (Patience

+1) is an explorer Deed you'll likely

complete while questing around Esteldin.


(Zeal +1) requires that you kill several

goblins within the North Downs. You'll

likely do this Deed while completing

quests around Trestlebridge. You'll likely

do the Orc-Slayer Deed simultaneously

as these two creatures are intermingled.

Of Glories Long Past Deed (Empathy

+1) requires that you complete several

quests within the North Downs. This is the

first of three Deeds with this same name.

Of Glories Long Past (Advanced)

Deed (Charity +1) is the next of the three

Deeds with this title.

Of Glories Long Past (Final) Deed

(Loyalty +1) is the last of the three Deeds

with this name.

Orc-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Justice

+1) requires that you kill several orcs

within the North Downs. You'll likely get

most of the way through this Deed while

completing quests around Trestlebridge

and then in the farms near Esteldin. This

can be combined with the Goblin-Slayer

Deed to more efficiently finish them.

Reedemer (Advanced) Deed (Mercy

+1) requires you kill several shades in the

North Downs. These are mainly located in

the area just south of Fornost. They drop

decent loot, but are not easily killed until

you are higher level. Hint: when they

"sink" into the ground to heal, step back

and wait, then throw a javelin when they

reappear.

Strongholds Exploration Deed

(Confidence +1) requires that you explore

and spy out orc and goblin strongholds

within the North Downs.






(Fortitude +1) requires that you kill

several trolls within the North Downs.

Most are on the south side of Fornost and

east of Esteldin. Trolls drop lots of silver,

but are not easily killed without a

fellowship.

The Villages of the Earth-kin Deed

(Tolerance +1) is another exploratory

Deed wherein you find the four camps of

these giant-like humanoids. You will find

quests as you work on this Deed.


(Determination +1) requires that you kill

several wargs within the North Downs.

These are nearly everywhere and so are

easy to get as you complete other quests

within the area. They drop sturdy hides

as well.

The Western Ruins Deed (Wisdom

+1) involves finding the ruins in the area

of Fornost. This Deed may get completed

if you do Fornost instances and quests,

but is not easily done without a

fellowship.

Worm-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Honour +1) requires that you kill

several worms (dragon-kind). These are

to be found in the canyons western-most

canyon leading to Ram Duath. The

worms drop nicely-stacking scales and so

forth that can make them worth farming.

Before You Leave theNorth Downs

Your Warden should have completed the

following before you leave this area for

your next choice of questing location:

- You should have achieved level 30.

- Your Warden should have completed

or be planning to complete her level 30

Class Quest.






At level 25, your Warden is likely now

in the North Downs or about to go there.

From there, you will have a choice at

around level 30-33: go to Evendim (west

of Fornost in the North Downs) or to the

Trollshaws (east of Ost Guruth, over the

Last Bridge in the Lone Lands).

They will both offer you a path to level

40, so which one you choose will be

based on your play style and what you

expect from the game. By the time

you've reached level 50, you will likely

have visited both locations regardless.

We'll be outlining both of these areas

in this chapter. It may be that you decide

to spend time in both areas, as they each

offer a unique look at Middle Earth and

enjoyable quest lines.

Hint: In-game, players often refer to

Evendim as "Everswim" because of the

huge lake that splits it in half, which

must be swam across. The large Elven

city of Rivendell and the famous

"Dancing Trolls" statues are both in the

Trollshaws, which are often called "The

Shaws" for short.

Evendim (Levels 32-40)

This land is bordered by the Wild on all

sides. You'll enter through the North

Downs, by skirting Forochel and heading

west along the road. Following the road

west, you'll arrive at the area's largest

outpost: Tinnundir. Quests will range

around the tear-drop-shaped Lake

Evendim on its east, west and northern

sides.

North of Tinnundir, along the road, is

Ost Forod, the second establishment of

civilization you'll be visiting during your

time here. Both towns offer many quest

leads, mainly centering around the

tomb-robbers that infest the lands and the

Gauradan, the wolf-men of the north.

Most of the quests here can be solo'd or

done with a friend and only a very few

require a full fellowship. Be sure to

complete "Knocking Heads" and watch the

giant's reactions, as this is one of the

funniest quests in all of Middle Earth. The

quest "Grave Rubbings" rewards with a

jacket (medium armor, 144 A/C, +10

Agility, +3% wound resistance) and

"Ballard Wilmer and the White Warg"

gives a cloak (80 A/C, +22 Might, +1%

evade).





Deeds in Evendim

The following Virtue Deeds are in

Evendim:

Brutes From the North (Advanced)

Deed (Fortitude +1) requires that you kill

Gertheryg within Evendim.

Gauradan-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fortitude +1) requires that you slay

many of the wolf-men throughout

Evendim. This deed can be done in

conjunction with Giant-Slayer as these

creatures appear in the same area (north

end of the lake).

Giant-Slayer (Advanced) Deed


giants within Evendim.


(Justice +1) requires that you kill many

goblins within Evendim. They can be

found on the south end of the lands, near

the border with the Shire.

Invaders from Angmar (Advanced)

Deed (Wisdom +1) is a high-level Deed

that requires the slaying of many

Angmarim, found in Annuminas, at the

south end of the lake.

Kergrim-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Zeal +1) requires the slaying of many of

these beasts in Evendim. They are found

primarily to the southeast of Tinnundir.

Leaders of the Invasion (Advanced)

Deed (Innocence +1) is a high-level Deed

in which you must slay several of the

leaders of the Angmarim invaders in

Annuminas.

Limrafn-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Mercy +1) requires the slaying of many

of these ghostly beings. They are found

mainly east of Ost Forod and in the ruins

south-east of Tinnundir.

Pilgrim of Evendim Deed (Innocence

+1) is a reputation Deed requiring you to

raise your reputation with the Rangers of

the North to Friend status. Ruins of

Evendim Deed (Fidelity +1) is an

exploratory Deed requiring that you find

all eight of the ruins that mark the old

cities of the land. This will likely be

accomplished as you're questing.

Salamander-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Determination +1) requires that you slay

many of the salamanders that inhabit

Evendim. There is an island full of them

directly west of Tinnundir and there are

many more in the desert on the road south,

near the border with the Shire.

Spirits Aiding Angmar (Advanced)

Deed (Tolerance +1) requires that you kill

several of the undead in Annuminas. This

is a high-level Deed and can be combined

with the other Annuminas-specific Deeds.

The City of the Kings Deed (Loyalty

+1) is another high-level Annuminas Deed





in which you must find all eight of these

locations.

Tomb-defender (Advanced) Deed

(Discipline +1) requires that you slay

many of the tomb-robbers in Evendim.

Tombs of Evendim Deed (Fidelity +1) is

an exploratory Deed in which you must

locate all eight tombs of the High Kings.

They are within a relatively small map

area halfway between High Kings

Crossing and Annuminas.

Wilds of Evendim Deed (Patience +1)

is an exploratory Deed requiring that you

find eight locations throughout the lands.

Five of these are on the west side of the

lake, one at the tip, and the others around

Ost Forod.

Before You LeaveEvendim

Your Warden should have completed

the following before leaving the lands of

Evendim:

- Your Warden should be level 40 or

going to the Trollshaws.

- Should be wearing jewelry to

enhance her vitals.

- Have a spear with at least 23 DPS.

The Trollshaws (Levels32-45)

The Last Bridge marks the border

between this land and the Lone Lands to

the west. Two-thirds of the way between

the bridge and the Bruinen to the east side

of the map is Thorenhad, a small

settlement. Over the Bruinen and up

through the hills is Rivendell Valley, home

of the Elves.

While a majority of the quests in the

Trollshaws can be done solo, many will

require at least a small fellowship to

complete.

The Warden will be interested in the

quests "A Gift for the Elf Maid" (rewards

a pocket item giving +1 to parry and block

or a shield giving +4 Might and +9

Vitality), "A Superior Lynx-Hide Cloak"

(rewards cloak of same name, with +1

Evade and +21 Fate), and "Clear Water"

(rewards an earring with +8 Vitality and

+24 Morale).

You will also be likely to see Golem

within these lands.

For gold hunting, there are lots of good

resources in the Trollshaws, including

Dwarf-iron and gold ore, two kinds of

wood, several locations for scholar's items,

and animals yielding sturdy and

exceptional hides.





Hint: These lands get their names from

the trolls which infest them nightly. You

can walk right past these trolls, however,

without fear. As long as you don't stand

near them for too long, they will not

attack.

Deeds in theTrollshaws

The following Virtue Deeds are

located in the Trollshaws:

Crawler-Slayer (Advanced) Deed


many Root-Crawlers within the

Trollshaws. These are all along the river

and the Tal Bruinen and this Deed can be

coupled with the Worm-Slayer Deed.

Deeds in the Wilderness Deed

(Innocence +1) is the first of three

reputation Deeds you achieve by

completing quests within the Trollshaws.

Deeds in the Wilderness (Advanced)

Deed (Loyalty +1) is the second of the

three Deeds with this name.

Deeds in the Wilderness (Final) Deed

(Idealism +1) is the last of the three

Deeds of this name.

Giant-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fortitude +1) is achieved by slaying

many giants within the Trollshaws. Most

are found in the Giant Hills on top of Tal

Bruinen near Rivendell. Completion of

this Deed is easiest when done in a

fellowship.

Ruins of the Trollshaws Deed

(Tolerance +1) is an exploratory Deed that

requires that you find all of the ruins of the

Rhudaur within the lands.

The Road to Rivendell Deed (Fidelity

+1) is another exploration Deed, this one

requiring that you find all four points

along the road from the Last Bridge to the

entrance to Rivendell itself.

The Wilds of Tal Bruinen Deed

(Honesty +1) is an exploration Deed

requiring that you find specific points

within the wilds of the Southern

Trollshaws.

Troll-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Zeal

+1) is a slayer Deed in which you must kill

many trolls within the Trollshaws. This is

easily accomplished at night in a

fellowship or by entering the troll's caves

near Thorenhad.


(Mercy +1) requires that you kill many

wights within the Trollshaws. These can

be found north of Thorenhad and you'll

likely begin this Deed while questing

there.

Wolf-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Discipline +1) requires that you kill many

wolves within the Trollshaws. These are





most easily found around the area of

Thorenhad.


(Valour +1) requires that you slay many

of the worms in the Trollshaws. These

are mainly found along the Bruinen

River and in the hills around it. Hint:

Stack the "scales" they drop as these can

sell to vendors for decent money.

Before You Leave theTrollshaws

Before leaving the Trollshaws, your

Warden should have completed the

following:

- Be at least level 40 or headed for

Evendim.

- Have a spear with at least 23 DPS.

- Be wearing jewelry that enhances his

vitals.





Leveling YourWarden (40-50)

By the time your Warden has reached

level forty, you are likely spending more

and more time within the great Elven city

of Rivendell. There are many quests to

be had here, many of them pointing

towards the Misty Mountains in the

north.

Rivendell is also where the Fellowship

of the Ring is spending its time at this

point and you may have interacted with

Bilbo, Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf and the

others. Elrond is also in his home, The

Last Homely House, which features

prominently within Rivendell.

During this time in your Warden's

development, you will be questing within

the Misty Mountains, Angmar, Forochel,

and perhaps the Ettenmoors. You will

also now be interacting more heavily

with the epic storyline as the Fellowship

of the Ring continues their quest—and

you do your small part to help.

Hint: While in Rivendell, be sure to

complete some of the riddle quests which

are given by Bilbo and his Elven friend

in the great craft hall within The Last

Homely House. They are fun and give

good rewards.

The Misty Mountains(Levels 39-50)

Almost entirely shrouded in snow and

ice, these forbidding lands are inhabited by

snow-beasts, ice worms, giants,

mammoths, and other dangerous beings.

From the entrance out of the Rivendell

Valley to the south to the imposing

mountains of the North and South High

Passes to the grim valley of Helgerod,

these lands are inhospitable and

dangerous.

The only inhabited outpost is Gloin's

camp, just north-west of the entrance from

Rivendell, where a few sturdy Dwarves

still keep a foothold in these cold lands.

Goblins and evil Dourhands hold camps

and fortresses in other parts of the

Mountains.

Your Warden will want to complete

"Real Treasure" (rewards a necklace with

+13 Vitality, +38 Maximum Morale, and

+1% evade) and "Arctic Hunters" (rewards

with a cloak giving +12 Fate and +73

Maximum Morale). Also, "Blackfang's

Demise" yields a spear worth having

(23.68 DPS, +14 Agility, +14 Might, +28

Fate).

Hint: most of the quests within the Misty

Mountains are more easily completed with

a fellowswhip, especially those early on.





Deeds Within theMisty Mountains

Several Deeds for Virtue are available

within the Misty Mountains:

Bear-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fortitude +1) requires that you kill

many of the large bears within the Misty

Mountains.

Bilbo's Buttons Deed (Honesty +1) is

an exploratory Deed of sorts wherein you

must find all of Bilbo's lost buttons

within Goblin Town. In a fellowship, this

Deed can be combined with the

Warg-Slayer Deed as well as the

Goblin-Town Deed.

Giant-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Zeal

+1) requires that you kill many giants

within the Misty Mountains. This Deed

requires a fellowship to complete and can

be coupled with the Where Giants Dwell

and Troll-Slayer Deeds.

Goblin-Town Deed (Honesty +1) is an

exploratory Deed in which various parts

of Goblin-Town must be found.

Perils of the Mountains Deed

(Compassion +1) is the first of three

parts of this quest Deed in which quests

within the Misty Mountains must be

performed.

Perils of the Mountains (Advanced)

Deed (Empathy +1) is the second part of

this three-part series.

Perils of the Mountains (Final) Deed

(Innocence +1) is the last of the three-part

series.

Ruins of the Misty Mountains Deed

(Tolerance +1) is an exploratory Deed in

which various ruins throughout the

Mountains must be found. You are likely

to find most of these in your travels while

questing.

Snow-Beast Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Determination +1) is a deed in which you

must kill many snow beasts. This is easily

coupled with the Worm-Slayer Deed as

the two mobs are in the same areas. The

Forbidding Heights Deed (Honesty +1) is

an exploration Deed where various

mountain peaks must be found within the

Misty Mountains.

The High Passes Deed (Wisdom +1) is

another exploration Deed wherein you

must find several of the passes between

mountains in the Misty Mountains. This is

usually accomplished during normal

questing.

Troll-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Valour

+1) requires that you kill many trolls

within the Mountains. Combined with

Giant-Slayer and a fellowship, this is

easily accomplished.

Warg-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Justice

+1) requires that you kill many wargs

within the area. These are mainly found in





and around Goblin-Town and can be

combined with Deeds there.

Where Giants Dwell Deed

(Confidence +1) is an exploration Deed

that requires you to find all of the

strongholds of the giants in the Misty

Mountains.



worms within the Misty Mountains.

Most easily combined with the

Snow-Beast Slayer Deed.

Before You Leave theMisty Mountains

Before your Warden leaves the Misty

Mountains, you should have

accomplished the following:

- At least three Deeds to buff Valour,

Discipline, or Confidence. These are

vital to your Warden's stats.

- Completed Books 1 and 2 to allow

eligibility for Book 6 later.

Angmar (Levels 40-50)

Entering Angmar from the south

(through the canyon at the north end of the

North Downs), you will first come upon

the Earth-kin camp of Lehma-koti and

then the outpost of Aughaire. This dark

land holds much evil and many enemies of

the Free Peoples.

From the territories of the Goblins in the

Fasach to the ugly swamps of Malenhad,

this land is infested with servants of the

Dark Lord. It is home to the high level

play areas of Carn Dum in the north-west

and The Rift of Nurz Ghashu in the

north-east.

There is a lot of questing here, with the

map basically split in half (by level). The

western half, where you'll enter, is home to

quests up to about level 45. To complete

your 50-level Class Quest, which you'll

receive at level 45, you'll need to complete

Book 6 so that you may cross into the

eastern side of the map.

There are literally hundreds of quests in

this area—way to many to mention here.

One that you will definitely not want to

miss will come up almost as soon as you

enter the map: "Present Yourself to the

Chieftain" (5 challenges, after which you

receive a pocket item that gives +7 Fate,

+13 Vitality, +79 Morale, -1.5% ranged





vulnerability, and +15 Might).

This land is full of resources, including

Dwarf-iron, ancient-iron and gold ores,

black ash, and plenty of scholar items in

the ruins. In addition, there are many

beasts worth farming for money here,

including the turtles of the swamp and

the humanoids throughout the lands.

Hint: Complete Book 6 as quickly as

possible in order to open up the evil

Rammas Deluon and the rest of the map.

Also, save all the special drops listed

under the Level 50 Class Quest chapter

later in the book. You'll be glad you did!

Deeds in Angmar

Allies of the Enemy (Advanced)

Deed (Compassion +1) requires you to

kill many Hillmen in Barad Gularan.

Ancient Evil of Carn Dum Deed

(Innocence +1) requires that you defeat

Ancient Evil inside Carn Dum. This is a

full felloswhip or raid Deed.

The Angmarim of Carn Dum

(Advanced) Deed (Confidence +1)

requires that you kill many Angmarim

inside Carn Dum. Can be coupeld with

other Carn Dum Deeds.

Angmarim-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Justice +1) requires that you kill many

Angmarim. These human traitors can be

found throughout Angmar and this Deed

can be coupled with many of the others.

Bastions of Hope Deed (Tolerance +1)

is an exploration Deed that requires you to

find the five outposts ("bastions of hope")

in Angmar. You'll likely complete this

during normal questing.

The Beasts of Urugarth (Advanced)

Deed (Patience +1) requires that you slay

beasts within Urugarth.

Champions of Carn Dum (Final) Deed

(Valour +1) requires that you defeat the

champions in Carn Dum—this is the third

and final Deed in a line of Deeds. This

will require a raid to complete.

Champions of Urugarth (Final) Deed

(Discipline +1) similar to the Carn Dum

Deed of the same name, this one requires

you to defeat the champions in Urugarth.

Also likely to require a raid.

The Circle of Despair Deed (Fidelity

+1) is an exploratory quest requiring you

to find the eight towers surrounding the

fortress of the Witch King within Gath

Forhnir.

The City of Orcs Deed (Loyalty +1) is

another exploration Deed, this one

requiring you to find six locations within

Urugarth.

The Dead That Live (Advanced) Deed

(Empathy +1) requires that you kill many

undead within Barad Gularan.





The Enemy's Stronghold Deed

(Tolerance +1) is an exploration Deed

requiring you to find seven key locations

within Carn Dum.

Marching Into Shadow Deed

(Loyalty +1) requires that you complete

several quests within Angmar. First of

three Deeds by the same name.

Marching Into Shadow (Advanced)

Deed (Idealism +1) is the second in this

Deed chain.

Marching Into Shadow (Final) Deed

(Empathy +1) is the final Deed in this

chain.

The Minions of Wisdan (Advanced)

Deed (Charity +1) is another Angmarim

slaying Deed, this one within Barad

Gularan.

The Orcs of Carn Dum (Advanced)

Deed (Honour +1) requires that you kill

many orcs within Carn Dum.

The Orcs of Urugarth (Advanced)

Deed (Honour +1) is another orc-slaying

Deed, this one within Urugarth.

Orc-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Zeal

+1) requires that you slay many orcs

within Angmar. This can be coupled with

several other Deeds, such as Angmarim

and Worm-Slayer.

The Road to War Deed (Confidence

+1) is an exploration Deed requiring that

you follow the great road through

Angmar that leads to the gates of Carn

Dum.

The Trolls of Carn Dum (Advanced)

Deed (Patience +1) is a troll-slaying Deed

that can be coupled with Troll-Slayer. Like

most of the Deeds in Angmar, it will

require a fellowship or raid.

The Trolls of Urugarth (Advanced)

Deed (Valour +1) is another troll-slaying

Deed, this one taking place within

Urugarth.


(Fortitude +1) is a general troll killing

Deed in Angmar. Couple with one of the

other two for maximum speed of

execution.

Uruk-Slayer (Advanced) Deed


Uruk within Angmar. This can be done

while doing several other Deeds

throughout Angmar.



several wargs throughout Angmar.


(Mercy +1) requires that you kill wights

within Angmar. These are found mostly in

the eastern part of the map, just south of

the Rift.


(Valour +1) requires that you kill many

worms within Angmar. These can be

found throughout the swamp.





Before You LeaveAngmar

Before your Warden leaves Angmar

for the Ettenmoors or Moria, you should

have accomplished the following:

- Book 6 of the Epic Quest line.

- Be at least level 42.

Forochel (Levels 44-49)

The frozen wastes north of Evendim

are home to only the hardiest and

strongest of men and beasts. Reached by

trudging the mountain passes into Taur

Orthon and then braving the great divide

Ja-Kuru and the hazards of the Gauradan

that guard it, Forochel is a forbidding

place.

You'll begin your quest lines in Ita-ma,

stronghold of the Lossoth, the men of

Forochel. Complete the "Frozen War"

quest as soon as possible to open up swift

travel between the settlements of

Forochel.

This area is fun to solo or complete in

duo with a friend. There are a lot of great

quests to choose from and plenty of area

to explore. Make sure to do "A

Midwinter's Thaw" as it is one of the

funniest in all of LotRO. What are they

doing in that tent, exactly?

Other quests like "Building the Snow

Sled" (rewards med-gloves with AC89,

+13 Will and Agility, +.6 in-combat

Morale regeneration) and "Scrimshaw's

Fate" (necklace with +7 Will, Agility,

Might, Vitality, Fate, and +19 Morale) are

worth doing. Among others.

This land is full of ancient silver and

iron ore, many types of wood, and animals

that drop exceptional and pristine hides.

Hint: Do not step into the waters of the

lake in Forochel as it can freeze you,

causing very fast-occurring damage that

can quickly kill your character. Make sure

to keep campfire materials or the local

warm foods on-hand to abate the chill's

effects.

Deeds in Forochel

These are the Virtue Deeds in the lands

of Forochel:

Ancient Stones of Forochel Deed

(Patience +1) is an exploratory Deed

requiring you to find the five major

outposts built by the ancient Dwarves who

lived here. Most of these can be found as

you complete quests. Angmarim-Slayer

(Advanced) Deed (Confidence +1)

requires that you kill many Angmarim





within these lands. They are found nearly

everywhere, but especially near the lake

shores at the south end of the lake.

The Battle for Forochel Deed

(Wisdom +1) is an exploration Deed

requiring you to find each of the key

battlegrounds for control of the Ice Bay.

There are four, all roughly following the

half-moon of the Bay's shape.

Dourhand-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fidelity +1) requires that you kill many

of the evil Dourhand Dwarves that live

within Forochel, usually inhabiting the

old Dwarven outposts.

Forochel Expeditionary Deed

(Charity +1) is the first of a three-Deed

series in which you must complete quests

within Forochel.

Forochel Pioneer Deed (Compassion

+1) is the second in the series of quest

Deeds.

Forochel Survivor Deed (Empathy

+1) is the final in this three-part series of

Deeds.

Gauradan-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Idealism +1) requires that you kill many

of these cunning wolf men. Can be

combined with Sabre-tooth-Slayer.

Grim-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Mercy +1) is achieved by killing many

of these strange, powerful spirit beasts

that swirl throughout Forochel. Can be

done while doing quests and other Deeds

as these mobs appear randomly just about

everywhere.

Sabre-tooth Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Fortitude +1) is achieved by killing many

of these fearsome cats. There is a large den

of them just south of where the road dips

between Ita-ma and Lansi-ma.

Worm-Slayer (Advanced) Deed (Zeal

+1) requires that you slay many of the

ice-worms that inhabit Forochel. Many of

these can be found in the hills and salt

swamp just west of Lansi-ma.

Before You LeaveForochel

Before your Warden leaves Forochel for

Angmar, PvP, or Moria, be sure you have

accomplished the following:

- Finished at least one more Deeds for

added Valour or Determination.





The Ettenmoors (Levels40+)

Unlike other areas of Middle Earth in

LotRO, the Moors are almost entirely

made up of Player vs. Player conquests.

The quests that exist here are meant to

enhance or create the conflicts that make

for massive PvP play.

Your Warden will enter the Moors as a

"good guy" while other players who play

as Monsters (orcs, wargs, etc.) are the

"bad guys." Here in the Moors is where

you fight toe-to-toe in massive

battle-sized engagements, with raids up

to 24 people per side taking part.

There are many aspects to this that will

be covered in the later PvP Strategies

chapter, along with details of how the

battle system in the Ettenmoors works. If

you choose to enter the Moors before

you're level 50, you're not likely to do

very well. Level at least to 50 before

going in, but the closer to 60 you are, the

more likely your Warden will do well in

PvP. All monster characters are

automatically at level 60, so you're at a

disadvantage if you're not.

Hint: In the Ettenmoors (aka "The

Moors'), players are called "freeps"

(short for their designation as "Free

Peoples") and monster players

(designated as "creature players") are

called "creeps."

Deeds in theEttenmoors

There are many Deeds within the Moors,

but all of them rewards with Titles only.

There are no Virtue rewards for

completing Deeds here. Thus, there are

none listed here.






At last, the final stretch! Now that you

have gotten this far, your appetite for

PvP, entering the new area of Moria and

for the awesome Legendary Weapons

available there is ready to be sated.

Moria, the ancient kingdom of the

Dwarves under their king Durin, has

been, for the most part, long-abandoned

by them and is infested with evils from

Mordor. In this vast complex of mines,

tunnels, halls, and rooms lie treasures,

ancient artifacts of lore, and evils beyond

measure.

Before entering Moria, you'll enter the

ancient forest in Eregion from the

Trollshaws. Here you'll battle all manner

of beasts and evil men and you'll be

required to finish many of the quests in

the area around Gwingris (the first major

settlement, at the north end of the map),

before you can enter Moria.

These quests center around the

Fellowship of the Ring's passing through

the area and upon Saruman's spies. These

quests begin at level 48 and include some

good payoffs, but require a fellowship to

complete. Make sure to do "The

Worm-Sire" as it rewards with a good

spear (25.6DPS, +14 Vitality, +44 Max

Morale, +104 Parry Rating, +88.2

in-combat Power regeneration, spear

pierce does 106 Common Damage every 5

seconds for 15 seconds). Another quest,

"The Worm Keeper" rewards a Warden's

shield you might want.

Entering Moria

Once you have completed the quests

within Gwingris, you will be presented

with the mystical door to Moria. This

door, crafted by Rune-keepers of ages

past, marks the entrance to the mines built

by the Dwarves ages ago and last presided

over by King Durin. Now, long-neglected,

they are infested with evils from Mordor

and the lands beneath.

Questing inside Moria is not like

questing anywhere else in LotRO. While

vast, it's all underground, consisting of

tunnels, caverns, Dwarven halls, and

rooms. There are many, many quests,

many of them rewarding with Legendary

Weapons and their components.

There are also no horses in the mines, as

they would quickly come up lame. Instead

there are goats, which you can buy after

raising your faction with the Miners

sufficiently.





Many of the quests in Moria are geared

towards the Warden. It's more likely

you'll begin focusing on Legendary

Weapons (see that section of this guide)

rather than mundane quest reward items.

Deeds in Moria

There are over 100 Deeds in the Mines

of Moria, almost all of which affect one

of your Virtues. It's likely that by the

time you arrive in Moria, you will have

maxed out your Deeds. If not, there are

too many to list all of them here (over

100), but know that they are available.

You will run into them as you play. This

list is not comprehensive, but will give

you an idea of what is available.

Deep-Claw-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Tolerance +1) requires that you kill

many deep-claws within the Mines.

Deep Delver Deed Chain (Charity +1,

Empathy +1, Innocence +1) is a

three-part Deed chain requiring you to

finish quests within Moria Deeps.

Defender of the Upper Levels Deed

Chain (Compassion +1, Innocence +1,

Charity +1) is a three-part Deed chain

requiring you to finish quests within

Upper Moria.

Dragonet-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Zeal +1) requires that you kill many

dragonets within Moria.


(Justice +1) is acquired after killing many

goblins within the Mines.

Grodbog-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Discipline +1) requires that you kill many

grodbogs within the Mines.

Morroval-Slayer (Advanced) Deed

(Innocence +2) requires that you kill many

morroval within Moria.

Orc-Slayer (Advanced) Deed


many orcs within the Mines.

Slaves to the Forge Deed


many goblins within Khazad-Dum.

Stalwart of the Central Levels Deed

Chain (Idealism +1, Innocence +1,

Empathy +1) is a three-part Deed chain in

which you must complete quests within

Central Moria.

The Vile Maw Deed (Charity +1)

requires that you kill the Watchers at three

locations.

These are only a few of the Deeds and

don't include any of the Exploration Deeds

(such as "In the Footsteps of the

Fellowship") at all. This short list has

hopefully given you an idea of what's

there.






It's shockingly fast to gain five levels

in Mirkwood. The region is chock full of

quests as you make your way from the

west end to the east end of the map. The

average player can easily get from 60-65

in about a week while the more hardcore

types can swiftly blow through the

content in a couple of days. Mirkwood

isn't a very big place, and the main

storyline neatly connects the various

quest hubs together.

Before you start your journey, keep in

mind that many quests offer IXP as

rewards, not to mention that every kill

grants you more IXP. Don't let them go

to waste! If you're level 60 and your

current weapons are maxed out, equip

any level 59-60 LI to collect those

precious points. However, remember that

deconstructing a level 60 LI beyond level

11 only yields a Moria IXP rune, which

can't be used on level 61+ LIs. Therefore,

as soon as you hit level 61, immediately

equip any old level 61 LI, and

deconstruct that level 59-60 LI. Pour the

rest of your IXP into the level 61 until

you hit level 65. Once you have an LI

you'll want to keep indefinitely,

deconstruct that level 61 LI and put the

points into your active weapon. This will

save you from spending a lot of time in

grinding IXP runes for your LI.

Although the ideal level to enter

Mirkwood is 60, some players may feel

overwhelmed and not ready. Don't worry;

there is no rush. You can finish up any

leftover quests you have in Moria;

alternatively if you want to take it easy, do

the simple, non-combat repeatable quests

in Lothlórien. Better yet, you can gain a

level or two in a few skirmishes, the most

significant addition to LOTRO since the

legendary item system. I'll discuss

skirmishes in a little bit. However, for the

sake of the guide, I'll assume that you land

in Mirkwood at level 60.

You can easily solo your way to 65, as

there are only a couple of quests that

require a small fellowship. Feel free to

skip them if you have trouble finding a

group. The most group quests (3- and 6-

person group instances, and the raid) are

located at the camp in Dol Guldur, but you

don't have to worry about doing them until

you hit 65.





Western Mirkwood(Levels 60-62)

As mentioned earlier, when you

complete the Mirkwood Landing

instance, you wind up in the "real"

version of the Mirk-eaves. As you pick

up the quests, don't forget to check out

the Malledrhim barterers; one of them

offers some nice earrings. Wardens and

Hunters should pay special attention to

these barter NPCs, as they also have the

Muster in Mirk-eaves and Guide to

Mirk-eaves skills, worth a few feathers

each.

When you've finished with Mirk-eaves

you may be tempted to head to the

Haunted Inn in the Dourstocks since the

Book quest leads you in that direction,

but hold off on that. Instead, head to

Echad Mothelen (13.5 S, 58.1 W) first, a

small campsite with NPCs that give a

healthy number of quests. It's a short but

worthwhile detour on route to the

Haunted Inn. Once you reach the Inn,

pay a visit to the Malledrhim NPCs

inside; one of them offers some nice

bracelets. After finishing with the

Haunted Inn quests, head south to

Estolad Mernael (16.9 S, 51.5 W) in the

swampy Drownholt.

In certain locations, doing all the quests

will unlock repeatable quests, with

Malledrhim feathers as rewards. These

feathers can be traded for level 65 morale

and power pots, a cheap and easy

alternative to buying them off the AH.

There are several repeatable quests,

though some aren't worth doing because

they take too much time or require you to

go to some out of the way place to kill

mobs. For the fastest way to earn feathers,

I recommend talking to Handelen in

Thangulhad (12.7 S, 46.6 W) and accept

the quests "Scouting in Force" and "An

Eye on the Enemy". If you have your quest

tracker turned on, simply ride on your

horse and follow the arrow. Very easy and

fast.

Central Mirkwood(Levels 62-63)

Make your way to the elven hideout of

Ost Galadh, in Emyn Lum. This is right

smack in the middle of the map, so you

can't miss it. Again, check out the

Malledhrim barter NPCs for goodies such

as recipes, jewelry, and LIs. This is the

new 21st hall in the sense that you have

almost all the important NPCs and

facilities here (e.g. crafting hall, bard,

Relic-master and Forge-master). Oddly





there is no AH, so if you're not a hunter

or warden that can easily port anywhere,

if you need to visit an AH, use your

racial map to visit one in any of the

starter areas. You can also swift travel

from Ost Galadh to Calas Galadhon for

an AH.

Do all the quests in Ost Galadh, and

when you've finished you can either go

north to the spider infested Scuttledells

or south to Iavassul's Watch (16.4 S, 50.5

W) in Taur Morvith. You'll eventually

want to quest in both areas so it doesn't

matter which you visit first.

There is one special repeatable quest in

Ost Galadh that shouldn't be missed. It's

a crafting quest that you pick up from the

Relic-master called "Silken Threads".

The quest takes you to the Scuttledells

where you're supposed to collect 25

pristine webbing from spiders. To make

this quest go faster, enter the spider cave

at the very northwest part of the

Scuttledells. The reward for turning in

this quest is a Compendium of

Middle-earth II, a special crafting

component used to make orange crafted

relics. There's a similar crafting quest in

Anazarmekhem called "Trace Metals" in

which you have to collect 15 iron ingots

and 10 burnished worm scales. Kill orcs

for the ingots and worms for the scales.

The rewards is a Compendium of

Middle-earth I, a crafting component

used to make teal crafted relics.

Eastern Mirkwood(Levels 63-65)

Head a little north and east to the

outpost of Thangulhad, in Gathburz. As

usual, see what the Barter vendors have to

offer. There are some nice level 65 cloaks,

and morale/power pots as well. There are

plenty of quests here so you might be here

for a while. Be careful while you wander

around, as you may run into signature

level mobs. Soloing one isn't difficult, but

you may get in trouble if you accidentally

aggro another mob in the process.

You'll most likely start on the Mithechad

(17.6 S, 48.3 W) quests in the Ashenslades

when you hit level 64. Finish off with Dol

Guldur. If you do the book quest chain at

the same time as you're doing these quests,

you'll hit 65 easily without the need to do

any repeatable quests or mob grinding.

Even when you hit 65, you don't have to

stop questing if there are still some

available. Remember that many quests

offer IXP as rewards, so finish as many

quests as possible. Also, if you haven't

reached Kindred reputation with the

Malledrhim yet, do some of the repeatable

quests in Thangulhad and the Ashenslades.





There's also one more quest hub, Barad

Angol (17.4 S, 44.5 W) for you to check

out if you wish.

In Dol Guldur, you'll find that many of

the quests are for group instances.

Remember that the Medallions of

Mirkwood only drop in these group

instances, so if you want those stat

scrolls start running those instances. On a

related note, the medallions can also be

bartered for +15 and +25 radiance gear,

another reason why you may want to run

those instances, particularly the easier

3-person ones. Visit your class trainer to

see what gear is available and how many

medallions are required.





The Epic QuestLine

The Lord of the Rings Online is made

up not just of monsters to kill, players to

interact with, and quests to complete, but

of epic, storyline quests that follow the

story of the Fellowship of the Ring as

they complete their epic journey through

the lands of Middle Earth.

Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Gimli and

the others are all there and are all doing

their heroic deeds to battle the forces of

Mordor and the evil intents of Saruman.

These epic quests begin with the

Prologue quest, in which your young

Warden will be introduced to Strider.

The quests will continue through to Book

1 and all the way to Book 14. Later

expansions to the game will include

further epic quests as new books are

added.

Be aware that the books do not have to

be completed in order, though some

require earlier ones to be finished before

you'll be able to acquire the quests for

them. Besides completing the epic

storyline for the game, however, the

book quests also bring some bonuses as

well as singular drops that are not

available anywhere else in the game.

Book: Prologue

These introductory quests are designed

to start you out in Middle Earth with a

good grasp of the epic storyline and the

mystery that surrounds it. These quests

begin at about level 5 and will start out

differently, depending on your chosen race

and starting point.

The final quests in this chain are of level

12 and will introduce your Warden to the

Ranger Strider and Book 1.

Book 1: Stirring in theDarkness

This book begins where the Prologue

left off, with Strider in the Prancing Pony

in Bree-Town. All of these quests take

place within Bree-land, in areas such as

Buckland, the Barrow Downs, and Combe.

Several are instances and the final quests

are at about level 18.

There are twelve total chapters in this

book and through it you will be introduced

to Tom Bombadil, who currently resides in

the Old Forest. Make sure to have a group

for Chapter 11, which can be difficult.





Book 2: The Red Maid

This book begins with Radagast the

Brown in Ost Guruth, the Lone Lands.

All 9 chapters in this book take place

within the Lone Lands and Agamaur.

These Chapters are level 26-30 quests,

with Chapters 8 and 9 requiring a good

fellowship to complete.

Book 3: The Council ofthe North

This book can be quite exciting as you

defend Evendim and the town of

Trestlebridge. There are 7 chapters in

this book and they all take place in the

North Downs. There is quite a bit of

travel involved in the first few, however,

as you must travel to summon the

Dwarves, Elves, and Men to the Council.

The Defense of Trestlebridge Chapter

will require at least a small group, as

many elite orcs will come in waves to

storm the bridge and must be turned

away. The final chapter will bring you to

Aragorn in Rivendell. These are all level

29 and 30 quests.

Book 4: ChasingShadows

There are 9 chapters in this book, all

taking place within the Trollshaws. You

will need a group for the escort-style

quests which include Legolas and others.

If you find a good group to start this Book

or after completing Chapter 1, see if they

are interested in going through the whole

chain.

These chapters are level 35-40 quests

with Chapter 8 dropping pretty good

reward items.

Book 5: The Last Refuge

This Book has eight chapters, all taking

place in the Misty Mountains and

Rivendell. This is an exciting Book to

complete as it culminates in a showdown

with a Nazgul, which up to this point have

avoided conflict!

For the final chapter, you'll need as

many Hope buffs as you can get, as the

Nazgul sheds some heavy dread. Also, if

your Warden prefers a sword, Chapter 2

has a good one as a reward. The quests in

this chain are of levels 42-45.





Book 6: Fires in theNorth

The seven chapters in this Book all

take place within Angmar, except the

first two, which are in Rivendell and

Esteldin respectively. This book, as

mentioned earlier, requires completion

before you are able to move across to the

eastern side of Angmar.

All of these Chapters are solo-able, so

you can complete this book alone.

However, you'll need either a Hope

Token or some guile to kill the spirit that

appears in Chapter 6. Stay back from the

stone, to keep the Great Eye from

noticing you, and you'll be all right.

These are all level 45-47 quests.

Book 7: The HiddenHope

This book has eight chapters, taking

place throughout Middle Earth, though

mainly in eastern Angmar. The last two

or three quests drop nice rewards for

various classes, with Chapter 5's

necklaces and Chapter 8's headgear of

most interest to the Warden.

This Book also introduces you to Carn

Dum, where many of the end-game play

takes place. These quests are all levels 49

and 50. All of the books after Book 7 are

level 50.

Book 8: The Scourge ofthe North

This Book is designed to introduce your

Warden to the high-level battles to be had

inside Carn Dum. With only 5 chapters, it

also manages to have you traveling most

of Middle Earth as well.

Both Chapters 1 and 5 will require a

fellowship to complete with any success

and Chapter 5 has you confronting

Mordirith, the False King.

Book 9: The Shores ofEvendim

This book also travels the extent of

Middle Earth, going from Rivendell to

Angmar to Bree-land and more in its 8

chapters. While all of these quests can be

done solo, they are quite lengthy due to the

travel involved. In this book, you'll piece

together the mysterious story of Sara





Oakheart.

While some of the rewards are good,

including the club in Chapter 4, the

money rewards are even better.

Book 10: The City ofthe Kings

This is one of the lengthier books in

the epic chain, having 14 chapters. Most

of the chapters in this one will require a

fellowship to complete and take place

inside Annuminas.

Chapter 3 rewards a nice earring that

can be great in a pinch, giving +455

Morale when activated. The 14th chapter

gives a nice ring as well.

Book 11: Prisoner of theFree Peoples

Another long chain of chapters, this

one having 13, this one is heavily

story-involved with the capture of

Mordrambor and the diary of Sara

Oakheart. While traveling and piecing

together the rest of the story, much of the

background for the Fellowship of the

Ring is filled in.

The final chapter rewards with one of

the best necklaces in the game, as Elrond's

Gift. You'll likely solo most of this Book,

though you might need help for Chapter 2.

Book 12: The AshenWastes

This book has 10 chapters, most of

which happen in Carn Dum. This book

will definitely require a fellowship to

complete. Much of this book happens in

areas of Carn Dum that even diligent Carn

Dum raiders haven't seen and Chapter 3

has a nice shield as a reward.

Either of the cloaks offered as reward

for the final chapter are worth having and

your choice will depend on your play

style.





Book 13: Doom of theLast-King

The quest chapters in this book take

place almost entirely in the frozen lands

of Forochel. Most of the chapters yield

little payoff besides pure silver, but the

final one, Chapter 11, gives a nice spear

for the Warden.

Most of these chapters can be done

solo, but the final one will require a

fellowship to complete.

Book 14: TheRing-Forges of Eregion

This is the final book in the epic story

so far and is, up to this point, the most

confusing of the Books to get into. There

are three "sub quests" of Chapter 1, all of

which need to be completed. Book 13

should also be completed if you are to

begin this Book.

Each of the sub-quests take place in

separate parts of Middle Earth: one in the

Shire, one in Thorin's Gate, and one in

Angmar. Once you've met the

requirements, you'll begin this long

Book, which culminates in an

introduction to Moria.





The Warden'sLevel 50 Class

Quest

The greatest of the class quests, for

every character class, becomes available

at level 45, though the quest is for

advancement to level 50. Commonly

called, in-game, the "Level 45 Quest,"

this quest is one of the hardest

character-advancement quests.

While the level 15 and 30 quests are

seminal to character advancement, this

quest is the capper. Until you get into

Moria and do your level 60 quest, that is.

But that's for another chapter.

This quest is in two parts, which are

further broken into pieces. They involve

finding specific items and returning them

to the quest-giver, who will then have a

list of more items. Once all items have

been assembled, rewards are given.

The two parts to the Warden's Level 50

Class Quest reward a weapon and a piece

of jewelry. You are given two choices,

one of each: a spear or a javelin and a

necklace or an earring.

Warden's Agonizer(Javelin)

55-87 Belerand Damage

29.6 DPS 2.4 Speed

Greatly increases threat during combat.

+160 Ranged Critical Rating

Target: 5% chance of increasing target's

susceptibility to Beleriand-type damage.

Warden's Piercer (Spear)

42-57 Ancient Dwarf-make Damage

25.9 DPS 1.9 Speed

+14 Fate

+14 Might

+42 Maximum Morale

+6 Vitality

Spear-pierce: 101 Common Damage

every 5 seconds for 15 seconds.

Target: 5% chance of increasing your

target's susceptibility to Ancient

Dwarf-type damage.





Battle Medallion(Necklace)

+480 Wound Resist Rating

+14 Fate

+16 Might

+8% Out of Combat Run speed

Gold Star Earring

+28 Fate

+14 Might

+56.4 in-Combat Morale Regen.

+100 Melee Critical Rating

The Required QuestItems

There are several items you must

acquire for both halves of this quest.

They are not easy and some may require

a fellowship or small group to complete.

Luckily, these items are not

Warden-specific in their entirety, so

you're likely to find others who need the

same or similar items you that can team up

with.

Weapon Reward

Regardless of which weapon you

choose, you will need to gather the

following items:

Invader Breast Plates (12) - found in

Annuminas.

Bryok's Spear (a named mob in

Forochel)

Revered wight remains (10) - found in

Angmar.

Gem-encrusted nails (20) - found on

severed arms in Angmar.

Bloodstained Tally stick - found on elite

orcs in Angmar.

Crimson gorthorog horn - found on

gorthorogs in Angmar.





Jewelry Reward

For either of the jewelry pieces, you

will need to gather several items as well.

As with the weapons, some of these will

require a fellowship or small group to

complete.

Hoary auroch hides (6) - from aurochs

in the Misty Mountains.

Redtusk's Hide - from a boar in

Eregion.

Barbed barghest tails (10) - from

barghests in Angmar.

Coiled spider spinnerets (20) - from

spiders in Angmar.

Rune of evil presence - drops off

sentient mobs in Angmar.

Gorthorog teeth - from gorthorogs in

Angmar.

Obviously, since both sides of this

quest have similar items in similar areas,

you can combine the two to get them

more quickly. If you do not wish to quest

for them, some of these items will be

available for sale in the Auction House

as well.





Raids and Instances

The supposed "end-game content" is

far from being the end of the game. In

fact, for many players, it's only just

started at this point.

These raids and instances, starting at

around level 50, can be extremely

rewarding both in-game and out. The

Rift, for instance, has instances that drop

very nice class-specific items, armor, and

more. Many players will spend hours

doing weekly runs (each "instance" raid

is limited to about once per week) just to

complete a set of armor.

With each raid taking up to six

real-time hours to complete, that's a lot

of raiding!

Each of these areas take place within a

specific area of the Misty Mountains, or

Angmar. They happen in the Rift of Nurz

Ghashu, Helgerod, and Carn Dum.

The Rift of Nurz Ghashu

This instance is one of the hardest

high-level raids to undertake. It's a

12-person instance and is one in which

strategy and team coordination come

heavily into play.

It is highly recommended that you have

a headset or be able to otherwise voice

communicate with your raid when you

undertake this one. If you cannot

coordinate your movements, you will

likely fail.

Despite its difficulty, The Rift has great

payoffs. Each "boss" monster inside drops

up to two stones that can be turned in for

class-specific armor—some of the best in

the game. The final goal is a Balrog, one

of the most dreadful beasts in all of

Middle Earth.





Helgerod

This is a larger, 24-person instance that

will have almost continual combat as you

plough through mob after mob to get to

the final goal. This goal is the dragon

Thorog.

This one, despite it's size, is actually

the easier of the group and is considered

the "training" raid for players new to

raiding.

Carn Dum

While not technically a raid area or

instance, Carn Dum is most often

penetrated by well-rounded, full

fellowships or by small 10-12-person

raid groups.





Warden PlayStrategies

Strategies for how you play your

Warden, whether solo, in groups (tanking

or DPSing), raiding, or PvP, are

important to how your Warden will

advance and how well she'll do in-game.

Each of these play styles requires

different strategies. We'll look at each of

them.

Solo Strategies (PvE)

When running solo with your Warden,

you will want to maximize your ability to

take damage without succumbing. Many

of the creatures you'll face at every level

of play will come in groups rather than

single mobs, so you will need to be able

to receive damage while you deal with

these mobs.

At Lower Levels

When you are under level 30, you will

likely find that more than two or three

like-level mobs will be enough to bring

you down quickly. This is where

maximizing your strategy during play will

suit you best.

Isolate mobs whenever possible and

bring them down as quickly as you can.

Focus on damage-dealing Gambits and

attacks. Use Ambush, Critical Strike, and

Power Attack as your primary maneuvers.

At Medium Level

Between levels 30 and 45, you'll have

more flexibility in your choices of attack

and defense. Your Warden will be

stronger, better able to take damage, and is

now at a level where better weapons and

armor can be had.

At this point, focus on combinations of

attack and defense, especially when you've

pulled multiple mobs. Use choices like

Wall of Steel and Shield Mastery often. If

you are fighting more than two or three

mobs at once, use shorter Gambits and

faster attacks to minimize your delays and

dispatch your enemies quickly.





You'll now also be enjoying some of

your musters, giving you faster

movement around Middle Earth.

At High Levels

Once past level 45, your Warden is

seeing her full potential and beginning to

come into her own. The same multi-mob

rules outlined earlier apply here, but now

skills like Desolation are possible as

well.

Even at this level, you'll find Ambush

to still be extremely useful to you.

Group Strategies

In a group or fellowship, your Warden

will likely play one of two roles: tank or

offense (DPS). Your strategy will be

very different between one and the other.

Tanks have a specific role and

damage-dealers have a different priority.

As a tank, your Warden's job will be to

hold aggro and keep mobs tuned to him

while taking the damage they deal,

allowing others in the party freer

movement and ranged attacks. This

requires focus on both threat

management and defense.

As a DPS machine, your Warden's role

is simpler, but not necessarily easier.

Wardens are not strong attackers, so your

focus in this case is on maximizing the

damage you can deal—especially from a

distance or over short amounts of time.

In either case, if you're used to playing

solo, one of the hardest things to overcome

is the tendency to "tunnel vision" and stop

noticing things around you. As a tank,

especially, keeping track of where and

what is happening is crucial, even more so

because of your Warden's inability to

instantly shift aggro from a

mob—something most Guardians will take

for granted.

At Lower Levels

Up to level 30, your Warden's group

strategies will hinge primarily on

survivability. Learning to watch what is

going on at all times during the battle and

being as nimble as you can with reactions

and Gambits will be the key.





As a Tank

Tanking at lower levels will require

that your Warden utilize a balance of Fist

and Shield gambits, both pulling threat

and defending himself. Begin with a Fist

and go back and forth between Fist and

Shield as needed from there.

If your group includes a smart healer,

you will begin to turn your focus towards

Fists as you hold aggro so the

damage-dealer can finish off the mobs.

You will have done your job effectively

if the healer is not required to target any

other member of the fellowship to heal

them.

As a DPS Machine

The Warden's offensive strength lies in

Damage Over Time effects. DoTs can be

a double-edged sword, however, as most

of them also bring threat enhancement,

making your group's tank have a rougher

time of it.

Focus on short Gambits and

single-attacks and avoid all Fist Gambits

as much as possible. Utilize your javelin

often, especially before going toe-to-toe

next to the tank.

At Medium Levels

Above level 30, your Warden has many

more skills and your fellows will have

strong abilities to both tank and heal as

well. This makes for an easier time in

some respects, but the mobs are also

getting stronger. Your battlefield

awareness is still critical to success.

As a Tank

Your focus will still be on threat control,

but if your fellows (especially the Hunters

and Champions) are smart with their skills,

you will be more able to utilize your DoT

and defensive skills along with your Fist

Gambits.

At this point in the game, your Trait and

armor focuses are likely to be on

mitigation, so you'll be better able to deal

with damage and wound resistance.

During battle, your DoT skills are an aid to

the DPS man as well.





As a DPS Machine

In these mid-levels, your attacks truly

begin to become strong, especially your

spear's DoT effects. You have the added

ability to utilize your heals to keep

yourself going, allowing your

fellowship's healer to focus on the party

tank.

Allow the tank to continue doing his

job by avoiding Fist skills and those

attacks that pull very much threat. Being

the DPS, you can also utilize some of

your longer-term skills, giving strong

attacks that may not kill the mob right

away, but allow you to turn to another

while the first slowly bleeds to death.

Learning to utilize these long-term skills

is crucial to your success as a front-line

damager.

At High Levels

After level 45, your Warden is truly

finding his niche and is stepping into

some truly remarkable skill sets.

Knowing your Gambits thoroughly is

essential.

As a Tank

Tanking at these high levels is a true art

form, especially for your Warden.

Utilizing strong armor and the Way of the

Shield Virtue set will greatly enhance your

abilities.

Your focus now is on long-term threat

management and damage mitigation.

Utilize your more powerful Fist Gambits

and shorter, faster Shield Gambits to keep

yourself buffed and to augment your

healer. You'll find it more difficult to hold

aggro from Hunters, especially, so focus

and awareness are key.

AS a DPS Machine

Similar to the mid-levels, your focus

now is still on DoT and aggro

minimization. If your group's main tank is

a Guardian, however, it will be more

difficult for you to draw focus away from

him, so you'll be more able to utilize some

of your more extravagant attacks.

Communication with the group and

awareness of the battle around you are not

as critical when damage-dealing, but

should not be forgotten.





Raiding Strategy

At higher levels, you'll be raiding in

groups and will be more likely the

"off-tank" or secondary tank or damager

rather than the primary one. If you are

asked to be the primary tank, consider

waiting until a Guardian of skill can be

found as you are not likely to do well as

main tank in a full-blown raid. Nothing is

impossible, however.

As the secondary in these situations,

your role is slightly different than when

you're in a smaller fellowship and acting

as the main. This generally means you'll

have more freedom, but you'll find that

keeping a keen awareness of the battle is

still important.

In a raid, whether it be in a group of 12

or 24, you will find that communication

is what everything hinges on. If the

group has not played before, make sure

to learn everyone's voice (if you can).

There is usually a lot of waiting for

players to get to the muster point, to set

up their characters, etc., so just chatting

with the other raid members will usually

be enough to acquaint you with their

voices. This will allow you to know who

is talking (and what their role is in the

raid) without having to look away from

the action to see who's icon is indicating

speech.

As Off-Tank

In this role, your Warden has more

freedom of movement and strategy, and

will likely be dealing more damage and

spending less time worrying about threat.

However, in many raid instances, the

off-tank has a specific role and you should

be aware of it.

That specific role is as "secondary mob

puller" which means you'll be responsible

for pulling and holding aggro from all of

the sub-bosses (or lower mobs) that are

encountered so that the main tank can

focus on the big boss and heavy hitters.

This role makes you crucial to success and

will require a lot more concentration on

threat management than otherwise.

As Secondary-DPS

As the secondary damage-dealer, your

job is simply to deal as much damage as

possible without pulling mobs away from

the tank. As a Warden, this will usually

mean utilizing your many DoT effects on

various mobs while the DPS Machine does

his job.

This is the role that truly allows the

Warden to shine, flexing in and out of

battle from both up-front and ranged.





Gold & Crafting inMiddle Earth

All money is the same: you don't

notice it until you haven't got any. This

rings especially true in LotRO. Luckily,

getting silver and gold isn't too difficult

if you learn to master a few key skills.

There are two basic paths to gold in

LotRO: gathering and crafting. The first

involves merely gathering items during

your travels to sell as the base materials

for crafters. The second is taking those

materials and making actual in-game

items out of them.

Your style of play and how much time

you're willing to devote to

non-combat/leveling will decide which

path you take towards gold making. The

first path is the easier of the two,

requiring only that you stop once in a

while to "pick up" items you'll see

around you. The second path requires

more dedication, but can be rewarding

and fun if you enjoy spending time in

front of a forge, workbench, etc.

The Basic Gold Skill AllShould Know

The first skill that everyone should

know, whether you choose to craft or not,

is the art of pillaging. Every mob you kill

will likely drop at least one item, many

will drop more. Loot every mob you kill

and let the items stack until your bags are

full. Then sell those items to the vendor.

Many players ignore this and loot only

those items that are "worth it" or "stack

well." Save this choosiness for when your

bags are full of loot and you can't carry

any more. Then look at what you've got

and decide what you'll throw away and

what you'll sell.

If you do this one simple thing, you'll

find that you can usually come out even or

ahead on your quests (after paying repair

bills, travel costs, etc.) just from selling

the items you've looted to a vendor. Even

at higher levels when your repair bill alone

can run 100 or more silver!





The Explorer: GatheringFor Gold

If the way of crafting is not for you,

then you'll want to choose the Explorer

as your craft. The Explorer can mine for

ores and gather woods, both of which can

sell well in the Auction House or directly

to other players quickly.

In each area of Middle Earth, you'll

find different amounts of various kinds

of materials. Using your Prospector

skills, you'll be able to track and mine

ores and then process them into ingots

that are useable by crafters in making

items such as weapons and heavy

armors.

Be sure to utilize your prospecting

skills at the forge in order to gain points

towards finishing your tiers so you can

gather better ores that will be worth more

and more money as you go up in level. It

doesn't take much time and is well worth

the effort for the monetary payoffs it can

give.

Also be sure to utilize your Forestry

skills to gather and process wood and to

make the hides you gather from slain

beasts into leather that Tailors can use to

make armors. Often, you can trade boiled

leather hides straight across for good

armor from a tailor, especially one who

is attempting to pursue his craft and can

use the materials.

The Crafter: MakingItems For Money

If you prefer to step away from the grind

of leveling and Deed achievement to craft

items for fun and profit, then this is your

path to gold.

There can be a lot of money in crafting,

especially in crafts such as

Weaponsmithing, Metalsmithing,

Tailoring, Jewellry, and as a Scholar. For

the Warden, Tailoring and Woodworking

are choice as medium armors are made by

the Tailor and both spears and javelins are

crafted by Woodworkers. You will save

money by utilizing one or both of these

crafts.

Any of these crafts are good for making

gold in LotRO, no matter your choice.

Especially once you've mastered a craft

tier and can "crit" on an item, making it

much more powerful than its standard

counterpart.

Trading with other players who act only

as hunter-gatherers, gathering some

materials yourself, or purchasing the

materials in the Auction House are all

viable methods of getting the resources





you'll need to craft items. You'll find that

if you trade or find the materials

yourself, your profit margins will be

much higher, however. Dedicating the

time and effort to master a craft is a fun

part of LotRO that you can take part in,

but is not required to find success in the

game.


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