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extra stout posted:Double posting but some cool news today: A patch and a reward Note that the FAQ for the VIP gift thing is a little misleading -- it's true that you don't need to log into all of your characters to get the gift, but you really should log into all of your characters when you become VIP because only the ones which you've logged into will get the premium status that gives them access to Fast Travel, etc. even when your subscription lapses. It's a good idea when going VIP to make (and log in with) characters of every class/race combo you might conceivably want to play in the future just in case.
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Feb 6, 2017 21:45
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Account-binding the extracts is a welcome change, and the housing update is fantastic, although it makes me want more hooks again.
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Feb 7, 2017 16:40
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I've been playing regularly again since around Christmas, continuing my slow play through completing each zone one at a time. I recently finished Forochel, which I hadn't been to since the zone came out for the first time back in 2008. I remember really liking it back then, and while its still a good zone, it wasn't quite as nice as I recalled. The Lossoth are cool, very interesting culture and very well presented with the igloos, sleds, and mammoth caravans. But Forochel itself just felt way, way too big. I just felt like everything took forever to get to compared to other zones, and all you had to look at were white hills, black sky, and no trees. None of the quest chains really grabbed me - the whole break in the Angmarim fort to steal back a MAGIC JEWEL!!! that would unite the tribes felt really phoned in. Ironically one of the best quests in the game, where you help commit an act of bride-kidnapping, is in this zone, so go figure. And even if the landscapes were boring to look at, the set pieces were great.  Next up is Angmar. So far I'm loving it, very well realized zone. Its like they told the artists to just draw up the most cartoonish hellscape they could think of and let them go wild. Black hills and chemical pools, red thundering sky, spiky and evil looking outposts and towns here and there. The Trev Gallorg quests are great too - another detailed and interesting culture to learn about. Hopped in a pubbie Rift raid earlier which reminded me of everything i hate about raiding in MMOs. Despite several lvl 105s in this level 50 raid, we could not complete it! At one point our sole healer made us wait for 10 minutes after announcing "afk guys gotta take my kitty to his litter box (he's blind)". Cool, have fun. Got some goods pics though!  
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Feb 10, 2017 00:46
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Yeah, running raids over level is way easier with high level toons, but the way the debuffs work it's still easy to wipe if you don't know what you're doing. I've hopped into pubbie Watcher and Turtle runs to help out and couldn't believe some of the crap playing I saw from the folks who were supposed to be carrying. I guess that's the problem when so many players get to level cap without ever having played in a group, let alone run instances with special instructions. I'm going to be on tonight on my guard (Dragonwort) if any level-cap players are interested in running the featured instance or any other short/easy content. It's Wraith of Water this week I think. edit: Nope, it's Haudh Valandil, that Annuminas one where you light a bunch of braziers and then get lost for 20 minutes. That's what I do, anyway. bombhand fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Feb 10, 2017 |
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Feb 10, 2017 02:09
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bombhand posted:edit: Nope, it's Haudh Valandil, that Annuminas one where you light a bunch of braziers and then get lost for 20 minutes. That's what I do, anyway. We ended up decorating the kin house that night instead, but I ran it a few times the day after. Always up for more goon runs we just need to time them better. https://www.lotro.com/en/lotrostoresale Bonus exp lasts for another day today/tomorrow depending on where you are, and LOTRO points get a little bonus sale for another week. Keep in mind VIP also has that horse promotion, so consider which option is best for you if you don't have enough points for that pre-Mordor quest pack coming up, might be worth saving some points or just getting a 3-6 month VIP. Also I forgot to mention this for a while now because I've been considering buying a sea mansion but this housing system update really made me love my old house again: The "goon neighborhood" Knotheim near Thorin's Gate now has multiple empty houses, I forget which is the small one and which is the big one but Anvilsong Road 1 and 2 are both open, right and your way back out of the instance if you're coming from the kinhall. Post your name if you don't have a house and want one, I'll pay the gold if you need help. There's also a third one open right in front of the housing entrance but I forgot the name of it, right down those steps. I think we've still got a good dozen of us with houses in Knotheim, does anyone own a Belfalas super premium house or whatever they're called? I grabbed some mithril coins before that sale ended, getting tempted to get one. I would put it toward our own goon island but to be frank: Not while we've still got an idle steward who just logged in for the first time in 35 days exclusively to prevent an officer from taking the leadership. extra stout fucked around with this message at 11:24 on Feb 12, 2017 |
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Feb 12, 2017 11:20
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extra stout posted:I would put it toward our own goon island but to be frank: Not while we've still got an idle steward who just logged in for the first time in 35 days exclusively to prevent an officer from taking the leadership. I've been working 7 days a week for the past month and spent a week dealing with a death in the family. When I had a free hour, I signed in and no one was on. The last three times I've logged on there's only been 1-2 people on max. I'm not signing on during crazy moon hours...I've tried mornings of weekends, evenings of weekends, and evenings of weekdays. Each time the same, so unless people start posting times that they plan to be online I don't see that changing.
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Feb 12, 2017 16:23
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Oxphocker posted:I've been working 7 days a week for the past month and spent a week dealing with a death in the family. When I had a free hour, I signed in and no one was on. The last three times I've logged on there's only been 1-2 people on max. I'm not signing on during crazy moon hours...I've tried mornings of weekends, evenings of weekends, and evenings of weekdays. Each time the same, so unless people start posting times that they plan to be online I don't see that changing. New year, same post from Hoboknife. You didn't log in for 35 days but no one was on the one time you did 35 days ago, and you think this says more about the kin than it does you? What do you mean "crazy moon hours"? You didn't sign on for 35 days, again, your average is like 18 days at a time without even logging in, and you didn't get a level in the last year. The game's level cap will be 110 while you're still 103 as the leader. If you're too busy to lead (still, even in another year) then how are you not making my argument for me that you should pass the lead to any of the people with the time to reach level 105 and actually enjoy the game? We've got two max rank back up kins if you turn this into more drama and try to stretch out some pointless raid challenge again. edit We had eight people on the other day, I'm not claiming it's the return of goon squad but it's enough that you should move on with your life and let one of the eight active people lead. Plenty of 105s who aren't full of two years of excuses. I don't want you to poo poo up the thread for eight pages again so just pass lead to someone who we trust won't pass it back by tomorrow or (so far every single player I asked) will shift to the new kin. extra stout fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Feb 12, 2017 |
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Feb 12, 2017 21:03
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Oxphocker posted:I've been working 7 days a week for the past month and spent a week dealing with a death in the family. When I had a free hour, I signed in and no one was on. The last three times I've logged on there's only been 1-2 people on max. I'm not signing on during crazy moon hours...I've tried mornings of weekends, evenings of weekends, and evenings of weekdays. Each time the same, so unless people start posting times that they plan to be online I don't see that changing. Sorry to hear that. Death in the family is rough, and a work schedule obviously takes precedence over grinding in an MMO. Hope you recover soon. That said, just because you log on and there's no one online doesn't mean that no one is playing. Please pass your leadership to someone who is not working 7 days a week. No one is trying to kick you out of the kin for being too busy, we just want to organize events around someone who's actually gonna take the time to organize them.
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Feb 12, 2017 21:22
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extra stout posted:New year, same post from Hoboknife. You didn't log in for 35 days but no one was on the one time you did 35 days ago, and you think this says more about the kin than it does you? What do you mean "crazy moon hours"? You didn't sign on for 35 days, again, your average is like 18 days at a time without even logging in, and you didn't get a level in the last year. The game's level cap will be 110 while you're still 103 as the leader. Frankly I don't trust you the slightest bit...but I don't have time to go ten rounds on this anymore.
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Feb 12, 2017 23:54
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I knew I should never have returned. This happened because of me.
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Feb 13, 2017 00:19
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Oxphocker posted:Frankly I don't trust you the slightest bit...but I don't have time to go ten rounds on this anymore. Your paranoia was wise: I've just received thousands of gold from the kin (by going in a time machine and not donating the most free items and gold out of anyone to this kin in the last several years). What is there to trust? You passed lead to someone who wasn't me so you could use being busy as a cover for not replying to my half dozen true claims. You kept officer so you can still kick people for making jokes just like the old days, everything is fine. But Goondor is still a better kin name than Nazgun, so we'll see how it goes. The game is where we kill orcs and the forum is where we dick around, it's an almost decade long tradition and it'll continue to be fine. Captain Candiru posted:I knew I should never have returned. This happened because of me. Welcome back! Are you the captain I saw on earlier?
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Feb 13, 2017 02:01
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extra stout posted:Your paranoia was wise: I've just received thousands of gold from the kin (by going in a time machine and not donating the most free items and gold out of anyone to this kin in the last several years). What is there to trust? You passed lead to someone who wasn't me so you could use being busy as a cover for not replying to my half dozen true claims. You kept officer so you can still kick people for making jokes just like the old days, everything is fine. But Goondor is still a better kin name than Nazgun, so we'll see how it goes. Whatever keeps you warm at night.
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Feb 13, 2017 03:37
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lol you guys still haven't started a new guild?
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Feb 13, 2017 04:29
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extra stout posted:
I am the Loremaster. King Loremaster Rehz, at your service.
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Feb 14, 2017 03:14
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Captain Candiru posted:I am the Loremaster. King Loremaster Rehz, at your service. Rehz cool and good and just hit level 105, congratulations! jabro posted:lol you guys still haven't started a new guild? Since we already had to have all the inactive and returning players do a free server transfer when they merged a lot of servers including ours, I wanted to avoid the drama bomb and confusing all the casuals who check in and play a few times a year. The reason why the game always has rumors of being dead despite being really active and enjoyable is that I'd guess 3/4 of everyone who plays just kinds of comes and goes when they miss LoTR, it's free and it's been around for almost a decade so it's always there for even people who don't like to or can't keep up with the news and newest content. extra stout fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Feb 14, 2017 |
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Feb 14, 2017 11:20
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Uh, so I just rolled a character on Arkenstone because that's where all the moon people (aka fellow Australians) are. I've got one RL friend who plays the game but uh, is it just me or is the world mostly empty of like, everything? Admittedly I have only reached level 7 thus far, but the way the intro quests have been laid out I hope is not really an indicator for the rest of the game because there was more running from point A to point B than anything else. I can see the bones of something fun in here - DDO is one of my all-time favourite games, the similarities are obvious and frequent - but ehhh, at this point it's a good thing it's free to try it out. So, please, tell me it gets better or something, and that the intro experience is just very dated at this point! Also, rolled up a guardian because I like not dying, but I really don't see how Sam Gamgee is the inspiration for the class. A whole world full of dwarves in actual heavy armour, and you pick the fat hobbit who never held a weapon in his life before trailing after Frodo like a puppy for inspiration? I digress, how capable are guardians and captains compared to each other, how easy is it for them to get groups and solo? I know there's likely to only be one real tank in a group, are both classes equivalent in a dps role?
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Feb 14, 2017 12:03
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Come on, this is a game where you get too demoralized to fight instead of dying, where you complete tasks to raise your sense of charity, justice, or tolerance, and where powerful enemies literally use fear and hopelessness to subdue you rather than force of arms. Of course Sam is the model guardian! Being a guardian is about being stubborn, laser focused on a goal, and willing to take on the burdens of others (you know, tanking). As for your question, you should be aware that grouping up while leveling is pretty rare. Even if you do, the game doesn't penalize having people way higher level than you in the group. Hard to do any proper tanking when the level 105 hunter blows poo poo up by looking at it. When you make it to top level then sure, your guard will be more popular, but it's a long, long road if you stop to appreciate the world, which is this games greatest strength.
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Feb 14, 2017 14:52
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Try out a few classes and then stick with the one you're most comfortable playing. It's easy to get into PUGs as any class as long as you know your head from your butt. "In-demand" classes can change as new content is released, so you might find that the class that was in demand when you rolled is chopped liver when you hit level cap. If you don't enjoy the solo leveling experience you're just not going to make it to level cap before you quit the game. Guardian is the only tank-tank class, and while you can wring middling DPS out of them, it's at the expense of their tanking ability. You shouldn't roll a guard unless you like tanking and want to be the tank in group content. I love my guard, but I don't think there's any class that offers less DPS. Captain is a hybrid healer/tank class, with its real strength in buffs, so it's useful in large group content. If you want DPS with some tanking ability, champion is a good bet.
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Feb 14, 2017 15:58
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Gammon posted:Uh, so I just rolled a character on Arkenstone because that's where all the moon people (aka fellow Australians) are. I've got one RL friend who plays the game but uh, is it just me or is the world mostly empty of like, everything? Admittedly I have only reached level 7 thus far, but the way the intro quests have been laid out I hope is not really an indicator for the rest of the game because there was more running from point A to point B than anything else. I can see the bones of something fun in here - DDO is one of my all-time favourite games, the similarities are obvious and frequent - but ehhh, at this point it's a good thing it's free to try it out. So, please, tell me it gets better or something, and that the intro experience is just very dated at this point! He said "gardener", not guardian. Also this: jabro posted:lol you guys still haven't started a new guild?
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Feb 14, 2017 16:45
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bombhand posted:Guardian is the only tank-tank class, and while you can wring middling DPS out of them, it's at the expense of their tanking ability. You shouldn't roll a guard unless you like tanking and want to be the tank in group content. I love my guard, but I don't think there's any class that offers less DPS. Captain is a hybrid healer/tank class, with its real strength in buffs, so it's useful in large group content. If you want DPS with some tanking ability, champion is a good bet. Last I played, two-hander yellow guard melted groups roughly ten times as fast as any hunter due to all the reflecting light damage.
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Feb 14, 2017 16:47
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I run 2H yellow guard when I'm not tanking seriously and yeah, it's reasonably good against groups, but I found that on my minstrel I'd get through the same content faster even though I was taking on fewer guys at a time. I'm not sure that a yellow guard would compare too favourably against a yellow champ, but I can't really test it out very well since my gear's based on tanking. I'm not prepared to invest the time in maintaining two sets of gear and I stick to just switching between my 2H and 1H.
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Feb 14, 2017 18:44
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Gammon posted:Uh, so I just rolled a character on Arkenstone because that's where all the moon people (aka fellow Australians) are. I've got one RL friend who plays the game but uh, is it just me or is the world mostly empty of like, everything? Admittedly I have only reached level 7 thus far, but the way the intro quests have been laid out I hope is not really an indicator for the rest of the game because there was more running from point A to point B than anything else. I can see the bones of something fun in here - DDO is one of my all-time favourite games, the similarities are obvious and frequent - but ehhh, at this point it's a good thing it's free to try it out. So, please, tell me it gets better or something, and that the intro experience is just very dated at this point! Time for a good laugh: You do an 'intro quest' which is mostly a scripted guide to get you introduced to the game world, and half of it's even a solo instance. You can't join a kin or go to most parts of the world until you finish it, typically at level 7. Finish it and go meet a few thousand people spread across Bree, Gondor and so on as you level up. And the inspiration thing is just marketing and the guys who wrote for the game 10 years ago explaining some symbolism of each class, ie Sam protected Frodo from evil, go tank the orc boss so your minstrel doesn't die, Aragorn was a leader of men so make a captain and you buff people with auras and courage, it goes on and doesn't mean anything other than to give you an easier time picking a class if you do no homework on the website or forums.
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Feb 15, 2017 07:26
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Also when you are sent to talk to Sam for the guardian Lvl 50 quest he mentions that they must have mistaken him for a guardian when he's a gardener.
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Feb 15, 2017 09:14
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extra stout posted:Time for a good laugh: You do an 'intro quest' which is mostly a scripted guide to get you introduced to the game world, and half of it's even a solo instance. You can't join a kin or go to most parts of the world until you finish it, typically at level 7. Finish it and go meet a few thousand people spread across Bree, Gondor and so on as you level up. And the inspiration thing is just marketing and the guys who wrote for the game 10 years ago explaining some symbolism of each class, ie Sam protected Frodo from evil, go tank the orc boss so your minstrel doesn't die, Aragorn was a leader of men so make a captain and you buff people with auras and courage, it goes on and doesn't mean anything other than to give you an easier time picking a class if you do no homework on the website or forums. Hence me asking if the intro stuff is at all representative - I didn't know it was solo instanced, every other MMO I have played puts you in a starting area that is nevertheless part of the bigger world. I didn't so much mean a lack of other players either, I assume starting areas are empty, but there was just a general lack of mobs to fight, NPCs in general etc, but if it is instanced that makes somewhat more sense. And yeah, I know the inspiration stuff is fluff, I just thought it was amusing that Sam was singled out as a guardian. Glad to hear they get him to joke about it later.
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Feb 15, 2017 12:11
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Gammon posted:I assume starting areas are empty, but there was just a general lack of mobs to fight, Later landscapes are just big carpets of trash, don't worry.
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Feb 15, 2017 12:19
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Gammon posted:Hence me asking if the intro stuff is at all representative - I didn't know it was solo instanced, every other MMO I have played puts you in a starting area that is nevertheless part of the bigger world. I didn't so much mean a lack of other players either, I assume starting areas are empty, but there was just a general lack of mobs to fight, NPCs in general etc, but if it is instanced that makes somewhat more sense.
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Feb 16, 2017 01:34
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I'm trying to become VIP but can't seem to do so via the webpage. Also if I buy Helms Deep base expansion, do I get all the previous ones as well minus any special cosmetics? I saw something about a quad pack but just like when I try to sub, when I click on the link its broken. Can I just buy one of the Game Time cards digitally and work around it for now? I don't mind doing a 30 day sub card. I haven't played since release so that's a lot of content to check out.
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Feb 16, 2017 11:09
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No, Helm's Deep won't give you previous expacs. You have to buy the content pieces separately - that's the main part of LOTRO's business model. As far as why the links aren't working for you, don't know. I could see there being some hiccups with the switch to SSG, but given that "taking money" is the most important thing, I'd assume those bugs would have been worked out by now.
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Feb 16, 2017 15:41
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Try doing it via the in-game store? I think they moved a lot of things from the website to in-game several months ago and becoming a VIP may have been one of them.
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Feb 16, 2017 20:54
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Confirmed, you need to buy it through t he in-game store. Coincidentally, as of a few weeks ago Standing Stone couldn't take Steam money, and if you were playing via a Steam link would only... try to accept Steam money. If you get caught in that situation, you can run the launcher directly from the directory LOTRO is installed in and then it'll accept Paypal/credit cards/etc.
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Feb 16, 2017 22:18
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Do you think they'll ever update the player models? Even when the game was new I was disappointed to see how doughy and weird the characters looked. Inventory management also annoyed me since I liked to craft and have alt-itis. So much stuff jamming up all my storage.
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Feb 17, 2017 20:50
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Dick Trauma posted:Do you think they'll ever update the player models? Even when the game was new I was disappointed to see how doughy and weird the characters looked. Inventory management also annoyed me since I liked to craft and have alt-itis. So much stuff jamming up all my storage. They just said a few weeks back that they're reworking them this year.
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Feb 17, 2017 21:36
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What kind of essences should I be using for a red captain? Stats and builds are not exactly my strong suit. I have just been pumping Might and Vitality on all my purple gear, but now that I'm about to upgrade to blue gear I might need an actual plan.
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Feb 20, 2017 03:20
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There are some guides out there that tell you what stats you should max out (and where the cap is) and where you should put your extras. That information shifts over time, but here's a Reddit thread that has some good generic advice, though it was written before the most recent content update so the references to epic battle jewellery are outdated. Also, you can hover over each stat in your character sheet and it'll tell you what that stat contributes to, and vice versa for the little specifics down below. Last time I knew, vitality wasn't a great choice for non-Guardians because it doesn't contribute as much morale as a straight-up morale essence, but that might have changed. Lastly, if you haven't already, start looking at your virtue traits, because once you get your essences sorted it's the only way to squeeze a few more points into here and there, and they add up if you level up the trait. This page on the wiki helpfully sorts all virtue deeds by the virtue they boost.
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Feb 20, 2017 17:13
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bombhand posted:Essences Thanks for the writeup! It seems like Might is king. I also found this essence calculator which will come in real handy.
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Feb 20, 2017 18:45
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Conskill posted:Coincidentally, as of a few weeks ago Standing Stone couldn't take Steam money, and if you were playing via a Steam link would only... try to accept Steam money. If you get caught in that situation, you can run the launcher directly from the directory LOTRO is installed in and then it'll accept Paypal/credit cards/etc. This won't work if you originally created your account through Steam (like if you picked up a Helms Deep pack way back when and made an account with it). In that case (or any other) you can just buy coins off the LOTRO store website and get a code you can apply to your account in-game. http://store.turbine.com/store/turbine/en_US/list/categoryID.58726100/parentCategoryID.58516200
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Feb 20, 2017 23:14
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I couldn't find anyone online, but I'd love to join the kinship.... Character name is Bagimili
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Feb 24, 2017 05:15
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genghispawn posted:I couldn't find anyone online, but I'd love to join the kinship.... I'll be on in a few if you're around The player does not exist. Either you didn't pick Landroval or you didn't complete the intro to the game yet, it says "doesn't exist" instead of offline so I am guessing you are not on our server, you can message people before you complete the intro, just can't join a kin. extra stout fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Feb 24, 2017 |
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Feb 24, 2017 06:13
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Or it could be my spelling. Bagimli...put too many Is I think. I am definitely on Landroval, so got that right at least. I THINK I've completed the intro....
genghispawn fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Feb 25, 2017 |
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Feb 25, 2017 03:17
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You should be good to go (says you're level 10 now) but you were offline when I got on, someone will get you next time. Here's the new newsletter type deal they're going to be putting out weekly, the lotro beacon, contains the basic sales and news but also community events and things, basically all on one page for those who don't keep up with social media and the forums. http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/lotro-beacon-issue-1-0 For anyone wondering about the Update 20 stuff (last update before Mordor expansion pack, which will be called Update 21 in terms of patching I think) Cordovan said on stream that it'll probably hit the test server in a few weeks, meaning it'll be ready to be out by the end of March or so. It'll be good content for us since we don't have a raid ready anyway, probably a 3/6 man instance or two , maybe and epic battle, three new regions and the continuation of the epic quest. That'll be new content to help anyone who wants to keep busy and geared in time for Mordor, I'm pretty greasy and excited about it. He mentioned they're still trying to keep all their original ideas for the expansion, High Elves in Mordor, character model updates, and probably a raid. Things that don't make it into that update will be out in a patch or Update 22, he mentioned things like class balancing are on the "definitely going to do it but not until Mordor is completely polished up" list. extra stout fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Feb 25, 2017 |
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Feb 25, 2017 06:52
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