Myndariel’s Middle Earth: The Champion 1-20

A new Lord of the Rings Online guide to early levels of the Champion is up at Myndariel’s Middle Earth.

http://myndariel.blogspot.com/2017/05/introducing-champion-level-1-20.html

I’ve managed to get my Champion character to level 30.  Reading the guide is super helpful though.  One of the things that I’ve had trouble with looking at my LOTRO characters since I’ve returned is picking a Specialization for my class.

I’m reading the descriptions, of course, but it feels to me as if they split up what the characters used to be able to do into these three groups that all have desirable skills, and I want them all.  

In the case of my Champion, it appears I’ve been choosing from the red Berserker specialization.   Reading Myndariel’s description of how the three specializations play out, the yellow Deadly Storm really is best suited to the way I play.  I’ll happily switch!

LOTRO: Back to Lothlorien

I’ve switched to my former main character who is in Lothlorien.  I think she’s been there for several years.  How could I be discouraged about my Loremaster not getting into Moria when this character has been languishing?

I feel like I’ve done quite a few quests, and I think I’m making progress at last.  I’m getting the hang of the map, which isn’t helpful to a World of Warcraft quester, as it doesn’t point you right where you want to go.  No, you have to peer at the map hopefully looking for vaguely colored blotches of color which in turn lead you to a general area.  The quest text itself, one might argue, gives you dizzying directions such as go west down the road to the first dark rock, sing to the rock and await further instructions.

While looking left and going right, I fell into the river and had to swim a very long way to find a shoreline.

Luckily I found my way to land and then to a bridge to resume my adventures.

I took a moment to meditate upon my impatience and the yellowness of it all.

Finally, I stopped for the evening before taking a quest from Legolas which suspiciously seemed as if it might be an instance, and last who knows how long.

I’ve noticed worldchat is full of groups for Box Runs.  I looked up what they were, and I can see how people looking for gear or loot might find them appealing, but I can’t see myself doing them anytime soon (since I’m eeek-many levels below cap).  What a slug dog. 

Lord of the Rings Online: Just Let Me Into Moria, Come On!

I’ve been working on my Loremaster sooo close to the Gates of Moria, yet quest after new quest keeps me running between Orc camps and Redhorn Pass. Agh.   I feel like I’m not getting anywhere.

The first time I ever did this area, I liked it quite a bit, but I’m just itching to move forward. I think I’ll have to play a couple of characters in other areas of the game to dial down on the twitchy.

Maybe run a few quests with my Hunter in the Golden Woods (also agh).

My Burglar is in the Lonelands, an area I like.  She’s my official Cook too, so she’s fun.  Rotate her in, check.

I did finally use my Turbine Points to get all of the available Expansion areas.  Which I’ll reach someday.

 

Lord of the Rings Online: Forsaken Himbar

Himbar is in the northern part of Angmar.  As soon as I entered the area, I internally said “oh, oh, this place”.   Isn’t it interesting how years can go by, but certain places in certain worlds just have memories of trouble ahead, even if you can’t quite remember why.

Notable for a variety of evil Iron Crown and Duvardain, you need to wend your way through giant spiders with sharp pincer-like legs to get to the area.  In addition to the ones you can see and hope to avoid, there are innumerable stealthed spiders waiting to trip you up.   I remember thinking in the early days of the game that there must be someone on staff who knew how much some people hate spiders, and they strove to make ever bigger, scarier ones all of the time.

As if those weren’t enough, there are Morroval, horrible banshees that stalk you on thin, insectile legs, screeching in your face all the while. Unnerving to say the least.

Just a little south of Himbar is the nightmarish Imlad Balchorth, home of The Dead.

Let me say, I don’t mind The Dead.  Bring on the skellies, I say.   What I don’t like, are the Decaying Hands crawling around on the ground.   They hit a deep nerve with this one.  The Hands are actually pretty harmless, and easy to kill.  It’s that severed hand creeping relentlessly towards you that gets me.  The articulation is just right.  It doesn’t give up the chase easily.  On it creeps.

I’m level 45 coming into this area and everything is level 48 and 49.  I don’t feel like I should be able to handle them so easily, but I seem to be.  Swampie must be the answer.  I can even take on 50s and 51s, as long as they aren’t elites.   I can’t think of another game where I could be successful with things five levels over my head like this.  Fingers crossed my luck holds out.   Fingers attached to a hand and an arm, thanks.

I hope I’m out of this area soon.  And, just like that, I ran out of Angmar quests and am now in sunlit Eregion.

LOTRO: Epically Problematic

My Loremaster ran out of quests in Malenhad.  The only thing she had from Angmar was “The Lost Fellowship” which took her to Foroschel.  Somehow, I had neglected the eipc questline with this character.

Not realizing I could go to Rivendell and pick up the quest line, I spent some time yesterday in Foroschel.  It is a snowy area that I have always disliked, and which never felt part of the game world’s storyline.  Such misery!

After researching the epic books to see if there was any way I could still pick up the quest line, voila!  I’ve ported to Rivendell and the Great Man Himself gives me a pass back to Angmar.

What a relief!

There is a 25% xp bonus this weekend, so I found myself looking at my Hunter again.  I thought she had one last quest in Lothlorien that I couldnt find the last piece for, but her quest log was full of things to do in this other area which I truly dislike for the YELLOW.  I know it is supposed to be a “golden wood” but that cat #$%^ yellow is so oppresive.  I’m just going to try to keep my head down, don’t look around the environment too much, and earn my way out of there.

I took a look at and tried to relieve the inventory full problems of my other characters.  I used every reputation item I was holding (why I hadn’t used them on acquire I have no clue).  There were many crafting items which were obsolete.  Yay for my characters who now have more than three open slots apiece.  Part of the problem is I moved these from Meneldor and killed off two characters so everyone was holding their items as well.

My Champion was invited to a guild while she was digging around.  I would like to find a guild, so I accepted.  We’ll see how that goes.

Back on track with my current main, the Loremaster, that makes me feel better.