In LOTRO, a Soldier accompanies you into Skirmish battles, at least traditionally-speaking. With LOTRO Update 6 all that changes. Say hello to Soldiers throughout all of Middle-earth. The purpose of this guide is to help new players familiarize themselves with the many uses of Soldiers, including how to improve them.
Soldiers do not prohibit the use of a Lore-master's pet or a Captain's herald; those classes can have both their Soldier and their pet or herald summoned simultaneously. On the other hand, a Soldier cannot be commanded with the level of precision as a pet.
OVERVIEW
Here are some important facts about Soldiers:
- Each player gets one Soldier who can assume any available Role. (Read further for more information on Roles.)
- Your Solider can be customized as you rise in level and play Skirmishes (more on that later) but they have their own will in battle, and will perform their given Role to the best of their ability.
- You can summon your Soldier in many places throughout Middle-earth, but some places are still restricted.
- You can start a Skirmish anywhere in Middle-earth, enabling you to earn Skirmish Marks, which can be spent to improve your Soldier or to buy equipment for your character.
ROLES
Every new Soldier begins their life in the Warrior Role, but Roles are interchangeable soon after acquiring your Soldier. We'll cover more on how to change a Soldier's Role a further down. For now, let's take a look at Roles themselves.
Some notes on Soldier Roles:
- Consider your classes' weaknesses and strengths when choosing your Soldier's Role. For example, a Guardian may benefit greatly from an Archer, Herbalist, or Bannerguard.
- Don't be afraid to try new Roles- you can always remove that Archer Role you bought and go back to a Warrior or Sage, etc.
- When playing in a team, it can be helpful to discuss everyone's Soldier load-out, especially when attempting extra tough Skirmishes.
ARCHER
Archers perform the Role of ranged damage-dealing; they will focus on single target, at range, and deal damage to them. They wear medium armor, wield a bow and their Role comes with an innate Ranged Critical Rating bonus. Pick an Archer if you can use some extra damage output.
BANNERGUARD
A support-focused Role, Bannerguards provide minor healing, considerable armour boosts for you and your allies, and deals moderate combat damage. In battle, they wear heavy armour and wield a banner, making this Role the perfect choice for players looking to boost survivability in solo and group situations.
HERBALIST
Herbalists focus solely on healing you and your allies, wear light armour and deal no combat damage. In addition to their healing skills, Herbalists also have a healing aura, making them solid back-up healers.
PROTECTOR
Protectors specialize in threatening enemies, pulling their attention away from you and your allies, and onto them. They wear heavy armour and shield to endure higher amounts of incoming damage, but deliver low melee combat damage themselves. Pure damage, support or healing characters benefit greatly from having a Protector Soldier.
SAGE
Specializing in weakening and otherwise hindering enemies, Sages can deliver some damage as well. They wear light armour, and many of their skills hinder foes while also damaging them. When dealing with large groups of enemies, having a Sage around can be incredibly helpful.
WARRIOR
The Warrior specializes in dealing damage to multiple enemies in melee combat, and is the starting Role for every Soldier. They wear medium armor, wield two weapons and deal out high melee damage. Like the Archer Role, Warriors are great for players looking to increase their damage output.
CUSTOMIZATION
Soldiers have a wide variety of customization through Soldier Traits, which give them (and you) various combat bonuses. To customize your Soldier, you spend Skirmish Marks at a Skirmish Trainer; to earn Skirmish Marks you simply play Skirmishes. (More on that later)
Note: Skirmishes also rewards your character with experience points.
You can find Skirmish Camps throughout all of Middle-earth, usually nearby quest hubs and NPC vendors. Speak to a Skirmish Trainer, found at a camp, to learn new Soldier Traits and upgrade existing ones.
Speak to a Skirmish Captain (also found at Skirmish Camps) to equip and un-equip Soldier Traits for a small amount of Silver.
There are four types of Soldier Traits:
- Attribute: These Traits determine a Soldier's Role, race, gender and appearance.
- Skill: These Traits give your Soldier specific Skills to use during a Skirmish.
- Training: These Traits give your Soldier special passive bonuses.
- Personal: These Traits give your Soldier passive bonuses that apply to you, but only while your Soldier is summoned at your side.
If you begin Skirmishes with a high level character, the difficultly curve won't smooth out until you can level your Soldier to an equivalent level. Try lowering the Skirmish difficulty to help make any initial difficulty issues less of a problem.
PROGRESSION
With the release of Rise of Isengard, LOTRO currently features 75 levels for your character to achieve. As you gain those levels, slots for Soldier Traits automatically unlock, allowing you to further improve and customize them.
HOW TO START / JOIN A SKIRMISH
This section covers the two methods of starting a Skirmish in LOTRO. The first method uses the Instance Join panel, found by clicking the Menu button on the bottom left of your User Interface. It's also possible to open the Instance Join panel by pressing 'Ctrl + J' on your keyboard.
Instance Join allows you or your current group to join either a Skirmish or Epic Story-based classic instance. Instances do not award Skirmish Marks, so if you're looking to improve your Soldier (or purchase Skirmish rewards for yourself) make sure you're creating a Skirmish through the 'Skirmish' tab:
After clicking the 'Travel Now' button, you'll be whisked away to your Skirmish of choice. You can also click on 'Travel Later' to minimize this window and come back to it (the Skirmish will automatically cancel after five minutes) or click 'Cancel' to immediately cancel the Skirmish, in case you accidentally opened the wrong one or change your mind.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The in-game tutorial will cover Skirmishes extensively and touch on some of these Soldier topics. Overall, the successful use of Soldiers lies in how you select their Role, skill, training and personal Soldier Traits. Everyone has a different style of play, even within the same character class type.
Even if you buy a new Soldier Trait, such as a new Role or skill, your old Traits remain in your possession. This is also true when you un-equip old Soldier Traits for new ones. So feel free to experiment with your Soldier's customization- in fact, it's very much encouraged!