Lv.121 returned player; Wondering I’d better skip Vales of Anduin or not.

[LuminasND]

I stopped playing this game soon after Dol Amroth update and returned about 2 months ago.
I’m in Skarháld, Ered Mithrin doing quests and reached Lv.121 already because I didn’t skip Strongholds of North storyline.

Actually I’m pretty satisfied with the new regions compared to those Gondor days.
However, the Vales storyline seems to have too much quests as I saw in lotro wiki.
And I heard in my language that the regions updated during the last 3 expansion(Minas Morgul, Elderslade, Gundabad) give much better experience in landscape compared to previous regions.
So I’m hesitant that I’d better skip this region, reach level cap first and return later.
I’m curious about other’s opinion.
(I disliked Rohan a bit because the storyline was okay but graphics and lore were underwelming in my standard, Lothlorien the exact opposite, and I would not dare to talk about Gondor.)

[Wilbeard]

I'm in a similar position - lifetimer recently returned after a long absence and just finished the Ered Mithrin content. I guess for me it's even more extreme because doing all the North Mirkwood / Grey Mountains content up to now has got me to level 124. I'd recommend just focusing on the epics through Vales of Anduin with the odd quest here or there to supplement if you're worried about overlevelling.

[wispsong]

You could get the stone of the tortoise if you are interested in the story. I like Vales better than Ered Mithrin. Personal preference.

[DoRonRon]

I'd stone up at cap -10. Can open up lots of mote sources to gear up before going to cap. That gets your character with good stat to ease your way to cap and later the easy access to motes that does the same for lower level alt's progress. Skipping those source/areas has a downside. Finishing up in Skarháld and Minas Morgul opens resource instances that provide guaranteed shards for Ember-worthy crafts (at cap) to combat the heavily reduced note drop rates. It's better to at least do every area the once so you "know" if it's something you can skip the next time. No point in following another player's mistakes without the evidence of your own eyes. The Vales is an enjoyable area to play if not as good as others for going back to for resource gains.

[LuminasND]

Thanks to everyone about all of your precious opinions.

I actually had Covid-19 for the first time, right after I wrote this thread.
I suffered from long-lasting fatigue for quite a long period, so I gave up thoughts about reaching level cap fast and have quick access to some end-game contents, etc.
I am just slowly enjoying the storyline, both epic and normal regional.
Actually end-game solo repeatable contents seem pretty much different from those old days, so I don’t want to become impatient anymore.

You could get the stone of the tortoise if you are interested in the story. I like Vales better than Ered Mithrin. Personal preference.

One youtube creator said that Vales was the best region for him after RoI expansion, and I may agree. It was the best after the Great River to me also. And Minas Morgul Expansion was even better. I’m really looking forward to reach Gundabad.

And although it was too vague in original thread, I was concerned about overleveling not because the landscape contents may become too easy, but actually because I didn’t want to give up the opportunity to reach Lv cap fast. And now I don’t care about that so much. Thank you for your kind advice anyway.

[Gildoriel]

I think it depends on what you want. Lorewise Vales of Anduin gives some interesting stories about Beornings, Radagast and Arwen. So I find myself catching this up on twinks that left it out. Doing the Black Book quests there is a must though if you want to unlock the Black Book epilogue.

[Elmagor]

I enjoy Vales of Anduin, and their questlines can be completed very fast. Only 2 questlines little complicated - with goblins and with Gollum. Vales of Anduin and Minas Morgul questing far better then North Mirkwood or Mordor

[lockecd]

I found after Mordor things were much better. There is rich lore in each area. North MIrkwood has daily quests for motes. Elderslade again has dailies. I like to do all the content at least once myself. As another poster said then you know yourself what to expect. I do advise using the stone of the tortoise. If not, you will have a lot of gray content to catch up. Last but least play how you want to play and have fun.