Feature Article Feedback: Forging Legendary Items, Part 1

[Clover]

Weapons of eldritch power and memorable names are sprinkled throughout the lore of The Lord of the Rings. They are legendary creations of such arcane might that tales of their greatness are spread across all the lands of Middle-earth.

Read more about forging Legendary Items and post your comments here!

[Slayanor]

Awesome.

Can we expect forthcoming information on legendary crafting and how it is intended to measure up? Specifically weaponsmithing? Or more about where we can expect to see the various qualities of Legendary Items come from?

[Alakranus]

Nice article but there is a typo at the beginning. The king of Gondolin was Turgon, not Turon

[TadPrime]

Interesting... I wonder why the legendaries only level to 50? It seems an odd design decision considering the raise in the character level cap and that this was a new system going in.

[Gumawerian]

Some things I'd like to see:

• Weapons with passive skills: a chance to reflect damage back to an attacker, a property that boosts resistances, or the ability to drain power or morale from a foe on a successful hit.
  
• Weapons with active (on use) abilities, such as fear effects, morale-boosting displays, or a 5s daze with an hour-long cooldown.
  
• Weapons with "triggered" effects, such as the ability to shield a character from some damage when they're dazed, or the ability to blind foes with shining light when the characters morale drops below 10%.
  
• Weapons with personalities of their own, like Glamdring and Orcrist -- having a small section for bios that explain why the weapon was forged and where those abilities came from.
  

Sounds like the potential to be a lot more fun than just increasing stats!

[DarkCntry]

Interesting... I wonder why the legendaries only level to 50? It seems an odd design decision considering the raise in the character level cap and that this was a new system going in.

Considering that you can have upwards to 6 active Legendaries all gaining XP and the fact that the XP gained from level 60 mobs at level 60 is ~200 XP max, you'll find that a max level of 50 is somewhat of a godsend

Remember, all legendaries that are slotted in the IA panel will split the gained IXP, meaning 200/6 for each mob killed...now knowing just how much IXP is needed to get a weapon to 50, you'll be somewhat glad it's only to that length

[TadPrime]

Considering that you can have upwards to 6 active Legendaries all gaining XP and the fact that the XP gained from level 60 mobs at level 60 is ~200 XP max, you'll find that a max level of 50 is somewhat of a godsend

Remember, all legendaries that are slotted in the IA panel will split the gained IXP, meaning 200/6 for each mob killed...now knowing just how much IXP is needed to get a weapon to 50, you'll be somewhat glad it's only to that length

That is a bit of a red-herring argument there DarkCntry. They designed the curve to fit what they wanted to do, they could have either done it over 60 levels or started the things at 10 (to avoid the extra reforge).

And you can exclude items from the XP split (I don't remember if that was in a previous writeup or an answer response) and your items split XP like a fellow (in that while 1 item might get 200xp, 2 items would each get less that a single but a total slightly more than 200xp).

It just seems really odd to me that my level 60 character will ultimately be using level 50 items.

[DarkCntry]

That is a bit of a red-herring argument there DarkCntry. They designed the curve to fit what they anted to do, they could have either done it over 60 levels or started the things at 10 (to avoid the extra reforge).

And you can exclude items from the XP split (I don't remember if that was in a previous writeup or an answer response) and your items split XP like a fellow (in that while 1 item might get 200xp, 2 items would get a total slightly more than 200xp).

It just seems really odd to me that my level 60 character will ultimately be using level 50 items.

Uh no...items will split as long as they gain IXP, meaning that if you do have all slots filled then it will divide the IXP amongst them, which is the full amount divided by 6. I do remember this quite clearly from the beta.

Yes, you can disable leveling on each equipped item if you so desire, at the same time you can mix and match what items you want to gain levels. The point I am trying to make is that it will take considerable amounts of time to reach a reforge cap unless you are going to sit for hours on end going for grinds in hopes to gain heritage runes and a considerable amount of 200 IXP kills.

[ararax2]

I really can not wait.

Sounds awesome Hakai!

[Dom12]

Uh no...items will split as long as they gain IXP, meaning that if you do have all slots filled then it will divide the IXP amongst them, which is the full amount divided by 6. I do remember this quite clearly from the beta.

From the Introduction to the Legendary Item System Diary

Item experience from monster kills and quest rewards is automatically split between all of your bound Legendary Items. The earned experience is multiplied and then split between all of the items, with the multiplier increasing as the number of items increases. Much like in a fellowship, the total experience earned among all the items combined is greater than if you were just leveling one item at a time, but each individual item advances slightly slower than it would if you were leveling just one item. If you do wish to focus on a specific item, you can disable leveling on items in the Legendary Item panel.

[Tiamo]

Legendary Items... Pfff...

[TadPrime]

Thanks Dom12, I was just about to go looking for that.

[Doublesith]

"Hadhafang, the weapon of the Elf princess Idril, Elrond’s ancestor, wielded during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and later given to Arwen."

Whoa, major lore faux pas - this sword and its backstory are entirely a movie invention, and not part of Tolkien lore!

[Sildamor]

Remember, all legendaries that are slotted in the IA panel will split the gained IXP, meaning 200/6 for each mob killed...now knowing just how much IXP is needed to get a weapon to 50, you'll be somewhat glad it's only to that length

It actualy works like this:

mob gives 200xp
1 legendary gets 200xp
2 legendaries get 120xp each, 240xp total
...
6 legendaries get ~83xp each, ~500xp total


And aye... man from 50 to 60 its almost double XP... double... 2,7mil to 5,4 mil ish!

[Sildamor]

It just seems really odd to me that my level 60 character will ultimately be using level 50 items.

Legendary items have a level... 51, 53, ..., 60. So you will have a 60 legendary if you want to.

Now, your item power is also measured on a level basis.. and that goes from 1 to 50.

So, a level 53 legendary that has 50/50 is weaker than a 60 legendary 50/50

[captainBA]

Legendary items have a level... 51, 53, ..., 60. So you will have a 60 legendary if you want to.

Now, your item power is also measured on a level basis.. and that goes from 1 to 50.

So, a level 53 legendary that has 50/50 is weaker than a 60 legendary 50/50

Ahh, I didn't catch that one, thanks. So you can have a level 57 sword, that is leveled to say 35 in power (IXP)?

[jmariner]

I thought *orange* items went to 60?...

[captainBA]

I had another question. About the legacies on a weapon. Do those never change, just level? So if my hunter gets a halberd and deconstructs all that comes out are settings/runes, but the legacies stay put?

To further that. If my captain gets a halberd can I add/change legacies? As in put new ones in. I know it has been said for runes and such, but not the legacies. (Unless I missed it) 8)

[Darth_Fleder]

"Hadhafang, the weapon of the Elf princess Idril, Elrond’s ancestor, wielded during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and later given to Arwen."

Whoa, major lore faux pas - this sword and its backstory are entirely a movie invention, and not part of Tolkien lore!

There are are more errors.

http://www.lotro.com/news/256-featur...y-items-part-1
Consider these—

The sword Narsil, the blade wielded by Isuldur (sp) that was shattered by Sauron and Men and was used to cut the One-Ring from the finger of the Dark Lord.

Hadhafang, the weapon of the Elf princess Idril, Elrond’s ancestor, wielded during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and later given to Arwen.

And lastly Glamdring, the defender of Gandalf that glows in the presence of an enemy and is inscribed with runes created by Elves for Turon, the King of Gondolin.

Isildur did not wield Narsil, his father Elendil did. Isildur only wielded the shards long enough to cut the ring off of Sauron's finger. *edit* Also, the only part that Sauron had in shattering Narsil was when he slew Elendil, the sword broke under Elendil as he fell.

Hadhafang. like he said ... the movies are now 'lore'?!?

It was Turgon, not Turon.

Later on and not included in the quote, the plural of Dwarf is dwarves, not dwarfs.

You know, if it wasn't for the lore-breaks being introduced with the RK, I would just chalk these up to simple mistakes....

[Hyetal]

I had another question. About the legacies on a weapon. Do those never change, just level? So if my hunter gets a halberd and deconstructs all that comes out are settings/runes, but the legacies stay put?

To further that. If my captain gets a halberd can I add/change legacies? As in put new ones in. I know it has been said for runes and such, but not the legacies. (Unless I missed it) 8)

If you deconstruct the halberd, the halberd is gone, and so are the legacies. You'll receive a couple of relics which are unrelated to the legacies and relics on the item.

You cannot add or change legacies except randomly when the item is reforged.

[Belegwe]

There are are more errors.



Isildur did not wield Narsil, his father Elendil did. Isildur only wielded the shards long enough to cut the ring of of Sauron's finger

Hadhafang. like he said ... the movies are now 'lore'?!?

It was Turgon, not Turon.

Later on and not included in the quote, the plural of Dwarf is dwarves, not dwarfs.

You know, if it wasn't for the lore-breaks being introduced with the RK, I would just chalk these up to simple mistakes....

Well of course the movies are now lore. Have you not seen how wimpy the elves in Lotro are compared to other races (ala Helm's Deep)? Have you not seen the rendering of Gollum in the Tal Bruinen quest (interesting contrast to the painting in Goblin Town)? I just hope they don't go trying to kill off Haldir... Darn that Peter Jackson for murdering my favorite LOTR elf! HALDIR LIVES ON!!! (or so the protestors say)

[captainBA]

If you deconstruct the halberd, the halberd is gone, and so are the legacies. You'll receive a couple of relics which are unrelated to the legacies and relics on the item.

You cannot add or change legacies except randomly when the item is reforged.

Perfect, thanks for clearing that up for me!

[Sildamor]

I had another question. About the legacies on a weapon. Do those never change, just level? So if my hunter gets a halberd and deconstructs all that comes out are settings/runes, but the legacies stay put?

To further that. If my captain gets a halberd can I add/change legacies? As in put new ones in. I know it has been said for runes and such, but not the legacies. (Unless I missed it) 8)

Legacies work like this:
* Each class has about 30 legacies, about 15 for each item. Main hand has 15, the second one (pocket, bow, javelins...) has 15
* At level 1 your legendary will have 1 to 4 legacies. They are "discovered" when you pay to "identify" your item
* At level 10, 30 and 50 you will get new legacies
* At level 20 and 40 one of your legacies will get a buff (change color/tier)

So if you deconstruct something you will lose that item, but gain some relics (that can be gems, runes or settings and they have 8 tiers of quality). You also gain a heritage rock with 10-50% of its IXP to apply to a new legendary.

So, legacies -> random luck. A orange/epic weapon can have up to 9 legacies, 9 out 15. Big chance to get 2-3 you really wanted to have, but in the end it may have none and ... well.. you will need to restart ^_^.

[VladimirBerkov]

So you could spend a lot of time and effort to level up a weapon to 49 because it has a great legacy then reforge it at level 50 and your awesome legacy could disappear and you might get a new random, totally useless legacy?

[Devero]

One criticism that I hope you will consider. Approximately 7% of men are partially color-blind to a certain extent. The most common being red/green/brown color-blind. This also makes blue and purple difficult to distinguish due to the difference being the red content of the color.
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As you state... "displays the color of the Legendary Item slot it occupies (blue, red, green, yellow, purple, or brown)."
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My suggestion is to use a combination of colors as well as corresponding patterns or some symbol that will aid color-blind folk to be able to distinguish between rarities of items.
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Speaking for myself, I cannot distinguish blue from puple. And most shades of red, green and brown are just that... Shades. For example. Imagine that there is only Green. Red to you may look like a light green to me. Brown might be darker. If the darkness of the three colors are balanced, then they will all appear to be the same.
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