Noob Conflict Trying to pick the best class for me.

I don't know why I do this too myself , maybe I am a little OCD

I have played all the character classes, thought I would run 5 at the same time, but that would put me going over the same ground 5 times (even though Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves and Humans all go to different places on the big map)

and I find things I like about all of them and things I don't like. so if you suggest one class to focus on from the below that would be helpful

of the classes/races I find attractive

Human Champion ( Likes tough Rough, Plenty of hp to trade...both targeted and AoE Melee attacks, Heavy Armor Dislikes No Ranged attacks, seems one dimensional)

Human Warden (Likes: Both Melee and Ranged Attacks, Shield Action, several fun attacks, fast healing, good for solo play Dislikes Medium Armor, long transition between ranged and melee attacks)

Elf Hunter ( Likes The bow is awesome, trapping Dislikes Poor Melee attacks, Medium Armor and (because I won't play vip so no transporting) seems a little vanilla and worried about becoming weaker in higher levels....less of a solo player because of lacking Melee skills)

Human Lore Master (Likes. I like the ranged attacks and the various attacks, The animal fighters to help in Melee I even like the costumes Dislikes Light Armor still thinking about solo play and much of what a LM can do is for groups)

Hobbit Minstrel (Likes by far the most interesting to play in lower levels, one hit kills, , okay in melee and the hobbit in this is awesome Dislikes from what I heard doesn't thrive in the higher levels and in groups is devolved to mostly healing....not much for solo at the higher levels?)

Dwarves....I don't really like the whole feel of the dwarf thing

Captains.......no...just no (guys following your are around with flags?)

Burglars I prefer a more direct approach


So here is the way I break it down.......


So my Absolutes are:

Good fighter Good Survivor (Champion, Guardian Warden)

My Really Really Want

Ranged and Melee capable...not so much a tank as a DPM ( Warden , Archer, Minstrel (sort of) )

Would like to have
Interesting, Multi Dimensional, Good as a Loner, Good for all levels (Warden, Minstrel?, Lore Master)


It would seem by the above the Warden would be the obvious choice, but I am bugged by how long it takes to go from melee stance to ranged stance ( I am not bothered by the combined attacks, that seems pretty straight forward)

So that leaves me with Minstrel and Lore Master as my other choices.

Unless Champion is not as one dimensional as it appears

So what would you suggest

1. A tough little hobbit Mini

2. Go with the Warden you'll get used to transitions

3. You are under estimating the Lore Master go with it

4 Stick with the bruiser Champion

5. Are you out of your friggin mind choose the __________

3 and 2 I play both a Lore-master and a Warden.

LM is viable both as Solo and in Groups, is the only class that provides Power, when properly traited and equipped can easily handle 2 to 8 mobs depending on type.

Warden is a small fellowship unto themselves, viable solo and in groups, can and usually does handle 10 or more mobs at same time, Warden is a tank and can be DPS (ranged).

Both LM and Warden are advanced classes. With the LM you will have to think about what you are going to do, how you will pull the mob(s), what adds will you get, how are you going to fight them, etc. The Warden just looks, see 10 mobs, throws their Javelin or runs into the middle of the mobs and a few minutes later wonders where are the mobs. There are many Youtube videos showing just what a Warden is capable of if built and played right.

Make no mistake both LM and Warden require you think and analyze. They are advanced classes



A Mini can also solo well and is always wanted in a group, after all they are the primer healer of LOTRO.


Enjoy the game.

The best class for you is just that, the best class for you.

I play hunter, mostly cuz that's what I enjoyed for a long time and after trait trees it was the easiest for me to adjust. I also have a guard. She used to be my go to but now I can't manage more than 2 toons at a time and she got axed for my Captain.

It sounds like you would be looking into warden. I'm not sure what you mean by going from melee to ranged but I think you are talking about switching trees (spec lines). This you cannot do in combat so i'm not sure you will ever get used to that.

I can speak to hunter at higher levels as I have 2 at 100. I'm not really an expert but I play blue, red and yellow.

Ranged: Yup, this is what hunters do. The ####### (sry) usually runs red and does not feel obligated to allow his prey to get in melee range.
Melee: Not so much. In fact I stopped putting points in my sword (LI) dps as I don't ever want to use it/them. For me, the melee weapons are there for stats and bonuses to ranged combat.

Blue line:
Huntsman is nice when you are leveling as you get speed and can run and shoot at the same time. I use it for clearing a low level area deeding or just gathering crafting mats. Normally this means I only need quick shot or barbed arrow. If the mobs are low enough one barbed arrow will eventually kill them. If I had switch outs for this line it would be bleed damage, speed (which doesn't exist anymore) and induction bow/quick shot damage/critical rating. In precision stance this line never runs out of focus. Well it is possible but not likely, especially killing lite blue/green/grey mobs with induction skills.

Red line:
Bowmasters are the real huntards. In a way kinda like AoE champs (i know. what other line is there for champs?) This is very group friendly if you don't mind someone getting "in the zone" and pulling aggro or the whole room... or both. Bowmasters really do not want things to get close. They are the old quarterback that relies on his cannon and not footwork.

Yellow line:
Trapper of Foes needs patience. While you run and gun in blue, yellow makes you set up shots. There is little or no melee involved except... for your traps. At level 100 both of my hunters started out doing Dol Amroth dailies in yellow. They were much more squishy in single target when encountering groups of 3, especially when a sneaky second group showed up, seemingly out of nowhere. Right now I can set up 4 trap skills, start shooting one mob and when I go to the next mob it is mostly dead from sitting in a trap if not dead. If I get jumped I need to move more. Every 8 seconds a trap drops after I've been hit. This allows me to position myself to shoot something that is beating on me. Quick shot can be used as a melee skill in this case. Yellow is not for everybody, but it is useful in situations like this.

Guard is ok for melee. Its hard to kill one. Just recently the guard got a dps boost. Ranged for guard is for pulling only and passively for stat/induction bonuses. Guard has more survivability but champ does much better for dps. Champ only needs to be in single target spec in some group instances, iirc.

At higher levels, what you see with your toons now will be a lot different. If you have toons out of the intro check their trait trees and look at the tool tips to see what changes or gets better as you level up. Look at the capstones as they can be helpful in deciding.

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Originally Posted by Gandolf_TheOld

3 and 2 I play both a Lore-master and a Warden.

LM is viable both as Solo and in Groups, is the only class that provides Power, when properly traited and equipped can easily handle 2 to 8 mobs depending on type.

Warden is a small fellowship unto themselves, viable solo and in groups, can and usually does handle 10 or more mobs at same time, Warden is a tank and can be DPS (ranged).

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Dude, this is painful to read. You make 2 points and both are totally miss informed and wrong. LM is not the only class to have ability to provide power to others and for warden to be doing ranged dps you are doing something seriously wrong. Warden dps is all about melee bleeds and nobody uses ranged traits, and bleed dps itself is the best in the game.

Play anything but a mini, most boring class with the game crawlin with em

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Originally Posted by siipperi

Dude, this is painful to read. You make 2 points and both are totally miss informed and wrong. LM is not the only class to have ability to provide power to others and for warden to be doing ranged dps you are doing something seriously wrong. Warden dps is all about melee bleeds and nobody uses ranged traits, and bleed dps itself is the best in the game.

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Then what other class can provide power? Come on name it.

As far as the pain, take two aspirin and call a Doctor in the morning.

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Originally Posted by Gandolf_TheOld

Then what other class can provide power? Come on name it.

As far as the pain, take two aspirin and call a Doctor in the morning.

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captain does. champion does. rk does.

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Originally Posted by Xhiu

It sounds like you would be looking into warden. I'm not sure what you mean by going from melee to ranged but I think you are talking about switching trees (spec lines). This you cannot do in combat so i'm not sure you will ever get used to that.

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I reckon the OP is referring to the two stances a warden can fight in. 'In the Fray' is for close combat, while 'Assailment' changes all the Warden's gambits to ranged versions. There is a 4.2 second delay when switching between the two if I recall correct, and it can be done during combat.

I rarely, if ever, use the ranged stance on my Wardens, but that's just my preference for melee combat with the class. In my limited experience with it, I find the Warden effectively becomes a shorter ranged medium-high powered Hunter minus the super damage skills (like Heartseeker), slow downs, and roots/traps. The upside would be, I suppose the ability to still handle multiple mobs at the same time. Still, I find in most cases the delay of switching between stances makes it rather impractical to try to use both in the same fight. That's just over 4s where you can't fight back also.

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Originally Posted by bambubambubambu

I reckon the OP is referring to the two stances a warden can fight in. 'In the Fray' is for close combat, while 'Assailment' changes all the Warden's gambits to ranged versions. There is a 4.2 second delay when switching between the two if I recall correct, and it can be done during combat.

I rarely, if ever, use the ranged stance on my Wardens, but that's just my preference for melee combat with the class. In my limited experience with it, I find the Warden effectively becomes a shorter ranged medium-high powered Hunter minus the super damage skills (like Heartseeker), slow downs, and roots/traps. The upside would be, I suppose the ability to still handle multiple mobs at the same time. Still, I find in most cases the delay of switching between stances makes it rather impractical to try to use both in the same fight. That's just over 4s where you can't fight back also.

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Actually derping about with ther Warden again I found the "Hampering Javelin" which is a bleeder attack that can be used in the "In The Fray Stance" that pretty much gives me what I want, which is a couple of ranged hit before the enemy closes...so its all good, no more switching stances. Also the Hampering Javeline actually does more damge than the quick toss, and all the gambits are in the "in the fray, so now one of my two objections to the Warden is gone and I am off and running with it. Thanks guys

(now if only I could suit him in heavy armor ;) )

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Originally Posted by Nexcris

captain does. champion does. rk does.

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Yes they do, but each is limited:

Champ: Second Wind, a Self buff, Recuperate: a mounted combat skill , a self buff. These are traited.

Captain: Inspire a single target Buff, can be a fellowship buff, is really a POT (Power Over Time) power restored is not significant. This is a default skill

Rune-keeper: No Power restoration skills, can trait Prelude of Power which modifies healing skill Prelude of Hope, then can restore power up to 20%, depends how many trait points are spent. A traited skill.

Each of the above are limited and none comes any where near a LM's, default skill, cast of Share the Power single target or the traited Share the Power - Fellowship. One cast of Share the Power can fill the power pool(s) of the target(s). The Captain, Champion nor the RK can do that.

Lets not forget the Eagles passive ICPR buff for the individual and the fellowship.

Filling the targets Power Pool with one cast, now that is giving power.

Only a Lore-master can give power.

Warden Assailment is perfect for cleaning up lower level, especially gray mob, slayer deeds, and a free player will be doing a lot of that to wring every possible TP out of the game. In the Fray for everything else, naturally.

but...

For a F2P, and really, I assume some money will be spent for TP or expansions, Premium player, Hunter has a lot to recommend it.

- Best travel abilities of all classes. Lots of port skills to make up for the lack of Fast Stable rides. At higher levels, these are gained at an easier/lower reputation level than everyone else's Return To skills.

- Constant out of combat movement bonus. Running from quest to quest or mob to mob is 10% or more less tedious.

- A Hunter in Medium armor is a lot tougher than it seems. You can survive a bit of being wailed on, so it only gets a little dicey when you attack one mob and get 2-3 adds. (You can always set a trap or use a root to account for one add and often the second one.)

- Hunter melee is not significant. Mostly it's just the finishing blow. Most combat is: pew pew pew as it runs up to you, it hits you once, you kill it with an autoattack. Also, you can use that bow at point blank range. Use induction skills that build focus points as the mob runs up to you, then use fast focus bow skills along with melee when toe to toe. The mob is dead and your boots got scuffed. :)

I note that you mention Elf Hunter. I'm guessing you're thinking about the bow damage bonus from elves. That gets lost in the noise by level 25 or so, and before that it's only worth a couple of points of damage.

Since you can create at least two characters, here's a roadmap of a suggestion. Create two characters, both Hobbits (yes, Hobbits!).

1. (Main) Hobbit Hunter. Take Explorer vocation for crafting.

2. (Alt) Hobbit Warden. Take Woodworker vocation for crafting.

This pair will be able to make their own armor and weapons (clubs, javelins, spears, and (x)bows). Both will get a bonus with clubs. Both will eventually get the "Hobbit flop" racial skill, which is an "insta-hide and lose all aggro" skill with a 30 min cooldown. Get out of jail twice an hour, although you won't need to use it much at all.

You play your main, and you will get your alt up to level 25-30 easily enough just from crafting. When you hit level 45-50 and can use Legandary Items, the alt will be able to craft all your LIs except for War Horse bridles, and your Hunter will be able to make those.

If you get a little bored with Hunter, you can play your alt and explore the intricacies of Warden Gambits. There's a lot of room for swapping between two different playstyles here.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

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Originally Posted by HardestyGrimwall

Actually derping about with ther Warden again I found the "Hampering Javelin" which is a bleeder attack that can be used in the "In The Fray Stance" that pretty much gives me what I want, which is a couple of ranged hit before the enemy closes...so its all good, no more switching stances. Also the Hampering Javeline actually does more damge than the quick toss, and all the gambits are in the "in the fray, so now one of my two objections to the Warden is gone and I am off and running with it. Thanks guys

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Ah very good then! I didn't intend for my post to sound negative, by the way. The Warden is one awesome class to play! My third favorite class behind Hunters and Burgs.

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(now if only I could suit him in heavy armor ;) )

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The class was designed with the medium armour in mind, but if you want your character to 'appear' to be wearing heavy armour you can use the outfit tabs on the cosmetic panel of your character screen. Cosmetic outfits are a fun way to personalize the look of your characters.

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Originally Posted by Gandolf_TheOld

Yes they do, but each is limited:

Champ: Second Wind, a Self buff, Recuperate: a mounted combat skill , a self buff. These are traited.

Captain: Inspire a single target Buff, can be a fellowship buff, is really a POT (Power Over Time) power restored is not significant. This is a default skill

Rune-keeper: No Power restoration skills, can trait Prelude of Power which modifies healing skill Prelude of Hope, then can restore power up to 20%, depends how many trait points are spent. A traited skill.

Each of the above are limited and none comes any where near a LM's, default skill, cast of Share the Power single target or the traited Share the Power - Fellowship. One cast of Share the Power can fill the power pool(s) of the target(s). The Captain, Champion nor the RK can do that.

Lets not forget the Eagles passive ICPR buff for the individual and the fellowship.

Filling the targets Power Pool with one cast, now that is giving power.

Only a Lore-master can give power.

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With prelude of hope you dont even lose power. Both captain and RK restores are really powerful and should not be looken down. With captain using it your FS won't even lose power.

Late edit. I want to point out that only classes with power problems in pve are nowdays pretty much only wardens and burglars and that's with warden not using power restore gambit, if warden decides to rotate it you wont lose power. For rest classes, well they dont really consume power when rightly built with food. So ability to give power outside of pvp is highly irrelevant in the first place but I still think captain is often more than enough.

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Originally Posted by Gandolf_TheOld

Yes they do, but each is limited:

Only a Lore-master can give power.

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Blue line Captain's Fellowship Power Restore and PoT from Song Brother's Inspire and the Fellowship Power Restore from rallying cry on a defeat event, are enough to keep a group's power maxed out for even the longest fights. Blue Captains are clearly the #1 best source of Power for a fellowship.

Red Captain Power Restore is not bad either - and alongside other players using their personal power restores effectively, most groups will have no problems.

In raid situations, not much a cappy can do for the other 6 players without switching groups!