New Class Trait Point from "Ash & Star" questline

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Originally Posted by danielbrown1969

Imagine all the players who do not browse these forums and will likely never be aware of this valuable class trait point. There is no such thing as 'too much information' and this information should be provided by the game developer. You then have the option of not reading it and exploring the game as you desire and getting your full enjoyment out of it - while I then have a similar option to read the information and use it accordingly. I work 10-12 hours daily currently and do not have time to explore every nook and cranny that the game has to offer. Would it have - IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM - diminished the game's content with a detailed release note of U16's added content? I think not.

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If the player does not browse the forums, then a detailed release note will not help either, since they won't find it anyway. The only work around here is having the information found in-game somehow, which could really hurt the "environment immersion" factor, which is huge in this game. The Star-lit crystals, legacy replacement scrolls, and crystals of remembrance could be much more important to players now, and those would have to be in the notes as well. And, I don't think quests count as "nook and cranny", but as a major part of the update that is easily found in quest hubs, but that is my opinion only.

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Originally Posted by olanath

If the player does not browse the forums, then a detailed release note will not help either, since they won't find it anyway. The only work around here is having the information found in-game somehow, which could really hurt the "environment immersion" factor, which is huge in this game. The Star-lit crystals, legacy replacement scrolls, and crystals of remembrance could be much more important to players now, and those would have to be in the notes as well. And, I don't think quests count as "nook and cranny", but as a major part of the update that is easily found in quest hubs, but that is my opinion only.

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I did the epic quest line and received the empowerment scroll, star-lit and remembrance. I have not done every quest in each of the new zones (obviously or I would have known about this extra class trait point). I would not suggest having release notes found in-game as that would perhaps force a potential spoiler for those that wish to play the game spoiler free. I would however suggest a simple link on the log-in page - something like "U16 Update complete details here" and then a person could choose to click or not click. Of course that link would have to actually have the information at the other end :) Quite simply there is no (valid) reason NOT to have such a link and such information available.

I've always found this to be helpful and accurate - and it includes the 75th trait point:

https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Class_Trait_Point

Usually they do include a short list of what's included in the new content. They also did provide information with U16 - dev diaries on both the instance cluster and imbuement. Now, neither of those dev diaries go into the full detail that some player walkthroughs do, but this is for a number of very obvious reasons. They're turning a major LI system change into a digestible amount of text (Dadi's guide, which is thorough and excellent, still overwhelms some casual players in my kins). They don't want to give a complete step-by-step walkthrough on some content because the whole point of the game is to play the content and decide what works best for you (either instance strategies or LI setups). Dev-given step-by-steps run the risk of implying 'this is how it should be done' when some players might want to do things a different way.

A 75th trait point is valuable and, yes, could've been included for minimal effort. Some people would still miss it and would still complain about "lack of information." I've seen dozens of questions asking if Osgiliath is a Big Battle, despite the dev diary, live stream, and release notes. They could've included an FYI about the traitpoint, and they didn't, which is regrettable, but it doesn't seem like something to burn the farm over.

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Originally Posted by danielbrown1969

Well, considering that the entire HD expansion pack had 5 such points .. this is indeed fairly big not to have a release not concerning.

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1 trait point means sod all, particularly given that most people will have got everything they want from a primary trait line, and as such 1 more point, unless you've got 1 spare, won't make a difference to the other trait lines.

How about you just play through the quests of the region, and then get the trait point when you've finished them? Its not as if this trait point is locked away in a hidden deed...

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Originally Posted by Eldarian_Grace

Find the path plus hobbit present run buff is. (5% IIRC) where as 15% buff alone is not.

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I've done it with just the 15% hunter buff, was very very close, but I made it ok. Just face the right way - the direction you intend going on the first lever (left lever in my case), and hit forward as soon as it registers, no need to wait until the full animation has ended. Run to the right lever, face the right way, open, then run to the middle, right click the lever before you get to it and run through the gate as soon as it registers and it's enough time.

I'll double check it again later, just in case i had an old run buff on and didn't notice, but I'm pretty sure that isn't the case.

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Originally Posted by danielbrown1969

I am happy that you enjoy the game in this manner. I am 'more happy' that you have the option to play the game in this manner. My point, if your thread was indeed aimed at my comment, is that I do not have such an option. Imagine all the players who do not browse these forums and will likely never be aware of this valuable class trait point. There is no such thing as 'too much information' and this information should be provided by the game developer. You then have the option of not reading it and exploring the game as you desire and getting your full enjoyment out of it - while I then have a similar option to read the information and use it accordingly. I work 10-12 hours daily currently and do not have time to explore every nook and cranny that the game has to offer. Would it have - IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM - diminished the game's content with a detailed release note of U16's added content? I think not.

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No, it wasn't in reply to your specific comment. It was to the general comments along that line (a couple others were sharing the same sentiment that you did).

I'm not necessarily happy that others don't enjoy the game as much when they don't have a guide to walk them through it. I just disagree that it is the company's job to provide every last scrap of information that might be relevant to someone, and I disagree with the suggestion that Turbine is one of the few who do not do that. The vast majority of gaming companies I've ever come across leave a lot to be discovered by the players. As more players explore the content, more information comes up. It would seem a fairly reasonable thing to wonder if there might be some good reward at the end of some sort of content. With Hytbold, many players wondered if maybe we'd get a 1st ager symbol or something like that after rebuilding the whole town. A couple titles and story conclusion was disappointing to many, but just about every player I came across was asking: are the rewards worth the 44+ day grind?

So with the new instances, it would seem natural for players to ask the same thing. Am I missing out on any special rewards if I do not run the content? Instead of demanding and expecting Turbine to tell us everything, it's only too easy to ask on the forums or in-game (/world maybe) if anyone has completed the content yet and if there's any shiny rewards at the end. The information is there. Turbine does not need to be the one to provide it.

And if the information was shared by Turbine, it would probably be in the release notes. A lot of people read them to see what sort of changes might have been made to their classes. Especially considering U16 brought imbuement (as I said, guides for new systems are pretty important). If the release notes was filled with a bunch of spoilers (whether about rewards like trait points or otherwise), then players would end up seeing stuff that they didn't want to see, thus removing any option we have of simply not looking.

I can appreciate that you work long shifts. But consider the recent deeds where we find treasure caches. Working as much as you do and not having the time to explore every nook and cranny would make it hard to find all the locations on your own. So would you expect Turbine to put the coordinates in the release notes? If you want to know exactly where they are, so that you don't waste time exploring, why spoil it for everyone else? Just wait until the coords start appearing in wiki and then go find them. Having spoiler-style information in the release notes just ruins it for those who want to find out on their own.

Just wanna chime in to ask where one might begin this quest chain. Are there any prerequisites? This information is not available on the wiki.

Love the scenery of the new areas, just not interested in much more than that.

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Originally Posted by Constrictions

Just wanna chime in to ask where one might begin this quest chain. Are there any prerequisites? This information is not available on the wiki.

Love the scenery of the new areas, just not interested in much more than that.

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If you just quest through the new region (not the epic) you eventually get access. I'm not sure if it requires finishing the entire region or just the osgiliath line.

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Originally Posted by Vulcwen

If you just quest through the new region (not the epic) you eventually get access. I'm not sure if it requires finishing the entire region or just the osgiliath line.

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I think you only need to do the Osgiliath quest line - which starts at the culverts, inside Osgiliath. From there, you need to assist 4 rangers scattered throughout the city, and then you should get the first part of the Ashes and Stars quest line.

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Originally Posted by Constrictions

Just wanna chime in to ask where one might begin this quest chain. Are there any prerequisites? This information is not available on the wiki.

Love the scenery of the new areas, just not interested in much more than that.

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To confirm, I have not done any questing in the new zones (yet). This weekend I simply went to the culvert in Ogli and the NPC there gave me a quest (iirc it was Lost but not Forgotten or something like that) to find 4 rangers. I found them and reported back to this NPC inside the Culvert who then gave me the Ashes and Star quest. It is the consensus of the majority of the players that T2 is pretty hard and T1 isn't worth doing (based on the rewards) .... so, my two cents is to set the instances to level 50 and complete the Stars and Ashes in this manner. No stress and can be solo'd - but this of course is up to you. When done, simply talk to NPC again and get your class trait point.

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Originally Posted by thinx

No. Coffee alone is not enough.

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Coffee alone was enough for me, I played the lever part with my lore-master and my only speed boost was from the coffee.

Sergio :-)