Is there a way to bypass Moria?

I don't know what it is, but every time I get a character into Moria, I hate it. I love everything pre-Moria, and love Lothlorien and Mirkwood, but there's something about Moria that makes me dread leveling a character through there. Maybe I'm claustrophobic, I don't know...

Will there be a way in the future to use alternate routes of leveling, ie. other 52-60 areas, instead of being forced into the Mines? I mean, we can level 20-30+ in either the North Downs or the Lone Lands, we can level 40+ in either Forochel or Angmar, but we're forced to go through Moria to get to 60. :(

Skirmishes?

There's more than enough to keep you going up to level 52 ish if you do group content. You can head out to The dale at 57 ish. That leaves 52-57.

One option - skirmishes. Note that you need to get rep with the Guards to get your legendary so make sure to buy lots of the rep items.

Also to get your other legendary, you need to complete Volume 2 up to book 6, so you'll want to do that in there too.

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Originally Posted by arthorian

Skirmishes?

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Originally Posted by geoboy

One option - skirmishes. Note that you need to get rep with the Guards to get your legendary so make sure to buy lots of the rep items.

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Unfortunately, on-level skirmishes only give out about 4k of XP, where as quests in Moria give out about 6k of XP.

Although one thing I just though of was deeds. They give over 7k of XP. However, I'd have to do about 20-30 deeds per level to level up, and I don't think there's enough out there to get me to 60, plus I'd have to do the ones in Moria to get there anyway.

Maybe a mix of deeds and skirmishes would work.

/petitions Turbine to bring +25% skirmish XP bonus back

I managed to reach level 55 (on the RK I'm leveling) so far and all I've done in Moria are volume 2 books 1, 2 and part of 3 and a few random quests the Durin's Threshold and a couple around Dolven. I could probably get to 56 by going back and finishing deeds in in Eregion or questing some up in East Angmar or High Pass.

When Moria released, I was able to hit L55 in Eregion by doing all quests and some deeds, including at least 3 (iirc) full slayer deeds, with rest bonus. I'd imagine if you hit Angmar and Forochel hard even up to L51-52, then Eregion and Moria Vol 2 prologue, then skirmishes, then on towards Lothlorien, Moria is skippable as it is. You'd be skipping earning some class traits though, which depending on your class might be important.

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Originally Posted by lf2536

I managed to reach level 55 so far and all I've done in Moria are volume 2 books 1, 2 and part of 3 and a few random quests the Durin's Threshold and a couple around Dolven. I could probably get to 56 by going back and finishing deeds in in Eregion or questing some up in East Angmar or High Pass.

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Yeah, I've actually started clearing up old/undone quests in East Angmar and Forochel as I still need some of my book pages, but they only give out about 1,200 XP. Will have to see about completing deeds in those areas as well.

I'm at level 57 with one character has has done nothing in Moria except the start of Vol II to gain access and get his LI. (I prefer Pre-Moria LOTRO to Moria LOTRO, so am staying out of the Mines as long as possible)

Yes, you can bypass Moria if you like. No, you will not run out of things to do. No, you do not have to skirmish until your eyes bleed to keep leveling.

After taking the first 2 or 3 alts through Moria, I quickly got tired of it, so I would do just enough to get my toon(s) to lvl 55 (didn't have to do many quests once I got to Dovlen View by that point). Once I hit 55, I had friends who would summon me to the First Hall using their captains or summoning horns from Loth and I was good to go :)

Several of my characters were 54 when they finally entered Moria. Two left by the east exit at 55. You can start doing quests in the Lothlorien area at 55.

Depending on class your mileage may vary. My captain was able to do all four of elf reputation quests at 55. The repeatables are every two hours. It was not long before Eal got her visa stamp was past the one shots. There is lots of quests inside that are easy to do at 55. Soon you can get your city permit. Lots of quests like flet runner that are no combat.

I did not do a lot of Moria quests with my captain. She is back inside at 65 working on her deeds. All she got is slow goat everywhere.

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Originally Posted by KouklaGirl

Unfortunately, on-level skirmishes only give out about 4k of XP, where as quests in Moria give out about 6k of XP.

/petitions Turbine to bring +25% skirmish XP bonus back

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They dropped the crazy XP bonus from skirmishes? When I was leveling my warden I could get half a level doing a couple skirmishes in my 30s. That would be a shame if they dropped that bonus.

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Originally Posted by Happyfish

They dropped the crazy XP bonus from skirmishes? When I was leveling my warden I could get half a level doing a couple skirmishes in my 30s. That would be a shame if they dropped that bonus.

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Gone. Turbine decided people were grinding skirmishes for levels. It went away with Volume 3, Book 1. The daily quest is the same xp reward for all levels. The 4k daily is a sweet supplement for a 30.

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Originally Posted by Yula_the_Mighty

Several of my characters were 54 when they finally entered Moria.

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My most recent alt entered the Mines at about 54 and a half, with a number of Eregion (and probably Forochel and Angmar quests) uncompleted--I just got the quest deeds in each area. I did finish all of the Volume I Epic though. It's not a terribly efficient way to level but there's a lot of XP there.

(And note that some of the quests are still a pain.)

You can "easily" get to L56 Before entering Moria (you can probably do the last 2 or so just doing V2B1 lol) by doing a Lot of quests in the Pre-Mom "end" game area - NE MM (Goblin Town), Eastern Angmar, Eregion, Forochel, and pretty much V1Book 8 - B15 which, IIRC are level 48+. At 56, just by-pass Moria itself (multiple ways) and start doing quests in Nimrodel(?) tho you might have some issues fighting L58-60 mobs depending on class (i've seen L55 LMs fighting them and I was L57 at the earliest on my Hunter). If you're not in too much of a rush, there's a couple of quests there that can be done (solo) earlier and all of them can be done if you have friends helping you (l54 Is the lowest i think).

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Originally Posted by Yula_the_Mighty

Gone. Turbine decided people were grinding skirmishes for levels. It went away with Volume 3, Book 1. The daily quest is the same xp reward for all levels. The 4k daily is a sweet supplement for a 30.

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So people were leveling too fast even for Lotro standards? I know there's a punchline here but I just cant find it right now.

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Originally Posted by willwheels

My most recent alt entered the Mines at about 54 and a half, with a number of Eregion (and probably Forochel and Angmar quests) uncompleted--I just got the quest deeds in each area. I did finish all of the Volume I Epic though. It's not a terribly efficient way to level but there's a lot of XP there.

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I only had Eregion and Book 15 to work with. Everybody was level capped at 50 when Moria opened. I got four levels in Eregion 50-54 with my hunter by doing the quests and all the kill deeds.

The two newest characters were 50 and early in Volume 1. Once Moria opened nobody was doing books like 7, 8 and 10.

I read that the bonus was added as incentive to get people to play them. After deciding that boon was not needed, it was removed.

I have a friend in my kin who is level 58 and hasn't been into Moria and doesn't play skirmishes, so it is possible to "bypass" Moria in that way.

Kill 2.4 million boars.

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Originally Posted by b.e.wilson

Kill 2.4 million boars.

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I'd be boared after killing that many of them.

Yes -- the last toon i leveled up spend about 20 minutes in moria -- purely a run through to get from erigion to lothlorien! if you are pursuing doing quests and content -- there are more than enough between angmar, forochol, and erigion to get you to 54-55 range without thinking. Add a few skirmishes for some extra juice and you'll have no problem skipping the hole altogether.

I can understand your apprehension about Moria. It's by design a dark and depressing area - very well designed, too. I also like Lothlorien way better as well.

BUT...try to grit your teeth and do Moria anyway, if you can. The Waterworks and Durin's Way are pretty cool for getting grouped quests and getting them done efficiently without dealing with much of the "dark expanse". Plus, the older areas (outside of Forochel) have just awful accessibility. It takes just entirely too long to get from place to place. Moria also has better virtue grinds than anywhere else (imo). If the grind requirement on Angmar deeds were lower (I'm looking at you, 400+ Angmarim :mad:), it would be a great alternative for virtue buffing.

Don't forget the great quest rewards in Moria, too! :)

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Originally Posted by KouklaGirl

I don't know what it is, but every time I get a character into Moria, I hate it. I love everything pre-Moria, and love Lothlorien and Mirkwood, but there's something about Moria that makes me dread leveling a character through there. Maybe I'm claustrophobic, I don't know...

Will there be a way in the future to use alternate routes of leveling, ie. other 52-60 areas, instead of being forced into the Mines? I mean, we can level 20-30+ in either the North Downs or the Lone Lands, we can level 40+ in either Forochel or Angmar, but we're forced to go through Moria to get to 60. :(

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Gandalf tried it. I don't recommend his method. :D

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Originally Posted by Sapience

Gandalf tried it. I don't recommend his method. :D

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I don't know, all in all he came out ahead after that falling of the bridge thing.

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Originally Posted by lf2536

I don't know, all in all he came out ahead after that falling of the bridge thing.

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There should be rails on that bridge... unbelievable. Occupational Saftey and Health would have had a field day in Moria.

To the OP, you really only have to spend 2-3 levels in Moria if you don't like it that much, doesn't have to be something to dread. My Guard is my 3rd toon through there and he basically picked the 'easiest' quests that resolved within short distances of the quest givers and quickly moved between zones. Only spent one night in the FoS this time round... man I hate that place *shudder*. Even the ambient music (if you can call it that) gives me the creeps!

Out into Lothlorien at 56 and enjoy the sunshine.

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Originally Posted by Sapience

Gandalf tried it. I don't recommend his method. :D

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If he didn't "abuse his power" and break the bridge, it would make for a much quicker trek to the first hall and out into Lorien.

You should be able to hit ~53 just from doing Forochel, MM, and Angmar. Then move to Eregion and should be able to get to 55. If you have only been leveling while you have full rest xp, this gets much easier. The hard part is going from 55-57. If you have someone you can group with, then just go straight to Lothlorien. If not, you'll have to grind out skirmishes and deeds for a bit. Again, make sure you have rest xp! Once you hit 57, head to lothlorien and do the quests in the Dale. Be sure to grab the repeatable quests every chance you can for extra xp and needed rep. You can easily get to 62/63 from the various repeatable quests in the Dale and within the Wood.

My minstrel is 64 right now, and has only done gray quests in Moria, nothing in Mirkwood, and very minimal skirmishing. It is entirely possible.

To the OP, I totally understand how you feel. I love Moria but man, I hate Angmar because that place depresses me. I do book 6 and then I get the heck out.

Having been down this road with my main, I will tell you this, the effort lost not going into Moria is only exacerbated later on.

Perhaps my issue was that I tried to the do "minimum" of quests needed to do in an area in my attempt to reach level cap (which a friend of mine was at). In the end I realized the error of my ways in Mirkwood; at level 62 I had neither the needed legendary traits, nor the gear to really survive there.

I quickly realized that this problem went as far back as level 55, which I painstakingly tried to solo the Lorien repeatables because I hated Moria; it was depressing and confusing and I spent more time trying to get around than doing anything of value. The repeatables which I had been told were "Soloable" were FAR from it when considering my traits and gear.

The legendary trait issue is one that Moria wouldn't have solved by any means; I had to farm the mobs in Eregion, Angmar, Forochel or Goblin Town to get these "quickly". But that problem relates to Moria in the sense of how I have leveled through out much of the game; as quickly as I could, glancing through areas I hated.

In that respect, Pre-MoM LoTRO had options for me. Even after Moria there was some degree of choice in the matter; stick it out for 5 levels and head into Lorien instead. But anything even touched by MoM's hands and ESPECIALLY SO for SoM required due diligence in every area before it.

But my experience was greatly affected by my choices earlier on. And I would advocate not even entering Moria without at least a number legendary traits at one's disposal, let alone leaving.

And at the same time I would simply advocate dealing with it. Had I dealt with Moria and all its rewards, I may have spared myself at least a shred of heartache later on.

Added:

Or at least realized my need for legendary traits and virtues and grinded those out earlier...

Actually you can leave Moria at 55, as long as you have someone to group with.

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Originally Posted by henry316

I'm at level 57 with one character has has done nothing in Moria except the start of Vol II to gain access and get his LI. (I prefer Pre-Moria LOTRO to Moria LOTRO, so am staying out of the Mines as long as possible)

Yes, you can bypass Moria if you like. No, you will not run out of things to do. No, you do not have to skirmish until your eyes bleed to keep leveling.

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^^^THIS^^^

Though you will miss out on some class traits (as mentioned previously be someone else) and the quests that allow you to change the title on your "legendary" weapons.

My plan is to completely skip Moria except for the above.

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Originally Posted by geoboy

There's more than enough to keep you going up to level 52 ish if you do group content. You can head out to The dale at 57 ish. That leaves 52-57.

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You could head to the dale at 45 if you really wanted to :-) Of course, combat will be tough, but 56 would be doable I would think for some characters.

Also you don't have to enter Moria either at 52. I've got a level 56 character who has never entered it and who hasn't done any Eregion quests. I suspect I can hit 57 easily just from remaining quests (I did run through enough to get stable routes).

I think you're selling yourself short if you skip Moria. I'm not sure how many times the OP has been through, but my second and third times were much smoother and more enjoyable.

There are some key conveniences in Moria that you don't get until you hit Loth such as crafting and decent swift travel. Later on having the 21st swift travel from Loth is very nice. When you have to go back through to do epics it's very nice to have the other swift travel routes.

You don't have to spend a ton of time leveling there, but make sure you spend enough time there to get the goodies.

When I first went through Moria (on an RK), by the time I left at 57 I was so sick of that pit that I swore I'd never level through there again, if I could at all avoid it. But now that I'm working on two Alts (a Mini and a WArden) that are approaching Moria, I'm actually looking forward to taking them through. So much so that I've pretty much stopped doing regular zone quests (other than those that I just happen to complete in my travels), in favor of Epic quests, daily Skirmishes, and killing appropriate mobs for Legendary pages.

Yes, this will be a little "grindy", but my hope is to complete all of Vol. 1 before entering Moria. I'll do enough of Vol. 2 to get my Legendary, but otherwise I'll be staying away from Vol. 2 quests and Moria itself. I'm interested to see how far I'll level doing it this way, and just how much of the Moria content I'll turn green or grey before getting to it. If it gets to be too much being missed, I'll probably adjust my strategy, but I hope not.

To the OP, I dunno if yer asking cuz you've already been through on a different character, but if not, MAN did I know how you feel. I was dreading Moria. HATED IT for the first few days, but as I kept plugging away, I was actually amazed at how HUGE it is. There are a variety of environments and the artwork is amazing. I soloed pretty much my entire way through it, and even though the place irked me MANY times, it was worth it for the views and rewards. I still have lots to do in there but I figure I can clean it up later when I'm done with Mirkwood. Figure it'll be a while before the next expansion anyway ;-)

My most recent char was a burglar. I entered Moria at 54, like 1 bar from 55. I didn't quite finish Mirobel otherwise I would of been 55. Ran DV/SL quests, hit 56. Then I went straight through 21st, then to the 1st hall and outside into the sunlight. I did loth to like 59.5, then started on mirkwood. I'm now 62 and doing fine.

So you can skip a lot of Moria. If I had of skirmished for like 1-1.5 levels I could of skipped all of it. I just wasn't really that motivated to skip it since moria is ok in my book. Loth offers much faster leveling though.

Entered Moria at half way through 57 on my burg. Ran through the quests I knew, did the daily IXP instance at DV, skipped any quest that even began to irritate me, did NO group quests, did get Orc, Worm, Goblin and Spider Slayer and was out just into 59. I do not blame anyone who wants to skip Moria, and I think you can in fact ignore a lot of it.

Rest XP is great. :)

Funny, those different strokes...

I'm taking an RK through Moria right now and have really been appreciating it after putting 3 toons through Mirkwood. Moria was awesome, really. The spaces are amazing IMO, but it's a maze in places and the mob density is pretty thick. You need patience to level through it.

Rather than taking my other 2 60's through Mirkwood, I decided I'd rather go back and start from 1 than do Mirkwood again - and I'm still not looking forward to it.

I delay going to Moria untill forced to, then get to The Orc Watch and just grind there. Very lucrative area actually with a lot of LI drops, plus a good variety of other stuff including more "dwarf tools" for yet more LI's. I admit I do not mind a grind, but I do find that a profitable and quick area to level untill I can manage Lothlorien.
Do not bypass Moria totally but certainly pass through without too much of a problem, I do not quest in Moria
I have the advantage or a partner who will escort me to the major bind points and stables. Getting to the First Hall to enter Lothlorien is not a problem for me, with an escort.

I entered Eregion at lvl 51, made it to 56 before entering Moria, walked directly to the pre-Lorien zone where I leveled to 60. Just using the repeatables and some one-time quests, I've made it to 65 within Lorien.

All of this while doing little in Moria at all. I'm going back and working the Epics solo now. I'll likely, finally, begin to do the Shire as well. Truly you don't have to tow the line to level in this game.

You should be able to get to 54-55 before moria, then leave moria at 55.

Also, they increased the rep on the 4 elves quest, last time I did it I did not even have to wait the 2 hours

Farm the level 55 signatures in breeland...

Yea, that'd get old... but it'd be something to do.

I think there are like 4 to 6 daily quests associated with them.

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Originally Posted by Yula_the_Mighty

Several of my characters were 54 when they finally entered Moria. Two left by the east exit at 55. You can start doing quests in the Lothlorien area at 55.

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This is sort of what I did on my Guard, but I like Moria so I went back. I hit Eregion and Forchel until 45 when I did the LI bit, and then went straight to Loth at 55. The Loth grind has been drastically reduced so I only had to do each quest once to gain entrance to Loth proper which grants immediate access to mirkwood. I finished the mirk intro at 58. I barely touched Forchel and have 2 quest camps plus about 12 group quests unfinished in Angmar. All this to say, I think there is plenty of on-level content and a possible path to skip parts of the game you don't enjoy.

Has anybody ever totally skipped Moria and not even gotten a Legendary?

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Originally Posted by Ualtar

Has anybody ever totally skipped Moria and not even gotten a Legendary?

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LOL, you have to get your first Legendary to enter Moria. And you can't get through Moria to Lothlorien unless you actually go through Moria.

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Originally Posted by redwoodtreesprite

LOL, you have to get your first Legendary to enter Moria. And you can't get through Moria to Lothlorien unless you actually go through Moria.

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Was thinking a Captain stands on the other side of Moria and summons me, thus allowing me to never step foot in that dark festering hole.

Im not sure, but I think you have to actually be able to go into Moria before you can leave it (go to Nimrodel)...

Would be nice if you could bypass Moria if you did it already. I did it once as a Warden and by 54 I couldnt wait to get out of the place for good... I still go back in for this and that, and because of some quests I want to finish.

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Originally Posted by Ualtar

Was thinking a Captain stands on the other side of Moria and summons me, thus allowing me to never step foot in that dark festering hole.

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It will say you don't meet the requirements or something along those lines. You also can't summon people into Lothlorien or Mirkwood this way.

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Originally Posted by redwoodtreesprite

LOL, you have to get your first Legendary to enter Moria.

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Correct.

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And you can't get through Moria to Lothlorien unless you actually go through Moria.

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Unless this is a new thing... Incorrect. As long as you can Access Moria (i.e. finish V2B1) which includes getting your 1st LI, you can get to Lothlorien without "physically" going through Moria.

My character is currently 57 and I haven't touched Moria except to get the LI for completing the epic quest in volume 1. I still have a ton more content that I could do.

I haven't even been inside CD or Uru yet. I still haven't finished Volume 1. I haven't even run a skirmish since 35. I rarely have any rested xp. It looks to me like there's enough content to skip as much of Moria as you want.

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Originally Posted by JeanCarlo

As long as you can Access Moria (i.e. finish V2B1) which includes getting your 1st LI, you can get to Lothlorien without "physically" going through Moria.

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That is a good point... you can technically skip Moria by only doing the intro quests, then getting a summon and you never have to step into the mines; however, you can't skip "Moria" and get by without visiting the gates, and you certainly can't go any further without a LI as Ualtar was asking.

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Originally Posted by Herohtar

That is a good point... you can technically skip Moria by only doing the intro quests, then getting a summon and you never have to step into the mines; however, you can't skip "Moria" and get by without visiting the gates, and you certainly can't go any further without a LI as Ualtar was asking.

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The intro, especially the expedition quest rewards are worth the time anyway. That gear is good into the mid 50s and you can start the quests at 45 and get the gear and LIs by 46+.

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Originally Posted by Herohtar

That is a good point... you can technically skip Moria by only doing the intro quests, then getting a summon and you never have to step into the mines; however, you can't skip "Moria" and get by without visiting the gates, and you certainly can't go any further without a LI as Ualtar was asking.

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Technically, when Volume 2 Book 1 ends, you get dumped into the Moria threshold. So you have to at least step into the mines.

It's certainly possible to skip Moria, but it's hardly the ideal leveling path. Those intro Lorien quests are going to be rough at 55. You could grind out Eregion mobs and deeds all the way up to level 60.

Bottom line: It can be done, but you have to really want to do it. I don't think it's worthwhile.

There are no muster points or campfires in Lothlorien so you have to go thru Moria to get there. If there was then I wouldn't have to go to 21st hall first then to the 1st hall then into Lothlorien

Getting the muster/hunter camp in the Mirkeves would be more ideal than porting to 21st hall all the time. And you can always mapbind to any of the milestones in Lorien.

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Originally Posted by Rhoric

There are no muster points or campfires in Lothlorien so you have to go thru Moria to get there. If there was then I wouldn't have to go to 21st hall first then to the 1st hall then into Lothlorien

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Not if you have a captain summon you (or anyone who has the barter summoning horns).

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Originally Posted by KouklaGirl

Will there be a way in the future to use alternate routes of leveling, ie. other 52-60 areas, instead of being forced into the Mines? I mean, we can level 20-30+ in either the North Downs or the Lone Lands, we can level 40+ in either Forochel or Angmar, but we're forced to go through Moria to get to 60. :(

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I sympathize and wish there were an alternate route. Like many others, I feel claustrophobic in Moria and was constantly lost my first time through. It was frustrating to have to take a half-hour to do a simple quest simply because I couldn't find my way through to the object/mob I needed. I also agree wholeheartedly with those who point out that the developers really hit the nail on the head with Moria in terms of how it feels and looks; it's magnificent in its scope - it feels like a real dwarf kingdom, and the many dark twists and turns filled with mobs seems "right" in terms of how Moria would be.

That being said, perhaps the devs created the game w/o an alternate route to mimic what the Fellowship went through. Moria was their last choice of route, and they were forced to go through it to get to the other side. It sure feels good getting out into Lothlorien, though the first time my reaction was, "What the....?!?" because as soon as you get outside it's still rocky and brown instead of green and lush. Thankfully the green comes a very short distance away :D

I wrote this almost a year ago, and it still seems to be relevant. Wish it wasn't, but... Maybe in time, an alternate leveling path will be made available.

http://my.lotro.com/amonceleb/2009/0...a-confessions/

I leveled to 60 on my Lore-master before I took on Moria. After I brightened the darkness in the Options UI, I could see much, much better!

My only complaint about Moria was that I got lost all the time...When I enter a region I like to hightail it to every stable-master available within that region. I find then I am better able to take on higher level mobs because I know where everything is; psychological advantage perhaps. Moria doesn't really afford me this luxury due to broken paths and dead ends into deep caverns ... and I hate getting lost, LOL !

However, I found Moria art design brilliant, a very "underground" feel to it, and by the time I got to Lothlorien I actually felt like I had come out of the dark and dank and could breathe fresh air again. I know that sounds odd but it's true, LOL !

Since I haven't yet bought the MoM pack (which, i think, as a vip one should have access to all), I did minimal exploring other than to get to stable-masters along the path to the dell entrance.

:)

Maybe there will be an early spring up on Caradhras.

Seriously though, it always makes me sad to hear ppl hate Moria :(

It's no fault of the devs. I think the people that dislike Moria, dislike it simply because it is Moria and if Moria was real I doubt any of us would willingly go there :P

Having said that, I for one love Moria's atmosphere and believe it has the best world design in LOTRO.

Finnore, you got to 60 BEFORE going to Moria? That is quite the accomplishment and shows that you don't need to enter Moria if you really don't want to. My Warden is on lvl 53 right now and still has half of Angmar, all of Forochel and Eregion, plus Annuminas, the Rift, Helegrod and loads of Skirmishes to do before heading into Moria! So it is certainly possible if you take your time doing all the content in Eriador instead of skipping most of it. Of course if you want to race to max level, then you'll have to enter Moria.

So to conclude, I don't think the devs should go back and create an alternate lvl 50-60 zone, it would be a poor use of resources and would go against the lore since Moria was the only way to cross the Misty Mountains at this time. So it's supposed to be a bottleneck as far as heading east is concerned.

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Originally Posted by KouklaGirl

I don't know what it is, but every time I get a character into Moria, I hate it. I love everything pre-Moria, and love Lothlorien and Mirkwood, but there's something about Moria that makes me dread leveling a character through there. Maybe I'm claustrophobic, I don't know...

Will there be a way in the future to use alternate routes of leveling, ie. other 52-60 areas, instead of being forced into the Mines? I mean, we can level 20-30+ in either the North Downs or the Lone Lands, we can level 40+ in either Forochel or Angmar, but we're forced to go through Moria to get to 60. :(

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Its a tough road, but if you can get yoru character to level 54, ( 53 for a couple quests ) You can skip it.

I did not care for this either, some Moria quests were fine some just had me feeling claustrophobic. I wanted to like them but could not.

So here is what I did:
I did deeds in Eregion, I did all the quests, I even did some Forochel back and forth until I got level 53.
I work as a team with my girlfriend, she ran a captain for this particular deal and I was hunter.
So, a friend of ours summoned her to First Hall, and she used her captains skill and summoned me.
We then collected horse/goat routes along the missing places just so we could travel back and forth.

We then went out into the Pre-Lothlorien area, and there was 2 quests available and a sea of red orcses and purple ones.
We did a few quests, and killed red orcs until level 54, ( that was a long road though )
But we was outside!
Level 54 opened up a bunch more quests and made it much easier going, red and orange critters then...

Once we hit level 55, we was able to do the rep repeatable and then we was in Lothlorien! :)

As for 52-60 areas I would love to see some alternatives.
I do not like skirmishes, so I avoid them.


My hopes is that at some point the South Farthings of the Shire open up, and my hopes is the content, ( that heads towards Rohan ) starts about level 17-ish, and rolls onwards to about level 55.
There are a lot of areas where this would work perfectly. and a gradual increase towards Rohan there in level content would be very cool.
I think, by 55, there should be a connecter into North Eregion and Enedwaith and then it would be a complete package so to speak.

Thats my "hope" for the furture, who knows though what we will get :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Finnore

However, I found Moria art design brilliant, a very "underground" feel to it, and by the time I got to Lothlorien I actually felt like I had come out of the dark and dank and could breathe fresh air again. I know that sounds odd but it's true, LOL !

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I think everyone gets that rush when they first exit the eastern gate of Moria and see the Mirrormere and the sky and trees ahead. /deep breath

I have to admit I have a hard time wrapping my beard around the concept of not liking the big dungeon in a dungeons and dragons type of game.