My 10 lifehacks & tips for LotRO players!

This is mainly intended to help new and moderately experienced players! :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMD6UISg3dM


Featured tips:

1. Class Quest Items 0:19
2. Farming Turbine Points 01:41
3. Farming Guild Reputation 05:12
4. Mining Crafting Ingredients Everywhere 07:27
5. Dash (War-Steeds) 08:07
6. Scripting AFK Skill Deed completions With Boost Active 09:24
7. Unbind Toggle Target Lock-On Mode 16:38
8. Plugins (Buffbars & CombatAnalysis) 17:35
9. Ambient Light in Moria 21:21
10. Set Out a Questing Trajectory (virtues) 21:47

Nice video, very informative for newer players :) Just a quick note for you though.

At 2.01, you say the red outline around the rep items, means the player is at max rep. That red line will also be there, if the player is below the level requirement for the rep item too. It may convince some players, who look at the items when they are at level 25, that they are maxed out on everything., as the red line alone may be enough for them to not bother with tooltipping.

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Originally Posted by Arnenna

Nice video, very informative for newer players :) Just a quick note for you though.

At 2.01, you say the red outline around the rep items, means the player is at max rep. That red line will also be there, if the player is below the level requirement for the rep item too. It may convince some players, who look at the items when they are at level 25, that they are maxed out on everything., as the red line alone may be enough for them to not bother with tooltipping.

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Good point. I added an annotation.

When talking about Lossoth rep, you say that there is an extra rep tier and going from 0 to kindred will give you 70 TP. I'd like to correct that the extra tier is below neutral (Outsider), and that doesn't give TP when you go from Outsider to Neutral. So, the max TP from Lossoth is still 50, even though you need 10k rep more.

Overall, I like that you're doing these vids. They are very informative and/or funny and you present them well.

EDIT: Also, I wasn't aware that macros that don't require the player to be on keyboard, controlling the character, are allowed. Are they really?

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Originally Posted by TharbadThief

EDIT: Also, I wasn't aware that macros that don't require the player to be on keyboard, controlling the character, are allowed. Are they really?

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AFK macroing is a bannable offense if you get caught. If that player were to be reported and the responding GM could not get a response to a tell, there could be a problem. Since the player must be VIP or buy a pass to go to the Ettens, a ban could be a serious loss. On the other hand, there's nothing suspicious or unusual about a character spamming skills at the training dummies, so the probability of being reported is close to zero.

Could also just read a book or watch a video on another screen while doing this, with the chat window enlarged and set to the IMS tab so that GM tells were obvious. Attended macroing is not a problem.

OP - you should point these things out.

Good tips in general!

I used to do quite a lot of tip videos and walkthroughs of new content and end game systems on YouTube :) Nice to see someone that still tries to help the new player.

I did wince a bit when it got to scripting AFK stuff - I know it was only skill deeds - but once you show someone that, they are going to work out other applications. I won't lie, I've used my gaming keyboard and mouse and AutoHotKey to make scripts for my own use that add 'quality of life' to certain chores, but I do that at my own risk, I do NOT do it AFK, and I would never advise someone to do something like run a script AFK, or indeed to run a script at all. It's the one aspect of gaming that I think is quite risky, and in a guide I don't think it has a place, just incase some new player gets caught then it comes back at your Youtube channel.

Other than that good stuff! Almost gets me tempted to dust off my aging channel lol

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Originally Posted by Nosdracir

AFK macroing is a bannable offense if you get caught. If that player were to be reported and the responding GM could not get a response to a tell, there could be a problem. Since the player must be VIP or buy a pass to go to the Ettens, a ban could be a serious loss. On the other hand, there's nothing suspicious or unusual about a character spamming skills at the training dummies, so the probability of being reported is close to zero.

Could also just read a book or watch a video on another screen while doing this, with the chat window enlarged and set to the IMS tab so that GM tells were obvious. Attended macroing is not a problem.

OP - you should point these things out.

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Ok I am confused. I thought using a third party program to macro would be picked up by turbines sniffer software and get you banned. Has this changed? Been gone a long time so I genuinely do not know.

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Originally Posted by Mirarian

Ok I am confused. I thought using a third party program to macro would be picked up by turbines sniffer software and get you banned. Has this changed? Been gone a long time so I genuinely do not know.

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I don't believe Turbine has any sort of sniffer program on the client side. Never seen any evidence of that. I have heard of people getting IMs from a +Name asking what they were doing because they were planting a few hundred crops via Make All without harvesting just to gain XP & craft XP.

I don't think Turbine's ever really been concerned about macroing - using a programmable keyboard or similar software to perform a series of keystrokes/clicks.

Their prohibition is for botting - having a program play the game without a player present.

Now, a macro running in a loop while the player is AFK is close to botting, albeit with a very simplistic program/script. Since Turbine mainly relies on players reporting the problem and sometimes on GMs noticing it by accident, the AFK macro could get you banned if you got reported and were not present to respond to a GM's IM. If you're sitting at the keyboard reading a book while the macro wails on a dummy then you can respond. Never mind that other players aren't impacted by another character using skills on a dummy.

Folks are correct that macroing stuff while AFK is against our Code of Conduct. It's a slippery slope, but the general guidance is you need to be behind the keyboard at the very least.

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Originally Posted by Cordovan

Folks are correct that macroing stuff while AFK is against our Code of Conduct. It's a slippery slope, but the general guidance is you need to be behind the keyboard at the very least.

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mm, In that case I think we need to be vocal as a community to send a message to Turbine that there needs to be a distinction here, as it is not used to farm gold, glitch game mechanics or obtain unnatural automated skill reactions, but rather a major convenience to finish off a boring formality to make sure we don't harm many hours of our own enjoyment playing Lotro, while not having any influence on the enjoyment of others.

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Originally Posted by Theomur

mm, In that case I think we need to be vocal as a community to send a message to Turbine that there needs to be a distinction here, as it is not used to farm gold, glitch game mechanics or obtain unnatural automated skill reactions, but rather a major convenience to finish off a boring formality to make sure we don't harm many hours of our own enjoyment playing Lotro, while not having any influence on the enjoyment of others.

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if you just level normally, most class-deeds will be fulfilled without paying attention to them sooner or later. makroing to fulfil deeds is absolutely not needed.

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Originally Posted by Cordovan

Folks are correct that macroing stuff while AFK is against our Code of Conduct. It's a slippery slope, but the general guidance is you need to be behind the keyboard at the very least.

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But multiboxing, controlling multiple accounts whilst only at the keyboard playing on 1 character is perfectly acceptable :)

That's Turbine logic, folks!

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Originally Posted by Celembar

But multiboxing, controlling multiple accounts whilst only at the keyboard playing on 1 character is perfectly acceptable :)

That's Turbine logic, folks!

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only okay as long as you react to tells at those other characters ;)

I think people are being a bit harsh on Turbine in this case in honesty regards multiboxing.

Some other MMOs have built in scripting facilities, that will allow you to program some quite in depth macros including, but not limited to, searching for a specific target, running certain skills in a top down fashion taking into account any active CDs, etc, all it takes is a bound key press to move the script from one state in the script to the next....

This is EXACTLY the function of external third party software used for multiboxing, and in the case of playing an MMO that has the above built in, it nearly negates the use of the third party software completely, to the point where if each toon in a muiltibox party is set up nicely, some clever keybinds on a gaming keyboard or mouse can trigger all sorts of skill rotations across multiple classes.


Am I saying Turbine are 'innocent' regards multiboxing or AFK scripting? No, I am not.


But take note of the recent patch notes. Due to the actions of a few, who chose to 'sub in' players to gain raid loot, the rules have been changed so that you cannot swap out your own toon after completing a raid to gear that toon up in favour of the one that was there... so everyone is effected due to the actions of a few.

IMHO the same is the case with AFK scripting and indeed multiboxing. For the most part, again STRONGLY my own opinion, it MIGHT be OK to make an AFK script to stand at the Relic Master and combine all relics from T1 up to T7, then refine the lot of them. It's an action that effects no one else in game, the script simply takes a lot of clicking and what not out of the user experience. What is NOT OK (an an example), is to make a script that during the Huge Shrew stomp, selects a certain mob, and activates a skill giving an advantage over other players (details left out for obvious reasons).

The exact same logic applies to multiboxing. IMHO, group up wander around and act as a party of players, while at the keyboard, enjoying the experience and veritable challenge of controlling multiple toons, and yes gaining some access to loot maybe not on the table solo. But start to muck about with AFK scripts and doing things as a group in areas to acquire wealth over and over and over (again details left out), you're bordering into taking the micky. Stay well AWAY from PvP at ALL times.


In short, scripting and multiboxing, use common sense. If it 'feels' wrong, the chances are, you're breaking CoC, or if not, you're close to just being a bit rude, think it through and wonder how you'd feel if you stumbled upon a player doing what you are - would you be jealous, report them, ask to join in? What would Santa think? ;)


I'll say I like that Cord didn't just storm in and go bonkers, it shows he understands that a modern MMO does have times where tasks can be given a subtle nudge with modern tech, but he doesn't want it to pi55 off other players - that's my take anyway.


Play nice peeps ;)

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Originally Posted by matalan

But take note of the recent patch notes. Due to the actions of a few, who chose to 'sub in' players to gain raid loot, the rules have been changed so that you cannot swap out your own toon after completing a raid to gear that toon up in favour of the one that was there... so everyone is effected due to the actions of a few.

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Some people made it VERY obvious, that there are problems with the lootsystem and all people that exploited the lootsystem before got punished.
Clearly not all people are affected, only those that exploited the lootsystem by logging toons to equip chars that didnt do the content.

Tell me what you want, but it was never intended by Turbine, that you loot with characters that didnt do the content.
Its a good thing that they finally stopped this. And it should be changed for ALL instances really, not just for the raid.

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Originally Posted by matalan

But take note of the recent patch notes. Due to the actions of a few, who chose to 'sub in' players to gain raid loot, the rules have been changed so that you cannot swap out your own toon after completing a raid to gear that toon up in favour of the one that was there... so everyone is effected due to the actions of a few.

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I fail to see how any legit player is affected by this, since the loot is still bound to account.

Apart from selling the loot, the only other group affected by this change is the raid lock exploiters. By dropping in the last seconds before the boss dies and loot on an alt that's completely incapable of running the raid, they can run again on the same character. Since the loot is bound to account, the alt can then feed the gear back to the main. I am happy they killed two birds with one stone.

Do people really skip Angmar instances for class quests? Seems odd missing a pretty well designed part of the game.

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Originally Posted by Celembar

But multiboxing, controlling multiple accounts whilst only at the keyboard playing on 1 character is perfectly acceptable :)

That's Turbine logic, folks!

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Not really. You can't attack with all accounts - anything that lets you attack on multibple accounts using one keystroke is bannable. Just hard to spot and unlikely to get you removed from the game services. Well, not really hard to spot. Just noone seems to care. I've seen one such group of cheaters get removed. Talked about it in glff and they sent me a personal message from their main account - the account the bots had sent all proceeds to - telling me what a horrible person i was and how much work it was to find more 1-95 to buy for his new bots. Relayed that conversation to support and nothing happened.

reported for promoting botting/afk skilling Yes, really. Install blabla to play the game for you is not OK.

Anyway @comment: I've had my eye on a group of bots a long time and nothing bad happened to them despite a weekly and then monthly f7 report and one regular support ticket. They're 24/7 on GoV free accounts.
You see, I'm the nuisance for making all that fuss and not the people who nearly broke the servers doing forlaw 'hl raid' and hytbold mounted instances kill trains and selling bug battle lootboxes to vendor for infinite dupes and sitting afk on the boats and using farm bots since cap 75.

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Originally Posted by Macroscian

Not really. You can't attack with all accounts - anything that lets you attack on multibple accounts using one keystroke is bannable. Just hard to spot and unlikely to get you removed from the game services. Well, not really hard to spot. Just noone seems to care. I've seen one such group of cheaters get removed. Talked about it in glff and they sent me a personal message from their main account - the account the bots had sent all proceeds to - telling me what a horrible person i was and how much work it was to find more 1-95 to buy for his new bots. Relayed that conversation to support and nothing happened.

reported for promoting botting/afk skilling Yes, really. Install blabla to play the game for you is not OK.

Anyway @comment: I've had my eye on a group of bots a long time and nothing bad happened to them despite a weekly and then monthly f7 report and one regular support ticket. They're 24/7 on GoV free accounts.
You see, I'm the nuisance for making all that fuss and not the people who nearly broke the servers doing forlaw 'hl raid' and hytbold mounted instances kill trains and selling bug battle lootboxes to vendor for infinite dupes and sitting afk on the boats and using farm bots since cap 75.

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There is 0 risk of getting banned over these programs no matter what cordovan says. There been tens of moors multiboxers - still several who use ISboxer or what ever the program is called and tens of people been QQing in game and they (GMs) just reply that its not bannable. If you afk macro something they just kick you off the server on best case scenario.

Edit also rank farming is totally allowed... Community might not like you but turbine doesnt care two #s about it.... Sigh. Also rank farming macrobotting what ever is totally allowed.. People going from r0 to r15 within 3 days and when tens of people report them nothing happens...

I could go on and on about selling accounts, stolen lifetime accounts and so on and so on but that actually risks me getting banned than them lol... Gotta love turbine... How I miss good old codemasters...

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Originally Posted by siipperi

Gotta love turbine... How I miss good old codemasters...

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Me too, you knew where you stood for the most part

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Originally Posted by Macroscian

Not really. You can't attack with all accounts - anything that lets you attack on multibple accounts using one keystroke is bannable.

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That's just plain wrong, unless of course PvP is an exception lmao

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Originally Posted by Oelle

Tell me what you want, but it was never intended by Turbine, that you loot with characters that didnt do the content.
Its a good thing that they finally stopped this. And it should be changed for ALL instances really, not just for the raid.

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You are mixing to very different things.
First: selling a boss chest to a person who did not participated in the fight
Second: logging in with an alt of the person who did participated in the fight

The first one is should be avoided.
The second one: is legit.

Take the silent street and the hilt as example.
If we do the intance, i can do it with multiple alts, so i take the one, which is needed for our group. Usualy (over 90% of the case) i will have to go with tank.
if i do not need the hilt on my tank i have now two options (IF the a hilt is in the chest!):
- i go with the tank and then just pass on it, which is totaly fine as long as there is some other class in the group, which can take and use the hilt.
- i just don't go since i do not need it anymore. cause: the group can not go for the instance. (or have to look for a random and hope everything will go fine during i'm sitting here and can not play with my keen/friends)

But what is if:
We have two might classes in the group and non of these chars will need the hilt anymore? Just throw it away if there is a might hilt in the chest or some of us log in with an alt who could use it?
Turbine could avoid the "need" of log-in-with-an-alt very easy: just could make the hilt to an account bound box and a player can then choose. But as long as this is not the case it is totaly legit (and it is legit!) to log in with an alt, since the real person has very well participated in the fight!

Needless to say, this is of cours not valid for the Thron raid, since the loot there is already account bound, so there is simple no need for log in with an alt.

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Originally Posted by CaerArianrhod

You are mixing to very different things.
First: selling a boss chest to a person who did not participated in the fight
Second: logging in with an alt of the person who did participated in the fight

The first one is should be avoided.
The second one: is legit.

Take the silent street and the hilt as example.
If we do the intance, i can do it with multiple alts, so i take the one, which is needed for our group. Usualy (over 90% of the case) i will have to go with tank.
if i do not need the hilt on my tank i have now two options (IF the a hilt is in the chest!):
- i go with the tank and then just pass on it, which is totaly fine as long as there is some other class in the group, which can take and use the hilt.
- i just don't go since i do not need it anymore. cause: the group can not go for the instance. (or have to look for a random and hope everything will go fine during i'm sitting here and can not play with my keen/friends)

But what is if:
We have two might classes in the group and non of these chars will need the hilt anymore? Just throw it away if there is a might hilt in the chest or some of us log in with an alt who could use it?
Turbine could avoid the "need" of log-in-with-an-alt very easy: just could make the hilt to an account bound box and a player can then choose. But as long as this is not the case it is totaly legit (and it is legit!) to log in with an alt, since the real person has very well participated in the fight!

Needless to say, this is of cours not valid for the Thron raid, since the loot there is already account bound, so there is simple no need for log in with an alt.

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if turbine wanted you to loot for your alts, they would make the loot unbound or accountbound. as easy as that. therefore, imo, there is no difference between logging toons yourself and logging toons and players and selling loot. i'm totally on your side if you want loot for most instances to be accountbound. as long as its not, its not meant to be earned by characters that didnt play it.

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Originally Posted by Oelle

if turbine wanted you to loot for your alts, they would make the loot unbound or accountbound. as easy as that. therefore, imo, there is no difference between logging toons yourself and logging toons and players and selling loot. i'm totally on your side if you want loot for most instances to be accountbound. as long as its not, its not meant to be earned by characters that didnt play it.

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as i said. it is legit to loot with your own alt. serach the forum for it. ot better: open an ingame ticket or a support ticket and ask.

The first video was such a success (21k+ views!) that I worked on compiling a list of 10 more tips that are hopefully equally helpful! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhuE9EvkiNU

it features the following lifehacks:

• 0:35 the /who command
• 1:20 Filling up stacks in inventory
• 2:25 Dragging items into the search box at AH
• 3:12 Dragging IXP runes into the LI panel
• 3:44 Premium Wallet
• 5:32 Buying T10 relics from Gondorian barterers
• 6:21 Using swappy gear
• 8:09 ctrl + leftclick to see the cosmetic look of a gearpiece
• 9:01 Ground-targetted attacks to kill mobs stuck in rock/wall
• 11:20 transfer items/money between different servers

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Originally Posted by Oelle

if you just level normally, most class-deeds will be fulfilled without paying attention to them sooner or later. makroing to fulfil deeds is absolutely not needed.

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I am still 425/500 on tracking skill with my hunter. After years of not just leveling but playing the endgame too.

After 6 years I didn't kow about IXP runes dragging! Thanks! It still uses only one rune each time (I tried all the modifiers key: ctrl, alt etc, just in case... ;)) but it's a lot faster than the standard click-select-ok!

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Originally Posted by CroKat

I am still 425/500 on tracking skill with my hunter. After years of not just leveling but playing the endgame too.

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Same here... Tracking skills are really useful, but you only need them in few places...

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Originally Posted by CroKat

I am still 425/500 on tracking skill with my hunter. After years of not just leveling but playing the endgame too.

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Yeah that skill deed is over the top. Shouldn't be more than 100 imo. You rarely ever use it when questing, only to find stealthed goblins in Mirkwood, stealthed corsairs in Belfalas and stealthed orcs in Ithilien iirc.

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Originally Posted by Theomur

The first video was such a success (21k+ views!) that I worked on compiling a list of 10 more tips that are hopefully equally helpful! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhuE9EvkiNU

it features the following lifehacks:

• 0:35 the /who command
• 1:20 Filling up stacks in inventory
• 2:25 Dragging items into the search box at AH
• 3:12 Dragging IXP runes into the LI panel
• 3:44 Premium Wallet
• 5:32 Buying T10 relics from Gondorian barterers
• 6:21 Using swappy gear
• 8:09 ctrl + leftclick to see the cosmetic look of a gearpiece
• 9:01 Ground-targetted attacks to kill mobs stuck in rock/wall
• 11:20 transfer items/money between different servers

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Nice!

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Originally Posted by Theomur

Yeah that skill deed is over the top. Shouldn't be more than 100 imo. You rarely ever use it when questing, only to find stealthed goblins in Mirkwood, stealthed corsairs in Belfalas and stealthed orcs in Ithilien iirc.

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...and named shard droppers through Moria, named anything for a quest, type A of a mob when the landscape is a mix of types A and B, stealthed wolves in The Lone Lands, stealthed wargs in Angmar, that wolf in the Old Forest for the first class quest, etc. That's still not 500, but you can click it at any time and get credit for use. You don't have to actually track something. I find it easier than the high count skills that require combat or a training dummy.

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Originally Posted by Nosdracir

...and named shard droppers through Moria, named anything for a quest, type A of a mob when the landscape is a mix of types A and B, stealthed wolves in The Lone Lands, stealthed wargs in Angmar, that wolf in the Old Forest for the first class quest, etc. That's still not 500, but you can click it at any time and get credit for use. You don't have to actually track something. I find it easier than the high count skills that require combat or a training dummy.

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Tbh I only ever used it for stealthed wargs in BG raid.

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Originally Posted by Theomur

The first video was such a success (21k+ views!) that I worked on compiling a list of 10 more tips that are hopefully equally helpful! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhuE9EvkiNU

it features the following lifehacks:

• 0:35 the /who command
• 1:20 Filling up stacks in inventory
• 2:25 Dragging items into the search box at AH
• 3:12 Dragging IXP runes into the LI panel
• 3:44 Premium Wallet
• 5:32 Buying T10 relics from Gondorian barterers
• 6:21 Using swappy gear
• 8:09 ctrl + leftclick to see the cosmetic look of a gearpiece
• 9:01 Ground-targetted attacks to kill mobs stuck in rock/wall
• 11:20 transfer items/money between different servers

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Do you have some kind of special launcher version or something? I don't have that "Enter last played world" checkbox on mine xD

It says ctl+left-click will let you preview a piece of armor. This used to work for me but doesn't any longer. Is there a key that's mapped for this? If so, what's it called?

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Originally Posted by Painless

It says ctl+left-click will let you preview a piece of armor. This used to work for me but doesn't any longer. Is there a key that's mapped for this? If so, what's it called?

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In your Key Mapping Options, look for "Dressing Room".

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Originally Posted by Mandura

Do you have some kind of special launcher version or something? I don't have that "Enter last played world" checkbox on mine xD

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On the launcher window under options (accessed by clicking the down arrow at the top of the window) on the General tab, there is a check box for 'Allow multiple game instances' If you uncheck this box and then click OK at the bottom, you should see the check box 'Enter last played world "world name" under the Password box.

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Originally Posted by Tybur

In your Key Mapping Options, look for "Dressing Room".

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That was it, thanks