Blind chicken

Dear SSG, a LM has some of the lowest ranges for damage/healing skills among all range classes. These ranges do not correlate well with each other and force you to adjust to the shortest one to be effective as more as possible. The most disappointment for me are the Ents and the Water-lore skills. Both requires additional range extension just to start use it away from adds and numerous puddles between you and Tank. Both of them require a few more traceries for strengthen them. Alas, we don't have enough slots in our LIs to improve each skill separately (in any Line). Please, pay your attention to this and do some good magic. Thanks.

Not enough slots? I have ranged healing extension, Beacon of Hope +50%, and the +20% HOT one for Water Lore. I skip the traceries for HOT crit and single target healing since those have smaller impacts, but I could fit in at least one of them if I really wanted to.

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Originally Posted by Vilan

Not enough slots? I have ranged healing extension, Beacon of Hope +50%, and the +20% HOT one for Water Lore. I skip the traceries for HOT crit and single target healing since those have smaller impacts, but I could fit in at least one of them if I really wanted to.

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Yes, it's not enough. Let me explain... Beacon of Hope tracery requires a common skill tracery-slot (which you have 12 in your LIs). Ranged Healing Extension requires one of the Word of Power tracery-slot (they're only 5 of them now). Critical damage/healing is crucial in LotRO. This allows you to get more from every skill. You can find such talents in traits and traceries for all classes (especially for heal). They are also provides additional "magnitudes" for your skills (same as your Healing Over Time Criticals tracery which you "skipped") to get even more benefits when they crit. For a LM it's one of the most important things, because you don't have many healing skills and each of them should bring as much as possible. Since U35 arrived and we got back our "initial heal" in every HoT, Single Target Healing tracery became more important than before. It boosts both of your main healing skills (the Beacon of Hope and the Water-lore). That's why you will lose a good amount of your heal without it. Minstrels fights for units of percent and you are ready to give up tens. Next... SSG says that LM should became more valuable in 3- and 6-man groups as a Healer. But you barely achive such a goal for 6-man group witout "supportive healing" for all (too many negative effects can tics on all group members at the same time). For 6-man instance you will need every Word of Power tracery (without any exceptions) that will make your heal better (tbh, we need one more thing - https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...kill&p=8177006). It means: 2 base-healing traceries for ST and HoTs, 2 more for crit them (and ONE for rule them all) and the last one for Area Effect Target Counts for CC to compensate LM's not the most outstanding abilities in healing (debuff you already have). In case of Raid, you can switch first 2 base-healing traceries to Incoming Damage Reduction from Physical and Tactical attacks (my main setup for raids). Besides, you can choose Base Moral Multiplier for more HP or Skill Power Costs (in addition of what LM can chose in Yellow-Line already). As you can see, from my point of view - there is no "free slot" for Range Healing Extension tracery. This thing exists for a Healers in Raid where arenas a much bigger than in small instances. Burdening a LM with these requirements is highly incorrect. A fun fact - in lotro-wiki you can find a list of all LM's skills with indication of the ranges for each of them. If you click to the Water-lore page you will see - 15 meters, but in the general list, you still can proudly see the original range for the Water-lore skill had - it is 25 meters (same as a Beacon of Hope). I can tell something similar (maybe a bit shorter) about damaging skills, but for now nobody asks.

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Besides, you can choose Base Moral Multiplier for more HP
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You might want to enumerate that, its +5% at teal, 5.5% at gold which really isn't a lot, if you have a million morale that's +55000 as an example. I'd not expect that to save me from defeat often enough to lose somehting else. The +range and +targets however are right there with the most important legacies you can have and first pick along with heraldries for gold token versions.

LM healing is in a far better place than it used to be although the recent and IMO detrimental, mob morale and mitigation buff is retrograde as although the power mawnagement side is a nice addition it can end up being a "scrape around for power" exercise which isn't that entertaining because of the power heal cooldown nerfs. I've seen in the last few days an increse in folk pulling an FM with "all go blue" as a call while tanking on my cappy and heard indeed while playing LM on the 6 man :-)

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Originally Posted by Mithithil

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Besides, you can choose Base Moral Multiplier for more HP
<<<

You might want to enumerate that, its +5% at teal, 5.5% at gold which really isn't a lot, if you have a million morale that's +55000 as an example. I'd not expect that to save me from defeat often enough to lose somehting else. The +range and +targets however are right there with the most important legacies you can have and first pick along with heraldries for gold token versions.

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You are right in general. Today, Base Moral Multiplier isn't look so valubale as Range Healing Extension or Area Effect Target Counts (both are very good). I just don't want to be at so huge disadvantage (being dangerously close to the Adds and a Boss) from the very beginning because of such a low base range for one of the main healing skills. A comfortable range for a healer is 35-40 meters (imho).

All right, I will eat a piece of humble pie. I'm looking at the math and I'm now sold on the HOT crit and single target traceries. I'm still not seeing the need for area effect targets though. I already have Ancient Master to put Fire/Frost Lore on 6 targets, that seems like plenty. What else am I trying to boost? Bane Flare? Herb Lore?

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Originally Posted by Vilan

All right, I will eat a piece of humble pie. I'm looking at the math and I'm now sold on the HOT crit and single target traceries. I'm still not seeing the need for area effect targets though. I already have Ancient Master to put Fire/Frost Lore on 6 targets, that seems like plenty. What else am I trying to boost? Bane Flare? Herb Lore?

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Yes and yes and think Cracked Earth and Storm Lore too.

Very useful in Poison Garden at end boss/angre trees spawn.

Mmm, those guys die pretty quick. Maybe T4+ where some of them are scions, I haven't tried that yet. I'll put that humble pie back in the fridge for now, I can always eat it later. :)