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    Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Free Range Chicken Quest Walkthrough
    By Thorenric, Elendilmir Server, Misadventurers Kinship

    I. OVERVIEW
    II. THE QUEST
    III. TRAVELLER DEEDS
    IV. EXPLORER DEEDS
    V. CHICKEN STONE LOCATIONS
    VI. STRANGE CHICKEN NESTS
    VII. GENERAL TIPS
    VIII. PREPARATION
    IX. WALKTHROUGH
    X. DESTINY ROUTE
    XI. THANKS
    XII. LEGAL

    I. OVERVIEW

    So you want to boast the title "Crosser of Roads?" This ambition is not for the faint of heart. You will need patience, skill, practice, plenty of uninterrupted time, tolerance for staring at chicken butt, and 500 destiny points per attempt. But you will no longer need to figure out what to do or how to do it safely, as I will guide you through every step of the way.

    To get the title "Crosser of Roads," you must finish the quest "Free Range." This quest is given by George the chicken on Sandson's Farm, just north of Michel Delving, after you have completed all of the other chicken quests. This quest is different than the others because it lets you play as a golden chicken instead of a white one, it costs 500 destiny points to enter the session, and offers destiny point rewards for completing portions of the quest. If you are using this guide, I assume that you have already completed all of the previous chicken quests. I will not explain how to complete them, as they are fairly trivial in comparison to Free Range. I will also not explain the basics of how chicken play works, since you ought to know that already to get this far.

    As a level one chicken, you must play extremely cautiously. Most of the places you visit will be riddled with enemies who will kill you in one hit. If you die or log out, your session will end and you will return to your player character. Deed progress does not save, so this means any mistake will result in you starting over from the beginning.

    II. THE QUEST

    To complete the quest, you must finish all possible 15 deeds in your deed log. Seven of these deeds, the "Traveller" deeds, are immediately visible in your deed log. These are the exact same deeds you completed in previous quests. You must talk to the same animals as before, who come up with new amusing excuses for not helping you with your wolf problem.

    The other eight deeds are "Explorer" deeds. Each explorer deed requires you to visit three "Chicken Stones" in a zone. These stones all look exactly the same. They are short, flat, and difficult to notice at first, but will soon become quite familiar. You can see them on your player character, but neither your player nor your chicken can select them. Your chicken must simply pass near them to activate them. The explorer deeds are hidden from your deed log until you discover one stone in a zone, then the deed appears.

    You are given eight hours to complete this quest, which is much more time than is needed. I finished the quest in under five hours, even with a break and a long unnecessary detour.

    The quest text reads: "This may be a wonderful time to explore Middle-earth," and the yellow helper hint says "Explore Middle-earth." Not really helpful. But that's why this guide is here!

    The entire quest is vaguely soloable. However, two of the locations in Evendim are extremely difficult to reach without a high level escort. The rest can be soloed without much danger.

    III. TRAVELLER DEEDS

    Here is a list of all the Traveller deeds for talking to animals that you will see when you enter the Free Range session, as well as the destiny point rewards.

    Shire Traveller
    Speak with Fang
    Speak with Grip
    Speak with Wolf
    Speak with the fox
    Speak with Old Sally
    Reward: 125 Destiny Points

    Ered Luin Traveller
    Speak with the lynx-mother
    Reward: 125 Destiny Points

    Bree-land Traveller
    Speak with the cow
    Speak with the grey squirrel
    Speak with Wink the cat
    Speak with Sniken
    Speak with the horse
    Reward: 250 Destiny Points

    Lone-lands Traveller
    Speak with Radagast the Brown
    Reward: 125 Destiny Points

    North Downs Traveller
    Speak with the aurochs yearling
    Reward: 250 Destiny Points

    Evendim Traveller
    Speak with Longbough
    Reward: 125 Destiny Points

    Trollshaws Traveller
    Speak with Roheryn
    Reward: 250 Destiny Points

    IV. EXPLORER DEEDS

    Here is a list of all the Explorer deeds for finding chicken stones that are hidden from your quest log. They will not appear until you find one of the stones. Destiny point rewards are also listed. Obviously, visiting chicken stones is a much more lucrative business than chatting with animals.

    Shire Explorer
    Discover the Bag End Chicken Stone
    Discover the Mathom House Chicken Stone
    Discover the Brandywine Bridge Chicken Stone
    Reward: 125 Destiny Points

    Ered Luin Explorer
    Discover the Thorin's Hall Chicken Stone
    Discover the Duillond Chicken Stone
    Discover the Kheledúl Chicken Stone
    Reward: 250 Destiny Points

    Bree-land Explorer
    Discover the Prancing Pony Chicken Stone
    Discover the Old Forest Chicken Stone
    Discover the Othrongroth Chicken Stone
    Reward: 500 Destiny Points

    Lone-lands Explorer
    Discover the Weathertop Chicken Stone
    Discover the Last Bridge Chicken Stone
    Discover the Forsaken Inn Chicken Stone
    Reward: 500 Destiny Points

    North Downs Explorer
    Discover the Fornost Chicken Stone
    Discover the Esteldín Chicken Stone
    Discover the Gatson's Farm Chicken Stone
    Reward: 750 Destiny Points

    Evendim Explorer
    Discover the Gates of Annúminas Chicken Stone
    Discover the Ost Forod Chicken Stone
    Discover the Gwindethrond Chicken Stone
    Reward: 750 Destiny Points

    Trollshaws Explorer
    Discover the Rivendell Chicken Stone
    Discover the Bitter Stair Chicken Stone
    Discover the Glóin's Camp Chicken Stone
    Reward: 2000 Destiny Points

    Angmar Explorer
    Discover the Aughaire Chicken Stone
    Discover the Lehmä-kohti Chicken Stone
    Discover the Tyrn Lhuig Chicken Stone
    Reward: 2000 Destiny Points

    V. CHICKEN STONE LOCATIONS

    *****ALERT!!!***** These descriptions may be considered spoilers for you. It is rather fun to find the stones yourself, given only the vague area indications listed on the deed. It's like a scavenger hunt! If such adventure doesn't interest you, read on.

    I will assume you know the location of the animals, as you had to find them in previous quests. I will describe the locations of all 24 chicken stones.

    Bag End: Right at the doorstep. Bag End is located on "The Hill."

    Mathom House: The Mathom House is west of the milestone in Michel Delving. The stone is near the entrance.

    Brandywine Bridge: This is the bridge that crosses the Brandywine River into Bree. The stone is just south of the east end of the bridge.

    Thorin's Hall: The stone is in the southwest section of the large flat area just outside the huge doors going into Thorin's Hall.

    Duillond: This stone is just south of the stables in Duillond.

    Kheledúl: The stone is near the outer wall of the fortress, south of the entrance.

    Prancing Pony: Just behind the mailbox in northeast Bree. This is the easiest stone to find if you want to get a sense of what they look like.

    Old Forest: Behind Tom Bombadil's house. Who knew he had a pleasant garden back there?

    Othrongroth: Also known as the Great Barrows in the south Barrow Downs, the stone is just south of the entrance.

    Weathertop: Upon entering Weathertop from the north, go directly west. The stone is outside the ruins on the edge of the hilltop.

    Last Bridge: The Last Bridge connects Lone Lands and Trollshaws. The stone is just south of the east end of the bridge.

    Forsaken Inn: Against the inn, south of the entrance.

    Fornost: This stone is on the west side of the platform at the entrance to the Fornost instance.

    Esteldín: Near the bard, by one of the centerpieces of the town.

    Gatson's Farm: Along the north end of Gatson's house.

    Gates of Annúminas: When entering the Annuminas area from Men Erain to the east, you will enter a large area filled with angmarim that is completely walled off save for two entrances to the east and west. The northern section is filled with water. The stone is just north of a tent northeast of the west entrance. It is useful to have an escort for this stone.

    Ost Forod: Ost Forod has a main level that can be reached by entering from the west. The level has a sloped road that goes downhill out of the town to the northeast. The stone is in a camp southeast of the the top of this slope, tucked in a back corner. This is the other stone for which it is useful to have an escort.

    Gwindethrond: The Blue Lady's cave behind the waterfall at Rushingdale can be found at the furthest western edge of Lake Evendim. The stone is in the cave at the entrance to the main chamber where the Blue Lady stands.

    Rivendell: This stone is on the ground near the mailbox and the champion trainer in the central section of town.

    Bitter Stair: This stone is tucked in the back corner all the way up the hill north of the entrance to Helegrod. It's fun to happen upon a raid of people waiting to enter Helegrod on your chicken!

    Glóin's Camp: In the snow north of the main raised platform.

    Aughaire: By the bard and the hillman leader Crannog in the center of town.

    Lehmä-kohti: In the northeast end of town, this stone sticks out pretty well.

    Tyrn Lhuig: In the fenced camp.

    VI. STRANGE CHICKEN NESTS

    Strange chicken nests are small nest items lying around in certain locations in the world that chickens use to warp between two points. They can only be used by chicken players, though they can be seen and targeted by normal players. They are two-way warps and can be used as often as desired. I know of three pairs of chicken nests. If anybody finds more, I'd love to hear about it and integrate it in this walkthrough, and you will get credit.

    When searching for a chicken nest, it is helpful to press the delete key to target nearby items on the ground.

    Duillond/Trestlebridge: The Duillond nest is on a small island with a large tree on it in the river just south of the bridge that passes east out of Duillond. The Trestlebridge nest is just west of the northern end of the huge bridge.

    Oatbarton/High Moors: The Oatbarton nest is on the west side of town, behind a hut looking structure west of the road that leaves the town to the south. The High Moors nest is along the far east wall of the area, north of the cave of Arwen's legacy, near the road that leads down into Rivendell.

    Nen Harn/Malenhad: The Nen Harn nest is on the west edge of an island with some rubble on it smack in the center of the Nen Harn lake in northeast Bree-land. The Malenhad nest is on the hilly space just north of the crossroads in northwest Malenhad.

    VII. GENERAL TIPS

    You WILL NOT succeed on your first attempt. You will likely not succeed on your second, third, or sixth attempt either. Do not get frustrated. Never expect to complete the quest. Go into each attempt with the mindset that you will do your best, and when you die, eagerly learn the lesson it teaches you. I can help you know what to do, but nothing can replace experience.

    When you die, take a break and try again another day or after a few hours. You shouldn't attempt this while tired, angry, or frustrated, or your conditions will just get worse.

    The Possum Impersonation (fake death) skill is your most important skill. This skill will cause you to lose agro immediately, causing the mob to return to the position it was at when it agroed you. However, you must use this move ONLY while moving! If you use it while standing still, your chicken will flop on the ground and the skill will have a 2 minute cooldown. This is your most important survival skill for when you accidentally (or purposely) enter an enemy's agro range, so you cannot afford to have it on cooldown, EVER. If you make a mistake and use it while standing still, get to a safe place and wait for the cooldown timer to end. Bear in mind that this skill is only useful for losing agro of purely melee enemies. Any archer or other ranged enemy will loose a shot immediately and kill you. You will not have time to fake death. So avoid agro from these types of enemies at all costs.

    Fowl Fleetness is a useful skill to speed up the process during long boring stretches of road (or water). I usually keep this skill queued with the yellow ants marching around it so it activates as soon as it is available again. However, I avoid using this skill in any dangerous area, as it will give you less time to react to danger.

    Bob and Weave is utterly useless. It raises evade chance by 50% against MOBS THAT ARE LEVEL 1. I have yet to ever evade a hit by any mob that wasn't a wolf in the beginning area. Sometimes I use it just to feel better when creeping through a nerve-wracking section, but if you don't manage your fake deaths correctly, you really don't stand a chance anyway.

    Paranoia lets you detect nearby stealthed enemies... barely. If you use Fowl Fleetness while using Paranoia, you will not detect enemies in time, and as you run by them they will swipe at you and kill you in one shot before you knew anything was wrong. Same goes for normal running. Same goes even for walking! In fact, the only safe way to safely detect stealthed enemies is to use Paranoia and walk (by pressing Insert), and pause every few steps to look around. To make matters worse, all stealthed enemies I've seen have pretty large wander areas, and paranoia is a 1 minute skill with a 2 minute cooldown! So when creeping through an area with stealthed enemies, when the skill runs out, back up a few paces where you have already searched where you can expect it to be slightly safer, wait for the cooldown to end, and pray to the chicken gods. This was the huge headache process I used to get through the High Moors with all the stealthed lynx. I went through this area solo countless times until I learned about the High Moors strange chicken nest. What a life saver! Thanks to that nest, the only time you should have to worry about stealthed enemies is when passing the Deadly Tomb Robbers on the way to Ost Forod.

    When swimming, it is faster to repeatedly jump than to swim normally.

    Do not take any risks. You have plenty of time to complete all the deeds. The quest is not a race. When faced with a choice between taking a shortcut through some mobs or going around a safer way, always choose the safer way. Better to spend a few extra minutes being careful then a few extra hours making another attempt. On the other hand, if you expect to make many attempts (as you should), then being a bit reckless at times and pushing your limits can offer valuable lessons that can speed up future attempts. But on any serious attempt at success, don't be a daredevil.

    It is nice to have music playing or friends to talk to in Ventrilo while attempting this long, monotonous quest. But only do so if it is not a distraction! I've died many times because I was not paying attention to what I was doing. It is difficult to concentrate on a perfect run for five hours straight, so don't make it any harder than it needs to be.

    Be extra careful whenever you see other players around. Do not get distracted by their reaction to you, but even more importantly, be keenly aware of any respawns that may occur behind them. If an archer respawns near you, he will agro you before you can get away, you will be unable to fake death, and you will die. Respawns are even more deadly than stealthed enemies.

    Enemies that have yellow health bars (such as most aurochs) are passive and will not agro you. They are safe to walk past without fear. Other enemies are agro, but threaten to attack before actually agroing. I will call these "threateners." You can run somewhat close to threateners without fear, but don't go directly over them.

    By zooming your camera all the way out, you will have a good judge of the agro range of most enemies. If, with the camera directly behind you, an enemy is off your camera a few paces before you come alongside of it, you will be able to pass by without agro (if it has the normal agro range). This is immensely helpful when trying to determine whether you can run between two dangerous enemies or around a dangerous enemy blocking your path.

    VIII. PREPARATION

    Before you begin the quest, you should make preparations for an escort. I like to do the hardest part first, that way if I fail, I have wasted the least amount of time. I'd rather not spend four hours doing all the easy stuff only to fail on the hard stuff! On the other hand, if you don't know what you're doing after the hard stuff, it's pretty easy to die on the easier stuff too. I recommend practicing the easier runs in small portions before committing to a serious attempt so you don't waste your escort's time.

    Your escort must be level 50 and not braindead. I've mostly gotten help from kinship members and friends, but I've also had luck bribing random people with silver. When you're on your chicken, you will be unable to communicate with your escort in-game. An outside chat program such as Ventrilo will make the process go much smoother, but I've managed without voice once by just jumping around to communicate. If you don't have voice, have your escort meet you at George on Sandson's Farm before you go in, and have him follow you. If you do have voice, he can meet you wherever you like. I like to meet him in the water north of Annuminas, as the Annuminas chicken stone is the first major stone I get.

    An escort is not strictly necessary, and I will explain how to do the difficult parts in the case that you can't/won't get an escort, but it really does make things much easier.

    Once you enter chicken play, get your interface set up how you like it (CTRL+\). It's a shame that it does not save your interface changes between sessions. There is one important step that you must take when arranging your interface. The "Skill Queue" window near the lower right needs to be moved to just above your chicken. This is where the hourglass will show up when you get agro. Putting it in a prominent location will let you react more quickly: When the hourglass appears, use fake death!

    Next, go into your options (CTRL+O). You need to set up your graphics to something your computer can easily handle, probably significantly less pretty than you are used to. Stutters and freezes are not acceptable while attempting a chicken run. If you're not an advanced graphics guru and want the quick solution, just click on the Graphics button and change the Overall Graphics Quality to Low or Very Low, depending on how powerful your system is. However, these settings will reduce two important values that we need to increase again. Click on the Adv Graphics button and change Object Draw Distance to Ultra High. It's critical that we can see enemies as soon as possible. Also increase your Landscape Draw Distance to whatever your computer seems able to handle, so it's easier to tell where you are going.

    Next, click on the "UI Settings" button. Scroll a bit over half way down to the "Panels" section, and check the box for "Show Skill Queue." This will let that hourglass appear I was talking about when you get agro.

    Now click on the "Combat Options" button. Click the box for "Directional Selection Indicator." This will show you a dotted red line beneath your chicken that points toward whatever you have selected. Used in conjunction with a select next foe button, this is a powerful information tool to let you know where enemies are before you can see them, for example when they are hidden behind a hill or structure. Also check the box for "Show the vitals of your selection's target." You may need to move this window in your user interface since it starts in an annoying place. This piece of information is useful when other players are around, so you can see who they have targeted and if enemies are targeting them.

    Finally, click on "Key Mapping" and set up your controls. Make it comfortable, because you're going to be spending a lot of time doing this. The most important binding is Quickslot 3, your fake death skill. I use a 5-button mouse, and assign the right side button to this skill, so I can quickly react and click it when I see the hourglass. Also bind Select Next Foe somewhere convenient, I use my left side button. I click this obsessively whenever I run through an area with enemies.

    Before you head out, zoom your camera all the way out. This gives you the best view of danger, as well as providing a good judge of agro ranges as mentioned in the General Tips section.

    IX. WALKTHROUGH

    Well here it goes. I will describe my favorite route in detail. Feel free to make up your own route that you prefer by mixing around or modifying my route, since the deeds can be done in any order.

    1. Bag End

    When you start off, make your way toward Bag End. Going straight there means you'll head through a bunch of wolves. You can go around them or just use fake death a lot, they won't kill you in one hit. I usually immediately hit Fowl Fleetness and start running toward Bag End while setting up my options, but that's just a product of doing it so many times. Grab the stone at the doorstep.

    2. Annuminas

    From Bag End, head north to Overhill, east to Brockenborings, and north to Oatbarton. Take the east road out of Oatbarton. Don't get agro from spiders. I've never been webbed by them yet but I'm not about to risk it. There are also goblins with spears, where agro equals intant death, so avoid them. The road bends north. You can head directly north from here past Dwaling. You can stick to the road if it makes you comfortable, but I find it just as easy to cut directly north across the Barandalf. You can run straight through the flies (and Limrafns if it's night), they will follow you but won't hurt you. Norbogs are threateners, be more wary of the salamanders and lurkers. Make your way down the hill to the high king's crossing. Go to the west end and go down the slope into the water. Swim through the roaring rapid stream into the lake. Jump as you swim for extra speed. Swim to the northernmost wall of annuminas, then follow it as it wraps around to the south. You will enter the Port of Annuminas and climb some stairs. Go down the stairs on the other side into more water. Follow this water to the east. Eventually you will see a large statue sticking out of the water. Look south and you should see a low archway. Swim through the archway onto land. You will see a camp of angmarim to your right, so keep a sane distance away from them. Pass by the east side of the camp. You will see a large entrance and 5-7 angmarim guarding the entrance. Have your escort pull the entire camp and run back the way you guys came. Don't get close to the pull, as some of these enemies have an AOE attack that means instant death for you if you are anywhere nearby! When the camp is pulled, hit your Fowl Fleetness and get inside before they run back. When you're just inside, go north behind the tent, and you will see the chicken stone. This is a safe spot. Wait for your escort to recover from the previous pull, then have him pull again. This time, you run out. If all goes well, you and your escort will be able to escape Annuminas the way you came. If you don't have an escort, wait at the entryway for random people to come by and clear this section. I've waited here a long time before since it is a low-traffic area with the hunter camp deeper in, which is why an escort is a better idea.

    3. Ost Forod

    Now bring your escort to Tinnudir by water. Jump off the north end of Tinnudir and swim north near the shore. You will be able to climb the hill just southwest of Tham Ornen. Climb the hill toward the ruins and pass by the west side. There is a stealthed Deadly Tomb Robber here, so use Paranoia, walk, and have your high level escort move slowly a bit ahead of you to spot the robber. Once you pass her, you can walk safely east on the northern side of the ruins. Once you get toward the east side of the ruins, repeat the process as there is another deadly tomb robber as well as a stealthed warg nearby. Sometimes there seem to be more deadly tomb robbers than others, perhaps it is random whether they spawn or deer spawn. In any case, carefully make your way into Ost Forod. Get the stone there near the top of the ramp that heads northeast out of town, then repeat the whole process in reverse to escape. If you don't have an escort, you can still do this part, but the stealthed enemies are extremely dangerous and you run a high risk of suddenly dying with no warning. If you make it back to the water, congratulations! The rest of this quest is easy in comparison. You can say goodbye and thanks for the help to your escort.

    4. Longbough

    Swim across the water to the camp where Longbough is. Avoid the island with robbers.

    5. Gwindethrond

    Swim south to the cave behind the waterfall. You can run along the shore in many places to speed things up, but be careful of the enemies there.

    6. Rivendell

    Backtrack all the way to Oatbarton. Locate the strange chicken nest on the west side of town by the hut. Warp to the High Moors. Head into Rivendell and grab the stone near the mailbox in the middle of town.

    7. Roheryn

    Go to the stables and speak with the horse.

    8. Gloin's Camp

    Head north out of Rivendell. There are only a couple enemies to avoid before you get to Gloin's camp. Get the stone just north of his platform.

    9. Bitter Stair

    Head north out of the Gloin's Camp area. You should pass some Aurochs and a circle filled with snow beasts. Be careful to never get agro of the snow beast stone-throwers as they will kill you as soon as they agro you. Head northeast past the snow beast circle to get to the huge sloped clearing that's crawling with snow beasts, worms, and hill men. Some of the hill men are archers, so be cautious of them. Carefully make your way all the way up the slope, taking large lateral detours if necessary to avoid nets of archers and rock throwers. Once at the top, wait for players to come to your rescue. Every time I've been here I haven't had to wait more than a couple minutes for someone to come down who is farming the Corcur on the Bitter Stair. Try not to cause much of a scene with these players, you want them to continue farming, not stand around and watch you, doing AOE attacks toward you or doing handstands. They don't understand that agro likely means death and a wasted escort's time for you. Try to follow behind them and be aware of where the Corcur may respawn. This is a nerve-wracking stretch, but I have never died on it, the stealthed mobs are much worse! Grab the stone north of the Helegrod entrance and then do the whole thing again in reverse, all the way back to the High Moors nest and return to Oatbarton. Congratulations on the 2000 destiny point jackpot!

    10. Mathom House

    Now that all the hard parts are done, it's time for some relaxing easy stuff. Make your way back the way you came to near Sandson's Farm. Go to Michel Delving and visit the stone at the entrance to the Mathom House.

    11. Old Sally

    Go east to Tuckborough, pass through, and find Old Sally southeast of the big tree with the hobbits. If someone is doing the escort quest with her, you will have to wait for her to respawn.

    12. The fox

    Keep going east on the path and find the fox just north of the path.

    13. Fang, Grip, and Wolf

    Head straight for Bamfurlong in The Marish and talk to these three dogs.

    14. Brandywine Bridge

    Go north to the brandywine bridge, cross it, and grab the stone on the east end.

    15. The cow

    Enter Buckland and talk to the cow on the roof near the Buckland entrance.

    16. Old Forest

    Go back out of Buckland to the north, and take the path past Adso's camp. Enter the Barrow-Downs from the north. The crawlers will not attack you, but the rats will. Don't walk by any barrow entrances unless you want wights popping out to pluck you. Head southwest to the entrance to the Old Forest. Make your way down the path until you see some roots. These are ranged but are threateners. Use your Fowl Fleetness and dash past them to get to Tom Bombadil's house. Go behind his house for the stone.

    17. Othrongroth

    Wait for your Fowl Fleetness cooldown to end, then run back past the roots. Go back to the Barrow-Downs. Head east and south. Be careful of wandering archer wights. Make your way up the hill and down into the southern barrows. The agro mobs are packed tight in this area so take care. Go west to the entrance to the great barrows for this stone.

    18. Duillond

    Go back the way you came to the northern barrow-downs, then get to the camp on the east wall with the dead guy. Hop down to the east, then take the greenway road north all the way to trestlebridge. Cross the bridge and find the chicken nest on the west side of the north end. From the Duillond nest, swim west across the water to the slope. Make your way up, faking death repeatedly as the mobs on the hill agro you. Grab the stone near the stables.

    19. The lynx-mother

    Take the road north to Thrasi's Lodge and visit the lynx-mother.

    20. Kheledul

    Take the road north and east to Kheledul and find the chicken stone south of the entrance.

    21. Thorin's Hall

    Take the raod all the way up to Thorin's hall's entrance and get the stone on the west side of the large entrance platform.

    22. Fornost

    Backtrack all the way to the chicken nest in the river. Warp back to Trestlebridge. Take the path north into and through the Fields of Fornost. As you approach the entrance of the Fornost ruins, watch out for a wandering wight archer. Inside the ruins, you will meet little resistance. There are passive and threatening aurochs and a few other enemies on the way to the instance. Get the stone just outside the instance entrance.

    23. Gatson's Farm

    Go back out of the Fields of Fornost, and take the road east to Gatson's Farm. Get the stone near his house.

    24. Esteldin

    Head into Esteldin. Be careful of spiders, who knows if they'll web you. Get the stone near the bard.

    25. Lehma-kohti

    Exit Esteldin to the east. Go straight north and take the middle entrance into Angmar. The Lehma-kohti stone is in the northeast section of town.

    26. Aughaire

    Keep going north along the road and take the path up the hill to Aughaire. Visit the bard in the middle of town for the chicken stone.

    27. Aurochs yearling

    Backtrack to Esteldin and leave to the west. Take the path as it branches to the south. Watch for a big pack of aurochs to the west, the yearling is up the hill in the pack. If someone is doing the escort mission, you will have to wait for it to respawn. Most aurochs are passive, but watch for the menacing auroch.

    28. Tyrn Lhuig

    Go south on the road to Lin Giliath. You should be able to swim through the water to the southeast and escape this area with no agro at all. Swim across the giant lake and get to the island in the center of Nen Harn. Find the strange chicken nest on the west side and warp to Malenhad. Head south through Malenhad. Don't agro any worms, as they have a ranged fire skill that will kill you in one hit. Get the stone from inside the camp at Tyrn Lhuig. Congratulations on your second 2000 destiny point reward! We're getting close to the title but we're not out of the woods yet.

    29. Grey squirrel

    Go back to the nest at the crossroads in northwest Malehnad. Warp back to Nen Harn. Swim south to the southern island and talk to the grey squirrel.

    30. The horse

    Head west to the horse corral past Eastern Bree-fields and talk with the horse.

    31. Wink the cat

    Go south and take the road to Bree town. Head up the scholar's walk and go into the cat room to talk to Wink.

    32. Prancing Pony

    Go the prancing pony in the northeast corner of town and get the stone near the mailbox.

    33. Sniken

    Take the road southeast out of town. Make a nice detour around the enemy-infested Yellow Tree. Follow the routh around the south side of Midgewater Marsh until you are at the southern tip. Head into the marsh and watch out for nasty goblins. I'm not sure if these ones root or use ranged attacks but I'm not about to find out. Find Sniken and his cruel master on the hill northwest of the large goblin encampment Goblinhole Ruins.

    34. Forsaken Inn

    Make your way back to the road. Head east into Lone Lands and get the stone near the entrance to the Forsaken Inn.

    35. Weathertop

    Now for the last nerve-wracking part! I know there are stealthed wolves in this area but I've never been hit by one while on the road, so stick to the road and get southeast of weathertop. Take the slopes up weathertop, avoiding any ranged orc-men. Be aware that the birds have an unusually large agro range, but you can fake death them away effectively. Climb up along the east side of the hill and find the second place the path doubles back to the southwest. Take that path up around the south, west, and north side to reach Weathertop. Turn to the right and find the chicken stone on the edge of the plateau.

    36. Radagast the Brown

    Get back to the road and follow it east. Avoid spiders. When you are directly south of Ost Guruth, head up into town, enter the northern tower, and talk to Radagast.

    37. The Last Bridge

    The Last Bridge... how appropriate! Leave town to the south and go back to the road. Follow it east. Keep your wits about you, if you die here you may never forgive yourself! Make your way to the last bridge. Cross it, find the stone south of the east end, and jump on it with a satisfying PLOMP! Congratulations on becoming an official Crosser of Roads! You must be hungry by now, time for some KFC!

    X. DESTINY ROUTE

    Contrary to popular belief, The Free Range quest is a great way to earn destiny points. Of course nothing will compete with sweeping the keeps in the Ettenmoors, but this works well when you're sick of 250 point Ettenmoors quests or the freeps are camping Grams. However, a lot of the deeds in Free Range don't pay as well as the time or risk they reuqire (Um, Evendim???), so here is a shortened route to use if you're interested purely in gaining destiny points.

    1. Enter Session, -500 DP (Total: -500)
    2. Oatbarton nest
    3. Rivendell stone
    4. Roheryn, +250 DP (-250)
    5. Gloin's Camp stone
    6. Bitter Stair stone, +2000 DP (1750)
    7. High Moors nest
    8. Old Forest stone
    9. Ohtrongroth stone
    10. Fornost stone
    11. Gatson's Farm stone
    12. Esteldin Stone, +750 DP (2500)
    13. Lehma-Kohti stone
    14. Aughaire stone
    15. Aurochs Yearling, +250 DP (2750)
    16. Nen Harn nest
    17. Tyrn Lhuig stone, +2000 DP (4750)
    18. Malenhad nest
    19. Prancing Pony stone, +500 DP (5250)
    20. Forsaken Inn stone
    21. Weathertop stone
    22. Radagast the Brown, +125 DP (5375)
    23. Last Bridge stone, +500 DP (5875)

    XI. THANKS

    Thanks go out to Thurandir, Bereth, Keira, Lerris, Yurpee, and Keniko for taking their valuable game time to escort a boring chicken.

    Thanks to my kinship Misadventurers and my server Elendilmir for all the fun times.

    XII. LEGAL

    Copyright © 2007 Ryan Thorlakson, All Rights Reserved.
    This document should be found only on www.lotro.com. Do not reproduce, redistribute, or host elsewhere without permission.
    [charsig=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0420800000000ef55/01003/signature.png]Thorenric[/charsig]
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  2. #2
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Wow this is a great help; it should be stickied.

  3. #3
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Brilliant stuff. You should post it at GameFAQs.

  4. #4
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Yes terrific write-up. You obviously spent quite a bit of time and effort as it is well-written and easy to follow. This should definately be stickied. Kudos!

  5. #5
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Wonderful guide! It's extremely thorough and well thought out. You even offer therapy for the inevitable frustration that will arise. Kudos on a guide well done!

    By the way, I think this is the first title that I would actually be impressed seeing. All the others are trivial compared to this one, even the Helegrod and undying nonsense. You also deserve a big pat on the back for achieving it. I wouldn't even think about trying it.

  6. #6
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    I'm a Crosser of Roads!!!!

    First try!!

    Thanks for the walkthrough. I had 2 Cloaks of the Cluck to my name but never seriously tried the Free Range quest. Everything worked like a charm, except I did Evendim last since I wasn't seriously expecting to finish everything else.

    One important note:
    The Annuminas Stone is easily soloable, at least one-way. Past the half-submerged statue towards the east there is a roof which is almost at water level. you can jump on top of the "gutter" from the left side and go from there to the top of the roof by walking up the edge. After that, jump left from the roof and circle around the one stationary bad guy. There is a roamer which comes through, watch out for him. I don't know if this path is reversible, but it looks to be. (This was my last stone).

    Another note:
    during the trip through the Lin Giliath swamp, there are some stealthed bog prowlers in the area. One hit me for 56 hp (eek!). There should probably be a note to this effect so people stay in the middle of the streams and don't try to run along the sides.

    The Ost Forod stone was by far the most nerve-wracking. I spotted 2 ambushers each way. I went south of the ruins. If I had rushed it, I would have been toast. It took about 3 minutes to go from the water to the city carefully. (Second to last stone).

    I'm so happy I'm shaking.

    Sifl, Crosser of Roads!
    Last edited by FissionChips; Nov 12 2007 at 01:03 PM.
    [url=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0920d00000008e0a7/01002/signature.png]Shauna[/url] the Lore-master
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  7. #7

    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you?
    You don't do like the other chickens do!
    You wear a disguise to look like human guys--
    but you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo!

    -The Gneech
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  8. #8
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Quote Originally Posted by thegneech View Post
    Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you?
    You don't do like the other chickens do!
    You wear a disguise to look like human guys--
    but you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo!

    -The Gneech
    Oh great, now I have to watch old episodes of Animaniacs on YouTube.
    [url=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0920d00000008e0a7/01002/signature.png]Shauna[/url] the Lore-master
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  9. #9

    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Wow! Great work, Sifl! Welcome to the exclusive Crosser of Roads club! I'm glad my guide has helped someone achieve this title so quickly =)

    Thanks for the great tips! I'll add them to my guide soon and add you to the thanks section. I'll have to check out that annuminas route, that sounds extremely useful.

    I guess I must take back what I said about "You WILL NOT succeed on your first attempt!" On second thought, I'll keep it in there, just to keep people on their toes.
    [charsig=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0420800000000ef55/01003/signature.png]Thorenric[/charsig]
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  10. #10
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    If I was a forum mod, I would buy you a one-way ticket to Stickyville (population: This thread)
    Not all those who wander are lost. They might be working on one of their exploration deeds.
    The new forums stink on ice. Let others follow them who can.

  11. #11
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Quote Originally Posted by MysterX View Post
    If I was a forum mod, I would buy you a one-way ticket to Stickyville (population: This thread)
    Yup, this one needs to be "stickified" for sure. Well done, KidQuantum!
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  12. #12
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Nice man, i always thought the free range quest was bugged, but ill have to try this now.
    Lorebreaker, Hero of Legend r15 Elf RK
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  13. #13
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    This guide finally gave me the ammo I needed to complete the quest.

    I had reached Rivendell for the first time in the Flying the Coup quests about 3 weeks after chicken play was introduced. Since then I had made dozens of scattered attempts at the title and usually my hang up was getting back to Rivendell or trying a shortcut somewhere through Evendim and the North Downs. And I had found out about the chicken stones very early on too when I stumbled across the spire of meeting stone while exiting Rivendell once. (Shortly after I knew the locations of all the stones just by going to important areas in the game and looking for 1 stone so I could then use chicken play to find the location of the other 2 in each area) I had seen the Strange Chicken Nest near Trestlebridge and the locations of the others were a godsend for completing the quest. The main tatic I think that finally helped was being about to use possum impersonation without stopping. I could run closer to creatures I normally would have had to go a long ways around and just spam the possum skill and watch them run back to their starting points. The other thing that I think saved some time and hazard that I did not see anywhere in this guide was using the /stuck command to not have to run back through hazardous areas. Using /stuck will port you back to the safety of Sandson's farm where you can easily start a new route. But you can only use /stuck once an hour. For example, I used it once I got to the top of the Bitter Stair and then again after running from the Shire to the Last Bridge hitting every stone and critter in between.

    One last thing - the Annuminas stone is VERY soloable by going over the roof. Going back over the roof took me a few minutes to figure out because you have to go behind the stationary guy and around to the east side of the roof to jump back on it. I got real worried at that point I was going to have to find another route till I found the spot you could jump on the roof and head back north into the lake.

    Thanks again for the great guide!

  14. #14
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Quote Originally Posted by ClassicAviar View Post
    The other thing that I think saved some time and hazard that I did not see anywhere in this guide was using the /stuck command to not have to run back through hazardous areas.
    Wish I'd have though of that! That's definitely a time saver for several areas. You could even alter the path quite a bit using that to speed things up. I'm thinking Bag End, Ost Forod, Longbough, Waterfall lady, Annuminas, then /stuck to get back, probably saving 20mins.
    [url=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0920d00000008e0a7/01002/signature.png]Shauna[/url] the Lore-master
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  15. #15
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Id love to know what roof you are talking about, I didn't see one roof I could jump on, and ran into 2 invisible walls.

  16. #16

    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    ARrrr... I tried this for the for the first time today and got taken out by a respawn up at the Black Stair

    So I took a break and came to give it a second go after dinner, then about half way through the whole quest, by game goes and crashes Darn. It sucks that one has to start all the way from the beginning again. But ah well. Plenty of time to try again. Will be an expert at finding the way in future :P
    .

    To truly live, is to have something to die for!

  17. #17
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Quote Originally Posted by Tirolan View Post
    Id love to know what roof you are talking about, I didn't see one roof I could jump on, and ran into 2 invisible walls.
    I posted a picture of it in a thread I started. Search should get you there.
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  18. #18

    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Yay I did it

    4hrs and a dinner break
    That '/stuck' command saves on heaps of time!

    .

    To truly live, is to have something to die for!

  19. #19
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    I must be completely insane but I think I am gonna try to get Crosser of Roads on the rest of my toons... (I cant wait to spam Possum Impersonation on my way across the High Moors since I dont think you can use the chicken nest before the Free Range quest)

  20. #20
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Wonderful writeup - thank you!
    It wouldn't be LotRO without players complaining about gifts.

    "If... that's the complaint, then I shall wipe the wet track of the single tear making its way down my cheek, and find a way to move on." -Floon

  21. #21
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    I wanted to clarify the reply made by FissionChips in response to KidQuantam's excellent walkthrough for this quest, because both helped me immensely getting this particular stone.

    But first, let me say this is an EXCELLENT job by KQ. Seriously, I have rarely seen such a detailed and accurate walkthrough of any quest, much less this very difficult and complicated one. But I think his section IX part 2 is a bit off. Given that there is NOBODY in that zone, it is unrealistic to hope a random person is going to come by and clear out the angmarim guards for you, much less do it twice, heh. So, unless you have an escort, you need another way to get to the Annuminas Gate chicken stone. And FC posted how to easily get to it. But allow me to expand on what he said a bit. I'm going to rewrite section IX part 2 to make it solo friendly. My changes are in brackets.

    2. Annuminas

    From Bag End, head north to Overhill, east to Brockenborings, and north to Oatbarton. Take the east road out of Oatbarton. Don't get agro from spiders. I've never been webbed by them yet but I'm not about to risk it. There are also goblins with spears, where agro equals intant death, so avoid them. The road bends north. You can head directly north from here past Dwaling. You can stick to the road if it makes you comfortable, but I find it just as easy to cut directly north across the Barandalf. [in my opinion it is much easier to simply leave the road once it begins to bend to the north and run straight east, avoiding the spiders and salamanders until you hit the Brandywine. Then just hop in, head to the center of the river, and follow it north by northwest until you reach King's Crossing. It may be a bit slower, but it is a lot safer than going overland]. Swim through the roaring rapid stream into the lake. Jump as you swim for extra speed. Swim to the northernmost wall of annuminas, then follow it [heading west] as it wraps around to the south. You will enter the Port of Annuminas and climb some stairs. Go down the stairs on the other side into more water. Follow this water to the east. Eventually you will see a large statue sticking out of the water. [Continue east past the statue, watching to your south for a building which is mostly submerged in the water. The roof of this building is almost (but not quite) low enough to jump onto. If you go all the way to the left side of this rooftop, you can make it onto the "gutter" area of the roof. But now the roof itself is too steep to climb up. Go to the seam between the two parts of the roof (it runs southwest). You can walk up this seam to the top. On the other side of the building you will see an angmarim gaurd staring right at you, so don't get too close! To your right is large red tent. Jump off the roof to your right toward the tent (keeping your distance from that guard and watching for any wanderers), and you'll find the chicken stone north of the tent.

    To get back out you need to get back onto that rooftop. However, as before, you have to reach the gutter area from the side (you can't quite jump high enough to get there from the front), and in this case the side of the rooftop is behind a short wall running north to south (there's a gap in the wall, but unfortunately you don't fit through it). You cannot get around it without attracting the attention of the guard, so you'll have to go behind him. The good news is that this is easily doable, there's plenty of space to get around the back of the guard without him noticing you. Once you are around the guard and the wall, get back to the side of the roof you are after and jump on up to the gutter (it may take a bit of experimentation, but it's quite possible). When you reach the gutter part, run up the seam of the roof and over it to the north. Then just make your way back west the same way you came in, back to the docks, and north into the lake.]
    Last edited by RonHiler; Feb 02 2008 at 07:20 PM.

  22. #22
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Just out of curiosity...

    has anyone recently (in the last 2 weeks) finished this quest...and didnt bug out on them?

    Roughly a week ago, I (with the help of this awesome walkthru) finished this last part (3 plus hrs). Spoke to all the individuals, and on my last person (the ent)....nothing happened. No completion of deed, Nada. So I swam ALL the way back to Sandersons farm...Nada. I looked at my deed log, and everything was red. I took a screenshot of the deed completed. But the quest was still marked as incompleted, and I never got the title.

    I have now sent in several bugs on this (with the pic added) and spoke to 2 Gms (great customer-service btw) (rolls eyes)...and was given a "non-answer" or no answer. I begin to wonder if the Gms even play this game. Anyway...is this quest bugging out for anyone else?
    Any help is appriciated.
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  23. #23
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Quote Originally Posted by brunnhilda View Post
    Just out of curiosity...

    has anyone recently (in the last 2 weeks) finished this quest...and didnt bug out on them?

    Roughly a week ago, I (with the help of this awesome walkthru) finished this last part (3 plus hrs). Spoke to all the individuals, and on my last person (the ent)....nothing happened. No completion of deed, Nada. So I swam ALL the way back to Sandersons farm...Nada. I looked at my deed log, and everything was red. I took a screenshot of the deed completed. But the quest was still marked as incompleted, and I never got the title.

    I have now sent in several bugs on this (with the pic added) and spoke to 2 Gms (great customer-service btw) (rolls eyes)...and was given a "non-answer" or no answer. I begin to wonder if the Gms even play this game. Anyway...is this quest bugging out for anyone else?
    Any help is appriciated.
    Let's see the screenshots. Chances are you missing something.
    [url=http://lotrosigs.level3.turbine.com/0920d00000008e0a7/01002/signature.png]Shauna[/url] the Lore-master
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  24. #24
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Brun, you need to get all the chicken stones in each zone.

    The deed won't appear in your log until you have found at least one chicken stone for the zone, so you could have missed this. You only mentioned talking to the animals in your post, that is not enough to earn the title. Those chicken stones are even harder than all the NPCs combined. Evendim has some very difficult ones to get to, in Ost Forod and Annuminas, and the Helegrod one can be rough also.


    I kept dying trying to find the Annuminas one, even with the guide it wasn't easy to find. Finally I sent a PC to the location to scout it out and figured out where it is, but I don't think PC's can make the roof jump like chickens can.

    Still trying to pull off the deed after taking a break for a month or two, I had forgotten how PATIENT you have to be to succeed at chicken play.
    Last edited by MysterX; Feb 07 2008 at 06:36 PM.
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  25. #25
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    Re: Crosser of Roads Walkthrough

    Aye, most likely you are missing a stone (or a set of them). You need to complete 15 deeds in total (the seven animal ones you started with plus 8 more chicken stone hunts).

    It didn't bug out on me, but then again, I've only done it once (so far, heh). Personally, I found the one in Ost Forod and the one in the Misty Mountains to be the hardest to get. Once you know where it is and how to get it, the one in Annuminas can be gotten with zero risk (it's just a bit tedious swimming through all that water). If there's an easy way to reach the one in the Misty Mountains, I'd love to know about it
    Last edited by RonHiler; Feb 07 2008 at 08:37 PM.

 

 
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