Returning player looking for advice on the Captain

[Melleborn]

I made a post already in the New/Returning player forum but I thought asking around here might be a bit more specific.

I'm planning on starting a Captain after I get back home from the holidays. In other mmorpg's I've always played a hybrid melee class and here in LOTRO the Captain seems to suit this role just fine.

I'm wondering how viable the class is nowadays, mainly as a healing role. I like the idea of being in the middle of the fight, healing with strikes rather than spells from a distance with a sword/board combo. Is this worth pursuing?

[Damrod_Freason]

Personally I wouldn't recommend the Captain for a healing role, though there are players that consider it viable (Captain's blue line has that specific purpose in mind). IMO Captains are best used as buffers, DPS support (red line) or tank/off tank (yellow line). Be aware that there are some blue line traits that play very well if mixed in a main red or yellow traitline.

The most recommended classes for healing are Minstrel, Runekeeper and Beorning (yup, 2 out of 3 aren't FTP and have to be bought with LotRO Points). If you're looking for a melee healing class I'd surmise Beorning would be the closest thing you can get, but I haven't really tried it myself yet.