3 Classes I like to play... need help is picking one to lvl to end game

[Mightymouse315]

I currently like the 1.hunter 2.loremaster 3.captain as classes I like to level / play with. Hunter is an amazing class with the tree that allows you to move and shot which IMHO is awesome for leveling and you can use the red line ( turrent style ) for dungeons / raids etc. The loremaster is just a fun class with all there buffs / debuffs they can do to mobs and party members along with the pets that are just fun to have around if you solo a lot like I do.
Captain is also a lot of fun with their shouts and the ablity to self heal like loremaster and heal allies that makes the class a jack of all trades. Not great at any one thing but just amazing at doing a little bit of everything.

I am asking for help picking one of these classes to lvl to end game because I just want to focus on 1 instead of leveling all 3 which would take forever. I mostly play solo but should a group pop up and needs a hand or if I just need to do group content I want to be at the least viable for group content.

So which of the 3 classes I listed would you guys pick if you had to choose one to level to end game with ?

Again..... (1) Hunter (2) Loremaster (3) Captain... thnx in advance

[BuffetRaider]

That is a pretty diverse pool to pick from. Although there is no one answer to that question, answer these questions instead. Do you like to group more or solo more at end-game? Do you have ADHD and run around, or do you stay pretty stationary? Would you rather be the star of the show or the unspoken hero?

If you answer those with a need for high mobility and attention, Hunter is right for you.

If you answer those with a desire to constantly group and focus on your allies more than your enemies, Captain is right for you.

If you answer those with a patience to hit the same buttons, but at the right time and place, making a difference only you can make, Lore-Master is right for you.

I play a champion because I have ADHD and need to constantly shing shing.

[Boraxxe]

...snip...
So which of the 3 classes I listed would you guys pick if you had to choose one to level to end game with ?

Again..... (1) Hunter (2) Loremaster (3) Captain... thnx in advance

If it were me...

I haven't played a Captain, so I will keep my mouth shut about that.

I have played both of the others. 1 Hunter and 4 different Loremasters.
You can see right there which one I prefer.

I solo (and duo) mostly, no matter what I play.
For me, playing solo, the Loremaster was much more likely to avoid those wonderful RES circles.

I have never taken any of those to near CAP...Loremaster in the 80's. So I don't know if there is much difference as the game changes with higher levels beyond there.

So, here's one vote: Loremaster.

[Mightymouse315]

Ok, thank you both. A lot to process but a good place to start.

[Tralfazz]

Hunters will kill things faster than either Lore-master or Captain.

Hunters have really great mobility. You know about the tactical mobility advantages of Blue spec (can induct while moving, won't lose Focus while moving, doesn't suffer as large a penalty to hit while moving, out-of-combat running speed bonus that even applies to nearby Fellowship members) but if you haven't leveled past the teens yet you aren't yet aware of the strategic mobility advantages: Guide To skills which will eventually allow you to travel to nearly any zone with no cooldown and the ability to bring your Fellowship along with you. There's even a special Guide To skill which you can bind to any one of many special campfires dotted around the landscape. This is why there are a lot of Hunter characters populating every server and why Hunter is a very good choice for a new player who doesn't want to invest LOTRO points to reduce travel skill cooldowns or add to their Milestone bind collection.

Lore-masters and Captains are easier to keep alive in the most challenging situations relative to Hunters. "The game is really easy except when it isn't." Lore-masters have good crowd-control abilities and they have pets, the bear pet is designed to tank and is really good at single-target tanking. Captains wear heavy armor and have good self-healing (they also have a "pet" but it's not a good tank although it can keep one or a few things busy while you're handling something else). Hunters have a "run away" skill with no induction time on a 30-minute cooldown but it's pretty much the same as being defeated because it sends you to the nearest Circle of Shame, just without item durability wear as you'd experience due to a defeat (and which VIPs can avoid, anyway).

Captains are currently considered the best tanks for group content and are OK healers. Hunters are welcome in groups for their DPS although preferably in Red spec, not Blue. Lore-masters bring a lot of utility to a Fellowship with all their buffs, debuffs, heals, crowd control, and other neato abilities but aren't the best main healers and aren't the best DPS even in Red spec; picky small groups will look for another class to round out their roster but raids always want at least one Lore-master. It really doesn't matter in any casual group content, though, and if you play with a group of friends no one should care what class you are playing: Friends make it work.

Hunters are probably the easiest to play. Captains are also easy although getting all the buffs up and keeping them up as much as possible, especially in group situations, takes some knowledge and practice. Lore-masters have the largest number of skills (Mine has so many skills I don't have enough skill bar slots for them all!) and they are all useful but you can set your brain to low burn and just use a small handful for most activities if you don't want to think about them all the time.

Lore-masters can have a lot of cosmetic, non-combat pets that no other class can obtain.

My main is a Lore-master, I enjoy using the pets in combat and having a lot of different skills to use. But if I were starting today knowing everything I know now, I'd play a Hunter main with the Explorer vocation because of the kill speed, mobility skills, and the ability to feed crafting materials down to its lower-level alts. I'd still play my Lore-master! But I'd have started with the Hunter because of the convenience of all those travel skills. I have a Captain alt and he's fun to play but I consider him one of my "rank-and-file" alts, he doesn't stand out as better or more fun than any of my other toons.

So my bottom-line recommendation is Hunter for a first main character unless you abhor playing the class that is most popular for some reason. But any class is fine, they're all fun, and you'll never know which one tickles you the most until you try it long enough – at least into the 20s – to get a proper feel for it.

[Mightymouse315]

Hunters will kill things faster than either Lore-master or Captain.

Hunters have really great mobility. You know about the tactical mobility advantages of Blue spec (can induct while moving, won't lose Focus while moving, doesn't suffer as large a penalty to hit while moving, out-of-combat running speed bonus that even applies to nearby Fellowship members) but if you haven't leveled past the teens yet you aren't yet aware of the strategic mobility advantages: Guide To skills which will eventually allow you to travel to nearly any zone with no cooldown and the ability to bring your Fellowship along with you. There's even a special Guide To skill which you can bind to any one of many special campfires dotted around the landscape. This is why there are a lot of Hunter characters populating every server and why Hunter is a very good choice for a new player who doesn't want to invest LOTRO points to reduce travel skill cooldowns or add to their Milestone bind collection.

Lore-masters and Captains are easier to keep alive in the most challenging situations relative to Hunters. "The game is really easy except when it isn't." Lore-masters have good crowd-control abilities and they have pets, the bear pet is designed to tank and is really good at single-target tanking. Captains wear heavy armor and have good self-healing (they also have a "pet" but it's not a good tank although it can keep one or a few things busy while you're handling something else). Hunters have a "run away" skill with no induction time on a 30-minute cooldown but it's pretty much the same as being defeated because it sends you to the nearest Circle of Shame, just without item durability wear as you'd experience due to a defeat (and which VIPs can avoid, anyway).

Captains are currently considered the best tanks for group content and are OK healers. Hunters are welcome in groups for their DPS although preferably in Red spec, not Blue. Lore-masters bring a lot of utility to a Fellowship with all their buffs, debuffs, heals, crowd control, and other neato abilities but aren't the best main healers and aren't the best DPS even in Red spec; picky small groups will look for another class to round out their roster but raids always want at least one Lore-master. It really doesn't matter in any casual group content, though, and if you play with a group of friends no one should care what class you are playing: Friends make it work.

Hunters are probably the easiest to play. Captains are also easy although getting all the buffs up and keeping them up as much as possible, especially in group situations, takes some knowledge and practice. Lore-masters have the largest number of skills (Mine has so many skills I don't have enough skill bar slots for them all!) and they are all useful but you can set your brain to low burn and just use a small handful for most activities if you don't want to think about them all the time.

Lore-masters can have a lot of cosmetic, non-combat pets that no other class can obtain.

My main is a Lore-master, I enjoy using the pets in combat and having a lot of different skills to use. But if I were starting today knowing everything I know now, I'd play a Hunter main with the Explorer vocation because of the kill speed, mobility skills, and the ability to feed crafting materials down to its lower-level alts. I'd still play my Lore-master! But I'd have started with the Hunter because of the convenience of all those travel skills. I have a Captain alt and he's fun to play but I consider him one of my "rank-and-file" alts, he doesn't stand out as better or more fun than any of my other toons.

So my bottom-line recommendation is Hunter for a first main character unless you abhor playing the class that is most popular for some reason. But any class is fine, they're all fun, and you'll never know which one tickles you the most until you try it long enough – at least into the 20s – to get a proper feel for it.

Thnx so much Tralfazz

[Maximilan]

I play a champion because I have ADHD and need to constantly shing shing.

Okay that made me smile


To the OP - if you will primarily play solo I'd recommend Hunter or Champion as both are high DPS and need no support. Also Hunters/Champs are the easiest to play well. IMO both Captain and Loremaster are primarily support although can solo of course.

But if you like 'pets' then LM or Cappy is your cup of tea!

[Mightymouse315]

Okay that made me smile


To the OP - if you will primarily play solo I'd recommend Hunter or Champion as both are high DPS and need no support. Also Hunters/Champs are the easiest to play well. IMO both Captain and Loremaster are primarily support although can solo of course.

But if you like 'pets' then LM or Cappy is your cup of tea!

Thnx.