MY LM is on the chopping block

[Tatuaje]

OK, I am either not getting this class or just suck. What I learned over the last week or so has helped but I still can't kill a white spider in the Trollshaws or just barely get it done. It is a Lvl 39 LM with the best armor/staff/ etc I can buy. Woefully in adequate IMO.

Traited:
Valour - 5
Justice - 5
Loyalty - 6
Empathy Idealism - 3
Idealism - 6

Been running MoNF as I solo mostly:
AoB
FoA
Harmony with Nature
Mast. of Staff
Power and Wisdom

I have learned a bear is not a tank but DoT - so I have adjusted for this.

Today I traited KoA to try the lynx as many seem to think it's attack helps bring the mob down quick and to learn more about the class. Not so much IMO.

Only good aspect about this build is the agony was shorter, I died much quicker.

My "typical" opening attacks is:

Ancient Wisdom
SoP: Right...

SoP: Comm
Send in pet
Fire Lore
Wind Lore
Burning Embers
Wind Lore
Light of the Rising Dawn
SoB: Wiz when a flank procs.

then cast as the situation/ requires.

If I can't get this guy moving - he is off to the soup line. I'm tired of fighting blue Mobs and reading you guys are fighting whites and oranges solo. If the class is beyond me I will stay with my Mini and roll up a RK. Leveling is taking a life time and I can't even imagine trying to get to teh areas that I need for my legendary books.

[Maelon]

The rotation looks sound enough for white mobs, but a couple things stick out as strange. A second casting of wind lore is occurring (30 second duration) when you have only used 1 damaging skill (burning embers).

First let's make sure your pet lynx is making full use of his awesome DPS potential, which means he keeps aggro longer and allows you to use more damaging skills before the mob goes after you. Right click on the 3 special lynx attacks so that the white dotted lines surround all three skills. That ensure those skills will fire as soon as they are available when the lynx is in combat. When you send in the lynx, let the lynx sneak to the target and attack for 1 second or so before you use fire lore. The massive damage from the stealth attack crit is more likely to happen if the mob is out of combat, and fire lore puts the mob in combat, so wait just one second.

Unless the mob is an archer, the most important 30 second skill to keep up is not wind lore, it is burning embers (-30% move speed). This often allows you time to fire off a couple extras skills before the mob reaches you to melee when aggro transfers to you. Cracked Earth will also root the mob after 15 seconds untraited if you want to kite even more, but with the damage of MONF traited staff strike, I don't mind if a half-dead mob gets into melee range.

[Jadowyn]

Actually, the bear is designed as a tank mob not as dps. I know because I soloed to 45 without dying once using just the bear pet to tank. You send in bear to get aggro first, then start debuffs, then damage attacks. But limit your damage so you don't pull aggro off the bear.

It is a different thing with dps pets like the cats. You have to tank so you need the pet kill fast and you need to hit with damage fast too.

I would suggest practicing on blue and light blue mobs until you can kill one easily with whichever pet/skill combo you choose to use. Then move up to white mobs and try again.

[Tatuaje]

The rotation looks sound enough for white mobs, but a couple things stick out as strange. A second casting of wind lore is occurring (30 second duration) when you have only used 1 damaging skill (burning embers).

First let's make sure your pet lynx is making full use of his awesome DPS potential, which means he keeps aggro longer and allows you to use more damaging skills before the mob goes after you. Right click on the 3 special lynx attacks so that the white dotted lines surround all three skills. That ensure those skills will fire as soon as they are available when the lynx is in combat. When you send in the lynx, let the lynx sneak to the target and attack for 1 second or so before you use fire lore. The massive damage from the stealth attack crit is more likely to happen if the mob is out of combat, and fire lore puts the mob in combat, so wait just one second.

Unless the mob is an archer, the most important 30 second skill to keep up is not wind lore, it is burning embers (-30% move speed). This often allows you time to fire off a couple extras skills before the mob reaches you to melee when aggro transfers to you. Cracked Earth will also root the mob after 15 seconds untraited if you want to kite even more, but with the damage of MONF traited staff strike, I don't mind if a half-dead mob gets into melee range.

Thanks for the replies...

I do let the lynx attack first on applying the SoP: Com as it does not aggro the mob. I also find a better chance of tyeh cat skill sneak attack working if not aggro'ed. My mistake, instaed of a second wind lore I use Wind Gust. I just typed it twice. Based on your post, I may not be keeping burning embers fired off enough. I have also been using the green circle when the mobs get close, not sure if it is worth the power????

I know I do not kite enough, that could be an issue. Kiting sux so it may be the wrong class for me. I know I need a better plan for what to do while mobs are rooted. Standing around waiting on power and health to get better seems the wrong thing? Maybe I should be doing something better?

I just tried the run solo on Thurim??? Quest to kill a Dwarf with two adds beside him. I could either hold the adds or 1 and attack the main guy. Didn't fair well, but then it really may be a 2 man area. I did get the Falconers nearby killed this morning.

[moebius92]

I thought the only spiders in the Trollshaws were the elites in the Wolvenvales. Did they get downgraded?

[opurt]

I thought the only spiders in the Trollshaws were the elites in the Wolvenvales. Did they get downgraded?

Nope, they are still leet mobs. Bottom line though, if an LM can mez it, we can kill it. And these spiders can be mezed. If they are giving you problems (other than taking a long time to kill), then you're doing something wrong. One thing to watch of course is bleeds as they will break your mez, maybe that's giving you issues.

[AlatarielCarnesir]

Been running MoNF as I solo mostly:
AoB
FoA
Harmony with Nature
Mast. of Staff
Power and Wisdom

I ran a build like this, but back then in SoA there were no trait sets... no bonus DPS for fire skills, and no BF reduction. I relied heavily on the 30s BF duration for slowing down fights, taking one mob (in a two mob pull) out of the action while I dealt with the other one, putting some distance on an enemy that I'd wake up with BE when ready, healing myself/pet with Inner Flame, etc. I survived a lot of fights by attrition - mezzing them and reapplying BE for the slow/DoT and kiting them to death.

Even now I like a minimum of a 20s BF, so I almost never trait more than 3 into MoNF. That's just my playstyle and I can't quite get the hang of a full blown MoNF LM. It could be you are trying a build that is hard to take advantage of at level 39. When you start getting LIs with damage and crit boosting legacies, the cumulative effect really bumps up your damage and may make MoNF really worth it. Maybe somebody who plays MoNF in the 30's/40's now can chime in, but I needed that full 30s mez of BF at that level.

My "typical" opening attacks is:

Ancient Wisdom
SoP: Right...

SoP: Comm
Send in pet
Fire Lore
Wind Lore
Burning Embers
Wind Lore
Light of the Rising Dawn
SoB: Wiz when a flank procs.

then cast as the situation/ requires.

My typical sequence was variations of:

Sign of Power: Command
send pet in
Fire Lore or Wind Lore
Burning Embers
Gust of Wind
rotate between: Improved Staff-Strike (especially if flanked); Test of Will; LoTRD; SOB:W (if flanked and I need healing); Cracked Earth (has a delay root - another good way to get out of melee range). Space out the ToW and LotRD so the stun isn't wasted during the stun-immune time.

If I was getting beat up, BF or Herb Lore and back away to rest and heal (Inner Flame, Wisdom of the Council). My LM is Race of Man so my emergency skill was Strength of Morale (man heal) and I used it too.

At some point, possibly higher level when I got the Eagle, I had a nice balance between damage skills, flank healing, and mez juggling to where I could fight two even level mobs at a time.

Don't forget the all new Staff-Sweep which also restores power on a flank!

If I can't get this guy moving - he is off to the soup line. I'm tired of fighting blue Mobs and reading you guys are fighting whites and oranges solo. If the class is beyond me I will stay with my Mini and roll up a RK. Leveling is taking a life time and I can't even imagine trying to get to teh areas that I need for my legendary books.

I don't think anybody would describe a mid level LM as a DPS machine. You can kill mobs and finish quests but it does take some patience and maneuvering. Even though I can take on reasonably tough solo fights, I can also find myself getting spanked by 3 or 4 lower leveled mobs (that I outlevel by 10+ levels or more) if I'm not paying attention. It isn't like handling EMs is easy and lesser mobs crumple effortlessly - at least for me I have to be on the ball all the time when I play my LM, especially questing at level.

I have also been using the green circle when the mobs get close, not sure if it is worth the power????

I only used Warding Circles in very specific situations, basically against Drakes and Undead in Angmar, and misc other instances/locations. If you trait 4 into Ancient Master the Warding Circles also affect Orcs, Beasts, and Men. But against the evil dwarves north of Esteldin, like that falconer quest you mentioned, I don't think the warding circles do anything (unless you trait into AM).

[SerowLOTRO]

I traited:

Beast Lore
Hardy Companion
Master of the Staff
Harmony with Nature
Fast Loader

Gives my pets more teeth, as well as not reducing my main cc skill yet. This setup worked for me, just sharing some ideas.

[Tatuaje]

OK, thanks. A lot of factors here to consider and maybe play with. I spent the night running my Minstrel (lvl 33, light armor, set for DPS as much as possible), crushing most everything I attempted with very little healing on my self. I like the LM in a group but my solo sux, I'll see what some of the tips do for me.

I may be trying to much MoNF at the moment. I'll look at the blue line or maybe a hybrid. As noted by the game, this is an advanced class to play.

[Banaticus]

The bear is a tank. It's most beneficial aspect is the short force taunt. Burning Embers to slow/damage the mob, Cracked Earth to root it while you pound it from a distance, then force taunt. At the end, Blinding Flash to mez it, click Blinding Flash again so that it goes off as soon as it comes back, do that another time or two, then start the cycle over again. You can throw on all the nondamaging debuffs you want on a mezzed mob without waking it up, including Fire Lore, so debuff while it's mezzed or while you're otherwise waiting around.

Elite creatures tend to have too much morale for a quick lynx nuke unless you're fully specced to back that lynx up.

There's a difference between Normal, Signature, Elite, Elite Master, Nemesis, Archnemesis, Swarm, NPC, freep, creep, and dev types of creatures -- you can learn to fight them accordingly.

[Amonceleb]

I agree with a couple of other posters; MoNF is more for high-end game play. The LM at your level is going to have more survivability with a KoA (heavy CC-emphasis) build. And if you're basing your performance on how you fare against even-con elites, you may be setting yourself up to fail. I'm not saying they can't be solo'd, but you need to use the tools you have, and standing toe-to-toe with elites isn't among your toolset.

And as an aside, if you hate kiting, do NOT roll a RK. Kiting is an RK's bread-and-butter on tougher mobs. Just so you know.

[Bryzinkta]

LMs are certainly not DPS machines, at least not during leveling. Perhaps with 5/5 MoNF and higher end gear at 65, then yes but not in the leveling phase.

The essence of LM play seems to me to be about control. The Blinding Flash skill is one of the few things in the game that works properly and reliably and it makes many fights that are tough on an equivalent level RK comparatively easy on an LM.

From a personal play perspective, having not that long ago gone through the levels you are at, I was using the Lynx as my pet of choice. The Bear isn't a tank, regardless of what a minority of people may say and I personally don't find it anywhere near as useful for soloing as the Lynx.

As far as an attack profile against a single mob goes, this would be mine:

Pre-fight
- Ancient Wisdom is on (not that I ever have power issues on my LM)
- Sign of the Wild: Improved Rage is freshly cast on the Lynx
- Lynx is in Stealth and ready to go
- Range is correct to mob (just in range for Cracked Earth to be available)

Fight Sequence
- Sign of Power: Command on the mob
- Hit the "Surprise Attack" Pet key (this is crucial, launches the pet towards the target with a potentially devestating hit as its first attack)
- As the Lynx approaches the mob, start Burning Embers. I like to time this so it hits *just* after the Lynx "Surprise Attack" has landed.
- Cracked Earth
- Burning Embers (2nd time)
- Sign of Battle: Wizardy

At this point the mob is normally over half dead, often nearly completley dead depending on misses, resists, etc.

If the mob is still strong:
- Light of the Rising Dawn or Test of Will (both do good damage and both stun the mob, but your pet will understand they are not rooted or mezzed so will continue the attack - the stun give you the opportunity to slap a "Beacon of Hope" on your pet if necessary, and possibly Air-Lore also if the fight is going badly)
- Burning Embers (3rd time)
- Staff Strike if it gets within range, or Staff Sweep.

If the mob is nearly toast after the first part don't waste Light of the Rising Dawn, just Burning Embers or Staff Stike to finish it off.

Collect loot and move on.

For a two mob fight just get the feel for your timer and use Blinding Flash to keep mob two out of the fight. The fight with that mob will be a little harder as you won't have the Lynx "Surprise Attack" damage, but the same basic routine applies. The reason I made the comment above "...don't waste Light of the Rising Dawn..." is because I was, subconciously thinking of two mob fights where I may want to use it to (a) damage and (b) stun mob two in a two mob fight.

I would seriously ask you not to junk your LM. They are a very fun class once you do get the hang of them and they are worth playing for their own sake. Again, on a very personal level, I enjoy my LM much more than my RK, but I realise that everyone will have their own view on that sort of comment.

From a build perspective at your level I was using crafted "rare" equipment and/or a bit of Skirmish equipment. It was just prior to going off and getting my Fem set from Angmar, which I tried at 39 (I think) and most of the mobs were Red, so I was getting a huge amount of resists, misses etc. I did find that the going was a bit hard at that level as my gear was getting old and really needed to be upgraded.

So I left Angmar and went and did a bit of other stuff, including tidying up parts of the Epic quest line and a few Skirmish, returning to Angmar at about 40 if I recall correctly.

The Fem set, plus the "Jewels of Buth Sankhas" set (from solo Angmar quests), are both worth getting at around 41 or so.

The crafted Staff quality drops off a bit around the 40's so I would suggest you pick up "Aerwolf" which is a quest reward from a small fellowship quest "Dark Hunters" (I think) which is also in Angmar. This can be soloed, not by being superman but simply by being patient as the mobs you need (Skirmishers and Warriors) are available in limited numbers outside the mini-inistance at about 4.3N, 35.5W in Angmar. It takes maybe half an hour or so to kill the mobs you need and you get a staff that will take you through to the "Walls of Moria" quest line where you will get your first Legendary Item.

It is also worth obtaining the "Grove Tender's" set from Trollshaws (three pieces - Robe, Gloves and Ring).

From a Trait perspective I have always been:
- Flame of Anor
- Harmony with Nature
- Master of the Staff
- Hardy Companion
- Beast Lore

So 3 MoNF + 2 KoA.

I am not saying this is the ulimate build or anything, simply trying to show you what worked for me and help you enjoy your LM. 3/5 in MoNF does reduce Blinding Flash duration by 10 seconds, but that is still a very nice long stun and, in most fights, easily enough time to dispose of mob number one. In a two mob fight Cracked Earth can be used to (a) finish off mob one and (b) wake up mob two from the Blinding Flash and start the root timer on it "just in case".

BTW - Note that in my rotations noted above I did not use Wind-Lore or Gust of Wind. Why? Personal playstyle, nothing more - I simply have not learned to put them into my rotation. It is probably fair to say that everyone has skills they like to use and those that are "on the second shelf". We know where they are, but we don't use them a lot.

Having said that, I *always* use Wind-Lore when I have ranged attackers hitting me, particularly in Skirmishes where I have probably used Blinding Flash on the Lieutenant and I am dealing with another mob in front of me. Wind-Lore's -50% Ranged damage can be a life saver in those situations. I just don't find I need it in normal solo questing type activities. Gust of Wind I tend to use if I have a number of melee mobs on me, but even then my first choice is Fire-Lore. But all of that is simply preference; we have a lot of skills and the class can be played in a number of different ways.

Don't give up - LMs really are fun; and I hope you do find you sweet-spot with them!

[Machaveli]

I skimmed through half this threat but so forgive me if this is mentioned.

Don't forget if you're traiting 3+ deep in MoNF you're going to start killing your mez duration.
3 deep = 10s reduction
4 deep = 15s reduction

the result is a 20s or 5s mez depending on how deep you go into MoNF. when fully dps traited your mez is a non-damaging test of will on a slightly better CD, so be careful with that.

[Texicon]

"Today I traited KoA to try the lynx as many seem to think it's attack helps bring the mob down quick and to learn more about the class. Not so much IMO.

Only good aspect about this build is the agony was shorter, I died much quicker.

My "typical" opening attacks is:

Ancient Wisdom
SoP: Right...

SoP: Comm
Send in pet
Fire Lore
Wind Lore
Burning Embers
Wind Lore
Light of the Rising Dawn
SoB: Wiz when a flank procs."

Try this...
SoP: Comm
Send pet (BEAR) with SotW Protection
Fire Lore
Use pet stun
Burning Embers
Gust of Wind
Burning Embers
Run to mob and get some flanked staff hits in
Test of Will (5s stun)

You get the point...as KoA your pet is the primary attacker (normaly)...you are a debuffer, healer, and secondary damage dealer.

[Harry2]

I didn't see you mention this, but as an FYI, make sure while fighting the spiders to have some handy poison pots. This is a weakness for LM's, being able to get rid of that spider dot can mean the difference between dying and living. When fighting elites that are even con, don't be afraid to let your pet do maximum damage, even to the point of death, leaving you with a full health bar to finish the fight.
Fighting an elite requires a determined battle plan. Start with your pet of choice, even if the fight is slow, let your pet keep the aggro as long as possible. Burning embers is usually a good slow dot that doesn't often pull the mob, but make sure aggro is established with your pet.
The bear can be useful with its forced taunt, timing is crucial, save it for either when you pull aggro healing the bear, or your dots start to do too much damage over the bear.
Lynx, always start with sneak attack, but remember this is only damaged based aggro, which can easily be outweighed by your damage. Let your lynx slash away a bit before adding yours.
Liberal use of blinding flash allows you to gain some space between you and the mob, its sort of kiting, but an extra 10 to 20 feet between you and the mob allows you time to refresh your skills, use a morale/power pot, and most importantly, gets you away from the melee range.

Situational awareness helps. Before starting a fight, pick out which way you will move when the time comes. Aggroing a second mob while fighting one elite can be a terminal error. Sometimes this can be as simple as using blinding flash, then running thru the mob to its original starting point, often being the most clear fighting position.

Good luck, and while the LM can be slow at times, mastering the art of crowd control and fire power, it can be deeply satisfying knowing you can own mobs at your own speed.

[Texicon]

As KoA I always use the bear for equal or above non regular enemies. I love the lynx but it just cant take the damage.

[Darlgon]

Sorry for late reply to the OP. Hopefully, by now, you have figured out a way around this. At level 39, you are something like a 16 yearold, lots of potential, but not quite in a position to do anything about it yet because you still don't have all your skills. Personally, it took me too long at your level to kill either spiders or trolls in trollshaws, so I just moved on to the next camp. (I think it was the undead camp close by up there, the guy with the summoning horn next to him way out in the midde of nowhere.) Turbine kinda made them for if you are in a fellowship more than the solo play you read like you are trying.

Oh, and the title first made me think you were selling your loremaster off. Then I suddenly had a picture of a loremaster like a Thanksgiving turkey waiting for the axe.

[Machaveli]

If you haven't nerfed your mez...
MAKE SURE YOU MEZ IT when you're getting low on HP. 30s is great for recovery and allows you to buildl some distance.

Cracked Earth can be great, it's root is long and only 50% chance of break on damage, so keep that up. You'll need to kite him unless you find some way for the bear to hold hate.

I"d use Rage not Protection for the extra threat.

[MummyLord]

An interesting thread. My Lm is 30 but I felt pretty weak with him so when I'm not creeping I play my champ or rk. Much more fun, less tedious when it comes to casting sequences and the champ is just plain fun to play at any level. Maybe LM isn't for you either.

[Samain]

I am around your level, and now love my LM a lot more then any other char.

I am traited in 3 MoNF + 2 KoA, so most important thing is start with Burning Embers just after lynx attacks. Red line supposed to be for fast killing and combined with lynx it allows for very serious dmg. So slow the monster down, and do as much dmg as possible until it runs to you, then stun or mez depending on the situation with your DoTs.

You should not do a lot of non-dmg debuffs unless you allow your pet tank (and in this case bear is much more sturdy then lynx).

[Darlgon]

Seriously, would not recommend red line until you are 65 and have all your skills and good armor. You cant take the hits until you get Moria armor.

[Bryzinkta]

Seriously, would not recommend red line until you are 65 and have all your skills and good armor. You cant take the hits until you get Moria armor.

Certainly not at all sure about that comment. LMs are squishy, but played properly they take very little damage normally. Of course if you insist in pulling 3+ mobs then it is going to be hard work and having the Big Flappy Bird (BFB) with its generous flank rate will be advisable and that is not available till mid/late 40's.

As I mentioned, I have always had 3 MoNF and either 1, 2 or 3 KoA (level dependant of course) and that worked fine for me whilst leveling through the 30 to 50's range.

Remember, we are *not* discussing end-game. The OP was having difficulty at level 39 and wanted advice for that level principally.

[Bonomir]

I loved the 30s on my LM.

You should be aware that 'once upon a time in middle earth' the area you are fighting in was the end game. So, be careful throwing around AoE strange attractors in there, like fire and wind lore. Approach things in your 30s, when in MoNF mode, as a soliatry hunter. Pick your battles to isolate your targets and kill them quickly, efficiently, and move rapidly to your next victim. Plan ahead for victims....know the next 3 you are going to kill, and where. But ALWAYS, survey the ground and know where you want things to happen. You are an LM, not a champion...walk softly, and carry a BIG, fiery stick, lol.

I had no problems killing things in MoNF once I got the lynx. I read your opening sequence and would say, try this:

- make sure you and lynx are both buffed, well fed, etc. (the new pet food is yummy, use it)
- make sure you right-click on all of your lynx skills so you don't micro-manage the cat
- survey the area and make certain you won't pull additional aggro (there, anything you pull is also elite)
- drop an SoP:Command on your target, and prepare to engage.

Now.

1. send in the pet using Surprise Strike (you will know instantly whether it succeeded by reading chat text)
2. just before he gets to mob, hit the mob with LotRD (dmg+stun)
3. lynx has a high probability of critting your stunned enemy (mob has a huge chunk bitten off'em now)
4. follow-up with Burning Embers (BE) [BE has an initial damage, plus several pulses of DoT fire damage]
5. mob will now close on you, hit him with improved Staffstrike (iSS), and let auto-attack (AA) execute
6. hit him with second BE (the pulses are probably off by now if you let AA fire off)
7. LotRD should be up again, fire it off (especially if you are 4 deep in MoNF: 15 sec LotRD, use it)
8. BE the mob again, let auto-attack complete (check if you need a morale pot)
9. iSS is up again, use it, let AA fire
10. clean up the gnarly bits with Test of Will

Rinse and repeat as needed. But no question: BE and iSS are your main kill shots. LotRD is up there too. And DO NOT BE AFRAID to engage in melee. Leaves way too much damage on the table to play this as a glass cannon. So look to add Vitality whenever you can (you already know to pump will/fate). Armor rating and melee defense, too. Ranged defense also, if you foresee archers in your immediate future.

NOTE: Wisdom of the Council is your "Oh S**t" card....use it if, and when, necessary. Learn to pot morale ahead too, so you get the most pots in during an elite fight. Don't wait until you're in trouble.

NOTE2: don't worry about, or depend on, flanks when using the cat...they are rare and undependable...so use SoB:Wizardry as a damage skill (or bank it for the off chance you do get a flank).

NOTE3: i would avoid using AoE skills in that area, unless I was positive nothing else would get aggroed.

Typical traits I ran at that level were:

1. Master of the Staff (don't leave home without it)
2. Flame of Anor (+10% fire damage, what's not to like)
3. Harmony with Nature (helps manage your power, and reduces skill inductions)
4. Awareness of Body (cuts down the morale consumption of your skills. Without this, you are killing yourself)
(note: for my 5th skill, I slotted Improved Signs of Power, which makes SoP:Command simply awesome)

This gives you +45% fire damage (at your level, that's CE and BE), +15% tactical damage, 15 sec CD on LotRD, 2min CD on Ents Go to War, and a really poor blinding flash of 5 sec duration. So, use your power to kill them, before they kill you. In a panic, you can use your gimped BF to set up an Inner Flame sequence if you are hurting. Flash the mob, hit Inner Flame, and when the mob wakes, he will go 'hell bent for leather' after your pet (since the "month of" update). When that concludes, pay back = LotRD! And now, you're "so fresh and so clean", lol. So throw your cat some love and a Beacon of Hope, and finish what you started.

Final retort: if you are fighting those spideys, might as well take a ride on down to Ecad Candelleth in the Tal Bruinen and get yourself the 3 piece Woodlands set. Awesome stats+good armor rating (for me, better than the 5 piece Fem set). Look up these 2 also: Bloodstone Staff (does fire damage), Defender of Gwingris (curved sword). Both are easy to get. But above all else, don't chop your LM before you see the power lingering just the below the surface. Let it rise!

[Maelon]

but I still can't kill a white spider in the Trollshaws. I'm tired of fighting blue Mobs and reading you guys are fighting whites and oranges solo.

I missed this part in my first reply. It is clear to me now you are trying to kill on level elites solo. Why? Do it a couple times with a full 30 second blinding flash to convince yourself it can be done (but will take about 4-5 minutes per mob), but you'll never get past level 39 at that rate. Quest somewhere else. I have 3 characters past your level, and only completed the quests in that northern area of the trollshaws on one character at about level 50. Just bypass it.

You are better off questing in the tal Bruinen area of the Trollshaws, the NW section of Evendim, or the Earth kin hub in Angmar. If you've done all those areas, do some skirmishes until you can quest in the Misty Mts or Aughaire.

Don't beat your head in against elite spiders!

[Tatuaje]

Thanks again to all who have been replying. I have tried a lot of the suggestions and may be fairing a bit better. I really like the LM in a group but soloing is still a chore. My alt is a lvl 32 Minitrel and really appreciates a LM when they are in the fellowship. I have by-passed the spiders I switched and worked the North Downs and am about 1/2 to lvl 41.

I am convinced the MoNF is not the right trait at this level and have been playing around with various KoA builds. Picked up a few trinkets and such that are helping out. I saw a few more posts here that have tips I want to try. I just picked up a sweet robe for killing a Rock Worm or some such critter. I will research on how to get some of the equipment that was posted earlier. Some better equip all around wouldn't hurt.

For what ever reason in most of my quest lines, i am down to a few white, and a lot of orange/red quests. I just may have to get into some groups or buy another area to quest in. I have a few skill questions but will stick them in a new thread, don't want to hijack my own thread.