Loremaster as a "good" support-healer?

[Renjy]

Hey guys,

I want to begin again with Lotro and a new character. I tend to be a healer, most of the times. I am choosing between Minstrel and Loremaster.

The style, the Staff & Sword thing, the pets, the "Natures Fury" thing... I love all of that and that's why I really like LMs. And I really want to play one. But there is this endeavour to heal... I know Loremasters have Waterlore, Beacon of Hope and maybe some other, little heals. But can I spec my Loremaster into a quite good and viable off-healer thing? Are there any good legendary traits or maybe talents I should / could use for making my LM a good HP ( and maybe power ) healer? Is it possible and is there a place for us?

I like Minstrels, too, but their red line doesn't appeal to me as much as the Natures Fury line. And the Minstrel has no pets. Sure, it has some cool skills and shields and it's a full healer... but still missing the "style" of a Loremaster ( no, I don't want to be another Gandalf ).

So, what would you recommend me to do? Is it possible for me to "heal" maybe a 3-6 person group quite good?

[Spilo]

Hey guys,

I want to begin again with Lotro and a new character. I tend to be a healer, most of the times. I am choosing between Minstrel and Loremaster.

The style, the Staff & Sword thing, the pets, the "Natures Fury" thing... I love all of that and that's why I really like LMs. And I really want to play one. But there is this endeavour to heal... I know Loremasters have Waterlore, Beacon of Hope and maybe some other, little heals. But can I spec my Loremaster into a quite good and viable off-healer thing? Are there any good legendary traits or maybe talents I should / could use for making my LM a good HP ( and maybe power ) healer? Is it possible and is there a place for us?

I like Minstrels, too, but their red line doesn't appeal to me as much as the Natures Fury line. And the Minstrel has no pets. Sure, it has some cool skills and shields and it's a full healer... but still missing the "style" of a Loremaster ( no, I don't want to be another Gandalf ).

So, what would you recommend me to do? Is it possible for me to "heal" maybe a 3-6 person group quite good?

Quite frankly, no.

Your LI book contains a tactical healing main buff (that should always be maxed out for any level 80+ LI). There is also a LI trait to upgrade your beacon of hope magnitude. But other than water lore, beacon of hope, and some minor healing with your spirit pet, you do not have the ability to heal well enough.

Even when traited full support, at best a Loremaster can heal a 3 man group, and this is at the cost of not healing himself (or healing self very little). Beacon of hope has a long cooldown, water-lore is more gear for self-healing. My healing in group content usually doesn't go beyond keeping a stack of Water-Lore on the main tank (for HoT and Incoming Healing buff), and using beacon of hope in times of emergencies.

That being said, we do have the ability to make an effect with our healing. I've saved a few raids from wiping from my off healing, but LM healing is highly situational.

[Up2L8]

If designated healer is a must and Mini isn't doing it for you then maybe take a look at Rune-Keeper. Good mix of healing and dps there.

My mid-60's LM can do a LOT of things, but DH isn't one of them.

[Renjy]

Thanks! Nice to read more opinions.

I don't want to "main heal" as a LM. That's quite impossible I think. I just thought about healing in smaller groups, maybe in PvMP or something like that.

( I don't want to be a Runekeeper. Their style doesn't appeal to me, don't know why. )

[nailspine]

Quite frankly, no.

Here’s my version:

If your 6-man group is particularly switched-on, then a Lore-Master can serve appropriately as main healer.

1. Limit aggro to one party member. Drown whomever is holding aggro in Water-Lore, with additional heals (including those from Spirit Pet) standing by.

2. Summon Spirit companion. Apply pet’s incoming healing skill (I forget what it’s called) on main mobs – it provides supplemental healing, and should always be on cooldown

3. Properly debuff mobs to limit damage – lots of Fire Lore, See All Ends etc.

4. Crowd Control – daze those trolls and large AOE spamming mobs when able to further limit incoming damage to the party.

When acting as a healer, a Lore-Master is busy. As I’ve indicated, it can also require good group coordination. It’s very do-able however, and also a lot of fun!

[Renjy]

Oh, that sounds great. I think you need at least an experienced group to do that, but it seems to be possible. And it sounds nice.

Is Spirit the companion to go with as a healer? What can it do?

[nailspine]

Oh, that sounds great. I think you need at least an experienced group to do that, but it seems to be possible. And it sounds nice.

Is Spirit the companion to go with as a healer? What can it do?

1. Yes, an experienced group of players who understand the mechanics of aggro is preferable. Ohterwise you end up with, say, the two hunters in the group pulling mobs every which way and taking damage they can't handle (sadly, most hunters prefer to show-off how much DPS they can dish out rather than display some self-control and contribute to the group's mechanics).

2. The Spirt companion will be essential to you if acting as the party's healer. It has two main features which make it appealing to healing LMs: a) Nature's Light and, b) Nature's Gift.

a) Nature's Light (the skill I couldn't remember the name of in my earlier post) returns 5% of damage dealt to a mob by your party for 30s. As I've said, it should always be on cooldown (1m cooldown).

b) Nature's Gift allows the pet to restore 10% of maximum moral to party members within 20m radius (1m cooldown).

c) When traited blue-line, the passive trait Ferral buffs the summoned Spirit pet further: +15% Incoming Healing, +15% Outgoing Healing. Whether you want to stay from yellow-line when healing in favour of this enhancement to the Spirit pet is up to you, and might be worth exploring.

[Napoleon21]

nailspine covered it very well I just wanted to add a LM is a viable option for 3men healing,you will not have a problem healing all 3men even in t2 that they are bit buffed now.
I personally use yellow line when I have too as it fits well of how I was used to heal.Dont worry about getting big heals off.You will never be able to heal groups purely from heals,it all relies on the great options of cc and debuffs you have available.As it was said also the more focused the damage distribution the best for you.Some easy t1 6men like some Annuminas,GB could be healed too anything else requires a good group to be able to rely only on a LM heals.
Also I do not bother maxing the tact rating on the book.I always preferred using my points in some more costy legacies as my debuff/support book is also my swappy for ancient craft,bane flare,sign duration.The effect the tact rating of the book has is minimal so I would suggest don't worry so much about it.
The point on the spirit pet is great,keep in mind if u need to just release it and re-summon it to reapply the heal on return per damage buff it has to a mob and maintain permanently up or to more than one mobs if you find you have that freedom at any point.

[GithlithMonaghan]

If you get yourself the old Lvl 85-Hytbold-Healerset you'll be able to heal a 6man group too. Even on Lvl 100. You'll lose some stats with those four pieces, but you'll be able to use the flanking of your animal constantly as a full group heal. If you spawn your bear who flanks very often you'll be a very well healer indeed. You might even combine this set with two pieces of the new lvl 100 set which improves your heal even more.

[Pithrandir]

The point on the spirit pet is great,keep in mind if u need to just release it and re-summon it to reapply the heal on return per damage buff it has to a mob and maintain permanently up or to more than one mobs if you find you have that freedom at any point.

shhhhh the great eye is watching and might do terrible things to another spirit skill......

[Ethrildar]

Don't expect to roll in and wreck T2C 6-12man content with a LM but it's an adequate main healer provided your tank doesn't suck and the content isn't too difficult. I.e. simpler 6mans, all 3mans, etc.

I duo with a lore-master in the moors a lot and he can keep my Rk/champ/mini(dps)/hunter up without much issue from 3 creeps if they're not all focusing him. So in PVE with a guardian/warden/cappy tank doing their job, if the LM isn't being destroyed the healing is sufficient. It's also a great off-healer for groups and waterlore is such a huge heal that if thrown on a healer in a raid, can really keep them alive through stuns/spam CCs.

It's a versatile class, the one downside being it's bread and butter healing skill (waterlore) isn't available until level 83 or something around that, so :/

[Renjy]

Thanks!

I love to read your opinions and tactics.

[Renjy]

Hey guys, I got another question:

What would be the best profession for my LM?

If we think of a scenario where I have 3 characters ( Minstrel + Runekeeper + Loremaster ), which would be the best professions for my LM or my trio?

[Spilo]

Hey guys, I got another question:

What would be the best profession for my LM?

If we think of a scenario where I have 3 characters ( Minstrel + Runekeeper + Loremaster ), which would be the best professions for my LM or my trio?

Almost certainly Jeweler. You can craft your own Jewelry (half your gear), your talismans for calling in various skins of pets, and your brooch for buffing your pet. I go tinker, and leave the cooking alone.

[GithlithMonaghan]

Almost certainly Jeweler. You can craft your own Jewelry (half your gear), your talismans for calling in various skins of pets, and your brooch for buffing your pet. I go tinker, and leave the cooking alone.

I don't agree. Since the new essence system at least it makes more sense to become scholar (which would be a more proper profession lore-wise too). As scholar you can upgrade your will- and tactical-mastery-essences. Also you can build your own LI-books and some other LM-stuff.

[Spilo]

I don't agree. Since the new essence system at least it makes more sense to become scholar (which would be a more proper profession lore-wise too). As scholar you can upgrade your will- and tactical-mastery-essences. Also you can build your own LI-books and some other LM-stuff.

While the essences are certainly something in the favor of scholar, jewelry still provides far more than scholar does. It's easy to find a scholar to craft the LI book if you provide the shard and symbol, while having someone craft you a full set of jewelry is far more difficult. Jewelry is half of your gear, and the ability to always have half of your gear to be top notch, and your pet brooch as well makes the jeweler great for Loremasters. Any profession that can self-craft itself half of its gear is great. Which is why tailor is good for Loremasters as well.

[GithlithMonaghan]

While the essences are certainly something in the favor of scholar, jewelry still provides far more than scholar does. It's easy to find a scholar to craft the LI book if you provide the shard and symbol, while having someone craft you a full set of jewelry is far more difficult. Jewelry is half of your gear, and the ability to always have half of your gear to be top notch, and your pet brooch as well makes the jeweler great for Loremasters. Any profession that can self-craft itself half of its gear is great. Which is why tailor is good for Loremasters as well.

Yeah, then jeweler is the best profession for everyone. But since the epic battles I haven't seen anyone wearing crafted jewellery in ages. It's expensive and worse than what you can get easily as reward for instance-play or simply in the auction house.

[Spilo]

Yeah, then jeweler is the best profession for everyone. But since the epic battles I haven't seen anyone wearing crafted jewellery in ages. It's expensive and worse than what you can get easily as reward for instance-play.

I personally don't use BB jewelry (beyond the set bonus for 5% damage)- too much finesse/fate, not enough morale. Crafted jewelry (even at level 100) is still best for PvP, and will continue to be so until Turbine release another set of crafted jewelry. The same goes for instance gear (barring the excellent ring dropped from School). Even if you don't PvP, crafting jewelry is often easier than attempting to start up 3/6 mans at a lower level (not many interested) and, heaven forbid, running a BB scaled.