The Giant List of Bear suggestions/gripes/praise and confusions and tips

[Conancrush]

Thought I'd make a centralized thread for all things Beorning feedback. List what you want and lets keep it semi constructive.

-I really like the mid range feel of Red. At first it seemed a bit clunky, but the 20m range kinda grew on me. Being a mid range hybrid feels fresh in LOTRO.
-Being able to use Biting attack out of combat is great for an on demand Hearten or a quick shift to bear to pull from range with Vigilant Roar or Grisly Cry.
-In Beta, the Heals and Bleeds felt off. Maybe they weren't scaled yet, but now they feel great.

Cons
-I feel like a mild defensive passive, when Bear form is active, should be standard across all three specs. Maybe blue gets a greater bonus. I feel a bit squishy in red when chain pulling mobs. I can manage it, but some additional dmg reduction would fit just fine.
-Wrath decay out of combat could use a second or third look. Maybe keep the per second rate but just reduce the wrath amount. Even for someone who pulls aggressively, there are times when I'm essentially bleeding wrath and the net mob is far away.

[Mithlanros]

in regards to wrath decay currently the LI that is supposed to slow decay actually increases it so if you think you are bleeding wrath now wait until 50+ its worse until the fix, if you have the trait that is.

[Laurebear]

I haven't got far enough with my Beorning yet to offer a lot of combat feedback, but from a RP/immersion perspective I think it would be really fun to allow shapeshifting at will out of combat, as a toggle. I suspect it would be too much work and too difficult to implement, but it would be nice to see my bear form more than just a few seconds in combat now and again. Certainly in The Hobbit, Beorn seems to be able to spend about as much time as a bear as he does as a man, to the point that the stories about his origins disagree on whether he is descended from humans or bears. I suppose we as his descendants may not be as powerful in terms of shapeshifting ability however.

[nelar]

Caveat: I haven't seen all the possible legacies, so it's possible legacies will solve some of the below problems.

I'm finding it a bit problematic that Vigilant Roar is a single target, especially in Blue line. That leaves me with Relentless Maul as the only AoE taunt, which of course fails pretty quickly if you get stunned when you start it, not to mention the higher wrath cost. With stun removal on a 2 minute cooldown, an unlucky run of back to back stuns makes me pretty worthless unless I'm running with an LM.

I love the fact that Nature's Vengeance doesn't cost wrath and has an 8 second cooldown. Once I hit 50, that became my goto skill for pulling, allowing me to stay in bear form with chain pulls. I must admit, I wish it has a 30 meter range only as a way to stay in combat before wrath degeneration hits as I dash towards the next mob.

If there's a visual queue for when Execute gets a free proc, I'm not seeing it. As such, I found it too risky to use unless I was fairly certain it would a) kill the mob, b) there was no other mob nearby, and c) I wouldn't need healing after combat. Having all three conditions met didn't occur very often, so I finally gave up and removed all the traits for it. I'd probably use it if there was a free wrath proc that showed up in the special state window.

Sacrifice will forward through your target, which is great. If a mob starts beating on your healer, you can just stay targeted on the mob and hit sacrifice. Unfortunately Nature's Bond (yellow trait) requires you to face the fellowship member, so not only must you deselect the mob, you must also turn (if the dps, or other player is behind you). Probably not a problem if the only person you will apply it to is the tank, but more of a problem if you are a secondary healer.

[Shadowhunter78]

in regards to wrath decay currently the LI that is supposed to slow decay actually increases it so if you think you are bleeding wrath now wait until 50+ its worse until the fix, if you have the trait that is.

Make sure you submit a bug report for it then. Or anything else that is a bug.

[Conancrush]

If there's a visual queue for when Execute gets a free proc, I'm not seeing it. As such, I found it too risky to use unless I was fairly certain it would a) kill the mob, b) there was no other mob nearby, and c) I wouldn't need healing after combat. Having all three conditions met didn't occur very often, so I finally gave up and removed all the traits for it. I'd probably use it if there was a free wrath proc that showed up in the special state window.

I am not sure it shows up, but I've used a a workaround with the plugin Buffbars to deal with procs in this game. I track the specific buff, in its own window, and then make the icon as large as possible. then I place it to the left of my character.
When the ability procs, I get a sort of Tellmewhen from WOW icon pop up.

They seem to have adopted a form of PowaAuras into the game with abilities like Call to Wild. When you activate it red claw marks show next to your character for the duration of the buff. More of this Turbine pls.

[ACOstud77]

Thought I'd make a centralized thread for all things Beorning feedback. List what you want and lets keep it semi constructive.

-I really like the mid range feel of Red. At first it seemed a bit clunky, but the 20m range kinda grew on me. Being a mid range hybrid feels fresh in LOTRO.
-Being able to use Biting attack out of combat is great for an on demand Hearten or a quick shift to bear to pull from range with Vigilant Roar or Grisly Cry.
-In Beta, the Heals and Bleeds felt off. Maybe they weren't scaled yet, but now they feel great.

Cons
-I feel like a mild defensive passive, when Bear form is active, should be standard across all three specs. Maybe blue gets a greater bonus. I feel a bit squishy in red when chain pulling mobs. I can manage it, but some additional dmg reduction would fit just fine.
-Wrath decay out of combat could use a second or third look. Maybe keep the per second rate but just reduce the wrath amount. Even for someone who pulls aggressively, there are times when I'm essentially bleeding wrath and the net mob is far away.

One thing that helps is the legacies bear movement speed and rush duration + wrath decay out of combat. I have all 3 and it allows you to move fast from mob to mob and burn down quick in red. Also if you are just trying too get away it can be a great escape. +15% bear speed plus the 20% or so from rush! Range really is not a problem for Beornings.

[deathstorm78]

I am not sure it shows up, but I've used a a workaround with the plugin Buffbars to deal with procs in this game. I track the specific buff, in its own window, and then make the icon as large as possible. then I place it to the left of my character.
When the ability procs, I get a sort of Tellmewhen from WOW icon pop up.

They seem to have adopted a form of PowaAuras into the game with abilities like Call to Wild. When you activate it red claw marks show next to your character for the duration of the buff. More of this Turbine pls.

I tried to create the Buffbars notification as you suggested and couldn't figure it out since I'm not very proficient with customization of it. I did figure out something else that would work though.

If you press ctrl+\ to rearrange the locations of the UI panes you can locate one called "Auto Skill Bar." You will see that when the skill "Moment of Opportunity" (a red flashing icon the same as listed under The Claw(red line) will appear in this box when the free Execute skill is available. I moved mine to the middle of the screen where it pops up where I can spot it easily. Just a suggestion.

[Mithlanros]

Make sure you submit a bug report for it then. Or anything else that is a bug.

Already done =) I reported the moment I noticed it.

[Conancrush]

I tried to create the Buffbars notification as you suggested and couldn't figure it out since I'm not very proficient with customization of it. I did figure out something else that would work though.

If you press ctrl+\ to rearrange the locations of the UI panes you can locate one called "Auto Skill Bar." You will see that when the skill "Moment of Opportunity" (a red flashing icon the same as listed under The Claw(red line) will appear in this box when the free Execute skill is available. I moved mine to the middle of the screen where it pops up where I can spot it easily. Just a suggestion.

Ah, nice find.

[Nuuma]

I got to level 24, and so far, Im really enjoying the class overall.

My only gripe is not being able to use bear form anytime (except indoors, those bears are just too big).
But thats just my 2-copper.

Im going red line, and am enjoying it.
I took a swing through the barrows near Bree and didnt find it too difficult.
It was an enjoyable challenge.

My suggestions:
A few options to make bear form fur colors differ from man form hair colors.
Bear form looks like theyre standing on their elbows. Not a dealbreaker, but a mild annoyance.
Bearform anytime! Except indoors, because of their size.

[Gilean-EU]

My beorning is only lvl 32, but I have two major gripes:

1. No ranged pull (Bee-swarm could be one if there was no wrath requirement and players would get it earlier). Since there is no ranged weapons allowed either, please give us a skill to pull, even if it was something like captain's mark.
2. CC breaks bear-form. Not long ago I got Relentless Maul, but I have already experienced far too many times this: I build enough wrath, then I pop Ferocious Roar, switch to bear, and click Relentless Maul. Almost immediately I get a stun, that not only switches me back to man-form, but also scraps both Ferocious Roar and Relentless Maul as well. Highly irritating...

[nelar]

My beorning is only lvl 32, but I have two major gripes:

1. No ranged pull (Bee-swarm could be one if there was no wrath requirement and players would get it earlier). Since there is no ranged weapons allowed either, please give us a skill to pull, even if it was something like captain's mark.

At level 50 you get Nature's Vengeance which has a 20m range, 8 second cooldown, and doesn't cost (or add to) any wrath. Personally, I stopped pulling with Bee-swarm as a pull the moment I got this skill since it doesn't require or consume wrath.

[Afuna]

If there's a visual queue for when Execute gets a free proc, I'm not seeing it.

I can't say for sure how my UI is set up to do this, but i DO have a window for a free proc on execute.

[Mcgiver]

My beorning is only lvl 32, but I have two major gripes:

1. No ranged pull (Bee-swarm could be one if there was no wrath requirement and players would get it earlier). Since there is no ranged weapons allowed either, please give us a skill to pull, even if it was something like captain's mark.
2. CC breaks bear-form. Not long ago I got Relentless Maul, but I have already experienced far too many times this: I build enough wrath, then I pop Ferocious Roar, switch to bear, and click Relentless Maul. Almost immediately I get a stun, that not only switches me back to man-form, but also scraps both Ferocious Roar and Relentless Maul as well. Highly irritating...

you can use biting edge without target/out of combat and it still generate 15 wrath enough for hearten and bee-swarm

anyone know if rush and 15%bear form speedbuff(LI) stacks? would be +40% in combat speedboost

[Gilean-EU]

you can use biting edge without target/out of combat and it still generate 15 wrath enough for hearten and bee-swarm

anyone know if rush and 15%bear form speedbuff(LI) stacks? would be +40% in combat speedboost

At level 50 you get Nature's Vengeance which has a 20m range, 8 second cooldown, and doesn't cost (or add to) any wrath. Personally, I stopped pulling with Bee-swarm as a pull the moment I got this skill since it doesn't require or consume wrath.

True, I use Biting Edge + Hearten whenever I need healing. And although Biting Edge + Bee-swarm works as well, it's not ideal. ALL other classes have either a skill or ranged weapon for pulling. Even burglars can pull with Addle starting from lvl 14.

It's good to know that at lvl 50 you are basically even with burglars (what comes to pulling), but such skill should be available way earlier. Then again, the situation we have is probably because originally they planned beornings to start from lvl 50, and now all skills/traits are not available when they should. It's the same with T3 red traits, at the time you have the 11th point to invest so that T3 opens up, you don't have either of those two skills that those traits improve.

[Lordthebruce]

My beorning is only lvl 32, but I have two major gripes:

1. No ranged pull (Bee-swarm could be one if there was no wrath requirement and players would get it earlier). Since there is no ranged weapons allowed either, please give us a skill to pull, even if it was something like captain's mark.

So I see this popping up a lot. Beornings can use throwing axes. They can be bought at weapon vendors and can be crafted by weaponsmith. They have 30m range and irritate the mob just enough to pull them. I keep a stack of 100 in my bags.

Also I am only lvl20 and have Mark of Grimbeorn which enhances skills i dont have yet AND pulls mobs.

[Warth]

Mounted combat is so close to being good but the problems with it are staggering.

1. There's a massive skill delay after using wrath spenders...like 5 full seconds. It's so bad, I barely use them. There's no reason for it, put the animation delay in line with the builders.
2. Blue and Yellow are both healing lines and none of them do squat for the war steed's morale and power (there's a pathetic mini steed heal in yellow, and it's melee range so no putting distance for more heal time). You know what kills me in HD? Getting 2 shot off my steed over and over and being unable to heal or mount up again. I ran heavy instead of light just for higher war steed morale. Change Recuperate so it heals the steed morale as well as your own.
3. Why does Bee Swarm make mobs run away?? That's the most blindly unhelpful ability I've ever seen. They literally just run past their pathing point and reset. God knows the mounted dps isn't anywhere remotely close to being able to kill them before that point. It's really fun when they run past more mobs for you to pull while you're frantically trying to finish them before they reset.

[Gilean-EU]

So I see this popping up a lot. Beornings can use throwing axes. They can be bought at weapon vendors and can be crafted by weaponsmith. They have 30m range and irritate the mob just enough to pull them. I keep a stack of 100 in my bags.

Also I am only lvl20 and have Mark of Grimbeorn which enhances skills i dont have yet AND pulls mobs.

All right, thanks for the tip with throwing axes. There really should be some kind of info box popping up when you level to, say, 10, that "At level 10 you can use throwing axes". Now there isn't any. But still, those are consumables, although better than nothing. All other classes either have a skill OR ranged weapon that they can use at low levels for pulling.

Mark of Grimbeorn is Yellow trait specific I guess, so if you are traited red or blue, you cannot have that skill.