Official: Things I Wish I Knew Earlier!

[Voxin]

Enabling Skill Target Forwarding in the options menu will also cause this, without hitting any keys or switching targets around during combat. As long as everyone is playing nice and looking at the right targets, you will be able to just target your bear or the mob, and do damage or heal skills as much as you want. If the skill being used doesn't apply to your target, it will go to your target's target. So if you try to use a damage skill on your bear, it will hit the mob instead if your bear has the mob targeted. If you have the mob targeted, and use heal on it, it will hit your bear as long as the mob has your bear targeted.

(Sorry for the length of this, but to make the point clear, it required giving several examples.)

Target through is useful. It is a default featue of EQ2, and I used it a lot in that game. However, there is a reason they did not make it the default in this game. Many people, especially "professional" tanks (i.e., those who tend to play tanks in MMOs), do not like people in groups using target-through. The reason is that tanks need to be able to change their tagets frequently in battle in order to maintain aggro over multiple targets. If people are using target-through and the tank temporarily changes targets to maintain aggro on a secondary target, everyone who casts right as he looks at the new target will hit the new target rather than the primary. So let us say that the tank's attack misses and someone's attack crits, the end result is that targeting-through can actually cause the tank to lose the very aggro he was trying to maintain. Had everyone been targeting the original target, that would not have happend.

In the case of heals, the opposite situation can happen. Let us say you are targeting a mob knowing the tank has aggro, and you notice the tank's morale is getting low. If you go to cast your heal relying on cast-through to cast the heal on the tank right as the Hunter crits a big hit and grabs aggro, your heal will land on the Hunter, not the tank. Now your heal is on cooldown, and the tank's health is still low.

Another thing that can happen with target-through is that targets outside the battle can be inadvertently hit. I had this happen on more than one occassion in EQ2. We were fighting a mob, and I was using target-through. Just before the mob died, I started to press an attack key. Between the time I moved to press the key and the time I actually pressed it, the mob we were fighting died and the tank looked at the next target he wanted to pull. Now, had I been targeting the tank's target rather than the tank, the only thing that would have happened would be that I would have gotten a "Target is already dead" message, and my spell would not have cast. However the mob the tank simply looked at and was not ready to attack yet was a valid target, and because I was using cast-through, my spell cast. The result was that we ended up pulling a mob we did not intend. This can happen during a fight as well if the tank simply tabs trying to target the next mob beating on him and in the process targets a mob outside the current encounter. In either case, if someone is using cast through right as the tank changes targets, a mob outside the current encounter(s) can be pulled into the fight, and if there are other social mobs near that mob, others will join as well.

Additionally, since this game does not have an "implied target" window (a separate targeting window that shows who your target is looking at), there is no way to tell where your attack is going to land.

So cast-through does have definite advantages, and many times, it can work flawlessly. On the other hand, there are sometimes negative consequences to using it. And if you really think about it, it is somewhat lazy gameplay. Both of these issues are made moot by simply getting used to using the Assist key. When the battle starts, target the tank then press "F" to get his target. Concentrate on that target until it is dead. If you need to heal the tank, press "F" again. Make sure the tank is your actual target, cast heal, the press "F" again. Verify you are back on your original target, and continue attacking. You now never have to worry about inadvertently grabbing aggro, wasting a heal on someone who does not need it, or casting on a target outside the encounter.

In the end, pressing "F" before and after your heal is not significantly slower than using pass through, and it allows you to avoid all of the above problems.

[AmbushMartyr]

This may have been mentioned before, if so feel free to ignore it.

Play LOTR with only 1 hand! Some would say thats impossible, but i stumbled onto something while having a sandwich in one hand and the other on the mouse. I could actually move without touching the WASD keys!

Need to play with one hand? Simple, to move your character at anytime and in any direction simply hold the LMB down, then click and hold the RMB to start running, then while holding the mouse buttons down simply move the mouse to turn in any direction you want while moving. If you have auto-attack and auto goto mobs on attack youll be able to play LOTR with basically one hand, minus chatting unless your a really fast one hand typer!

Feel free to reword, and add to list if it helps anyone out. Good luck and Game on!

[Caelemar]

One thing that is very helpful is when you are having trouble clicking on the monster you want to fight without hit another just hit tab and it switchs between the diforent mobs until you find the one you want

[sindrael]

Can you please add "(Alt-Left click)" after the word Select? It took me (And others) a while to find this information out.
Thanks.

Good catch, it's been updated now.

[sindrael]

Don't know if this is included but:

Quests:
If you right click on the quest tracker "ring", an option to "Find others who have this quest" is displayed

Added to the list!

[Fantus]

Back by popular demand and general confusion:

What does Raid Locking do?
Alright, so this thread explains how 'Raid Locking' works! In essence, this is a feature put in the game too serve 2 purposes.
1) Save an instance so you can come back later and enter it again at a later date.
2) Prevent 'farming' of Bosses and Loot drops.

What Raids use Raid Locking?
There are only 2 Instances that support this:
-Carn Dûm (6 Man)
-Helegrod (24 Man)

So when do these reset?
Currently these instances reset at 2am EST on their reset nights (Every 3-4 Days). This means that at that time, if you are in the instance you will be booted from it, the bosses and monsters will all respawn and everything will be just like when you started it. Therefore before starting an instance it would be wise to first type “/raid locks”. This will show you what instance you are ‘Saved’ to and if you are, when they will expire. If you are not currently saved to any particular instance, it will show up blank (just ‘Raid Lock Info:’). This is the default spam for Carn Dûm: 'Private Instance: Carn Dum - Flag 0 - Resets 06/06 02:00 AM'

Mixing and Melding Raid Members!
It’s getting late and a few of your members went to bed. You need replacements! How will the raid locking affect them? Well if you have not started a raid, and you will automatically be progressed to the highest level Raid lock that the raid has achieved. For example, you are in Carn Dûm, and the group has killed the first 2 bosses. When you enter the raid you will already be flagged as killing those monsters, whether or not you were actually there for the event. The raid locking would bring you up to speed with the rest of the raid in this case.

If you have already downed several bosses and join a new raid, the new raid will automatically progress to the highest completed stage that you have achieved. So, IF YOU RAID ON WEDNESDAY AND THEN GO TO A NEW RAID ON THURSDAY THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY PROGRESS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PROGRESS. This is a potential way of ruining a raid night, so please avoid this at all costs, unless it is intentional.

If you have multiple people with different levels of progress, the raid will not function until there is ONE matching level of progress. So to explain this, say one raid does the courtyard the first boss. Another raid that same night does the courtyard then kills the sceond boss first. These raids will not be able to meld. However, if you have 2 raids that both have downed both of the first 2 bosses, they can meld.

[Morgana]

Fantus..can you clarify which nights the raids reset please. We were under the impression the CD instance reset Mon, Wed and Friday ...well 2am in the morning of those days. This Saturday night though , it reset at 2am....????

[DATVixen]

Thanks a lot. I have been playing for awhile yet still found so much info I didn't know.

[b-morgan]

If I may completely reword that one:

Then, with your inventory open, select an item via alt-leftclick. You'll know an item is selected when it has a bold yellow border and its name is in the 'selected entity' box to the right of your stat bars, where a monster's info or 'Door' would appear when selected. Some inventory spots get buggy, and cannot be alt-leftclicked. Move the item to a new slot if that's the case.

It appears that all my inventory slots are buggy. I can't find any of them that will allow an alt-leftclick to select the item.

[cozyflyer]

Performance:

If you are having trouble with stuttering on mid to high end systems even at low to mid level graphics quality, CTRL+O, Troubleshoot and then turn down the engine speed and/or lower Max FPS.

[cozyflyer]

Could you update the following:

CRAFTING & HARVESTING:
1. Pressing DELETE will select the nearest node/item, you can auto approach it by typing /follow and clicking U will automatically harvest the targeted node (useful for strawberries, yarrow and other hard to click ground spawns).

Edit: Nevermind! I see Istuilhos addressed this in crafting already!

[sailorken]

Crafting/Harvesting tip:

Drag your crafting tools to a toolbar slot so its easy to switch between tools. This is great for gatherers that have to use both the forester axe and pick-axe all the time. I recommend the control-key tool bar, so that you can hit Ctrl-1 for your first tool, Ctrl-2 for your second tool, and Ctrl-3 for your third tool.

You can make the toolbars stay visible in the options menu - in the toolbars tab, check the boxes to keep toolbar 1 and 2 visible. Then drag the toolbars down (using ctrl-\) so they are right above the fixed toolbar, and it will be like having 30 toolbar slots, which gives lots of room for all those skills, so you can group them and organize them. (Note: on small resolution screens, the upper toolbar may overlay the pop-up box for loot rolls - just leave a couple open slots on the toolbar so you can click the roll button on the popup).

Also you can put food in a toolbar slot, so you can eat snacks and food quickly. And you can put your Essence of Athelas or other potions in toolbar slots so you can use them quickly and easily during combat. It does not matter if the items in your inventory get shuffled around, the toolbar slots will always find the items. And, if you run out (like run out of food) the slot will remember what it had and when you get more, it will re-appear on the toolbar automatically.

You can also drag weapons or armor to your toolbars so you can switch weapons/armor easily. Great for guardians to switch between 1-handed + shield to 2-hander, or for anyone to switch between weapons with bonuses for spiders or orcs or whatever. You can even keep whole sets of armor on toolbars so you can switch between armor with high fate/might/power or high vitality/agility/morale, depending if you expect to take damage or not in your fellowship. Or just keep a set of shiny purple armor ready for trips into town and taverns!

[whheydt]

13) Don't be afraid of asking what you think is a stupid question in /advice channel. Ask away, we don't bite. Hard.

*However*, always read your quest log and any other connected documents (crafter notes, for example) *before* asking. The temptation to reply with "RTFM" for some questions is nearly overwhelming.

[LotRfan2000]

4. Using /follow on a selected node will cause you to auto approach it. You can slot this using /shortcut.. ~From Istuilhos

I don't understand how to use this. I want to /follow and autoloot nodes and corpes using my side mouse button. How do I make that possible?

[Langeless]

but you can use a compressed UI and move the Quick bars down to make it seem like a second row of quick slots without taking up any additional space on the screen. An example from Kaylan's great UI: http://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/full30.jpg ~From Ascadia



How do you do this? it seems I can not find out how to and must be missing it, I have looked all over the options panel and do not see anything about compressing the UI?

nice list buy the way, very helpful indeed.

thanks in advance
Langeless

[Phredd]

Please note that this is a bug and it will be fixed in a future update.

[Edit] It's actually the repair rates at this vendor that will be fixed. Many craft ingredients have been reduced in price - reflecting what you currently see at the Grocer at the Bree Town Hall.
-Avon

Appearantly many didnt include coal with is rediculously expensive as always. Why did wax get a huge price cut but not coal?

[LotRfan2000]

Appearantly many didnt include coal with is rediculously expensive as always. Why did wax get a huge price cut but not coal?

Is there a complete list of each price drop? I didn't really get into much crafting yet so I am curious what got price cuts and how much they were.

[Miz_Sparrow]

CRAFTING & HARVESTING:
1. Pressing DELETE will select the nearest node/item, after you approach it click U to automatically harvest nodes (useful for strawberries, yarrow and other hard to click ground spawns). ~From Cozyflyer

Also, I have found that if you right click on the berries/plants, it doesn't always harvest, but LEFT clicking starts your character harvesting it.

COMBAT:
4. If you attack a tagged mob, you will take a percentage of that person's xp. [I]~From acuoio

EDITED since apparently this changed:
To clarify - You can recognize a "tagged" mob (one that someone else hit first) because their Morale bar is gray instead of red when you hit them. You don't gain anything for touching that mob, but the first person LOSES some of the XP it would have given them. Also, apparently if you heal someone who is fighting, that has the same result. Therefore, asking ahead of time, or else be sure that the person is about to die / cannot handle the mob before you intervene, to avoid offending people.

GENERAL GAMEPLAY:
1. Holding down the right mouse button while moving left or right allows you to stafe. (Aside from the default Q&E) ~From Diggl

8. Holding down the right and left mouse buttons together will allow you to move, turn and look with only your mouse hand rather than using the keyboard and mouse together. ~From Routman

Clarifying: right mouse only = your character turns to where the camera is pointing. If you have turned on autorun, this will "steer" your character. If you are standing still, you will simply turn.

left mouse = your camera moves but your character does not

Hold down right mouse, then also hold down left mouse = you begin moving forward; as you move the mouse, your camera moves AND your character turns while running to head in whatever direction you're looking. However, this can make your hand sore.When you release the buttons, you stop running.

To stop autorun, you can click and release right+left mouse button at the same time.

[DejaBoo]

Don't be afraid to ask for or suggest advice in fellowship quests. I have found most everyone to be very helpful and it greatly improves the gaming experience.

And suggest people go to the forums here and seek these threads

"What we wish other classes new about (class listed)"

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=33296

[Miz_Sparrow]

But there are some that are the other way around. Trestlebridge to Esteldin is 12, but Trestlebridge to Amon Raith is 10 and Amon Raith to Esteldin is 10 (I think, might be slightly off on these) even though you ride right past Amon Raith

Saving money by adding a stop is generally possible only when dealing with *long distances* and considering the cost of Swift Travel. In some cases ST is more expensive (bree -----> esteldin vs bree->trestlebridge->esteldin) and in some cases it is less expensive.

If you want to get to hobbiton from Bree, you can do 1s to Michel Delving and then I think it's 3s from MD to Hobbiton, whereas you would have paid 10s from Bree directly to Hobbiton, and it would have taken longer.

My numbers could be off a little but you get the idea.

[atteSmythe]

To clarify - you get some of the XP for killing that mob, and they LOSE some of the XP.

This isn't right, at least pre-Evendim (haven't tested afterwards). One player loses some XP, but the other gains none.

[FasmiaX]

I wish I knew that going to Carn Dum meant that I would only be able to go back there upon returning with others who have progressed as far as me or further...

I wish I knew what to do with my free time in game since I have nothing but raids and instances left to do.

[quigonwindu]

Setting yourself to "Anonymous" in the Social Panel will also prevent others from clicking on your toon and using the "Inspect" option from the context menu.

Otherwise, ppl can Inspect you and find out what armor/weapons/items you have equipped as well as what traits you have slotted.

[xIcyx]

That this game had misadventure in boss fights where you randomly die for no reason.

[MadTomic]

That this game had misadventure in boss fights where you randomly die for no reason.

That's because you are not paying enough attentions to the encounter. Observe and look for the smallest detail you might have over look. Encounter = stragies.