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I dropped the Gamma in my most recent video and increased the ingame Game Ambient light setting significantly. It does look better but it's probably too much Ambient light at present. The night time graphics settings in the game can cause some real recording issues. The high Gamma at least resolved the issue but I can see Ambient light will work better and keep the colour more realistic. I'll tinker around with both of them a bit more as time goes on. I'll also need to check the Ambient light setting comes through the game & onto the recording (unfortunately thats not a given). Thanks again.

Yeah, maximum landscape difficulty is very hard for a burglar. It can be done but I’d be playing it on the normal servers rather than the legendary ones with the shadowy wraiths and the Moria based Orc Assassins… I only know two character classes that can solo the H+2/D9 max landscape shadowy wraiths. They are the blueline loremaster (after level 27) and the beorning. Even the beorning is very difficult after level 20… But yes, even with the right character tree selection (yellow) and best crafted gear at each level the burglar is really too slow play. For fun. And far to slow to record at H+2 so I haven’t done a play through from level 1 for the characters class (even though it’s my favourite) Still, Try running D4 on max difficulty from level 1 for any character classes… Fearless difficulty is the one the game is designed to be play at for experienced players but even then the burglar just can’t solo shadowy wraiths. I should add that H+2 is really designed to be a party in the landscape difficulty setting. Ie. a tank & healer duo/party vs the landscape. We have a few of those videos around the channels somewhere:)

Agreed. Captcha managed to sort out the recording issues and is back!

It’s been known to happen :) player numbers still about the same as 15 years ago but yes, the free to play version of the game is still played by a lot of casual players. But I agree It is an old tab targeting mmo now… great to play if that’s what you like but it’s definitely not modern warfare pvp unless you want to run a warg or troll against the games normal character classes in the combat zones/arenas.

Unbreakable bond has a place but I think you are right its just useful if the pet already has three critters around it and you've already used major pet command. Using it for Shadowy Wraiths are a must but here not really important. I don't know if the flanking heal adds to the pets aggro or the loremasters. I get the feeling its the pets as I've never seen a unbreakable flanking heal peel a critter off to the loremaster... But you are right, on the normal servers its not all that useful & a real risk to the loremaster. I definitely *want* to use retribution followed by the three Wizard Sigils and then follow it with 1-2x pet skills to get aggro settled on the pet. I was just being a bit of a wimp given the ride time to that particular goblin camp if there was a second fail. With time comes confidence. Catmint is great, Beacon of hope has me worried about drawing aggro because its only useful when the pet has multiple opponents (or I've just been attacked which is worst...) But I agree it shouldn't be lost in the mix. I'd rate it as behind unbreakable flanking as a pet heal but before regular flanking as an emergency loremaster heal. Inner flame is a great option as well but I get strange aggro results when using it so I'm still testing it out a bit. Blinding flash is woot! The extra 3 seconds grace period might apply to the retribution stuns but I'm not actually sure yet... I'm happy running through goblin camps on H+2 with this character now so I think its going to settle down to be a really good H+2 character. I don't know if outbound healing works on the flanking though. it might be another possible pet build gear stat that really helps the unbreakable pet (depending on aggro attribution) and just a good flanking heal for the loremaster during dps... Thanks again.

Firm Grasp doesn’t apply to stuns like Retribution, points in Disable do that. But Firm Grasp’s extra “grace period” essentially turns dazes into stuns but without triggering Temporary State Immunity on the target.

Ahh, so I think I want to use the disable trait to increase the stun duration of retributions fury from 3 seconds to 5.5 seconds. More than enough time to get good aggro for the pet & sort the battle out. Blinding flash, banes flare & Sacrifice stay as my get out of jail free options with Blinding flash able to keep 1 (and possibly 2) critter(s) in a 30 second daze lock. Or I stay defensive and use the daze extender instead as I currently do. I would like to be more aggressive I think so send the pet into a group & use retribution, wizard sigils x 3, magor pet command and the two other easy pet skills :-) Ok, I think thats a plan :-)

@@gwathornsgames Just keep in mind that Retribution is single-target, the stun won't affect an entire group of mobs. Bane Flare WILL affect a big group (in a small radius around the Lore-master) and benefits greatly from Firm Grasp.

This is what Lotro calls an "Epic Battle" There are 6 of them in the game (and about 100 instances). It has its own skill tree & you basically play a support role in one of the epic battles. You character scales from whatever its current level is up/down to level 100. Gear is converted to level 100 gear (temporarily) with whatever your gears current level advantage/disadvantage being scaled into the level 100 gear. There is also a level scaling so level 10 characters will find actual fighting harder & level 150 characters will find actual fighting easier than it was when the character was level 100. So you can sway a fight in your advantage by being an engineer in early levels, being a commander of men in mid levels, and a straight up fighter at high levels... Eventually you get up to 200 points to spend on your skills but to get that far you need to move up from the one/two player versions of the Epic battle & onto the 6 or 12 player versions. Each increase in players increases the number of specialists character roles required to complete the epic battle successfully. Battle rewards are scaled back to your characters original level when you leave the epic battle so you can get some good on-level gear/jewelry if you ever feel the need to improve it. XP is mainly from completing side quests in the battle & a big chunk of the XP reward comes from completing the instance successfully. All in all a good change of pace from the traditional (but still available in Lotro) questing & instances/dungeon gameplay. Anyway, thanks for watching!

I understand. I haven't been able to stop the Great Eagle being taken down by the shadowy wraith without using "Unbreakable Bond". 4-5 losses at the same point/critters against the shadowy wraiths so far as I get 3-4 level higher critters for the shire slayer deeds. Its a great build for non-mordor server... The pets sacrifice skills damage reduction (75%) is the effect that counts here. I know its a strange set of skills to use & I think its the first 15 seconds of morale loss converted to power with all the extra damage reduction effects that get the great eagle through it all. I'll keep playing the blue loremaster and see if it is completely necessary (and I was just lucky here the 2 times it worked with unbreakable bond) but I haven't beaten the shadowy wraith yet (with the loremaster) without the skill getting toggled on (when the shadowy wraith arrives) whenever I'm playing at D9/H+2... The Beorning is much stronger at low levels as Captcha Fail is showing in his H+2 Mordor series but I'll keep trying the Loremaster with the option of upgrading the fearless Loremaster series at level 27 if that is what it ends up as the D9/H+2 turning point :-)

After a few more shadowy wraiths I can say the following. 1) Unbreakable bond: The first 15 seconds of damage->power are important *but* the flanking ability that normally heals the loremaster actually keeps the eagle/pet alive longer. Thats the extra boost that gets the loremaster (& pet) through the shadowy wraith on D9/H+2. 2) Re:sacrifice pet skill: I agree that I almost certainly am wrong about sacrifice saving the loremaster when unbreakable bond is active! But I haven't actually had that happen in any testing. However, Once the agro successfully stays with the Eagle & you spam the Sigils for flanking heals on the pet your victory is almost certain if your own dps stays low enough to not grab aggro. A pain for sacrifice's most useful component but the shadowy wraith just hits *so* hard on D9/H+2... Just my 2c. Your usage may vary :-)

@@gwathornsgames Well, excellent! Because I'm glad to know that Unbreakable Bond has an actual practical use. I really have not found myself in or been able to invent a scenario where it would be useful to me - I don't play on Angmar or Mordor so I don't deal with Wraiths - which is why I have relegated it to the junk pile. But you certainly seem to be putting it to good use, glad to hear it!

Yes, that was when I started to really get the new build. Without, retribution, the eagle’s AOE and its respective pet commands it doesn’t really work at H+2 but I’m pretty sure that when I record the next video (#5) it will look a lot better. Still thinking about the protector/herbalist but that’s cool for now. Of course, I’m still learning the eagles limits and strengths but I have finally been confident enough in the character class to have actually redone some of the traceries away from a few of the (now useless) original yellow line support ones & replace the healing aspects with more lore master specific dps options… Thanks again.

Smile. Thank you. Of course I rarely mention this online (given I’m running a video game channel here) but it could be the decade (or two) of meditation practice that has actually carried through to my voice as well… Take care and always remember to relax when you remember & get the chance :)

Also subbed today you deserve more subs and views.

The runekeeper is a great class to play at many different landscape difficulties. Yellowline just flows well and redline is a wind up DoT machine. Above heroic difficulty and with a shadow wraith on the new Mordor/angmar servers I can get either timekeeper tree to survive at lower levels. But I keep trying :)

That is really weird. Nothing has changed on this side?!?

@@gwathornsgames It's not you. It's them! I don't why it happens, though.

@@JohnMHammer Hmmm. okay, let me guess. 1) I should seriously consider changing a keybinding for nearest target. That is now both (` & r) 🙂 Then my blinding flash can target that pesky charging critter... 2) Retribution and its additional effects are really important to use as a quick build for a multi-opponent fight. (Agreed) 3) Maybe something about the cosmetic... 4) Don't worry about "unbreakable bond" (Check) 5) Maybe something about healing. 6) Cracked earth with its root is useful. Use it more against mobs 🙂 7) Can we see your traceries? 8) The herbalist maybe needs changing & I should consider xyz as a landscape skirmish soldier (with a good reason included🙂)

@@gwathornsgames 1- I didn't mention that but it's not a bad idea! 2- Yes. 3- Not cosmetics: Keybindings/button placement. There's a video on a certain person's channel (maybe mine... afraid to mention it because of the thing I already told you has been happening...) that might help with that. 4- Eh. 5- Nope. 6- Uh-uh. 7- Not that important. 8- I prefer the Protector but the Herbalist, even with just Level 105 equivalent skills, is helpful, too. 9- USE YOUR PET'S SKILLS. That's the big one and that video I referenced goes into this in detail. Will this one survive? Let's find out... <presses the REPLY button>

@@JohnMHammer Okay, I'm just starting (& have liked) both of your H+2 blue loremaster videos you've made. a: (Level 71 H+2 Loremaster blueline) th-cam.com/video/Z9CoRbsYFyk/w-d-xo.html b: (Level 150 H+2 Loremaster blue/red for H+2 & Delves) th-cam.com/video/u98SJ8n4DLU/w-d-xo.html Hope That helps 🙂

Captchas voice or the beorning character class at heroic plus two? I’ve heard people say he has an obviously English speech pattern but I just hear a slightly different Aussie voice?

@@gwathornsgames....what?

All the Wizard's X casting might lead to repetitive stress injuries!

@@JohnMHammer Agreed, I'm definitely going to try retribution with its "furious retribution" extra stun & sigil maximising effects in the fourth recording 🙂 Just waiting till I get some extra feedback on the next video in the series (#3) that is going to be released in about an hour or so...

It really was. But I've changed a few things in the build now that have definitely helped. I just wanted to show the failures as well as the good stuff 🙂

Just before I start, I'm releasing two more H+2 Loremasters over the next 48 hours. Just to catch up to our discussions about the H+2 Loremaster. I'll hit a wall in the next video using the bog guardian against multiple opponents, then as we discussed; I'll change over to the eagle. I'll also do some other things but needless to say I'm much happier with the third video (that I recorded today). I'll look into "Don’t You Touch Him" & retribution as I haven't worked out the meta for this combination. I'm sure I'll get there now. "Call to the Valar" needs to be examined by me as well so you've given me three things to look at when you include ranged sweeping strike... Burning embers DoT is part of my rotation in the third video when the agro has settled on the eagle. It's still a work in progress but I wanted to get these three videos out pretty quickly now I'm happy to run the H+2 Loremaster again 🙂 Thanks again for the feedback & skill/pet recommendations!

Hi John & Thanks for the feedback (video & gameplay). I've increased the Gamma on the primary game recordings because my recording software (OBS) doesn't pick up this games gamma setting! Go figure. Yeah, not leading with the pet attack is probably a good bet & running the pet auto attack skill first is a better choice. I'm still trying a lot of stuff with the Loremaster that probably isn't going to work in the long term (like starting with the minor pet attack). Its fearless so the mobs are pretty easy as long as they are not signatures or elites and approximately on-level. But I think thats just the crafted gear advantage speaking. The Mariner has a much harder time against the shadowy wraith than either the loremaster or the runekeeper (probably my next fearless mordor server character class if I don't go champion because I have too many champion recording going at present...) I tried the eagle in H+2 and it worked much better than the bog guardian wrt survivability & damage output (after closing) but I still find it threat issues pretty annoying so I'm still trying out new skill configurations at that difficulty level on my L146 blue/redline. Dropping the minor pet attack works on that difficulty but the pet is still pretty squishy against two or three opponents. I might actually need to try the bubble/re-summon skills rather than using aggro drawing HoTs. There is always something else to try & thats good (I suppose...) Thanks again.

@@gwathornsgames Have you tried the in-game and capture software gamma settings at default (or something close to it) but adjusting the in-game ambient light setting? I'm sure it's different for every output method and video capture process, but on my end through my monitor, that's what gives me the best results for seeing things in the darker bits of LOTRO without washing out colors or making things look unnaturally bright.

I’m going to try the eagle with my H+2 L146 loremaster character then. I’ve tried all the others…an Actual Aoe attack is what I’m looking for with that character. The bog guardian has its place at H+2 but when you draw two opponents it’s a bit too weak. I really like mordors reliability but the shadowy wraith has to be factored in to the gameplay. The boggy does the job on fearless really well given its range attacks. All the others are too slow and kind of only work when you fight a shadow wraith. The boggy does both pretty well :)

Agreed. Captcha Fail has needed to use the XP stopping “stone of the tortoise” just to keep the critters visible on the mini map for hunter quests and slayer deeds…

Chuckle. I’m assuming you prefer “in your face” melee characters to those pesky stealth melee types :) Either way, thanks for watching.

Nice. I had no idea about the vase & I really didn’t know about the class gear at Annuminas! There is a roving threat up high in annuminas that always gets me though. Captcha may need to leave that area till level 100 :) I ran a high level character to clear the threat and then kept questing low level before the threat re-spawned. But that’s me :)

On fearless +5 one mob is doable, but two are almost always a death if i dont have a stun ready. I love playing like this, its fun.

Yes, I ran this from the start at H+2 (ie. D9). If you begin a character in one of the original starter areas you finish the ~30 min prelude at about level 6. Change over to H+2 (D9) at Celendim & go straight to Mossward (Cardolan zone) and stay a bit overlevel compared to the content (Mossward critter level 4-5 with a number of easy quests before you start fighting outside the town). You will need to get good at crafting gear (tailor/forester most important). Prospecting drops you out of stealth so Jewellry crafting & weaponsmith are a bit of a pain for the burglar. I run a lot of consumables from other crafting professions and that always helps... I sometimes also run yellow burglars on H+2 but only if I'm really trying to play/quest "on-level" or a bit above. Yellowline eventually has a good heal (mischievous glee) on a decent cooldown and should probably be tried out if things get too hard around level 30 using redline. The redline works well if you eventually add the early yellowline stun (startling-twist with dust-in-the-eyes as the starter). Fully traited that becomes an AOE stun with a short(ish) cooldown. Once you have that combo from yellowline and enough redline trait points to get "aim" then your pretty much set. The only remaining things are hide-in-plain-sight (level 30 if you skip the yellowline stun and put all points into red) & the tracery (Level 45-ish) that increases stealth movement speed by +27.5% (riding is about +68%)... The burg is definitely my favourite character in all MMO games and most solo ones. I've yet to find a burg better than the one in Lotro but always interested in feedback on any new games that have the stealth character option :-) Anyway, Thanks for the feedback & enjoy.

Some Undead critters have an aura that does damage when you get close. Once you fail a resistance from it the Burglar drops out of stealth. Line up the undead from range & use Diversion (Level 18 skill that turns critter around to look away from your position) to get the best run at the undead before you fail a resistance roll. Drakes/dragons also have an aura you need to deal with but by then you'll know what to do with them 🙂

@@gwathornsgames thanks a lot for your time in these wonderful. I will try to implement them and I am really motivated to start out again! :) Very helpful and thanks for your time. Keep the videos coming, thanks for them! :) And of course, I’m always interested in burglar content! :)

And thanks, the aura - thing I didn‘t know. Can you tell me which stat or resistance I have to focus on here? Should I do this with crafted gear or with traits? Thanks a lot, Greetings

Good question. I've been playing for about 13 years now & have been a subscriber for about 1/3 of that time. I think I may have once purchased some (in-game) LOTRO points (LP) but about $30 worth because I wanted something or another for a duo recording & didn't have the time to "grind" up the in-game Lotro Points by hand. It takes about 3 hours to grind up about 300 LP with a new character. After you do that twice you can get an extra character slot (600 LP) & keep a playable character... I've bought about 3 expansions with actual money & waited 6months after release to purchase the expansion with Lotro Points (about 3,000 LP). This latest expansion is going to be a LP (ie. in game ground LP purchase). Expansions are now once a year. With a single month of a subscription any of your active characters during that subscription period get access to fast travel. It's important enough to think about getting a month's subscription but you can get away without it. I have a playlist for one of my free-to-play characters/accounts here about "Free to Play Champion" Soloing instances & Slayer Deeds: th-cam.com/play/PLjpD5qP2pxutvJQYnezsZVVpMaE667z6A.html And here for my FTP gameplay through Mirkwood (at level 60) with the same character: LOTRO "Free to Play" Champion Questing in Mirkwood: th-cam.com/play/PLjpD5qP2pxuvdo8eAVvcDcAAXhMNZxro2.html If you have 3 hours to grind up lotro points you can start purchasing things like extra bag space and eventually a shared storage between characters on the same server. Not really needed but useful... Hope that helps.

Oh, and a one month subscription also gives you 500 Lotro Points (& some extra perks) so a quick calculation would make 300 LP worth about $6.00 . So that makes it about $2 per hour to grind the points in game vs getting them gradually monthly (or just buying them from the in-game shop with actual money...) I usually grind in-game LP because I like playing the game but keep a subscription for the subscription perks & fast travel for every character (I have 44 characters now per server).

All good points. Running fearless on the Mordor server has one real issue. Ie. Dealing with the shadowy wraith :) I just can’t get the H+2 Loremaster to work after 39.1 so I need to drop back to fearless. And if I’m going to run at fearless (and have enough extra dps/heals/debuffs to take the shadowy wraith) then I should be playing on one of the legendary servers… “Go Go Mordor 64” and with its level increasing to 60 in a week or two it’s a good chance to run the few traceries this build benefits from. Staff sweep is a good idea for normal critters but the shadowy wraith does AOE melee range shadow damage. That needs to be avoided :) but I’ll test out a ranged version on other characters so I know what to expect when I can get it. I picked up the cosmetic bog guardian again for the hobbit right at the end of the video from a lore master trainer at Celondim once I reached level 7 :) it’s beautiful and just the right size to help a hobbit through Mordor :) Every trial run with lore masters with the new blueline build provide few dazes and I think a small stun son DoT damage breaks the only CC you can really get your hands on in blue. So I’m delegating it to second/backup damage. I’ve been using it against boss/signatures when all else is gone and the pet definitely has agro but they are higher level lore masters and I’m still learning at low level :) Starting with pet dps skills from range has pretty much guaranteed the pet getting agro on the first target and if I need to switch it can do well after a while on a second. I expect staff sweep and cracked earth should be a backup option though. If I missed anything then I’ll get back to it when I have a pc in front of me :) Thanks for the feedback. Always appreciated!

It’s true. They shelved upgrades to the graphics last year and focussed on the 64-bit server changeover (yes, the lag and rubber banding in the game looks to be related to the games 32-bit servers as the new 64-bit legendary/subscriber servers have very little lag and/or rubber banding but still seem to have the odd memory leak issues that get them rebooted occasionally:( The latest expansion included a character boost to max level (150) and the graphics in the latest expansions are a real step up over the ones we run most of the leveling characters though. I’m hoping they don’t completely skip the graphics revamp as I had a large number of issues getting the game up to my current 4K display size. It’s set so it kinda looks good on TH-cam in 1080p but 4K is the recording size. I should review the recording bit rate as well for these but that might wait till it’s 64-bit servers. Mainly because the better servers have a better draw distance for npc characters and critters moving around in the landscape (sigh)

@@gwathornsgames Thanks for the descriptive information! It's been a while since I've played and I miss it...but like you, I hope they don't completely ignore a graphical upgrade after the server upgrades are completed. Feels odd that they'd go about it this way instead of launching a completely new engine/game. I guess you gotta work there to understand it better.

I don't know how that might happen at the gate if you have stayed out of sight from the Uruks. I think I would try logging out of the character & run the instance from the initial quest giver again. I haven't heard of anyone else having this issue...

You actually prompted me to look for any new addons I might find useful. I’ve now added a task manager called busybee and still trying out an in game lord of the rings book refence plugin/popup for a bit more “from the books” flavor text.

Hi John, the problem was that I didn't have the requisite fellowship maneuver lined up (even though I was a burglar). So we each ran the solo version. I really should have been better prepared. From LotroWiki : --- Golodir (This factor is not apparent for solo play.) If completing this skirmish at Duo size or larger, the group must perform blue and green fellowship manoeuvres on Golodir during the fight to keep him alive. If the group fails to do so more than one time, Golodir will die and the Skirmish will fail. For example, at Duo size, these manoeuvres are: Planned Attack (blue, left) Rallying Cry (green, right) At Small Fellowship size, these manoeuvres are: Three Pronged Assault (blue, left) Mustering of the Troops (green, right) --- Now, that said, I (the Burglar) could have used: Exploit Opening: Burglar (min. lvl 12) 100% chance of FM Trip: Burglar 100% chance of FM Exposed Throat: 20% chance of FM FYI, I just noticed Mordor server is down & your posts on the Lotro forum about the account character load/selection screen security issue. Sometimes I really just don't know about how this kind of stuff happens...

@@gwathornsgames Ah, yes, quite right about this specific Skirmish! I don't know that you HAVE TO perform those Fellowship Maneuvers but they do help. Come out of retirement and take over their IT department!

Thanks, I have to say the burglar is my favourite character class in the game. Enjoy!

@@gwathornsgames I always play rogue/thief classes in MMO. So far, loving the Burglar too. Any tips for a noob player like myself? Thanks!

There is a flow to the burglar :-) You need to open up the critical response skills as quickly as possible after the initial burst damage from stealth (if the critter is still kicking). That requires a good critical chance & the best source of that is from gear & eventually virtue traits. I like to keep my critical chance at around 25% so by the fourth attack it should have activated the critical response pathway to start AOEing down groups with those skills. Redline burglar quickly gets a skill called "Aim" that guarantees the next attack will be a critical strike. You can use it while in stealth to allow your critical response AOE attacks to become available. AOEing mobs from behind while in stealth is a real treat :-) Beyond that at about level 45 you will want to get a 25% stealth movement speed bonus from a thing called a tracery that goes on your main (legendary) weapon but there is a lot of stuff around on that kind of thing when you get to that level... If you are playing on normal landscape difficulty then expect to one-shot all critters from stealth (except the shadow wraith). That will take more work (and possibly a non-redline character tree) so that even on fearless difficulty it can be done (as you can see from this video :-) Anyway, enjoy!

I have a playlist or two for my free-to-play champion character that is now about level 62. Just the highlights & how to get the Free account really playable beyond the level 20 starter areas... Definitely enough to decide if you ever want to add a subscription to get fast travel outside those initial starter areas. Level 95 should be pretty achievable with a Free account but I'll want to push it higher just for the fun of it even if its not my main game/subscription account :-)

IMO, the H+2 (ie. max landscape difficulty) champion has the best skill flow & best survivability. *Almost* a completely different character class compared to the normal landscape difficulty champion. Both are fun to play but the H+2 Champion is best when I just feel the need to play Lotro with a suite of skills to control (ie. dps, heals, Morale bubble, stuns, & damage reduction)

Thank you & agreed, Redline now has enough class points to justify the change over and still keep both the stun & heal from the other Class Trees. And yes, the Mournful Wraiths really are going to make a mess of this Fearless Mariner from what I can see. Especially since the Shadowy ones are giving the character a good run its money already. But of course that won't stop me from taking them on at least once 🙂

Thank you for no spoilers :-) I always wondered about that as you would expect from our in-game conversation. And yes, I will try "Halros stays" next time I play through the epic story...

Smile. Different games for different people. Please Enjoy whichever game you want to play. Personally I’d rather not play Destiny 2 or Overwatch but to each their own I say :) Of course, there is a lotro playlist on this channel of over a hundred solo Lotro instances/dungeon runs but I expect it’s the tab targeting thats not one of your favourite game styles either. All good.

I have around 1,500 Lotro points saved/generated on just this character based on maximising virtue trait points. I have lots of areas that have almost reached their virtue trait pont so have lots of Lotro points almost achieved as well... There have been no mithrils, and the only lotro points spent in the account were getting the cardolan riding ability for about 10 Lotro Points for the account. So, no extra/special lotro store purchases. The Cardolan mount normally provides a 32 percent speed increase mount for a small extra amount of silver(?) but luckily the Thorins hall prized goat gives you up to 62% speed mount without any more actual lotro points spent (just kindred reputation & gold). Picking up the odd kindred reputation travel skills & the normal milestone have been the order of the day. Exhaustive questing around a quest hub and moving on after getting the virtue points for the zone have been useful as well. I was going to save the Lotro points to buy the Umbar expansion but the free to play component of the game basically requires expansion purchases above Helms Deep because you now get FreeToPlay content/questing up till that point (Level 95). But I really think I want that chamber of shadows single player instance that comes with the Mists of Wilderland quest pack?. So I can accumulate 50 daily motes of enchantment with this character by running the simple/fast solo chamber instance. It's also a good gear grinding location like the school/library is good/fast for gear & Ancient script. I can easily see me running the chamber & library daily as FTPlay without even working up a sweat 🙂 The Motes would be useful to patch any under-levelled gear issues that occur as well after level 95. (at that point I would have to rely on epic story line gear as I move through expansions). Feedback (as always) appreciated.

For a few years this kind of duo gameplay was my only contact with lotro. Of course I have since returned… It’s been a very easy way to catch up with captcha and I’m really happy you enjoy the gameplay too :)

Yeah, a few months ago they nerfed the captains heals by 85% at lower levels. So the red captain has the highest captain dps but that doesn’t stop the shadow wraiths from cutting straight through the captains morale before the captain can take down the wraith. Blue line (before the nerf) could heal enough to take down the fearless difficulty shadowy wraith but now it just can’t make a dent. Bit sad really but they worked out the captain (and beorning) heals were massively OP around level 50 & that was the level cap for the new legendary servers so they pruned back their heals beyond playability on higher landscape difficulties. Sigh.

It has some real advantages. On the lowest few levels of landscape difficulty it can keep you at max morale without too much effort. And it generates focus as well so it’s a win/win heal and dps option for a hunter.

Smile, playing on normal difficulty (level 0) with a good character class is pretty easy. A bit like playing D4 on difficulty level 1 when the character is geared to manage torment 1. There are nine higher levels of landscape difficulty in the game and many character classes cannot even solo the highest difficulties without questing in a party of two or three. So yes, it can be straightforward and parry/evading can leave you taking zero damage. but it’s definitely good to play a difficulty level nine character if you prefer a real challenge in the game. We have those videos here on the channel as well btw :)

@@gwathornsgames OK, so the challenge comes later or only in grouped content?

The hardest landscape difficulty can be set and changed anywhere from level 1 up to level 150. Some character classes can solo three player instances on-level & some can comfortably solo 6-player instances about 5 levels over the instances level. Smile, you can find a hundred or more soloing instances in one of my playlists as well :) I used to solo wow instances around the original wrath days but found lotros manually set able instance level to be more conducive for solo dungeons. Anyway, enjoy whatever game you find interesting at present but think about the free to play version of lotro if you ever want to try it…

@gwathornsgames thank you for explaining, I'll try lotro. Nice content btw!

I have to agree (and I’m on the channel). I’ve also been known to have captchas commentary on my second screen while I play the game. I’m happy he’s fixed his recording software issue and is up and running again! Thanks again & enjoy.

Its using the sequence bars plug-in. I have described it in a few videos for the Burglar but you can look at the plugin designers youtube videos for an idea on how to do it as well.

I’ve recorded running it with my captain and beorning but not my champion. I seem to remember having some issues getting the champion over the line but can’t remember any specifics. Unfortunately, the only champion I’ve got that can run Seregost is currently running/recording H+2 content at level 146. When it gets to 150 I’ll be able to try it again and get back to you. But that’s going to be a few months given my recording schedule ATM. Would like to be more help than that though but maybe someone else can give feedback here as well.

@@gwathornsgames I do understand that Captain and Beorning both have some amazing self healing. Champion not so much. I could try tweaking some states around. Less damage for more resistance and mitigations. I'm currently capped on physical mastery. I'll have to play around with it.