Exploring The Vale of Thrain

posted this on March 26th, 2010.
Categorized as LOTR Lore.

Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RaisingTheShire/~3/dX2cxcSibP8/exploring-the-vale-of-thrain

The Vale of Thrain is an area in Middle Earth on the path through the Blue Mountains to Thorin’s Hall. The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains maintain two outposts in the area, the fortress of Gondoman and and the waystation, Nogrod. Generally the road to Thorin’s Hall is quiet but if one strays too far [...]


Very happy its Friday

posted this on March 26th, 2010.
Categorized as blog, festival, lotro, Mirkwood, reputation, Warden.

Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://docholidayj.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/very-happy-its-friday/

This has been a long week not only because of the Spring Festival but for my real life world as well, but I did want to share a couple of links while I’m thinking about them.  I also do have some non-LOTRO updates I’ll get out over the weekend but I’m holding off a bit to gather my thoughts better.

First up is my shameless plug for my article over on the LOTRO Reporter covering the journey from level 30 to 45. For me, this is where the class really started to get me addicted and wanting more as I just couldn’t believe the things I was able to pull off.  I will probably do one or 2 more level pieces before tackling some other topics like raiding, PvP, etc.  Feel free to offer suggestions if you have them.

Now as many of you have read over the past few days, I’ve been quite enjoying the Spring Festival and have hit most of the quests in the various zones.  However, one thing I haven’t done this festival is any of the Inn League pub crawls as I’m already Friend with them and I don’t think there’s a reason to progress any further.  However, Duvelmoortgat from the LOTRO forums has a fun idea for mixing the pub crawls with the new Ale Association quests into one big massive drunken adventure through the Shire.  I haven’t tried it out yet, but check out the post for all the specifics.  I may have to run a normal pub crawl first just to get my bearings straight as I’m not that knowledgeable in the Shire.

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Project Altoholism: Levels 20 – 30

posted this on March 26th, 2010.
Categorized as altoholic, alts, General, project, Project Altoholism.

Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cstmfeed/~3/lYCI2ZpOvX4/

All right!  So for levels 20 – 30 I’ve been spending the majority my time on each character, in the The Lone-lands.  However, there are certain steps I’ve taken beforehand on each character.

First, I check the crafting skills of all my characters and make sure that they have leveled through the first two tiers of their gathering/crafting skills.  This usually requires the use of Shared Storage to shuffle around materials, but I think it’s important to make sure that each character has maximized their crafting skills if possible.  Then, I proceed to make them whatever crafted gear I can, that is an upgrade for them.  Next, I dump all their quests, except any of the Prologue or Volume 1, Book 1 quests that might need to be finished up; and then finish those up.  Afterwards, it’s off to start Volume 1, Book 2 at the Prancing Pony in Bree and follow that line to  Weathertop!

**Side Note** If you decide to follow my route, know that there are no vendors near Weathertop and you cannot use the horse route from Wethertop to The Forsaken Inn until you have finished Volume 1, Book 2:  Chapter 5.  So make sure you have plenty of bag space!
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SKIRMISH POINTS: WHAT WILL THEY BE WORTH TOMORROW?

posted this on March 26th, 2010.
Categorized as barter items, economy, skirmish points.

Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2010/03/skirmish-points-what-will-they-be-worth.html


Every form of barter currency appearing to date in LOTRO has turned out to be, in effect, non-transferable. Vile Coins, Rift-iron Coins, Battered Annuminas Armour, Marks of Triumph... Remember those? All water under the bridge by now, or just rubbish cluttering up chests. Medallions of Moria and Medallions of Lothlórien, collected with so much effort, are worth little or nothing to players currently at l.65.

Will we see the same thing happening with skirmish points? A lot of people will be upset if it does. By the end-game, unless you spend them on upgrading your soldier, the only really valuable item you can barter for skirmish points is the Scroll of Empowerment, which costs 1,950 SP and will upgrade a LI legacy by one tier - but, at the moment, it only works on l.65 LIs. Now a lot of players, myself included, have already upgraded as many legacies as we care to on our current LIs, and are simply collecting SPs in view of the inevitable next upgrade, or even the eventual appearence of First-Age LIs. We are assuming (gambling, if you prefer), that Scrolls of Empowerment suitable for the next lot of LIs, whatever they turn out to be, will still be available in exchange for our accumulated SPs. Should this prove not to be the case, we will find ourselves in the same position as holders of Imperial Russian government bonds the day after the Bolsheviks seized power...

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Player Achievements – March Week 4

posted this on March 26th, 2010.
Categorized as achievement, Player Achievements, podcast.

Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cstmfeed/~3/DOJO2pEe1Ng/

Each week we ask you to share your successes in Middle Earth with the rest of the community. Post a comment letting us know what you’ve accomplished this past week. We will pick comments at random to read on the podcast giving you a chance for a little shout out for yourself!

Our shout-outs are only as good as the information we get so remember:

  1. Don’t forget to add your character name, what server you play on and if you like, add your Kinship if you have one. Hard to give you a Shout-Out if you don’t include it!
  2. Please keep your posts brief. We won’t be able to read full novels of your adventures. At least make it so we can easily sum it up!
  3. Do not be afraid to post any of your achievements. We don’t care if you just saved Archet or cleared out Dol Guldor. We want to hear from you!

These shout outs will appear in Episode 31 of A Casual Stroll to Mordor Podcast. Comments for this thread will be closed after recording as this is a weekly thing. If you missed this week’s cut off, don’t fret! A new thread just like this one will appear next Friday!

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