In a game as insanely big and complex as LOTRO where there are systems upon systems, numerous expansions, dozens of zones, and so many bizarrely named characters to keep track of, it is helpful to have a central repository of knowledge when trying to figure things out. Lotro-Wiki is great for both the newbie and the veteran with answers to pretty much everything you could ask about what you need to do, where you need to go, and how to get those rewards you desire.
To tip my non-existent cap to this site and its hard-working volunteers, today I want to point you in the direction to 10 of the best and most useful resources that Lotro-Wiki has to offer.
1. Getting Started and Character
Based on the feedback I got from a beginner’s guide for the game that I posted last year, there continues to be a strong need from new players for assistance in starting out in LOTRO. No shame in that, I say! We veterans probably take our knowledge of the ins and outs of this MMO for granted.
While basic, both of these pages on the wiki are a great index for some of the most vital things that any new player should know so as to avoid frustration and confusion during the first week or two.
2. Acquiring LOTRO Points
Speaking of getting started, a lot of free-to-play players ask about how they can earn LOTRO points and what they should spend them on. Since you can actually earn zones, character benefits, expansions, and even classes through just playing the game (and a whole lot of grind), it’s a valid question. This comprehensive page has a whole rundown of all of the points that you can earn on a character and what you have to do to earn them.
3. Virtues
In addition to giving you titles, LOTRO points, and other goodies, deeds are a great way to increase the strength and capability of your character through virtues. Each virtue is basically a “stat package” with a handful of bonuses. You can equip five of them and level them up to the cap of 20 ranks apiece (which means doing a whopping 100 deeds total). This page helps you figure out which virtues you want to pursue and how you can increase them in each zone.
4. Patches
It’s not super glamorous, but the patches page is perfect to bring you up to speed on what was recently added — especially if you’ve been away from the game for a while. It’s also useful if you want to go back through the game’s history and see what feature or expansion was released when.
5. Epic Quests
Considering that every single player is going to be engaged with the epic quest line often in their experience and considering that it can be easy to lose your place or not be sure how to overcome a few of these steps, this page is wonderful to bookmark just in case you stray off the path. Plus, it’s nice to be able to quickly reference it to see how far you are along on any particular book.
6. Special Events
LOTRO’s various festivals keep growing year after year, and by now there are quite a few of them with many different activities. The wiki does a great job organizing and guiding players through these events to get the most out of them — including all of the fun rewards!
7. Quests
Going back to the subject of quests, Lotro-Wiki has a comprehensive and exhaustive list of all of the missions you can undertake. Not only can you see the quest text, dialogue, steps, and chains, but many of the quest pages contain a “walkthrough and notes” section that gives you helpful tips for when you get stuck. These sections have saved my hide more times than I can count.
8. Easter eggs
Because game secrets are fun to check out, especially if they offer interesting screenshot opportunities or different content. Did you know that LOTRO has killer rabbits, freeze tag, a snowman village, the ability to play as a chicken, and the Goldilocks and the Three Bears house?
9. Floid, Dewitt, and Bingo Boffin
Get off the beaten path of the main storyline and follow around a couple of interesting characters on their own adventures! These pages can help you locate Floid and Dewitt, a man and his horse, who appear as tourists all over the game. They can also guide you through the long and rewarding Bingo Boffin quest series, which is its own parallel adventure to the main storyline.
10. Housing
Nobody is going to make the case that LOTRO’s housing is the best in the biz, but it is an aspect of the game that the community very much enjoys. This page walks players through acquiring and furnishing their own slice of Middle-earth and how to use homes for storage and other benefits.
Every two weeks, the LOTRO Legendarium goes on an adventure (horrid things, those) through the wondrous, terrifying, inspiring, and, well, legendary online world of Middle-earth. Justin has been playing LOTRO since its launch in 2007! If you have a topic for the column, send it to him at justin@massivelyop.com.
