This is what I have found to work well for me playing lotro on a budget. Due to Legendary Item changes of Update 30.3 released October 13, 2021, "A new system for Legendary Items has arrived! This new system makes it easier to upgrade your weapons and understand how they progress". I took about 5 months break from lotro, I returned to the game and been leveling my characters. Changes to how to obtain the new LI and upgrades/etc is a work in progress. Starting Out Standing Stone Games (SSG) instead of Turbine now has control of the game. Turbine Points (TP) are no longer valid, since Lotro Points (LP) are now used to make purchases from the in-game store. At this time (December 2, 2020), I have 15 active characters on the account and played almost entirely for free except for going vip for a month. I went vip using money on this steam account and I believe the cost was $15. If you enjoy the content and story, completing deeds on 10 or more characters can be like watching your favorite movie over and over. I do not know if you will like the game, but if you do, playing almost entirely for free is a viable strategy. I have unlocked all expansions and quest packs, so it is possible. Starting in March 2017, I played for free for 14 months, then went vip, and logged into all characters on the account to make them all premium. How I did that is below: All accounts start with two character slots. I made two characters, completed deeds in the four free zones: the Shire, Ered Luin, Bree-land, and Lonelands. To generate more Lotro Points (LP) for use in the in-game point store, I believe the goal is to complete all quests/deeds for the zone (landscape), instances, and character class. Managing your chat channels can be made easier if you add extra chat tabs, then adjust the filters. So, the default chat tabs all characters start with are general, combat, and ims. With all the filters in general, communication can be a challenge if you want to be able to hold a conversation. For that reason, I create new chat tabs and rename them, then adjust the filters. These are the chat tab and filters I suggest to help manage your chat: General: standard, regional, quest, loot (self), leaderboard, event broadcast, error, combat event, advancement World: world Quest Say: user chat 1-8, standard, say, regional, rp, ooc, loot (fellow), leaderboard, event broadcast, error, emote Fellowship: tell, raid, fellowship Kinship: officer, kinship LFF: LFF Trade: trade When a blue asterisk appears next to a chat tab, new chat content is there, so click on each tab. Recent Updates In an attempt to help you find the most recent changes, see below. September 25, 2022 -- added section... Recent Updates September 25, 2022 -- added to section... Legendary Item Use - Walls of Moria September 25, 2022 -- added to section... Legendary Items - New Players versus Returning Players October 21, 2022 -- added to section... Legendary Items - Traceries and Enhancement Runes October 21, 2022 - added to section... Legendary Item Reward Track November 20, 2022 -- updated section... Legendary Items - New Players versus Returning Players New Content Due to Update 33 on April 20, 2022, "Quest, explore, and craft your way to level 95 to your heart’s content!" "With this update, all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep, the High-elf race, and the Rune-Keeper, Warden, and Beorning classes- will be available for free to everyone." https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-33-release-notes-en Once you have enough LP to unlock new content, probably the first content you should unlock will be the low-level questing areas (zones) like North Downs, Evendim, Trollshaws, Misty Mountains, Angmar, Forchel, Eregion, Lothlorien, Great River, Wildermore, etc., then complete deeds in those low-level zones to be able to afford unlocking higher-level content, like Expansion Quests: Moria, Expansion Quests: Mirkwood, Expansion Quests: Rohan, Isengard, Helms Deep, Mordor, Minas Morgul, etc. edit: Quest Pack: Yondershire (level 20-23; zone is Yondershire) and Rangers and Ruins (level 40-45; zone is Angle of Mitheithel). Crafting Guild Access Due to the New Legendary Item changes, Crafting Guild Access for crafting guild recipes for Legendary Items is only viable for cosmetic appearances and is now obsolete for character progression. For historical reference, this section is archived versus deleted. Also, crafting guild access becomes important for Dunland, Mirkwood, and Isengard (level 65 content), due to the ability to craft Legendary Item (LI) in the form of weapon and class slot LI for level 65, 75, 85, 95, and 100. Prior to level 65, the decade-level gear (level 20, 30, 40, etc.) can be crafted with 100 percent crit rate, but are limited by cooldown timers so proper planning is required to get a full set of level 40 armor using crafting guild recipes. In order to craft my own gear (armor, weapons, jewelry, trail food, lore papers, hope tokens, class slot items, and legendary items) for all my characters, a lot of gathering of crafting materials must occur. So, each new character I make learns a crafting vocation (armourer, armsman, explorer, historian, tinker, woodsman, and yeoman). Gathering Crafting Materials To gather all those crafting materials, all my characters always have an active gathering skill (track mines, track wood, track artifacts, track crops); also, hides for forestry can be harvested by characters defeating beasts. Burglar class has a track treasure skill for supply chests, backpacks, corpses, etc., which can also have crafting materials. Hunters can track specific mob types: foes, nature, shadow. Passage of Nature (granted at hunter level 10) tracks beasts and other natural creatures. Passage of Foes (granted at hunter level 22) tracks orcs, trolls, giants, and evil men or dwarves. Passage of Shadow (granted at hunter level 32) tracks dead, the unseen, and ancient evil. Due to some issues traveling around the different zones quickly, a hunter is probably the best class for gathering crafting materials for your other crafting alts. Some reasons for that are as follows: Hunter skill called Find the Path (granted at hunter level 12) increases movement speed of your hunter and nearby allies. Huntsman (blue spec hunter) class trait called Pathfinder (granted at 10 ranks in other traits in Huntsman branch/spec) increases Find the Path movement speed buff. Hunter skill called Return to Camp (granted at hunter level 26) recalls fellowship to a camp site fire. Hunter skills called 'Guide to ...' (Guide to Michel Delving, Guide to Thorin's Hall, Guide to Ost Guruth, Guide to Bree, etc.) recalls fellowship to Michel Delving in the shire, Thorin's Hall in Ered Luin, Ost Guruth in the lone-lands, Bree in Bree-land, etc. So, I recommend making your first character (main character) a hunter with the crafting vocation explorer, so your main can gather leather, ore, and wood for your crafting alts. Explorer crafting vocation grants tailor, forester, and prospector. Crafting Basics Tailor can craft cloaks, light armor, medium armor, burglar tools (conviction, guile, strength, and tactics), captain armaments, and rune-keeper rune-satchels (of dagar, of nestad, and of thalas). Legendary Items (LI) tailor can craft are fate relic (crafted rune), burglar tool (class slot), light/medium/heavy (warsteed) bridles, and rune-keeper rune-satchel (class slot). For scholar mats, your second character should be a minstrel with crafting vocation historian. Historian crafting vocation grants scholar, farmer, and weaponsmith. Scholar can craft battle lore papers (buff physical and tactical mastery rating), warding lore papers (buff physical and tactical mitigation), crafting journals, dye, paint, healing/power potions, crafting lore, pocket items, captain tonics, champion potions, hunter books (whisper-draw and wind-rider), hunter bow chants (breach-finder, foe-finder, and shield-bane), hunter potions, hunter/warden oils (fire/light), lore-master books, lore-master parables, minstrel sheet music, and rune-keeper rune-tools. Legendary Items[lotro-wiki.com] (LI) scholar can craft are power relic (crafted rune), minstrel songbook (class slot) and lore-master book (class slot). For making jewelry, trail food, and hope tokens, your third character should take crafting vocation tinker. Tinker crafting vocation grants jeweller, prospector, and cook. Jeweller can craft gemstones, jewelry, hope tokens, champion runes (striking and vanquishing), lore-master brooch (rage and regrowth), lore-master talisman (pets like raven, bear, lynx, sabre-cat, bog-guardian, eagle, etc.), and rune-keeper (weapon) rune-stone (flint, icy, and obsidian). Legendary Items (LI) jeweller can craft are will relic (crafted rune), rune-keeper weapon and champion rune (class slot). Woodworker can craft melee weapons (club, hammer, spear, staff), ranged weapons (bow, crossbow, javelin), fishing rod, captain crests, champion horn, minstrel instruments (cowbell, lute, theorbo, drum, flute, harp, etc.), rune-keeper parchments, and warden (class slot) carvings (fist, shield, spear). Legendary Items (LI) woodworker can craft are agility relic (crafted rune), beorning carving (class slot), beorning weapon (club, 2-hand club, spear), burglar weapon (club), captain weapon (club, 2-hand club, hammer, 2-hand hammer, spear), champion weapon (club, hammer, 2-hand hammer, spear), guardian weapon (club, 2-hand club, hammer, 2-hand hammer, spear), hunter (ranged dps) weapon (bow, crossbow), hunter (main-hand melee) weapon (club, hammer, spear), lore-master weapon (staff), minstrel weapon (club), warden (main-hand melee dps) weapon (club, hammer, spear), and warden (ranged) weapon (javelin). Weaponsmith can craft melee weapons (axe, dagger, sword, mace), decorations, repair station, burglar (ranged) throwing weapons, burglar tricks (caltrops, marbles), and guardian/warden shield spikes. Legendary Items (LI) weaponsmith can craft are vitality relic (crafted rune), beorning (axe, dagger, 2-hand axe), burglar weapon (dagger, mace, sword), captain weapon (axe, 2-hand axe, dagger, halbard, mace, sword, 2-hand sword), champion weapon (axe, 2-hand axe, dagger, mace, sword, 2-hand sword), guardian weapon (axe, 2-hand axe, dagger, mace, sword, 2-hand sword), hunter (main-hand melee) weapon (axe, dagger, mace, sword), minstrel weapon (dagger, mace, sword), and warden (main-hand melee dps) weapon (axe, dagger, mace, sword). Metalsmith can craft crafting tools, heavy armor, shields, and rune-keeper (ranged slot) chisel/riffler. Legendary Items (LI) metalsmith can craft are might relic (crafted rune), guardian belt (class slot), and captain emblem (class slot). Cook can craft trail food (stat buffs), cooked food (regen buff and remove: disease, fear, poison, wound), fortifying food (resist buffs: disease, poison, wound), campfire kit, and lore-master pet food. Legendary Items (LI) cook can craft are morale relic (crafted rune) and essences (enhances slotted armor). Reputation with crafting guild access beyond expert-reputation must be unlocked with LP. Once I gained enough reputation in the crafting guild (expert crafting guild reputation level), better quality and higher level crafting guild recipes become available to make some of the best gear and legendary items (LI) in the form of weapons and class slot LI. Goals Moving Forward Completing all quests and deeds, also in instances and class quests and deeds is the goal here; do all those quests and deeds to generate more Lotro Points (LP) and use the LP in the in-game store to unlock more quest packs, expansions, region packs, expansion quests, and (crafting) guild access. Hitting The Pay Wall While playing for free, access to many things are quite limited, so it became necessary to spend some lotro points on a few things from the in-game store with lotro points (LP). Unless these items are on sale, the prices below are what you will pay: Riding Skill (95 LP) Currency Cap (395 LP) Auction House: +5 Slots (95 LP) Bonus Character Slot (595 LP) Note that while some things are account-wide unlocks, like the currency cap, auction house slots, and quest packs; some other store purchases are not, like riding skill. Legendary Item Use - Preparation So, you decided to do some content in the Trollshaws, the Misty Mountains, Angmar, and Eregion until level 45. These are the things I suggest you do either before or when you reach level 45: Craft a cloak and full set of level 45 armor appropriate for your class - Light Armor for Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-keeper - Medium Armor for Burglar, Hunter, Warden - Heavy Armor for Beorning, Captain, Champion, Guardian Craft stat-appropriate set level 42-45 jewelry - Will-based classes: Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-keeper - Agility-based classes: Burglar, Hunter, Warden - Might-based classes: Beorning, Captain, Champion, Guardian Craft level 45 weapon, off-hand, shield, etc. Craft level 40 class-slot item, trail food, potions, hope tokens, lore papers (Tip: for each 10 levels while leveling an alt character, I craft and mail those items I know the character will need. Send mail for each level set, so from level 10-20, I mail items from my crafters for level 12, level 15, and level 18; and title the email with "level 12 armor", "level 12 jewelry", "level 12 weapon", "level 13/24/32/45 lore papers", "level 15/25/30/35/40/51 hope token", "level 10/20/30/40 trail food", "level 24/25/30/35/36/40/45 pet food", etc. as appropriate for your character's level. Mailboxes are more common than vault-keepers, so you can take delivery when needed. From 20-30, do level 20 and 30 class-slot items; and level 22, 25, and 28 armor, weapons, shield, and jewelry. Preparation prior to leveling the alt character is key to setting them up with the gear they will need as they level. Crafted gear, such as armor, weapons, shield, and jewelry generally "falls off the map" as a needed item (ie demand) around level 45, due to many quest rewards generally will suffice. Class-slot items, LI, lore papers, hope tokens, trail food, pet food, and a few others do not. If you compare crafted with the quest reward, you may see what I am referring to. Another reason for many of the crafted items (armor/weapons/jewelry) have lower demand after level 45 is the reputation/faction barter system. As you progress through Moria/Lothlorien, you gain reputation tokens (Medallion of Moria) from instance boss chests and item barter tokens (Platinum Coin of Heart/Spirit & Greater Elf-stone of Hand/Courage/Resolve/Strength/Heart/Spirit) raid boss chests in Moria/Lothlorien (Filikul/Vile Maw/Dar Narbugud). The class trainer in 21st Hall in Moria and flet Telain Galadhrim in Caras Galadhon trades those tokens for armor. So, for example a level 58 hunter barters Jongir (Hunter Trainer) for hunter class-specific items, such as level 58-68 (minimum-maximum) set boots for Armour of the Great Bow set, called Boots of the Great Bow (lvl58 is minimum level). The level 60-70 shoulders and helm for the sets require the platinum coin for class-trainer in 21st Hall. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/J%C3%B3ngir [6.0s 105.5w] A level 60 hunter barters Malenfileg (Hunter Trainer) for hunter-class specific items, such as level 60-70 (minimum-maximum) set boots for Armour of the Lady's Discernment set, called Boots of the Lady's Discernment (lvl60 is minimum level), with Greater Elf-stone of Courage obtained in Dar Narbugud (lvl58 raid). https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Malenfileg [16.7s 67.7w] These sets have a maximum level, so remember to keep your gear you replaced it with, so at level 69, 70, and 71 you throw out the Boots of the Great Bow/etc and equip the earlier boots/armor you were wearing. As you progress towards level 71, some quest rewards or instance gear may replace those earlier boots, so some extra inventory/storage space can help manage with keeping the old gear while you wear those limited-level set pieces. Legendary Item Use - Level 50 Class Quest As soon as you reach level 45, your class-quest (level 50) pops up. I highly suggest complete that first, since upon completion of the epic Walls of Moria (allows access to legendary items and to Moria itself), you may still be level 45. Completing the class quest helps you level a little more and you can get some pretty good item upgrades. If you are having trouble finding items for the class quest, you can barter marks for them at any skirmish camp. The class quest requires you to kill some mobs in Angmar and Misty Mountains, so taking a hunter along can help with that travel. I have found taking delivery of the required items for completion of the class quest prior to each objective can help save some time traveling back and forth. For example, Hunter level 50 class quest: The Swiftest Arrow is Learning (this quest is available from level 45). Archet (east of bree) for Articles of Discovery and Implements of the Hunt. Articles of Discovery requires travel to Angmar to collect bound items, return to Archet to turn them in. Then collect glossy cave-claw skins and corroded Neekerbreeker-horns in Angmar, then Rune of Winged Dominance and Insignia of Battle from Carn Dum (6-man instance) in Angmar, then back to Archet for quest completion. Options here are travel back and forth, do the instance, and bring the items or (if you are like me and have done this process on multiple characters) mail the items from my storage alt. Legendary Item Use - Walls of Moria Then go to Eregion, at Echad Dunann, and start Volume II, Book 1: The Walls of Moria, Chapter 1: Strangers in Hollin, which begins near the stable-master in Echad Dunann; talk to Rathwald [50.6s, 7.6w]. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Quest:Chapter_1:_Strangers_in_Hollin Do all the quests and get some nice quest rewards, 2x legendary items (which are bis; best in slot), then either return to complete quests/deeds in old zones or keep leveling. What I tend to do is alternate leveling and deeding to keep virtues maxed for the five virtues slotted in virtue slots for the specialization (spec) I enjoy the most. So, blue spec hunter for kiting/mobility, yellow spec captain for tanking, red spec minstrel for kiting, etc. That way, I can go back to unfinished deeds when needed to catch up with virtues until the five slotted virtues are maxed for that level, then go back to leveling. Ok, so you completed your class quest and Walls of Moria. You are now level 45 or 46. Since the quests in Moria are level 51 and higher, you will not be able to start questing in Moria until you are level 46. If you reach Moria and you are still 45, either return to Eregion or proceed in Moria until you gain a level. Or, as I have done for a few low-level alts, sit an alt at 45 to use level 45 Heritage Runes; another at 65, etc. From what I understand about using/applying Heritage Runes to advance the Reward Track, you want to use Heritage Runes at the same character level: 45 for level 45 Heritage Rune, etc for 65, 85, 100, 115, 120, etc. for maximum Legendary Item Experience gain from those items. Here is my attempt to explain the new/updated legendary item system. Legendary Items - New Players versus Returning Players Normal play by a new player will reward you a new LI from Walls of Moria. A returning player that obtained LI before the new LI system was implemented will have a headstart, since they have already gained experience on any bound LI. Returning players can appraise their old LI by opening the Legendary Item panel/window (shift i) and clicking the appraise button for each bound LI. Depending on how much experience/legacy levels the old LI stored; ancient script, traceries, and enhancement runes returned from appraisal varies based upon that amount of stored Legendary Item Experience (IXP). Ancient script stored in the wallet have a max of 10,000 ancient script before you must use them. Since some first age LI with 60 or 70 legacy levels could return close to 3000 ancient script, you may have to wait on appraising all of your old LI and disenchant/decon/deconstruct old upgrade scrolls and resources with Flame of Ancalamir (can be purchased in Bree, near boar fountain, for 34 silver). https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item:Flame_of_Ancalam%C3%ADr Flame of Ancalamir was given to every character with Update 30.3 to be able to disenchant a Retired Essence Reclamation Scroll; with Update 30.3.2, it can also be used to disenchant obsolete star-lit crystals as well as other resources obtained from deconstructing old LI, such as Scroll of Renewal (yields 50 ancient script). The old Imbued LI can be kept as a bound item for a cosmetic or for bragging rights, but after appraisal, the Imbued LI has no use or value other than as cosmetics. Any old LI that was not imbued can still be deconstructed at any Relic-master. Due to recent changes, all relic masters were removed from lotro. Well, technically that is not true. There is a temporary one. So, it appears that there is a npc Herethryth that has skills of a relic-master in Wildermore, at Dunfast's Refugees [38.7s, 67.1w]. If you still have an old LI to decon or relics you need to refine, she can do it for you. The npc's here at this camp do not show up unless you have completed quests to get Cyneberg to the camp from Forlaw. She is searching for her bethrothed Thrymm Red-beard, the Hero of Wildermore. If you do need to unlock Cyneberg for Dunfast Refugee camp, I am fairly certain this one will get you started. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Quest:Ride_for_Harding So, maybe SSG intended to leave Herethryth in-game for a way to access a relic-master, as a way to give returning players temporary access. Then again, the forge-master and relic-master in Dunfast's Refugee camp are both quest npc, so idk. After starting Wildermore, you have around 20-30 quests to do before you get the one that unlocks Dunfast's Refugee camp with this quest. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Quest:A_Search_for_Survivors And a final note on this. Anyone that has completed all of Wildermore, you will not be able to see the npc at Dunfast's Refugee camp. Only if you stopped at this quest or have not completed Wildermore will you be able to access Herethryth (relic-master) to decon old LI and refine relics. After you complete the quest chain at Dunfast's Refugee camp, all the npc evacuate to Forlaw. So, this relic-master is kind of temporary; she only shows up for a specific time after Cyneberg arrives to the camp but then she leaves when they evac. Legendary Items - Traceries and Enhancement Runes New Weapons/Class Items of Legend are available from multiple sources: Complete Walls of Moria (as a new level 45 or higher) to receive two legendary items for your class. Some purchases (with out of game money) or gifted items from the Anniversary Festival event in 2022. Returning players with old legendary items can appraise old LI and receive ancient scripts and barter from Legendary Weapons/Class Items vendor (Gobeth Teithian, the Archive of Traceries) located within the Last Homely House, in Rivendell 29.6s 3.3w on the northern wing, just above the Hall of Fire (where you find Bilbo Baggins).https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Gobeth_Teithian,_the_Archive_of_Traceries The trait Seeker of Deep Places is required for entrance, but you may be able to gain entry via summons (captain) or using a travel map scroll another player purchased with ancient scripts and sold on the auction house (It is possible to partially complete Walls of Moria and only have one LI.) While you may think you only want one set of 2x LI, I have found multiple sets of 2x LI per specialization seems to work best, due to the random number generator (rng) and the variety of possible traceries available. You may get exactly what you need every time you open a tracery box, but that is the exception, not the rule. Most often, the tracery received when opening a tracery box is best suited to another specialization for your class or another class altogether. In effect, you end up either breaking the tracery down to ancient scripts or sending them to alts, and very rarely do you actually get to equip the tracery to your active LI. The area for tracery barter is the Archive of Traceries. Once you gain access, make sure you have ancient scripts and shattered/cracked tracery tokens. Some Incomparable and Legendary quality traceries can be quite expensive, costing up to 1500 ancient scripts to obtain the legendary tracery via barter; 1500 ancient scripts is also required to craft the Gundabad tracery. Reforge may be required before you can equip some traceries. I have found keeping old lower-tier traceries on your LI is better than replacing the tracery with a higher-tier rare tracery, since your dps will be lower for a rare tracery versus the incomparable/legendary tracery you have equipped on your LI. As you level and complete epic quest chains, those typically can have legendary quality tracery or tracery token. So, for example if you have a tier 4 legendary tracery, but now since reforge can access tier 8 or higher traceries, do not replace it just yet. Only replace old lower-tier incomparable/legendary traceries (they may turn red but the percentage bonus still applies to your skill) with a incomparable/legendary tracery of higher tier. If those old lower-tier tracerys on your LI do turn red, that only means you can no longer apply enhancement runes to that tracery slot, which I have found to be only a loss of some stats. Access to legendary tracery tokens can be quite limited, so any you recieve from the reward track will be very rare. I very highly suggest you hold onto those until you are level 131 to open those legendary tracery tokens at the highest tier legendary tracery. Then add that legendary tracery to your LI. At the current level cap 140 and item level 480, you can have 23 traceries per LI per specialication, so you may have up to 46 legendary traceries (or more) you need to grind via multiple reward track seasons (resets every 3 months). Crafted legendary traceries can help with that, which requires (at the current level cap) Gundabad crafting or an excessive amount of gold to purchase on the auction house. Otherwise, tier 13 incomparable or lower-tier legendary traceries will suffice until then. There are currently 4 types of Traceries: Heraldric Traceries are basic stat buffs and will eventually alter the damage type of the weapons. Currently only 1 Heraldric Tracery may be slotted per item. Word of Power Traceries are more specialized traceries that fit into the role you are filling with that weapon/item. This includes damage and healing "styles" (AoE, Single Target, HoT/DoT), as well as Avoidance, Incoming Damage, Moral increase, and some utility options (Inductions speeds, range extensions, AoE targets). Currently 2 Word of Power Traceries may be slotted per item. Word of Mastery Traceries are class specific traceries most closely resembling legacies from the original LI/Imbued LI systems. Currently 6 Words of Mastery Traceries may be slotted per item. Word of Craft Traceries are generic single stat increases however it has been stated that set bonuses will be attached to these Word of Crafts in the future. Currently 3 Word of Crafts may be slotted per item. Note: The 3rd Word of Craft slot is still locked after reforging. Enhancement Runes: These are not traceries but are used to increase the item level of a slotted tracery. This would be used for an item that is built at one level cap, and then reforged for the next level cap and then increased the item level of the traceries. This does not increase the rarity from one color to the next, just the item level. Currently tracery effects can be stacked, however exclusivity is expected in the near future. UI design as well as a UI showing if multiple of the same tracery are slotted and therefore only one would being applied are coming. Last thing of note is that a number of legacies that previously gave damage/critical damage have been rolled into the Word of Power "style" traceries. For example Captains no longer have Bleed Critical Damage legacies as that would fall under the Damage over Time Criticals. This may be a buff or nerf for various classes so feedback is very important. https://forums.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?688852-Update-30-3-Legendary-system-revamp Reforged at character level 45, 56, 61, 66, 71, 76, 81, 86, 91, 96, 100, 101, 105, 106, 111, 116, 120, 121, 126, 131, 136 *reforge costs are rather expensive and apply to both LI weapon and LI class slot item. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Legendary_Items#Reforging Legendary Items Reward Track The Reward Track is a seasonal account-wide Legendary Item Experience (IXP) tracking of progress and rewards, with a 3-month cycle. Make sure to claim rewards regularly, but definitely before the reset happens (since they would be lost otherwise). Progress is gained by completing quests that reward IXP. Rewards are not level-locked, so using those for any of your characters on your account is possible, but best used on your main character as a priority. Heritage Runes can be applied by any character level 45+ that completed Walls of Moria. Use heritage runes on characters at that level, to maximize reward track progress. Level 45 heritage rune by a level 45 character, level 65 heritage rune by a level 65 character, 85 for 85, 100, 115, 120, 130, 140, etc. Gundabad Legendary Item Reward Track (February 16 to May 18, 2022)* Legendary Items Reward Track - 2 (May 18 to August 16, 2022) Legendary Items Reward Track - 3 (August 17 to Nov 16, 2022) (currently active) Lendary Items Reward Track - 4 Nov 17 to ??) *Since this feature was added to lotro on February 16, 2022 and reset on May 18, 2022. From level 1 to 100 on the Reward Track, you get rewards based on season number. In season 2, at level 75 reward track, you got Incomparable Coffer of Azog's Sword with a legendary tracery token and replica sword of azog. In season 3, at level 75 reward track, you got Legendary Coffer of the Black Bat with a legendary tracery token and tome of the black bat. In season 3 level 90, Incomparable Coffer of Craft with incomparable tracery token box, embellished coffer of ancient script, and gundabad craft recipe selection box. At level 101 reward track, level 101 repeats and grants you Coffer of Legendary Items. The possible items may vary depending on reward track season including: Coffer of Ancient Script (50 ancient script) (most common) Decorated Coffer of Ancient Script (200 ancient script) Embellished Coffer of Ancient Script (600 ancien script) (rare) Gundabad Craft Recipe Selection Box Gundabad Heraldry Recipe Selection Box Sealed tracery and enhancement rune boxes of varying quality (uncommon/rare/incomparable/legendary) Tracery Token Box, Incomparable Legendary Items - Tracery Advancement and Item Levels Traceries are slotted into Legendary Item via the Legendary Item Panel, which is accessed by click and drag the LI to the Socketed Equipment slot on the character panel (or shift-double-click).

The Legendary Item panel displays all information about the item, including LI stats and available tracery slots. Once you obtain traceries from questing or barter in Rivendell and slot them to your LI, upgrading all the tracery slots for your LI will help improve your LI, but mostly the quality of the tracery used is the key to improving your damage and stats. I tend to start with rare traceries; then when incomparable or legendary traceries become available, I use those. If there is an option to choose the incomparable/legendary tracery, I try to pick those traceries that match the skills I use most often ie those skills that have the lowest cooldown. After that, if a few skills have the same cooldown, I pick the skill that will impact dps the most, will be the most helpful, or has a synergy with other skills. Tracery Levels -- Starting Item Level -- Maximum Item Level 45-95 -- 51 -- 125 86-105 -- 126 -- 200 101-115 -- 201 -- 299 116-130 -- 350 -- 399 121-140 -- 400 -- 499 131-150 -- 450 -- 499 As you reach those reforge and tracery level ranges into a new tracery level range, the starting item level can be available for use, and that may be cheaper using the uncommon tracery if you barter for them with ancient script than using higher quality enhancement runes. Barter for legendary tracery can be quite expensive. So, use your ancient script efficiently, if you have them. Legendary Item Use - Legecy Levels Due to the New Legendary Item changes, LI legacy levels is no longer an option and is now obsolete. For historical reference, this section is archived versus deleted. The legacy levels of the LI upon reaching level 30 legacy unlocks access to a legacy selection scroll upon decon of the legendary item (talk to relic master and select decon tab; unlock LI, remove from equipped, then decon LI, select legacy). Any LI you decon prior to level 60 can result in a legacy replacement scroll to apply to a level 60 LI, if you leveled the LI to at least 30 legacy levels. Decon at 31 legacy levels unlocks the chance the resulting relic tier is improved; waiting until 70 legacy levels increases that chance. For this and other reasons, I highly suggest you hold on to your LI to gain at least 30 legacy levels, but in most cases 60-70 legacy levels increases the chances for improved relic and rune quality at decon. Since first age LI can store ~2.89 more legacy experience than third age LI, I use first age LI when available. At this point (a few years of play) I craft 2x first age LI for each alt at each upgrade, but if you are not yet able to make your own LI, 2nd or 3rd age LI will suffice. Heritage rune quality is not as important early on in the process around level 60, but as you approach level 85, consider keeping those heritage runes that are 800k or higher for use after imbue at level 100, if you have the inventory/storage space. The legacy system randomly generates major and minor legacies for the LI as you identify and reforge the LI. Identify the LI, then equip and/or slot the LI into one of your 6 (or more) LI slots (use [shift i] to access). Identification of the LI yields 3 major legacies, but generally those 3 major legacies are less than optimum for your chosen spec. That is where the legacy selection scroll/legacy replacement scroll comes into play. But first, identify the incoming 6x LI. So back to those 2x quest reward LI you will replace with 6x level 53 third age LI. Rusted tools drop from level 51-55 humanoid mobs in Moria and Lothlorien. If you do not have enough LI stored, you can barter rusted tools in Bree or 21st hall in Moria for 6x LI (3 weapons, 3 class-slot LI). Normally, I try to identify around 10-20 LI for this process and choose the 6 LI that best fit the spec. If 10-20 LI is not possible, take what you can get. The legacy replacement scrolls are used to replace those legacies that do not apply to your spec with a legacy that you will use most often. Legendary Item Upgrade Levels Due to the New Legendary Item changes, LI upgrade levels is no longer an option and is now obsolete. For historical reference, this section is archived versus deleted. I suggest replacing LI at these LI Upgrade Levels: 53, 60, 65, 75, 85, 95, 100. I have found the most difficult access to extra LI is level 95. Level 95 LI drop from mobs in the northernmost area of West Rohan called Entwood, but if you have maxed crafting guild rep with all the crafts on alts, you will be able to craft first and third age LI for the LI Upgrade levels and make this a relatively smooth transition to increased dps/tanking/healing for your character. The Legendary Item is best in slot (bis) for a reason. You can apply relics, titles, and heritage runes to increase the dps/tanking/healing ie increased character viability. The more LI you have slotted, the more legendary item experience you gain, so if you can afford it, unlock extra LI slots. Relics are only needed on the equipped LI. I generally only equip first age LI after level 60. Obtaining first age LI at level 60 requires Moria/Lothlorien raids (Filikul/Vile Maw/Dar Narbugud) for bright emblem of nimrodel. Then barter 6x emblems in Bree or 21st hall in Moria for a level 60 first age LI, so you will need 12x emblems.Or purchase level 60 first age LI from auction house if you can afford it. That takes care of 2 of 6 LI slots; to fill the other 4, I mail third age LI from storage alts. Level 65-100 first age LI are crafted, except after level 100, roving threats can be killed to obtain an account-bound token called Gift-giver's Brand. Make sure you take the quests from the roving threat quartermaster[lotro-wiki.com] in each zone before you kill them. Roving Threat Quartermasters barter 50x gift-giver's brands for a level 100 first age weapon, but are bind on acquire. This method can be rather expensive if you have limited numbers of legendary shards/fragments in your legendary item rune shard system, but third age (level 55, 60, 75, and 85) LI can also be obtained by talking to a relic-master for your class. Legendary shards are obtained by critical success combining relics and decon LI at any relic-master[lotro-wiki.com]. Third age LI class slot item (level 65, 75, 85, 95, 100) can be bartered for marks and medallions from legendary item vendor in any skirmish camp. Level 51- 53 LI can be obtained as drops from 51-55 mobs in landscape or instances, but the easiest access is from barter rusted tool from vendor in Moria/Bree. Level 60 LI drop from instance mobs or raid mobs in Moria/Lothlorien (Vile Maw, Filikul, Dar Narbugud). Level 65 LI drop from mobs in Enedwaith, southern Mirkwood, barter rep tokens with rep vendor in Enedwaith/Mirkwood, LI class slot item from skirmish camp LI vendor, or crafted by crafting guild crafter Level 75 LI drop from mobs in Great River or barter rep tokens with rep vendor in Stangard or crafted by crafting guild crafter Level 85 LI drop from mobs in Wildermore or crafted by crafting guild crafter Level 95 LI drop from mobs in Entwood or crafted by crafting guild crafter Level 100 LI drop from mobs any zone with mobs level 100 or above or crafted by crafting guild crafter There are some epic quests that reward second age LI, which are typically bound to character. Lvl65: Vol III, Book 3, Chapter 4: Ergothorn Elf-friend quest Lvl85: Vol III, Book 9, Chapter 9: The Dividing Line quest As you reach each LI Upgrade Level, you can learn the process and make mistakes prior to level 100. Mistakes on a level 100 imbued LI are quite expensive, so make sure to learn it prior to level 100. For example, an imbued crystal of remembrance (called Additional Legacy Slot in the in-game store) costs 995 LP, if it is not on sale. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/LOTRO_Store#Legendary_Items Legendary Item Use - Imbue Preparation Due to the New Legendary Item changes, LI imbue is no longer an option and is now obsolete. For historical reference, this section is archived versus deleted. At level 100, you craft/obtain 2x level 100 first age LI, identify them, decon 6x level 95 LI and select legacy replacement scrolls, apply appropriate scrolls to level 100 first age LI, add 3x anfalas star-lit crystals, tier 10 relics (settings, gems, runes, crafted runes), then level normally. At legacy level 70 (anfalas scroll of delving), add an extra legacy slot (crystal of remembrance), apply legacy replacement scroll (from level 95-100 decon) to replace the extra legacy slot, upgrade all 7x legacies to tier 6 legacy.

After you double-check you did all the steps, then and only then can you imbue. Yeah, actually the longest step in this process is ensuring you have chosen the right legacies, leveling up 3rd age level 95-100 LI to 60-70 legacy level, decon for legacy replacement scrolls, then grinding anfalas scrolls of empowerment. 2-Hand LI ranged/melee dps weapons do ~3k and 1-hand do ~2k when maxed, but the expense in time grinding quests, instances, and rep for the star-lits, crystals of remembrance, scrolls of empowerment, and titles can be extensive. Aside from the crafting grind, maxing out 2-4 legendary items is a huge investment, but they both seem like never ending endeavors. And that is just for 1 character; add in all the alts and you have an endless supply of enjoyment from Lotro. Legendary Item Upgrades (Scrolls & Crystals) Due to the New Legendary Item changes, LI scrolls and crystals are no longer an option and are now obsolete. For historical reference, this section is archived versus deleted. Crystal of Remembrance -- additional LI legacy slot (ie adds 7th legacy) -- max is 7 legacies (major 4-5 & minor 2-7) -- rewarded for epic quest as you progress through the epic story near Osgiliath (South Ithilien, Eastern Gondor); can only be used pre-imbue; each LI can have one applied, so if you do not get a few of these from hobbit gifts/etc, you should plan on saving up around 600 gold or more for purchase of one off auction house -- since this adds an extra legacy slot to LI and most characters have 2 or more equipped LI, obtaining at least 1 additional crystal of remembrance is a necessity; with some classes using multiple specializations (yellow captain as tank or red captain as dps, for example), 1 set of two LI per spec plus warsteed, for a total of 5 first age level 100 LI, purchase of up to 4 additional crystal of remembrance (~2400 gold) may be required, if you are not able to source this item otherwise. Anfalas Star-lit Crystal or Star-lit Crystal -- pre-imbue effect: increase level 100 and lower LI dps rating (3 maximum) (ie dps on weapon, heals on class slot) -- imbued effect: unlocks a tier of your primary dps legacy (71 maximum) -- Star-lit crystals (and other LI scrolls) can be rewards for some quests, hobbit gifts, festival token barter/rewards, boss chest instance loot, 1-man skirmish lieutenants/final bosses, 12-man raid/skirmish raids, epic battle platinum lootbox rewards, etc. Other Star-lit crystals -- Small Star-lit Crystal (lvl65 and lower) -- Star-lit Crystal (lvl75 and lower) -- Riddermark Star-lit Crystal (lvl85 and lower) -- Eorlingas Star-lit Crystal (lvl95 and lower) https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item:Star-lit_Crystal Scroll of Delving -- adds additional 10 legacy levels (ie from 60 to 70) -- Can be rewards for some quests, hobbit gifts, skirmish camp barter for marks and medallions, rep token barter with various factions, instances/skirmishes, epic battles, etc. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item%3AAnfalas_Scroll_of_Delving Relic Removal Scroll -- unslots all setting, gem, rune, and crafted relics -- Can be rewards for some quests, hobbit gifts, stee-bound lootboxes, scaled dungeon chests, etc. https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item%3ARelic_Removal_Scroll Anfalas Scroll of Empowerment or Legacy Tier Upgrade -- upgrade tier of skill legacy on level 100 LI -- for imbued, unlocks a tier of your skill legacy (83 maximum) -- Can be rewards for some quests, hobbit gifts, festival barter, instance loot, etc. -Sources: -- Featured Instance = 3-6 scrolls per day for 20-40 minutes of playtime. -- Minas Tirith Dailies = 6.5 scrolls per day for 45-60 minutes of playtime. -- Dol Amroth Training Exercise = 1 scroll per day for 15-20 minutes of playtime. -- Western Gondor Warbands = 1.5 scrolls per day for 20-30 minutes of playtime. -- Osgiliath Culvert Daily Quests = 2 scrolls per day for 40 minutes of playtime. -- Raid - Throne of the Dread Terror = 1 scroll for 3 Ancient Ithil-Coins -- Big Battles reward = Solo 372 marks + 106 Medallions + 40 Stars of Merit in 27 minutes of playtime. -- Big Battles = 1 Scroll for 90 Stars of Merit -- Marks and Medallions = 1 Scroll for 2,541 Marks + 293 Medallions -- Roving Threats = Need to confirm numbers. -- Refining at Forge-master = Need to confirm numbers (but it's insane if memory serves). -- Spending 40-60 minutes killing Moors NPCs @160-400 silver or about 5 gold every 20 minutes. Vendor the trash and sell the moors quest items for megabucks on the AH. -- Auction House https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item%3AAnfalas_Scroll_of_Empowerment Store: --------- (using store versions of items is an option, but I tend to avoid using this option unless I made a mistake) Imbued Legacy Replacement Scroll (795 LP) -- replace an imbued legacy with a new imbued legacy -- rewards for some quests as you progress through the epic story; I think each character gets 6 total, so use sparingly as the cost of this scroll using lotro points can get expensive Crystal of Remembrance (995 LP) [store name: Additional Legacy Slot] -- A pre-imbued version of this is rewarded for epic quest as you progress through the epic story; I think each character gets only 1 pre-imbued version of this item in total, so use the imbued version sparingly as the cost of this crystal using lotro points can get expensive -- since this adds an extra legacy slot to LI and most characters have 2 or more equipped LI, obtaining at least 1 additional crystal of remembrance is a necessity Star-lit Crystal (495 LP) Scroll of Delving (195 LP) Relic Removal Scroll (195 LP) Legacy Tier Upgrade (295 LP) Helpful Links Main Page: https://www.lotro.com/home?locale=en https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Account_Types https://www.reddit.com/r/lotro/comments/icse21/new_player_leveling_experience/ https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Legendary_Items https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Crafting https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Deeds#Racial https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Crafting_Guild https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Expansion https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Quest_Packs https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-33-release-notes-en https://forums.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?688852-Update-30-3-Legendary-system-revamp https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Legendary_Items#Reforging This guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2306557722 https://forums.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?687126-Guide-Play-Lotro-For-Free And for known issues with existing lotro installers, you may want to give these forum posts a looksee. https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?686832-Black-Screen-on-Login&p=8070359 https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?658230-INSTALL-New-LotRO-Installs-One-Guide-to-Rule-Them-All