Hello and welcome! This is going to be a brand new series of articles, done in a similar way to my Pet ones, but focusing more on the fearsome critters, beasties and other assorted monstrosities you may find and confront in your travels through Middle-earth. Of particular note will be the various abilities each creature can have and use against you. To begin, I...

This stable route diagram shows the 3rd of the three starter areas.  Bree-land and The Shire have also been documented to this point. Click on the picture below for a larger image.   — Braxwolf can be found on Twitter at @Braxwolf or on Windfola, disappearing in one place and re-appearing in another

Now you can deliver your mail and pies more efficiently! Click on the picture for a larger image. — Braxwolf can be found on Twitter at @Braxwolf or on Windfola, running around the party tree

This is the first of a series I’m doing on travel in LOTRO. I plan to diagram all of the stable routes for the different zones, starting with Bree-land. Click on the image below for a larger diagram: — Braxwolf can be found on Twitter at @Braxwolf or on Windfola, staring at various stable masters

  Well, we have reached the end of the journey for this particular series. In this article, I will glance over a couple of systems that utilize reputation as a piece of their respective feature, as well as glossarize (made that word a thing) over some miscellaneous info. Hornblower’s pie will be served at the end – hopefully she got the recipe...

I know what you’re all thinking.  The title should be Death by Misadventure but, well, after skirmishing with Spridra, Pineleaf and Andang, I thought he deserved a post of his own. As I get ready for this year’s Fellowship Walk, I find myself often on the Landroval server, levelling characters, farming dye mats, cooking pie crusts etc and I was...

  Now that we have taken a look at the Eriador factions, let us cross over to the next stage of the journey – the Rhovanion reputation factions. These currently include: Iron Garrison Guards Iron Garrison Miners Galadhrim  (*AtE) Malledhrim  (AtE) The Riders of Stangard Heroes of Limlight Gorge Men of the Wold Men of the Norcrofts Men of the Entwash...

So, you’ve decided to play a hunter. Great choice! You’ve read all the beginner guides, chosen your race, and have started pew-pewing your way through Middle-Earth. The hunter is a fairly easy class to learn, but there are subtleties in the early levels that are very easy to miss. Maybe it’s because you’re so good at killing things fast, or that...

So you have a Turbine Account, downloaded the game and have successfully started to launch the game.  The first screen is easy to navigate, put in your username and then your password.  There is a box to tick if you want to go to the server you were last on, but as a new player, you won’t have been to any Server previously, so don’t worry about that...

Congratulations!  You have downloaded the game and logged in only to see a Character Selection Screen.  What do you do now?  Make a character of course. 🙂 Step 1:  Choose a gender to play. Choosing a gender is the easiest option.  You will either create a male or female character. Step 2:  Choose a Race to play. Here you have four races from Tolkein’s...

    In this edition, we will be discussing the reputation factions located in the Eriador region. Beginning with the starter areas, the zones include a vast amount of land, generally from early-to-mid level. The exceptions include Enedwaith and Dunland, which span levels 60-75. However, before we jump right into the Eriador factions, let’s take...

Elder Forest Hunter, Large Forest Hunter, Outcast Forest Hunter, Snarling Forest Hunter.  What do all these Hunters have in common?  They are all wolves! These wolves are found in the Old Forest, but there are many wolves throughout Middle Earth.  How do I know?  Because I think I have been killed at some point by each and every one of them. From the earliest...

  Aaand we’re back! Out of the cold, barren, desolate wasteland that is the Sabertooth’s skillset*, and into the bright, warm, soothing glow of the Eagle. The big thing we will be talking about in this edition is this; Is the Eagle worth the legendary trait slot it takes up? To begin, let’s take a look at the Eagle’s abilities....

After you have an understanding of each of the Professions, what is next?  Next you need to select the vocation which best suits you.  To do this, you will need to visit a Master or Mistress of Apprentices in the crafting areas found in various locations throughout Middle Earth. How do I find the Master of Apprentices? The quest, Outfitting Yourself and Others,...

  Gaining in-game reputation with factions in Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is not only a great way to get respect amongst fellow Middle Earthenites, but you’ll also find many new goodies unlocked and available for purchase. Whether it be equipment, decorations, recipes, or new mounts (and the list goes on), there are a plethora of things that can be...

Sabertooth, y u suck so much!? I’ll be honest with you guys; I hate the Sabertooth. HATE it. If my hatred for the sabertooth were converted into a liquid, there would be enough to fill a large bathtub and two dozen beer mugs. That is how much this pet grinds my girdle. But, alas, it is still a pet, so I must persevere and press into this edition of LOTRO...

Cooking in lotro makes my head spin (it occasionally does in real life too!)  The amount of ingredients needed (vendor bought, farm produced, cook produced) and the different tiers of expertise involved is pretty complex, so in an effort to tame the virtual storecupboard I produced this spreadsheet 😉  This is just for the Cook’s Guild repasts (rep items)....

And we’re back! Today’s edition centers around the cute furry cuddly wuddly pet, the Lynx! The Lynx is the straight up DPS pet. Its stats and abilities are all based on damage output, with little room for anything else. We will be looking at just how viable the Lynx’s DPS really is, and in particular whether it’s enough to make it a good...

  Welcome back, folks! Before we get into the topic of this week, I would like to take the time to thank ya’ll for the responses to my last (and technically first) article. It’s very encouraging and I’ll be bearing(har) the comments in mind for this edition and for future ones. Today we’ll be looking at the second of the Lore-master’s zoo of companions,...

Looking back at my deaths in Middle Earth, words that crop up often are: “You have been incapacitated by misadventure.” Really, misadventure?  Surely not!  But, sadly, it is true.  So what is this misadventure? Well it can be anything from riding through an enemy village and being fired upon by archers until you fall off your horse and succumb to...