This is one region I didn’t like one bit while testing it on Bullroarer and I don’t like it now when playing through the content on live. Maybe you won’t mind as much, but I like to have all my reputations maxed and this region doesn’t let you get away with it easily. What is the problem? The problem is that there are two factions – Fushaum Bal North and Fushaum BalSouth. When finishing a quest for one you gain reputation for them, but lose for the other camp. So, how do you go around with this?
If you never used reputation accelerators before, now is the time. While questing here you will be gaining double the reputation, while only losing the normal un-accelerated amount.
First of all, how do you start this? You start as an enemy, I believe. As an enemy you will have only landscape quests available – killing a certain amount of enemies on each side, burning towers, burning tents, etc. Once you do these, you will get to the reputation of an outsider. Outsider has more quests unlocked you can get from the bosses of each camp. The maximum standing is neutral and once you reach it more quests will become available from these bosses.
I also like to pick up and do all the quest and turn them all in, but I do not suggest that. If you are at maximum standing with one faction (neutral) then don’t keep turning in quests with it, lowering down their opposing side. Go turn in quests for the other side as well, then go back, etc. There is no need to lower the reputation of the other side if you are not gaining anything on the side you’re on.
Once you have finished all the quests at least once, find the quest that only gives you positive reputation – like Feeding the Nurnhoth – and do that one to max the reputation with one side. Then go to the other side and find out what their positive reputation quest without the negative one is and then max that side. It may require some repetition of the quest, but c’est la vie.
Only after you are done with this process you can continue to finishing the Fushaum Bal Resolution and advancing the quest chain. Good luck.
Honestly, it looks like there isn’t much to talk about when we say “What to do when U20 hits live”, do just what you usually do – pick up a quest and go finish it. But then again, some updates do bring some other changes with them, so let’s see what would be the way to deal with this.
Obviously, if you don’t have the LOTRO Points you will want to get those so you can buy this QP. And I would say that this is one QP you really want to buy if you’re serious about gearing yourself. And let’s face it, you do not want to walk into Mordor with a Roving Threats pocket item or worse. This is all-in-one both a min-maxers paradise and hell. You will have, like I said before in this article, gold jewelry (pocket, necklace and earrings) which can be upgraded further with a raid drop item, gold offhand item, upgradable supreme armour from Throne T2C. To name just the best ones. Apart from these, there are also some great looking cosmetic shields, greatswords, pets and some more of the Ithilien themed cosmetic items.
Next in the line would be supplying yourself with reputation accelerator from skirmish camps. I didn’t do the math, but read on the forums that the price is going up eight times. These are actually quite cheap now. Now, some people on some servers have enough marks to supply the whole server with those accelerators, but some enjoy soloing more and even if you ran some solo/duo or whatever instances they do give you less rewards. So this does look like because of the marks/meds rewards in some larger group instances SSG thinks it is just fair to make them more expensive. Obviously, there are some people on the forums that do not agree with this and SSG has time to give up on this change. And I wouldn’t have so much an issue with the price increase if the new area didn’t bring 4 new reputation factions. Actually, 3 new factions and added 3 more tiers to the existing one – Host of the West. So, 15 tiers of reputation per character. Not really the best move. This is one area and it should probably be one old increased and one new reputation, not something like Central Gondor where you had separate reputation items for separate cities.
Since we mentioned the gear you can upgrade and supplying yourself… I would combine those two in the next one and say that you should supply yourself with the old type of flowers. Now, they are not of much use to you in the next update, but the armour you can upgrade is only supreme armour, not the regular T2C armour. And if by some chance you have swap piece jewelry, there is a very high chance you will want to have those swaps in armour.
Speaking of flowers… Pick up new flowers while questing and finishing deeds. There are no new major barterers for flowers, but once you start doing those crafting instances you will need 80 of each daily for all four. You will need to barter for the item I wrote about here.
You will want to have enough bag space free, since once you begin questing you have a chance of receiving reputation/barter items and there are six of those. Apart from those, there will be single use recipes for each craft, which I imagine will sell nicely. So anything you don’t really use on landscape or is just taking space, get rid of it so you don’t need to think about when you will get to camp to sell some stuff or to vault, etc.
You will want to park yourself in the Camp of the Host, so you can start your questing without some boring riding around.
Part of the reputation/barter items drop, some you get from quests and deeds, some crafting instances, but some you actually can craft. So, you will also want to have enough of Anorien resources. The Wastes wasn’t really abundant in those and I’m not certain if that was intended or just wasn’t added yet.
And in the end, get geared and repaired. This is landscape mostly, but some parts of it have some densely placed mobs, some of which have a bit higher morale than usual. This is still very close to Mordor and you can expect some danger. And there is an open landscape fellowship area, similar to Tarlangs Crown, so another thing to be ready for.
After you do the quests, do the epics, unlock all the crafting instances and get all the reputation done… What should be the first item you should get? Well, I would guess that most people will go for that pocket item, since there is still a large amount of people rocking that Roving Threat pocket. If by some very small chance you had luck on hilt, keep it. It is still a great item and probably wins for tanking too. So in that case you can go for that new offhand, if you’re lucky with the sigils from the fellowship crafting instance.
The new cloak
Now, for a long time I have been asking for a REAL dps cloak, since we didn’t really have one since the golden cloak from the Minas Tirith epic line. After that one we got the raid cloak with the huge amount of critical defence. After that we got the epic line teal cloak which had some balanced stats on itself – 225/225 I believe and some critical rating. And I wouldn’t really say they listened to my feedback, but they did improve some. Finally we have a more similar cloak to the MT one, with the current one having stats tilted to favour dps. But still they continue the bad trend with the cloak for will classes and they raised the will/vitality from 315/315 to 331/331, which I can’t even call a decent improvement. So, it’s a gold item, not teal and it’s 24 levels above the last one… 16 will/vitality must be enough. It’s a gold cloak “Gifted to you by King Elessar’s quartermaster for all you’ve done to prepare the host of the West” for Christ sake. Let’s hope it’s just a placeholder.
Some would argue that agility doesn’t need critical rating and would be better off with finesse and I don’t know if I agree. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if they would add 4000 finesse on it, so I can unslot one essence, but other than raid cloak having 4230 critical defence I never saw any item having 4000 of anything. So, since I’m fearing this wouldn’t be the best change to make I’m still a proponent of critical rating.
I picked up this screenshot from the forums, so I hope nobody will be bothered that I’m using it.
The patch notes for today’s hotfix are now available on the forums
It’s pretty much we all thought it would be.
We have fixed and exploit which was allowing players to become more powerful than we intended.
I think this will be the most debated
We have placed level restrictions on the following reputation items. Players now must be at least the level listed next to the item below in order to gain reputation from the item. We will of course monitor the feedback on the levels of these items and make any needed adjustments.
Gift Mathoms-8
Barrow-treasure-20
Cardolan-trinket-20
Pilfered Arnorian Coin-20
Stolen Arnorian Heirloom-20
Orc Battle-medallion-30
Orc Campaign-medallion-30
War-master’s Lash-30
Tomb-raider’s Sash-30
Black Badge-30
Band of Númenór-30
Signet of Rhudaur-35
Goblin-town Tabard-35
Elvish Relic-35
Mathom-35
Well-kept Mathom-35
Dourhand Crest-35
First Age Relic-35
Bone Amulet-40
Wicked Dagger-40
War Dispatch-40
Lossoth Spear-head-40
Gauradan Claw-40
Lossoth Luistin-40
Broken Engraving-45
Cracked Etching-45
Green Crystal Lamp Fragment-45
Durin Figurine-45
Uncut Moria-adamant-45
Worn Dwarf Carving-45
Cracked Dwarf Tablet-45
Purple Crystal Lamp Fragment-45
Durin’s Emblem-45
Fractured Ruby-45
Dol Amroth – Bank Token-90
Dol Amroth – Docks Token-90
Dol Amroth – Armoury Token-90
Dol Amroth – Great Hall Token-90
Dol Amroth – Library Token-90
Dol Amroth – Mason Token-90
Dol Amroth – Warehouse Token-90
Dol Amroth – Swan-knight Token-90
Ornamental Skull-90
Weathered Gondorian Relic-90
Pristine Wood-carving-90
Coast-raider’s Sash-90
Jewel-encrusted Scimitar-90
Unblemished Swan Statue-90
Bone Carving-90
Gold-studded Staff-90
Worn Medallion of Castamir-90
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 right this time!
If you found I missed out on something you’d like further explanation concerning reputation, please feel free to leave a comment and ask in any of the articles. I’ll do my best to answer, or anybody is welcome to lend a hand. That being said, let’s jump into the ‘ol supplementary info.
Festival Factions
There are two special factions that you can increase (and decrease) your standing with only while one of the four seasonal festivals are running. These groups, rivals of one another, include the Inn League, founded by hobbits, and the Ale Association, founded by dwarves. As you can tell, the members of both groups are fond of the fine art of Middle Earth beverage consumption.
The special thing about these factions is that as you complete daily quests (mainly by completing deliveries of a certain beverage to a certain NPC) toward working on one faction, you will lose respect (via subtraction of reputation) from the opposite faction (for most of the quests, ie deliveries). For example, each of the delivery quests will provide +900 reputation for the group you’re doing the quest for, and -500 reputation for the opposite group. While it is potentially possible to become Kindred with both factions by doing both the deliveries and the other dailies, it can really stretch the chore out, and other than the ability to get Kindred items/titles for both there is no special deed for acquiring Kindred with both factions at the same time.
You may only attain reputation for either faction through these quests, only available during festivals. Feel free to check out this guide for more specific info on the repeatable quests, as well as a suggested route for the delivery quests. Each group has a special pub that may only be entered when you attain Friend status with the respective faction. Inside are various vendors that you may barter your attained barter tokens with to receive special goodies. For those horse collectors, note that both steeds have kegs attached to them. However, the Inn League steed is a horse/pony that displays a slight drunk effect while you are riding it, and the Ale Association steed is actually a goat (so it can be used in places like Moria). Alas, goats can better handle the effects of ale, and as such they will not display the same buzzed response.
Whether you chose Inn League or Ale Association (or both!), have fun with it, and make sure to plan your delivery routes wisely (having the product before you begin the quests make it much easier, to negate the need to first visit the supplier).
Rhino-Man, the creator of that festival guide linked above, recently posted this tip:
IF you choose to use the Mithril coins to travel to NPCs, you can do all 22 delivery quests in about 6 minutes.
That’s 22 quests = 22 Badges = 66 Festival Tokens in about 6 minutes!
Misc Factions
Every now and then there is always the possibility of a new faction coming to light. While it doesn’t really fit into a regional faction listing, nor is it directly associated with a seasonal festival, it has been created for a specific purpose or event.
Chicken Chasing League of Eriador – This faction is associated with the Hobnanigans event. Completing matches (whether as a win or loss) should offer you reputation upon completion.
Reputation via Skirmishing
Completing most skirmishes also offer a reputation reward, based on the specific skirmish. In the past, this was offered via a daily skirmish quest, which would allow you to get the reputation bonus only once a day. However, with the revamped Instance Finder, the quest was removed, and it was eventually made so that you can receive the reputation reward every time you complete the skirmish.
Below is the number of experience you will gain with a faction for completing a particular skirmish. Essentially, it is 700 reputation with the locale in which the skirmish takes place, although several skirmishes currently reward NO reputation.
*Defensive Skirmishes*
Skirmish
Reputation Total
Faction
Battle of the Deep-way
700
Iron Garrison Miners
Battle of the Twenty-First Hall
700
Iron Garrison Guard
Battle of the Way of Smiths
700
Iron Garrison Miners
Defence of the Prancing Pony
700
Men of Bree
Ford of Bruinen
700
Elves of Rivendell
Protectors of Thangulhad
No Rep Awarded
—–
Siege of Gondamon
700
Thorin’s Hall
Stand at Amon Sul
700
Eglain
*Offensive Skirmishes*
Skirmish
Reputation Total
Faction
Assault on the Ringwraiths’ Lair
700
Malledhrim
Attack at Dawn
700
Rangers of Esteldin
Breaching the Necromancer’s Gate
700
Malledhrim
Rescue in Nurz Ghashu
700
Eldgang
Storm on Methedras
No Rep Awarded
—–
Strike Against Dannenglor
No Rep Awarded
—–
The Battle in the Tower
700
Malledhrim
The Icy Crevasse
700
Lossoth of Forochel
Thievery and Mischief
700
Men of Bree
Trouble in Tuckborough
700
Mathom Society
*Survival/Special Skirmishes*
Skirmish
Reputation Total
Faction
Survival: Barrow-Downs
No Rep Awarded
—–
For individuals who enjoy skirmishing, but are not too fond of farming reputation in the landscape, it should be reminded that you can actually barter for reputation items at any skirmish camp. If you visit the Curiosities vendor, and filter it under “Reputation,” you may barter for any of the 700-point rep items (only for factions that utilize consumable rep). As of Update 16, the cost for these range from 19-49 marks per item (roughly variable based on the level ranges in those zones). The Small Reputation Acceleration Tome (1000 bonus rep cache on any earned rep) costs 60 marks and 6 medallions.
Reputation Item Level Restrictions
In Update 15.1.2, released January 7, 2015, level restrictions were placed upon consumable reputation items. This will no doubt have a big impact on those who roll up a new character (especially a temporary one) for the sole purpose of getting it through the introduction, then acquiring a mass amount of various consumable reputation items (whether through their own cache or via spending marks at a skirmish camp).
Characters must now meet a certain player level before they are able to “consume” (via right click to attribute the reputation to your character) reputation items. Below are the required character levels they must meet.
Faction
Level Requirement
Men of Bree
Barrow-treasure
Cardolan-trinket
20
The Eglain
Pilfered Arnorian Coin
Stolen Arnorian Heirloom
20
The Mathom Society
Gift Mathom
Mathom
Well-kept Mathom
20 (level 8 for Gift Mathoms)
Rangers of Esteldin
Orc Battle-medallion
Orc Campaign-medallion
War-master’s Lash
30
The Wardens of Annuminas
Tomb-raider’s Sash
Black Badge
Band of Numenor
30
Elves of Rivendell
Signet of Rhudaur
Goblin-town Tabard
Elvish Relic
35
Thorin’s Hall
Dourhand Crest
First Age Relic
35
Council of the North
Bone Amulet
Wicked Dagger
War Dispatch
40
Lossoth of Forochel
Lossoth Spear-head
Gauradan Claw
Lossoth Luistin
40
Iron Garrison Miners
Broken Engraving
Cracked Etching
Green Crystal Lamp Fragment
Durin Figurine
45
Iron Garrison Guard
Worn Dwarf Carving
Cracked Dwarf Tablet
Purple Crystal Lamp Fragment
Durin’s Emblem
Fractured Ruby
45
Dol Amroth (var. City Factions)
Armoury Token
Bank Token
Docks Token
Great Hall Token
Library Token
Mason Token
Swan-knight Token
Warehouse Token
90
Men of Ringlo Vale
Ornamental Skull
Weathered Gondorian Relic
Pristine Wood-carving
90
Men of Dor-en-Ernil
Coast-raider’s Sash
Jewel-encrusted Scimitar
Unblemished Swan Statue
90
Men of Lebennin
Bone Carving
Gold-studded Staff
Worn Medallion of Castamir
90
Tasks
Another way to gain some supplemental reputation for most factions (depending on your level) is by completing tasks. These are quests that involve gathering and turning in specific task items, dropped from specific monster types. While this guide will not go into the specifics as to each of the tasks and the monsters that drop each kind, you are welcome to browse a more comprehensive listing here (there is also a nice task plugin listed in the plugin section below, Daily Tasks).
In a nutshell, you are first permitted to complete five (5) tasks per day. You will start and complete these at taskboards, which are littered all around the world (they will usually be located at an ally encampment). Note that not ALL regions offer reputation for completing their tasks (see the link above for specifics), but those that do will generally offer 300 reputation per task (along with regular experience and possibly LI experience). This is 1,500 reputation per day when you first start off.
The task system also has deeds associated with it that will boost your ability to do more tasks per day for every 100 completed tasks. You will gain a +1 max tasks token for completing each deed (the later boxes also contain an exclusive task reward!). After finishing all 500 tasks for the deed, you’ll be able to double your daily tasks, doing 10 a day (3,000 reputation for completing 10 regular tasks).
For those at a higher level doing work in the Limlight Gorge (Great River), there are two tasks that will offer 900 reputation a piece. These two task items (Thick Branches and Knotted Heartwood) can both drop off the huorns in the area. Take note of your level, as leveling too quickly before turning in these may lock you out of the ability to do those tasks.
While tasks should not be the ONLY way to gain reputation with any given faction, they are a nice addition by Turbine that will reward you for otherwise simply selling this “vendor trash” dropped by monsters. Doubly implemented as deeds, they’ll get you some nice rewards for doing what you are already doing – slaying the evil and looting their goods.
Plugins
Simply, plugins are user-made add-ons that offer the ability to present game data in a different way. There are all sorts of plugins that allow the user to modify and customize the look of their user interface (UI) to create a look that suits their needs. Whether you are looking for a plugin to display buffs/debuffs, merge your inventory bags into one big bag, or even assist with displaying musical lyrics during your concerts, plugins are designed to be as user-friendly and often informative as possible.
If you are interested in setting up some plugins for yourself, the first thing I would get is the LOTRO Plugin Compendium (LOTRO Interface is the place to go for any plugin information/window shopping). This is a stand-alone program that allows the user to search through a very solid list of LOTRO plugins (new plugins are regularly added to the listings). Once you find the plugin(s) you’d like, you can just hit “Add” and let the program install the plugin for you. Beyond this, the well-kept database lets you easily update any plugins when necessary.
For the purposes of reputation, I will list a couple of plugins that may prove their use toward your reputation goals. The links are provided for you to read more about each of the plugins, but I would still recommend using the Compendium to install and let it set them up for you. It’s also generally a good idea to keep an eye on a plugin’s last updated period, especially for information-based plugins. As the game itself is updated, a lot of data is often added/modified, and plugins won’t generally be updated until their creator has the time to make the appropriate adjustments.
Reputation Reference(author: Vinny) – This plugin is a nice tool for displaying general information about specific factions. The ability to select a specific faction or item type, and tell it to list all of the NPC rep rewards you can buy that fall under that umbrella is really handy for making informed decisions. I’d say make sure you learn the abbreviations for the factions if you decide to use this a lot. Also note that all of the information for this plugin is listed in a chat window, and you will need the “/standard” filter checked in order to see all of the info provided. Also, if you go to load the plugin, and do not get a separate window, type in “/rrw” to get the window (unless you really wish to use the commands provided on the LOTRO Interface page for this plugin.
Daily Tasks Reference(author: Vinny) – In many zones, tasks (further discussed in the section above) reward reputation. This plugin, which also displays a hefty amount of info in a chat window, will assist users by allowing them to list task board locations/task items through a nice filterable window (“/dtw” if you don’t see the window upon loading plugin). You can also drop a stack of task items in the bar at the bottom, and it will tell you with which taskboards that item is applicable.
If interested in both Reputation Reference and Daily Tasks , this author has also provided their own plugin, Vinny Loader, which sits at the bottom left of the screen. From this interface, you can load any of the author’s plugins you have installed. Set this plugin to auto load, and the other plugins become a 1-click load for when you situationally need them.
TitanBar(author: Habna) – This is a really handy plugin for displaying all sorts of info right on your UI. While all of the info can be found elsewhere in-game, it often requires opening a menu or two to access the data. It is also very customizable in choosing what you want it to display, and very easy to move around on the bar. Before I used TitanBar, I was really hoping there would be a way to track reputation progress with a specific faction, just like tracking slayer deeds/quests. By right-clicking TitanBar, you can select “Reputation”. After left clicking the rep icon that appears on the bar, you can tick off the factions you wish to track, and voila, they will show up by mousing over that icon.
Reputation Meta-Deed Steeds
There are two reputation meta-deeds (that is, a deed that requires the completion of several other deeds) that will each award a horse for completing (and Turbine Points!). The perks of one of these steeds? Not only bragging rights, but they will provide you with the current best stats that all meta-deed steeds share – 250 morale, and a 68% movement speed (most other steeds are 62% speed and have various morale 200 and under – this is, of course, excluding war-steeds and the store-bought passive steed traits).
Steed of the Elf-Lord
The requirements to receive this steed involves getting Kindred with the three (3) Elvish factions: Elves of Rivendell, the Galadhrim, and the Malledhrim.
You will gain the steed, the title “Ambassador to the Elves,” and 20 Turbine Points.
Steed of the Elf-Lords
Steed of Eriador
This steed will take a little more effort than the Steed of the Elf-Lords, but be resolute about attaining reputation and you’ll find yourself eventually achieving this noble steed. The requirements to receive this steed involves getting Kindred with 11 (eleven) factions: Men of Bree, Mathom Society, Wardens of Annuminas, Rangers of Esteldin, Council of the North, Elves of Rivendell, Thorin’s Hall, Lossoth of Forochel, the Eglain, the Algraig, and the Grey Company. Essentially, Kindred with all except Galadhrim/Malledhrim, the Eldgang, and the factions introduced in RoI and beyond.
You will gain the steed, the title “World Renown,” and 50 Turbine Points.
Steed of Eriador
Conclusion
I hope you have been able to pick up some handy tips or info out of this series – I apologize for it being such a long read. I had an original write-up on a small forum, and have basically done my best to move it here (many any updates, and breaking it up into four “smaller” reads). It should certainly be used as a reference material, so don’t feel you have to memorize the whole thing (extra slice of pie if you did!). You can either click on the “reputation” category under the article title to see the rest of the series, or find it under “The Academy” < “New Player Guides” < “Reputation” in the menu bar.
Like I’ve said a couple times, feel totally free to leave any comments/suggestions/questions where applicable, and I’ll do my best to oblige as needed. I hope you find your way around Turbine’s world of Middle Earth with awesome success, and may you forge new alliances with the peoples of each land!
“Repeat anything often enough and it will start to become you.” -Tom Hopkins
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 Vale
Men of the Sutcrofts
People of Wildermore
Survivors of Wildermore
The Eorlingas
The Helmingas
The Ents of Fangorn Forest
*AtE = Factions needed for “Ambassador to the Elves” reputation deed
Unlike the Eriador area, which saw many of its factions utilizing consumable reputation, there are currently only two factions here which use this mechanic (and they share the same zone and drop tables) – the Iron Garrison Guards/Miners, located in Moria. The factions in this area of the game revolve heavily around completing quests (and repeatable quests, if needed) to progress with the reputation tiers. Because of the sometimes-monotonous repeatables, the Reputation Acceleration Tomes really shine in this area of the game (1k tomes in skirmish camp – 5k in LOTRO Store or possible drop via Hobbit Presents).
Along with the Elves of Rivendell (Eriador faction), completing Kindred standing with the Galadhrim and the Malledhrim will complete the “Ambassador to the Elves” reputation deed, and reward you with a title, 20 Turbine Points, and a Steed of the Elf-Lords (68%, 250 morale).
Now, let’s jump into the factions. They should be in order of when you’d probably go through them in level, but feel free to skip around as you wish.
I have put these two factions together, as both share the same zone in which any of the six main reputation items can drop. All consumable reputation items under the Guards can only be used to increase your reputation with the Guards, and likewise with the Miners. Owning the Moria pack is still very helpful to gaining reputation with both, as there are a ton of quests available in these hallowed mines. However, it is not essential to own the Moria region (whether through expansion or quest pack) in order to reach Kindred with both of their factions, as long as you have some means to accrue their reputation consumables. The three Moria skirmishes (unlocked through the epic) also reward reputation with their respective factions (more on that in another guide).
There are also repeatable quests you may complete daily for a nice chunk of reputation with both factions. Dolvien-View offers solo quests (L 54/47/60) that require a specific shard to begin, and will reward a number of reputation, along with other goodies.
There are also a cluster of repeatables between Chamber of the Crossroads and 21st Hall (around 5.5S, 108.9W). This area has two Mekeb dungeons, with three quests each (make sure to talk to the respective vendor again after starting the main quest for the other two), and should give you more rep with Guards/Miners. Another area, Mezer-serej (7.2S, 104.7W; a little SE of 21st Hall) offer two more of these kind of NPCs for two different instanced locations. Finally, a third similar area, Gharaf-fehem, is located in SW Redhorn Lodes (13.0S, 105.7W), and will offer you six more repeatables.
Beyond quests, during which you will find a good number of reputation consumables, you may need to do some farming for the rest. Unlike other zones, finding the high-end rep item for either faction is not something you will find in a specific location. You may also exchange Moria Guards and Miners reputation items by visiting the reputation vendors in Moria (Dolvien-View or 21st Hall). They will allow to to exchange across factions for the same tiers (ie Purple Crystal Lamp Fragment for a Green one – both are 700 rep items).
Therefore, I’d recommend simply farming in a lower-level Moria area that you can at least pick up a lot of Engravings/Carvings, and most likely a smattering of other tiers. East of Dolvien-View, in Gazatmur (7.6S, 111.3W) is a decent encampment in which to grind. You are right next to a town (to stop in with vendors and barterers), and there are a good number of itty bitty goblins to take down here. Beware the signature lieutenant in the area.
Also note the addition of two extra tiers of items for each faction (the 900 and 1200 rep items). These will not drop from enemies, but are available in-game as a small possible RNG loot via special treasure chests. After completing the epic instances “The Drowned Treasury” (2.4.7) and/or “New Devilry” (2.6.8), if you talk to the NPC by the Reflecting Pool in the 21st Hall, he will offer the ability to repeat these instances via the Reflecting Pool in order to net Marks of Victory. You may then turn these Marks in for a chest (or other rewards, though I recommend go with a chest – and I tend to specifically prefer the Chest of Chance) from that same NPC. You can repeat these once a week, and the Marks of Victory are also available should you pick up quests from respective NPCs outside instance areas that involve assisting allies with their level 58 fellowship class quest (which takes place in that respective instance).
Galadhrim (Lothlorien)
This faction requires reputation through questing in Lothlorien – there are no items to trade in for reputation. This means you will need to own the pack to make the most of reputation in this zone (some rep can be gained through the epic book). However, there are four repeatable quests that you may be able to take advantage of to gain Galadhrim rep without owning the pack. There are many other repeatables for rep that will require owning the pack.
The Aiding the Elves quests (there are four of them) allow users not owning Lothlorien the chance to accrue reputation with the Galadhrim. Two of these quests are located in Echad Andestel (14.2S, 73.0W), and the other two are located up in a fleet across the stream in Talan Haldir (16.2S, 73.5W).
Additionally, most deeds in this zone will offer 700 Galadhrim reputation per deed. One thing you do need to watch out for in this zone are beasts who are marked “Protected”, as killing one of this will actually decrease your reputation slightly. There is an NPC in Echad Andestel who offers a short chain of poaching quests. While they may offer some nice rewards, completing each quest will decrease your reputation by 700. You are free to skip over these quests with no penalty, and as such is probably recommended if you are looking to gain reputation with this faction quickly.
See the below image for the location of the various dailies in Lothlorien to accrue reputation with the Galadhrim.
Reputation repeatables in Lothlorien
Malledhrim (Mirkwood)
Like the Galadhrim, the Malledhrim reputation is also gained through questing – this time in Mirkwood. There are also epic quests and repeatables that may be completed to gain reputation with this elvish faction.
The following skirmishes also each reward 700 Malledhrim reputation per completion: “Breaching the Necromancer’s Gate”, “Assault on the Ringwraiths’ Lair”, and “The Battle in the Tower”.
The below image illustrates the various Mirkwood repeatables that offer reputation with the Malledhrim. Note that the repeatable “An Ally in Need” can be picked up from either NPC location, and is a very short and easy escort quest (in most situations, you only need to kill two wargs).
Reputation repeatables in Mirkwood
The Riders of Stangard (The Great River)
The Great River brought us two factions – the Riders of Stangard, and the Heroes of Limlight Gorge. The meaty faction of this zone are the Riders, whose reputation will be gained by completing the majority of the quests throughout the Great River zone.
If you complete all of the quests, are are still not Kindred, there are several dailies located throughout the zone (also a good way to gain some more silver/gold Anduin barterable tokens). Please see the image below for all Riders of Stangard repeatable rep quests.
Another way to gain a little extra reputation is by turning in tasks at the taskboard located throughout the zone (should be at most, if not all, of the settlements that contain a stable-master). As task items are not monster-specific (other than in the Limlight Gorge, possibly), some of the task items can actually be farmed in level-comparable areas outside the Great River.
Riders of Stangard – Reputation Repeatables
Heroes of Limlight Gorge (The Great River)
Limlight Gorge dailies – Heroes of Limlight Gorge faction
While the Riders cover most of the zone, there is an area set aside for the most brave Free Peoples to group up and test their mettle. The Limlight Gorge, located on the western corner of the zone, is the site of various large trolls, spiders and huorns.
The majority of the quests here are fellowship-based, and will reward reputation with the Heroes. Once you complete all of the starter quests, three dailies will be unlocked to complete for additional reputation each day. Please see the image to the right for the list and location of these daily pick-ups (you will need to cross a bridge across the river and take an upward-sloping path to reach the second NPC).
There are also tasks from the Great River taskboard that are exclusively set aside for the Heroes. If you are lucky enough to accrue some task mats from your battles here (they may drop from the huorns in the area), you may turn them in for additional reputation. The taskboard in the area will likely be locked by the time you reach 85 (due to the level of the task quests), so you’ll want to turn in any Heroes tasks by the time you are 80 or so, and beyond that rely on the three dailies to complete this faction (the rep acceleration tomes are very handy).
If you wish to do so, the fellowship instance “Roots of Fangorn” will reward you with additional reputation.
Men of the Wold/of the Norcrofts/of the Entwash Vale/of the Sutcrofts (East Rohan)
With the arrival of the Riders of Rohan expansion came four new factions located within the Eastemnet plains – Men of the Wold, Men of the Norcrofts, Men of the Entwash Vale, and Men of the Sutcrofts. Each of these factions cover a sizable area within East Rohan, hosting several towns of varying architecture, from the small farm town of Faldham, to the large and fortified town of Snowbourn.
As with all of the newer areas, you will need to do quests which provide reputation upon completion, with the added interactive feature of an ravaged town (Hytbold) which you must complete daily quests to supplement gaining reputation with all four factions (and the added benefit that you may choose to help rebuild the town). Hytbold will become an essential part of getting to Kindred with all four factions, as you will likely be just short of Ally with each faction by the time you complete each of the regions’ quests (excluding Hytbold questing, repeatable quests/warbands in East Rohan do NOT reward reputation).
The basic way you will begin gaining reputation is through competing quests in the four major areas (the Wold, Norcrofts, Entwash Vale, Sutcrofts), which will net you reputation with the corresponding faction in that area. Once you hit level 84, you are sent to Hytbold to begin aiding the once-glorious town that was destroyed by the ensuing evil.
Essentially, Hytbold is designed to let you gain reputation with all of the factions, by allowing you to complete specific, randomized (chosen from a list of possible dailies per factioned area) daily quests. Completing each quest will get you 1200 reputation with that faction whom you aided. You may complete a total of five dailies per day (resets at 3AM, server time [EST]), with the option to reset the ability to do five more of the available dailies that day, at the cost of five Mithril Coins.
Rather than going into much more detail about Hytbold, please check out this superb Hytbold guide, made by Fredelas, for all the info on the offered daily quests, rebuilding the town, and even scoring some nice armor along the way. If you would like an in-game plugin that helps track your progress in Hytbold, please take a look at Galuhad’s Hytbold Assistant (or pick it up through the LOTRO Plugin Compendium).
People of Wildermore (Wildermore)
Wildermore, the newest area in the game, came to life with Update 11. This zone includes what I personally found to be a fantastic storyline. I not only recommend playing through it because of the story, but also due to the reputation you’ll gain. Other than the storyline and epic quests, the zone also offers tasks and warbands to complete for reputation with the People (as opposed to East Rohan, where there is no rep gain from doing tasks or warbands).
To the best of my knowledge, there are no regular repeatable quests to increase your reputation with the People of Wildermore. There should be enough reputation while questing through the storyline to hit Kindred with this faction. You may also keep doing tasks and the auto-bestowal warbands to complement the reputation gain.
Once you finish the final zone quest in Wildermore, you will unlock the ability to partake in the main repeatables to start increasing rep gain with the next faction, the Survivors of Wildermore.
Survivors of Wildermore (Wildermore)
Cole (see expanded corner shot) and his merry band of Survivors
Now that you have done your part to assist the people of Wildermore with their monstrous task (hint hint nudge nudge, play through the storyline!), you are given the option to continue assisting the remaining Survivors of Wildermore. This will be done by completing dailies, much in the same way that you did in Hytbold (with the exception that you don’t need to physically rebuild a town, or defrost the whole zone in this case).
An NPC by the name of Cole sits outside the Feasting Hall (Forlaw; 39.3S,60.8W) , in the main center of town (see the image to the right as a visual aid). He offers a quest called “Wildermore’s Recovery,” which resets on a daily basis. After picking this up, several nearby NPCs will suddenly have quests available to you. Players are then able to pick five of the quests offered that day, which vary across a variety of activities. Please note the warband quests are different from the normal auto-bestowal warband quests, and these will reward Survivors rep (rather than with the People).
For a full and more complete guide on the Survivors of Wildermore repeatables, please see this fantastic Survivors of Wildermore guide, made by Mar-Evayave. It not only contain a listing of all repeatables, organized by NPC, but also offers strategies for each daily.
The Eorlingas / The Helmingas (West Rohan)
These two factions have been introduced with the Helm’s Deep expansion, and are contained in West Rohan. Completing quests in this region will be your almost-exclusive means to accrue reputation with either faction. From what I could tell, none of the Epic Battles will reward you with reputation with either faction (they still offer plenty of other rewards, and are worth repeating). Fortunately, just doing zone + epic quests alone should be enough to get you to Kindred with both factions.
Essentially, the way that these two factions are interspersed within the region is a half/half split. You will begin the zone by completing quests that will reward reputation with the Eorlingas (essentially, the Rohirrim). There are plenty of settlements that will need your help, and aiding these people will accrue rep with that faction. As you get to the latter half of the region, you will begin to do quests that reward reputation with the Helmingas (basically the peoples in an around the areas of Helm’s Deep).
Tasks will also offer the means to gain reputation with either faction, depending on the respective task you pick up. The task mats that generally drop from the first half of West Rohan will correspond with the Eorlingas, and the task mats from the second half will correspond with the Helmingas. Beyond tasking, the daily warband quests should also be giving you reputation with the respective faction in which the warband is located.
The Ents of Fangorn Forest (West Rohan)
This faction, added with Update 13 (Breaking of Isengard) takes the player into the area of Entwood, where the Ents who led the assault on Isengard reside. The reputation grind here is another simple, yet slow process. Your main contact here will be Quickbeam, who will start by bestowing you several quests. As you complete these, and continue to pick up quests from him, you will gain reputation.
Eventually, it will come down to completing three daily crafting instances (each one has three quests within), a solitary random daily quest in Entwood, and the final involves picking one of three chains of quests to do at a time. This is a five-quest chain, with an 18-hour timer between each objective, that will reward some reputation (and a gift box, possibly containing the Fangorn barter item/huorn housing decoration/huorn pet) at the end.
Currently, there are no tasks for this area, and the reputation is needed in order to barter for goodies from several of the NPCs in the area.
Conclusion
I think some people have mixed feeling between collecting reputation in Rhovanion versus Eriador. I find the reward of reaching Kindred in Rhovanion zones to be much more fulfilling next to those in Eriador, as the increased effort to aid the peoples’ of the areas merely through questing feels much more pure faction-wise. This can definitely be felt as a more immersive portion of the game, in this respect. On the other hand, I certainly find the merits of reputation hunters in Eriador, as most of the zones don’t even require you to physically own the area to reach Kindred and reap the rewards (in this case, most often via the Turbine Point gain).
In either case, this now wraps up a look at strategies and discussion on gaining reputation with both Eriador and Rhovanion factions. In the next guide in this series, I will run through the factions in the Gondor regions.
If you have any comments/suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below. The dailies can be pretty scattered in many of the zones, so it’s entirely possible I forgot about a daily or two (or more? eeps!).