Thread: Feedback: New Player Tips for Captains

Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on the classes in our Tell the Community Team threads. In keeping with that theme, we want your help. If you could give one tip to a new player about playing the Captain class, what would it be?

In a fellowship, always use your shield-brother skills.

in groups: dont try to be primary DPS, focus on buffing/healing with some DPS thrown in

solo: plan ahead, know your skills and bring potions

2 tips...

put banner (victory/war/hope) skills on quikslot for faster herald summoning or banner planting along with the herald(s) you like to use.

also...use banners in a fellowship not heralds in most situations.

Alternate defensive strike every other skill, so you will not run out of melee skills and be auto-attacking.

Originally Posted by Frelorn

Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on the classes in our Tell the Community Team threads. In keeping with that theme, we want your help. If you could give one tip to a new player about playing the Captain class, what would it be?

Stick with it. Your rather scattered set of skills does not give you lots of depth at first, but it gets better.

Once you have the ability to use banners, use them and trait "Strength from Within" so that Muster Courage gives you the self-heal.

Don't worry that the traits disables Heralds. Heralds are practically useless, and they're not worth the frustration over trying to get them to path like someone who doesn't ride the short bus to school.

Do not expect to be doing top-tier DPS. It's not your job.

Its hard to beat just going Hands of Healing 100% of the time, you can eventually wear down most anything and your very survivable.

2h's are generally better then sword nd board, but since the weapon speed generalization in mirkwood sword nd board can be viable.

As you level, be sure to use your revealing mark before you go into battle. When you are fighting a difficult opponent, let your herald do most of the work of DPS, only throwing an occasional heal on him to keep him up. If you have multiple enemies, you can send your herald in first to get the aggro of one, then fight the other yourself.

Pressing Attack is generally going to give you more chances to use your Rallying Cry, as it has double the hits. However, against a single target, it does less damage and has the same chance, so keep that in mind.

Don't be afraid to run. You can throw your noble mark on a target and just kite it around until it dies.

Originally Posted by Reillan

Pressing Attack is generally going to give you more chances to use your Rallying Cry, as it has double the hits. However, against a single target, it does less damage and has the same chance, so keep that in mind.

Actually, unless something's changed, PA has always done more noncrit damage than noncrit DB. Crit damage is something else.

For new captains, I highly recommend figuring things out for yourself and not going to the captain boards immediately for advice (e.g. "tell me what traits to use"). Guides can be useful, but can also be outdated and subjective. The best way to learn all your skills is to study them after training and trying them out in different situations.

Take any advice that states an absolute (e.g. "you must always have this legacy no matter your traiting or the situation") with a grain of salt and decide for yourself.

Because if you can't figure out how to effectively play the captain (to your playstyle as well) without a lot of handholding and frustration, the class was not meant for you. Hybrids are a challenge to play to their full effectiveness. Don't be afraid of this truth.



____________________
Crit crafting & the RNG | Dumb noob things we've done in LotRO...
"Be not so eager to advance that you fail to experience the moment, in life and in all things." -Deluros, Rivendell
legendary: adj.
1. Gilded (having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth)
2. Having an appearance of grandeur that obfuscates by complexity and arbitrariness
3. Disposable

Like a Lore Master, you have many facets in group play. Be the General on the field, monitor the flow of battle, and fill the role that your group currently requires. Healer falling behind on heals? Drop back and help them out. DPS a little low? Jump in the fray, toss up Oath Breakers and catch them up. Group going down fast? Toss out In Harm's Way and ready Last Stand, if someone goes down pop off a rez. You can pull them back from the brink!

Originally Posted by Mithrandir3

Once you have the ability to use banners, use them and trait "Strength from Within" so that Muster Courage gives you the self-heal.

Don't worry that the traits disables Heralds. Heralds are practically useless, and they're not worth the frustration over trying to get them to path like someone who doesn't ride the short bus to school.

I don't know if this is a 'discussion' thread or not, but I'd disagree with this. At higher levels, yeah sure; but heralds are very useful at the low/mid levels.

When you activate Last Stand, tell the healer. It keeps them from 1) having a heart-attack and 2) tossing unnecessary heals on you.

Originally Posted by Big_H

I don't know if this is a 'disscussion' thread or not, but I'd disagree with this. At higher levels, yeah sure; but heralds are very useful at the low/mid levels.

Indeed. Even in Mirkwood running HoH off-tanking with a herald is very useful for tough solo pulls (like a sig and 3 normals).

The first 20-30 levels of the Captain will be rather dull because of our limited skills. As the captain levels up, they gain a wider variety of skills to use and become much more enjoyable to play.

Captains are at thier strongest in fellowships. Always keep your fellowship buffed and healed as much as possible. Always shield-brother whoever pulls the most or 2nd most aggro. Depending on the instance, it is sometimes best to shield brother different classes from what you normally do. Most of all, be flexible and willing to assume different roles. Sometimes you will need to be the tank or off-tank, and sometimes you will need to be the minstrel or runekeepers' backup healer.

If you are going to play with a herald, learn to micro[manage] it well.

Start by changing the AI to passive, and not guard or aggressive. Agressive works well in skirmishes (herald will behave exactly like a soldier) and some other situations, but generally should not be used. Guard AI is simply to unpredictable and lets the herald leeroy into a pack of stuff.

Knowing when to toggle Assist on and off, and how to target and have the herald attack with assist toggled on.

Also, be sure to RIGHT CLICK the skills to turn them on to auto attack. This helps the herald hold agro on a target better.

You can also click and drag skills to you main hot bars for ease of use. Suggested skills: Attack, Follow, and Lend Will. Lend Will will morph into the skill that increases evade and helps the archer live longer when you switch from herald to archer.

Also, slotting Strength from Within will turn off the herald, so have a full complement of banners if you are ever have that trait slotted.

My advice is this:

Remember that everyone plays a captain differently.

I play a support role (healing, buffing, etc.) and use a herald.
My friend plays an off-tank role (grab the extra dude that gets past the guardian) and uses a standard.
Another guy I know plays a DPS role (ignore all the fancy stuff and just do as much damage to a single target as possible)

They're all valid and useful. If you can keep track of what all your skills do, you'll be able to find out what you like and how to do it.

A few tips for new people:
-You have some skills that are gray until an enemy dies. Keep them on your screen where you can see them so you know when to hit them.

-If you send your herald in first, then they'll kill him instead of you. Send him in by selecting a bad guy and clicking the attack button (which I drag to my quickbar for this purpose).

-One of the marks you'll eventually get does damage. This is a great way to start combat without having to run up close to the bad guy.

-Captains can't really heal themselves. If you're in a group where you're supposed to be healing people, make sure that someone else is watching to make sure you don't die.

-If you use a herald and he dies, you can immediately equip a standard and drop it on the ground. Drag one to your quickbar for this purpose.

-You'll eventually figure this out, but it's not immediately obvious that you can put some buffs on heralds, loremaster pets, guys that you have to protect for quests, skirmish soldiers, and (as of the current patch) even rune-keeper rocks. Just try whatever you have and see what works. -->Special Note: Click F1 to select yourself, F1 again to select your companion, etc. to cycle through all your dudes. F2 does it for the next person listed in your fellowship and so forth. This makes locating and buffing companions a lot easier.<--

Always trait at least four deep into Lead the Charge, and use Grave Wound every time it's up.

Besides this,

- Use banners once you can. Heralds are annoying for you and your group.
- Don't forget to buff!!
- Always try and help the minstrel out. Don't just say, "So-and-so needs heals", heal them yourself. You are more than capable.

Originally Posted by Romulus071

Most of all, be flexible and willing to assume different roles. Sometimes you will need to be the tank or off-tank, and sometimes you will need to be the minstrel or runekeepers' backup healer.

QFT.

As a Captain your primary duty is watching the big picture, even if you're not actually the fellowship leader. Keep people buffed; be ready to support the Minstrel or RK in healing duties (or be ready to heal them!); contribute to DPS when you can; if you're not using a banner, have your herald do something useful (they make great off-tanks both when solo-ing and in groups); and above all, watch the overall state of the battle. If it looks like things are taking a turn for the worse, be ready to fire emergency skills like IHW/LS and your in-combat rez.

Don't take anyone else's advice too seriously... properly played, a Captain can often make the difference between a wipe and a success, but it's up to you to figure out precisely how and in a way that works for your style.

"Good luck!"

Solo captains keep your gear as up to date as possible.

DPS is generally low, so the bigger the sword, the faster the fight, but you're always going to take punishment, so get that shiny armour too.

Look Awesome

You're the awesomest class in the game, you must look the part! Image is everything, everything else is for show.

Seriously,

In groups don't try and get aggro. We heal others much better than ourselves.

We are the BEST class for leading raids in pvmp, but not for soloing.

-You must be close enough to rez ppl using the instant rez (cry of vengence)

-Put the banners in your hotbar like your skills

-Revealing mark is your friend for soloing elites or sigs

-If the instance/encounter has enough death responces, HoH legendary is useless and rallying cry is awesome!

- Don't be afraid to you In Harms Way skill, you DO NOT have to use Last Stand with it to survive.

-Muster courage cures FEARS, those purple icon items below your name. (believe me i had no idea what 'fear' was until i reached lvl 50...the good old days)

- Don't worry about saving Oathbreaker skill for final boss battles, SPAM that every time you have high hp mob to fight, 5 minutes goes by very fast in raids.

- 5% increase in War cry trait (Captain of war) means the group can attack 5% faster and the group is doing 5% more dps, use it when its up.

- Think before equipping personal heal trait or HoH legendary trait, if there is enough death responses, Rallying cry will ALWAYS be more effective than any of those traits (especially when you have it on 8.3sec or 15 sec cooldown).

Originally Posted by witchking782

-If the instance/encounter has enough death responces, HoH legendary is useless and rallying cry is awesome!

- 5% increase in War cry trait (Captain of war) means the group can attack 5% faster and the group is doing 5% more dps, use it when its up.

Two things:
First: HoH is always useful. It's extra healing to your Rallying Cry skill. Even if stuff is dying all the time - you'll keep your own power up more thanks to RC's power return, and you'll help everyone else's power more. I spam RC even when health bars are at full.
Second: 5% increase in speed does not translate to a 5% increase in DPS. It's actually more like 2-3% depending on the class, and some classes won't see any benefit. While I do like this trait, there may be more important traits to get.

Bind an extra mouse button to your instant/reactive rez skill (cry of vengeance), makes it much easier to actually hit it fast enough.

Have a separate weapon and emblem for your buff legacies.

When soloing, apply your damage skills judiciously and have a kill order in mind for multi-mob pulls. Time your combat around your defeat response cooldowns, and you can take on encounters that few other classes can alone.

To me the most basic: remember that in a group, you need to maintain good situational awareness. Somebody once described captains as "battlefield managers" and that is about right: you can help with healing, increase group dps, bubble, grab adds, and generally make the group more efficient in good times and save them in bad. To do this you need to keep a broad eye on the group: is the mini taking aggro? is he/she falling behind in healing? Are people's power bars drooping? Is somebody going down fast? Be aware and shift focus as is necessary.

Just ask question, the best way to get a tip.

Because your battle shout is ranged, if you lead off every battle with it, you can sometimes find yourself having few targets to hit with your Pressing Attack. The mobs are running toward you, you hit your shout, and they still have 20 meters to cross before reaching you. This means that when they get close, your opportunity to hit PA may already be expired, or that you have to hit it before it can hit its max number of targets. (max targets is only 2 below 45, admittedly, but it can still be an issue there). Instead, save your shout a second or three longer and let the mobs settle down a bit, then you'll have time to set up your PA for the maximum number of hits possible. The more hits you can get, the better your chances of getting a crit on any of them, and the more chances you'll be able to launch your on-defeat responses.

Also, learn that your PA is a frontal AoE with limited range. This means that in fights with multiple mobs where you're trying to specifically avoid hitting a given mob, you can position yourself with your back to the mob you don't want to hit and smack your PA. Your AoE on-defeat shout is, however, full AoE.

Get to know your strengths and weaknesses in particular kinds of situations. As with any support class, what you do when running solo is often going to be VERY different from what you do in a group (depending on if you are filling the role of backup healer, off-tank, or just buffing/adding some DPS).

Variety is also key here - one of our biggest strengths is the fact that we CAN help out with just about anything short of Power Management (and we do burn through power). Thus, learning what traits to work on (and max out) to enhance those particular abilities is important. Spend some time early on getting to know what you'll need to focus on and you'll be ahead of the curve when you get to higher levels (35+).

Also, as has already been said, we really shine best when in a group. We're here to help, after all; and you'll have many different opportunities and chances to utilize your various buffs, heals, etc. A Captain is truly a Fellowship class.

Potions.

Like all close combat classes (the heavies in particular), bring potions against wound, disease and poison. You get a lot of debuffs when fighting at sword range, a lot more than e.g. a Hunter or Rune-keeper that works from home mostly. You can buy those at vendors. (might be worth getting a house to buy those and also for the repair discount for your heavy armour)

And use them early, before the debuffs accumulate damage. There's no point popping the wound point after you bled nearly to death and the wound effect ends anyway. Popping them early also means the cooldown might be over by the time you'd like to use the next one.

For new Captains, the advice I give, especially if you are solo, it don't forget the herald! He is good for tanking and stealing notice while you run in, through, try to pick up an item, or need some help while killing. Later on, you won't be using the heralds much except for this type of thing anyway.

Always trait your slow.
Nuff said.

Originally Posted by AEW

Always trait your slow.
Nuff said.

which slow ? please i'd like to get more information kbyetnx

Learn to prioritize. As a high level captain you will have a lot of different abilities, and they all have their uses. You could just spam all your skills every time they are up, but that isn't efficient nor is it necessarily what is needed. Learn to assess, and use what will benefit your group the most in the current situation, even when it means continuing to heal as opposed to inducting a rez on someone right that second, or choosing to save your last rez in case a healer dies instead of bringing up a DPS class right away. Sometimes you have to abandon one ability in order to make use of another more useful one in the current situation.

If you make a mistake, don't panic. Step back and think about what will help the most, then do it as quickly as possible. Captains make great group maintainers. You can help out everywhere and in pretty much every situation, so choose what role will benefit your group the most and do everything you can to fill that role until it changes. I try to be selfless as a captain and make sure I am doing whatever is best for THE GROUP even if it means I am not getting noticed or doing what is most fun at the moment. I find that it helps everyone at being more successful.

It takes time and practice, but using your skills correctly is the most important thing in this game. Gear is very helpful, and traiting properly is even more so, but anyone can be successful no matter the setup if they do what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it.

Most importantly, do whatever it takes to have fun! That's what we are all here for after all.

Originally Posted by MorningStarSE

which slow ? please i'd like to get more information kbyetnx

The slow thats on a 3 year CD, its probably on CD currently for you, and that is why you don't know what it is.

Kthxbai
Also please catch the joke in my posts.

Originally Posted by scottybene

Bind an extra mouse button to your instant/reactive rez skill (cry of vengeance), makes it much easier to actually hit it fast enough.

Good suggestion! I can't believe I haven't done that after all this time!

Heralds and jumping
If you have a mount , mount up before jumping off a ledge. You herald will appear next to you when you dismount. He won't have to path to you pulling everything in the zone along with him.