Thread: Feedback: New Player Tips for Wardens

Originally Posted by Wilksie

The number one thing I wish I had been told is be a MAN. I went for a Hobbit and didn't realize until lvl 55 that I would be missing out on an extra 5% incoming healing (which goes above the level cap). I read lots of posts about how at end game the differences between classes were negligible but trust me - they aren't for Wardens!

I disagree 5% is not enough to worry about IMO:-

Lets say you get a 3k heal - its only 150 more morale, that is not game breaking at all and has not stopped me doing anything in game.

I play hobbit because they feel more fun to play

Great stuff in this thread.... I started a Warden last night and all of this information is very useful.

Here's my tip: I went for 45 levels without reading the warden board, and have wondered why I was failing at what is supposed to be an almost self-sufficient class. Oh sure, I made it to undying, probably by sheer luck, but after that, things kinda went downhill. A lot of stuff on this board is very helpful, and I would suggest reading it from level one, even if you have no idea what most of these people are saying. It will make sense later on.

My biggest tip for a new warden is be prepared to be insulted by strangers. There are alot of people out there who consider wardens to be worthless and are not shy about telling you. This is slightly less common then it used to be as more people group with the better wardens but you should know it going in.

Hi i have a warden lev 75 and its just a shame its geared well full draig set good jewelry and its tanking for biscuits!
its such a bad class now turbine better gave it away for free and dont ask TP for it i played it before the update on 65 it was great now its just bad i know my skils and class but my champ is 1000 times better then warden .
today i tryed acid wing and a warden is like putting a piece of paper to in a fire place its just bad i leave my warden like it is now and dont tuch it again .
my tip is leave it and dont play it and dont spend tp on the class until they reset it to the level it was before ROI.

i recently downloaded lotro and bought the warden class right away. im doing decent im at level 15 and learned weapon smithing and can make decent cash. but i hear all this talk about tanking a warden, can someone explain how to tank this class?

Well heals do make threat but your yells and their gambits are better

the person with highest threat is the one attcked so to build your threat you use you fist gambits. Heals do make threat but other healers do more healing and that would be hard to do so use your fist move to get threat.

Originally Posted by Big_H

You can't bind specific gambits unless you use some external program/hardware set up (maybe with the Lua scripts now too, I don't know). There are a few programs I've heard people mention which allow custom Macros, however, I'm not sure how legal those are under the Turbine ToS. Then there are things like the G15 (?) keyboard from Logitech that have some macro functionality built in.
I don't use any of that stuff though.

What I was specifically talking about in my post is remapping the keyboard through the Key Mapping pane of the Options Menu. [Esc>Options>Key Mapping]
So for example I have my 5th Quickslot bar completely remapped and loaded with my Masteries* and Gambit Reset buttons. Then under the Key Mapping window I remap the slots to be things like 'R' and 'F', and 'Shift R' and 'Shift F' etc. I use the 5th Quickslot for this because the Key Mapping config is account wide, so if I just remapped my main Quickslot bar it would mess up all my other classes, as it is all my other classes had to modify their Quickslots a little to fit my Warden's setup.

When I log in the game here shortly, I'll see if I can get some screenshots to make this clearer.

Edit:
*Regarding Masteries: You won't start the Class Deeds for these until level 45-ish (Spear) and 50-ish (Shield and Fist), so you don't have these skills yet. But basically they add two Gambit Builders to the window with one button click.

So here's my current set up, it's a little weird, which is why I said find one that works for you

Pink are my movement keys.

The very top most bar is Quickslot Bar #5 and is shoved at the top of my screen above my map.
Slot #1 is my Gambit Execute and is bound to my side mouse button.
Slot #2 is my Clear Gambit and is bound to my 2nd side mouse button.
Slots #5-9 are my Masteries and are bound to my Shift-5 (Spear+Fist), R (Shield Mastery), and F (Fist Mastery).

On my Default Quickslot Bar #2, 3, 4 are my Gambit Builders.
I still have my Gambit Execute and my Masteries on my number line though, both to monitor cool downs and in case I'm feeling lazy and just want to mouse click stuff

Most people tend to used the Alt and Ctrl keys to access the various quickslot bars, and so build upwards (1=Spear, Shift+1=Spear+Shield Mastery, etc), but this "arc" makes more sense to me.
As for your question of 'why', it's mostly for speed. Binding skills to the keyboard makes things faster than if you have to click things with the mouse. Plus with a class like the Warden, where most everything is dependent on memory, I've found it easier to remember gambits when they're key strokes rather than mouse clicks, muscle memory or what have you.

Did that answer your questions?

After getting my masteries I was a bit overwhelmed, and figured out mapping them efficiently would be best. Luckily, I have two buttons on my mouse where my thumb is, so I mapped one row to use one button + # (ie Button 4 + 1,2,3 etc) and the other button for the row above (Button 5 + 1,2,3 etc). Actually it doesn't really matter where you place the shortcuts, as long as you can map them efficiently. Personally, I figured physically placing them in the appropriate rows -- spear above spear, shield above shield, fist above fist -- makes sense but really do whatever makes most sense to you, as long as you are comfortable with it.

And heck, if you're a clicker, make sure you can click them efficiently :P (I know some people have to click, hands get stiff with arthritis etc).

Originally Posted by LagunaD

Learn to love Precise Blow; it is your best single-target threat gambit.

OKay, so I looked it up and have a question I've been dying to ask. If you look at the Precise Blow under Assailment here:

http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Precise_Blow

It has the fist and the spear pointing to the left. What is that speark pointing to the left? It's not one of my icons? I see it all over, but still haven't figured out what it is and how to get it. Can someone explain please?

Originally Posted by Kazren

OKay, so I looked it up and have a question I've been dying to ask. If you look at the Precise Blow under Assailment here:

http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Precise_Blow

It has the fist and the spear pointing to the left. What is that speark pointing to the left? It's not one of my icons? I see it all over, but still haven't figured out what it is and how to get it. Can someone explain please?

It's the symbol for spear gambit builder when you're in assailment stance. Basicly it's the exact same ability, just that it's tilted the opposite way to show it's the ranged version.

My advice:

DONT DIE!!!

Pretty much spam heals and you can solo anything short of a 3 man instance, and you can sometimes take those on too.
I have been able to solo all of the game at nice speed with only sporadic help, which wasn't because I was stuck, but because it helped speed me up.

WARDENS FTW!!

organize your gambits. what i do is i have 123 as fist shield and spear and 4 as my gambit. then learn to memorize your complex gambits.

What are masteries for wardens exactly, all wardens say to use your masteriesas often as possible. What are they?

Get used to a sequence of stacking your buffs in between your life taps. Can stack about 11+ DoT's on a single target with some of those being AoE's and leeches. Developing a pattern helps so even if you are in a large fight you are programmed to survive a beating.

That and get used to pulling until you get killed. You are on a warden so why not? Be surprised how many you can stack on a warden!

Ratt

Originally Posted by Familyofratts

Get used to a sequence of stacking your buffs in between your life taps. Can stack about 11+ DoT's on a single target with some of those being AoE's and leeches. Developing a pattern helps so even if you are in a large fight you are programmed to survive a beating.

That and get used to pulling until you get killed. You are on a warden so why not? Be surprised how many you can stack on a warden!

Ratt

In a usual 'Rambo' fast Foundry Run I will often have 24 Hots on me 10 EoB , 10 Fierce Resolve , SafeGuard, Celebration of Skill , Restoration and Conviction

Aaaaaaaaaa!!!
I have a 30th level Warden and I don't understand/can't find super basic stuff. I search here and on lotro-wiki. I don't go drinking with someone who runs a Warden so, all I know is what I can find on these websites.

How do you set a Warden stance? And when? And why? I might be confused because, when I created a Warden, I didn't get three icons from which to select a stance yet they seem very important. My hunter has a Strength Stance, a Precision Stance and Endurance Stance. In hindsight, they didn't come all at once either.

When I press the Javelin Toss key, I get and immediate response. So, how do I build javelin gambits? How do i use Precise Blow with Spear and Precise Blow with Javelin.

Would it make more sense for the Spear Gambit be called the Melee Gambit since the Warden uses swords?

After the initial attack, I get charged so, are javelin gambits good for about 3 seconds?

On Asto's Gambit Compendium, could you put starting damage - when the gambit is given out? I realize it's a lot of work. Maybe up to some level.

Does the tool-tip damage change when I get a new level? I guess they do - the current numbers are different than what I put in my spreadsheet yesterday. Is there any chance of getting a/the formula?

Originally Posted by PGR

Aaaaaaaaaa!!!
I have a 30th level Warden and I don't understand/can't find super basic stuff. I search here and on lotro-wiki. I don't go drinking with someone who runs a Warden so, all I know is what I can find on these websites.

How do you set a Warden stance? And when? And why? I might be confused because, when I created a Warden, I didn't get three icons from which to select a stance yet they seem very important. My hunter has a Strength Stance, a Precision Stance and Endurance Stance. In hindsight, they didn't come all at once either.

When I press the Javelin Toss key, I get and immediate response. So, how do I build javelin gambits? How do i use Precise Blow with Spear and Precise Blow with Javelin.

Would it make more sense for the Spear Gambit be called the Melee Gambit since the Warden uses swords?

After the initial attack, I get charged so, are javelin gambits good for about 3 seconds?

On Asto's Gambit Compendium, could you put starting damage - when the gambit is given out? I realize it's a lot of work. Maybe up to some level.

Does the tool-tip damage change when I get a new level? I guess they do - the current numbers are different than what I put in my spreadsheet yesterday. Is there any chance of getting a/the formula?

A warden has 3 stances, which are just toggle skills (click once and there active, click again and you deactivate them). Determination is your tanking stance, recklessness is your melee dps stance and assailment is your ranged dps / buffer stance.

Assailment is the only stance that uses ranged javelin gambits, your spear gambits are changed into javelin gambits. And from there on it is the same as making gambits in determination or recklessness, except for that some assailment gambits have a minimal and maximal distance in where they need to be executed.

The javelin skills like javelin toss are still javelin skills that work immediately in assailment.

The spear gambit is called that way because most warden use a spear. It is just your main hand gambit, as the shield gambit is your off hand gambit.

Tool-tip damage shouldnt change with level, but with your stats. When you raise your might and/or physical or tactical mastery rating, your damage will increase. But your base stats change with your level, so in that way it changes with your level.

Hope this helps a bit. If you have more questions, just ask.

First of all, the class gets better as you move along. You think you're awesome with a gambit of 3? Wait until you get 4 or 5. You only get harder to beat from there on out. Also, don't ALWAYS solo and don't ALWAYS group. Put yourself in as many positions as possible (solo, 2-man, 6-man, raids, you get the idea). This way, you'll learn best which gambits do best in certain situations. Also, when you get Battle Memory, which is almost as much of an upgrade as mysteries are, don't be ashamed to go down to lower levels and try to figure good combos on your own. I like using deft spear, then the spear-shield followed by the fist-spear. This way, you can use mighty blow twice in a row for supreme damage. Battle memory works great for War-Cry too, in my experience. Lastly, organize yourself! I have a hybrid system; movement and gambit builders with left hand on keyboard, masteries with right hand on mouse. However, you will have to find what works for you. Have fun!

Warden can easily tank at skirmishes and 6man-3man groups but he can't do raids as a guardian can... We need skills or gear that we can tank big bosses at 12-man without dying instantly(2-3 hits) before we cast Hots or Threat skills... So we need a skill (maybe) that reflects 2-3 first hits so we have the times to do our gambits think, or small passive that gave us a shield when critical is applied? dunno something like that so we can initiate the fights and don't scare if we will die before HoT our selfs or Deffiants...
Ty and have fun

Originally Posted by Giagian

Warden can easily tank at skirmishes and 6man-3man groups but he can't do raids as a guardian can... We need skills or gear that we can tank big bosses at 12-man without dying instantly(2-3 hits) before we cast Hots or Threat skills... So we need a skill (maybe) that reflects 2-3 first hits so we have the times to do our gambits think, or small passive that gave us a shield when critical is applied? dunno something like that so we can initiate the fights and don't scare if we will die before HoT our selfs or Deffiants...
Ty and have fun

Lol? Not really, Wardens are better in raids than guards, when played properly. Also, you definately are doing something wrong if you get twoshotted... Gear maybe...? We already have Critical Immunity, meaning: after suffering a critical hit, you cant suffer another for the next 7s.

completly aggre the opinion above... wardens in good hands are superior tanks

(also with medicore players they arent)