Thread: Stat boosts from items and weapons

I've started to notice that some quest rewards not only seem to offer a bonus when equipped, but also when "used". My question is about that boost.

I don't really see it. Is it supposed to be like a food item and give a visible icon under my name? When I press "c" and look at my character screen and then equip/unequip those items, the only stats I notice increasing are the ones that it comes with.

For example:

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Armour:Curugarab

It's obvious when I equip it that I get a morale boost, but does it have to stay equipped? There is a cooldown timer, but I don't understand that either.

I'd really like someone to explain all about how these items work because I want to know if it's worth keeping them to use them for some free boosts.

Originally Posted by Ardineck

I've started to notice that some quest rewards not only seem to offer a bonus when equipped, but also when "used". My question is about that boost.

I don't really see it. Is it supposed to be like a food item and give a visible icon under my name? When I press "c" and look at my character screen and then equip/unequip those items, the only stats I notice increasing are the ones that it comes with.

For example:

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Armour:Curugarab

It's obvious when I equip it that I get a morale boost, but does it have to stay equipped? There is a cooldown timer, but I don't understand that either.

I'd really like someone to explain all about how these items work because I want to know if it's worth keeping them to use them for some free boosts.

The cooldown is for the "on use" part of the item, when you click the item you get a small buff for the said amount of time The item has to be equipped for it to be usable, but once it is used, you can switch to a different item and still have that buff.

Most items that have a click bonus also will reset the cooldown once you equip the item: you cannot equip an item an instantly click it. Once you have the bonus though, you can switch to another item.

Why, then, don't I appear to get a boost in my stats when using an item with, say, +11 vitality (morale) and does the increase in morale from the main stat disappear when switching? Is this mechanism described in the Lorebook?

You only get the stat boost while the item is equipped on your character, but the stat boost is ALWAYS active while you have that item equipped. When you replace that item with a different one, you lose the stat boosts from the item you took off, and gain the stat boosts from the new item you put on.

For the hat you linked to, you should get an extra 33 morale (1 point of Vitality = 3 points of morale for most classes, tank classes get 5 points of morale) all the time your character is wearing that hat. when you replace it with a different hat, you lose the +11 Vit and +11 fate, but the new hat will have it's own stat boosts.

Open your character panel (press C) and look at your stats at the bottom. Try taking pieces of equipment off and putting them on again, and see what happenes to your stats when you do that.

Any item that has an "On Use" stat needs to be specifically activated and the boost from the "On Use" stat will only last a limited amount of time. There will also be a cooldown before you can use that boost again. One way to make it easy to use the "On Use" boost is to drag the item to a hotbar and after that just click on it to activate it. You must be wearing it for that to work. If you aren't wearing it, one click will equip it for you, then click again to activate the boost (some items will force you to go through a cooldown before you can use the "On Use" boost).

I have a several characters that have gear I want to switch between quickly, so I have the gear on a hotbar and just click on the items to change what items I have equipped. I don't do this for all my gear, just a few special items.

I thank you for the detailed response. I'm just not seeing the results from the on use items. I know that the stats above the on use description are only when equipped, but I'm not noticing any benefits in the stat screen when I activate the on use function, then re-equip my usual equipment. Is there an official position or description somewhere in the Lorebook?

So when you use that (not only wear it, but use it like a skill), you don't see your maximum power number go up?

There isn't any specific description on it, because the tooltip gives you the description. On use, add maximum power. There isn't really anything else that can be explained about that. Sure, they could give some drawn out explanation of what that means, but there isn't any reason to since the brief description in the tooltip is enough to show what it does.

It goes up when equipped (used), then goes back down when it is unequipped.

I suppose it is possible that the difference between the real stats of the item originally equipped and the bonus from the other are exactly proportional, but I've got several items, not just one, that I click for bonuses at intervals. I just don't notice any difference either on the stat screen or my morale/power bar.

Not all gear has a "clickable" bonus, in fact most gear does not have that at all.

If you go back to the hat you linked, it has +11 vitality, +11 fate and an "On Use" bonus.

The +11 vitality and +11 fate bonuses are ALWAYS active. Just wear that hat and you get those bonuses (until you take the hat off). It's the "On Use" bonus that is activated by clicking on the hat while you are wearing it. Most gear does not have a clickable "On Use" bonus, so clicking on gear that does not have this type of bonus will not show anything different.

Originally Posted by Ardineck

It goes up when equipped (used), then goes back down when it is unequipped.

I suppose it is possible that the difference between the real stats of the item originally equipped and the bonus from the other are exactly proportional, but I've got several items, not just one, that I click for bonuses at intervals. I just don't notice any difference either on the stat screen or my morale/power bar.

You have to actually go to the hat icon that is on your character sheet and right click it. After you do that you should notice the change and the hat will begin a cooldown process.

I can drag those items to a quickslot and click them to start a cooldown. I've been equipping them and then unequipping for the "on use" function which also starts the cooldown. That should mean that those special effects are being used on my character, but I haven't noticed a difference on my character.

It would seem to me that these effects should be added on to whatever my highest gear equipped is showing...

For example, if I put on a piece of gear with higher Fate than the bonus for clicking gives me, shouldn't the bonus apply on top of the higher gear and not overlap with the lower equipment?

I think I might see where the problem is...

Equipping an item does not trigger any on-use abilities, but it does reset the timer. In order to get the benefit of an item's on-use ability you have to Equip it, wait for the timer to expire, then activate the item.

Turbine designed it that way so you couldn't just carry around a bunch of usable items, throw them all on real fast, and get a lot of quick bonuses. If you want an items bonus - you have to wear it for long enough for the timer to recycle, then activate it.

To asnwer your example, say you had an item that gives you +20 fate (for wearing) and another +15 fate on use (timer 30 minutes). Say you had another item that gives you +30 fate when worn. To get the full benefit, here is what you do:

1. Equip the +20 fate item - Notice your fate goes up from base to +20.
NOTE: The Item Activation timer resets, but you are not granted the +15 bonus. (You have to wait)
2. Wait 30 minutes.
3. Activate the item - Notice your fate foes up another +15, giving you +35 above base.
4. Unequip the +20 item - Notice your fate goes down 20 an is now only +15 above base.
5. Equip the +30 item - Notice your fate goes up +30 and is now at +45 above base.

AHA! I see now...so, if I want those bonuses, I should equip those items before logging out for the day, then before going into battle, activate those bonuses and equip what I want.

Otherwise, they're pretty useless at my current level...

THANK YOU for figuring that out!

when i right click someones name in my fellowship it says an option of follow can someone please explain everything about follow for a captain?

Holy necro-thread-hijack, Batman!

The /follow command merely means that your character will follow around the person you select as they move through the world. Your character will follow that character pretty much the same way your herald follows you. It doesn't mean anything more than that the other character can tow your character around while you go AFK or look something up or just enjoy the landscape.

Or, as someone did to me while I was grinding hendrovail earlier this week, you can /follow them while fellowed with them and you can claim all their kills as your own.

Don't worry. Dude asked permission first. And I was cool with it, so the entire situation was more than jake.

(Editorial Note: Randomly /following people in a combat area and going AFK for extended period of times for absolutely no reason and with absolutely no notice is a good way to get yourself stuck in a quite perilous situation. Back when I was up on the High Moors in Trollshaws grinding out the crawler deed, some random level 20 did that to me. After a few moments of attempting communication, I just ran him into the middle of the Giant Valley and ported back to Bree. I hope his end was amazingly painful to experience.)

Originally Posted by Amagaim

(Editorial Note: Randomly /following people in a combat area and going AFK for extended period of times for absolutely no reason and with absolutely no notice is a good way to get yourself stuck in a quite perilous situation. Back when I was up on the High Moors in Trollshaws grinding out the crawler deed, some random level 20 did that to me. After a few moments of attempting communication, I just ran him into the middle of the Giant Valley and ported back to Bree. I hope his end was amazingly painful to experience.)

You are totally correct. /follow is great if you and your fellowship need to go somewhere but you (personally) need to take care of something and will be AFK for a few minutes. I often use it when going to a place I'm unfamiliar with; when I don't have to "drive" I can watch our progress on the Map and learn more. Or if someone is looking up the exact coordinates in the Lorebook or something, they can /follow someone while we travel towards the approximate spot.

I have randomly /followed people in Bree and it can be quite amusing.

ok thanks

can someone please give me a reliable link to a website that has rare elites and rare signature locations?

Originally Posted by obi-wan-kenobi

can someone please give me a reliable link to a website that has rare elites and rare signature locations?

Why? What are you looking to get from that information? If you want to harvest the rare trophy drops you read about somewhere, that info is obsolete. No recipes use them anymore... and if you are looking for shards, you can buy them with Skirmish Marks.

i just like to collect them so i know which ones i have defeated. and also thanks for the information about where to buy shards. and does anone have a reliable link for the locations of rare elites and rare signatures etc.?