So I'm planning on getting just a month of VIP, then buying Isengard (not sure which edition) so I'll theoretically have 1500 TP to spend. How should I spend it? I'd really like to have at least one more character slot, and of course I would need QP's to get to Isengard...
What is the best leveling path to get to Isengard?
Should I go ahead and get the legendary edition with PotF?
Or should I go with maybe Evendim, Eregion, and Enedwaith?
Is Moria absolutely necessary to get to level cap?
Should I use the month of VIP to do one, maybe two areas and then buy different ones?
Which areas are the best for leveling?
I was really looking hard at doing straight shot from the Lone-lands to Dunland, and the Great River region also piqued my interest. That would mean Trollshaws, Eregion, Enedwaith, Dunland, Gap of Rohan, Nan Curunir. I have no idea how many TP that costs, but I do have a GameStop on hand where I could buy gamecards. The PotF seems to lead in a weird direction, in terms of getting to Isengard. It leads more to Rohan. So basically I want unbridled, unbiased opinions. Can I go through the Trollshaws and get to level 40 or so? Then head to Eregion and get to 50 before braving Moria? Or do I need some other "gap-filler"? Would it be doable to go with Isengard legendary, and get Enedwaith and Great River with TP? That pretty much fills everything up to 75, but I have yet another question: Does that make to much overlap, i.e. does Enedwaith cover too much of the same stuff as Lothlorien? Is Isengard worth my time at all? Should I just get PotF and Great River (cause that'll easily last me til Rohan comes out) or is Isengard too good to miss? Also, if I were to get PotF with Isengard legendary I would also get Mirkwood, I'd like to know how that is too...
Sorry I have so many questions, I just have limited funds and I want to know how best to use them. Thanks!
why not just go VIP and leave it at that? If you pay over 3 month chunks you only pay $10/month.
In my opinion, Isengard is absolutely worth it. Also, In doing Trollshaws and Eregion, You might have to do some Misty Mountains and Evendim.
I was still in Moria when Isengard came out, and it took me a few months to get it done, along with Lothlorien and Mirkwood. For me, it was worth it. If I had somehow not done those areas there would be a nice big gap in the epic story. The areas in and past Moria are beautiful and worth playing. the only areas I skipped were Forochel, and I did not care for North Downs (I only went to those places if I had too). Forochel and Northdowns involved a lot of running around and didn't level as fast as other areas, which provided a nice levelling experience.
In terms of funds, I stand by subscribing. TP seem to cost a lot. If you go VIP, you get 500 TP a month and access to everything. Of course, if you plan to only play a few times a month then buying things with TP is the way to go I guess. I couldn't help you much there. Also, you could afford things like the new wallet upgrade, which is AMAZING (as much as I hate that Turbine is making you pay for a UI upgrade).
I don't have the time to play more than maybe 3 hours a week, even then I don't play this all the time in my spare time and it would come to more around 2 hours a week, so paying 120 bucks a year is definitely not worth it when I could go a lot cheaper and just get the stuff I want with TP.
So I'm planning on getting just a month of VIP, then buying Isengard (not sure which edition) so I'll theoretically have 1500 TP to spend. How should I spend it? I'd really like to have at least one more character slot, and of course I would need QP's to get to Isengard...
What is the best leveling path to get to Isengard?
Should I go ahead and get the legendary edition with PotF?
Or should I go with maybe Evendim, Eregion, and Enedwaith?
Is Moria absolutely necessary to get to level cap?
Should I use the month of VIP to do one, maybe two areas and then buy different ones?
Which areas are the best for leveling?
I was really looking hard at doing straight shot from the Lone-lands to Dunland, and the Great River region also piqued my interest. That would mean Trollshaws, Eregion, Enedwaith, Dunland, Gap of Rohan, Nan Curunir. I have no idea how many TP that costs, but I do have a GameStop on hand where I could buy gamecards. The PotF seems to lead in a weird direction, in terms of getting to Isengard. It leads more to Rohan. So basically I want unbridled, unbiased opinions. Can I go through the Trollshaws and get to level 40 or so? Then head to Eregion and get to 50 before braving Moria? Or do I need some other "gap-filler"? Would it be doable to go with Isengard legendary, and get Enedwaith and Great River with TP? That pretty much fills everything up to 75, but I have yet another question: Does that make to much overlap, i.e. does Enedwaith cover too much of the same stuff as Lothlorien? Is Isengard worth my time at all? Should I just get PotF and Great River (cause that'll easily last me til Rohan comes out) or is Isengard too good to miss? Also, if I were to get PotF with Isengard legendary I would also get Mirkwood, I'd like to know how that is too...
Sorry I have so many questions, I just have limited funds and I want to know how best to use them. Thanks!
Legendary Edition is definitely the best deal if you can get it on sale. That will give you the Path of the Fellowship (which includes Moria) as well as Mirkwood. With your other TP I would recommend Evendim (for 30-40) and Forochel (from 40-50). You could swap Angmar for Forochel, but it seems to me that Forochel provides a smoother leveling experience for solo players as there are a lot of fellowship quests in Angmar.
Should I go ahead and get the legendary edition with PotF?
If you can afford it, go for it. It's a great starting package and is better than Mithril Edition.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Or should I go with maybe Evendim, Eregion, and Enedwaith?
Evendim is one area you'll want to get no matter what - it's among the best leveling places in the game. The other have alternatives: Eregion can be substituted with Forochel (and maybe Misty Mountains) and Enedwaith with Mirkwood.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Is Moria absolutely necessary to get to level cap?
I'm afraid so, it is one place notoriously difficult to avoid. Technically, it can be skipped, but it would require having most other quest packs available: Forochel, Angmar, Misty Mountains, Eregion and Lothlorien. Better to just get Moria - it's the only place with quests for level 53-58.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Should I use the month of VIP to do one, maybe two areas and then buy different ones?
Good idea, as long as you complete most quests and get slayer deeds into Advanced half. By the time your alts come along, you should have alternatives available.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Which areas are the best for leveling?
Evendim, Forochel, Eregion, Mirkwood/Enedwaith - all mostly solo areas, with 5 group quest tops and very smooth and logical quest progression. By comparison:
North Downs is level 22-38, meaning that it covers mostly the same level range as free Lone Lands and much better Evendim. Adding to that, quest flow is very is disorganized and quite a lot of quests require groups to do on-level. It's not a good place to level, there are sings it may be revamped in the near future.
Trollshaws is a beautiful area, rich on original LOTR lore, but there are relatively few quests found in there. The area has quests for level 33-45, but there are not enough of them to level through that range reliably. Also, many quests require groups to do on-level. Generally, of 4 quest hubs Tal Bruinen is well received, while other 3 are very much lackluster.
Misty Mountains has quests for level 39-50, but it has the fewest number of quests of all zones in the game. There is some rich The Hobbit lore to be found there, plus the Helegrod raid which is still run from time to time, but entire quest areas require groups to do on-level and the remaining quest run out very fast.
Angmar is very heavy on group content: 3 instances, 1 raid plus over a third of all quests require groups to do on-level. Unless you have some reliable people to do them with, Angmar will only bring you frustration if you try to tackle it on-level, because your entire quest log will fill up with group quests you're unable to do. Also, Angmar is visually depressing - in contrast with beautiful places like Evendim, Eregion or Forochel.
Lothlorien has quests for level 59-60, many of them repeatable. Quests are much easier than in Moria, many of them involve no combat and can be done easily at level 55-56. However, Lorien quests are not intended for leveling, but rather foe reputation gain and barter token acquisition.
By the way, Mirkwood is now almost identical to Enedwaith in terms of leveling, except it costs more. If you asked 2 months ago, I would advice Mirkwood - but since then level changes were made to Enedwaith and it's IMO a better option.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
I was really looking hard at doing straight shot from the Lone-lands to Dunland, and the Great River region also piqued my interest. That would mean Trollshaws, Eregion, Enedwaith, Dunland, Gap of Rohan, Nan Curunir. The PotF seems to lead in a weird direction, in terms of getting to Isengard. It leads more to Rohan.
Leveling progression is nowhere near of making geographical sense. Adjacent areas may have a skip of 10-15 levels, which is a lot, while logical story progression would lead you all over the map anyway. If you can afford RoI Legendary - great, if not - Path of Fellowship is still a good deal. Both of those are wonderful head-start for newcomers, but people who already have one or most zones in them naturally find them less attractive.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Can I go through the Trollshaws and get to level 40 or so?
Really hard to tell - like I said above, Trollshaws has few quest, spread apart pretty far in levels. You may try doing what Trollshaws quests you can, then following Epic Volume 1 through North Downs, Trollshaws and Misty Mountains (Epic is always free). Along the way you may squeeze some more XP with Tasks and Skirmishes, but it would be pretty nonsensical compared to Forochel. When people do Trollshaws, they do it for either story or deeds - not for leveling. Though if you get it with Path of the Fellowship, there's no reason to skip it.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Then head to Eregion and get to 50 before braving Moria? Or do I need some other "gap-filler"?
Eregion quests are level 48-52. Though you can accept some quests at level 43, you'll be fighting monsters way over your level - only frustration lies that way. Rather, people use Eregion to get them a little over 50 - to level 52 or 53 - before they enter Moria to get an upper edge: Moria is pretty rough when done on-level and even if you're slightly above it's not a walk in the Shire - the difficulty takes a step there.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Would it be doable to go with Isengard legendary, and get Enedwaith and Great River with TP?
It is possible to get every area you want with TP. You will complete some deeds along the way anyway, spend a weekend finishing advanced slayer deeds in the areas now gray to you and you can a bunch more. You're expressed desire to play alts and will have a head-start with TP from RoI - so it's definitely possible.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Does that make to much overlap, i.e. does Enedwaith cover too much of the same stuff as Lothlorien?
No. Rather, Lorien overlaps with Moria, while Enedwaith is pretty much identical to Mirkwood level-wise.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Is Isengard worth my time at all?
Yes. It has a 10 level increase and hundreds of quests to cover it. Mirkwood/Enedwaith together may take you to 71/72, but not higher. And Great River is a strictly L75 area.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Should I just get PotF and Great River (cause that'll easily last me til Rohan comes out) or is Isengard too good to miss?
Some players might be able to do Mirkwood/Enedwaith daily repeatables (there are easily 40 of them between two areas) for XP, then starting Great River at 72-73 when it becomes doable. But I wouldn't recommend for your first character. Besides, Isengard has all current "end-game" stuff anyway: Draigoch, Foundry, Orthanc, Fangorn's Edge etc.
Originally Posted by Aerulen
Also, if I were to get PotF with Isengard legendary I would also get Mirkwood, I'd like to know how that is too...
Mirkwood is good to have and until 2 months ago was preferential over Enedwaith. If you have one, you don't need another to level. If you plan to get one with TP, then Enedwaith is much cheaper, but if you get RoI Legendary, Mirkwood is included anyway. The main difference is atmosphere: Enedwaith consists op open landscaped: plains, ravines, lakes, mountains slopes. Mirkwood, on the other hand, is a Dark and Twisted Forest that some people just find to depressing to spend much time in.
Wow, thanks, you helped a LOT! /rep Anyway, I think I might just go with Isengard Heroic or Isengard Basic, and, and then spend what I would have spent on Legendary to get TP, either GameStop cards or from the LotRO store, and get Evendim, maybe Forochel, or possibly Eregion. The only problem is Moria, because it's a lot more expensive... So I don't know, I'll have to do some more research.... Thanks again...
For someone who plays only 2 hours per week, my suggestion would be this:
1) Get a one month VIP subscription. The unlock on bags, traits, gold cap and swift travel (ESPECIALLY swift travel) are invaluable to making your 2 hours per week enjoyable. This is the only way you can unlock swift travel.
2) Don't buy anything else. If you're playing 2 hours per week, it will take you at least a couple of months to get through the free content. At that point the TP you've earned in game, plus the 500TP for your VIP month, will buy you Evendim. That's at least another month of play for you.
3) Watch closely for sales. In particular, watch for a big discount on RoI, especially around festivals or when Riders of Rohan (the next expansion) is released. It has been sold at half price in the past ($25 for Legendary), and if you get lucky it will go on sale again before you finish Evendim. If not, when you reach the end of Evendim, consider purchasing the RoI Legendary Edition at that point.
I would definitely advise against the other RoI versions for someone in your position. Paying the extra for the Legendary Edition pretty much ensures you won't have to pay another cent for over a year, you'll have content to get you all the way to 75 and not even have to think about managing your TP and working out how to buy Moria. But buying the LE at full price really gains you very little and puts you at risk of missing out on a good sale.
So what if I bought the basic edition of Isengard for $30, and then spent $20 on 1600 TP, for a total of 2600 TP? How much/many QP's could I get with 2600? Or should I just wait and buy QP's as I need them, with TP from the store combined with what I've earned from deeds?
So what if I bought the basic edition of Isengard for $30, and then spent $20 on 1600 TP, for a total of 2600 TP? How much/many QP's could I get with 2600? Or should I just wait and buy QP's as I need them, with TP from the store combined with what I've earned from deeds?
If you're going to get the basic edition of Isengard then you'll be best served by spending $30 to get the Mithril Edition which will give you Path of the Fellowship plus 2000 TP.
So I have another question: Could I only do the Trollshaws, no Evendim, to get through 30-40? I heard that it was kind of slipshod, and it was better to go through Evendim. I guess I'm just having second thoughts about legendary Isengard if I'm not going to be able to really quest through the Trollshaws. So I'm thinking maybe I just get Evendim when I finish the Lone-lands, and then slowly work my way through and by the time I need Isengard, maybe the price will have dropped. But then there's still Moria... Does anyone know how much just the Moria quests cost? I thought maybe you could get them without a bunch of the other stuff...
If you flat-out buy MoM, I believe that also unlocks the Warden and Rune-Keeper classes. If you have any plans now or in the future of running either of those, then I'd go ahead and buy it.
I've already got the Warden, but it does come with a month of VIP, plus Moria, so I would have to buy that, then I'd have enough for Evendim, between in-game-earned TP and the 500 from the VIP month. Then after that I could use TP to buy some other QPs and then see if I could get Isengard on sale sometime.
I've already got the Warden, but it does come with a month of VIP, plus Moria, so I would have to buy that, then I'd have enough for Evendim, between in-game-earned TP and the 500 from the VIP month. Then after that I could use TP to buy some other QPs and then see if I could get Isengard on sale sometime.
Sound like a plan. You'll need Evendim and probably Forochel to get you to Moria. The one month VIP unlocks cool permanent bonuses, so make sure you create all of your characters before it expires. You can also get the rider skill for free on all of them if you get them to 20 prior to your VIP expiring. Remember you'll lose 2 character slots when you revert to premium, so your number of playable alts will drop from 7 to 5 assuming you buy the MoM box.
Hold up everybody, I just found a Moria box for $20... Get it or not? Month of VIP included IINM
Warning: If that box has a Codemasters logo (European servers up until June 2011) then it's no good. Turbine closed out Codemasters and moved the Euro servers to the US. Any leftover Codemasters key codes, etc. are useless.
Even if not Codemasters, beware. The only thing in the box of value is the code. If that has been used, it's useless. There have been some cases where people reapplied shrinkwrap and resold boxes with used codes in them.
On the other hand, if that box is genuine, then $20 is an excellent deal. You'd have to spend $15 for the month sub plus another $30-50 worth of TP for the Moria QP, char slots, 2 classes, etc. if you purchased them separately.
With what is currently available I think Isengard Legendary is still your best bet. If you're even contemplating the Heroic Edition the $10 extra for the Path of the Fellowship + Mirkwood is a great buy. Just getting Eregion + Lothlorien + Mirkwood for that price is great. (Yes, nobody cares about the Trollshaws - and you'll get Moria with the expansion). At that point you just need to buy Evendim + Forochel or Angmar and you've got a smooth path all the way to end-game.
There isn't any hurry though, feel free to wait until you need them. If you buy the Moria expansion you'll get 500 TP from the VIP month. That plus some TP earned leveling characters to 20 for riding skill will almost certainly give you enough to buy Evendim. If you level particularly slowly you might even end up looking at whatever packages they have with Riders of Rohan in the fall!
You asked about using VIP time to explore other areas. That can be a good idea. If you're playing it slow you may not be able to get farther than the North Downs though (I love the zone, but it's horrid leveling). I'd prioritize getting as many characters to 20 for the free riding skill over exploring other areas. However, if you start slayer deeds while VIP you can finish them after when your VIP expires. A popular tactic is to make sure to open up the second tier of all slayer deeds (the ones you get virtues for) in some regions and then come back later.
If you can't think of anything you want to buy at the moment, hold onto them. They don't evaporate, and someday you'll find something you actually want to buy.
Ignore all the Quartermaster's advertising, which like all advertising is designed to make you think you want something you don't need and didn't want before.
My previous suggestion was to pay $15 for a VIP month. If you can pay $20 for a non-Codemasters, new sealed Mines of Moria box then you're basically paying an extra $5 for 2 classes, 2 character slots and Moria. I'd say definitely go for it.
You also asked if Trollshaws can get you from 30 to 40, the answer is... not a hope in hell.
Trollshaws is a very patchy questpack, which will get you a couple of levels in the low 30s, then a couple in the mid 30s, then a couple in the low 40s. It's a really bad questpack for those looking for a steady path through minimal purchases. That said it does have some great quests, especially the ones out of Echad Candelleth.
Evendim is a no-brainer after Lone-Lands.
As others have said, RoI Base + $20 of TP is a really bad idea for an FTPer. The quest packs you get in the Legendary Edition are worth 4475TP if purchased individually. So your extra $20 for the Legendary gets you an extra 5475TP of value. 3980TP if you already have Moria from the box. Definitely better than 2600TP.
Warning: If that box has a Codemasters logo (European servers up until June 2011) then it's no good. Turbine closed out Codemasters and moved the Euro servers to the US. Any leftover Codemasters key codes, etc. are useless.
Even if not Codemasters, beware. The only thing in the box of value is the code. If that has been used, it's useless. There have been some cases where people reapplied shrinkwrap and resold boxes with used codes in them.
On the other hand, if that box is genuine, then $20 is an excellent deal. You'd have to spend $15 for the month sub plus another $30-50 worth of TP for the Moria QP, char slots, 2 classes, etc. if you purchased them separately.
The seller states that it's retail box, USA version. It's being sold at Amazon, BTW. Not Amazon itself, but fulfilled and authorized by Amazon.
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