Thread: Tanking shield?

Im about to hit lvl 75, but I dont know what shield to use for tanking, it seems that the stats on warden shiels are minor compared to shields & heavy shields.
Or is it just me?

Im still using the crafted shield since im having a really hard time getting valaraam to drop from fangorn's edge t2. its loaded down w morale. There is also the shield of shattered manacles that drops from the tuck skraid. Not my favorite esp for the lame cosmetics but its not horrible.

Valaraam from fangorn t2 cm is a good choice now. But its drop rate is very random. I got it from the first cm I had done, but my unlucky kinmate needed over 30 runs to get it...

I use the crafted shield as well, with +300something morale and +200something power.

PvP Rank 8 shield is the best

Originally Posted by Nydorewyth

I use the crafted shield as well, with +300something morale and +200something power.

I think u mean this:

Vibrant Combat Shield of Theodred
1204 Armor
1280 Critical Defense
58 Vitality
302 maximum morale
266 maximum power
474 block

Also this gives more max morale (max morale from vit + pure morale than etten r8 shield)

Originally Posted by Leri927

Vibrant Combat Shield of Theodred

Yep, that's what I meant, thanks! I have gotten maybe a half dozen comparable shields since from various skirmishes and instances, but I keep coming back to that one.

Its a single use recipe that drops from saruman or any wing in t2. The link shown is the crit version and the recipe is used to make shields for guards,wardens,cappies and mini with two outputs

I was using the Vibrant Combat Shield Of Theodred until I received Valarram from "Fangorn's Edge- Tier 2" a few weeks ago. It has worked nicely since I obtained it and I would recommend trying to acquire it. Winning the roll should not be an issue considering it is a Warden Shield. Getting to drop is another story. I was lucky enough to receive it on my Warden's first run through the instance but I have heard others say it has taken quite a few tries.

Originally Posted by Elrendos

I was using the Vibrant Combat Shield Of Theodred until I received Valarram from "Fangorn's Edge- Tier 2" a few weeks ago. It has worked nicely since I obtained it and I would recommend trying to acquire it. Winning the roll should not be an issue considering it is a Warden Shield. Getting to drop is another story. I was lucky enough to receive it on my Warden's first run through the instance but I have heard others say it has taken quite a few tries.

I'm right with this.. that is what i was using. I tried the shattered and it works too. I was able to get my shield on the second run of FE t2. I haven't used anything but since then.

The rank 8 shield is nice, if you PvMP and you have that rank. I don't do the moors, so I really can't say much about it.

Personally, I go for this http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item...d_of_the_Guard (link with proper specs), over Valarram (which sits in my vault),. My reasons are good vit (67), some agi (34), and the largest amount of crit defense that I've found, oodles of block also (so I can drop it from other areas),.

Originally Posted by horus418

Personally, I go for this http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item...d_of_the_Guard (link with proper specs), over Valarram (which sits in my vault),. My reasons are good vit (67), some agi (34), and the largest amount of crit defense that I've found, oodles of block also (so I can drop it from other areas),.

Horus thank you for this link! i knew of this shield but i couldnt remember the name or find it anywhere. Now if i can just find someone to make it

Originally Posted by Erasluindor

Horus thank you for this link! i knew of this shield but i couldnt remember the name or find it anywhere. Now if i can just find someone to make it

Originally Posted by Protoss360

Its a single use recipe that drops from saruman or any wing in t2. The link shown is the crit version and the recipe is used to make shields for guards,wardens,cappies and mini with two outputs

I think the forum bork has things jumbled up. If Protoss is talking about the shield I linked, mine dropped from the dragon IIRC, my wife made it and yes it's the crit version.

Originally Posted by horus418

I think the forum bork has things jumbled up. If Protoss is talking about the shield I linked, mine dropped from the dragon IIRC, my wife made it and yes it's the crit version.

Wow the forums are extra wacked out today.. gotta click everything twice.. posts out of order..
Ive seen this drop from ToO saruman on t1. So dragon drops it too. nice to know. Thanks for the info guys. Im rather sick of the old crafted shield ive been using since i lvld.

Old crafted shield gives high (or highest) max morale boost, and have also good crit defense, alyo valarram better if u need more inc healing and have time to get it

Originally Posted by bacho

Afaik, the ToO recipe is sought after by quite some people and many classes, so I would not throw it out the window .

That was my train of thought, too. I know somebody who has gotten the recipe from the auction house for more than 80 gold pieces, which is just crazy. For some reason though, nobody in my own raid group ever wants it, that's why I ended up getting several of them.

I just realized that the Theodred shield is available as guild recipe as well as reputation recipe (my Theodred's reputation is lousy on my warden, she skipped that whole part except for the epics ), so I should be able to craft that right away. Thanks for the tip!

I already have a good amount of seals and medaillons stored away on my account since my minstrel has seen more of the Isengard instances than I care to think about, so I should be able to afford as many of the Galtrev pieces as I find useful. I'll have to double check that set again, I seem to recall that I looked at it before and it didn't look much of an upgrade compared to the set I'm wearing now (the blue FD set), but I may have mixed that up with something else and/or not really looked properly because I had already set my eyes on the Orthanc set.

Thanks again for the input, I'm slowly starting to get an idea of how to outfit my warden (much more slowly though than she's levelling, she's been flying through levels since 68 or so).

(edit: whow, the post I wrote half an hour before this one shows up with a 3+ hour later timestamp on this thread )

Originally Posted by horus418

I think the forum bork has things jumbled up. If Protoss is talking about the shield I linked, mine dropped from the dragon IIRC, my wife made it and yes it's the crit version.

I've done Draigoch more times than I'd like to confess and I have never seen a shield recipe nor any warden/heavy shield drop in there.

I'm 100% sure the combat recipe only drops in ToO.

Originally Posted by Elrantiri

I'm 100% sure the combat recipe only drops in ToO.

What s/he said.

As for the crafted shield, we are talking about those outputs:

Source: http://blarelius.host.allvatar.com/f...php?f=15&t=176
and I would actually prefer the shield of the officer over the one from the guard.

The block rating is not imho really necessary since you reach the cap anyway while tanking.
A fight of more than 2 minutes, icpr is better then pure power, and what's left is
34 agi vs 67 might. Sort of speaks for itself.

Edit:
I still use Valarram btw. the inc. healing is nice. R8 shield is awesome, but the way to R8 is long. The crafted shield of the officer is a real alternative, though.

Originally Posted by Protoss360

Its a single use recipe that drops from saruman or any wing in t2. The link shown is the crit version and the recipe is used to make shields for guards,wardens,cappies and mini with two outputs

The Combat Shield Recipe drops from T1 wings, too. I've gotten three recipes so far, one each from Lightning, Acid and Saruman chests, all in T1. One shield has gone to my minstrel and I'm planning to make the next one for my warden who is on her way to lvl 75 (just reached 74 last weekend).

How easy is it really on a newly 75 warden to cap blocking? I'm still debating whether to craft the combat shield of the guard or officer. That huge amount of block looks tempting, but I haven't the slightest idea if I'd actually need it or if it would be useless since I'm near cap anyway. I don't have all that much chance farming skirmish raids (or even Draigoch) for jewellery and stuff since most of my friends and kinnies are well past that stage already.

Any input on which shield to choose for a newly 75 warden is very welcome .

Originally Posted by Bramor

The [URL="http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item:Tempered_Warden%27s_Comba t_Shield_of_the_Guard"]

Any input on which shield to choose for a newly 75 warden is very welcome .

My post went on page 1... weird.

Originally Posted by myself

Well, go to a dummy, bring your shields up and look at your block rating. If you feel that whatever you got there is okay, I would not go for an inferior shield that helps you to go from say 24% to 25%. If you only have 20% block when buffed, it is a real alternative.

It strongly depends on what you have and where you need the improvement most.

Originally Posted by bacho

Well, go to a dummy, bring your shields up and look at your block rating. If you feel that whatever you got there is okay, I would not go for an inferior shield that helps you to go from say 24% to 25%. If you only have 20% block when buffed, it is a real alternative.

It strongly depends on what you have and where you need the improvement most..

Thanks for the answer! My problem is that the combat shield is most likely the first (or one of the first) piece(s) of lvl 75 equipment my warden will get her hands on. She already knows the recipe and is waiting to craft it the moment she hits 75, so I don't have any of the equipment to go with it that would make me able to test if I need extra blocking or not.

Right now I'm considering to eventually get the Orthanc tanking armour for her (I enjoy tanking on the warden much more than any kind of damage dealing), but I don't know how long it'll take me to unlock the deeds needed to wear it, plus am unsure about the accessories. One of the Anduin jewellery sets looks fairly easy to get (she's questing somewhere in the Wailing Hills right now so it shouldn't be too long until she gets the appropriate bauble, and she's busy working on Limlight and Stangard reputation) and I'll have to take a closer look at the other options soon.

I could probably just craft the +block shield now and craft the other one from the spare recipe I have once she is fully equipped, but it seems such a waste to use two of the combat shield recipes on a single character ...

Well, before you can get into ToO to tank, you should get some pieces of the Galthrev set (of which I still use the pants, anyway). With some Galthrev pieces (use your medaillons, not seals), the jewellery from the Anduin set (which is awesome) and other interim pieces there, plus the chance of some nice drops from draigoch (neck, wristband), RoF (wristband, ring) and whatnot, you'll have solid equipment.

Until then, why not just use a cheap, not too bad shield and not waste the recipe? One of the crafted Theodred shields would do, they are good and cheap and on the same level with your other equip, so to speak. Or go into the 3 man Fangorn and hope for Valarrim?

Afaik, the ToO recipe is sought after by quite some people and many classes, so I would not throw it out the window .

No-one's mentioned this, possibly as no-one has it, but using the compendium plugin I came across a warden shield called Saellam. It's pictured below alongside Valarram and one of the crafted ones.



I guess it must be a Saruman T2 (CM?) drop, hence the rarity.

Originally Posted by Alphane

No-one's mentioned this, possibly as no-one has it, but using the compendium plugin I came across a warden shield called Saellam. It's pictured below alongside Valarram and one of the crafted ones.



I guess it must be a Saruman T2 (CM?) drop, hence the rarity.

Oooo! That is a nice shield. Of coarse Lorebook does not state where it drops. He he.

Originally Posted by Alphane

No-one's mentioned this, possibly as no-one has it, but using the compendium plugin I came across a warden shield called Saellam. It's pictured below alongside Valarram and one of the crafted ones.



I guess it must be a Saruman T2 (CM?) drop, hence the rarity.

Drops from Saruman T2c yes.

Originally Posted by rannion

Drops from Saruman T2c yes.

Still weaker than than the moors' one

Actually the PvP shield is terrible its only good for a high vit build

My warden is level 71 and I am using the Crafted Lothlorien Warden's shield atm. I like it for the physical mitigation. Do ANY of these level 75 shields offer Mitigation? I am not seeing any ... that's a bit discouraging.

The answer is no but they offer allot of armour and crit def

Yeah, the Lothlorien shield is probably better for you until you get better stats. When you get some more vitality through e.g. Draigoch pieces, you will find that you dont really need the extra physical mitigation from shield.

The warden shield from Edge t2 is only good for a cosmetic if you ask me.

For a fresh warden the best shield is the Vibrant shield of Theodred with 58 vitality and 300-something plus to morale. I am still using it when I need to get my morale to the max.
My regular shield that I am using is the shield that you make from a recipe that drops in ToO. And it's pretty good.
The shield that I am going for right now is the Moors shield for r8 freeps to use. It has it's ups and downs. It gives you more vitality then the ones before, agility and might, but it also gives you less armor and block rating. Still, when I get it it might just become my primary shield.

Originally Posted by MrKeks

Still weaker than than the moors' one

The Moors shield has nothing on it that you couldnt make up for with your other gear. You can adjust your build to a shield, but you cant make the shield and its passive stats (armor, crit defense, stat magnitude) level up... and its only level 80, so lower than even skirmish gear.

This Saellam however is 8 levels higher. Thats quite a bunch, a full 10% magnitude increase from the moors shield. The only downside I can see is the high block rating, which will be a bit more tricky to compensate for since Turbine slapped +block on so many tanky things.

Originally Posted by Elrantiri

Yeah, the Lothlorien shield is probably better for you until you get better stats. When you get some more vitality through e.g. Draigoch pieces, you will find that you dont really need the extra physical mitigation from shield.

Excellent. Thanks for the advice.