Thread: Reported Quest Difficulty Levels and Recommendations

QUEST: Hobgoblin Recipe
CATEGORY: Shire
JOURNAL LEVEL: 29
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 29-32
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship or Small Fellowship
REASONS: The goblins agro on you so much and they run away and grab more goblins and bring them into the fight. Taking on two is no problem, but when they run away and bring in 3 more into the fight it is impossible for a solo quest. I have ran this quest solo at 29, 30, 31, and now 32 and have died each time over and over again trying to do this solo. You need more than one person if they are going to agro that much and drag more mobs in on you.

QUEST: Setting the Trap
CATEGORY: Shire
JOURNAL LEVEL: 27
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 29-31
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship or Small Fellowship
REASONS: The wolves agro on you so much and they run away and grab more wolves into the fight. Taking on two is no problem, but when they run away and bring in 3 more into the fight it is impossible for a solo quest. I have ran this quest at 29, 30, 31 over again trying to do this solo. I grouped up with one other level 30 and we had the same problem with too much agro for a solo quest. It took 4 of us to finally beat the quest and deal with so many wolves coming at you. Either make this a fellowship quest or turn down the agro level on the surrounding wolves.

QUEST: Retake Weathertop
LOCATION: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 20
JOURNAL ICON: Fellowship
ACTUAL LEVEL: 27-30
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship

Ok...I know this has been posted on this thread before (and thank goodness because it at least gave me a bit of a heads up) but this beast is just too funny!! I just tried it this last weekend with a group of 6 - my character was a 28th level Lore-master (the quest is grey for me) and there were 3 others in the party who were 25th, one 22nd, and one 19th. Admittedly, we did not have a Minstrel in our group, but c'mon folks...the chief Uruk-hai (I think it was an Uruk-hai, but I really wasn't pausing to read names at that point) was HUGE himself. Just having him would have been enough to make it waaaay too tough for a group of 20th levels, but including his "champion" as well??? I mean...c'mon on!!! I will say it was an incredible shock seeing that thing come lumbering into the battle...that was waaay cool. But as far as being doable at the level prescribed, no way. Maybe with 2 Minstrels, but only if everyone in the group was 25th or better.

QUEST: Relics in barad Thursar
CATEGORY: Find named Items in Ruins.
JOURNAL LEVEL: L32
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: L32
ACTUAL ICON: Small Fship 2-3 Min.
REASONS:Qst required fighting groups of Mobs who attack you in 3s and 4s.
They cant be pulled singly.
Mob respawn rate and the number of Mobs needed to kill to complete the qst is
too high for a Solo Player.
Maybe possible for Burglar to Solo but no one else.

QUEST: The Robbers of Barad Thursar
CATEGORY: Defeat Named Mobs.
JOURNAL LEVEL: L32
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: L32
ACTUAL ICON: Small Fship.
REASONS: Same problem as Relics of Barad Thursar.
Too many enemy Mobs who wont pull singly,coupled with very high respawn rate.
Single player simply cant kill the Mobs fast enough,and most players will have trouble fighting 4 onto 1.

Originally Posted by timguibs

QUEST: Unpaid Debt
CATEGORY: Bree-Land
JOURNAL LEVEL: 6
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 6/12+
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship/Solo
REASONS:Lockbox is surrounded by 2 lvl 8s and 2 lvl 9s, but its a lvl 6 solo? &&&?

QUEST: The Lodger's Ledger
CATEGORY: Bree-Land
JOURNAL LEVEL: 7
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 7/12+
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship/Solo
REASONS: see above

Have to agree here, small fellowship is a must for the lockbox. All my current chars have just waited until they are all dead by another's hand(s) and just grabs the chest as it spawns before the bandits do.

QUEST: The Bounty Hunter
CATEGORY: Evendim
JOURNAL LEVEL: 37
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 37 should be fine
It should be for a small fellowship OR spawn less adds
REASONS: This quest is literally impossible to complete solo. You go into the sparring circle and you begin to fight Cuthbert Sprunt and that in itself is soloable. About 1/4 through the fight he calls in 4 additional NPC's, 1 of which is another level 37 signature, who I should report is someone you have already killed or arrested in the Bounty: Bill Tripper quest. Basil Gummidge is completely useless in assisting you with the adds which Cuthbert calls in and is defeated fairly quickly. Once that is done, they start hammering on you and you're defeated within seconds.

Just a quick noob question: Where is the Journal Icon? I don't see one in my Quest Journal.

Originally Posted by skadoink

QUEST: Addie's Missing Sons
CATEGORY: Breeland
JOURNAL LEVEL: 16
JOURNAL ICON: Fellowship
ACTUAL LEVEL: 15/16
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: You don't actually have to fight anyone to get this quest done, the 2nd part, finding Malin, sure needs a full fellowship unless you've got higher than required levels. But the first part just needs you to be reasonably confident to enter the barrow downs, avoid fights, and find the Perch.

if you clean up the wights before u talk to malin you can do it with a small fellow

Originally Posted by pbateau

QUEST: The Bounty Hunter
CATEGORY: Evendim
JOURNAL LEVEL: 37
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 37 should be fine
It should be for a small fellowship OR spawn less adds
REASONS: This quest is literally impossible to complete solo. You go into the sparring circle and you begin to fight Cuthbert Sprunt and that in itself is soloable. About 1/4 through the fight he calls in 4 additional NPC's, 1 of which is another level 37 signature, who I should report is someone you have already killed or arrested in the Bounty: Bill Tripper quest. Basil Gummidge is completely useless in assisting you with the adds which Cuthbert calls in and is defeated fairly quickly. Once that is done, they start hammering on you and you're defeated within seconds.

This is an intentionally difficult Solo quest, but I've had many reports of every class (because the specific enemies you fight vary based on your class) being able to solo it. Also, it's not the same Tripper -- it's the brother of the guy you defeated for an earlier bounty.

MoL

Originally Posted by MadeOfLions

This is an intentionally difficult Solo quest, but I've had many reports of every class (because the specific enemies you fight vary based on your class) being able to solo it. Also, it's not the same Tripper -- it's the brother of the guy you defeated for an earlier bounty.

MoL

Um, if everyone is complaining about it maybe that should tell you something about your quest. Pretty much every quest in Evendim is way harder than it should be with it's suggested levels and the poor rewards for them. This may sound like an exaggeration but sadly it is not. Please up the suggested level for all the Evendim quests and make the rewards worth taking. As it stands now they are mostly vendor trash.

Originally Posted by Elfheart

Um, if everyone is complaining about it maybe that should tell you something about your quest.

Not "everyone" is complaining about anything. Reread what he said. He has lots of reports of people successfully doing it solo. That is directly opposite of what you propose. Yes, it's hard. Lots of things in Evendim are. But it's not impossible. Develop a strategy, learn a few more tricks of your class, and you can do it too.

My level 36 champ can solo level 37 small fellow quests in evendim, eat food approach the quest well, avoid fighting everyone around him, have pots, do anything so you can get the sweet lewt.

Originally Posted by Yiren

Just a quick noob question: Where is the Journal Icon? I don't see one in my Quest Journal.

It is located in the quest short title line. When you see the list of quests you have, not the actual quest description.

QUEST: The Old One
CATEGORY: Angmar
JOURNAL LEVEL: 44
JOURNAL ICON: Fellowship
ACTUAL LEVEL: 49-50
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship
REASONS: The problem here is one of spawn rate - mobs spawn way too fast for a full fellowship at level 44 to keep up. Its handleable by that level fellowship until you get near the first big open part of the cave. The problem at that point is that you can't set up anywhere safe and pull the mobs to you. So you have to kill stuff fast, fast fast. Faster than is possible for a level 44 fellowship. There are alot of wandering elite monsters around, both static and patrolling, coupled with a patrol path of the big boss's guards, which chain aggro the boss. A fellowship gets constantly assaulted by elites and eventually the boss runs in through chain aggro. The suituation could be fixed keeping the curretn fellow level if there was a place made where the mobs do not path or aggro into, allowing a group to set up and pull the boss. Right now, there doesn't seem to be a place to do that. Alternately (but less fun), the spawn rate of the many elites could be reduced by a ton.

Originally Posted by timguibs

QUEST: Unpaid Debt
*SNIP*

QUEST: The Lodger's Ledger
*SNIP*

Completely agree. These drove me nuts, and I wound up lurking while some higher-level whacked the bandits so I could run in and grab the lockbox. And whomever brought up the "protect constable bolger" was right on the money, too. I'm supposed to defend against three waves of three bandits all at the same level as me while protecting someone (eg, generating threat so they hit *me*)? Yeah, not going to happen. The only times I could beat it were when bystanders decided to help out - which means everyone knows this is a particularly unbalanced quest.

Originally Posted by erwosdklarien

Completely agree. These drove me nuts, and I wound up lurking while some higher-level whacked the bandits so I could run in and grab the lockbox. And whomever brought up the "protect constable bolger" was right on the money, too. I'm supposed to defend against three waves of three bandits all at the same level as me while protecting someone (eg, generating threat so they hit *me*)? Yeah, not going to happen. The only times I could beat it were when bystanders decided to help out - which means everyone knows this is a particularly unbalanced quest.

Mmm...wasn't protect Constable Bolger a fellowship quest? It's been so long, I can't remember (though I have a new character, so I'll being doing it again pretty soon), but each time I did it previously, I know I did it as a small fellowship. I seem to recall that Falco's Folly was the very first Fellowship Quest I got way back when.

Originally Posted by pbateau

QUEST: The Bounty Hunter
CATEGORY: Evendim
JOURNAL LEVEL: 37
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 37 should be fine
It should be for a small fellowship OR spawn less adds
REASONS: This quest is literally impossible to complete solo. You go into the sparring circle and you begin to fight Cuthbert Sprunt and that in itself is soloable. About 1/4 through the fight he calls in 4 additional NPC's, 1 of which is another level 37 signature, who I should report is someone you have already killed or arrested in the Bounty: Bill Tripper quest. Basil Gummidge is completely useless in assisting you with the adds which Cuthbert calls in and is defeated fairly quickly. Once that is done, they start hammering on you and you're defeated within seconds.

This quest frustrated me too when I first tried it. Perhaps there are some pointers -- http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=85295.

I just remember hearing that this quest was totally based on your class. I know I went out of my way to complete SoM trait so I could complete this quest.

QUEST: Murder in the Ruins. Evendim.
CATEGORY: Defend NPC Type Qst.
JOURNAL LEVEL: L39
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: L39
ACTUAL ICON: Small Fship.
REASONS: You have to fight 2 waves of 3 Mobs , 2 L39 and 1 L40 with no break in between.
Thats 6 Mobs in total,not possible for a single player,and keep the NPC alive at the stated qst level.
Most players can handle 3-4 mobs of their own level if they dont have to protect someone else at the same time, but not 6.

Originally Posted by RobinThorp

Mmm...wasn't protect Constable Bolger a fellowship quest? It's been so long, I can't remember (though I have a new character, so I'll being doing it again pretty soon), but each time I did it previously, I know I did it as a small fellowship. I seem to recall that Falco's Folly was the very first Fellowship Quest I got way back when.

It might have been one of those annoying "go to Falco as a solo, he _immediately_ gives you a fellowship quest you must execute" quests.

Originally Posted by M_Vague24

QUEST: Heritage Restored
CATEGORY: North Downs
JOURNAL LEVEL: 31
JOURNAL ICON: Fellowship
ACTUAL LEVEL: 31
ACTUAL ICON: Solo (MAYBE small fellowship)
REASONS: This quest is beyond easy. By the skull there is ONE Earth-kin guarding it that you need to fight. Running back, you are unable to fight anyone...that is not a problem. I did not even aggro anything on the way back...even if I did, there is no way they would kill me at that level.

I did this solo, at the recommended level. Maybe I just got lucky, but talking with other people about the quest, they agreed that this is definitely not a fellowship quest.

That is if you take the skull by the road. The one inside the camp is heavily guarded. They should take out one of the two skulls, then adjust the level accordingly.

QUEST: Hunter Becomes Prey
CATEGORY: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 20
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 17-18
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: I was killing wargs in the lone lands while collecting pottery far before i got this quest to kill only 10 wargs. When i got this quest it was orange and i can only assume when i complete it i will get a ton of xps for something that only gives me 50xps each currently at 18th level.

Originally Posted by timguibs

QUEST: Unpaid Debt
CATEGORY: Bree-Land
JOURNAL LEVEL: 6
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 6/12+
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship/Solo
REASONS:Lockbox is surrounded by 2 lvl 8s and 2 lvl 9s, but its a lvl 6 solo? &&&?

QUEST: The Lodger's Ledger
CATEGORY: Bree-Land
JOURNAL LEVEL: 7
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 7/12+
ACTUAL ICON: Fellowship/Solo
REASONS: see above

I'm running through these again with a new character - Level 11 burglar and yep, these two are just frustrating. Four brigands around the chest is too much for one character at level 11, nevermind level 7.

QUEST: A greater Theft
CATEGORY: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 18
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 20 (solo) 18 (Small Fellowship)
ACTUAL ICON: Solo or small fellowship
REASONS: Collecting the 10 trade bundles at 18th level is frustrating to say the least, just entering the area there are 5 guards that (even when careful) you will attract 2-3 at a time that although only with an average level of 17 when there are more than one can be overwhelming. All my chars have died doing this one a few times, and that includes a champion, healer and a guardian.

Switching this quest level with the "Hunter becomes prey" would make these two Lone lands quests more logical IMO.

QUEST: Bounty Andy Idden. Evandim.
CATEGORY: Defeat Andy Idden.
JOURNAL LEVEL: L 35
JOURNAL ICON: Solo.
ACTUAL LEVEL: L 35
ACTUAL ICON: Small Fship 2 -3 .,
REASONS: Andy Idden is L35 elite with a L35 dog and 2 L35 Goblin Bodyguards.
Bodyguards wont pull singly so you have to fite 4 L35 mobs at once, one an elite.
Andy is also located in ruins crawling with L 34 - L35 goblins.
I tried as a L39 Guardian and was dead long before Andy was even at half health.
No way a solo L35 could do this.

Originally Posted by Cyoti

QUEST: Enfeebling the Foe
CATEGORY: Lone-Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 18
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 19/20
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: In comparison to the lvl 20 quest from the same category "Hunters Become Prey", the "Enfeebling the Foe" quest is a bit more difficult. I had no problem as a lvl 19 guardian finishing the "Hunters Become Prey" quest which is listed as lvl 20. But have had the most difficult time finishing the Enfeebling the Foe quest because of the linked add ons in the area where the barrels for the quest are. I can generally take on 2-3 w/o much worry, but then the 4th linked one joins in and I die. Just seems to me one or the other is in the wrong lvl range... either "Hunters Become Prey" needs to be listed at 17/18 range, or the "Enfeebling the Foe" needs to be bumped up a lvl or two.

Even doing this one 19/20 is difficult. My level 21 burglar has died at least twice trying to get the last barrel at one of the camps, because you draw four gobo warriors all at once no matter how you approach it. I don't think the level needs to be changed, it's more that the goblins need to be spaced out more, so you don't draw four at a time.

Originally Posted by emdy

REASONS: Andy Idden is L35 elite with a L35 dog and 2 L35 Goblin Bodyguards.

Andy Idden is supposed to be Signature rather than Elite, so if he's Elite, I'd be worried. Also, I think he follows a patrol? If he does, he should be able to be separated from the nearby goblins.

MoL

Originally Posted by MadeOfLions

Andy Idden is supposed to be Signature rather than Elite, so if he's Elite, I'd be worried. Also, I think he follows a patrol? If he does, he should be able to be separated from the nearby goblins.

MoL

When I got him, he was happily sitting there surronded by goblins. Waited a bit for him to split, but he was happy where he was.

Originally Posted by Slayanor

When I got him, he was happily sitting there surronded by goblins. Waited a bit for him to split, but he was happy where he was.

same here. i don't remember him moving at all. he and his pet were sitting back in the corner behind all the goblins around the fire.

I just did this over the weekend. Andy is not elite, he's signature. But yes, he does have a dog, and he is a stationary spawn. When I pulled him, his dog and one goblin from the camp infront of him came as well.

I wasn't solo, but it would have been tough if I was. Alternately, you could potentially clear the goblin camp before pulling Andy, but he might come along with the back goblin doing it that way as well.

So yeah, you should count on fighting 3 MOBs at once, one being signature.

Oh, this is the one in the ruins where the goblins hang out. I solo'ed this one with my LM (36 or 37 at the time).

I approached him from the outside of the keep's back wall. There is a break in the wall near him where you can jump up on the wall. I left my bear outside the ruins, jumped up on the wall and threw a stun at him, then jumped back outside. All of the mobs near him aggroed and proceeded out the front door to circle around to where I was. I put my bear on agressive/assist, jumped back up on the wall and into the keep where he was stunned. I managed to take him down before the goblins could finish off my bear, who was now circling the other way to get to my target and met them halfway. Worked out pretty good, and I was able to map out before the gobbies got back to me.

What makes this quest hard is that even if you are careful you end up with a 3 mob pull....with 1 being signature (if you are reckless you end up with a 5 mob pull). This combined with the fact that this area has a very high respawn rate as well as tons of patrolling mobs definately make it a challenge.

IMO all they would need to do is get ride of the goblin (sleeping I think) close to the signature mob. That way it would be a 2 mob pull and much more doable solo.

QUEST: Hunter Becomes Prey
CATEGORY: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 20
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 17-18
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: I was killing wargs in the lone lands while collecting pottery far before i got this quest to kill only 10 wargs. When i got this quest it was orange and i can only assume when i complete it i will get a ton of xps for something that only gives me 50xps each currently at 18th level.

The Wargs you kill while collecting pottery will not give you credit for this quest. You have to kill the Wargs by Ost Guruth, which are higher in level.

QUEST: Master of the Lash
CATEGORY: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 24
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 30
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: I was finally able to do this quest solo with my Guardian at 30. When you get to the top of the platform where Slaughterer lives, there are just to many Orcs. Attacking any one Orc brings 4-5 more down on you. I got 933 exp and the choice of 3 items that were way below my level. Just not worth it!

Originally Posted by Amoryn

I just did this over the weekend. Andy is not elite, he's signature. But yes, he does have a dog, and he is a stationary spawn. When I pulled him, his dog and one goblin from the camp infront of him came as well.

I wasn't solo, but it would have been tough if I was. Alternately, you could potentially clear the goblin camp before pulling Andy, but he might come along with the back goblin doing it that way as well.

So yeah, you should count on fighting 3 MOBs at once, one being signature.

This one was way tough. I forget what level I was when I finally got him, but it was higher than the listed level. Even then, I only got him when I got lucky and a higher-level player dropped a few of the goblins in the area for me. The rated level is too low for the way this one is set up.

Originally Posted by Greyshot

Re: Weathertop

Have to agree that this one needs the level recommendation boosted slightly. Mostly due to the fact of not being able to rejoin the mission even if the entire team wipes. Perhaps some kind of key that transports you just inside the last gate if you have made it that far would be appropriate. I'm not sure a full fellowship is required. It does require careful planning and cooperation, but that's a very good thing.

This is an example of an excellent mission that just needs some minor tweaking. I wish there were many more like this. The surprise at the end, despite the team wipe it caused, was probably my favorite moment of the game to date.

Agree on all points. Having members locked out because they took a wrong step and fell off the mountain put a big hole in what was otherwise by far the best part of the game since Open Beta for me.

-The Gneech

Originally Posted by Meliorist

QUEST: Well Prepared
CATEGORY: Lone Lands
JOURNAL LEVEL: 26
JOURNAL ICON: Solo
ACTUAL LEVEL: 26
ACTUAL ICON: Solo
REASONS: How about increasing the number of boars! The quest text says there are boars to the east Really? Where? I found one or two. Lots of Orcs, Gore-crows, and an occassional warg. I killed orcs and crows by the tons hoping to get a boar. Took me two hours to do this quest, I'm not exaggerating, and if other people are trying to do it too, forget it. To top it off they don't even drop the quest items every time. Please increase their numbers or spawn time.

FWIW, I found a ton of boars far to the east -- just NW of the Last Bridge. Maybe "almost in the Trollshaws" should be the indicated direction instead?

-The Gneech

Originally Posted by thegneech

FWIW, I found a ton of boars to the west, not east -- just NW of the Last Bridge. Maybe that should be the indicated direction instead?

-The Gneech

I did this quest on an alt over the weekend and east of Ost Guruth (just west of the Last Bridge) there were TONS and I mean tons of boars - they are the sturdy long tusks or something of the sort. Their respawn rate was so fast they would respawn right on top of you.
They were on the N and S sides of the road.

One patch right by a lake on the south side of the road has a group of 6-8 that spawn. It doesn't take long at all to complete this now.

It took me approx. 20-30 min to get my boar stomachs and boar meat. A far cry from the hours upon hours in the past.

I think the devs may have tweaked this a little. If not, maybe I just had a lucky go at it.

Originally Posted by CandissD

I did this quest on an alt over the weekend and east of Ost Guruth (just west of the Last Bridge) there were TONS and I mean tons of boars - they are the sturdy long tusks or something of the sort. Their respawn rate was so fast they would respawn right on top of you.
They were on the N and S sides of the road.

One patch right by a lake on the south side of the road has a group of 6-8 that spawn. It doesn't take long at all to complete this now.

It took me approx. 20-30 min to get my boar stomachs and boar meat. A far cry from the hours upon hours in the past.

I think the devs may have tweaked this a little. If not, maybe I just had a lucky go at it.

I was pleasantly surprised as well when I went to do this quest on my Hunter. Probably took about 10 minutes to finish, because they definitely added more boar spawns. Don't recall a patch of 6 to 8 ever being there before. *cheers*

Originally Posted by thegneech

FWIW, I found a ton of boars to the west, not east -- just NW of the Last Bridge. Maybe that should be the indicated direction instead?

-The Gneech

Er, the Last Bridge is east of Ost Guruth, where you receive this quest. So the directions are actually correct (though they're not very clear about how FAR east you have to go).