Thread: Zone, Instance, and Raid FAQ

This FAQ will help you navigate the world of Middle Earth. All Regions, Private Adventure Instances, and Raids are described in non-spoiler detail.

Note: This was last updated for Book 12. All Book 13 and later content should be considered incomplete and/or unverified. I rarely play Lotro any more so anyone wanting to take over this sticky post, please feel free to do so. If you have any additional details, please post the details and I may be able to include them as unverified. Thanks.


Region, Instance, and Raid FAQ Sections
Questions & Answers
Region Summary
Location Abbreviations

Enjoy your time in Middle Earth!
-FoamHead

Questions and Answers

1. My map is not fully exposed yet -- where can I find city x in region y?

The game manual has fully exposed maps for the regions available at launch. A copy of the manual is available online at http://www.lotro.com/manual.


2. What is the primary/capital city where everyone hangs out?

There is no official capital city, but Bree in Bree-Land is usually the most populated because it is in a low-level, centrally located region and it has all facilities and NPCs. Secondarily, higher level players often use Rivendell as their main city since it is somewhat centrally located and has all facilities and NPCs.


3. How can I join my friend when we both started as different races?

After completing the Starter Instance, all of the starting regions are connected by Swift Travel for a trivial cost. You do not have to stay in your starting region to advance the epic quest line.


4. Where should I go at level x?

In the Region Summary, the level range of the World Monsters (meaning not inside an instance) and Adventure Instance monsters is listed. You should only venture into these regions/instances when you are comfortable facing monsters of those levels.


5. Where should I go to harvest tier x materials?

In the Region Summary, the tiers of the gathering nodes (Ore, Wood, and Scholar) in that region are listed. Within a region, higher tier nodes spawn near higher level mobs.


6. How can I minimize travel time as a <profession>?

In the Region Summary, find the Superior Facility and Work Order entries for your profession. If you choose a race with a racial recall to somewhere near those locations, you can save your map for adventuring. A common example is a Dwarf Metalsmith that uses the Dwarven recall to Thorin's Gate (for Superior Forge and Work Order access). Of course, you won't be able to access your racial recall ability until you complete the deed obtained in your mid-30s.

Starting with Book 10, some reputation centers have a Superior Facility accessible once you obtain the rank of Acquaintance. Of course you can only gain that reputation once you are a high enough level.

Starting with Book 11, if you or your kinship purchase a house near a Superior Facility and/or Work Order location, you can use the "Return to Kinship House" or "Return to Personal House" travel skill to reach them.


7. What are the different kinds of instances?

* Quest Instance - A private instance created for your fellowship to complete a quest. You must either have the quest or use a Reflecting Pool to enter a Quest Instance. In some cases, if you do not have the quest, you can talk to the quest NPC and he/she will still give you an option to travel into the quest instance.
* Public Adventure Instance - An instance that anyone can enter and is shared by all players. You may have quests that are completed inside the instance, but the instance is not _spawned by_ the quest. Note: Since these are public, mobs often respawn at a fast rate.
* Private Adventure Instance - The common "dungeon" instance with major bosses that is private to your raid/fellowship. When people (and the Region Summary) refer to an Adventure Instance, this is usually what they mean. Note: Some Private Adventure Instances are Raid Locked.


8. What is a Reputation Instance?

A Reputation Instance is a Public Adventure Instance that is solely for the farming of a specific reputation. In Reputation Instances, the spawn rate of monsters is directly related to the number of people inside the instance; i.e. always be careful of ultra-fast respawns when many others are in the same instance. Reputation Instances are listed in the Region Summary.


9. What is a Homestead instance?

A Homestead Instance is a Public Adventure Instance that contains player houses instead of mobs. The layout of all Homestead Instances are identical with only the yard decorations of purchased homes to differentiate them. As homes are purchased in each Homestead, new Homestead instances are created for additional capacity. Homestead Instances are listed in the Region Summary.


10. How can I find where player X's home is located or which player owns house Y?

There is no mechanism to look up the location of a specific person's or kinship's home. However, starting with Book 12, personal home/kinship hall owners can enable a configuration option so their name/kinship is shown when you are standing on their property.


11. How do I use a Reflecting Pool to join my fellowship in an instance?

* Reflecting Pools only allow you to enter a Quest Instance and not a Public/Private Adventure Instance.
* You must have already completed the quest to join your fellowship via a reflecting pool.
* Someone in your fellowship must have the quest and be in the Quest Instance you want to join.
* You must use the Reflecting Pool in the same region as your destination (e.g. you must use the Reflecting Pool in Ost Guruth to join a Weathertop Quest Instance). The Region Summary includes the locations of all Reflecting Pools.


12. How do I get my own horse?

Player horses are available at Hengstacer, which is in the eastern part of the Northern Bree-Fields in Bree-Land. Any player may purchase any horse for 4G 220S at any time, however, you must be level 35 before you can start the chain of quests that teach you the required Riding Skill.

Note: If you don't like the horse you purchased, Eogar has a quest that will ley you swap for another one at no cost.


13. How can I stop from being one-shotted off my horse?

The horses available at level 35 cannot withstand much damage and thus you can be easily dismounted. However, you can purchase slightly sturdier horses. If you achieve Rank 9 in PvMP, you may purchase a 7.6g horse from the Glan Vriag vendor. If you achieve high enough reputation with the Wardens of Annuminas or Council of the North, you may purchase a horse for 5.3g from the appropriate reputation vendor.


14. Once I have my own horse, is there any reason to pay for normal horse travel?

A purchased travel horse moves slightly faster than a player owned horse and you are unattackable (mobs will ignore you) while in transit.


15. How do I determine my location in user-friendly coordinates?

The builtin alias ;loc gives you longitude and latitude coordinates for your current position. By default, ;loc alone will /say the results, so you should use "/tell <yourname> ;loc" to eliminate spamming. To make a quickslot button for this, create an alias via "/alias ;myloc /tell <yourname> ;loc" and install it into quickslot 1 via "/alias shortcut ;myloc 1". Once created, you can manipulate it like any other quickslot button.


16. What is a Raid Locked instance and how does Raid Locking affect me?

This post by Fantus and the Book 10 Patch Notes Page 1 covers most aspects of Raid Locking, but here are a few additional considerations:

* You can use the "/raid locks" command to see the exact time left on all of your locked instances.
* In the Social Panel, you can use the Raid Locks tab to see everyone's Raid Locks. This can be used to ensure compatibility before someone fails to enter the instance with an incompatible lock. Note: You only have a lock when it is in the "Personal Raid Locks" section.
* Raid Locks are only compatible if they are identical, a subset of the group/raid leader, or you don't have one. For example, if the leader has "1,2,4", members with raid locks "1", "1,2", "1,4", and none (no raid lock) are all compatible. However, a member with "1,2,3" is incompatible since the leader has not defeated the "3" encounter yet.
* If you kill a boss that drops a special BoA item (e.g. a key) and the winner of the item cannot attend the next day's attempt, you cannot get another copy of the BoA item until the instance resets (because the boss that drops it is already dead).


17. When do the Raid Locked instances reset?

All raid locked instances reset at 2am EST on specific days. Based on this post by Amlug, the days are as follows:

Carn Dum: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Helegrod: Monday and Thursday
The Rift: Thursday

So if you raid during the evening/night, for example, you will raid the same Helegrod instance Thu-Sun (4 nights) and Mon-Wed (3 nights).


18. What are Control Points?

A control point is a location in the PvE world that can be "owned" by either the players or the monsters. The ownership of a control point usually gives players access to certain things; e.g. some instances in Annuminas. Monsters will periodically attack player owned control points and take them back -- you must either defend them or recapture them later.


19. What is session play?

Session play is when you log out of your character and log in to a temporary character or creature for a short time. While in session play, you often have limited communication (e.g. no kinship chat, no tells, etc), but specific goals to accomplish. When the session is over, NOTHING you acquired except Destiny Points is passed back to your main character.


20. What are Recurring Events?

Recurring Events are permanent additions to the game world. Exactly what triggers them or how often they happen is unknown at this time. Recurring Events are listed in the Region Summary.


21. What are Seasonal Events?

Seasonal Events are short term events meant as entertaining holiday-like additions to the game. They may be enjoyed by characters of all levels and usually offer simple quests and limited availability items. The current Seasonal Events are:

* Summer Festival - This event happens around July 4th. Each race has their own flavor and location for the celebration: Thorin's Hall for Dwarves, Duillond for Elves, The Party Tree in The Shire for Hobbits, and The Festival Grounds in Bree-Land for Men.
* Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariners - This event happens around mid-September and is located along the shores of the Brandywine River (adjoining The Shire, Evendim, and Bree-Land).
* Harvest Festival - This event happens around the Halloween (end of October). Just like the Summer Fesitval, each race has their own flavor and location for the celebration: Thorin's Hall for Dwarves, Duillond for Elves, The Party Tree in The Shire for Hobbits, and The Festival Grounds in Bree-Land for Men.
* Spring Festival - This event happens between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day (early March). While some vendors and NPCs remain in the same locations as the Summer and Harvest Festivals, there are new things to do at the Boar Fountain in Bree and just south of the Greenfields in the Brockenborings of The Shire.


22. The manual says to use Fell Scrying Pools to enter Monster Play, but I cannot find any?

In Book 11, all Fell Scrying Pools were removed from the game world. You now enter Monster Play from the Character Selection screen before you enter the world.

Region Summary

Note: Monster levels marked with a question mark (?) are still pending confirmation.

The Shire
World Monsters: Level 5-14
Main Town: Michel Delving - has all facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Michel Delving
Swift Travel: Michel Delving
Racial Start: Hobbits near Michel Delving
Racial Recall: Hobbits to Michel Delving
Housing: Shire Homesteads south of Michel Delving
Gathering Nodes: Tier 1 and 2
Superior Facilities: Oven in Michel Delving and Fields in Hobbiton
Work Orders: Hides in Overhill
Reputation Center: The Mathom Society in Michel Delving
Reputation Craft: Cooking
Reputation Superior Facilities: Study
Session Play: Chicken from Sandson's Farm

Ered Luin
World Monsters: Level 5-14
Main City: Thorin's Gate - has all facilities and NPCs
Main Town: Celondim - has most facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Thorin's Gate and Duillond
Swift Travel: Thorin's Gate and Celondim
Racial Start: Dwarves near Thorin's Gate and Elves near Celondim
Racial Recall: Dwarves to Thorin's Gate
Housing: Thorin's Hall Homesteads in Thorin's Gate and Falathorn Homesteads east of Duillond
Gathering Nodes: Tier 1 and 2
Superior Facilities: Forge in Thorin's Hall
Work Orders: Ore in Thorin's Gate and Lore in Duillond
Reputation Center: Thorin's Hall in Thorin's Gate
Reputation Craft: Jeweler
Reputation Superior Facilities: Workbench
Reputation Instance: Sarnur - no player limit, monsters level 48?-52?

Bree-Land
World Monsters: Level 4-20
Main City: Bree - has all facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Bree
Swift Travel: West Bree and South Bree
Racial Start: Men near Bree
Racial Recall: Men to Bree
Housing: Bree-Land Homesteads south of the Midgewater Marsh
Gathering Nodes: Tier 1, 2, and 3
Work Orders: Wood in Combe
Reputation Center: Men of Bree in Bree
Reputation Craft: Woodworking
Reputation Instance: Haudh Iarchith - no player limit, monsters level 48?-52?
Adventure Instance: Othrongroth (aka The Great Barrow) - 6-man, monsters level 19-25

Lone-Lands
World Monsters: Level 16-31
Main Town: Ost Guruth - has some facilities
Reflecting Pool: Ost Guruth
Gathering Nodes: Tier 2 and 3
Recurring Events: Ost Guruth Invasion (?)
Adventure Instance: Garth Agarwen - 6-man, monsters level 29-35

North Downs
World Monsters: Level 20-36 (includes worms/drakes in western Ram Duath)
Main Town: Esteldin - has some facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Trestlebridge
Swift Travel: Esteldin
Gathering Nodes: Tier 2 and 3
Superior Facilities: Workbench in Esteldin
Reputation Center: Rangers of Esteldin in Esteldin
Reputation Craft: Tailor
Recurring Events: Trestlebridge Invasion - Random elite Orcs periodically attack NPCs at Trestlebridge
Adventure Instance: Fornost - 6-man, monsters level 35-42

Evendim
World Monsters: Level 27-40 (48-54 in Annuminas)
Main Town: Tinnudir - has some facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Tinnudir
Gathering Nodes: Tier 3 and 4
Reputation Center: Wardens of Annuminas in Tinnudir
Reputation Craft: Weaponsmith
Reputation Barter: At Echad Garthadir in Annuminas
Control Points: Gwaelband, Clorhir, and Tirband in Annuminas
Adventure Instance: Glinghant (aka The Gardens), 6-man, monsters level 48?-50, requires control of Clorhir
Adventure Instance: Ost Elendil (aka The Palace), 6-man, monsters level 49?-52, requires control of Gwaelband and Tirband
Adventure Instance: Haudh Valandil (aka The Tomb), 6-man, monsters level 49?-53, requires control of Gwaelband and Tirband

Trollshaws
World Monsters: Level 33-44
Main City: Rivendell - has all facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Rivendell
Swift Travel: Rivendell
Racial Recall: Elves to Rivendell
Gathering Nodes: Tier 3 and 4
Superior Facilities: Study in Rivendell
Reputation Center: Elves of Rivendell in Rivendell
Reputation Craft: Scholar
Reputation Superior Facilities: Forge

Misty Mountains
World Monsters: Level 38-47
Gathering Nodes: Tier 5
Adventure Instance: Helegrod - M/Th raid locked, 24-man, monsters level 49-54
Reputation Instance: Goblin-town - no player limit, monsters level 48?-52?

Forochel
World Monsters: Level 4?-5?
Main Town: ?
Reflecting Pool: ?
Swift Travel: ?
Gathering Nodes: Tier 4? and 5?
Reputation Center: ? in ?
Reputation Craft: ?

Angmar
World Monsters: Level 40-52? (excludes worms/drakes in western Ram Duath)
Main Town: Aughaire - has some facilities and NPCs
Reflecting Pool: Aughaire
Swift Travel: Aughaire, Gabilshathur, Gath Forthnir (requires Acquaintance with Council of the North)
Gathering Nodes: Tier 4 and 5
Reputation Center: Council of the North in Gath Forthnir
Reputation Craft: Metalsmith
Adventure Instance: Urugarth - 6-man, monsters level 47-52
Adventure Instance: Barad Gularan - 6-man, monsters level 48-52
Adventure Instance: Carn Dum - M/W/F raid locked, 6-man, monsters level 48-54
Adventure Instance: The Rift of Nurz Ghashu - Th raid locked, 12-man, monsters level 50-54

Ettenmoors
World Monsters: Level 48?-52
Main Keep: Gramsfoot for creeps and Glan Vraig for freeps
Gathering Nodes: Tier 4 and 5 (Wood and Ore only)
Reputation Instance: The Delving of Fror (aka Ettendeep) - no player limit, monsters level 48?-53, requires control of any three keeps to enter from Dar-gazag (creeps) or Ost Ryngdyr (freeps)
Session Play: Troll from Gramsfoot and Ranger from Glan Vraig

Location Abbreviations

Abbreviations are made up by users and thus non-standard. These are the common ones, but you will undoubtedly encounter variations. If you find something missing from this list, please make sure it is used repeatedly by numerous users before requesting it be added here.

Regions
BL = Bree-Land
EL = Ered Luin
LL = Lone-Lands
MM = Misty Mountains
ND = North Downs
TS = Trollshaws

Instances
B#C# or #.# = Epic quest line Book # Chapter #
BG = Barad Gularan
CD = Carn Dum
GA = Garth Agarwen
GB = The Great Barrow (Othrongroth)
Hel = Helegrod
Uru = Urugarth

Major Cities
Aug = Aughaire in Angmar
Est = Esteldin in North Downs
MD = Michel Delving in The Shire
OG = Ost Guruth in Lone-Lands
TB = Trestlebridge in North Downs
TG = Thorin's Gate in Ered Luin
TH = Thorin's Hall in Ered Luin
Tin = Tinnudir in Evendim

Major Areas
DD = Dol Dinen in North Downs
IB = Imlad Balchorth in Angmar
OF = Old Forest in Bree-Land
TB = Tal Bruinen in Trollshaws

Key Places in Ettenmoors
DG = Dar-gazag
GV = Glan Vraig
HH = Hoarhallow
LC = Grimwood Lumber Camp
Lug = Lugazag
OR = Ost Ryngdyr
EC or STA = freep Elf camp just South of Tol Ascarnen
TA = Tol Ascarnen
TR = Tirith Raw
WTA = creep camp just West of Tol Ascarnen

Reserved for future 1.

Reserved for future 2.

Nice Post, thanks.

I ran into some level 50 tomb-robber types on the southern side of the lake in Evendim. They were purple to me and I said cool, a friendly city (thinking they were the typical city guards). I gave quite a scream when the "guards" I came skipping up to started attacking me. I did manage to find a cliff to jump off and managed to limp out of the area.

Just thought you might want to adjust the monster level for the zone....

Under the Regional Summary - Ered Luin, the world monsters are indeed levels 5 - 14. Also there is a little-known and little-used Fell Skrying Pool located behind the crafting area (well hidden behind bushes, but there is a barely noticeable path) in Celondim.

As a matter of note, Celondim also has all NPCs and facilities with the only exceptions being the AH and a Reflecting Pool, and should probably be listed as a main city as well.

Very good post Foamhead.

I haven't had time to check the full level range of mobs in Annuminas, but it is now noted to help signal unsuspecting travelers.

All of the changes mentioned are in and I tweaked a few more mob levels. Thanks for the info.

-Foam

What is the instance in Bree in the castle in the middle of the marsh? And what are the requirements?

Originally Posted by PimPSmacK

What is the instance in Bree in the castle in the middle of the marsh? And what are the requirements?

It's part of the Epic Prologue for Man

To update ost elendil and haudh valandil require all 3 flags in annuminas to be taken before you can pass through the gates.

Tiny little thing, but at least on my server Epic quests are often abbreviated using a decimal point between the two numbers.

So for Book VI, Chapter 2, people will "LFF: Epic 6.2" or "Book 6.2". Not sure how common this is on other servers.

Yup, I already had the abbreviation. Thanks for the input, tho.

-Foam

Love this thread, just wanted to point out that the Fell Scrying Pools have been taken out as of Book 11, with the ability to log into Monster Play from the character selection screen.

Thanks for the Fell Scrying Pool reminder. I've updated the FAQ with a question about it and removed them from the summary. I also updated a few things for Book 12.

-Foam

Out of curiousity, could this thread be updated to include the days on which instance locks reset - would be helpful in planning excursions.

Already done:

Originally Posted by FoamHead

17. When do the Raid Locked instances reset?

All once weekly raid locked instances reset at 2am EST every Thursday. All twice weekly raid locked instances reset at 2am EST every Monday and Thursday. So if you raid during the evening/night, you will raid the same instance Thu-Sun (4 nights) and Mon-Wed (3 nights).

And all instances listed in the Region Summary indicate if they reset once weekly or twice weekly.

-Foam

We call STA EC for Elf-Camp on Meneldor, not sure if each server has their own name.

Yup, EC is gaining popularity on my server too. I've added it to the list.

Thanks,
-Foam

As far as specific times for raid resets:

Carn Dum resets: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Helegrod resets: Monday, Thursday
The Rift resets: Thursday

From Amlug (http://forums.lotro.com/showpost.php...72&postcount=8)

Just something else to list

I clarified the raid lock reset days, but since I rarely play Lotro these days I cannot fill in the Forochel info. You may continue posting updates/corrections/etc here but my response time will probably be slow and I may never be able to validate it. If someone else wants to take over this sticky, pleas feel free.

-Foam

This could use an update, but still a very good thread. No *snip* for yous!

Antimo left when MoM came out.

hows this game played??