Myndariel and New Beginnings on Meriadoc

I was pretty disappointed with the purchase process for the Corsairs of Umbar expansion pack, but I decided to get over it and give it a try anyway. 

I got stuck in and rushed Myndariel through Gundabad, just focusing on the main quest, the Legacy of Durin. I liked how it had a few unexpected twists and Mótsog was a really interesting character.

Mótsog watching the sunset

Hrímil Frost-heart assaulting the dwarves of Gundabad

The final battle with Gorgar and Hrímil Frost-heart seemed too easy but I'm glad there was a cliffhanger - the story is never truly over and Middle Earth continues to need good folk to defend it.

Myndariel riding through East Gondor on the King's business

And so Myndariel answered the summons to King Elessar and set off on a new journey to East Gondor to find out more about the Heirs of Castamir causing trouble. I was eager for her to get to Umbar, but I guess this journey does help set the scene and provide some background information about the area before we get there. 

Calengwen the High Elf Hunter

Over on Meriadoc, one of the new 64-bit servers, I have Calengwen, the transferred hunter, levelling up the slow way to get to Umbar, and I started a new Mariner and a River Hobbit.

Ninroswen the Woman Mariner

Ninroswen (nin = wet, ros = red-headed, wen = maiden) of Gondor loves the sea and sailing around the Cape of Belfalas but kept hearing about the dramas unfolding throughout the lands of Middle Earth while she was growing up. She didn't want to miss out on the action so as soon as she was old enough, she joined a group of adventurers and headed north to Eriador. She met a Hardened Traveller in Bree-land who dared her to take on more difficult enemies and so she agreed to prove she was Fearless (i.e. difficulty level 3). So far, she has been dying (I mean, getting knocked down) a lot. She even got zapped by the Eye of Sauron. The Mariner class seems complicated - I would rank it up there with Warden - and she has been stunned a few times from getting too out of balance by using too many fore or aft skills. We'll get the hang of it eventually, but so far, it's a good challenge, but not fun. I suspect it will get better at higher levels.

Jenivefa the River Hobbit Warden

I really enjoyed the River Hobbit introduction in Lyndelby and it's great that after the introduction she was taken to Swanfleet - a nice change from starting off in the Shire, Ered Luin or Bree-land like so many of my other characters. Apparently River Hobbits have more Celtic or Germanic sounding names compared to Shire Hobbits and I found Jenivefa on a Celtic name generator. In-game, the normal hobbits comment on how unusual her name is, which is a nice touch. I think her goal will be to see the world and make it home to protect her family in the Wells of Langflood.

I started Calengwen before the changes to the crafting system, so she had the Explorer vocation with Forester, Prospector and Tailor. She'll be able to make medium armour for all of them. Ninroswen and Jenivefa don't have vocations but could choose whichever professions they wanted. Ninroswen chose Prospector (mining), Metalsmith (mainly to make crafting tools and warden shields from metal) and Jeweller (to make jewellery from metal and gems). Jenivefa chose more traditional Hobbit crafts - Farming, Cooking (to make food, drinks and pipeweed) and Scholar (to make outfit dyes from plant extracts). Having to swap crafting tools is a nuisance and if they're lucky they might get a universal toolkit one day.

Calengwen

Hey, it's been a while. Myndariel got bored in Gundabad at level 140 so I took a break from the game. Recently there has been lots of discussion about the new 64-bit servers and 18th anniversary which piqued my interest and here I am, back in the game again.

First off, I decided to transfer Calengwen, my level 26 high elf hunter from Evernight [EU] to Meriadoc [EU-RP]. I chose her because I already had a hobbit hunter on Evernight (Robinya). I wanted to see what the server was like, if performance or community is better, etc. So far I don't see any difference with performance and the community is nice, but the community on Evernight was nice too.

I was looking into the Corsairs of Umbar expansion options on LOTRO-Wiki and I saw they mentioned a redeemable coupon code "THANKYOU2025" that was still valid. It included some mithril coins, lockbox keys and a pick-a-mount box among other things. I used the code for Calengwen and got her a new mount - the Pale Golden Summer Horse matches her outfit pretty nicely.

Calengwen and her Pale Golden Summer Steed

I am rather disappointed with my experience purchasing the Corsairs of Umbar expansion. I wanted to buy it with LOTRO points, but after buying about AUD$60 worth of LOTRO points (4400 with the bonus points deal currently available), I realised that would only get me the Corsairs of Umbar quest pack and didn't include the Mariner class or any other bonus items. So I went to the website and purchased the Standard version of the expansion, which cost roughly AUD$60 as well. I got the Mariner class, an extra character slot and a title. But I didn't get a Valar upgrade so I could boost a character (i.e. Calengwen) to take part in the Corsairs of Umbar content. I checked the price of the Valar upgrade to boost to level 140: 5022 LOTRO points on special! I've just spent AUD$120 on the game and it's still not enough to try out the latest expansion. Ouch! That is so expensive and I'm very sad. Maybe I should go back to playing Elder Scrolls Online - much cheaper and it also has a lot of content and lore. 

I did check out the 18th anniversary rewards with Myndariel, but I wasn't really interested in the "Baker's Delight" costume or mount. So I'll skip the rest of the event. I hear Midsummer's Festival is being updated this year with a new zone? Maybe I'll check that out.

Do I want to try the Mariner class or unlock River Hobbits with the LOTRO points I got? Not now. I was excited to get back into the game, try a new server and send a character I haven't played much to visit Umbar for the first time, but now my enthusiasm is gone and I just want to log out.

Myndariel Finally Max Level 140

Myndariel and her loyal bodyguard Nixe

Myndariel has finally reached the current max level of 140 while questing in Gundabad. I really wanted her to get there before the next expansion came out. The last time she was max level was when level 100 and Dol Amroth dailies was the big deal. 

Myndariel celebrated reaching max level by buying the Elk of Felegoth's Glory from the Curator in Bree as her reward. 

Elk of Felegoth's Glory - Myndariel's reward for reaching level 140

She still has lots of quests to go in Gundabad. I'm enjoying the story but the zone and the outfits are rather ugly. I'm looking forward to the Umbar expansion - that should be something totally new and interesting! I guess I'll have to try out the new Mariner class and I really hope the new zones will have some amazing corsair-themed armour. I'm nervous and hopeful for the crafting changes - I love crafting in games and I just hope they make it better and not worse (and please bring back all the beautiful old legendary weapon skins as craftable cosmetics!).

Now that she's max level, I've made a list of goals for her to work on. Perhaps this list might help some other new level 140 players too.

Things to Do at Level 140:

• Finish quests in Gundabad
• Do Zhélruka missions in Gundabad
• Do Gundabad crafting instances 
• Craft some level 140 gear 
  
• Do solo instances at level 140 (Minas Morgul, War of Three Peaks, Gundabad)
  
• Do quests in King's Gondor (Gondor Renewed has a new epic quest-line)
• Try some Delvings
• Go back and finish quests and deeds in other zones
  

I'm not interested in raiding but dungeons and raids usually have the best gear for those that want to min-max. Especially for level 140, there are several options in Gundabad and then the Return to Carn Dûm group of instances.

Have fun in Middle Earth!

Scenic Tour: Before the Shadow

Before the Shadow came out with Update 34 in November 2022 and adds a new starting experience for level 1-32 characters in new regions Swanfleet and Cardolan. There are four epic quest books set before events in the Shadow of Angmar (the original base game) and there are new features for higher level players as well, including a skirmish, a 6-person dungeon and a new delving system (a scalable difficulty option for some missions with special bonus rewards).

Swanfleet

I decided to create a female stout-axe dwarf brawler (since both stout-axe dwarves as a race and brawlers are fairly new as well) to try out this area.

Thordena in the starting village of Mossward

 

The tutorial started off with a burning village under attack and then requests for your aid helping the villagers. One brawler issue I ran into though was that I received several weapons as a quest reward - a 1H sword, a 2H sword, a 1H axe and battle-gauntlets. I was able to equip the axe or the battle-gauntlets but I couldn't use any of my brawler abilities while wielding the axe. Fortunately I didn't sell the gauntlets! 

I discovered a Treasure Cache in the Howlingstones I could open at level 5 and was pleasantly surprised it actually had some nice gear in it - for level 11 and level 15. This is a great improvement on the treasure caches in other zones that require level 90 to open and contain only junk! Now exploring will be more worthwhile!

A Little Extra Steed (32%) from "A Little Extra Never Hurts - Part 2"

Speaking of exploring, Swanfleet is a large open zone with remote villages from many different cultures and lots of hills and valleys with scenic vistas. You really need a mount to get around (you can get the riding skill and a mount for free by doing the tutorial quest "A Little Extra Never Hurts - Part 2"), but there are also stablemasters in each village which helps. 

Mossward - a settlement of Men

Clegur - a settlement of Hobbits

Lhan Garan - a settlement of Dunlendings

Caras Gelebren - Elven ruins

One thing that seemed difficult to find was a Master of Apprentices who could teach you crafting vocations - usually you get an obvious quest at level 5 to visit the trainer in the starting village. Instead, following the Prologue quest chain, I went from Mossward to Clegur to Glyn Helyg to Lintrev, then Book 1 took me to Lhan Garan at level 12 where I finally found the trainer. Nearby Caras Gelebren is a great place for apprentice scholars to find relics amongst the ruins (also lots of wooden chests containing low level crafting ingredients). Tier 1 resources in general are fairly abundant here.

The main story in Swanfleet is quite interesting and the background music in the zone is fantastic and very enjoyable to listen to. By following Book 1 of Before the Shadow I finished most of the deeds in the zone and reached level 17 (quests in Swanfleet are designed for level 1-15). I liked how the Book quests take you back to Mossward where you started, ready to head into Cardolan to continue the journey. I'm curious to learn what will happen next.

Cardolan

Thordena got a makeover in the Mossward blacksmith shop before leaving for Cardolan. Silver, gold and steel blue, and she's got her backpack and pickaxe for collecting shiny ore along the way (she's an armourer). No mistaking her for anything but a metal-loving dwarf, although even I would mistake her for a male dwarf. Maybe one day she'll wear pink but I think she would be proud that people see her as just as strong and capable as her brothers-in-arms.

Thordena preparing for Cardolan

She entered Cardolan by way of Tharbad, an orc-infested ruin of a bridge, and made some interesting new acquaintances. As a result, I think it is better if new players play through the original main story first (i.e. Shire/Ered Luin/Bree-land and beyond - possibly up to at least level 105) before levelling through Swanfleet and Cardolan on another character because there are spoilers for later events in the game.

Tharbad

Herne (main town)

Cardolan looks so pretty when it's not raining. The meadows are blooming with colourful flowers, lakes and rivers glitter in the sun, there are ruins dotted all over the landscape that just beg to be explored and the views stretch so far it gives a feeling of freedom. It would be wonderful to go for a gallop on a war-steed across those fields, leaping over the rocky outcrops like the nimble goats!

Sedgemead

Tyrn Gorthad

 

On the other hand, Tyrn Gorthad looks horrible in any weather - like the Barrow-downs of Bree-land, or the Fields of Fornost in the North Downs.

While doing the quests in the Southern Old Forest (I was going to skip them because they seemed so far out of the way, but I'm glad I did them, there's a good story there), I swam along the Brandywine River between Bree-land and Cardolan and discovered the entrance to the Woe of the Willow instance (which is part of the Wildwoods quest pack). It was pretty easy but not very interesting, and doing it solo, all I got was some medallions and rep tokens.

Entrance to Woe of the Willow instance (1-3 players, lvl 20-140)

The quests also took me into the Sarch Vorn dungeon in Cardolan. The final boss fight was a good challenge - make sure to remove corruptions and debuffs and run away to heal up. It finished off that story-line and set me back on the path towards my next goal: Caranost.

Entrance to Sarch Vorn (1-6 players, lvl 20-140)

In Sírlond, the friendly camp near orc-infested Caranost, I found the Quartermaster for the Dúnedain of Cardolan. I was able to get the Return to Swanfleet and Return to Cardolan travel skills. They also have a bunch of housing decorations available.

The red flowers all over the zone took on a new meaning after learning about the Battle of the Deadmount. The main story in Cardolan is quite interesting and helps fill in some lore. I was level 30 when I finished the quests in Cardolan and I was recommended to continue questing in North Downs or Lone-lands until I reached level 32 then I can continue Book 4 of Before the Shadow. I had almost completed the Deeds of Cardolan so I finished that first. Here's a tip for completing the Slayer of Cardolan:

• Orcs - Tharbad, Caranost
• Half-orcs - Nímbarth, Amon Firn
  
• Goblins - Haudh Nirui, Hove Farm
  
• Dead - Tyrn Gorthad, Dol Ernil, Amon Firn

Steed of Cardolan's Dawn

Completing the Deeds of Cardolan earned me a nice mount: Steed of Cardolan's Dawn!

I followed Halbarad to North Downs to continue helping the Rangers near Esteldín. When I reached level 32 I got a quest to talk to Candaith near Weathertop in the Lone-lands. He sent me to Rivendell. And there, the Before the Shadow story ends as Elrond says thanks for the news, now please continue to protect Middle Earth.

You can join back into the main Epic Quest at Book 4 (recommended level 37) or there is also an option to join the Further Adventures of Elladin and Elrohir (Elrond's sons) on a mission to investigate the Black Riders. The Further Adventures scales with level but ends up in Lothlórien. Or, you could go questing in Evendim or the Trollshaws. I've enjoyed this alternate levelling path through Swanfleet and Cardolan and the new lore I've learnt so I'll continue with the Further Adventures and see what new stories await me there.

Conclusion

When they first announced the Before the Shadows mini-expansion I wasn't really interested (mostly because the cost seemed high for a "mini" expansion) even though it was aimed at players like me who have levelled up lots of characters through the original starting zones. I'm glad I finally tried it because it was really good! It had a great story, some interesting zones, some nice rewards and fairly good pacing - I was close to the target level for all the quests and didn't feel like I was running out of things to do or leaving things undone to keep up with the main story. The levels flew by and the ending leads you back into the main game quite nicely as well.

One aspect of Before the Shadow I didn't try was the Delvings but from what I understand it involves repeating instances over and over again with different/more difficult challenges each time. I find repeating instances boring, so that's not for me, but I hope other people enjoy it.

Overall, I think Before the Shadow is a great prequel to the main story and is a good option for veteran players levelling alts, but not recommended for new players.

Midsummer Festival 2022

Myndariel finally joined in the Midsummer Festival celebrations, and it was so worthwhile and enjoyable!

Aragorn and Arwen's wedding

She went through all the quests for the epic quest chain Vol. V. Book 1: A Time of Celebration which tells the story of Aragorn (also known as Elessar) and Arwen's wedding in Minas Tirith. After completing Chapter 7: A Wedding at Midsummer, she earned Gondor's Steed which looks awesome.

Gondor's Steed

There are lots of repeatable quests in the Midsummer Festival version of Minas Tirith, plus additional quests in Bree-land, the Shire and Ered Luin, so players of all levels can take part. The rewards are cheap so it was easy to collect all the mounts and some nice new outfits. If I wanted, I could also earn some cosmetic pets and housing items.

Apart from Gondor's Steed, there are several other mounts available this year:

• Steed of Entwining Blossoms
• Blackroot Steed
  
• Lamedon Steed
• Lebennin Steed
• Lossarnarch Steed

You can check these out on my Mounts Gallery page.

I love the main outfit for this year! The Robe of Entwining Blossoms is very pretty, especially when combined with the accessories, and it dyes well, with a slight colour gradient that adds a nice effect.

Steed of Entwining Blossoms and matching dress

Robe of Entwining Blossoms (left: default, right: dyed rose)

Also shown are the Circlet of Entwining Blossoms (head), Mantle of Entwined Blossoms (shoulders) and Boots of the Entwining Blossoms (feet). Instead of using the matching cloak, I really liked the delicate lace-like Bridal Veil (it can also be dyed various colours). 

There are also bride and groom sets of outfits, but they didn't appeal as much so I didn't collect them. I did buy Galadriel's dress (which is the same as what she wore to the wedding) and Arwen's Dinner Dress (which also has a lovely colour gradient effect).

Galadriel's Dress (left: default, right: dyed gold in honour of Lothlórien)

Arwen's Dinner Dress (default, dyed rust, dyed sky blue, dyed turquoise)

There's still a few more days to enjoy the festival, so now that Myndariel is all set, some of my characters on my Free Account would like new mounts and outfits too.

Tunic of Entwining Blossoms

Mynimuso, my hobbit minstrel, discovered that the dresses don't look so good on hobbits, but the tunics fit nicely.

Scenic Tour: The Wildwood (Bree-land)

The Wildwood was added to Bree-land in Update 29, in March 2021. I was keen to visit this area because I saw you could earn some mounts, and I hoped it would be a nice alternative to questing in Angmar.

Trestlebridge (West Alley)

You start off in a new part of Trestlebridge where the Woodcutter's Brotherhood want to rebuild Trestlebridge. You'll need resources from the Wildwood, but you meet Thornmane who needs your help to restore the balance in the woods; there are many corrupted trees, orcs, bandits and predators to be pruned. 

Thornmane near Cotfast

Trader's Wharf

Eventually you meet the League of the Axe down at Trader's Wharf and they seem to just want to establish their own safe haven in the Wildwood and want your help gathering resources and eliminating threats.

That sums up the story-line and the rest is doing lots of repeatable quests to earn notoriety and complete deeds. The quests don't reward you with equipment so this zone won't help you gear up for Moria. It does give quite a lot of XP and there are tons of Master level resources and recipe drops available. Some of the deeds also give cool titles - my Warden is happy to be a "Scout of the Forest", although she also earned "Warden of the Wildwood".

There are also a number of missions available from the Trestlebridge quest hub. These are short, repeatable quests and after doing 15 missions, I am at about 60/200 Bree-land Wood-marks towards getting one of those mounts I wanted (Wild Trader's Steed). The other mount (Wild Trestlebridge Steed) is from completing all the deeds in the zone, including the Slayer deeds. Looks like I'll be level 50 before I'm finished here.

Overall, I think this is a zone I'd do once and then skip for most characters because it's just not worth it. There's not much story or rewards. It's a laid-back grind-fest, running all over the forest, killing everything you see, over and over again. Not my idea of fun. It reminds me a bit of the Hytbold grind but without the sense of progression. But, maybe if you just want to relax and do something else while you're playing, this might be a good place to do that while earning some gold, XP and LOTRO points. 

Writhenset

PS. If you're just chilling out in the woods, don't go down into the depths of Writhenset - I got lost in the spiderwebs for half an hour and it was not a relaxing time trying to find my way out while being ambushed every few seconds.

Scenic Tour: The Angle of Mitheithel (Trollshaws)

The Angle of Mitheithel is a new sub-zone in The Trollshaws for levels 40-45, added in the "Rangers and Ruins" Update 32 in February 2022. I decided to take my rune-keeper Sharmaen through the zone because she was dreading questing through Angmar and this would be a fresh new experience where she could help out her fellow elves.

Note: the following contains spoilers for the story-line in the Angle of Mitheithel. I definitely recommend you visit the zone and enjoy the quests yourself! 

A lovely lake in Mitheithel

Oh the zone is so beautiful! Full of vibrant valleys and crumbling overgrown ruins, it's a place to stop and admire the view at the top of every hill and around every corner. It's also a great place to find Tier 4 (Artisan) resources and recipes.

Just after entering The Trollshaws via The Last Bridge, a path leads south to an outpost called Gaerond. There Sharmaen found Elladan and some Defenders of the Angle who could use her assistance. They sent her further into the zone to check on some travellers and help them reach their destination safely. 

The ruins of Eitheldir (with some fascinating history!)

 

Along the way she meets Ravaedron, an elf that has come to visit his former home and say farewell to friends before he travels into the West. He tells me about his hobbit friends from more than 1000 years ago who lived in Glynafon, but left due to the threat of war from Saruman's army. Their homes are now ruined mounds.

The ruins of Glynafon

Fernbrake Cot

He recently made some human friends with the Staghorns who live in Fernbrake Cot nearby. When he says goodbye to them and promises he will ensure their safety after he has gone, they get very upset with him. He goes on a mission to make things right and asks for our help.

Tornhad

We make our way to Tornhad, a village of Rangers, to request their protection for the Staghorns, but they are busy preparing to depart themselves: they have heard rumours that Saruman is causing trouble again around Mirkwood. Indeed, we meet some good Dunlendings fleeing Saruman and some bad Dunlendings hunting them.

Cuan-lȗth Refuge for Dunlendings fleeing Saruman

The Rangers ask for help with patrolling the area and collecting herbs for medicines and animal hides for making leather armour and generally making the area safe before they leave. That done, they finally show some sympathy for Ravaedron and promise that some will stay behind to keep protecting the area. Ravaedron is relieved but decides to make a painting as a farewell gift for the Staghorns.

Ravaedron painting Mitheithel in the rain

The painting isn't received well and so he tries again, with more success once he realises what is really important to his friends.

Forgiven

And so, Ravaedron can leave Middle Earth, Elladan can return to Imladris and the Rangers can scout out Mirkwood, knowing that with our help, the Angle of Mitheithel is as safe as can be, for now.

On a final note, I really liked how the quests led you through the zone and introduced some interesting history. Also, by questing you earn enough reputation to reach Kindred and unlock all the items from the Defenders of the Angle quartermaster. As you can see from the picture above, Sharmaen has claimed Emberwing as her companion as they both like fire. Overall, a really well done zone and I look forward to visiting there again with other characters.