Level 50 Champion

Kaseya at the Walls of Moria

I got Kaseya, my champion, to level 50 and, surprisingly, she is loving Moria so far. She's finding it really easy and doesn't even mind that she's only got the slow (32%) goat from the quest - I was going to take her to Sarnúr to get kindred with Thorin's Hall to buy their faster goat (62%), but by the time she quested in Misty Mountains and Angmar and did part of Goblintown, she was level 48 and her first legendary sword was level 10 and she was keen to get her legendary rune and visit Moria.

I'm dual-wielding and playing both red and yellow specs on her - red for single mobs and yellow for groups of mobs. In the mid 40s she got some traits that let her attacks restore some morale in both specs, so her health doesn't drop much. She's finally got a cleanse ability (a.k.a. Fear Nothing!) to get rid of debuffs which helps, and a couple of abilities to boost dps and power regen for some nice bursts of damage.

Yellow had really good fervour generation at level 20 with Battle Frenzy, and now Red is generating lots of fervour too due to trait bonuses - Precise Strikes gives an extra pip for each crit (and she crits a lot) and Red Haze restores full fervour after killing a mob. Both specs have very little down-time which is great.

At level 50, Savage Strikes became Feral Strikes which removes corruptions. I was hardly using Savage Strikes because it doesn't seem to do as much damage as Remorseless Strike or Merciful Strike for Red, and Blade Storm or Raging Blade for Yellow. So I've moved it from my main action bar to my utility/situational bar and moved Clobber (an interrupt that deals a little damage) to my main bar instead because I'm using that a lot. I try to avoid getting stunned or letting mobs heal themselves.

My first legendary weapon started with Critical Damage Multiplier, Brutal Strikes Damage and Rend Bleed Damage legacies. The Crit Multiplier and Rend was good but Brutal Strikes is another ability in the Red tree that seems redundant at low levels, although there are some traits that may improve it later. The Champion Rune started with Champion's Horn Stun Duration, Swift Strike Power Cost and Ebbing Ire Cooldown legacies. I probably don't use my Horn to stun mobs as often as I should or could, so maybe this will remind me to use it more. Reducing the power cost of Swift Strike is good because it is way too expensive for the amount of damage it does. Ebbing Ire reduces threat - I'm levelling solo so I haven't even bothered putting trait points into it in Red line - so that was pretty useless.  Hopefully I get some better legacies for my Rune when I reforge.

My Rotation

This is what I use for questing solo at level 50 and it works well for me. There may be more effective rotations available and I encourage people to check out the Champion class forums and LOTRO wiki for more tips and guides.

Red Line - The Berserker

If it's an elite mob, I start off with Controlled Burn which increases melee damage, attack speed, power and fervour generation. I use Devastating Strikes to build 2 fervour and debuff the target so they take more damage. I use Wild Attack then Swift Strike if needed to generate enough fervour for Remorseless Strike. Keep building fervour then spending it on Remorseless Strike until Merciful Strike (the nuke/execute skill) becomes available, or if my health drops I use Bracing Attack. If I need more healing, I use Fight On. If my power starts to drop and Controlled Burn is still on cooldown, I use True Heroics to boost power and critical hit chance and debuff the enemy so they attack slower. I try to finish them off with Merciful Strike.

I use Clobber (interrupt), Fear Nothing! (debuff removal), Blood Rage (stun/disarm removal), Feral Strikes (to remove corruptions) and Hamstring (slow) as needed.

Yellow Line - The Deadly Storm

When I get in range of a group of mobs, I start with Battle Frenzy to boost fervour generation. I use Rend to put an armour debuff on the mobs as well as cause damage-over-time, and also generate 2 fervour. I can usually use Blade Storm straight away, but if I need more fervour I either use Blade Wall (which doesn't generate or cost fervour but hits all the mobs nearby) and wait a second for Battle Frenzy to generate some, or use Wild Attack then Swift Strike if needed. When Blade Storm is on cooldown, I build fervour with Rend, Wild Attack and Swift Strike, then spend fervour on Raging Blade (or Bracing Attack if I need some healing, with Fight On for more healing). If power starts to drop or I need a dps burst, I use True Heroics which boosts power and melee damage, and slows enemy movement speed (because by now some are probably defeated or nearly defeated and maybe thinking about running away). When Battle Frenzy is off cooldown, I use it again to keep fervour generation up. If multiple mobs are casting or starting to run away I use Horn of Gondor to stun them. I try to finish off stragglers with Merciful Strike, or if they run out of melee range I use my bow.

I use Clobber (interrupt), Fear Nothing! (debuff removal), Blood Rage (stun/disarm removal), Feral Strikes (to remove corruptions) and Hamstring (slow) as needed.

My Legendary Legacies Wish-list

For my weapon, I'd like (but can't have them all):

• Major - Area of Effect Skill Damage
• Major - Critical Damage Multiplier
• Major - Wild Attack Damage
• Major - Remorseless Strike Damage
• Major - Rend Bleed Damage

• Minor - Battle Frenzy Cooldown
• Minor - Rend Armour Reduction
• Minor - True Heroics Power
• Minor - Fear Nothing Cooldown/Incoming Healing

For my rune, I'd like (but can't have them all):

• Major - Blade Wall Damage
• Major - Bracing Attack Heal
• Major - Blade Line AOE Power Cost
• Major - Devastating Strike Damage Multiplier
• Major - Swift Strike Power Cost

• Minor - Merciful Strike Damage
• Minor - Strike Skill Power Cost 
• Minor - Raging Blade Damage

My champion is a Westemnet Weaponsmith at the moment, so I'm looking forward to getting her to max rep with the Weaponsmith's guild soon so she can make level 100 legendary weapons. I am really enjoying playing this character now so maybe she will be my next character to reach max level as well.