Level 50 Beorning

Over the Christmas break I have been on a levelling marathon to get my Beorning from level 30 to level 50. She was in Evendim for 10 levels and reached kindred with the Wardens of Annúminas just from questing and there were still more quests to do. She then headed to the Trollshaws and did Books 4 and 5 of the epic quest which took her into the Misty Mountains so she quested there until 45, with a small detour to Angmar to complete the first 6 chapters of Book 6 and unlock access past the Line of Doom, better known as Rammas Deluon.

Saw Grimbeorn at Vindurhal, Misty Mountains

At level 45, she started the quest for a legendary weapon and headed to Echad Dunann in Eregion. In the Walls of Moria instance, she did the orc cave but forgot to do the cave with the worms and lost dwarves. She tried not to, but she could take on three level 50 orcs when necessary as a level 45 blue-line Beorning. Making sure to buff yourself and debuff your enemy, and interrupt whenever possible helps. In general though, she's found a nice rhythm for cycling through her abilities that works for her.

Beorning's first Legendary Great Axe

So she got her legendary great axe equipped (which looked rather dull and ugly so she kept her previous cosmetic weapon displayed) and added an Ancient Dwarf damage title (good for fighting cave-claws in Sarnúr and Moria) then headed off to Goblin-town in the Misty Mountains. She had a bunch of quests there and thought it would be a good place for some quick XP and lots of rep tokens. She reached kindred with the Mathom Society without ever visiting the Shire.

Her weapon needed reforging so it was back to Rivendell and a few more epic quests. I decided not to head straight back to Eregion to face the Watcher, which is what I would normally do, but chose instead to go visit Sarnúr and get some rep with Thorin's Hall to get a nice fast goat for Moria. I found some quests for Sarnúr outside the Blue Stone Garrison in Thorin's Hall. It took me about two hours or so to go from acquaintance to kindred, mostly just running around the Sarnúr Hall and Keep - I avoided the lower levels with the trolls and elites. I also got several slayer deeds done for killing brigands and hendroval in Ered Luin and Dourhands and beasts in Sarnúr.

Sarnúr

She got her goat and fell in love with it - it's saddle blanket matched her outfit and it just seemed more sturdy and practical with its sleeping roll and storage packs than the fine-boned horse she had been given by the Wardens of Annúminas.

Tyravorth and her Thorin's Hall goat

Finally she headed back to Eregion, but not to continue into Moria just yet - she still needed to level her prospecting some more to be able to mine khazâd skarn so she decided to do some questing. Doing some quests would unlock swift travel options to and from the various stable masters which might come in handy some time too. Unfortunately I got a bit bored being sent back to fight the half-orcs and worms around Pembar over and over again, but then I realised I only had a day and a bit to get to level 50 before the New Year so I'd better buckle under and quest harder (I was still level 47).

Pembar - the bane of Eregion questing

She was sent to Echad Dunann and quested near there until she got the Silent and Restless (Advanced) deed done. She found that there were another tier of that deed to do, but her bags were full and her legendary weapon needed reforging so she decided to finally head into Moria, at level 48.

She completed Vol II Book 1 and got her Beorning Carving for the class slot which seems to improve healing and defences as the base stat increases Tactical Healing Rating and she also got a "Bear Form Critical Defence" legacy. Upon reforging the axe she got the "Chance for Attacks to Return Wrath" legacy which sounds very useful. She had to go to Dolven-view to visit the forge-master but fortunately the stable-master had the route unlocked so she could get there quickly, then head back to do the quests at Durin's Threshold.

Old Silvertine City

Level 50 arrived as she entered Old Silvertine City and reported in to the dwarf by the door. She had just finished the quests in the Great Delving and Silvertine Lodes. Taking on the level 50-53 mobs was not a problem and questing went much more quickly and efficiently than in Eregion. She picked up a heap of legendary items for other classes - especially Guardian Belts and Rune-keeper Rune-stones, but no upgrades for Beornings. The quest rewards were nice and they still offer the boxes of Might-based medium armour, but you can't open them until level 50 so now I have a few of those to open and see what gear I can improve.

Reaching level 50 is a milestone. The game changes once you start using legendary weapons. Instead of just levelling yourself, levelling your legendaries becomes a mini-game. Gift of the Valar can also level you to level 50, and for Beornings who choose this, rest easy - you'll have all the important abilities you need. It might take a little while to get used to swapping between man and bear form, but you'll get there.

I'm still enjoying the blue trait tree. I've got 30 trait points in it so far and am working on filling out the Tactical and Physical Mitigation traits so that I don't need so much from gear or virtues. Having two interrupts has been very helpful in bear form, especially when fighting two mobs that both want to stun you. I hate being stunned, and yes I use Shake Free, but it has a 2 minute cooldown so it's better to prevent the stun than rely on that. I save that for when I'm stunned and losing too much health because multiple mobs are attacking and I need to start healing up quick.

I'm still wishing we had a snare instead of a fear. About the only time I use Grisly Cry is when a mob is running away at low health, sometimes it will finish them off. I also don't use Counter and Counterattack as much as I perhaps could. I tend to use it when my healing spells and potions are on cooldown and evasion is my next best option until they're available again. Counterattack doesn't hit very hard, but it adds wrath, which could be useful in bear form to be able to get another Thrash in.

So, at level 50, Beornings are definitely fun to play and can handle most situations. They've got a nice rotation and plenty of tools. I guess the next mission is to reach level 75 and find out what the mounted combat is like.