Class Guides

I'm an altaholic and I like variety so I have characters of every class. It doesn't mean I'm good at them all, but here are some things I've learnt about the classes in LOTRO.

There are not many up-to-date guides out there for some classes. I will try to add or find more in the future, but the best source of information will generally be the LOTRO Forums and LOTRO-Wiki. There may also be some helpful information on Reddit and YouTube.

Beorning

Beornings are shapeshifters that can change between man and bear forms and can fill tanking, DPS and healing roles.

• Beorning Stat Priorities 
• Level 30 Beorning Review - Red Line (DPS)
• Level 30 Beorning Review - Blue Line (Tank)
• Level 50 Beorning Review
• Level 75 Beorning Review and Mounted Combat
• Level 100 Beorning Review and Legendary Imbuement
• Beorning Legendary Item Legacies 
• Beorning Legendary Titles

Brawler

Brawlers are hard-hitting ST melee specialists that can fill tanking or DPS roles. They use battle-gauntlets instead of weapons.

• Introducing the Brawler: Level 1-20

Here are some guides I found:

• LOTRO Brawler Class Guide and Gameplay (Preview, 2021)
  

Burglar

Burglars are stealthy ST melee DPS specialists that can debuff and crowd-control enemies.

• Introducing the Burglar: Level 1-20

Here are some guides I found:

• LOTRO Players: A Burglar's Guide to the Quiet Knife
• Dadi's LOTRO Guides: Burglar Guide U19.2
  

Captain

Captains are versatile melee fighters and can fill many roles: tanking, DPS, healing and support. They also have a Herald as a companion/pet.

• Introducing the Captain: Level 1-20
• Captain Stat Priorities
• Captains and Custom Heralds

Champion

Champions are typical melee DPS that can specialise in ST or AOE damage.

• Introducing the Champion: Level 1-20
• Level 50 Champion

Here are some guides I found:

• The Dawnbreakers: Champions Guide 2015

Guardian

Guardians are typical sword-and-board-type tanks.

• Introducing the Guardian: Level 1-20

Here are some guides I found:

• Freetoplaymmorpgs: Arathaert's Guardian Guide
• Freetoplaymmorpgs: Zon's Guardian Guide
• The Bearded Minstrel: TBM's Guide to the Guardian (U21)
• Dadi's LOTRO Guides: Guardian Class Guide (U21.2)

Hunter

Hunters are ranged DPS that use bows and traps. They provide mainly ST damage, with some AOE and crowd-control. They can also transport themselves or a group to many major towns.

• Introducing the Hunter: Level 1-20 (High Elf Edition)
• Travelling around Middle Earth

Here are some guides I found:

• Dadi's LOTRO Guides: Hunter Class Guide U19
• StarShadow: Hunter Solo PvE Build (U22) 

Lore-master

Lore-masters are ranged spell-casters with an animal or spirit pet. They can deal ST or AOE damage and provide buffs and debuffs.

• Introducing the Lore-master: Level 1-20
• Lore-master Stat Priorities
• Level 100 Gear for Lore-masters (2014)
• Comparing Level 100 Armour Sets (2015)
• Lore-master Legendary Titles

Here are some guides I found:

• Bio-break: Nine tips on starting out a new Lore-master
• Rare Breed: Comprehensive Lore-master Guide
• LotRO Cosmetics: Builds - The Lore-master (Level 105) 

Minstrel

Minstrels are primarily healers, but can also provide ranged DPS - using musical instruments!

• Introducing the Minstrel: Level 1-20

Here are some guides I found:

• Dadi's LOTRO Guides: Minstrel Raid Healing Guide
• Freetoplaymmorpgs: Anthems - A Minstrel's Guide
• Andadrien's Closet: Andadrien's Guide to the Minstrel (Post Helm's Deep)

Rune-keeper

Rune-keepers are spell-casters that can fill healing or DPS roles.

• Introducing the Rune-keeper: Level 1-20

Here are some guides I found:

• A Hobbit's Journey: Rune Keeper Class Overview
• LOTRO Forums: Fire Rune-Keeper DPS Best Practices 

Warden

Wardens can be melee or ranged tanks and DPS, and use a combo system to access more powerful abilities. They can also transport themselves to many major towns.

• Introducing the Warden: Level 1-20
• Travelling around Middle Earth

Here are some guides I found:

• LotroLife: Warden Mastery 
• LOTRO Warden Gambits
• LotRO Cosmetics: Builds - The Warden (Level 115)

Single-target DPS Comparisons at Level 20

This is a quick comparison of average single-target DPS between classes based on my results from the Introducing X Class series (see the class guides for more info).

Level 20 results may not be indicative of max-level DPS potential.

Class	Blue Spec	Red Spec	Yellow Spec
Beorning
Brawler	599.9	744.4
Burglar	133.7	116.4	108.1
Captain		91.1
Champion		91.0 (DW)
Guardian		84.0 (2H)
Hunter	202.2	213.4	178.3
Lore-master	162.0	186.5	122.2
Minstrel		106.4
Rune-keeper		70.4	66.5
Warden	56.3	72.4	72.4