Of Special Note

The LOTRO Store

The LOTRO Store is now available! You can access the store on the Character Select screen by clicking the LOTRO Store icon. You can also access the Store in-game by either pressing CTRL-S or clicking the LOTRO Store icon located on the user interface (the gold coin at the bottom right). For more information about the LOTRO Store, please see our handy LOTRO Store Guide.

Volume 3: Allies of the King, Book 2: The Ride of the Grey Company

Over the course of Book 1: Oath of the Rangers, you brought word to Aragorn's kin of his need for them in the lands to the south, and the Grey Company was formed. Having sworn to protect the heirs of Isildur, the Dúnedain responded with all haste to the urgent message you brought from Elrond. They gather now in Rivendell and prepare to depart on their journey, and you are invited to travel with them!

Instance Join

For Volume 3: Book 2 we've renamed the Skirmish Join panel to Instance Join panel. Within it are two tabs, Classic and Skirmish. The Skirmish tab has all the functionality of the previous Skirmish Join Panel. The new Classic tab includes every replayable instance in the game, including all instances from Shadows of Angmar through Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood - 39 entries in all! Every 3, 6, and 12 man replayable instance in the game is now accessible through Instance Join.

Classic Instance Scaling

There are now a total of 12 spaces (two Small Fellowships, six Fellowships, three 12-Person Raids, and one 24-Person Raid) that have been upgraded with level scaling technology and will scale from their initial access level all the way to cap. These spaces are: Bree’s Great Barrow, Eregion's School and Library at Tham Mírdain, Annúminas's Glinghant, Haudh Valandil, Ost Elendil, and Misty Mountains' Helegrod.

In the interest of creating better, more accessible spaces, the Great Barrow and Helegrod have been split into several "wings." The Great Barrow now contains 3 fellowship spaces while Helegrod has been split into three 12-person raids, and a final 24-person raid against Thorog. There will be more details about Instance Join and all of the changes and specific upgrades to instances in an upcoming developer diary. Read jwbarry's five part Developer Diary series on Instance scaling and Instance Join.

Skirmishes are now available at level 20!

The Skirmish tutorials can now be completed as soon as a character reaches level 20. Once a character completes the tutorial they will have access to The Siege of Gondamon and Trouble in Tuckborough. The Stand at Amon Sûl Skirmish is now available at level 25.

Because Skirmishes are now available at level 20, Skirmish traits have been adjusted to reflect this! Once you enter the game, all Skirmish Marks spent on traits will be refunded to inventory. Just head to your nearest Skirmish Captain to retrain them. Rank 25 is the new max, and is equivalent in power to the old Rank 20.

Character Creation Revamp

We have revamped the entire character creation process. Some of the more apparent changes include:

• There is now a random name generator available at the Character Create Screen!
• Race select and Class select now occur on the same screen.
• Gender selection has been separated into its own option. It is available for all races except dwarves (after all, nobody can tell the difference between dwarven genders).
• The gameplay options button is no longer present during character generation.fckLR*The "Enter Middle-earth" button is no longer present in character generation. After creation, you will land back on the character select page where you can choose to edit gameplay options or start playing.
• The "Exit Game" button is no longer present in character generation. If you want to quit, you’ll have to go back to character select and quit from there or resort to "Alt-F4".
• The appearance selection screen no longer has both a "Back" and "Exit" button. There is only a "Back" button to return to the race/class selection screen.
• The class/race selection screen has 1 button to exit character generation rather than the 3 buttons that plagued the old race selection screen (Back, Exit, and "Super exit").

In addition, the appearance selection screen in character generation has received a facelift. Origins are now selected from a list rather than a dropdown menu and it is now clearer that your origin selection drives what customization options are available to you.

We have also made it so you now see a numeric value for your different appearance choices so you can easily keep track of which options you like. We have also consolidated the origin and gender-dependent naming suggestions and origin description into one section of the UI, allowing the name entry field to be off on its own.

Wardrobe Cosmetic Storage

The Wardrobe is a shared storage system for cosmetic items. The default storage available is 20 slots, but it may be upgraded by 10 slot increments to a maximum of 50 via the LOTRO Store. The Wardrobe allows you to share any cosmetic item, even if it is bound, across all characters on the same account.

Dropping a cosmetic item into the Wardrobe creates a copy of it; the original will still be on your character. Once an item is added to the Wardrobe it may be equipped directly from the Wardrobe by any character on your account. Simply drag it correctly to the appropriate slot on your character’s paper doll. Multiple characters can use the item at the same time.

In addition, the item may be dyed directly in the Wardrobe. Additional colors do not take up additional storage - they are added to a dropdown list for that item. Experiment! Read the Wardrobe Developer Dairy for more details!

Vault Revamp

We’ve significantly reworked the vault storage system. It now shares the look, feel, and many features of the Shared Storage system. You can read all about the new Vault and the many changes made in the official Vault Changes Developer Diary!

Captain’s Revisions

Captains have received a number of updates and revisions to their Heralds, Banners, Skills and Traits. Graalx2 explains everything you need to know in the Captain Revision Developer Diary.

Quest Guide Update

The Quest Guide is now more colorful on the map! You can change the colors of Quest Guide map indicators by using the “color pickers” that each quest has listed next to its name in the Map’s quest list. Your color choices will be saved between play sessions.

DirectX 11

Players with a DX11 Capable video card and operating system will be able to choose DX11 from the graphics panel. DX11 configuration options are available in the Advanced Graphics Options panel.

Lua Scripting (Beta)

Lua Scripting is now available in LOTRO! Please visit the LOTRO Lua Scripting Forum for full information on Lua and the terms, conditions and limitations of our Beta implementation. Please be aware that Lua Scripting is still considered to be in Beta. As a result we do not provide support for Lua or plug-ins.

It’s the Little Things that Count.

• Thank you to all the players (both US and EU) who contributed ideas for the Fear/Frost Fell-spirits on the forums. Don’t worry if you don't see your particular suggestion implemented, because there will be plenty more monsters in the future where we can draw upon your ideas. Look for these guys in Enedwaith!
• A number of items have had their stack sizes increased.
• The Music system can now be used while mounted. Mount up and /music away!
• All instrument characteristics formerly available at level 5 are now auto-granted to all characters upon creation.

Full Release Notes

General Gameplay

• Addressed an issue where all targets of an AOE attack were using the damage mitigation of the first target of the AOE.
• Fixed an issue with the "Fright" fear debuffs where Skills (i.e.; "Muster Courage") and Potions were sometimes not properly removing the effect.
• Changes to the game required us to put a restriction on the Bree-horse and Bree-pony. This restriction is that the player must first earn "Characteristic: Novice" before they can summon and ride this horse.
• Pet classes under the "Inspired Greatness" effect will once again need a little attention in epic instance spaces.
• The mitigation enhancements that players receive through the "Inspired Greatness" buff have been reduced.
• The healing bonuses given by the "Inspired Greatness" buff have been reduced.
• You can no longer revive after suffering a death by misadventure.
• Super-rare monsters now have more consistent backgrounds for their portraits.
• The client will no longer fail to start in full-screen mode while running DirectX 10.
• The Lore-master skill "Air-lore" should now properly appear in the Lorebook.

Skills/Classes

General

• There have been many changes to the levels at which classes acquire their skills, especially at lower levels.
• Lore-masters, Rune-keepers, and Wardens now display a buff icon and description when they are gaining the benefits of the Minstrel’s "Song of Aid."
• The Burglar's debuffs "Trick: Disable" and "Trick: Improved Disable" as well as the Lore-master's debuffs "Fire-lore" and "Wind-lore" will now debuff mobs fully, as they worked before.

Burglar

• "Mischief" is now usable while mounted.
• "Burglar's Antidote" and "Mischievous Glee" will now have their cooldowns reset by "Ready and Able."
• The description for the Burglar legendary trait "Sweep the Leg" has been updated to clarify that this trait upgrades the "Trip" skill to "Tangle-foot."
• The point costs for the Tier 6 Burglar's Clever Retort legacy has been lowered to its correct values.

Captain

• Captains gain a new skill at level 1,"Sure Strike." It does main hand damage and cannot be blocked or parried. It has a 6 second cooldown.
• Tier 5 and 6 crafted Armaments are now available! It is strongly suggested that Captains acquire a level-appropriate Armament before sending their Heralds into battle.
• The "Shining Star" titles will now affect the damage from the Captain’s skill "Noble Mark."
• The inherent buffs granted by Captains' Standards have been converted to Melee Offence, Maximum Morale and Maximum Power instead of the previous percentage increases.
• The Captain’s Rift set bonus for six items equipped will no longer add Shadow mitigation to the Banners/Standards. Instead the set bonus will add Shadow mitigation to “Motivating Speech.”
• Captain Heralds now have one skill that changes depending on the type of Herald used.
  • Heralds of War do more damage with their Coordinated Strike and they are more likely to use their bigger auto-attack.
  • Heralds of Hope now restore more Morale with Lend Courage.
  • Heralds of Victory will now give some Power back to their Captain with Lend Resolve.
• Captains’ armaments have been converted to grant Armour points to their Heralds. The Armour value added to the Heralds is now displayed on the Armaments.
• The Captain Trait sets “Leader of Men” and “Lead the Charge” have been updated. Some traits have been exchanged between the sets. In addition they have received new trait set bonuses and a considerable change/upgrade to their capstone Legendary Trait.
• The Captain’s “Shield Brother” and “Watchful Shield Brother” skills are now usable while mounted.
• The tooltip description for Captains' “To Arms” and “Strength of Will” now include effect information.
• The point cost of the Captain's “Words of Courage Morale Cost” legacy has been smoothed out to steadily increment as it goes up in rank.

Champion

• “Clobber” has been changed to deliver the induction interrupt at the same time as the damage instead of on a separate attack.
• New skill! “Fear Nothing” is available at Level 46. It removes up to 3 Fear effects from the Champion and adds two Fervour pips. It has a 5 minute cooldown.
• New Legacies!
  • Weapon Pool A: Ferocious Strikes Cooldown - max 15 seconds.
  • Weapon Pool B: Fear Nothing Cooldown - max 90 seconds.
  • Rune Pool A: Dire Need Cooldown - max 10 minutes.
• Champions will now get a visual FX notice and a horn sound when “Controlled Burn” expires.
• The bleeds caused by Champion's Cleave and Rend skills will now stack when applied by multiple Champions.
• Because of changes to the Disarm effect, Hedge will now give a bonus to Parry and enable Parry for a short time, even in Fervour Stance.

Guardian

• Guardians gain a new skill at level 44. “Ignore the Pain” removes up to 3 Wound effects from the Guardian. It has a 5 minute cooldown.
• Scrolls of Empowerment can now be used on all deprecated legacies on Guardian belts.
• Protection is no longer usable on a character already under the effects of “Shield Wall” or “Protection.”
• The bleed effect from “Brutal Assault” added by the “Haemorrhage” trait will now stack completely from other Guardians and the same Guardian.
• Guardians’ “Litany of Defiance” no longer requires a weapon to use, but can no longer be used while silenced.
• Guardians will now receive Block/Parry/Evade events from allies affected by “Protection,” when they are within 10 meters of their ally. The skill’s tooltip has been updated to reflect this.
• Guardian’s “Protection” and ”Shield Wall” skills are now usable while mounted.
• Guardian’s “Shield Wall” skill has had its tooltip updated to state that the target must be a member of your fellowship.
• “Guardian’s Threat,” “Guardian’s Defence,” “Guardian’s Parry,” and “Overpower” now indicate they are stances, not melee skills, in their skill descriptions.
• The trait “Heart of Fire” has had its Critical and Super Critical Defence bonus converted to rating.
• Taunt effect is now generated when using the “Improved Shield-Blow.”
• Fixed FX for Guardian skill ”Shield Taunt” so that the Taunt FX will always play on all targets.
• Guardian’s Legendary trait “Hemorrhage” renamed to use British spelling “Haemorrhage.”

Hunter

• The Hunter now has two new skills!
  • “Blood Arrow,” a ranged attack with significant critical damage, is available at level 44. It costs 3 Focus and uses Morale instead of Power. It has a 10 second cooldown.
  • “Dazing Blow,” a melee attack that dazes the target for 5 seconds, is available at level 48. It has a 1 minute cooldown. This skill receives an upgrade at level 52 that enables it to remove 3 Corruptions.
• The induction set back tooltip for “Needful Haste,” when “Resolute Aim” is traited, now states that it has no effect on “Press Onward.”
• The skill Blindside will now interrupt an induction.

Lore-master

• “Ancient Wisdom” is now usable while mounted.
• “Gust of Wind” now does Frost damage instead of Common damage.
• The “Harmony of Nature” trait has had several revisions:
  • It no longer reduces Power Cost and Induction for “Test of Will.”
  • It now provides Power Cost and Induction reductions to “Burning Embers” and “Lightning-Storm.”
  • The description tooltips have been corrected to state “Fury of Nature Skills” instead of “Nature’s Wrath Skills.”
• The description of the Lore-master’s skill “Blinding Flash” has been updated to indicate that it cannot affect Creatures of Nature or The Dead. Thanks for the bug, Belegweth!
• The traited version of Fire-lore (via the trait “The Study of Fire-lore”) will no longer be overwritten by untraited versions from other Lore-masters.
• The skill "Lightning-storm" will now be available for use when a target has any Lore-master's copy of the "Ancient Craft" debuff on them. (It was previously restricted to your copy of "Ancient Craft".)
• The traited versions of Wind-lore & Gust of Wind (via the trait “The Study of Wind-lore”) will no longer be overwritten by untraited versions from other Lore-masters.

Minstrel

• Mentor skills can now be used while mounted.
• “Song of the Hopeful Heart” is no longer affected by Hope-dispelling attacks like the Balrog’s roar.
• Addressed an issue where Lothlórien instruments were not applying threat reduction properly.

Rune-keeper

• The descriptions for the “Do Not Fall to [Storm|Flame|Winter]” skills have been updated to help clarify the purpose of these skills.
• The description for “Essence of Winter” was erroneously claiming its duration was increased by 10 seconds for each Tier of “Writ of Cold.” The skill was and still is increased by 5 seconds per Tier.

Warden

• The legacy “Javelin Toss Range” has been updated to “Javelin Skills Max Range.” This change was part of the Mirkwood expansion, but the name was not updated.
• “Master of the Spear,” “Master of the Fist,” and “Master of the Shield” now display a quest ring in the trait panel when the associated deed becomes active.
• Wardens can now purchase the travel skill “Muster in Sûri-kylä” from Rusu the Lossoth Supplier in the Great Lodge of Sûri-kylä in Forochel.
• Only attack-based Warden skills trigger auto-attack.
• The Warden Gambit Building skills will now benefit from all power savings that apply to their category of gambits.
  • Quick Thrust benefits from the Spear Carvings and the 2 trait set bonus to the "Way of the Spear."
  • Shield-bash benefits from Shield Carvings and the Efficient Shield work trait.
  • Warden's Taunt benefits from Fist Carvings and the trait set bonus for the "Way of the Fist."

Traits and Deeds

• All Class Traits, Virtues, and Racial Traits will now cost the same amount to re-trait at the Bard. The amount increases every 10 levels until capping at level 40. Class Traits cap at 45 silver pieces.

The Ettenmoors (PvMP)

• Fixed an issue where the Welcome Back Weekend effect was not properly applying in the Ettenmoors. When a Welcome Back Weekend is in effect, the Glân Vraig stable-master will now properly apply the 100% travel discount.
• Stalker’s “Eye Rake” skill now does additional damage when used from behind.
• Weaver’s “Venomous Haze” no longer has an effect on skills with a range less than 15 meters.
• Web effect for the Weaver’s “Web of Earth” skill is now the appropriate size.
• Defiler’s “Curse of Sticky Feet” now applies two separate debuffs to prevent the fire defence debuff from being overwritten alongside the slow debuff.
• Fellowship and Warband Maneuvers can now only be used on PvE targets (monsters/guards).
• Stuns from skills that initiate fellowship or Warband Maneuvers (conjunction stuns) are now on the same diminishing returns counter as regular crowd control effects and share the same duration reductions as standard stun effects.
• The Warg's Claws skill will now have a 1 second cooldown.
• Weaver's “Mephitic Kiss” no longer has an induction. This is now an instant-cast spell with a 20 second cooldown.
• Monster Players now have access to seven new Mitigation perks:
  • Fire
  • Frost
  • Lightning
  • Light
  • Ancient Dwarf
  • Beleriand
  • Westernesse.
• The following skills and items will provide protection from conjunction stuns:
  • Sign of Power: Righteousness (Lore-master)
  • Charge (Reaver)
  • Blood Rage (Champion)
  • Continuous Blood Rage (Champion)
  • Find Footing (Burglar)
  • Purge (Warleader)
  • Resilience (Reaver)
  • Turn the Tables (Guardian)
  • Undying Rage (Orc)
  • Akúlhun's Brand
  • Lainedhal's Insignia
  • Salt of Hartshorn
  • Vial of Aromatic Spirits
  • Odorous Salts
  • Vial of Gundzor's Breath

Skirmishes

General

• Skirmishes are now available starting at level 20!
• The Skirmish Mark formula has been tweaked to give bonus marks to players who play Skirmishes that are higher level than their character level. Previously, a level 65 player in a level 70 Skirmish was gaining no benefit, nor was a level 40 player in a level 50 Skirmish. Now, all players will gain bonus marks if they play in Skirmishes (and Classic Instances!) of higher relative level. There is an upper limit to these bonuses, so don’t start running level 30 characters through level 65 spaces!
• The Pale Trapper Skirmish Lieutenant has added a new tool to his arsenal. He now applies a movement speed debuff before tossing out his traps.
• my.lotro.com’s reporting of time taken to complete a particular Skirmish now reports the time the Skirmish was active until completion, as opposed to the time the player was in the Skirmish from the last time they entered it to the completion of the Skirmish.
• The Elf male Skirmish soldier’s “Long Hair - Wood Elf Warrior” hairstyle has an all new look.
• The Venomous Blood-arrow’s Poison, Disease, and Wound Countdown debuffs have become more deadly.
• Fixed a bug that was causing the initial hit in Skirmish boss battles to cause an extreme amount of threat.
• The following caps are in place for Skirmish Ranks. Players must own the correct region/expansion to gain access to the associated Ranks.
  • Default – Caps at Rank 7
  • Moria - Caps at Rank 15
  • Mirkwood - Caps at Rank 25 (max).
• The Boss fights in the following Skirmishes have been adjusted to make Duo attempts easier:
  • Thangúlhad
  • Dannenglor

Breaching the Necromancer’s Gate

• The gate to the boss arena will open upon Doraz’s defeat.
• Lavalúg no longer has a knockback.

Siege of Gondamon

• The instance quest is now level 30.

Stand at Amon Sûl

• Candaith will no longer lose the “Oppressive Darkness” debuff.

Rescue in Nûrz Gâshu

• Multiple copies of Corunir’s vitals will no longer appear.
• “The Elves of Rivendell” vector quest is now offered by Broderic in the reputation section of Bree-town.
• Golodir no longer regenerates while he is out of combat.

Strike Against Dannenglor

• Rimdeloth will no longer be pulled by those around her.

Protectors of Thangúlhad

• Ballistae stop glowing when they’re not useable and the boss enters.

Ford of Bruinen

• Níngrat’s fire hotspot will now deal more damage on 3-man, 6-man, and 12-man. Don’t stand in the poop, Merric and Goldenstar!

Raids & Instances

General

• Raids now grant more than 1 experience point and 1 item experience point per kill.
• The Lieutenant of Dol Guldur will no longer choose fixated targets to terrify, and the Fell Beast will no longer choose terrified targets to fixate on.
• The fear from the Lt. of Dol Guldur will target players randomly rather than just his aggro target.
• Redesigned the Thorog Boss fight arena.
• Addressed a number of pathing issues in several instances, including Helegrod.

Annúminas Gardens

• Darkwater auras now directly place effects on you. They no longer apply an Apply Over Time that replaces the effect every X seconds.
• Darkwater aura effects are no longer curable.
• Darkwaters no longer disappear into the water during combat.
• Draining Darkwater now does a skill power cost increase.
• Obscuring Darkwater now buffs all evade chances
• Slowing Darkwater was renamed Stimulating Darkwater and now buffs allies with run speed and attack speed buffs.
• Boss 1:
  • Replaced a Darkwater respawn with an Angmarim.
• Boss 3:
  • Removed waves. All Darkwater show up at start of fight.

Annúminas Tombs

• 2 rooms will randomly be empty.

Sword Halls:

• The “Creeping Fires” skill used by “Guldur War-leader” can now be interrupted by skills like Clobber.
• The “Creeping Fires” skill used by “Urcheron” has had its glowy-orange-circle FX removed, as the boss version of this skill CANNOT be interrupted by skills like Clobber.

Legendary Items

• Legacies that add Ratings points will now start at a higher point in their progressions for level 65 items.
• The drop rate of the Level 65, 2nd Age, Legendary Item Crafting Components have been increased wherever they were previously found; new opportunities have been added for these drops in these spaces.
• Due to the changes in point costs for some legacies, the points spent on all Legendary Item legacies for all classes have been refunded.

Monsters and AI

• The range at which monsters detect players has been reduced across the board to improve the playability of camps and landscape.
• Spawn rates on landscape have been increased moderately to make it harder for a few players to wipe out the local population.
• Southern Blade-bearers now only carry bladed weapons.
• The rare Mirkwood skeleton, Naergant, is now properly marked as a “Rare Elite” monster.
• Mirkwood rare spawn Orcs, Bolgbarz and Snakfrum, now have the appropriate rare spawn portraits and tooltips.
• Fiery, Diseased, and Frost Dragonets have had their breath attacks reduced in width in order to match the FX. Thanks for the bug, Pierioc!
• Frost Grims found outside of Forochel will no longer hit you with the Forochel Cold debuffs.
• Monster AI has been tweaked to significantly decrease the chance of being disarmed immediately after having just been disarmed.
• Warg-riders have been reprimanded. They will (for real this time) no longer use their Hamstring/Ride-by-Attack skill until they have been actually attacked.
• Training-Dummies no longer damage players and will now free them from combat after 15 seconds.
• The Ranged Disarm attack used by Mirkwood Orc Skirmishers is no longer useable within melee range.
• The “Corrupting Strength” buffs on the Uruks in Mirkwood (such as the Burzthrang Marauders) can now be consistently dispelled. Thanks to everyone who posted in the “Tiered Corruptions” thread in the Monsters and AI forum helping us track this down!
• The rare Mirkwood Uruk spawn “Durkam” now has the “Rare Elite” portrait and tooltip.
• Mirkwood and Skirmish trolls no longer use the Moria “Momentum” effect during combat.

Crafting

General

• Updated many of the existing reputation item recipes to improve experience rewards, better balance required ingredients used, allow for the use of optional ingredients, and finally to allow the crafter to produce a critical success. The following recipes have been updated with this change:
  • Cook: Seasoned Beef with Cauliflower Recipe, Strawberry Dessert Wine Recipe, Honey-roasted Chicken Recipe
  • Forester: Treated Black Ash Heartwood Recipe, Gossamer Thread Recipe
  • Jeweller: Dwarf-jewel Recipe, Polished Moonstone Recipe, Dwarf-ring Recipe, Dwarf-necklace Recipe
  • Metalsmith: Crest of Vigilance Recipe, Crest of Valour Recipe, Icon of Heroes Recipe
  • Prospector: Ancient Nickel Ingot Recipe
  • Scholar: ‘scholar’s Writ” Recipe, ‘study of the Unknown” Recipe, “Of Mysteries Most Profound” Recipe
  • Tailor: Ranger’s Sash Recipe, Ranger’s Cloak Recipe, Tapestry of Deeds Recipe
  • Weaponsmith: Ceremonial Dagger Recipe, Ceremonial Blade Recipe, Warden’s Sceptre Recipe
  • Woodworker: Wood Figurine Recipe, Viol Recipe, Bree-spear Recipe
• The animation for learning recipes now involves reading a book, not studying a map.
• You can now achieve a critical success on a recipe as soon as you start working on mastery for that tier.
• Added Leather-bound Journals to all Supplier NPC vendors.
• Updated craft panel sub-categories for many Jeweller, Metalsmith, Tailor, Weaponsmith, and Woodworker recipes. The sub-categories now display levels instead of group numbers.
• Recipes directly related to crafting quests will now appear under the “Quest” sub-heading on each profession tab in the crafting panel.
• Updated the descriptions and icon backgrounds for “Cup of Coarse Flour” and “Cup of Blessed Elf-flour” to reflect that these items are no longer used in crafting.
• Updated the descriptions on many Farmer, Forester, and Prospector tools to more accurately state which actions will have reduced durations:
  • Farmer Harvest Duration: Amount of time to harvest a field.
  • Forester Chopping Duration: Amount of time to chop a wood node.
  • Prospector Mining Duration: Amount of time to mine an ore node.

Woodworking

• Major updates for the Woodworker profession, including:
  • New output items with updated stats for virtually all Woodworker weapon recipes (existing crafted weapons have not been changed).
  • Multi-output recipes for every tier of the Woodworker profession.
• Corrected the display name for the “Reforged Hunter’s Hammer of the Second Age Recipe.”
• Improved categories for missile and melee weapon recipes on the Woodworker tab in the crafting panel.
• The target effects used by some Master Woodworking bows, crossbows, and javelins were not consistent between the normal and critical versions of these weapons. The following weapons have had their target effects changed to match the target effects used by their normal/critical counterparts:
  • Exquisite Black Ash Bow
  • Exquisite Black Ash Crossbow
  • Exquisite Black Ash Javelin
  • Reinforced Black Ash Bow
  • Reinforced Black Ash Crossbow
  • Reinforced Black Ash Javelin.

Metalsmith

• Updated and corrected the recipe panel and recipe scroll display names for all Metalsmith’s Guild improved component recipes.
• Corrected spelling of “indispensable” in the description text found on all of the Superior Metalsmith vocation crafting tools.
• Improved categories for heavy armour recipes on the Metalsmith tab in the crafting panel.

Tailor

• The recipes used to create Forochel armor pieces (Ajokoira, Leijona, Great Hoary Aurochs Robe, and Mammutti) have a new multi-output resulting in a purely cosmetic version of the armor.
• Improved categories for light and medium armour recipes on the Tailor tab in the crafting panel.
• Updated the names of the Supreme Tailor Lothlórien cloak recipes and the items they produce:
  • Lothlórien Hooded Cloak of the Preserver Recipe
  • Lothlórien Hooded Cloak of the Stalker Recipe
  • Lothlórien Hooded Cloak of the Sentinel Recipe
  • Lothlórien Hooded Cloak of the Elder Recipe
• Corrected the display names of the following recipe scrolls:
  • Hunter’s Shoes Recipe
  • Superb Hunter’s Shoes Recipe

Farming

• The Gold-fire Pipe-weed Field recipe now requires Gold-fire pipe-weed seeds.
• Expert Farmhand NPCs now sell Gold-fire pipe-weed seeds.

Cooking

• The Honeybrew cooking recipe now provides 8 experience points upon successful creation.
• The following Expert Cook cooked foods now provide the correct levels of power-over-time:
  • Steak and Kidney Pie.
  • Hard Tack Ration.
  • Beef Stew.
  • Strawberry Tart.
  • Superior Steak and Kidney Pie.
  • Superior Hard Tack Ration.
  • Superior Beef Stew.
• Adjusted Cooked Food negative status (poison, wounds, disease, fear) removal effects:
  • Apprentice Cooked Foods: Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 10.
  • Journeyman Cooked Foods: Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 15.
  • Expert Cooked Foods: Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 25.
  • Artisan Cooked Foods: Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 35.
  • Master Cooked Foods: Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 45.
  • Supreme Cooked Foods (normal): Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 55.
  • Supreme Cooked Foods (Lórien): Removes up to one effect, with a maximum strength of 65.

Weaponsmith

• Major updates for the Weaponsmith profession, including:
• New output items with updated stats for virtually all Weaponsmith weapon recipes (existing crafted weapons have not been changed).
  • Multi-output recipes for every tier of the Weaponsmith profession.
  • Improved categories for weapon recipes on the Weaponsmith tab in the crafting panel.
• Corrected an issue where all Supreme Weaponsmith class item recipes for traps, tricks, and shield-spikes were awarding 2 points of crafting experience. These recipes should now all properly award 6 points of crafting experience.
• Updated required ingredients for the following recipes:
  • Steel Sword Recipe
  • Steel Great Sword Recipe
  • Steel Axe Recipe
  • Steel Dagger Recipe
  • Steel Throwing Axe Recipe
  • Updated required ingredients for the following recipes:
  • Westernesse Sword Recipe
  • Westernesse Great Sword Recipe
  • Westernesse Axe Recipe
  • Westernesse Dagger Recipe
  • Westernesse Throwing Axe Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Sword Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Dagger Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Axe Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Great Sword Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Headsman’s Axe Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Halberd Recipe
  • Forged Dwarf-craft Mace Recipe

Jeweller

• Corrected the output items for the “Dawn-rose Ring of Tactics Recipe.” This recipe will now create the proper rings: “Dawn-rose Ring of Tactics” (normal) and “Sublime Dawn-rose Ring of Tactics” (critical).
• Corrected an issue where two retired Expert Jeweller crafted rings were named, “Polished Ruby Ring.” One of these rings (the one that boosts tactical critical rating) has been renamed to “Polished Ruby Ring of Tactics.”
• Improved categories for Jewellery recipes on the Jeweller tab in the crafting panel.
• Reduced the ingot requirement for “Sparkling Edhelharn Token” from 3 to 2.

Scholar

• Updated the Sage’s Lockbox resource node in post-Moria outdoor regions.

Forester

• Updated the Mallorn Wood resource nodes in post-Moria outdoor regions.
• Changed the action displayed in the induction bar when using a wood node to “Chopping...”

Items

• Benefits gained from eating trail foods (e.g. +40 Agility) are no longer overridden by the effects gained from drinking.
• Fixed an issue where the trophy item “Long Horn” was using an incorrect icon background.
• Drownholt Compasses and Scrolls of Renewal are now usable while mounted.
• Housing Decorations: The Ornate Lórien Fireplace now uses the correct Elven appearance instead of the Bree appearance.
• Fixed a typo in the description of the Gift of the Journeyman gift box.
• Tomes of Fortitude and the Fortitude perk now correctly state the increase in common mitigation instead of increased armour.
• All the gifts provided to players can now be used while mounted.
• All food will now modify In-Combat Regeneration ratings instead of pulsing a heal or power restore every 30 seconds.
• Glistening Elf-Stone of Hand/Strength/Resolve can only be exchanged in Caras Galadhon. References to Echad Andestel have been removed from the tooltips.
• Manuals used to learn the playing of new instruments are now usable while mounted.
• Updated the visual appearance of the following shields:
  • Elven Knight’s Shield
  • Ornate Elven Knight’s Shield
  • Elven Knight’s Light Shield
  • Superior Elven Knight’s Light Shield
  • Elven Knight’s Heavy Shield
  • Hardened Elven Knight’s Heavy Shield
  • Elven Soldier’s Heavy Shield
  • Hardened Elven Soldier’s Heavy Shield.
• Fixed typos in the display names of the following two items:
  • Sealed Symbol of Vigour
  • Symbol of Vigour
• The following items have had their stack sizes increased to 50:
  • Curing Salves
  • Pipeweed
  • Dyes
  • Nordirith
  • Ringdirith
  • Ruindirith
  • Lachdirith
  • Virtue Potions
• Thrown daggers and axes now stack to 100.
• Potions of Nordirith, Ringdirith, Ruindirith, and Lachdirith now have a duration and cooldown of 60 minutes. They no longer expire when defeated.
• Nûkhud’s Ruin’s damage susceptibility debuff has been changed from “Light” to “Beleriand” to match the weapon’s damage type.
• The potions that increase your Virtue rank now have a duration and cooldown of 60 minutes. They no longer expire when defeated.
• When biting into a Peppermint Pattie, you will now gain the effect "Minty Fresh Breath." (Still with us?)
• Items that grant you mount skills will now auto-consume as long as you meet the requirements of the item. If you do not meet the requirements the item will remain in your pack.
• All non-Taxidermy barter items now have no coin value so they may not be sold at vendors by accident.
• The following barter items can no longer be sold to vendors:
  • Guide to Mirk-eaves
  • Muster in Mirk-eaves
  • Galadhrim Steed
  • Galadhrim Pony
• Corrected a number of typos and grammar issues found in the display names and tooltip descriptions for the Expertise and Bulk recipes available from Skirmish reward vendors.
• Corrected typos in the descriptions of the following items:
  • Strawberry Tart
  • Jar of Mint Sauce
  • Carrot Sticks
  • Durin Figurine
  • Dúnedain War-steed
• Corrected the spelling of “Grayling” in the item name and description.
• Malledhrim weapons of Warding/Defense now use the correct weapon effects for the type of damage they do (Westernesse).
• Golden Host weapons of Warding/Defense now use the correct weapon effects for the type of damage they do (Westernesse).
• Changed the visual appearance of the Dwarven Shield of Battle to a more dwarven look.
• The following items were conferring slightly more maximum power than intended, and have been adjusted to provide less maximum power:
  • Stone-reader’s Robe
  • Shirt of the Mighty Verse
  • Word-smith’s Robe
• “Dulcimer Musical Cracker” now uses the appropriate graphics and animations.
• Stacks of Gunderic’s Ale now have the correct name on the tooltip.
• “Mammutti Shoulder Guard Recipe” description has been updated with multi-output text.
• The Spring-flinger Hat can now be dyed.
• Item and effect descriptions for “Essence of Toad” have been revised to use the same terminology.
• The item description for “Essence of Toad” item description now explains that it causes nearby players to faint.
• Lórien Field Bandage’s On Use description changed to “Restores 50% of maximum morale” from “Adds 50% of maximum morale”
• “Silver Ring,” “Shining Silver Ring,” “Glittering Silver Ring,” and “Brilliant Silver Ring” icons have been updated to match the style of other crafted items.
• “Shoes of Barahir” now correctly refer to Barahir as a hero of “Men” not “Elf.”
• “Heavy Padded Shoes,” “Heavy Leather Shoes,” and “Superb Leather Shoes” recipes were incorrectly named “boots.” They have now been changed to “shoes.”
• Woodworker Galadhrim Minstrel Instruments now require the player to be a Minstrel to use them. This change does not affect previously crafted instruments.
• Item descriptions for “Deadly Caltrops,” “Large Bag of Marbles,” and “Overpower Stun Dust” have been updated to reflect that these items are most effective against monsters of level 55 or lower.
• Corrected “medly” typo in “Pouch of Fine Seasonings” description.
• Fixed a typo in the description of the “Gloves of Dismantling” found in Moria. Thanks for the bug, Dwerin!
• Sigileth’s Daggers (Volume 2: Book 9 reward) now look like the daggers Sigileth used. (They look much cooler now!)
• Taxidermy barter items can no longer be sold to vendors.
• In an effort to improve on inventory space, trophy drops from monsters (the “vendor trash” you sell for coin) have been *significantly* condensed. Example: Instead of dropping “intestines,”, Boars will now drop “skins” which can stack with the “skins” you get from other mobs, such as wolves. In addition, we've increased the Stack Size of all of these trophies from 10 to 50.
• The Moria Keg can now be removed from housing even by players who haven't bought Mines of Moria.

Questing

Volume I

• Removed errant billboards popping up in Book 4, Chapters 2 and 3 and Book 3, Chapter 5 of Volume I.
• Book 1, Chapter 15 of Volume I will no longer auto bestow to characters. This will allow them to read the text for the next quest in the epic story.
• In Book 4, Chapter 2 of Volume I, players could end up in a state where they had not yet finished the quest and still required Inspired Greatness. This has been fixed. We still advise against defeat after approaching the deceased Nazgûl horse.
• The Volume I: Book 14, Chapter 6 session play skill “Archer’s Strike” has had its description updated to state that the skill “Elven Enemy” is a pre-requisite for use.
• The door at the end of the Volume I, Book 12 Chapter 9 instance should now open properly.

Volume II

• Adjusted Malendol to be less likely to get the attention of wandering foes in Volume II: Book 9, Chapter 6.

Other

• Quest: Nefi’s New Setting - Corrected NPC dialogue for this quest; it should now only refer to “Glittering Copper Necklace.” Also updated quest to require the correct version of the “Glittering Copper Necklace,” which can be crafted by Apprentice Jewellers.
• Quest: Request - Ruby Rings of Willpower - Updated NPC dialogue and quest text; they should now only refer to “Ruby Ring of Willpower.” Also updated quest to require a “Ruby Ring of Willpower,” which can be crafted by Expert Jewellers.
• Quest: Verity Tyne Has Lost Her Ring - Changed one of the selectable quest rewards for this quest from 4 Cups of Coarse Flour to 4 Cups of Spring Barley Flour.
• Quest: Weapons for Leighton Howard - Changed the fixed quest reward for this quest from 6 Cups of Coarse Flour to 6 Cups of Spring Barley Flour.
• Quest: Impure Waters - Changed selectable quest reward #1 from “Roast of Heroes” to "Stew of Kings.”
• Quests which gave you a choice of several people to talk to (such as A Tour of Bree) no longer show a quest ring over the head of the person you didn’t talk to after a logout.
• Reclaiming the Homeland - The quest text has been changed to indicate that you must kill Feoc near Voi-teltta. Additionally, the radius in which he may be killed was increased.
• Lowered the level of some of the Breeland Reputation quests.
• Added XP to a number of the repeatable Forochel quests.
• We have removed the restriction for the epic story quest “Protected by the Eglain’' that required players to obtain acquaintance reputation with the Eglain before advancing the quest. This aspect of the quest will be added back in when we provide a secondary solution to gaining the reputation needed in the Lone-lands.
• All quests out of Oatbarton, the area of the Shire being wholly in Evendim, are now part of Evendim.
• The quest that directs players into the Ettenmoors is not available to Free or Premium players. You must be a VIP to access the Ettenmoors.
• A typo in the level 40 quest directing burglars to their trainer was causing an error to occur. This has been fixed.

Quest Guide

• Fixed an issue with the Quest Guide where an inside location was not being properly translated to the entrance for that location.
• Fixed an issue with the Quest Guide where two rings were appearing for the following quests:
  • Volume I: Book 3, Chapter 6.
  • Volume I: Book 15, Chapter 2.
  • Volume I: Book 15, Chapter 3.
  • Volume I: Book 15, Chapter 4

Loot & Quest Rewards

• Some quest rewards have been updated so that all rewards are of the same quality. Players that completed these quests and chose the lower quality items will now have an upgraded version.
• Reduced the quality of some quest rewards to ensure consistency between all rewards. Items previously earned from these quests have not been altered in anyway, but completion of the quests henceforth will provide the new lower quality reward.
• Inscription of Benefits now provides a 10% discount at all Lothlórien vendors including expert craft vendors.
• All rewards for the “Orcs of Blood Mountain” quest are now of Rare quality.
• Ered Luin rare spider spawns, Burzrit and Azuzol, now drop Sapphire Shards.
• Naglangon, the rare spawn drake in the North Downs, now drops an Adamant Shard.
• Updated the names of lootable Legendary Item Experience and Item Wear tomes to match the names of the store items.
• Updated the minimum level requirement of lootable Experience (5) and Legendary Item Experience (51) tomes.

Town Services

• Rusu, the Lossoth Supplier in the Great Lodge, now sells cosmetic versions of the Forochel cloaks.
• Malenfang, Ranger of Esteldin vendor, now sells the sword “Comagol” to those with Kindred reputation.
• Some class skill trainers were refusing to help you train skills unless they also had a quest for you to do. They’ve been reprimanded. Reginald Ward (the lost captain in Forochel) has publicly apologized and promises to speak to his fellows.
• Suppliers now sell yeasts, buckets of water, and fertilizers.
• The Eglain Barterer, Freagyr, now offers the “Sword of the Eglan-Defender” without class restrictions.
• Warden trainers should now sell the Scholar profession recipe scroll “Pure Light-oil Recipe.”
• Fixed a bug that was preventing mounted bartering with the following vendors:
  • Craft trophy traders Bungo and Bill Brockhouse
  • Trophy broker Taddyn
  • Barter merchant Laenin The Glade Watcher
• Legendary Item barterers have had the “Runic” profile filter name changed to “Relics”.
• Tully Hopwood, Men of Bree vendor, no longer offers level 35+ weapons and instruments for "Friend" standing. He now has a suite of level 20 weapons and instruments.
• Tad Leafcutter, Men of Bree barterer, no longer offers level 45+ items for "Ally" and "Kindred" standing. He now has a suite of level 30 items. Additionally, he now offers level 20-30 potions instead of level 50+.

Graphics/Animation/FX/Sound

• When blowing the horn to summon Lieutenants, the animation now aligns the horn with the avatar’s mouth while in motion.
• Hobbits will no longer play bagpipes with their noses. They will now be more appropriately positioned to the mouth.
• It is no longer possible to be stuck in the /liedown or /faint emote.
• Spears that have a Slayer effect will now glow while sheathed if nearby an appropriate monster.
• Angmarim crossbowmen have received additional instruction with their weapons. They now know which end of the weapon is which and will no longer point their bow-strings at you.
• Enable Combat Particle Response Indicators are now on by default.
• The Drunk FX from the Sinister Keg in the Hedge Maze will no longer go away when any pre-existing Drunk FX expires. Thanks for the bug, Alastrine!
• Water in Moria, specifically the Flooded Deeps and the Waterworks, will now splash properly and sound like water when you run through it.
• The “distant imposter” system has been completely overhauled. Quality has been improved across the board.
• Corrected numerous Induction FX inconsistencies where either:
  • The induction FX were visible, but the induction could not be interrupted (via skills like Clobber and Stamp).
  • The induction FX were not visible, but the induction could be interrupted (via skills like Clobber and Stamp).
  • The proper FX were added/removed as needed.
• Shields will no longer be visible while mounted.
• Elven female Hunters will now actually hold their arrows when they pull their bows.
• Minstrels will no longer hold their fishing rods while playing music.
• Sorrowful Shades now have the correct appearance.
• Combat Particle Response Indicators will no longer display until your character is high enough level to have a response skill. For Example: A guardian does not display the Parry Combat Particle Response until level 8 when the Guardian can learn Retaliation.

User Interface

• When you learn a new skill, the shortcut will be automatically placed in the first available quickslot spot even if you have locked them.
• All hotkey-accessible quickslot bars will now default to always displaying. You can disable this behavior in the quickslots options panel.
• When talking to a barter NPC, the “Barter” button will show a tooltip whenever it’s disabled, explaining why it’s being disabled.
• The Destiny Point Perks display now shows a tooltip when the player can’t buy a perk, explaining why they can’t buy it.
• There are two new customizable buttons on the right hand side of the main toolbar, to the right of the bag icons. As a result, the toolbar button default mappings have been changed:
  • The Online Help button on the left has been changed back to a System Menu button.
  • The bag buttons have been shifted to the right by two slots into the new buttons.
  • The leftmost right hand button (used to be bag 1) is now Online Help. The second button opens the Instance Join panel.
• The Deed Log has been changed so that if the deed information can’t fit on the screen everything will scroll to make the rewards list more visible.
• The error message received when trying to send a kinship mail too soon after another one has been fixed. It will no longer claim that you were the one that sent the offending mail.
• The tutorial hint about loot type for your fellowship will no longer appear every time you log in while already in a fellowship.
• The Auction House UI’s disabled buttons will now show tooltips explaining why they are not usable. For example, if the Bid button is disabled because you already are the highest bidder on the auction, the tooltip will tell you that.
• If your standing with a reputation faction has dropped, you will no longer see a tooltip saying it rose.
• The Dread effect tooltip has been changed from “Angmar’s Doom” to “The Enemy’s Doom.”
• The Vocation Panel will no longer reference professions when opening it before having trained a vocation.
• This one goes out to our Lore-master brethren! Stun, Daze, Knocked Down, and Knocked Out effect icons will now be visible on your fellowship members’ vitals UI when you have “show Dispellable Effects Only” active.
• The “Only accept tells from friends, fellows and kinship” option has been renamed to “Restrict Incoming Tells” and now allows someone to send a tell to you even if they aren't on the friends, fellows, and kinship lists if you sent them a tell recently.
• The dialog that appears when you are defeated, offering the choice for “revive” or “retreat now,” allows you to put it in the background behind other windows.

Travel/Maps/Radar/Mounts

• The mount vitals now include a dismount button for ease of dismounting.
• You are no longer dismounted from a stable mount when a spar request timer runs out.
• Addressed an issue where you would fall through your horse when using a skill you don’t have enough power for.
• Candaith’s travel route is now open forever, once you reach Chapter 6 of Book 2.
• Dismounting while you are in the air no longer makes you stop falling and carefully get off your horse before continuing to fall.
• The Festival Horse race quests are now available to players of all levels who have the basic riding trait, and are no longer gated by level 35.

Auctions

• Champion Legendary Weapons now use the correct Auction Hall stat categories.

Emotes

• There's a new emote that can be unlocked during the Fall Festival this year!
• The Hug emote is now allowed while mounted. So mount up and /hug it out!