From what I read, skirmishes start at 30, which is why you couldn't find a quest starter.

Oh i should've mentioned I do have really high Agility and Ranged Crit

Actually my Agility is way higher than yours at around 550. not that it helps and i have lvl 10 in 3 of the traits i set and lvl9 in the other 2

Pre moria my Hunter rocked and in the intial phases of moria once i hit around lvl58 i was nailing 4400 Heart Seekers periodicaly.

But it was totally random, full focus, beneat notice, hiding in shadows POW 600 wtf, yet in battle getting piunded on with barely enough to do HS and get a 4400 that makes no sense.

and now they nerfed it so if i'm lucky it hits a 1400. Now my hunter doesn't have as high a stats and doesn't own all the cushy gear cause i could give a F about end game shit with everyone grinding for hrs to fight over who gets the coins.

But anyway yeah the skills state lets say for instance 109% ranged damed + 1500 for heartseeker, so how does that add up to 1400 when the bow damage is 100-118 or so./ and trying to get the Advanced Merciful shot deed done is downright agonising. i've managed 120 crits since lvl50 and have been a lvl 60 since 3 weeks after moria came out.

Add to that all the bugs they keep adding and ya can't attack stuff from range more often than not cause it will bug out and or reset when almost dead. Turbine have killed a highly addictive game.

AS for me I played this game not so long ago.

I really liked the movie The Lord Of The Rings. So I am very interested in this online game.
Ryan
Luwow Goldman

Just buy a guide? I didn't have to do all those reputation quests and barter all those items?

Oh wait, you're describing the hunter summoning ability! And I have seen summoning stones in different places too.

Oh, and they do have some superior crafting stuff too, but I can't remember which...

Worth the grind... That is a subjective question, neh? Fast travel to a fun zone is the greatest benefit, in my mind. The Lossoth have all the rep items: special armor, cloaks, recipes and such that other rep houses do. But being able to get there easily is by far the greatest thing for me with limited play time some nights.

For me, I use the milestone in Rivendel, so I go "home" to there: sell, auction, bank... So I am more interested to getting to adventuring areas faster.

BTW, the swift travel from Bree to Forochel needs reputation with the Men of Bree (at least on the Bree end).

What are the other bene's of Forochel Rep? I haven't done it yet, although I've done rep with bree, thorin's, the shire, and rivendell.

is it worth the grind?

I would absolutely love to have a chance to play in the Beta, of course i would also be willing to share my experiences of Moria, and Screenshots, as long as it doesnt conflict with the NDA.
I currently live in Germany (dual citizenship), i've ben playing LOTRO since Beta.

Patch notes really are not a blog. Perhaps an interpretation of what you think of the patch might be better.
-B-

It's been a while since I touched quest hubs of that level... I have a lvl 42 lore-master but I haven't touched him since Forochel was released, too much to do there for my lvl fifites. :)

I recall some places to find quests of appropriate level might be the earth-kin camp in Ram Duath (but since you've already passed deeper into Angmar I guess you've done these), early quests in Aughaire (see above), the quest hub in southwestern corner of Malenhad may be too high unless there's fedex quests. In Misty Mountains you might find some good quests at Gloin's Camp (the dwarf encampment just past Cirith Imladris) and the quests scattered around Rivendell.

I completely forget what level those quests on the western shore of lake Evendim were (the elf camp) so you might want to check it out just in case. It's a place of several quest chains with the last one ending with the very difficult Twisted Heart fellowship quest.

Besides those, you might try setting foot into Tal Bruinen region at lvl 42 to do some of the easy quests (many mobs are still a big threat) and once you hit 44 or so, head to Forochel. You'll really like Forochel by the way, nearly every quest is soloable, as are almost all quest chains. Out of the advertised ~100 quests, beside Epic quest chain, I can remember only six, perhaps eight in all, that are marked as or will require fellowship. Most of those are boss kill quests.

Quests are one of the biggest reasons I play MMOs in the first place (another being exploration). It is the mixture of accomplishment, story and lore, and getting to do something interesting - all aspects which are well served by LotRO. I don't really care about extreme minmaxing, grinding xp and getting to top level, or repeat-raiding for 'phat lewt' until my fingers cramp up. Levels and equipment come on their own pace.

One of the few things that can make me grind is that I'm a cheapskate. I much rather get myself to grand master armoursmith and hunt for beryl shards than pay 5-odd gold for a critted L47 armour piece in the AH.

I also like the challenging battles some quests have. For example the trio of quest-chain enders in Evendim, being Tomb of Elendil, Twisted Heart and Thief-taker's Bane which sadly got nerfed into easy mode. Also, the array of boss battles in Urugarth and Carn Dum: Lagmas, Helchgam, Mordirith, Lhurgien, and so on.

I enjoy doing them because it is so much better than the monotonous grinding of pulling and killing ad nauseum. I get to be part of the game world, interact with it and advance my character at the same time. LotRO has done this well.

It is easy for me to forget to look around while I am playing. I log in with an agenda. Thank you for reminding me to look up. I can just sit and watch the sky in game for hours.

Yeah, mehq's map is pretty good, I use it to find places in a hurry, like that one last location I need to complete an exploration deed. For quests, I generally turn to the official Lorebook at lorebook.lotro.com.

There is one superior crafting spot in Rivendell actually. Master Eldrond's meeting room has superior studies for artisan and master level historian work, plus an expert historian selling required materials.

And yes, it is very good for a high-tier armorer to become Acquaintance with Thorin's Hall. Giving access to both superior forges and superior workbenches in same town, you don't need to travel back and forth to Esteldin to build heavy armour.

I think one of the best things about this game is the community of players. I too really enjoy helping out the lower level players on quests or answering questions. And I really enjoy the overall accpetance there is for different playstyles. And the graphics, WOW, even though I have to play on low settings I often find myself stopping to look around even in places where I have been a thousand times before there is always something I missed.
Thanks Al, for sharing some of the good stuff ! ! !

I highly recommend the following lotro help sites

Best database: http://lotro.mmodb.com/

Best Maps: http://mehq.net/dynmap/index.php

Good Traits Guide: http://mehq.net/dynmap/index.php (Note the creator of this guide has just stopped playing lotro so I don't know if it will continue to be updated)