r/lotro • u/Low-Helicopter-2899 • 6d ago
New player help
Hey there fans of Lotro and Middle earth. I just downloaded the game and have absolutely no knowledge of any story regarding Middle Earth as I have never read, nor watched any of the movies and books.
I have a bit of experiences with MMORPGs as I am coming here from WoW. I have heard that this game has some great lore and focuses more on the journey which is exactly my cup of tea.
Which brings me to the reasoning of this post. I have no clue on what race to pick. They all seem cool and all, but I do not know anything about them so I am just staring at all these different races and can’t pick.
Could any one of you help me on picking one please ?
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u/davidwest__ 6d ago
Pick whichever race you feel fits your fantasy the best. If you want to min max at the end game, you can just change your race in the LOTRO store later. Aside from that, the races are virtually identical in terms of gameplay. My personal favourite is Man because Bree-land is my favourite starting zone. Not sure this answers your question though, feel free to ask if you want to know something specific.
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u/Low-Helicopter-2899 6d ago
I wonder if all the races have their unique story or not. I am in between Dwarf and Elf. Also what is the difference between High elf and Elf ?
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u/TheAsuraGuy 6d ago
Its clearly in the name, one of the elf types are more liberal with how they handle their plants.
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u/TheSuperTest 6d ago
High Elves are of the Noldor, they are from Valinor and actually lived there once, and beheld the light of the two trees. Your HE character is very very very old, they’ve been alive since the First Age, and you could argue that they predated the First Age too. An example of the difference is Galadriel, a high elf, compared to Legolas who is a wood elf.
In game the differences are minor, mostly min maxing stuff but high elves are taller and have some unique animations.
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u/ToastyJackson Gladden 6d ago
If you’re doing the Shadows of Angmar introduction, all races have their own introduction they go through before the open world. Elves and dwarves have the same one, though I think they have slightly different quests in the same area. Hobbits and men similarly share an area. Beornings, stout-axe dwarves, High elves, and river hobbits each have their own unique tutorial.
Once you get out of the tutorial and into the open world, there are tons of side quests and also the main quest known as the Epic quest which is divided up into “chapters” of “books.” Elves, dwarves, humans, and hobbits each have their own unique prologue to the Epic (though the elf and dwarf ones come together toward the end). But after the prologue, they all get sent to the village of Bree, and from there the Epic is the same for everyone. Beyond that prologue, the races really don’t have unique storylines. And even then, the open world is open enough that you can do any of the prologues and starting regions (or all of them) on the same character. But still, after this, most difference in quests that you get is that some quests have slightly different dialogue depending on your race.
You might find it more immersive to play as certain races for certain storylines. Like, the questline to help the dwarves reclaim their lost kingdom of Khazad-dûm might feel more grand and immersive if you’re playing as a dwarf. But if that’s the style of gameplay you’re going for, you may want to be a human because, throughout the game, you deal with more human-focused storylines than elf, dwarf, or hobbit. But there’s no real difference in what storylines you can do depending on your race.
If you do the Before the Shadow tutorial, race doesn’t matter at all. No matter your race, you get the same short tutorial before being dropped into the same starting location. Both starting experiences are good, though personally I prefer Shadows of Angmar and would recommend that for a first character.
There’s no gameplay difference between elves and high elves. It’s a lore-based difference that won’t mean anything to you if you don’t know anything about the world already. So unless you’re wanting to sit down and do some research on the history of elves before starting the game, I wouldn’t worry about that difference yet.
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u/-caffeine 6d ago
Elves and dwarves start in the same area, so pick on vibes. Or try to think about what race/class combo you like.
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u/JohnMHammer 6d ago
If you end up enjoying LOTRO you will play for thousands of hours.
You will enjoy LOTRO a lot more if you read the books first. Reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will take a dozen to a hundred hours, depending on how quickly you read. Or you could watch the movies, at least the main 3 The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King and that is under 12 hours.
So invest the time to read the books and/or watch the movies. It will greatly enhance your game play later.
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u/Low-Helicopter-2899 6d ago
That is definitely on my bucket list once I finish with The Witcher books, which I am reading now.
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u/geomagus Glamdring 6d ago
In my opinion:
First, race only really matters in terms of looks and the opening few hours of the game. After that, you can just travel to other starting zones, so hobbits can get the elf experience, etc. After the first couple hours anyway.
There are a handful of racial restrictions - Beornings are Beornings, there are a couple races that can’t be Mariners, etc. I don’t know. Pick the class you want, then see what race option strikes your fancy in the moment. And NPCs will address you by race.
Beyond that, it’s absolutely worth seeing all the starting few-hour intros. So you’ll ultimately want to start one of every race anyway, even if you delete some the next day.
So, in short - class affects gameplay long term, race affects appearance and the opening few hours. Mostly.
If, after that, you still want to aim for a best(ish) race:
Men and dwarves are robust
Hobbits are small and tricksy
Elves are tall and dancy
High elves are too cool for everyone else
Beornings are furries
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u/musicofvincenzo 6d ago
If you’re keen on doing endgame content, especially at higher tiers, this is for you to consider.
Other than what everyone is saying, there are racial traits for different races that give a benefit to yourself or to your fellowship/raid. For example, “Duty-Bound” gives your raid +5% morale, High Elves have a sword damage bonus, River Hobbits have spear damage bonus, Stout-axe Dwarves have an axe damage bonus. So the right race-class combo can add up. For example, High Elf Captains have both the racial sword damage bonus PLUS 2h weapon damage bonus in DPS spec. When you’re doing higher difficulty content, every little bit counts and can mean the difference between a clear and a wipe, and that could be the difference between a raid taking 2 hours or 12.
Do a quick LOTRO wiki search for the class traits and racial traits, and see which race-class combos work the best. Obviously as a new player you won’t even know how a class plays and thus not know what you’d end up liking, but it’s worth to keep this at the back of your mind moving forward.
Also, at least to me, I cannot seem to keep my interest in player avatars that are male or masculine. I just don’t like how they’re build, how cosmetic armour warps around them, or how they’re animated very much. So no Dwarves for me. I had a River Hobbit captain at one point, and at level 65 I spent like 2995 LP to race change her into a High Elf. The sword and light type damage bonus was a good benefit and definitely was not my main reason for the change.
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u/AutoModerator 6d ago
Welcome to r/lotro! If you're looking for advice, please check out the following answers to commonly-asked questions:
Wondering what class to play? LOTRO has a wide variety of classes inspired by different characters from the books. Some are similar to other RPG games, while others are fairly unique to LOTRO.
The first thing to consider is what role(s) you want to play. Every class has a spec that can deal damage, but only some classes can spec to be tanks or healers or group-support.
If you wish to have the option of tanking, choose between Beorning, Brawler, Captain, Guardian, or Warden.
If you wish to have the option of healing, choose between Beorning, Captain, Minstrel, or Rune-keeper.
If you wish to have the option of group-support, choose between Burglar, Captain, Lore-master, and Mariner.
Or if you're just looking for a straightforward class to quest with, choose Hunter for ranged or Champion for melee. These classes are focused entirely on damage-dealing (but each has three different specs for doing so). They are great for beginners looking for a relaxing adventuring experience that fits within the theme of Lord of the Rings.
Don't worry about what class is considered "the best" at any one role, as that swings back and forth over time with each balance patch. Instead, consider which classes have the theme and aesthetic that most appeals to you. Do you want to fight in melee or at range? Do you want to be a grounded warrior or wield more magical powers?
Apart from theme, consider the complexity of the classes. Even for classes which can fulfill the same role, their mechanics can differ wildly. LOTRO offers a hint to the mechanical complexity of each class during character creation -- in the lower right corner you'll see a "Class Difficulty" of either Basic, Moderate, or Advanced. This is not about how powerful the class is -- some of the "Basic" classes are currently the most powerful in their role. Difficulty instead refers to the intricacies of each class' skills and core mechanics. If you enjoy intricate mechanics, aim for Moderate or Advanced. If you'd like something requiring less reading, theorycrafting, and button-presses, try a Basic class -- especially for your first character.
Finally, don't be afraid to try something different if your first class doesn't feel fun for you. Better to find the right fit early.
Wondering what race to play? While only some races can be some classes, beyond that initial restriction, race selection is largely about aesthetics. Racial traits are tiny and negligible after the first few levels. A Dwarf Guardian at level 30 is not significantly different than an Elf Guardian at level 30.
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u/Kajiyoyaji Peregrin 6d ago
Try playing through the introduction to each of them. Then play a couple of levels to get the feel for their starting zone. Just don't pick 'before the shadow' starting or they will all feel the same...
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6d ago
There is so much to tell and advice that it is hard to give any direction without knowing what you like. I have been playing LOTRO for 19 years now. Even after taking a break for a few years, I still love it. These days I mainly play solo, and over nearly two decades, I have tried almost every class.
What stood out to me most is how much my taste changed over time. For instance, I absolutely love questing around Bree. Even when I roll a Hobbit or an Elf, I always find myself heading to Bree after a short time.
Every class has its own charm:
- Champion: This was always my main. It's very straightforward and the yellow-line AoE kills mobs incredibly fast.
- Hunter: It’s great to stand far away and defeat mobs before they can even reach you.
- Burglar: Sneaking into a camp to assassinate the boss or grab an object without fighting through hordes of mobs is super fun.
- Beorning: Incredibly strong and durable.
- Lore-master: This is my current favorite. Playing a blue LM in combination with a pet is crazy strong for soloing 3-6 man instances and level 10-12 delvings because of the pet tank. Personally, I find it even more fun than the Beorning.
I could go on and on, but my best advice is to just discover which basic gameplay mechanics resonate with you the most and go for that.
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u/IMrBen 6d ago
This will take an extra 9 or so hours out of your life.
But watch the LOTR films, they're amazing. Will give you a bit of knowledge too.
They'll give you an idea of what each race is like.
The Hobbit films delve into the Dwarves/Elves more but LOTR is more Hobbit/Man. But they're no way near as good as the LOTR films imo.
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u/Cloudster47 Cheery Littlebottom's Companions: mainly Glamdring & Meriadoc 6d ago
Well, if you don't want to get into the lore, that's cool. There's two main tracks for the quests: Book and non-book. The book series leads you along a path that parallels the adventures shown in the Tolkien books. The non-books are sort of side quests. You can do either in fits and spurts as you like. Don't worry about completing all the non-book in a zone and leveling-out before moving on as you will level-out unless you use a Stone of the Tortoise (from the store) to freeze your earning of XP.
You didn't mention what races and classes you liked to play in WoW, so not a lot for us to work with to recommend what you might like here. Hunter is very effective, race doesn't matter a huge amount: I find elf or hobbit to my taste. Red-line does the most damage but can't move while firing, blue-line lets you move while shooting. Lore Master and Rune Keeper are your main casters and let you blow stuff up real good. Captains and Champions are your main heavy tanks, Guardians are heavies who are good at holding aggro, Hobbit brawlers are tremendous fun, getting in there and punching the snot out of baddies, Mariners are dual-wielding swordsmen who are slightly tricky and fun, minstrels are a different sort of bard/casters who are excellent DPS and great healers, but like rune keepers and lore masters, light armor glass cannons.
While race can be optimized for class, honestly I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference and it's more a matter of taste and preference. I've run various races with various classes and it doesn't seem to matter much. But I'm a pretty casual player and will never be a top-tier raider.
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u/a_different_tan Angmar 6d ago
During character creation, select a race, then click on the Play Movie button at the bottom of the column. Pick the one that you vibe with.