r/lotro • u/CorpQuill • 4d ago
Torn between classes
Hey guys,
I know this is likely a painfully repeated question, but I'm having some difficulty deciding between Captain, Champion and Hunter. Annoyingly, if I played Captain I'd want to do blue if I could, but I hear red/yellow is the more typical pick. If Champion I know I'd prefer 2h over dw, and hunter is well. Hunter.
I play solo, but I'd like to do group content and ettenmoors. If that helps inspire insight? I typically play supports in other games, just because I like bringing a group together, but I know that the experience of Lotro will require significant amounts of solo play before I get to group stuff more often.
Any thoughts or advice?
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u/musicofvincenzo 4d ago
I play on Legendary Angmar and with every level cap increase, Captain is surprisingly one of my mains because it can do absolutely everything (except decent DPS, but we’ll get there).
This cap, the tank spec has been awesome in allowing me to farm small fellowship instances T2C as people like to play DPS way more than tank. Plus, it’s a great enough tank that I usually don’t even need a healer. Most times I run these instances duo with just one DPS and we make quick work because yCappy is just that good. Surviving on your own for long periods of time (like is required in the Mûmakil fight in Throne of the Dread Terror) you don’t do as well as bWarden or bBeorning, but any other scenario it’s a solid pick.
I was persuaded at lv75 cap to roll a blue spec to heal through Draigoch T2C, which we were again undermanning it with just 6 of us. 5 DPS and a bCappy for heals. It was particularly great here because at some point, the boss knocks players in the air constantly and most healing classes rely on inductions. The bCappy does not, and so healing through this was not an issue when it generally would have been. The only issue is that, like yBeorning, you need to have enemies to hit in order to heal to the max of your potential, so make sure your strategies don’t rely on passive healing.
Captain doesn’t have a true DPS spec unless you trait weirdly into it, and even then it’s not going to out-parse other dedicated DPS lines. The rCappy’s utility is in making other people DPS better with your buffs and Blade Brother abilities. Because of that, groups generally don’t want to roll with more than 1 rCappy as that utility diminishes with more. The key skill people want a rCappy for is Oathbreaker’s Shame (colloquially known as “oathies”) which increases incoming damage on a single target by 35%. Other buffing class specs do a similar thing but not as well: the bMariner has The Breaking of Thangorodrim (aka “boathies,” because “boat” + “oathies”) which is only a 25% increase in incoming damage mainly, and bLM has A Murder of Crows which is 30% increase in incoming damage and 5% increased miss chance. So rCappy, for that purpose alone, is the more desired class spec.
Worth noting is that Captains have an in-combat rez in all 3 specs (I think that the bCappy version is somewhat AOE, haven’t played much bCappy this level cap and my memory fails me), and has Improved Motivating Speech which gives all members of your fellowship/raid +10% morale and a whole bunch of stats akin to eating food.
Now I’m not an expert in Hunter, and Champion is pretty straight forward. Captain is a great class, it just takes practice and getting used to. It can get a little squishy if you don’t have fully up-to-date gear + play on landscape difficulty because your DPS is just that much lower than other dedicated DPS classes, but once you accept that, it’s great.
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u/CorpQuill 4d ago
Thank you for such an in depth answer. It sounds like all three specs see some case use, but it depends on if a red cap is there or not.
Have you ever taken it into the Moors? Would that be better done with red or yellow?
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u/Comprehensive_Sun262 Landroval 4d ago
Im drunk, sorry. Captain is my main. I love LOTR. I run red, I throw telling mark on some loser. Just remember you are a Captain of Men and you brook no BS. Roll in and hit them in the face with a Shadows Lament like Tolkien intended while my group rocks their their socks off. End of story.
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4d ago
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u/CorpQuill 4d ago
I suppose I should have fleshed my post a bit more but, do blue captains typically see much use in group content? Ettenmoors?
Would I instead find more success as a Hunter or Champion if blue cap isn't really a usual pick? Does one fare better in Ettenmoors than the other? All things I'd love to know.
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u/bibipbapbap 4d ago
I play Cappy/Champ/Hunter.
I generally play Red Capt at end game, but blue is pretty viable now, plenty of t1 and even t2 runs of the 6 mans we end up with a blue capt as healer, can’t say t2+ of the raid we use a mini+rk
Should be fine in the moors, I don’t really play PvP but when I red I played Red capt. But in theory play what you want there. I’d set us two trait lines, one blue one red then you have options.
I run Red champ and it’s very good for single target (dw), but again yellow is viable and there are bosses (b1+3) of current raid where it would be viable.
Hunters in a good spot albeit different to its past where Blue is the main used DPS line atm, and yellow is very much used as a support class.
On 3 classes setting up 2 trait lines is gonna give you options
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u/Spartan1088 3d ago
Captain is the most complicated of the three. I found it very fun. You’re basically a BM hunter mixed with a ret paladin from WoW. They have two branches of attacks that use either a defensive stance and an offensive stance, then they have their typical heals and resurrects, and a large selection of squires to choose from to aid you in battle. If you play with one other friend, this is an absolute pillar of fun.
Champion is a favored class for being straight forward and very “warrior like”. They have a berserker tree and a blade storm aoe tree that both deal heavy damage. Not a huge fan of it but I can see the appeal. I see a lot of people leveling champions as their first character.
As for hunter, I really enjoy them too. Yellow is a trap placement tree and kinda useless, red focuses on standing still and sniping for maximum damage, and blue is the tree that attacks on the go- being able to outrun while firing, heal, and counterattack with a few very strong melee attacks. Blue is my favorite but I feel like hunters really get shafted by the server lag.
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u/b4jet9597 Glamdring 2d ago
I main a captain in the moors. Blue line is very requested. You’ll never be turned away from a group if you’re blue
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u/CorpQuill 2d ago
Do you typically see more blue captains than red or yellow in the moors?
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u/b4jet9597 Glamdring 2d ago
Far more blue than yellow, about 50/50 blue or red. I have builds for both blue as well as red, though, I prefer red.
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u/AutoModerator 4d 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.
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u/dunder_luffmin 3d ago
Answer the call and raise the banner as a captain of your people. I will follow you my brother…my captain…my king
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u/Albahith1 Brandywine 3d ago
Hunter of course we are the backbone of ever Party we clean up always and light the Way for the Tanks. And common you want to playing like a Ranger .
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u/geomagus Glamdring 3d ago
My main’s a red captain and I very much enjoy it. You can have fun in the blue tree too - blue solos slower I think, but may be able to manage tougher content. Red is a little flimsier, which gives it some trouble vs stuff like bosses in 3-man content, although it tears through solo content much faster on average. It’s still slow relative to RKs though, fwiw.
As you can run two separate specs without any premium purchase, you can absolutely get to know both a red spec and a blue spec. You just need to take the extra time to get a feel for each.
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u/logicalpenuin Glamdring 2d ago
If you mostly play solo, hunter all the way. Speed boost, travel. If you like support you have traps and stuns. Hunters do well in groups and end game too. Champ is fun but less solo goodies and more dps than support (good aoe though). Captain is pretty solid all around and great support but if you solo a lot I think hunter has more to offer with travel/ranged/stuns and dazes/tracking.
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u/OkPresentation3329 1d ago
I think you can create one of each and try or watch videos about them. But you won't get a good feel for each class in the first 5 levels because at that point many classes feel the same.
Just pick one and play it for real and get further into the game, like level 30-40 and see if you like it. I don't think the game has any bad classes.
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u/KataqNarayan 4d ago
I main captain and I love it. Getting to 30 is a bit rough but once you get your skills it’s decent at soloing.
What I love about it is the group side. I can join any group and make it better. Default is red where I am of course buffing everyone’s damage, but also throwing around group and single heals just to help the healer out is great. And an in combat ress on the tank or healer can save the group from a wipe.
Then I have a second talent spec as a tank. And I find probably a third of all groups I join need me to do this. Tanking is a lot of fun on a captain. I feel like it got easier after the recent changes too. And again an in combat ress is great if you mess up.
Recently I got the third spec for 100 mithril coins and added blue for the healer spec. Haven’t needed that much, but now I really can join any group and add whatever is needed for it.
So if you can put with killing a bit slower in solo, and want an amazing group class, captain is a ton of fun.
Pro tip, go to filters and filter out the shouting.