Illonna
Woot I'm a 75!! ....Now what?
When I joined Nesh at the end of November 2011 I was one of less than a handful of 75 level characters. I perused through the members list on the LOTRO Community website today and we now have 135 characters at endgame (75), with another 37 at the 70 - 74 level. That is a lot of hard work accomplished in the almost three months. Nesh now has a very large pool of players that can attempt end game content.
Do all of them want to? Who knows but I guess many do.
Can all those that wish to, do it successfully? Perhaps not at first.
I think the best way to descibe the situation some may face is with some insight from Ippamir, one of Nesh's best level capped Rune-keepers who has run many a Raid:
"Lotro is a funny game in that solo play is SOOOO different from group play. People have to unlearn bad patterns they used while solo (when it just didn't matter) and learn new methods of doing things as a group. In many ways it is unfair as lotro has confused players with this division. Players don't wind up with the necessary skills for grouping in the end game which frustrates the group (and to the self aware) even the player himself."
I know in my case I joined as a 75 but had never grouped in this game, or for that matter, in any other MMO in my life before. Since then I have had the pleasure of doing group content with many of our finest players. It has been fun and I have messed up quite a bit (pew pewing in mobs that weren't supposed to be brought in). And don't ask about watching Draigoch get beaten into submission while up in the cheap seats because you retreated when you shouldn't have and got locked out of getting back down. But I learned from those mistakes and (hopefully) won't make them again.
The only way to get better with your character is to learn your class well; do the group content and do it again, even the lower level stuff. Participate in Trait Night; go out with a few Kin mates to burn down mobs to complete your deeds. Try practicing some technique you may not have thought to use in that situation. The only thing you can lose here is a bit of time but you can turn that grind around to your advantage; have fun and learn something new or practice something to get better at.
Participate in Conjunction Junction and LOL!Attack. You will practice and learn. Both are run by - Dramborn - (I just love putting those dashes around hos name), who is an excellent teacher. In Conjunction Junction, Fellowship Maneuvers are practiced. This becomes particuliarly important in end game such as Draigoch as you need to sucessfully implement the maneuver to enable the DPS that you need to beat down the boss. I went on one; we went to Giant Valley in the Misty Mountains. Mobs were gray to all participants. When I started this I had maybe 2 or 3 Fellowship Maneuvers in my book. After one of these sessions I had literally dozens of sizes two through six. During off times when participants had to go AFK, we would just run around burning down Giants to complete those pesky Slayer Deeds.
The way these Conjunctions/Fellowship Maneuvers work is the Raid/Fellowship leader sets a particuliar maneuver. Normally, they would decide who goes when and confirm the color you are to hit. Sometimes, simplier sixes will be selected, generally covering only two of the four colors. With your color and place in the order set it should be easy enough to accomplish; that ain't always the case. Some people jump the gun, others like me have a bit of lag, so while I hit the color at the right time the previous slot may have been out there and hit for a while before I see it as hit and the Conjunction either goes away or a lesser (four or five) may hit instead. That's why practice of this is important. Know what you can expect out of your computer especially under high lag Raid conditions.
If you look at all the Conjunctions that are available in the Draigoch Raid your head will spin. If you get put into the FM group you are assigned or volunteer for a spot (one through six). As the leader displays the FM to do just hit the color in your spot and it should end up a thing of beauty.
LOL!Attack is another good way to learn your craft so to speak. As these are generally lower level Raids and Fellowhip instances, it allows level appropriate characters to learn while having fun doing the Instances they are suppose to be doing, and allows for remedial education of higher level characters who just hadn't done this before (whistles innocently). While not strictly billed as an LOL!Attack event, last Saturday (2/18) we went into Urugarth. Some level appropriate, some higher (60s) and me at 75. - Dramborn - (see there they are again) led the way and by golly he was going to make me a nimble Elf Hunter. Normally, with the mobs really, realy (I did say really) gray to me, I would have assessed the situation and started burning them down; Ha, 15k mobs, piece of cake. Dram would have none of that, you were going to do this right and learn how to play your character. Remember at end game those mobs aren't going to be gray and they are real nasty.
Ranged mobs, get them interested and draw them in - back up so they have to come down into the melee members. Stun these while we take on those. Let the tanks get the aggro before you let off those volleys. All the right stuff to do. Do it. Do it again. Go on these lower level Instances and take the time to practice. (Just don't shut the level appropriate folks out if you do go).
One other way to learn is to ask one of the members who know their craft well for some insights. I did this the other day with my 26 Warden. I spoke at length with Endrell/Uoth, who, as Uoth, is our finest Warden and knows the inter-relationships with other classes as well. He explained the underlying mechanics of how a Warden works, how threat over time figures in for the Warden, etc. Again, a point he made is that a Warden needs to practice, practice, practice. There is a lot of knowledge out there that you should tap into.
Now I don't want to put these guys on the spot, Make sure you check the Social Panel before you ask for someone's help. Sort it by Location. If you see six people in Isengard, for example, and the member you want to talk to is there, wait until later. Someone running the Foundry may not have your undivided attention. And always ask first if they have some time to talk things over with you, Don't just spam them with questions. Be respectful. Afterall that is our underlying rule.
Good luck.
by Illonna on 2012-02-22 01:57:06
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