Powers Great and Terrible

Lore-masters and Rune-keepers in LotRO

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Keepers of ancient lore and masters of arcane runes, the Lore-masters and Rune-keepers of the Lord of the Rings Online are the closest players can get to "wizard" classes as allowed by Tolkien lore. Both have a wide variety of flashy effects and powers at their disposal and both can deal out some impressive damage while also supporting their fellowships in a variety of ways.

The Lore-master

The Lore-master is one of the most complex classes to play in all of LotRO, filling a variety of important roles in any fellowship or raid. As the best "control" class in the game, LMs are often called upon to slow or stop the enemy's movements and actions, making them vital to effectively control the flow of a fight and allow the group's big hitters and healers to do their jobs. If you want to stay busy all the time and have a variety of skill options to choose from, consider taking up the mantle of the Lore-master.

Role: As mentioned, the Lore-master is the control artist of the fellowship and also serves as a kind of healer, replenishing both the fellowship's morale and power while also dispelling negative statuses. The LM has more AoE abilities than any class in the game and can land roots, stuns, and mezzes on multiple enemies with ease. His DPS isn't bad either, and a properly traited LM can really dish out the hurt, at the expense of some of his controlling power.

Race: Men and Elves can become Lore-masters, and each is well suited to the role. Men's increased fate helps replenish the LM's power and crit on tactical attacks, while Elves have higher will, and thus more power.

Attributes: As LMs wear light armor and stay as far away from the front lines as possible, power is far more important than morale. As such, will and fate are the Lore-master's most important attributes - will for increasing power totals, and fate for better power (and morale) regeneration and higher chances of critical hits on tactical effects, which constitute virtually all of a Lore-master's attacks. Agility and vitality are useful for a LM's survivability - agility for evasion purposes and vitality for sucking up what can't be evaded. While LMs do have a few hand-to-hand tricks, might is still clearly their least important attribute.

Skills: Lore-masters have probably the most diverse skill selection of any class in the game. As mentioned above, they are the crowd-control class of LotRO, but they can also serve up above-average ranged DPS and debuffs. From very early in the game, you'll learn to rely on Burning Embers (gained at level 1), Gust of Wind (12), and Cracked Earth (22) to damage, slow, or otherwise impair enemies. Light of the Rising Dawn (18) and Test of Will (26) deal heavy single-target damage and can stun an enemy, while Lightning Storm (50) is even more impressive as it's capable of dealing 1,000 or more damage to a group of nearby enemies and stunning them to boot.

But there's more to a Lore-master than just DPS. The dizzying array of control powers he has at his disposal begins with Blinding Flash (10), a 30-second daze that breaks on damage; Bane Flare (18), which mezzes three undead; Sticky Tar (46), which creates a patch of black goo that slows all enemies who enter it; Storm-lore (48), which mezzes three nearby targets; and Herb-lore (36), which roots three targets. Cracked Earth, mentioned above, also roots after a 10-second delay.

Debuffs are also a Lore-master's forte. Several of the powers above hamper an enemy, in addition to their stated effects, but there's also Sign of Power: Command (1) to reduce an enemy's attack speed, Fire-lore (2) to reduce melee damage, Wind-lore (8) to reduce ranged damage, Ancient Craft (42) to reduce armor value, Dispel Corruption (52) to remove corruptions, and Sign of Power: See All Ends (58) to reduce critical chances - the list of a Lore-master's debuffs is virtually endless.

The Lore-master is also a supreme support class, replenishing a fellow's morale with Beacon of Hope (4) or power with Share the Power (24) (usually after stealing an enemy's power with Power of Knowledge (6)). He can remove wounds with Leechcraft (10) and disease with Tend the Sick (16). He can provide protection against mezzes and stuns with Sign of Power: Righteousness (28), and can even rezz an ally with Back From the Brink (32), though the companion will be very weak. Call to the Valar (34), usable every 10 minutes, resets the cooldown timer on many of the Lore-master's powers.

Finally, a Lore-master can summon an animal companion to his side, in the form of a raven (4), bear (14), lynx (30), or sabertooth tiger (56). Each companion has its own strengths - the raven for shadow protection, the bear for tanking, and the cats for DPS - and can be enhanced with several other powers.

There's not enough room to go into detail about everything a Lore-master can do. With a wide variety of powers and abilities, playing one effectively can be one of the greatest challenges you face, but the reward of seeing a well-played Lore-master in a group is truly a delight.

Traits: As mentioned in "Attributes," will and fate are the Lore-master's most cherished attributes, and as such, virtues that maximize these attributes, such as Wisdom, Idealism and Honesty, are vital. Valor and Justice help with the LM's typically weak morale.

Class traits are split into three lines. The Keeper of Animals line helps maintain and improve pets and is probably the least valuable of the three lines, though it does have three traits - Light of Hope, Proof Against All Ills, and Healer - which are useful if the LM needs to take on a significant healing role. The Master of Nature's Fury line greatly increases the LM's DPS, but at the cost of Blinding Flash's duration, which can often be too high a price to pay, unless there are other mezzers (such as a burglar) in the fellowship. The Ancient Master is a kind of "special effects" line, helping with a diverse range of the LM's abilities. Fast Loader, which removes Blinding Flash's induction time, is probably the best trait in this line.

The legendary traits Sword and Staff, which lets the Lore-master dual-wield a sword with his staff and increases his morale, is standard for most LMs. March of the Ents strikes a single target for heavy fire damage and mezzes him for six seconds, while Force of Will increases the duration and effects of your Sign of Power: See All Ends.

The Rune-keeper

The esoteric Rune-keeper can serve as either a powerful damage-dealer or as an effective healer - but rarely both at the same time. It's a fun class choice for people who like versatility and want to ensure they'll always have a role in any fellowship.

Role: With the release of Book 7 (just prior to the writing of this article), the Rune-keeper is the single most effective damage-dealing class in the game - and also one of the weakest, defensively, thus fulfilling the "glass cannon" role. Alternatively, a Rune-keeper can act as an effective healer, with her wide variety of heal over time skills. The path you choose should depend on what your fellowship needs and what you're traited for (see below).

Race: Elves and Dwarves are the only races with the lifespan and patience to develop the skills of the Rune-keeper. With their higher will, Elves are slightly better suited to the role, though Dwarven Rune-keepers have better survivability. Still, as with most classes, the differences are minimal; play whatever race you want.

Attributes: As with Lore-masters, Rune-keepers prize will and fate above all other attributes, and for the same reasons (power, regeneration, and tactical crit increase). Agility and vitality are still nice to increase whenever possible, but, with no melee skills and no ability to dual-wield (like a properly traited LM), might is even less important and should be ignored completely.

Skills: Mastery of the attunement meter is key to a Rune-keeper's success. Damage-dealing powers shift the attunement to the red (R) side and healing powers to the green (G) side. As attunement shifts, more powers become available and existing powers become better, dealing more damage or healing greater amounts of morale. Using healing powers when red-attuned or damage powers when green-attuned shifts attunement back toward the middle, neutral state, reducing the Rune-keeper's effectiveness, so one usually must stay in one role (damage or healing) for each fight. Between fights, the attunement meter slowly drifts back toward the neutral state.

Rune-keepers will first learn how to hurt things. Scribe's Spark (gained at level 1), Ceaseless Argument (2), and Chilling Rhetoric (4) are quick attacks that attune 1R each; Fiery Ridicule (1) deals heavy fire damage but has a long induction time, making it good for an initial attack. Getting to 3R opens up Distracting Flame (60), Shocking Words (6), which has a chance to stun an opponent. 3R also gives you Writ of Cold (12) and Writ of Fire (14), which inflict an increasing status effect on opponents that increases for each time the writ is applied. At 6R, the Rune-keeper gets Essence of Storm (12), which has a high crit modifier, as well as the AOE Essence of Winter (18) and Scathing Mockery (24), which are good for dealing with large groups. Vivid Imagery (56) also comes into play at 6R; it dazes up to two nearby targets, making it a good choice when the Rune-keeper is surrounded.

Getting fully attuned to 9R opens up three potent offensive powers. Frozen Epilogue (32) deals frost damage and multiple debuffs to multiple enemies. Smoldering Wrath (40) deals heavy fire damage over eight seconds to a single target. But the best single-target damage power is Epic Conclusion (20). With the right traits equipped, it can deal more damage than any other skill in the game - critical hits of more than 5,000 damage are not unheard of - though it does make all battle-attuned cost more power for a short while.

As a healer, the Rune-keeper is probably a step below a fully geared-up Minstrel, but can still keep a party alive with a host of HoT abilities. Start a battle with the Rune of Restoration (4) (not a bad idea even if you're planning on DPS mode), which places a rock "pet" that heals the entire party for one minute. Prelude to Hope (1) and Mending Verse (10) are your basic 1G heals. When you get to 3G, Writ of Health (16) operates like the Fire and Cold Writs, increasing its potency with each application, while Rousing Words (22) heals the entire party for a time but is easily interrupted. At 6G, Word of Exaltation (28) reduces a fellowship member's incoming damage by 40% for a short while, and Epic for the Ages (38) is a big (1,000+ morale) single-target heal with a long induction. At 9G, you get the draining Essay of Exaltation (42), which heals and applies Word of Exaltation to the entire party.

The Rune-keeper also boasts a number of indispensable utility skills, which shift her attunement back toward the neutral state. The Blade Will Not Wound (40), The Fang Will Not Poison (44), and Do Not Fall to Storm/Flame/Lightning (46) cancel the next wound, poison, or elemental attack to hit the party. When cast on someone about to be defeated, Do Not Fall This Day (50) pre-emptively revives a fellowship member if they should fall; if that misses, Nothing Truly Ends (20) gets them back up anyway after the fight. Calming Verse (26) reduces the Rune-keeper's threat, while Self-Motivation (14) replenishes her power every two minutes. As with the Lore-master, the Rune-keeper's skills are many and varied, and she can fill a variety of roles in a fellowship.

Traits: As with the Lore-master, any virtue traits that increase will and fate are highly desirable. When it comes to picking class traits, the decision depends on whether the Rune-keeper's role will be that of a healer or damage dealer.

As of Book 7, the Rune-keeper's lightning skills offer the best DPS, so the Solitary Thunder trait line is the way to go. Thunderous Words, Harsh Debate, Tale of the Storm, Master of Tragedy, and Closing Remarks all tremendously boost your lightning skills' damage and critical chances. In the Cleansing Fires line, Linnod of Subtlety reduces the Rune-keeper's threat and increases her damage, while Overflowing Confidence reduces power costs.

When healing is needed, all traits should come from the Benedictions of Peace line. Linnod of Peace, Rune of Endurance, Memorable Prose, and Terse Narrative are probably the best offerings here.

The Rune-keeper's legendary skills are nice, but not overpowering. Martial Training offers better morale, power and power regeneration, while Steady Hands lets you quickly switch from healing to damage, or vice versa, while also reducing all power costs to zero for a short time. If you can get it, Perfect Imagery is also a must-have for a damage-dealer, as it vastly improves Vivid Imagery and provides a huge 30% bonus to critical hit chances for a short time after using Vivid Imagery.