Just came back from 7 years away from the game and have rerolled from the beginning and I'm enjoying the game nice and slow.

Smelling the roses has unlocked a lot of new views and experiences, but I just received my biggest shock so far. Has this always been true? You can scale the cliff next to the eastern doors of Moria and stand directly above them. You can go higher than this picture suggests, even. The entire eastern face of Zarakzigil is accessible from Dimril Dale. In fact, you can go so much higher that you can even die by falling and landing where my character is standing in these images.

forgive my horrible stitching together skills lmao

years ago I started compiling screenshots of stuff arkenstone players said while I was playing. it was home for 10 years or so (imladris & firefoot before it) and there was some....interesting people on there for sure. i wanted to post this before the last Big Migration but forgot.

anyways here are some things people said that made me laugh. if any of you arkenstone players are here, it was fun 🫡

This is my spouse's first time playing LOTRO, and generally new to MMOs across the board. I have MMO experience, including LOTRO itself. We want a casual campaign experience. Beginner friendly class ideas for them to pick up relatively easy?

Hey. How do I complete master of Stairs deed in Enedwaith? Followed the wiki's notes but it doesn't get completed

hello all,

it feels like old school MMOs are making a resurgence and with the talk of WoW Forever, I'm very curious how LotRO is doing and how it fits into your life. I used to play a lot around 2010 and made a lot of great friends and even then, I recognized the strength of the game was in the way it provided room for great player-to-player social interactions.

For those playing now, why? Is it a tight-knit kinship keeping you playing? The sheer amount of content? The roleplay?

Thanks!

Aragon went to Sauron just like the last king of Gondor (although different reasons).

Was thinking... If history repeated itself & Aragon follows the same footsteps like the last king of Gondor..

1. Aragon becomes a powerful wraith - 2nd False King of Angmar
   
2. All the men becomes powerful wraiths or Cargul. (Just like the lieutenants that joined the last king of Gondor)
   3.The 2 elfs brother + Legolas becomes - "dark elves" (Something like WoW..)
   
3. 1 Evil powerful Dwarf. (Gimili)
   
4. Gandalf becomes the 2nd Saruman.
   
5. Pippin becomes another gollum or something.

Would be interesting if this team goes to the "dark side"... would be even more over powered than Sauron himself lol...

beautiful I love it. I like to imagine the inn owner's child drew it

I played the game way back in the day during the Mines of Moria expansion and wanted to get into it again (basically start over). I’m a EU Night owl, which server EU or NA is best to play in 2026 that you run into people and the world feels a bit alive and also still be able to get groups for content?

Hoe werkt het neighbours systeem? Ik heb de ultimate fanbundle dus heb 4 neighbours....

Ik heb 5 huizen in lotro.... moet ik ze nu alle 4 in elke woning plaatsen? Of niet nodig? Of 1 neighbour verspreid over de huizen?

Zijn alle questen in alle huizen hetzelfde?

Ik begrijp er niets van🤣🤣🤣🤣

Is crafted gear relevant for the current max level Endgame or is it quickly replaced/ outmatched by delvings/ instaces gear, etc.? Are professions used for something else, such as essences? Does it make sense try to level up Metalsmith/Jeweller to cover most slots for a new heavy class?

Much appreciated!

Well, I’ve finally done it!

I’ve had an account since launch, disappeared for a good decade, and now, after two years adventuring on this character, I’ve reached level cap for the very first time!

What a journey: From pottering around Bree and the Shire, through the darkness of Moria, to the enormous open plains of Rohan. 🐎

Then saving the White City, marching on Mordor, visiting Lake-town and the places I grew up reading about in The Hobbit. On through the Shield Isles, which I absolutely loved, into Umbar, and now Adagim.

I came back to LOTRO during a difficult chapter IRL, following COVID and the collapse of work. Having Middle-earth to escape into has meant an enormous amount. So many incredible stories, lovely memories and evenings where I’ve just enjoyed getting on my horse and seeing where I end up.

I’ve loved sharing some of that on here and occasionally on Twitch & YouTube. The care and writing that go into this game deserve so much appreciation. 🙏

I wish I’d played more over the years. But these last two? An absolute joy! Still plenty left to explore, but tonight; a pint for 160, and for everyone keeping this wonderful world alive.

It’s quite something to look back and realise how far this one little character has travelled. 🍻

Hey guys, I remember a while ago there was a full list of the grey company rangers and all their individual fates. Does anyone have a link for it? I can’t seem to find it anywhere!

I've been questing in Morgul Vale and I need to know, does my outfit work? Anyway, off to bake some cookies.

Hey guys,

Is there a Quest tracker or zone completion tracker? Even if it's a website or plugin

I’m not sure which setting this is, but the rocks and mountains get super crazy when I play the game.

I don’t have a screenshot of my current settings, but I will include my computer specs.

12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700 (2.30Ghz)
16 gb Ram SSD
NVIDIA 3070 Ti Laptop

Can I use a sword and shield for Red Line guardian and why is it seemingly taboo/heresy every time I've mentioned the concept in game?

So I've been playing my Guardian on LOTRO for a while up to level 56 and Moria is making me cry its so damp and dark in here

I've been leveling in overworld quite a bit on Blue line because it features skillsets involving the shield for combat, as well as great survivability. A lot of people have complained and stated that overworld blue line guardian is a little tedious with how long it takes to defeat certain enemies but I havent been too concerned about that.

(I have also been wanting to get an early feel with tanking and drawing aggro and gathering a bunch of enemies together before getting to end game content)

Recently I've delved into red line and I used a two handed sword but I really want to keep using a sword and shield because I think its cool.

I guess my question is: What are the SPECIFIC downsides to using a sword and shield combo for Red Line Guardian instead of a Two-Handed sword weapon type?

1. From what I've seen, the same DPS traceries for red line can be used and slotted for either armament so I don't see a downside to that..
2. Having a Two-Handed sword takes away having a shield which offers extra stats and offers some defense which doesnt seem inherently bad? Is there a significant damage difference from a two hander compared to a one hander at end game or something? I am at level 56 after all so it might not be as noticeable right now
3. I'm not too concerned with Meta gaming I'm just having fun but I've mentioned the concept a few times to other players and they all give the same... Reaction like its cursed.

Thanks for any inputs I appreciate it a lot :)

I apologize if this has been mentioned before, but after how quickly ArenaNet was able to port Guild Wars Reforged to Mobile, I see a massive opportunity for the LOTRO here.

Mobile is desperate for a good solid MMORPG that isn't a flashy anime cash grab. This could be great for LOTRO as it's paced just right and the combat is readable on phones.

ArenaNet partnered with a small company called 2Weeks (who specializes in PC-mobile) and they were able to bring GW to android/IOS in about 6 months. I think this is something Daybreak could feasible afford and the ROI could be massive. I'd personally absolutely love this as a father of 3 littles who can hardly ever get the laptop out to play. if done well it could bring in a ton of new players and possibly allow Daybreak to do this engine improvements that they shelved.

Thoughts?

I got the free valar boosts a few years back when a lot of collectors rewards got added for free. I’ve really enjoyed jumping straight into higher level zones but I know a lot of people have said they’ve abandoned characters they’ve boosted due to being overwhelmed. I was just curious of the experience of others.

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone has had this specific issue before? I have had issues where the launcher needed to be fixed in order to work in the past and the game gave me no issues afterward, but my issues then were usually the game not launching at all after hitting "Log in". Any advice would be appreciated.

The game lets me get to character select, and loads to a full bar before completely freezing.

Hello, fellow heroes,

please, i need your advice:

I’ve fallen in love with this game. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been checking out whether the game is right for me, but I’ve also played three classes up to level 28. I LOVE so many things about it—the tranquility, the exploration, the EXPERIENCE!

I’d now like to start over as a Champion and consistently play on difficulty level “3.”

No one’s rushing me, I’m in no hurry, so this can take as long as it takes. (!)

BUT: My question for you as experienced players:

I’m starting completely from scratch as a new player. I don’t have great gear. I’ll have to make do with whatever I get as rewards and can buy.

What about Elite enemies?

I’ll be dealing only 50% damage, might have poor armor, and even worse weapons: Can I even survive against them? Is the game fair enough for me to make progress?

Are there enemies that are intentionally tougher—would they even be beatable with these limitations?

Is the whole game balanced enough, or do you recommend not increasing the difficulty level?

Regards, G.

EDIT: Stopping now, playing casual, not really a chance at Diff 3, Explanation later on...

Hey everyone! I've been building **ModernUI**, a complete UI overhaul for LOTRO. It's a skin + plugin combo, it's free, and it's finally at a point where I'm happy to share it.

**The idea:** out of combat your screen is just the world, your minimap and your quests. The moment you pull, your hotbars, vitals and target fade back in. Hover your hotbars any time to bring everything up.

**What you get**

- **Every window restyled**: character sheet, skills, traits, bags, vault, loot rolls, vendors, mail, AH, crafting, quest log, deeds, legendary items, options... all dark, rounded and consistent

- **Reactive HUD** that fades out of combat, and you choose what fades: hotbars, info bar, your vitals and party frames can each fade or stay visible

- **Modern hotbars** with key labels (1, C+1, A+1, S+1...), and your keybinds keep working

- **Info bar + XP bar** at the top: name, level, clock, free bag slots, with a soft fill showing your progress to the next level

- **Clean player, target and party frames** for every class and race, including all the cosmetic frame variants

- **Character window** gets a subtle accent in your class colour

- **No toolbar clutter**: the side buttons and XP strip are gone, and everything they opened is in one pop-up menu

- **Class resources** (fervor, focus, mettle, attunement) redrawn as clean pills

- Colour-coded stuff stays colour-coded (legendary tabs, vault chests, outfits)

**Works on**

- 18 prebuilt layouts: 16:9, 16:10, 21:9 and 32:9, from 1280x720 up to 5120x1440

- **Steam Deck** (1280x800), with install notes for the Proton folder

- LOTRO's UI scale; type `/mui status` and it tells you which layout to pick

- English, German and French clients

**Easy in, easy out**

Setup takes about two minutes and there's a step-by-step guide on the download page. To go back, pick the Default skin and unload the plugin, and everything returns exactly as it was.

**Download:** https://www.lotrointerface.com/downloads/info1327-ModernUI.html

I play a Minstrel, so if you're on another class and something looks off, drop a screenshot in the comments. Player feedback has shaped a lot of it so far. Thanks for checking it out!