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Best Solo Class.
spikenog
Member Posts: 283
I'm sure it's been asked...using the search feature seems to be on this Mac at work.
I have limited play time but would really like to play some LOTRO again (was in beta and for a few weeks after)...what is the best class to solo level with? I often do not have the time to group with others...so when I can't, I would like to know I can handle what the game is throwing at me.
Think not just from a "killing mobs" standpoint...but questing, farming and so on.
Thanks in advance.
Comments
I'd say the Burglar is the best solo class with the Lore Master close behind. Burg's can just sneak past many mobs and have evasion and survivability skills that allow you to take on some of the tougher mobs. Then again I haven't played since the end of August but my 50 Burg was able to solo his way through the game (except for the quests that really really require a party). I've never played a Lore Master but I heard they can be pretty good solo later on in the game with their pet bear tanking.
You can solo in LoTRo even all the way to 50... but it's not going to be all that fun. And if you do manage to grind your way solo up to 50... then what? It's not like you'll be doing any end-game instances solo. So, I'm not really sure what the purpose would be.
My advice would be to either figure out a way to play with your friends... or you'll probably have more fun in a different game.
As to your original question... there are different levels and different situations that could be correct answers.
For survivability.... it's tough to beat a Minstrel... although they take FOREVER to kill mobs. (It's gotten a bit better in the last patch though).
For multiple mobs... the Lore Master is best with the Burglar close behind. Although both of them can be a bit tough with elite mobs and some of the earlier levels. The Lore Master especially is very "squishy".
For quick kills... the Hunter is still king... even though they took a pretty big hit to one of their staple strategies this last patch. They are still viable solo... but you'll have to be a bit smarter about it now.
So, in the end, it will boil down to what you like to play. Try out each class for 10-15 levels to see if like the direction that they are going. Some don't really come into their own until the mid-30's though. I still think the best option would be to rely on some friends or some kind of group though. You'll find yourself visiting the Defeat Ring a lot less often.
I do not recommened playing burglar for solo, it's strong group class. It has survivability, but it's slow and not as effective as loremaster, champion or hunter. Those three are best choices for fast running throught the content as solo. If that's what you want.
REALITY CHECK
This is not a game like EQ 1 or DAoC where half the classes in the game can barely solo to save their lives, or FF XI where soloing with almost any class after a certain level is about like paying someone to stab you in the face (DAoC and FF XI are otherwise great games, btw). Any class soloes pretty well, and there is now plenty of solo content to make it all the way to 50 if you want to (of course you will be missing out on some of the most fun quests the game has to offer . . .but I digress).
That said, I would have to say Loremasters and Hunters are the best soloers. Hunters are also probably the most fun solo questing class overall because of all the teleports that they get at high levels, the runspeed buff at low levels, and the fact that they kill single targets so fast (while still being pretty good at dealing with adds if you plan a pull carefully).
Of course LMers can do things solo a hunter could never contemplate in terms of dealing with adds and elites, so it is a trade-off.
I should in all fairness also mention I've never played a burgler, so I'm not familiar with what they are capable of. A freind of mine plays one mainly solo (currently 20) and he has had no complaints. You can see from this thread that opinions on them vary.
I don't want to write this, and you don't want to read it. But now it's too late for both of us.
Id say loremaster personally.
Up unti, the late 30s,soloing is generally fine with any class,later on though things get tougher,but loremasters are very versatile and have many excellent debuiffs and buffs such as being able to cure bleeds and diseases,being stun immune,able to dispel silence effects and heal themselves.
Build wise,again you can choose what you prefer,the beauty of the loremaster is that it can perform well in a multiple number of roles.
Lots of info on traits/skills can be found here:
http://www.lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Lore-master doesnt include the recent update spells unfortunately.
and general racial and virtue traits here http://www.lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Race (man and elf for loremaster)
http://www.lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Traits general virtue trait effects.
Elemental build
For a general AOE multi-target build,choose the following traits:(based on level 40+ when soloing is much tougher)
Harmony with Nature -minus 25% cast time,power cost reduction
Deep Lore -increases your aoes targeting by 5(from 3 to 8 in most cases)
Flame of Anor -10% fire damage
Master of the Staff - adds 5% morale,increased damage and a stun proc
Awareness of Body -reduces morale cost of skills
ents -legendary,big fire damage aoe
sword and staff -best trait in the game
use the lynx with this set up as it has a large damage sneak attack and 2 great aoes.
Youll need lots of power to keep this up and rely mainly on +will and power traits as well as plenty of fate.
Use griever staff along with a %crit sword(2 good rep swords for this) along with crit gear such as sluggard set and sages jewellry.Its possible to hit over 30% crit with this set up.I knew of someone hitting 36% crit chance with gear similar to this..
lots of aoe damage and debuffing
Beast master build
great for levelling if you want to utilize your pets as much as possible.
Master of the Staff -as above,always a great trait to have.
Beast-lore -increases pets damage,defense,health and attack speed
Light of Hope -minus 10 secs cooldown on beacon of hope,faster cast time for beacon and minus 40% morale cost to cast.Needed to heal your pet as often as possible.
Subtlety of Wisdom -not essential,but good for reducing threat when using the bear to tank.Otherwise,replace with proof against all ills for the in combat bleed cure as most of these are pretty brutal against melee and movement speed.
Noble Savage -an improved master of beasts,jury is out on its worthiness but completes the beast master build.
For a pure bear build,replace master of the staff for hardy bear to increase its overall stats and level as well as increasing its accuracy.
Also use the top tier honey and oats food for the bear.
Melee build
A man loremaster is better at this due to his racials.
When you get the sword and staff legendary trait,loremaster are pretty good meleers,though you still need to utilize your spells.
For this build,you need to use might/agility/vitality/passive defense jewellry,and concentrate on -melee vulnerability and morale regen traits.
A decent 'vampiric' staff such as carn dum for morale leeching in combat,and a nice +melee crit sword in the offhand.
Youll definately need these tarits:
Master of the staff
Proof Against All Ills -essential for curing bleeds in combat;trolls in misty mountains for example have bleeds that reduce melee damage and attack speed by huge amounts.
Along with these 2 you have pretty much a free run,though healer is advised to reduce the cast time of leechcraft.
power and wisdom can be handy to buff your will by 20 or so as youre using a lot of melee gear
you should also look into traits such as empathy,idealism and zeal.
Use the man traits uppercut(melee attack) and balance of man(bonus to parry and evade) as well as the 2% sword damage bonus trait.
Man also has a second huge morale heal trait that can be slotted,gainign you 2 large instant heals for emergencies.
The bear can be handy with this build due to its melee vulnerability debuff and of course its stun.
This build is even better with the new armor debuff spell.