Ten Ton Hammer | LotRO - Champion Class Guide Endgame Strategies

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champ/overview">OVERVIEW
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champ/solo">SOLO
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champ/group">GROUP
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champ/pvmp">PvMP
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champion/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS | href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90510/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/champ/skills">SKILLS

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CHAMPION LEGENDARY ITEMS

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alt="A Champion Legendary Item"
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There
is a hidden inconsistency in this picture.

Champions have a broad selection of legendary weapons to
choose from, and finding a good set for specific tasks can be a
painstaking process, with limited room on the LI panel for "trash."
Having a different mix-and-match set for each occasion makes for a lot
of options, but can seriously limit the Champion's ability to level
lower-worth items to decon later for relics. At the bare minimum, the
Champion will want a good 1-hander and a general-purpose rune. On the
other end of the spectrum, the Champion may want to have a DPS
1-hander, a tanking 1-hander, a DPS 2-hander, a DPS rune and a tanking
rune, any of which can be swapped out as needed, with one slot left for
leveling junk for relics.

Champion weapons all draw from the same 2 pools, whether
1-handed or 2-handed. Most-desired legacies will be according to
personal preference, but AoE Damage and Rend Bleed Damage
are probably the most popular for pool A legacies. The goal of a
Champion legendary weapon is to maximize damage output, so look for
legacies that affect the attacks you use most frequently. Pool B
legacies are the ones that will separate tank-style weapons from
DPS-style weapons - for example, Sudden Defense Duration would be great
on a tanking weapon, Sound the Attack/Horn of Gondor Damage would be
better on a DPS weapon.

For Runes, the ideal legacies are the
ones that make Ardour and Glory stance more like Fervour in terms of
damage output and fervour pip generation. Ardour/Glory Pip Generation
is, therefore, a rather obvious choice regardless of the intended use
of the rune. Other desired legacies will depend on the intended purpose
of that rune - for tanking, anything that makes Ardour and Glory stance
better, Adamant/Invincible Duration, Rising Ire Cooldown, Bracing
Attack Heal, Heroics Heal Chance and Sudden Defence Parry and Evade
Bonus are all excellent; for a DPS rune, anything that decreases power
costs, Rend Bleed Pulses, Range Hamstring and Ebbing Ire Cooldown are
all pretty good. Look for legacies that affect the skills you use most
and go with that.

More information on LI legacies
can be found on the href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Legendary_Items_Guide">Lorebook.

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CHAMPION TRAIT LINES

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The
area-effect trait line is yellow because getting hit with
attacks buffed by this line is like getting run over by a school bus.

Trait lines for Champions are
fairly straightforward: one line for area-effect attacks, one line for
single-target attacks, and one line for defense.

There are 2 ways to go about determing how to trait a
Champion. For some, trait-line purism is the preferred method,
specializing in a single aspect and mastering it. Others will prefer to
select individual class traits according to the utility of the traits
themselves, and not worry over much about line bonuses.

The Deadly Storm line, emphasizing area-effect attacks, makes
the Champion very strong in (and against) groups. The line bonuses
empower all area-effect attacks, making them less likely to miss, cost
less power to use and do more damage per hit. The individual traits
increase the amount of fervour generated by some skills, reduce the
fervour cost of other skills, and generally amount to doing more damage
to more targets simultaneously. The capstone legendary skill,
Deathstorm, transforms the Great Cleave skill to Deathstorm, which
resets all area-effect skill cooldowns and makes them cost 0 fervour
when used. This skill can be attained at level 60 by completing the
Moria epic books in Volume 2 up to the end of Book 6.

The Berserker line ramps up single-target attacks. The line
bonuses increase critical power for a number of single-target attacks,
and make Fervour stance generate more pips of fervour while active. The
individual traits significantly increase the power of strike-line
attacks, add bleeds to a number of single-target attacks and empower a
few self-buffs. The capstone legendary trait, Continuous Blood Rage,
adds a new skill of the same name that works like a toggled version of
Blood Rage with some added benefits (increased damage, huge bonus to
resists), but costs a big chunk of morale every second it is toggled
on. This skill can be attained at level 58 by purchasing the skill from
the Iron Garrison Guards in Moria after reaching Kindred status with
them.

The Martial Champion line is straight-up tanking. It's all
about generating threat and making the Champion even harder to kill.
The line bonuses improve Champion's Challenge, self-preservation buffs
and Glory stance, and the individual traits make skills generate more
threat, empower buffs, enable the use of heavy shields, and generally
make the Champion tougher. The capstone legendary trait, Invincible,
jacks up the defense of Adamant and resets the cooldowns for several
self-preservation buffs. This skill can be attained at level 58 by
completing the class quests in Moria, culminating with the defeat of
Longpincer in Skumfil.

Many Champions will prefer to select traits according to their
utility rather than trying to build up one line or another. Mixing a
blend of blue, yellow and red traits according to the specific needs of
a planned fight can make a lot of difference. For example, Heavy Shield
Use, At The Ready and Braced Against Defeat might be all the tanking
traits you want, and adding 2 red and 2 yellow for DPS makes for a very
strong generalist build that would do well in solo or group play
without retraiting.

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CHAMPION VIRTUES

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alt="Minstrel Virtues"
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Take
note: this character shows very little Mercy.

A good set of Champion virtues is pretty easy to figure out -
Might and Vitality all the way - but grinding the deeds to get those
virtues ranked up can be kind of painful.

Discipline is a fairly obvious choice - at rank 10 it offers
+30 Might, +400 Melee Defense and +1014 Disease Resist Rating.
Fortitude - +15 Might, +541.5 non-Combat Morale Regen, +609 Disease
Resist Rating - is another good choice.

After Might, go for Vitality. Loyalty (+30 Vitality, +62
Maximum Power, +150 Armour Value) and Fidelity (+15 Vitality, +770
Shadow Defence, +31 Maximum Power) are good here.

The fifth virtue slot is more or less interchangeable,
depending on the needs of the tasks at hand. Determination (+30
Agility, +45 in-Combat Morale Regen, +58 Maximum Morale) will help with
parry and evade ratings and add some survivability. Zeal (+2029 Disease
Resist Rating, +600 Melee Defense Rating, +609 Poison Resist Rating)
will jack up defenses, and combined with the boosts from Discipline and
Fortitude totals +3642 Disease Resist Rating - a one-man plague
quarantine. More mundane defense against physical attacks often helps -
consider Innocence when going up against stronger melee mobs, or
Compassion if going up against strong ranged mobs.

Because of the versatility of the Champion class, any number
of virtue combinations can work well. Traiting the same as a Hunter,
for example, makes for a parrying and evading machine, and trating the
same as a Minstrel allows the Champion to continue fighting long after
he would have otherwise burned through all his power.

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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CHAMPION LEGENDARY ITEMS

CHAMPION TRAIT LINES

CHAMPION VIRTUES

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