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alt="LotRO Lore-master Guide"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92877">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/overview">OVERVIEW
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/solo">SOLO
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/group">GROUP
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/pvmp">PvMP
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/92890/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/skills">SKILLS
GROUP
PLAY AS A LORE-MASTER
alt="A Lore-master in a group"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92876">
Reminding
a giant to use deodorant can have disastrous consequences.
The traditionally-accepted role of a Lore-master in a group is
crowd-control specialist, but there are a lot of players who know
better. The Lore-master is much more than a simple mez-bot. He's also a
battery-charger. Plus some other stuff.
Of course, crowd-control is important and it wouldn't make
much sense to downplay that aspect. Traiting Fast Loader and Explosive
Force makes the Lore-master's main CC skill, Blinding Flash, harder to
resist and removes the induction, making it fire quicker. Group-spec
Lore-masters will probably want to avoid slotting a lot of Master of
Nature's Fury traits, as anything over 2 of these will decrease the
duration of Blinding Flash. Roots are also crucial to the Lore-master's
CC repertoire, Herb-Lore in particular. Traiting Deep Lore improves
this root skill, allowing it to affect 5 additional targets. While
you're in the Ancient Master neighborhood, go ahead and slot one more -
Power and Wisdom being a very fine choice - to get the 4-deep line
bonus which improved the Warding Lore skills to include Men, Orcs,
Beasts and Ancient Evils. 4-deep Ancient Master makes the Lore-master a
powerhouse debuffer and CC'er, and leaves 3 spots open for other
aspects. Alternately, the Lore-master could slot more Keeper of Animals
traits; while the set bonuses aren't as specifically geared towards
grouping, the individual traits significantly improve healing and
curative powers and some of the other buffs. Some Lore-masters will
pick traits according to their utility rather than set bonuses, and
this is also perfectly valid. The point of it all is to be better at
the things you do.
Running with a group isn't all that different from running
solo: the Lore-master still waits for the tanks to engage before
unleashing the fury of nature, and the role is supportive rather than
front-line. Give the tanks time to build up threat before using Ents Go
To War and Sticky Gourd. Aside from throwing out a non-aggroing debuff
or two, Lore-masters should probably not be the first ones to start a
fight. Hang back, lay down the buffs, keep your critical targets locked
down and occasionally throw out some DPS skills. Keep in mind that many
Lore-master attack skills have a morale cost, so in a protracted fight
the Lore-master is going to want to stay focused primarily on buffs,
debuffs,
cures, mezzes and power restoration, and won't want to do a full-out
tactical burn without a good backup plan.
Being the group's "battery" can be a thankless job, since a
lot of players don't really understand how it works. The Lore-master
must actually have power in order to be able to share it with his
fellows, and if he runs out during a long fight, it takes time to build
it back up. Healers, tanks and captains are usually priority targets,
so the Lore-master
needs to pay particular attention to the blue bars of those characters.
He can't be held responsible for the Hunter who uses Burn Hot at the
start of the fight and burns through all of his power, then demands
"POWER PLZ." As with morale restoration, power restoration takes time,
and it can only be used on one character at a time.
The Lore-master is also a handy off-healer for groups, able to
fill in the gaps for a strained main healer. Becaon of Hope is a solid
healing skill, though it does have that pesky 30-second cooldown;
reserve it for when it is needed, but don't wait too long. There is a
short induction on the skill, so waiting until the very last minute
could mean a dead group member. And don't be stingy with the wound and
disease removals. Those have no cooldowns and very short inductions,
and it's almost never a waste of power to use them when they are needed.
Lore-masters can also serve as off-tanks, but only by proxy.
Animal companions don't mind stepping up and giving the main tank a bit
of a breather. But make sure the tank wants relief before you try to
steal his aggro away, otherwise you could be in for an argument.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/overview">OVERVIEW
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/solo">SOLO
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/group">GROUP
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/pvmp">PvMP
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/92890/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/loremaster/skills">SKILLS
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