LotRO Guide to The Quick
Leveling Scholar

By Anna “Morvelaira” Dotson
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    Ah, the world of crafting and the life of a Scholar!
Hours pouring over scrolls and up to your arms in dye pits... Okay – so
it's not the most glamorous craft. Especially at the lower tiers,
finding a product that is useful, let alone profitable, is very
difficult. Therefore, one of the questions I see the most is, “How do I
level Scholar skill quickly?” Since the Scholar profession has no sub
combines that you find in other professions, the simple answer is by
crafting the items with the highest point value. But doesn't it take
time to gather those materials? Why craft a higher point value item if
you could have crafted two lower point items for more points? Wonder
about the path no more. As a Grand Master Scholar, I have poured over
all the scrolls so you don't have to.

Tier One: Apprentice

    There isn't a wide variety of items you can make as
an href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=635">Apprentice
Scholar. The only items that might be in demand are the dyes you
can make for armor – Gold and Sienna at this level. It takes 200 point
to be proficient and move on you the next tier, and an additional 400
point to master.  Personally, I feel mastering this tier is of no
benefit unless you want to master later tiers, then it is required.
Assuming you have all the cash and resources you could ever want, first
instinct is to make nothing but Battle and Warding Lores. Those are
worth ten points each, meaning it only takes 20 combines to be
proficient and 60 to master.  But Battle and Warding Lores use the
most foraged ingredients of any Apprentice recipe – including the only
use for the rare Worn Tablet Fragments. Sometimes these items are
simply not available in high enough quantities. href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album36&id=Scholar_2&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Scholar Gathering"
src="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album36/Scholar_2.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 174px;" align="left">

    For those times when materials are scarce, I urge
you to consider dyes, or the less expensive potions.  They only
require one gathered ingredient with the rest available at your local
scholar vendor in unlimited supply. While their lower point value will
require you to make 34 for proficiency and 100 total for mastery,
Sienna (the main component for Sienna Dye) in particular is never in
short supply.

Weather you choose the high or low point roads, Apprentice Scholar will
be done before you know it, bring you to...

Tier Two: Journeyman

    At the second tier some of the Scholar's purpose
begins to appear. That, namely, is class-specific items for Hunters and
Loremasters. Sadly, href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=642">profit
potential here is sunk, because many of these items are still
available at the class vendors, often for less than you can make them.
It's not until you get to the upgraded recipes at later tiers that
you'll start to make money.

    In the Journeyman tier there are no Battle or
Warding Lores, so no juicy ten-points-per-combine goodness here. The
highest point recipes available are the Crafting Lores and the
Loremaster books, both at eight points per combine. They cover the two
situations outlined in Apprentice – Crafting Lores are resource hungry,
but don't require you to spend any extra money at the vendor.
Loremaster Books require much less resources, but also need a lot of
bought ingredients. Choose whichever one fits your situation best.

    In either case, it takes 280 points to be proficient
and 560 points to master the tier. That's 35 combines to proficiency
and 105 combines total for mastery at eight points per combine.

Tier Three: Expert

The Expert tier brings the return of Battle and Warding Lore, as well
as popular dye colors. Your leveling choices are quire diverse for this
tier because of this reason, and leveling quickly should be no
problem.  It's 360 point to proficiency and an additional 720
points to mastery. Using Battle Lore, it would only take you 36 or 108
combines, respectively. I would suggest considering Violet Dye
though.  It's main ingredient, Juicy Blackberries, are actually
produced by Grand Master Farmers – a profession that comes with
Scholar. While only six points per combine, it would be a study in
self-sufficiency if your farming skill is high enough. Using Violet
Dye, it would be 60 combines to proficiency and 180 combines total to
mastery.

Tier Four: Artisan

    href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=669">Artisan
tier is much like Journeyman tier, except now your class-specific
recipes begin to be profitable. href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album36&id=Scholar_1&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Scholar Making Products"
src="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album36/Scholar_1.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 174px;" align="right">Between
new Bow Chants and Refined Fire-oil, you'll be a hunter's best friend.
If you're looking for points though, you'll want to court Loremasters
and your fellow crafters. At eight points a piece, the Loremaster Books
and Crafting Lores are your ticket to leveling quickly.

    It takes 440 points to be proficient at the Artisan
tiers, and 880 more to master it. That's 55 combines to be proficient,
or 165 combines total to master the tier, at eight points per combine.
If you wish to carry on the idea of self-sufficiency from last tier,
Dark Green Dye's main ingredient, Onion Skins, is also from Farming.
The dye also sells for a little bit more than most, I've noticed. At
six points per combine, that's 74 combines to proficiency and 221
combines total to mastery.

Tier Five: Master

Life the Master tier of any other class, Master Scholar is where the
real money is made. Sadly, it's also the longest grind in crafting. It
makes sense from a profitability stance to take the time to make Grand
Master, in order to make multiples of these very profitable items. On
the other side though, not many items offer high point values. There
are no ten point items, and only one category of eight point items:
Crafting Lore. They're also the most expensive items from a materials
standpoint.

    It's 520 point to proficiency and 1,040 points to
Grand Master  At eight points per combine, that's 65 combines to
proficiency and 195 combines total for Grand Master

The Final Totals

So, how many combines will a Scholar make from the beginning to Grand
Master? Going by these calculations, the quickest it can be done is 633
combines. If just being proficient is your goal, that number is cut to
235. Another tip to leveling fast is to have a “shopping list”.
Gathering all the materials needed first makes the points seem to fly
by.  Here's my list:

• Apprentice
• 120 Aged Scrap of Text
• 40 Early Third Age Relic
• 40 Worn Tablet Fragment
• Journeyman
• 210 Cryptic Text
• 105 Ruined Second Age Trinket
• Expert
• 360 Faded Sindarin Passages
• 180 Torn Craftsman's Diary
• 180 Cracked Dwarf-carving
• Artisan
• 330 Fragments of Dunedain Script
• 165 Relic of Lothlorien
• Master
• 390 Long-lost Second Age Text
• 195 Undeciphered Moon-letters

Taking Scholar to Grand Master is a long and arduous task. It is very
easy, as I've shown here, to speed up the process significantly, but
when you do so the profession lives up to it's reputation as a money
sink. It's a game of trade-offs and it all depends on what path is most
important to you.  If spending money willy-nilly isn't your style,
then keep your eyes open for the upcoming style="font-weight: bold;">Guide to The href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=703">Cheap
Leveling Scholar!
Coming soon to a Ten Ton Hammer near you!



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