style="width: 640px; height: 200px;" alt="LotRO Burglar Guide"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/91039">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/overview">OVERVIEW
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/solo">SOLO
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/group">GROUP
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/pvmp">PvMP
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/91049/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/skills">SKILLS
BURGLAR CLASS OVERVIEW
alt="A Hobbit Burglar"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/91043">
He
may not LOOK like he's up to anything devious... but that's just what
he wants you to think.
Soft foosteps over cold stone floors, flitting from shadow to
shadow with the enemy none the wiser. A quiet knife in the dark,
delivered in just the wrong spot. Perplexing
riddles so confounding they leave the listener stunned. This is
everyday stuff for the Burglar in the Lord of the Rings Online.
The
Burglar is no Michael Caine-like gentleman-thief who goes charmingly
about the business of
pilfering and purloining with a delightful Cockney accent. Pilfering
and purloining are only a small
part of the job. Instead, the Burglar is the dirtiest fighter of the
lot, using all manner of rotten tricks and devious ploys to drive the
tip of his dagger into the soft, squishy spots of his enemy. For the
Burglar, the "fair fight" is the one fought from the flanks against an
incapacitated foe.
In a group, the Burglar is often in charge of crowd-control,
using
powerful, lengthy mezzes to keep enemy mobs locked down and out of the
fight. And while the Burglar is not a DPS brute like the Hunter or
Champion or Runekeeper, he can certainly hold his own in a fight and
hit some big numbers. Burglars are also prime debuffers, with stackable
bleeds, slowing attacks and all kinds of ways to hamper their victims.
In solo play, Burglars are wily and devious, one of the most capable
solo classes in the game, but they do require a bit more planning and
patience than some other classes. In PvMP, a Burglar in the right hands
is the bane of creep-kind - this is a class made for one-on-one spars,
and really good Burglars can destroy most creep classes in single
combat.
The Burglar class is available only to Hobbits and Race of
Man.
Either of these races makes a fine choice at low levels. Hobbits can
eventually earn a stealth skill that is redundant for a Burglar, but
the Hobbit-Silence trait is a nice touch and works a bit better than
Hide in Plain Sight for instantly dropping all aggro. However, at
higher levels, no single
race has a
distinct advantage over any other, and either race is an acceptable
choice
for endgame.
KEY
ATTRIBUTES
Agility is the prime stat for
Burglars, affecting melee critical chance and evade rating. The higher
the Burglar's Agility, the more often he can use the skill chained
opened up by scoring a critical hit, and the less likely he is to be
hit by enemies. Even with the huge assortment of nasty tricks and
panic-button skills available to the Burglar, increasing offensive and
defensive capabilities by boosting Agility through gear is the way to
go.
Burglars do extra positional damage when they are able to hit
their enemies from behind, so perfecting the buttonhook manoeuver when
engaging the enemy is a good idea. This involves runing just past the
enemy and immediately turning 180 degrees before attacking. In solo
play, this can be done after landing a stun or disabling gamble, and in
a group, this can be done when the tank engages the enemy and grabs
aggro.
Burglars are perhaps best known for their reliable
crowd-control. It should be pointed out that the two primary methods of
Burglar crowd-control, Riddle and Confound, only work against humanoids
- humans, orcs, uruks, goblins, trolls, undead, and a few other
2-legged foes - and dragonkind - drakes and worms. It is ineffective
against beasts of nature, spiders, insects and the like. These other
mob types can be controlled with roots, stuns and conjunctions, but not
with Burglar mezzes.
Conjunctions are bread and butter for the Burglar. Fellowship
Manoeuvers can be triggered more or less at will with Exploit Opening,
Trip and Bags of Marbles, and the legendary skill Exposed Throat has a
percentage chance to trigger one when the critical hit chain is opened.
SECONDARY
CONCERNS
Burglars take a good deal of patience when soloing. They can't
simply wade into combat like a Champion or Guardian, and have very
limited options for ranged pulling mobs, so fights against groups must
be planned in advance.
However, with that bit of planning, Burglars are one of the strongest
solo classes in the game, capable of taking on difficult challenges
without outside assistance. Patience pays.
Even when fights are
carefully planned out, it can be difficult to compensate for bad luck.
For instance, if a fight depends on a Riddle incapacitating an enemy
and the Riddle is resisted, the plan can fail. The wise Burglar will
want to have a quick and ready escape plan for when things go badly.
Because
the class is built on subtlety and guile, there isn't really a single
common build like there is for, say, solo-spec Hunters or raid-spec
Minstrels. If you run with 6 different Burglars in 6 different
situations, those Burglars will probably be traited and geared 6
different ways, and each will argue for the superiority of that build
over the others. Moreso than most other classes, Burglar builds are a
matter of personal preference and style, and it will take some practice
and playtime to figure out what works best for each player.
IN SUMMARY
The Burglar is one of the most advanced classes available to
Free-to-Play accounts, and one of the most intriguing and fun. The
strengths of the class lie not in pure
damage-dealing or brick-wall defense, but in subtle skill and devious
planning. This is the class for people who enjoy fighting dirty, for
outwitting enemies rather than simply overpowering them. And many
players who do not play Burglars don't understand what it is that they
do, so there is a built-in air of mystery and intrigue. If you're
looking for raw power, roll a Champion and have at it. But if you like
being the man behind the scenes, the guy who makes his companions fight
better without them realizing you're doing anything at
all, Burglar is the class for you.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/overview">OVERVIEW
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/solo">SOLO
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/group">GROUP
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/pvmp">PvMP
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/91049/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
|
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/burg/skills">SKILLS
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