LotRO Guide to the Mines of Moria - Upper Levels

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UPPER
MORIA | DUNGEONS
| INSTANCES
| DEEDS
| REPUTATION

MORIA - UPPER LEVELS

Moria - also known as Khazad-dûm and the Dwarrowdelf - is a
region that is as rich in history as it is massive in scope.
Founded by Durin "the Deathless" (one of the Seven Fathers of the
Dwarves) during the First Age, it has endured for thousands of
years, sometimes rising to prominence as the greatest of the
Dwarven mansions in Middle-Earth and sometimes waning to neglect
and misuse... but ever enduring. It is a testament to Dwarven
craftsmanship, and to their strength of character and will.
Khazad-dûm is a massive complex of rough tunnels, well-worked
mines, grand and winding hallways and staircases, majestic
chambers both natural and Dwarf-made, seemingly-bottomless chasms
and seemingly-ceilingless great-halls. Durin's folk have labored
long to hew this kingdom from the heartstone of the mountain, and
now seek to reclaim it from the forces of the shadow and the
ancient evils that have wrested it from their hands.

Geographically, Moria lies under the Misty Mountains between
Eregion and Lothlorien. In terms of size, it is gigantic - at a
dead run, it takes around a quarter of an hour to run from Durin's
Threshold in the west to the exit at the First Hall in the east,
following the shortest, most direct route. That's straight-up
running along a direct path, no stops. To put that into
perspective, that's about how long it takes to run from the West
Gate of Bree to the Rushock Gate in Needlhole, sticking to the
roads. It is big enough to cover the 50 - 60 level range, and
contains nine area maps, dozens of instances, six sets of deeds,
three raids, two reputation factions and hundreds of quests.
 In fact, Moria is big enough that this guide will be split
into three sections: Upper Moria, Central Halls and Lower
Depths. 

Before you head into Moria, there are a few things you need to
know:

Moria is lit mostly by ancient, giant mirrors, dimly-glowing
crystals and the occasional burning wall sconce, but it is
generally always dark and gloomy. You may want to set your gamma
correction slightly higher here, as some regions are very
poorly-lit and visibility is hindered. You can also hit ALT +
F10 to activate a personal light source to illuminate the area
immediately around you.

Horses are not agile enough to handle the perilous slopes and
treacherous, rock-strewn paths of the mines, and cannot be
summoned within Moria. Goats, on the other hand, are natural
climbers, and the Dwarves have managed to tame Redhorn goats to
serve as mounts. If you want to ride around Moria rather than
walk, you will need a goat mount - the rep goat from Thorin's
Hall works fine, or the Dusky Nimblefoot Goat from the Mirkwood
pre-order, and there are two available from the Iron Garrison
Miners when you gain enough reputation with that faction. The
Dusky Nimblefoot Goat from the LotRO store works as well and is
identical to the Mirkwood pre-order bonus, but at +62% run speed
and only 60 morale, it is hardly worth the 995-point price tag.

The names in Moria vary between Khuzdul (Dwarfish), Westron
(English) and Black Speech words. Many of them are
difficult to pronounce and are often misspelled or simply
abbreviated by people looking for fellowships. Also, because it
is complicated to type "û" in the chat, you will not often see
such accents in anything other than official text - indeed, for
most of this guide, it will be written as "Khazad-dum" rather
than the proper"Khazad-dûm."

Moria is the source of most of Middle-Earth's ultra-rare
metal, mithril. Mithril is what the Dwarves were digging for
when they accidentally unleashed the balrog that shattered their
great kingdom. Flakes of mithril are often carried by the elite
creatures that patrol the halls, and can occasionally be found
in ore nodes.

Beware of long falls. There are many cracks, pits,
cliff-edges, wells and other such hazards all throughout Moria.
If you find enough of the right long falls, you can earn a
hard-won deed or two, but mostly you just end up dead at the
bottom of a chasm.

UPPER
MORIA | DUNGEONS
| INSTANCES
| DEEDS
| REPUTATION