r/lotro • u/PacoBauer • 16h ago
Wrong Way Around?
I'm running a Hunter and trying to completely refrain from doing any Main (Epic) Quests, just leveling through exploration and every side quest possible. I'm currently lvl 70, and have been getting LI xp along with everything else... Except because I'm not doing my main quests, I don't have a LI. My current (cross)bow was crafted, and everything else is from the Skirmish Camps. Am I losing potential improvement for this Class Unique weapon? Or does it not matter?
Also, I'm receiving Essences and Enhancement Runes and other things... Do I need to care about those right now? At all?
Thank you!
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u/Haystack67 16h ago
Your Legendary Item XP will safely accumulate in the background, but only until this season's Reward Track finishes on 2nd December. Aim to unlock the LI Reward Track by completing Volume 2 Book 1 (Volume 1 completion not required) before then.
Essences are only really useful for non-LI items with enchantment slots. Most of these are lvl >100 but consider keeping 1-6 close to your level in case you find a piece of (e.g.) jewellery which allows it.
Keep ALL Enchantment Runes as these improve the slots in your LI to an often difficult-to-obtain maximum. Don't worry, their number isn't limited, but they can be a pain to acquire. Also, I strongly recommend getting a LI before level 86 not just because they're the best weapons in the game, but also because some Runes become difficult to use from lvl 86 when the "slot tier" increases from Khazad to Rohirric.
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u/Ok-Substance-6034 16h ago
Legendary weapons are the single most powerful tool in the game. They are class-defining weapons that heavily increase survivability, dps, and in some cases utility. Most people rush them as soon as possible because of how much they spike a class's power.
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u/Ill-Emergency4159 15h ago
I tried ignoring LIs just for fun, and reached 70 without much issues. But since some weapons even stop existing after specific lvl (because why make them if they did poop of one perma weapon) I wouldnt call that viable long term goal. Tho for bows and crossbows? If you want just do that, difficulty in this game is so low that I even managed completing some "3man" instances solo. With weapon and shield because rest gear was in shared storage XD
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u/Intelligent-Yam9178 15h ago edited 15h ago
You play it how you want. I've done similar things. I have several alts who only level up at festival events! ( I use them for crafting mainly) that said, I do Moria early ish. As it's great content
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u/eatsmandms 14h ago
Are you aware that the Epic is Not the story of the books but different stories alongside it?
Nonetheless, by not using Legendary items you are giving up the strongest source of power one can have in game, you have actually been significantly underpowered for the last 20 levels, skipping out on nice cosmetic rewards from the legendary reward track, and just been going against the current of how this game is designed to be played.
In other words if the experience is bad than that is because the game is explicitly not tested assuming someone is playing the way you do. If you enjoy it that is great, just be aware you are going in unchartered territory.
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u/Thorebane 16h ago
If you follow the epic, it would've actually explained all this during certain quest lines
I would 100% go back and do the first up till around chapter 6? To u lock all of Angmar, and then go to the outskirts of Maria from Eregion to do the prequels for your LI.
As someone else put, your LIs are thr single most increase in power you'll get. =)
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u/dennisdeems 13h ago
As a hunter you are definitely missing out on the tracery that extends the distance of ranged damage.
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u/rextiberius 10h ago
There are a handful of main quests that act as progression gates. The Moria intro is one. Missing LIs means youre loosing a lot of power, probably half or more of your gear stats. Mirkwood is locked behind the main quest, so is most of Angmar. You need to get a warsteed through the main quest in order to progress through Rohan, and basically half of Gondor is quest gated.
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u/Housesonhills 6h ago
I have a character at 140 who has never used a legendary. I think one of the first quests with a legendary involved a bunch of grinding and it rubbed me the wrong way so much I just gave up on the system. Plus, I liked the idea of finding new weapons on my travels.
That being said, my character is underpowered and wouldn’t be able to function outside of landscape content. I acknowledge that I'm weird and stubborn.
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u/Taradyne 5h ago
Some great and informative posts here. I'd add that the content is tweaked for every expansion so that will affect weapons, armor, potions, food, crafting, etc and is based on the assumption that the player is using LIs starting at level 50. By not using LIs, you're playing the game on something probably approximating Fearless difficulty.
You might want to compare crafted level 70 gear to drops at the AH to see if there is a big difference. Glad you're having fun!
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u/Imaginary_Isopod_429 16h ago
The strength of the LIs increase with your level, so while you're missing out on significantly more power from not having them, you're not losing the ability to be on par with everybody else when you do decide to get one.
What you are losing out on, however, is the Legendary Item Reward track. https://lotro-wiki.com/wiki/Legendary_Item_Reward_Track