A counter point to your thinking that the DOTs are pointless without landscape difficulty: It's very satisfying when mobs burrow underground to become invulnerable but then just die because they have 4 dots on them.
Blue spec makes maximum Landscape Difficulty much more manageable. Instead of Red’s penalty to some of the healing Gambits you get more avoidance, more mitigations, and much better self healing. You will do less damage, of course, but survivability trumps damage output at high Landscape Difficulty settings. Let’s look at one Gambit series: Spear-Shield (which I will abbreviate as 1-2 because those are the quickslots that most people assign those skills to). 1-2 is a one-target instant-damage attack which also interrupts inductions. 1-2-1 does more damage but does not interrupt inductions. 1-2-1-2 does even more damage. Even once you can use four-builder Gambits, 1-2 remains useful because of its ability to interrupt inductions. Even once you can use four-builder Gambits, 1-2-1 remains useful because sometimes you don’t have the time for that final builder for 1-2-1-2 (or don’t need to spend the time to use that final builder because you don’t need the extra damage). Similarly, the 2-1 series can all be used because each one of those four Gambits (2-1, 2-1-2, 2-1-2-1, 2-1-2-1-2) includes a HOT which can run concurrently with the others whereas if you just use the most powerful five-builder version you will have only one HOT. (Reusing the exact same Gambit will not stack a HOT, it will overwrite the existing identical HOT.) Every Gambit has its use, whether short or long, depending on the current circumstance. The “masteries” are also known as “fast builders”. They allow Gambits to be built faster because each fast builder drops TWO builders into your Gambit panel and the fast builders have no animation (and, if out of combat, no cooldown, either). In the time it might take you to build and fire off one Gambit with the standard builder attacks you can instead build and fire off three Gambits using fast builders. Fast builders do no damage and, in combat, have a cooldown preventing them from being used repeatedly but they can vastly increase your outgoing damage or ability to buff and heal yourself because it’s the Gambits that do the work for you - the builders (fast and normal) are just for building Gambits, the damage from normal builders is negligible. Finally, having some sort of Gambit formula reference that can be checked while in combat helps a lot. Pros like Louey don’t need one, but I do and most people would find playing Warden much easier if they could see the formulas in front of them as they play. This can be done by keeping some notes up on a second screen or even just a sheet of paper but there is a great plugin which provides an on-screen cheat-sheet for Gambits: WardenEase2.
Thank you for giving warden a better shot (higher difficulty).To be honest, I had a bad impression from previous videos. As harsh as it may seem, you didn't know how to play warden properly. I believe now that you didn't WANT to know because of lack of interest which makes more sense. I appreciate your honesty and effort on the matter. My main issue with a previous video was that you gave some advice/insight about warden, however you did not really do it justice at that time. That has changed. Good job
Happy to hear you had a more fulfilling time with warden the second time around, focusing on lower level. With landscape difficulty being tuned up I definitely wouldn't be running red spec even after the rework and removal of yellow as a main line. The only way to level solo without dying on high difficulty without being incredibly well geared with xp stoppers to stack traits, is by playing ranged and swapping to melee only when necessary. Otherwise I'd cruise along slower but safer in blue line where your heals are 60% stronger and in many cases can chunk up your life so quickly by reusing them over and over to reset the hot. Strange about the 2 builder gambit comments though, you get your first hot perseverance as a 2 builder shield spear, and dots as quickly as war cry and precise strike fist shield and fist spear combos. I think these are available before level 6 and stack well when you get access to the 3 chain gambit that build off of those existing skills.
the best/worst thing about Warden is that it really, truly encapsulates the class fantasy: being a real warden is NOT easy and often complicated. but once you get the hang of it, things fall into place.
I have been playing lotro for more than 10 years. I played all classes except warden. I thought it is a overcomplicated class. I was wrong. I started playing warden two months ago. It is the best class in lotro! Not that complicated, very effective and best for solo a hard content.
Heck yeah! I will say, I do feel like Warden is a lot easier now than it was previously so in a way I am kind of glad you decided to try it now and not back then.
My main is a LvL 105 Hunter ( yes, been playing since open beta and still not got to level cap, no rush though), and started leveling up a Warden; reached level 53 and am finding it a fun challenge compared with my hunter. It's fun pulling a group of mobs and burning them down, something that on my Hunter would result in a trip to the res-circle. I've not done any skirmishes yet, nor any raids (tend not to do raids very much anyway though) but for landscape the Warden is fun so far.
Bleeds definitely dont matter until a much higher level where not everything dies in 1-2 hits but if you play on difficulty 7+ you could learn to use them a bit. Landscape difficulty has taught me classes much faster because it makes you utilize more of a rotation and not just the typical 1-2 attacks that gets you a kill.
Love my Hobbit Warden😊 I totally get what you're saying with warden on normal difficulty. As a mental note.. If you play on normal difficulty with a warden, they Thrive on AoE pulls/gambits😃 Heals, etc.. are much greater. For fun in normal you can also solo 3 mans/fellowship instances. You can mix Blue/Yellow, Blue/Red, Red/Yellow, etc... I would suggest though to go Blue/Yellow or Blue/Red for harder difficulties😁 Fair enough if it's not your style, but mixing some of the lines can be a lot of fun😁
First of: hobbits are objectively scientifically proven the best race universally recognized. :P Second: nice vid.. =) On a serious note, I get where you're coming from with the warden. I think the way the player progressively unlocks gambits while leveling is a great way to learn the ropes of the system. It's a very unique and interesting class mechanic, and I liked it for it's lack of cooldowns and the other reasons you mentioned. There are 2 reasons my warden (a hobbit of course) is parked at lvl 50-something. 1) Messing up my gambit building because some server lag didn't process my input correctly is very punishing and frustrating. 2) Coming back to the class after a break from the game was rough since I had to relearn all the gambits instead of spending my few hours of free time enjoying the game. It ended up keeping me away from the game instead of playing because I just didn't want to get into it. So I parked my warden and picked up my other classes that I got back into in like 5 min. Overall I think it's great class with an interesting design and I'm happy that some people can make it work for them. In the end I just decided it didn't fit my playtime requirements. Quick note on heroic +2: I personally love the landscape difficulty setting. It breathes new life in the early-game content that was otherwise not just a mindless run-through-as-quick-as-I-can. It's The way to play co-op as well. It requires teamwork, coordination and preparation. I use Scrolls of Battle/Warding Lore, food buffs, potions, etc.. I use all my utility skills and get a much deeper understanding of the class mechanics early on. I also naturally start building rotations. I personally love the early zones of lotro and the landscape diff just makes the whole adventure so much more engaging. And again most fun I ever had with co-op. Well.. this is getting too long now ^^' Aubrey, if you haven't yet, maybe you could try a heroic +2 run with the stone of tortoise to stay on level, playing your favorite class. Taking your time and have fun. I think it would be a nice video playthrough as well. :)
I really like warden but you almost have to play one exclusively to stay fresh with the gambits. I change classes a lot to keep things fresh and if I ignore my warden for a couple weeks then I almost need to start over! Fortunately, unless you are hardcore you really only need to know about half a dozen gambits to get by in my opinion. BTW, my two least favorite classes are Loremaster and Captain. I don't like pets. I think I've tried LM several times because I like the eagle pet but I don't like controlling them. I've never gotten a cappy past 20 because their pets are not only annoying but they look silly to me as well. Just my opinion though, everyone likes their own thing and that's cool!
Yes! I totally agree with playing warden exclusivity. If I take a few weeks off, I don’t like the class anymore cause I’ve forgotten too much. I also find LM and Captain to be on the bottom of my tier list too.
Being new to the game, I have a question for you vets: What would be the best way to utilize the stone of the tortoise? I don't want to out level the content and with quests being a huge chunk of xp I am thinking to mix the stone with landscape leveling to balance things out and keep the game challenging. Basically, not use the stone during questing but slap it on when turning in the quest. Thoughts? Also, awesome content. 🤘🏾
I think that’s a great idea! I’ve still never used the stone so I’m not sure of other ways to go about it but I do know people use a similar strat in other MMOs so I think it’s a good play.
You want to simply stay in the level range of the current quests that you're doing. Meaning, the quests and the enemy names should be white. If you go a level above, it's not the end of the world. Then you just equip the stone. And once you come across quests that are 1 lvl above you, you unequip it again. Just keep an eye out on your xp bar and current level. =) The stone is great though and makes the world so much more engaging. Good luck out there !
This is off-topic, but I'm completely lost on how to change the look of my equipment, which I know is a thing in LOTRO. A tutorial video that covers the Wardrobe and cosmetic stuff would be extremely helpful for newbs like myself. Thanks for the fantastic videos!
I’ll mark it on my videos to film list! This was perfect timing cause I’m in the midst of trying to figure out which videos to film next and what to have ready to edit now.
I'm contemplating starting a new character on Crickhollow, and just wondering if you have any suggestions on decent kinships for a casual player? Thanks for the great videos.
Bleeds are important if you love pulling big mobs. Anddd, u can put a bleed on, and then heal and bleed them to death. Also, With no landscape difficulty, you don’t need defense because your offense is so strong. I can see why you did defense . Maybe as you get higher, your offense will strong enough you don’t need any yellow traited. PS listen to the song :p
No not for four characters. I believe the limit is 7 though once the VIP runs out. So just don’t make more than 7 characters or else they will be locked.
@@aubreytheweirdone Assuming no other purchases, VIP has 7 character slots per server and Premium (the status of an account after VIP status ends) has 5.
I think it’s very irresponsible as a reviewer just to shit all over a class just because you can’t wrap your head around it and then totally steer new people away from it. I it is nowhere as bad as she makes it out to be. Do yourself a favor and try it out and make your own decision on the class
A counter point to your thinking that the DOTs are pointless without landscape difficulty: It's very satisfying when mobs burrow underground to become invulnerable but then just die because they have 4 dots on them.
It is! 😂 It’s like they try to run away from you, but you’re like haha you can run but you can’t hide 😂
Blue spec makes maximum Landscape Difficulty much more manageable. Instead of Red’s penalty to some of the healing Gambits you get more avoidance, more mitigations, and much better self healing. You will do less damage, of course, but survivability trumps damage output at high Landscape Difficulty settings.
Let’s look at one Gambit series: Spear-Shield (which I will abbreviate as 1-2 because those are the quickslots that most people assign those skills to). 1-2 is a one-target instant-damage attack which also interrupts inductions. 1-2-1 does more damage but does not interrupt inductions. 1-2-1-2 does even more damage. Even once you can use four-builder Gambits, 1-2 remains useful because of its ability to interrupt inductions. Even once you can use four-builder Gambits, 1-2-1 remains useful because sometimes you don’t have the time for that final builder for 1-2-1-2 (or don’t need to spend the time to use that final builder because you don’t need the extra damage). Similarly, the 2-1 series can all be used because each one of those four Gambits (2-1, 2-1-2, 2-1-2-1, 2-1-2-1-2) includes a HOT which can run concurrently with the others whereas if you just use the most powerful five-builder version you will have only one HOT. (Reusing the exact same Gambit will not stack a HOT, it will overwrite the existing identical HOT.) Every Gambit has its use, whether short or long, depending on the current circumstance.
The “masteries” are also known as “fast builders”. They allow Gambits to be built faster because each fast builder drops TWO builders into your Gambit panel and the fast builders have no animation (and, if out of combat, no cooldown, either). In the time it might take you to build and fire off one Gambit with the standard builder attacks you can instead build and fire off three Gambits using fast builders. Fast builders do no damage and, in combat, have a cooldown preventing them from being used repeatedly but they can vastly increase your outgoing damage or ability to buff and heal yourself because it’s the Gambits that do the work for you - the builders (fast and normal) are just for building Gambits, the damage from normal builders is negligible.
Finally, having some sort of Gambit formula reference that can be checked while in combat helps a lot. Pros like Louey don’t need one, but I do and most people would find playing Warden much easier if they could see the formulas in front of them as they play. This can be done by keeping some notes up on a second screen or even just a sheet of paper but there is a great plugin which provides an on-screen cheat-sheet for Gambits: WardenEase2.
Thanks for the informative videos, Weirdone! Love your passion for LOTRO, your creative talent, and your appealing weirdness :)
Aww thanks for watching LoreDeederDude!
Warden dots remind me of the Onyxia raid wipe video,
"I dont see enough dots, more dots, more dots now"
Thank you for giving warden a better shot (higher difficulty).To be honest, I had a bad impression from previous videos. As harsh as it may seem, you didn't know how to play warden properly. I believe now that you didn't WANT to know because of lack of interest which makes more sense.
I appreciate your honesty and effort on the matter.
My main issue with a previous video was that you gave some advice/insight about warden, however you did not really do it justice at that time. That has changed.
Good job
Happy to hear you had a more fulfilling time with warden the second time around, focusing on lower level. With landscape difficulty being tuned up I definitely wouldn't be running red spec even after the rework and removal of yellow as a main line. The only way to level solo without dying on high difficulty without being incredibly well geared with xp stoppers to stack traits, is by playing ranged and swapping to melee only when necessary. Otherwise I'd cruise along slower but safer in blue line where your heals are 60% stronger and in many cases can chunk up your life so quickly by reusing them over and over to reset the hot. Strange about the 2 builder gambit comments though, you get your first hot perseverance as a 2 builder shield spear, and dots as quickly as war cry and precise strike fist shield and fist spear combos. I think these are available before level 6 and stack well when you get access to the 3 chain gambit that build off of those existing skills.
the best/worst thing about Warden is that it really, truly encapsulates the class fantasy: being a real warden is NOT easy and often complicated. but once you get the hang of it, things fall into place.
I have been playing lotro for more than 10 years. I played all classes except warden. I thought it is a overcomplicated class. I was wrong. I started playing warden two months ago. It is the best class in lotro! Not that complicated, very effective and best for solo a hard content.
Heck yeah! I will say, I do feel like Warden is a lot easier now than it was previously so in a way I am kind of glad you decided to try it now and not back then.
luv your vids, they always get me yearning to return to the shire.
Aww I’m so glad! Time to pay a visit to Lobeila Sackville-Baggins
My main is a LvL 105 Hunter ( yes, been playing since open beta and still not got to level cap, no rush though), and started leveling up a Warden; reached level 53 and am finding it a fun challenge compared with my hunter. It's fun pulling a group of mobs and burning them down, something that on my Hunter would result in a trip to the res-circle. I've not done any skirmishes yet, nor any raids (tend not to do raids very much anyway though) but for landscape the Warden is fun so far.
great job on warden vid I always like playing mine and learning new gambits, keep up the great work.
Aww thanks Gary!! I appreciate the support
Thanks for the great info and sharing, these videos are the best.
Aww thanks so much!
Bleeds definitely dont matter until a much higher level where not everything dies in 1-2 hits but if you play on difficulty 7+ you could learn to use them a bit. Landscape difficulty has taught me classes much faster because it makes you utilize more of a rotation and not just the typical 1-2 attacks that gets you a kill.
Yes, exactly my point on the important landscape difficulty and rotations. Very helpful for warden to have landscape difficulty on.
New player here ... tried some classes for the first lvls: Hunter, Champ, Burg, Warden .... Warden is my main now :D
Welcome to the Warden life!
My main for many years was a hobbit warden. Got it to 3rd martial in the ettenmoors way back in the day before the nerf.
"Let's Talk About Warden" Proceeds to launch herself into her chair! Great Video Aubrey! - Skydapowerlifter
🎉SKY! Thanks for watching. But yes, more chair launching in the future
Warden is one of the best classes in any MMO. Very unique and fun
Definitely unique! Best classes in any MMO…idk about that one. But I also have a list of MMOs to try too so 🤷♀️ 😅
Love my Hobbit Warden😊 I totally get what you're saying with warden on normal difficulty. As a mental note.. If you play on normal difficulty with a warden, they Thrive on AoE pulls/gambits😃 Heals, etc.. are much greater. For fun in normal you can also solo 3 mans/fellowship instances. You can mix Blue/Yellow, Blue/Red, Red/Yellow, etc... I would suggest though to go Blue/Yellow or Blue/Red for harder difficulties😁 Fair enough if it's not your style, but mixing some of the lines can be a lot of fun😁
I'm proud of you :D Warden class best class!!!!!
.... Idk about best class, but it's fun to some extent.
First of: hobbits are objectively scientifically proven the best race universally recognized. :P
Second: nice vid.. =)
On a serious note,
I get where you're coming from with the warden. I think the way the player progressively unlocks gambits while leveling is a great way to learn the ropes of the system. It's a very unique and interesting class mechanic, and I liked it for it's lack of cooldowns and the other reasons you mentioned.
There are 2 reasons my warden (a hobbit of course) is parked at lvl 50-something.
1) Messing up my gambit building because some server lag didn't process my input correctly is very punishing and frustrating.
2) Coming back to the class after a break from the game was rough since I had to relearn all the gambits instead of spending my few hours of free time enjoying the game. It ended up keeping me away from the game instead of playing because I just didn't want to get into it. So I parked my warden and picked up my other classes that I got back into in like 5 min.
Overall I think it's great class with an interesting design and I'm happy that some people can make it work for them. In the end I just decided it didn't fit my playtime requirements.
Quick note on heroic +2:
I personally love the landscape difficulty setting. It breathes new life in the early-game content that was otherwise not just a mindless run-through-as-quick-as-I-can. It's The way to play co-op as well. It requires teamwork, coordination and preparation. I use Scrolls of Battle/Warding Lore, food buffs, potions, etc.. I use all my utility skills and get a much deeper understanding of the class mechanics early on. I also naturally start building rotations.
I personally love the early zones of lotro and the landscape diff just makes the whole adventure so much more engaging. And again most fun I ever had with co-op.
Well.. this is getting too long now ^^'
Aubrey, if you haven't yet, maybe you could try a heroic +2 run with the stone of tortoise to stay on level, playing your favorite class. Taking your time and have fun. I think it would be a nice video playthrough as well. :)
I really like warden but you almost have to play one exclusively to stay fresh with the gambits. I change classes a lot to keep things fresh and if I ignore my warden for a couple weeks then I almost need to start over! Fortunately, unless you are hardcore you really only need to know about half a dozen gambits to get by in my opinion. BTW, my two least favorite classes are Loremaster and Captain. I don't like pets. I think I've tried LM several times because I like the eagle pet but I don't like controlling them. I've never gotten a cappy past 20 because their pets are not only annoying but they look silly to me as well. Just my opinion though, everyone likes their own thing and that's cool!
Yes! I totally agree with playing warden exclusivity. If I take a few weeks off, I don’t like the class anymore cause I’ve forgotten too much. I also find LM and Captain to be on the bottom of my tier list too.
Being new to the game, I have a question for you vets: What would be the best way to utilize the stone of the tortoise? I don't want to out level the content and with quests being a huge chunk of xp I am thinking to mix the stone with landscape leveling to balance things out and keep the game challenging. Basically, not use the stone during questing but slap it on when turning in the quest. Thoughts? Also, awesome content. 🤘🏾
I think that’s a great idea! I’ve still never used the stone so I’m not sure of other ways to go about it but I do know people use a similar strat in other MMOs so I think it’s a good play.
You want to simply stay in the level range of the current quests that you're doing. Meaning, the quests and the enemy names should be white. If you go a level above, it's not the end of the world. Then you just equip the stone. And once you come across quests that are 1 lvl above you, you unequip it again. Just keep an eye out on your xp bar and current level. =)
The stone is great though and makes the world so much more engaging.
Good luck out there !
This is off-topic, but I'm completely lost on how to change the look of my equipment, which I know is a thing in LOTRO. A tutorial video that covers the Wardrobe and cosmetic stuff would be extremely helpful for newbs like myself. Thanks for the fantastic videos!
I’ll mark it on my videos to film list! This was perfect timing cause I’m in the midst of trying to figure out which videos to film next and what to have ready to edit now.
Awesome. Thanks!@@aubreytheweirdone
Without lags, warden is ok, but even small lags make him unplayable at all
Any chance you’d do 1-20 on lore master? I’m trying to decide between LM and Warden. You made warden sound so appealing.
Yes, level 1-20 reviews will be made for every class in due time :) In the meantime, I’d say Warden is probably a better bet.
warden biggest enemy is lag
So true though!
I'm contemplating starting a new character on Crickhollow, and just wondering if you have any suggestions on decent kinships for a casual player? Thanks for the great videos.
Only Weirdos kin is always looking for players :)
@@aubreytheweirdone Excellent. Thanks for the quick reply!
Hobbit Wardie is way to go !
I didn't consider the faint skill for hobbits, thank you! Good reminder.
I only play hobbits. I bought the river hobbit just to try mariner.
Stupid wounds. Wounds always killed me.
Same. They are so deadly 😞
Bleeds are important if you love pulling big mobs. Anddd, u can put a bleed on, and then heal and bleed them to death. Also, With no landscape difficulty, you don’t need defense because your offense is so strong. I can see why you did defense . Maybe as you get higher, your offense will strong enough you don’t need any yellow traited.
PS listen to the song :p
Gotcha. Yeah bleeds will hopefully something I put more effort into going forward.
P.S.: I will listen to the song 🙂
I haven't played LOTRO since 2012 yet I am watching this
Hahaha as you should. But honestly, play the game. It's fun and still is getting regular updates.
This makes me feel happy cause i played a warden :) its a fun class
🥳🥳🥳
For wardens to be any good they need a new class mechanism. Combos are just a real pita and make it not fun.
@@Xaphiero I agree with this 1000%
if i buy vip for only 1 month and i make like 4 characters , would it be locked after my vip runs out?
No not for four characters. I believe the limit is 7 though once the VIP runs out. So just don’t make more than 7 characters or else they will be locked.
@@aubreytheweirdone ahh okay nice
@@aubreytheweirdone Assuming no other purchases, VIP has 7 character slots per server and Premium (the status of an account after VIP status ends) has 5.
wtf are dots? Everyone talking about that
@@shaguar6439 Damage over time
River Hobbit #1!
🙌🙌🙌
I think it’s very irresponsible as a reviewer just to shit all over a class just because you can’t wrap your head around it and then totally steer new people away from it. I it is nowhere as bad as she makes it out to be. Do yourself a favor and try it out and make your own decision on the class
I'm not a reviewer, just a person with an opinion that you don't have to follow :)
so you played a class you hate and also decided to make it a race you hate. I guess that char will be deleted soon.
What…hobbits are my most favorited race 😅 The character is still standing strong at about level 28 right now I believe 🙂
17 minutes of yapping about the Warden by someone who has the barest grasp of the class..
...and you contributed what exactly to this conversation? You need a hug and a nap.
@@slackerpope You're 3 months late; I had a nap and plenty of hugs in the past few months ;)
Physician, heal thyself.