Ok I will start the discussion with a small introduction.

Mick Thistlefield, a captain of Bree-land, an armourer extraordinaire, at your service.

I reached level 50 some time ago and since concentrated my efforts to crafting, books, traits and captains quests. Haven't seriously tried the monster play yet, as I thought that I should hone the character first and see what there is in PvE for high level char. Of course with the book 10 update there is alot more to try out, mainly the reputation system with the new instances.

Here are some of my thoughts bout the captain char:

Attributes. Trying to optimize the char I have concentrated on might and fate, but with a fairly balanced outcome. I know some capts go for agility rather than might, but I thought that it's better to aspire for constant big damage than the occasional crit. The newest patch hit hard especially on the power consumption, which I thought was bad as it was. The devs thought otherwise. You can't really overlook any attribute as a captain even in PvE, with the new morale costs in our healing and all.

Gear. No big issues here, as an armourer I can craft pretty good gear for myself, and lots of great quest rewards. The new bracelets and earrings that jewellers can craft are really nice, check those out. I have in-combat power regeneration on both bracelets to ensure fair functionality even in longer fights.

Weapon. It's not hard to figure out to go with a 2-hander as a captain. The only situation I would even consider going with a shield is when I'm trying to be the main healer. And I stress the word try, as captain can be MH only with pretty poor results. At least that's the case for everything but the easiest quests. Right now i carry 7 (seven) weapons with me, as I'm trying to test the different damage types against different mobs. Lots of choises here, but if you can get power reg (Steadfast, Great Axe of the Mark, Flametongue) on the weapon, great. Eventually one might aspire for the Mirrored Ancient Steel weapons, all the 2-handers look pretty interesting. Shame that all of them lack the power reg.

Virtues. The most difficult to choose. I have Idealism, Valour, Justice, Determination and Discipline. These are really a matter of taste.

Race traits. Won't say anything, nothing to discuss really.

Class traits. Have equipped Defiance, Captain's Victory, Renewed Voice, Turn of the Tide and Expert Attacks. Captain's Victory is the only -must have- trait here, cause if a fellowship runs low on power, there's not much anyone can do. Defiance is also nice for the In Harms Way - Last Stand - Strenght of Morale -combo, which can really save a fellowship from a wipe-out.

Legendary traits. Out of the 3 acquired with books and pages, the only really useful in PvE is the Defy Corruption. Oathbreaker's Shame and Shield of the Dunedain have their own uses (in raids especially, I can imagine), but I really await the awesome In Defense of Middle-Earth, that you get completing the level 45 captain quests. Only 1 item to go for me, the Putrid Slime of Helchgam.

Tactics. The herald is a tactical weapon that too few capts out there really use. With the new shield-brother skill and insta-cast WoC he (or she) can tank pretty well for you. This is hugely beneficial against multiple mobs. Send the herald to take the heat from 2 mobs while you take the third out, healing the herald at the same time. Routing Cry, take the second out.. Rallying Cry and take the third mob out. Voila. I usually use the herald (or the standard) of War when soloing.

The new standards come in handy when the herald goes down in a fight. And also when you go solo against one elite (typically a turtle for me). Critted standard of War (+20% melee damage, +10% morale) is in order in that case.

In a fellowship captain is the middle-man, the Jack of all trades. That means you do kinda everything.. mark mobs, add some DPS, support-heal and buff. You can even off-tank since you're not that squishy, but captain has very poor means of aggro management. You might wanna watch the minstrel closely, healing and taking aggro off him if needed. The only sensible choise of herald here is the herald of victury, for the long fights. If the fight is short, it's usually easy and it doesn't matter what herald you use.


Don't know what else to say here. Please post your views and questions. Ask, challenge and provoke.

I look forward to a lively dialog about captains, leaders of men.

I'll continue with a note on captain's role in a fellowship..

The new Shield-Brother (a captain can assign one person to be his shield-brother), Inspire (heal to shield-brother), insta-cast Words of Courage (our normal single-target heal) and To Arms (buff to the melee damage of our shield-brother) are really well fitted for the captain. I am in favor of the main assist being a melee class instead of the hunter, because it keeps the group tight. If a hunter is the main assist, he's usually a bit off the group and as main assist can cause mobs running around and the melee DPS classes behind then.

A captain can be main assist, but with marking the targets and other DPS classes flinging about, it might be hard to keep the aggro. The main tank should keep as many mobs at his grasp as he can, but usually the concentrated DPS pulls the one mob away from him. A burglar can also be the main assist, but with crowd control responsibilities and the DPS being at the same level as the captains, it might be difficult for him too.

In an ideal situation the main assist is the champion. I mentioned the new skills, and with those I can heal and buff the champion pretty damn well. So while minstrel takes care of the guardian, the captain should focus his attention to the main assist.

Captain is a very interesting and helpful class.

Always welcome in any fellowship with their great buffs.
Sometimes, even during hard missions, you don't need a minstrel when you have a good captain on your side.

Continuing on the damage type effect.. I recently grinded some of the deeds in Sarnur and there are some mobs with Great Protection. The description says that certain weapons can break that protection. I noticed that Ancient Dwarf-make is best against those mobs, and later on found some info on the yankee forums, that is what works and against what:

Some obsessive Yank wrote:

Sarnur great protection mobs: Ancient Dwarf followed by light/fire as a moderately close second. Barrows instance protection mobs: Westernesse followed by light/fire as a moderately close second. Undead things: Light, followed by fire as a very close second Ettenmoors PvMP: Beleriand > Fire = Light > Westernsse = Ancient Dwarf > Common Beleriand is an edge vs spiders, but it's equal to fire and light against all other creep types. In a nutshell, fire and light are the most versatile damage types in the game, but you can specialize for beleriand in pvmp and the ancient dwarf or westernesse for the two great protection dungeon areas.

It doesn't make THAT much of a difference what the damage type is outside of these new dungeons (and Ettenmoors apparently), but useful info nontheless.

_________________
Playing Lotro is like making love to a beautiful woman; you enter with the state of mind that patience and determination are the virtues here, but after some ferocious efforts you realize that the time spent has been in vain.

Captain quests done! Finally!! Third time IS the charm.
IN DEFENSE OF MIDDLE-EARTH - acquired.

POW POW!

Some clarifications:

Captain trait Expert Attacks, while good in solo play, will be replaced by Now For Wrath for fellowship play in my books. More tools to keep the group's power up.

Also, when attacking 3 normal mobs at once, restrain yourself from healing the herald until the first mob is nearly dead.

Next on the wish list:



I'm pretty happy with the gear I currently use, but one can still get better.

Hill-Defender drops from Azgoth in Carn Dum, so I'll keep my fingers crossed the next time. The in-combat power reg is a must for me, and the other mods are just gravy. Best damage available plus demoralize, might and parry bonus.

Berghelm is just the best damn helm in the game for melee guys. I have seen only one person with this helm on our server. I'm sure there are others but the point is that it's pretty rare, and I have no idea where it drops.

Have to say that Turbine really nailed the book 10 update changes for the captain. I can heal and buff one person pretty damn well. As a main healer captain still sucks (as he should) but in a fellowship captain should turn his attention to the MA. Before the patch captain couldn't heal and fight at the same time, now it goes really fluently.

Same applies to a 2-person grind. Captain can't heal himself that well, but coupled with someone else (that can preferably keep the aggro) they can make a pretty effective duo. Me and Marley-my-son have teared down packs of orcs in Nan Gurth this week, and the occasional level 51 elite drake barely slows us down.

Alright. You happen to have any link or pictures of that set?