Revised for Update 2
For levels 51-60, your chief goal is surviving the Mines of Moria. Many players will tell you they hate Moria and for good reason -- it's gloomy and full of nasty orcs after your hide! Even the most diehard Moria fans get weary after 10 levels of it. So what's a hero to do?
First, we recommend waiting until level 53 before questing in Moria. Get your legendary items, if you haven't yet. Finish up any level 50 content you have in Angmar, Misty Mountains, Forochel and Eregion first. Work on the later books in Volume I of the epic story. Rank up your skirmish soldier. Get your virtues up to at least rank 6, you're going to need them. Let the anticipation build. When you finally pass through the Hollin Gate, you be ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
While in Moria, focus first on completing enough quests in each area to finish the quest completion deeds (these unlock Moria swift travel routes). You progress through Moria zone by zone, starting with The Great Delving, then Silvertine Lodes, Durin's Way, Zelem-melek, The Water-works, Redhorn Lodes, Nud-Melek, Flaming Deeps and ending with the Foundations of Stone. You don't need to do every quest to get to 58 or so, when you can start Lothlorien, so skip any quests that are bogging you down.
At level 58, you can emerge from the gloom of Moria and start running quests in the Dimril Dale area of Lothlorien (before level 58 you won't get credit for Lothlorien deeds).You need to achieve Acquaintance standing with the Galadhrim to cross the Nimrodel without being shot on sight by archers stationed along the border of the Golden Wood. Volume II, Books 6 to 8 of the epic story pay a lot of Galadhrim reputation, as do repeatable quests.
Free and Premium Tactics
If at all possible, try to get a Mines of Moria retail box with a 30-day subscription. These are getting to be rarer than chicken teeth, so ask around. Just be sure you get the version of the game you are playing (NA or EU). Not only will you get the Moria content, skirmish rank 15 unlock, Warden and Runekeeper classes and other goodies, you'll get the great VIP-to-Premium downgrade benefits.If you don't have Moria, expect a long grind. Skirmish daily, work on rep, repeat later chapters of Volume 1 for XP (finish Volume 1 if you haven't already!). Definitely work on Volume 2, which will open up some more skirmishes and offers good gear rewards.
New Content for 51-60
| Content | Quests, deeds and TP | Classic and Skirmish Join |
|---|---|---|
| Moria MoM quest pack, expansion or retail box | 300+ quests (levels 51-60) plus Volume 2, Books 1-8 [51-53] The Great Delving [52-55] Silvertine Lodes [52-58] Durin's Way [53-56] Zelem-melek [55-56] The Water-works [55-56] Redhorn Lodes [56-58] Nud-Melek [56-57] Flaming Deeps [58-60] Foundations of Stone 143 deeds 405 TP from zone deeds 535 TP from instance deeds | Classic Join: [54] The Forgotten Treasury (6-man) [56] The Grand Stair (6-man) [59] The Forges of Khazad-dum (6-man) [60] Fil Gashan (6-man) [60] Skumfil (6-man) [60] The Sixteenth Hall (6-man) [60] Dark Delvings (6-man) [60] Filikul (12-man raid) [60] The Vile Maw (12-man raid) |
| Battle of the Deep Way Free1 | Skirmish Join: 55-65 Battle of the Deep Way | |
| Battle of the Way of Smiths Free1 | Skirmish Join: 55-65 Battle of the Way of Smiths | |
| Battle of the Twenty-first Hall Free1 | Skirmish Join: 55-65 Battle of the Twenty-first Hall | |
| Lothlorien Lothlorien quest pack or MoM retail box | 90+ quests (levels 59-60) 17 deeds 135 TP from zone deeds 200 TP from instance deeds | [59] Hall of Crafting (6-man) [60] The Water Wheels - Nala-dum (3-man) [60] The Mirror-halls of Lumul-nar (3-man) [60] Dar Narbugud (12-man raid) |
New Options for Character Improvement
Radiance was removed in Update 2, which really opened up the possibilities when it comes to armor sets, and gear in general.Many players start running the Grand Stair (GS) and other Moria instances at level 56 to collect Medallions of Moria, which can be traded to the barter vendor in Twenty-first Hall for the Moria armor set. This set has good bonuses for most classes, though the head and shoulder pieces require a barter item from the Vile Maw raid.
The level 59 Halls of Crafting (HoC) instance is also popular, mainly for the great jewelry that drops there. In addition, you'll get Medallions of Lothlorien, which can be traded to the barter vendor in Caras Galadhon for the 3-piece Lothlorien armor set. The same set can also be earned later in Mirkwood.
Sets aside, Volume II rewards many nice individual pieces of armor and jewelry. The Iron Garrison reputation barter vendors offer a few nice items. The level 58+ crit-crafted armor, jewelry and shields at these levels are also excellent options.
| Area | Details |
|---|---|
| Legendary Traits | [55] Earning Kindred standing with the Iron Garrison Guards lets you purchase yet another legendary trait. [58] The level 58 class quest awards another legendary trait and is well worth doing while in Moria (MoM QP or expansion required). |
| Legendary Items | [51] Every level 51+ quest now rewards item experience (IXP) for leveling your legendary items. |
The Epic Story
"Solofied" in Update 2, Volume II of the epic story is well worth doing. Gear rewards, skirmish unlocks, tons of rep, a legendary trait to earn - need I go on? See Volume II at a Glance for info.Optional Content
| Content | Details |
|---|---|
| IXP Instances | Dolven-view has 6 IXP instances you can run once a day for more IXP and relics. Some also advance Moria slayer deeds.
|
| Reputation | [51] Reputation with the Iron Garrison Guards and Miners allows you to purchase hunter/warden ports, gear and mounts. [60] Many Lothlorien quests pay Lothlorien Silver Branches and Lothlorien Gold Leaves, which can be bartered for recipes, housing items, gear, even a horse! Barter vendors are located in Caras Galadhon, at the Vineyards of Lorien and the docks at Imlad Lalaith. [60] Friend standing with the Galadhrim lets you enter Caras Galadhon, the city in Lothlorien, where there are many more quests. |
| Mirror Quests | [56] Daily "mirror" quests in Durin's Way,The Water-works, Redhorn Lodes, Flaming Deeps and the Foundations of Stone pay IXP and your choice of potions. |
Leveling Plan
- Leveling Plan for 1-21
- Leveling Plan for 22-31
- Leveling Plan for 32-40
- Leveling Plan for 41-50
- Leveling Plan for 51-60
- Leveling Plan for 61-65
Related Articles
- Content by Level Chart
- The Great Delving Leveling Guide
- Silvertine Lodes Leveling Guide
- Durin's Way Leveling Guide
- Zelem-melek Leveling Guide
- The Water-works Leveling Guide
- Redhorn Lodes Leveling Guide
- Nud-Melek Leveling Guide
- Flaming Deeps Leveling Guide
- Foundations of Stone Leveling Guide
- Lothlorien Leveling Guide
8 comments:
"Dolven-view has 6 IXP instances you can run once a day for more IXP and relics."
I know of the Infused Garnet and Sapphire daily instances, what are the two others?
"[51] Reputation with the Iron Garrison Guards and Miners allows you to purchase hunter/warden ports, gear and mounts."
About the ports, are those still for hunters and wardens only? Any ports for other classes?
Good info, this is where I think I'll end up at the end of beta with my main. I've already made it through 3 areas in Moria. I agree with Eregion giving you an extra level or two so you can effectively level in Moria. Moria requires level 50 minimum for deeds to start popping up. In addition, you need at least level 50 to be able to use the stable travel options. You'll get a ton of LIs from Moria, and thus it also makes sense to start around level 50-52 so you can level those up and take advantage of the LI exp quest rewards.
Moria does become rather dull after a while. It is very dark in a few places, and I just got tired of it after a while. I solo'd basically everything I could there, so that made my progression a little slower but more rewarding personally. Around 54 or 55, I started getting some small fellowships that appeared to require at least another person, but I didn't continue on with Moria after that point.
Good info!
The IXP instances in Dolven-view are:
Iron Guards:
[54] The Training Hall (infused garnet)
[57] The Ghost-forge (infused sapphire)
[60] The Spider-next (infused adamant)
Iron Miners:
[54] The Mithril Slaves (infused garnet)
[57] The Morroval-outcasts (infused sapphire)
[60] The Library of Steel (infused adamant)
Regarding ports. The only rep ports available are for those 2 classes. On my 65s I leave my map set to Twenty-first Hall and use Return To skills to get to the other parts of Middle-earth. Just confirmed in the store that there is no Return to Twenty-first skill being sold... yet.
I think the outlook for Moria will change a lot with the F2P launch, Ajay. There's a LOT of group content, and a LOT of TP hiding out in those instances. Combine the bigger populations of a live server with Instance Join and I think we'll see plenty of Moria groups going off.
Perspective of a new player going through Moria for the first time:
(1) Loved it initially. I waited until lvl 52 to go there; that was a good call, though for reasons I'll get to next time I may wait until 53.
(2) On my server (one of the new ones), opportunities for grouping have been limited. One reason may be that, as slow as my leveling has been compared to experienced, "hard core" players (lvl 58 on Nov 6, started playing on Sept 17), it seems to be fast compared to the "average" player on the server.
(3) Leveling gets frustrating aftera few levels. Quests more spread apart, lots and lots of mobs to wade through to get to quest locations, etc. The last couple of levels have been frustrating.
(4) Adding to this is the convoluted geography - yes, it is in keeping with the fact that Moria is a multi-leveled underground location, and it was kind of cool at first. But less so as time wears on.
(5) If you aren't doing any of the group content, you're going to start running out of solo quests at some point. You definitely should do the IXP dailies, get at least to 52 before you start (really you could get to 54 pretty easily with all of the quests outside Moria) and probably should skirmish some.
As great as Moria is in many respects, I am really looking forward to exiting when I hit 59 (7 bars away).
I recently leveled through Moria on my Riddermark minstrel and I took the time to finish all the quest deeds to unlock the swift travel routes and easy virtues.
I agree with your assessment that it bogs downs after a while and I definitely skipped some quests and most of Foundations of Stone. The biggest piece of advice I'd give for Moria is to find a leveling partner.
This guide is scheduled for an update, as the Moria expansion is being broken apart into Quest Packs and other store items in the November Update. Unfortunately, with the current state of the test server, I've been unable to collect all the data I need for the update. Hopefully soon!
Broken into quest packs - interesting. I can see some logistical difficulties, given that so many quests cross zone boundaries. Also there will be a huge outcry if non-VIP players who purchased Moria have to buy the quest packs.
The leveling partner idea is good in the abstract (I would venture to say that all of the solo and small fellowship content that I have seen - and I've seen most of it - can be easily done with two people), but it only works for either people content to level slowly, or people who have precisely the same schedule as each other. I have extensive experience with .. that other game ... and leveling with someone else has never worked for me.
But it's fine - a couple of slow levels is not a huge deal. And now I'm back outside, albeit I need to return for some deeds and to get the remaining travel routes. Though it isn't easy to get all of the travel routes solo. (Hence your correct advice about a leveling partner - but see above.)
This is now *slightly* out of date. Just trying to draw your attention to the radiance still needing removal from this guide! This is a fantastic site and my base of Lotro operations!
Is the statement about not earning deeds from Lothlorien until level 58 still true?
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