Guide to Playing Solo

LOTRO is a game designed to offer a variety of play experiences, and soloing is very viable for all of the Classes. It is not necessary to choose a particular class to solo effectively, although some classes are more enjoyable to solo with than others.

Class Overview

Every class has the potential for successful solo levelling. However, the optimal play-style varies greatly between classes, and players should choose their class based on their own preferences. While damage-oriented classes can often kill enemies quickly, they might have trouble surviving against large groups. Crowd-control classes may have to rely more on hindering enemies than other classes, making proper positioning potentially paramount.

• Beornings have powerful self-heals and survivability along with strong damage, making them an extraordinarily strong solo class. Beornings can effectively level as any of the three trait lines, with the area of focus (survivability, damage or healing) being up to the preference of the player. Beornings should focus on Might and Vitality to improve their damage and survivability further.
• Burglars have the ability to sneak attack and later in levels to hide in plain sight. The class is very positionally oriented, which can be a disadvantage in solo play, but the ability to sneak around enemies without having to fight them often allows avoiding fights, or even escape from them. Burglars should gear primarily towards Critical Rating and Physical Mastery, also provided by Agility.
• Captains have great survivability in their Leader of Men (yellow) line, but struggle with dealing damage. The Lead the Charge (red) line is the preferred levelling specialty for most captains, increasing their damage and empowering their Herald or Archer. Captains use heavy armor and have numerous abilities that allow them to effectively dps and heal. Captains should gear primarily towards Critical Rating and Physical Mastery, also provided by Might, and then Vitality.
• Champions are an excellent class for solo levelling, with decent survivability and excellent melee dps both for AoE and single-target. Champions should gear primarily towards Critical Rating and Physical Mastery, also provided by Might, and Vitality.
• Guardians offer very high survivability as an unsupported character with their ability to take mass damage as a tank. In the red line, some of their survivability is exchanged for a higher damage output, using bleeds. They should primarily gear towards Vitality and then Might.
• Hunters have many high single-target dps skills that generally kill their opponents before they reach them. They also possess snares and several high damage melee skills to finish off any surviving mobs. However, hunters lack consistent AoE and should be careful when pulling mobs - anything more than 3 mobs is likely to result in death. Hunters also possess travel skills to make travel throughout Middle Earth much easier. They should gear primarily towards Critical Rating and Physical Mastery, also provided by Agility.
• Lore-masters can do heavy area affect damage and have the advantages of pets, which can distract opponents. Lore-masters also have the ability to crowd-control targets leaving a less likely chance to become overwhelmed. They should gear primarily towards Will and then either Fate or Vitality (see comment on Burglar).
• Minstrels have excellent healing and buffing abilities that they can use to increase their solo capability. They are capable of high burst damage while staying mobile, often enabling them to kite enemies without having to sacrifice damage. They should gear primarily towards Critical Rating and Tactical Mastery.
• Rune-keepers can be difficult for players to solo level. They have extremely good healing and single-target dps skills, but are very vulnerable to melee combat - especially against multiple enemies. The yellow line offers some crowd control skills that can make soloing easier. They should gear primarily towards Will and then either Fate or Vitality (see comment on Burglar).
• Wardens are excellent solo characters with their Morale and the ability to utilize massive amounts of self-healing, making them virtually unbeatable to on-level or even above-level mobs. They also have great versatility in being able to do both ranged and melee attacks. Wardens also possess travel skills that make travel in Middle Earth much easier. They should primarily gear towards Vitality and then Agility.

Questing

There are plenty of soloable quests in the game of LOTRO that makes it completely feasible to level all the way to the level cap even without doing fellowship quests, instances or even entire regions. The quest journal and more importantly the quest tracker are very helpful tools in determining what quests are available and where. Generally, as a solo character you'll tend to avoid fellowship and small fellowship quests unless your character is several levels higher or you feel confident that you can successfully complete the quest. Fellowship quests often require players to defeat strong mobs and mini-bosses that are almost impossible to solo on-level.

In general, advancement as a solo player is a bit slower than with a good Fellowship but soloing offers much greater flexibility, especially for casual players without longer blocks of play time. If you don't mind the occasional PUG (Pick Up Group), then set yourself a goal to complete a series of Fellowship quests before moving on to another area. Otherwise, keep on that solo path and the best of luck to you!

This is a list of zones (regions, areas or other locations) with their recommended level. Some players may be able to head to these zones earlier (and of course later) in their levelling process. Non starter areas have a "minimum" level below which fast travel there will not work, and survival will be harder. See level restrictions.

Most regional quests are aimed at a level range of about 10 levels, but sometimes a specific area or location offers quests aimed at higher levels. Such odd areas or locations are presented in italic font. And those quests are not included in the general level range of the region.

To see the zones in chronological order, see The Lord of the Rings Online

Levels 1–50: The Legacy of Angmar The Shire: 1–15 The Yondershire: 20–23 Ered Luin: 1–15 Sarnúr: 45–50 Swanfleet: 1–15 Bree-land: 1–25 Archet Dale, Combe, Staddle: 1–15 Bree-land (north), Nen Harn: 15–21 Barrow-downs: 20–25 The Wildwood: 45–50 Ost Alagos: 55 Cardolan: 15–32 Lone-lands: 20–35 The Forsaken Inn: 18–23 Ost Guruth: 20–30 Garth Agarwen: 31–35 North Downs: 20–35 Trestlebridge: 20–25 Esteldín (west): 20–25 Esteldín (east): 25–35 Fornost: 25–35 Evendim: 30–40 Annúminas: 39–40 Trollshaws: 35–40 The Angle of Mitheithel: 40–45 Misty Mountains: 40–45 Giant Halls: 45 Goblin-town: 45 Angmar: 40–50 Ephel Angren: 140 Forochel: 44–50 Eregion: 48–53	Levels 50–65: The Mines of Moria Moria: 50–60 The Great Delving: 51 The Silvertine Lodes: 52 Durin's Way: 53 Zirakzigil: 53–54 The Water-works: 54 Zelem-Melek: 55 The Redhorn Lodes: 56 The Flaming Deeps: 57 Nud-melek: 58 The Foundations of Stone: 59 Lothlórien: 60 Mirkwood: 60–65	Levels 65–95: Allies of the King Enedwaith: 60–65 Dunland: 65–72 Trum Dreng: 66 Bonevales: 66 Pren Gwydh: 67 Tâl Methedras: 68, 72 Starkmoor: 69–71 Dunbog: 70 Carreglyn: 71 Gravenwood: 72 Gap of Rohan: 73–74 Isendale: 73 Heathfells: 74 Nan Curunír: 75 The Great River: 70–75 East Rohan: 75–85 The Wold: 76–77 The East Wall: 76–77 Norcrofts: 78–80 Entwash Vale: 80–82 Sutcrofts: 83–85 Wildermore: 85 West Rohan: 85–95 Kingstead: 85–88 Eastfold: 88–90 Broadacres: 90–91 Stonedeans: 91–93 Westfold: 93–95 Entwood: 95
Levels 95–105: The Strength of Sauron Western Gondor: 95–100 Blackroot Vale: 95–97 Lamedon: 97–98 Havens of Belfalas: 98–100 The Dead Marshes: 100 Central Gondor: 100 Ringló Vale: 100 Dor-en-Ernil: 100 Lebennin: 100 Eastern Gondor: 100 Upper Lebennin: 100 Lossarnach: 100 South Ithilien: 100 Osgiliath: 100 Old Anórien: 100 Talath Anor: 100 Pelennor: 100 Minas Tirith: 100 Far Anórien: 100–105 Taur Drúadan: 101–102 The Beacon Hills: 103–104 Battle of Pelennor Fields: 105 Anórien (After Battle): 105 Minas Tirith (After-battle): 105 The Pelennor Fields (After-battle): 105 Osgiliath (After Battle): 105 North Ithilien: 105 The Wastes: 105	Levels 105–130: The Black Book of Mordor The Plateau of Gorgoroth: 105–115 Udûn: 106–108 Dor Amarth: 108–109 Lhingris: 110–111 Talath Úrui: 112–113 Agarnaith: 114–115 Eryn Lasgalen and the Dale-lands: 115 Eryn Lasgalen: 115 The Dale-lands: 115 The Dwarf-holds: 115–120 The Ironfold: 115–117 Ered Mithrin: 117–120 Vales of Anduin: 120 The Morgul Vale: 120–130 Mordor Besieged: 120–122 Rath Dúath: 123–124 Cirith Ungol: 125 Minas Morgul: 126–130	Levels 130–140: The Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarves Wells of Langflood: 130 Elderslade: 130 The War of Three Peaks: 130 Azanulbizar: 130 Gundabad: 130–140 Máttugard: 130–132 Deepscrave: 133 Pit of Stonejaws: 134 Câr Bronach: 135 Gloomingtarn: 137 Clovengap: 138 Welkin-lofts: 139–140
Levels 140–150: The Song of Waves and Wind King's Gondor: 140–143 Lossarnach: 140 Lower Lebennin: 140 Upper Lebennin: 140 Lebennin Valley: 140–141 Dor-en-Ernil: 141–142 Ringló Vale: 141–142 Lamedon: 141–142 Emyn Falas: 141–142 Tarlang's Neck: 141 Blackroot Vale: 141–142 Tarlang's Crown: 142 The Havens of Belfalas: 142–143 Anfalas: 142–144 Pinnath Gelin: 143–145 The Shield Isles: 145–147 Cape of Umbar: 147–150 Umbar Baharbêl: 150 Umbar-môkh: 150	Levels 150: PvMP Ettenmoors: 150

Gearing Up

A character's gear becomes increasingly important as their level increases. At the beginning levels, the quality of your gear is a negligible factor and should not adversely affect your effectiveness in soloing nor occupy any significant amount of your attention and effort. However, at the mid-to-high levels, decent gear is recommended for smooth and effective gameplay and is often fairly easily acquired through quests, crafting, or purchases at the Auction House. It is advised that you do not spend large amounts of time and resources obtaining top tier on-level gear unless you are at the level cap as you will simply out-level the gear in a short time and find better gear that can be more easily required or requires even more resources.

Landscape Difficulty

In July 2021, the Treebeard and Shadowfax servers launched with a new Landscape Difficulty option to customise the level of challenge provided by open-world or "landscape" enemies in the game. These difficulty settings provide a greatly varied experience when levelling as a solo character in the open world, and have a profound impact on a characters ability to survive and deal damage. Armour becomes significantly more important, with heavily armoured characters receiving significantly less damage on higher difficulty settings than light-armoured characters, and mobility, kiting, crowd-control and self-heals all become more important to ensure survival. While any class and trait-line is perfectly viable on Normal difficulty, Deadly difficulty can pose a challenge to characters that are not prepared.