Captain

Class Difficulty: Moderate

Role: Tank/Support/Healer

Available to races: Dwarf, High Elf, Man, River Hobbit, Stout-axe

Gameplay: Captains are the leaders of the fellowship, and as such, inspire their allies in battle. Captains choose one brother-in-arms to defend, and enhance their abilities beyond their normal capabilities; they are masters of buffing, and bring important fellowship support in whatever role they choose to fulfill. Captains are commonly seen using their mighty Halberds to inflict grave wounds to their enemies; standing at the fore of the Fellowship and shielding their allies; and rallying the Morale of the group up from near defeat. Captains must remain Battle-readied and Battle-hardened to accomplish their goals. Captains gain strength from their allies, so they summon Heralds of battle to aid them.

Lore: The Captains of Middle-earth hold the future in their hands. By their own strength of arms and the inspiration they instill in others, they must lead the Free Peoples to victory.

This class is inspired by Eärnur, last King of Gondor, who was revered both as a Captain skilled in arms, and as a Lore-Master.

A male Human Captain

Class Navigation Classes Skills Traits Traceries Effects Deeds Guides

Gameplay

Captains are jacks-of-all-trades, being able to fulfill near every role in a fellowship. They are best at supporting their fellowship through various buffs, while being able to sufficiently perform in each of their specializations. They also empower their Brother-in-Arms, granting them extra damage, healing, or protection, depending on the specialization. Their core gameplay revolves around transitioning through their Battle States to maintain  Battle-readied and  Battle-hardened.

• Blue-line (Healer): Captains specialized in the Hands of Healing trait tree use strong heal over time effects from skills such as  Valiant Strike and  Rallying Cry to maintain steady fellowship healing. Their lack of strong group cross-healing makes up for their multitude of fellowship protection abilities, such as  To Arms (Shield-brother) and  Shield of the Dúnedain.
• Red-line (Damage Support): Captains specialized in the Lead the Charge trait tree buff the fellowship to deal considerably more damage. Red-line Captains are invaluable due to their strong debuffs, like  Oathbreaker's Shame. They can also maintain decent damage by keeping up bleeds from  Improved Cutting Attack and  Grave Wound.
• Yellow-line (Tank): Captains specialized in the Leader of Men trait tree are classic tanks and are especially good in surviving through any situation. They benefit from strong cooldowns like  Last Stand at the expense of having weaker other cooldowns. Yellow-line Captains can also heal themselves and their fellowship, and are the only tanks to have a Revive skill.

This class is a moderate difficulty class, and is not recommended to newer players due to its more complicated rotation through Battle States. However, Captains are one of the easiest classes to play at the highest level due to the relatively slow pace and low requirement on reaction time. This class is also a solid pick for any fellowship, and is constantly sought after.

Battle States

Captains have access to two battle states:  Battle-readied and  Battle-hardened. Being in either of these battle states grants the Captain important bonuses that help empower their offensive and defensive capabilities.

Battle-readied is applied by using  Defensive Strike and  Battle-shout, and grants the Captain a bonus to their damage. Captains can transition to the Battle-hardened state by using  Pressing Attack or  Devastating Blow, which grants both a defensive and healing bonus. Finally,  Blade of Elendil can be used to remove Battle-hardened in exchange for granting the fellowship a strong buff and weakening the target's mitigations. Certain traits modify the effects of the battle states and their relevant skills, but the core system remains the same across all specializations.

For more information, seeBattle-readied and Battle-hardened.

Heralds

Captains have the ability to summon Herald pets, aiding them in the midst of battle. Only one can be summoned at any given time. Each Herald grants a unique bonus to the fellowship. Like other Pets, Heralds have skills that can be used by Captains, and can be given different commands.

• Herald of War - A Herald of War carries your banner, increasing Melee, Ranged and Tactical by 3%.
• Herald of Hope - A Herald of Hope carries your banner, increasing Physical Mitigation and Tactical Mitigation by 2%.
• Herald of Victory - A Herald of Victory carries your banner, reducing Power cost by 7.5%.
• Herald Archer - A herald Archer carries a Bow to assist you with range in combat.

For more information, see Heralds.

Brother-in-Arms

Captains have the option to select a Brother-in-Arms from amongst their fellowship. Depending on the Captain's specialization, they grant their Brother-in-Arms unique buffs. Skills like Inspire and To Arms take different forms in each Captain specialization.

For more information, see Shield-brother, Blade-brother, and Song-brother.

Enemy Defeat Response

Captains gain the  Enemy Defeat Response whenever an enemy is slain by the fellowship. They can use this effect to grant  Rallying Cry and  Routing Cry increased effect potency and damage/healing. Some skills, like  Devastating Blow and  Time of Need, offer alternate pathways for generating these responses.

For more information, see Enemy Defeat Response.