As a first time LOTRO player or longtime MMO player encountering something different, you can spend a huge amount of time deciphering what various terms mean.
Many of these "terms" are merely slang or shorthand used in "Chat." Where, as in text-messaging (texting), typing as few letters as possible is considered a winning strategy! They eliminates the need to type out long full names. Other terms are simply "Gaming Jargon."
Players using any of the various audio chat systems associated with on-line gaming, simply continue to use the same short-hand in their verbal communications.
Outside sources describe many of the terms as used in other games, but their definitions simply don't apply to LOTRO or have different meaning in LOTRO.
Frequently those descriptions offered on other sites are written in shorthand or game speak themselves.
Note that this listing is primarily oriented towards "PvE" or "normal game play." If you are looking for PvMP (PvP) specific information (i.e. for the Ettenmoors) visit Monster Play.
Note also that this listing is not complete. See Category: Game Terms for a more complete listing of articles dealing with terms you might encounter in-game.
In LOTRO, and at Lotro-Wiki.com there are two terms used to refer to enemies. While often used interchangeably, consistent usage on the Wiki is defined by:
At Lotro-Wiki, use "Mob" when referring to enemies encountered INSIDE an Instance or Dungeon.
At Lotro-Wiki, use "Creature" when referring to enemies OUTSIDE an instance, prowling the landscape
LOTRO Threat Indicator
A third term: Non-player Character (or NPC), is used to describe characters which are not aggressive toward the Player Character, but who may be toward others.
A "guard" is a typical NPC who will attack any approaching Creature or MOB, but who will ignore Player Characters and their allies.
Generic, Computer Gaming Usage
Back in the early days of on-line gaming called MUD -- Multi User Dungeons -- the term "Mob" derived from shorthand usage to describe a "Mobile" or "Mobile OBject" as opposed to a static object. That object was usually, but not always, a hostile enemy or "monster." Today, those Mobs would be called "Pathers" as they are moving in some computer described, usually repetitive and therefore predictable, path. [1]
In MMOs today, the term Mob has come to be a generic term describing any enemy -- static or moving -- that can be attacked by a player; a hostile, computer-controlled, non-player character (NPC). Depending upon the game, all such characters in a game may be referred to as "mobs"; or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack. The various terms are frequently used interchangeably by players simply to describe any animal or race or creature in the game who will attack you. The distinction is more often simply player jargon whose usage varies from player to player than any actual difference.
Also, in MMOs today and especially LOTRO, enemies don't have to be mobile. They frequently simply lie in wait for the unsuspecting player to approach or may be completely invisible until the unsuspecting player is attacked. Enemies may be aggressive or neutral, social or single, beast or humanoid, dumb or 'intelligent'.
Creatures on landscape generally have a threat radius of seven meters (less in Rohan), and show a white indicator overhead when they become aware of a nearby player and are preparing to attack.
Landscape difficulty is a user-selectable modifier to mob damage and enhanced buffs on Landscape and Skirmishes. See the main article for details.
Creatures and Mobs are also named in such a way to indicate difficulty.
Adds are normal mobs who appear after you have attacked your original mob ie additional enemies who join your ongoing fight.
They can be scripted to attack in waves as you defeat a certain number or may simply react to "Threat" ("Aggro") generated by you.
Signature mobs or named mobs are those that have a unique name and sometimes drop important loot such as shards, click to start a quest items, or trophies. A signature mob frequently appears as part of a quest, i.e. a "boss." They usually have higher morale than a similar mob at that level, and may hit harder, but aren't elite.
Elites are the supreme bad guys, not to be treated as any other mob. Elites will say elite when you select them.
The Adventurer, also known as a Player Character or PC, is a game character controlled by a player. The opposite of a Player Character is a NPC (Non-Player Character)
Race and Class
Your race is of course going to be man, dwarf, elf, high elf, hobbit or beorning. Each race has different characteristics built into it. Dwarves can take more of a beating than elves for example. Your class is not the same as your profession. It's the one you chose when you created your character in the character creation scree - Hunter, Guardian, Burglar, Minstrel, Lore-master etc.
Main
Main character you play. Usually, this is the character that reaches the level cap first, has the "best" gear first, and generally the one you like playing the most.
Alt
Alternate character(s) you play.
Mule
A Crafting Mule carries supplies for crafting, and may also be a low-level character that has maxed out its crafting skills. Also knows as a "bank toon" or "bank alt" because they allow a player to store inventory items intended for use by another character. A crafting mule may also be used to craft equipment for higher level characters.
Toon
The Character you play; also your "Avatar", "char" or "PC" "Player Character". Coined from World of Warcraft, where the avatars are cartoon like.
Affinity
Affinity is an old mechanism that was released with the Rune-keeper class. Originally, rune-stones were affected by 3 kinds of affinity: fire, lightning, and cold. All rune-stones had one of these affinities, and affinity affected the melee damage type and the behavior of certain skills. One example used to be a skill called Armour of Storm. When a lightning-affinity rune-stone was equipped, this skill would remain Armor of Storm, and would provide a reflective daze. If a fire-affinity rune-stone was equipped, the skill changed to Armour of Flame. If a cold-affinity rune-stone was equipped, the skill would change to Armour of Winter. There were several other skills in the Rune-keeper skill set that had similar, affinity-related effects (Fall to Storm is another example). If no rune-stone was equipped, the default was lightning affinity, although no skills could be used without some kind of rune-stone equipped.
At some point, affinity was changed. It was de-coupled from the rune-stone. Instead, skills dependent on affinity were set by the skill previously used. So, for example, the use of Fiery Ridicule would immediately change Armour of Storm into Armour of Flame. The use of Writ of Cold would then change affinity to cold, changing Armour of Storm to Armour of Winter.
Since rune-stones were an item that could be crafted by jewellers, a jeweller had to have a separate rune-stone recipe for each affinity. Eventually, affinity was removed entirely. However, rune-stones still have either fire, lightning, or cold melee damage as a damage type (even though rune-keepers are rarely in melee range for very long). Additionally, the legendary recipes remain for the crafting of obsidian (fire), flint (lightning), or icy (cold) rune-stones. These separate recipes no longer impart the affinity property, but they still affect the type of damage that is done when a rune-keeper strikes a mob with the rune-stone in melee range.
Anti-Exploit Mode
This mode is triggered when an enemy cannot reach/attack a character. It will be signaled with red/yellow/orange question marks flashing over the enemy's head. The enemy will absorb/resist/evade all attacks, and will be, for all intents and purposes, invincible. The enemy can be brought out of this mode by moving into the enemy's range, or moving to a location where the enemy can reach the character. If an enemy stays in Anti-Exploit mode for too long, it will disappear and reset at its spawn-point. Note that Mobs frequently get into Anti-Exploit Mode on their own -- getting caught "behind" some bit of terrain is typical. These ARE game bugs and should be reported using /bug, of if you can obtain a screen-shot, using the "Support/Submit a bug" pull down of the Forums. You cannot submit a screen shot using the in-game /bug option. When using the "Support/Submit a bug" option, be certain to include the details at the bottom, especially the /loc and server information!
AoE (Area of Effect or Area Effect)
AoE, or Area of Effect, is a spell or skill that affects more than one target in a certain area. Melee AoE skills affect enemies in front of the character. Ranged AoE skills are either targeted at an enemy and affect that enemy and other enemies near it within a certain radius, or are "ground-targeted" meaning that the skill is placed on the ground and affects all enemies within its effect borders.
It shares functionality with ranked traits like virtues. In addition, it has some aspects of a rating. Increasing ranks of Audacity will reduce incoming damage, crowd control duration, and improves outgoing damage while in the Ettenmoors. Freeps and Creeps will spend Commendations to improve their Audacity, though in different ways.
Current maximum Audacity rank is 36.
Creeps (receive Audacity Rank one automatically)
Creeps have no gear, their Audacity ranks are purchased at their class trainers.
The “Passive” section sell ranks for Commendations.
Once purchased, Audacity ranks are always active.
As of Update 38Creeps should aim for 17 Audacity though more can be purchased at a nominal increase to outgoing damage.
PvMP armor sets (Level 75) - each piece has +1 Audacity, for a maximum of +6 Audacity.
PvMP armor sets (level 85) - each piece has +2 Audacity, for a maximum of +12 Audacity.
PvMP armor sets (Level 95) - each piece has +3 Audacity, for a maximum of +18 Audacity.
PvMP armor sets (Level 100) - each piece has +3 Audacity, for a maximum of +18 Audacity.
PvMP armor sets with Essence slots (Level 100) - each piece has +4 Audacity, for a maximum of +24 Audacity.
PvMP armor sets with Essence slots (Level 115) - each piece has +4 Audacity, for a maximum of +24 Audacity.
Aura
Aura refers to an effect which constantly, passively radiates from the user to all others within a radius around the user. Auras can be helpful or harmful.
An aura differs from a normal buff or debuff in that auras are centred on the individual (frequently the caster), while buffs and debuffs are actually applied to those they affect.
For example, once debuffed, an enemy will carry that debuff with them no matter how far they travel (until the debuff expires). A negative-effect aura, however, would cease to affect him immediately if the enemy moved far enough away from the aura's source.
Gives a chance to not be affected by a foe's melee and ranged attacks. Tactical attacks cannot be Evaded/Parried/Blocked, but they can be Resisted.
Block Chance
Your Block Chance displays the percentage of hits you should block. To be able to block an attack, you must have a shield equipped. A high block chance is especially useful for the Guardian class as many of their skills are available after you block an attack. Many items add to your block chance and it generally becomes higher when your level increases. You can also purchase Passive Skills to increase your Block Chance.
Buff
A buff is a beneficial condition that is applied to a character or an ally. Buffs may have any number of effects, to include increased damage output, more Morale, faster Morale/Power recovery, increased Critical/Devastating hit chance, or even resurrection after being defeated.
Chatting
"Chat" is the primary communications mechanism a new player will encounter -- both for the purpose of LOTRO communicating with you and for your interaction with other players.
Combat timers are countdowns the combat UI activates after the use of a skill. These timers must expire before the next player-selected skill is executed. Sometimes these timers are long enough for an auto-attack to execute between skills, increasing overall player damage output.
Various Lua Plugins (such as BuffBars) as well as the main game UI can track the expiration of these timers.
Commendations are a type of in-game currency used exclusively in Monster Play (PvMP).
In update 6 the previously used Monster Play currency, Destiny Points, was partially replaced with commendations. Destiny points are still earned, however, only VIP players can spend them.
Creeps use Commendations to buy skills, traits and ranks.
Freeps primarily use Commendations to purchase Armour and Jewellery.
Both Creeps and Freeps earn Commendation through quests or through killing players on the opposite sides.
Creeps get commendations for killing Freeps, and Freeps get commendations for killing Creeps.
If you play as both and Creep, Freep, i.e. if you have several characters that play PvMP as Free Peoples (Freeps) or as Monsters (Creeps) on the same account on the same server, all commendations that any earn are shared Account wide per server.
Note: The maximum number of Commendations you may hold in your Wallet is 20,000!
Commendations acquired in excess of that limit are lost until you lower the number stored in your wallet by spending them.
However, any Commendations previously "lost" are not recovered.
When you reach the Currency Cap for Commendations, you will receive an Alert: "Currency Capped."
Mousing over the Alert states: "You have hit the Cap for Commendations! Until you spend below the cap, you will be unable to earn any more!"
Note that this "Alert" will remain until you clear it, even if you spend below the cap.
A Corruption (also called a Corruption effect) is a buff that is applied (typically self-applied) to a mob or creature. Corruptions can be removed using Corruption Removal Skills, of which all Character classes have at least one.
Many boss fights in instances and raids require efficient and timely Corruption removal in order to be successful. Corruptions can be recognized by "Resistance: Corruption (Level)" in the effect tooltip.
Crowd Control
Crowd Control (CC) refers to spells and abilities which limit your foe's ability to fight or that reduce the number of foes that a fellowship must fight at once. This may include:
Dazes (aka Mesmerize or Mez) -- skills which prevent an enemy from moving, attacking, or using any skills, so long as the enemy does not take damage.
Fears -- skills which send an enemy running, preventing skill usage.
Roots -- skills which stop an enemy in place, but do not prevent the enemy from using ranged/tactical skills.
Snares/Slows -- skills which slow an enemy's movement or increase the induction time for skills.
Stuns -- skills which prevent an enemy from moving, attacking, or using any skills.
This is a condition in which any damage inflicted on one character/enemy is inflicted on another character/enemy. Common examples of this are the Rune-keeper skill "Our Fates Entwined," which transfers all damage inflicted on the group to the Rune-keeper, and the Insidious Cuff, in which a certain amount of damage inflicted on the character is reflected back to the damaging enemy.
Daze
Cannot move or act. Damage will end this state. (cf. Stun below.) See Daze and Dazed for details. This can affect both Player Characters and Mobs.
Debuff
A Debuff is a detrimental condition that is applied to an enemy. Debuffs may have any number of effects, to include reduced armor value, DoT's, reduced mitigations to specific kinds of damage, and crowd-control effects. A Debuff may be applied TO YOU by an attacker or situation (item) or BY YOU to an attacker.
Defeat
When a character's Morale reaches 0, if they come into contact with a lethal substance in the environment, as a result of certain debuffs expiring without being cleansed, as a scripted event as part of a story narrative, or for many other reasons, a character may become defeated. While defeated, most game interactions are disabled -- skills, movement commands, item usage -- but the player may still chat with other players. When a defeat occurs from combat, item wear may apply, which will eventually require Repairs, or the affected gear will become unusable. For more information on how a player may remove their character from the defeated state, see Revive, below.
Experience (XP)
Experience points, commonly known as XP, are the "currency" of advancement in Lotro. There are five basic types of XP in the game.
* For a detailed explanation of XP - Experience Points, Enhanced Experience, VIP Bonus Experience and Store Bonus Experience see the article: Experience points
This is a small group of up to six characters joined together typically to take part in a specific quest or Instance. Not to be confused with "kinship or guild".
Finisher
This can be a generic term, referring to any skill which returns the character to a neutral or baseline state, or which enables such a return, usually with a Cash-out of some buff, debuff or class-specific state. Examples include Word of Exaltation (Rune-keeper, returns to neutral Attunement), Gambit Default (Warden, clears gambits), Blade of Elendil (Captain, clears Battle-hardened state buff).
For the Mariner class, Finisher has a more formal definition, referring to a skill which can only be used at elevated levels of Fore or Aft balance value, and enables the Re-centre skill, which returns the character to neutral balance.
Like most MMOs, LOTRO has a rate limit on how many instances can be launched within a given period of time. As of Update 31 the official limit is 15 per hour. When the limit is hit, the player gets an alert, which appears as a lock symbol, which when hovered over, shows the countdown timer for when an instance can next be launched. Also, the error message Encounter entry limits exceeded, cannot enter private encounter will appear, if trying to launch an instance via an NPC. The same error text will appear when hovering over the "Launch Now" button of Instance Finder, and all of the instances listed therein will be greyed out.
Interrupt
An Interrupt effect stops an enemy's skill induction from completing, preventing the effects of some attacks. In most cases, there is a green (healing) or orange (offensive) ring around the enemy's feet indicating that they are in an induction. This is when they can be interrupted. Go to Interrupt Skills to see which character skills can interrupt inductions.
A group of people who have gotten officially organized in an attempt to create a better playing experience. Some are very loose and some require a great deal of effort to be a member. Most players change kinships fairly often until they locate the group they feel comfortable with. It is not necessary to join one to play LOTRO however. It's simply another option. Some kinships are built around the crafting portion of the game. They grow crops, share the different elements that they pick up or gather etc. Some kinships are folks who know each other in real life. Some are based on other criteria such as Role Playing etc. These organizations of players are called guilds in some other MMO games.
Knockback
An effect caused by some skill which physically pushes a foe away and interrupts the attack. A "knockback" occurs when an opponent cause the attacker to move backwards out of the attacker's range. Knockbacks are frequently accompanied by a stun or daze effect.
Landscape refers to the regular open World of Middle-earth. This is where one normally quests and can see and interact freely with all other players in the same general area.
This is different from instances, skirmishes, and raids, where the area is limited and enemies can have very different characteristics, and your interaction with other players is limited to those in your particular Fellowship group.
An unobstructed line drawn from your character to an enemy or target. Most ranged skills require Line-of-Sight to use them.
If a ranged skill has an induction cast time, you must have Line-of-Sight at both the beginning and the end of the induction, but do not need Line-of-Sight in the middle.
If a ranged enemy can't get Line-of-Sight on a player, the enemy's AI will usually attempt to move them into a position they can see the player. This can be used to make an enemy move where you want them.
Lore
This is what we use to describe the world we play in. The lore is what the world is made of. It's the history of the people we play and the personality of the races. It's the way we dress and the speech we use. It's the architecture and the wildlife. It's the history of our world inside the game. In general the Lore is the backdrop that the game is played on. While the engine is similar to other games, the lore for LOTRO is unique to J.R.R. Tolkien's books.
Back in the early days of the Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine provided a resource called "The Lorebook."
The Lorebook existed from the initial beta and release of LOTRO in 2007 up until 2013.
In July of 2013, a major revision of Turbine's web presence -- the Forums (forums-old.lotro.com), the Lorebook (lorebook.lotro.com) and data.lotro.com eliminated the Lorebook and data.lotro.com
MMO
Massively Multiplayer Online. An MMO is a game where you play online. simultaneously, with hundreds or thousands of other players.
MMOG
Massively Multiplayer Online Game. MMOG is a newer term than MMORPG and somewhat less cumbersome. MMOG is more often the spoken term where MMORPG is more common when writing.
MMORPG
Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. It is a genre of online role-playing video games, RPGs, in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world.
As in all RPGs, players assume the role of a fictional character, most commonly in a fantasy setting, and take control over many of that character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small multi-player RPGs by the number of players, and by the game's persistent world, usually hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to exist and evolve while the player is away from the game.
MMORPGs are very popular throughout the world, with combined global memberships in subscription and non-subscription games exceeding 15 million as of 2006. Worldwide revenues for MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005, and Western revenues exceeded one billion USD in 2006.
MUD
Multi User Dungeon
Proc (Special Procedure)
Proc is a term for an effect which triggers on its own, outside of the player's direct control. For example, a weapon may have a chance to trigger extra damage each swing; the damage effect would be a proc.
Recent (Update 9) changes to equipment in LOTRO are beginning to make common usage of the phrases: "On damage Proc" or "On healing Proc"
This is a very old MMO term that was commonly used in EverQuest. Proc is short for spec_proc (special procedure). Basically what EverQuest did is attach a section of code called a special procedure as one of attributes of item. Every time the item was used the code was run to see if a bonus effect would occur. An item was said to proc when the bonus effect fired.
Originally defined by Ralph Koster
Short for spec_proc (special procedure), which is a bit of code triggered to cover a special case that the default code doesn’t handle.
In the older muds there was almost no variation between what a given object could do. For example all weapons used the weapon type, then you could specify damage type (was it a sword or a mace), damage ranges, and so on.
To get the weapon to do anything special, you had limited choices. Depending on the architecture, you could attach a spell to be cast, or could attach a script if the code supported it. In the codebases that Brad & co. played, the devs could not script, so the codebase allowed a pointer to a special hardcoded procedure to be entered in the weapon data.
“Proc” is almost entirely EQ slang… Even in the muds, it wasn’t that widely used because only some codebases used the term. It took EQ publicizing the inherited term to make it common knowledge.
PUF or PUG
"Pick Up Fellowship" or "Pick-up Group" is a term used to describe a fellowship who does not normally play together and have grouped together for just one or two group quests.
Found in online games, including MMORPGs like LOTRO, PvP or Player vs. Player is the term used to describe combat with other players rather than with the Computer (AI) of a game, (Player vs Environment or PvE). In LOTRO, players can initiate PvP or duels with another player: see duels for further information.
In LOTRO this is known as Player vs Monster Player or PvMP and refers to Monster Play in the game.
Monster Play involves the creation of special Monster Characters -- Creeps -- which engage other players "normal characters" or Freeps in a single location -- The Ettenmoors. Creeps are neither found nor permitted in other areas of Middle-earth.
Player vs Monster Player is not PvP as found in many other games. You cannot fight another player to the death with your normal characters, and you cannot loot that other player's goods if you prove victorious.
Player versus environment, or PvE, is the normal mode of game-play in LOTRO.
It refers to the player interacting with, and usually fighting, computer-game controlled enemies (AI) as opposed to other Player controlled characters.
This is the environment which one encounters on ones journey throughout Middle-earth.
This is MMO slang for you (solo or in groups) vs. computer controlled mobs.
Rally point
A ring of (typically) white stones found near most settlements that serve as a place to retreat if a character is defeated.
In the case of Instance play, the Rally Point will usually be just inside the beginning of the Instance. This allows play to continue within the Instance.
Certain "gated" areas (usually quest related), which appear to be instances will actually place a character at a Rally point near the quest-giver, rather than inside the instance. Defeat in these situations normally results in failure of the quest and require that you re-visit the original quest-giver to try the quest again.
Rank Farming
“Rank Farming” is officially defined as the intentional surrender of your character to an enemy; resulting in a purposeful defeat and a gain of Infamy or renown to increase rank. Rank Farming is specific to Ettenmoors PvMP (Freep vs. Monster Player). The enemy can be controlled by any player - either the same player controlling the surrendering character, or someone else.
Participation in Rank Farming is an abuse of our game mechanics, and against our rules. Customer Service can identify this behavior and will take the appropriate action on both accounts involved, based on our findings. This activity can also be reported to the in-game staff for review.
See the Turbine Legal section below for more details.
In LOTRO, characters never die, that is, they are never killed, only defeated. When a character's Morale reaches zero (0), the character is defeated. Skills can no longer be used, but the player may still chat with other players.
Revival is the partial restoration of Morale and Power to a defeated ally. Also known as Res or Rez (short for Resurrection).
When defeated, a character has 600 seconds to be revived in-place or be automatically transported to the nearest Rally Point. One option for a player is to revive their own character, bestowing the effect Revived from Defeat on them which prevents them from using this 'free revive' for 2 hours. After the revival, the character appears on the spot where they were defeated with very little Morale. As such, it is advantageous to ensure the area is safe before reviving.
Other players (and a few NPC's) can also revive the character with one of their skills. Minstrels, Rune-keepers, Lore-masters, Captains and Beornings are the only classes that have one or more skills to revive other players. All High Elf characters have a racial revive skill with a long cooldown. When other players revive a defeated character, the revived character appears where the other player's character was standing when the revival skill was used.
When the 600 second timer expires, the character is automatically transported to the nearest Rally Point and revived there. A character may also choose to 'Retreat', which has the same effect without waiting for the 600-second timer. If a character's own 'Revive' option is on cooldown, Mithril Coins can be spent to reactivate it. Generally, you cannot revive your character inside an Instance, even if it's off cooldown. Retreat or revival by another player are the only options.
The idea of using your character as if they were an actor in a play. There are varying degrees of role-playing and the game lends itself to it quite easily. There are entire websites about RP but the basic idea is that some folks totally immerse themselves as much as possible into their character much the same way that we play as a child. It can be quite fun even if done halfway. It's an interesting approach to gameplay and most do it on occasion rather than the entire time they are playing. We have no dedicated place for RP players in LOTRO so don't be surprised to see folks talking to you as if they are part of the game itself. Best suited for those with good typing skills and somewhat of a knowledge of Tolkien's books or movies.
There are several Servers which are considered "[RP]" servers: Landroval [EN-RP], Belegaer [DE-RP], Estel [FR-RP], Laurelin [EN-RP].
Stun
Cannot move or act. Damage will NOT end this state. (cf. Daze above.) See:Stun and Stunned for details. This can affect both Player Characters and Mobs.
Summon
To call upon another for assistance. Typically various mobs will automatically summon allies as part of their attack routine. These summons can be interrupted if "caught" before completion.
Threat (or Aggro)
Threat is the amount of attention an enemy gives to a character, and as a result the amount of damage that will be focused on that player. Threat is gained through dealing damage, healing, or use of threat increasing skills. There are also skills that reduce the amount of threat for a character. Defeat by either character or enemy results in the loss of all gained threat for that enemy.
Etymological note: It is unclear where the term "agro" came from... it is assumed to be a mis-spelled abbreviation for aggravate or aggravation to avoid lengthy typing in chat sessions. In MMOs it is used as all three parts of speech -- noun, verb and adjective!
User Interface (UI)
The User Interface (UI) refers to menus, windows, buttons and other things which allow the player to interact with the game environment without being part of the environment themselves.
To defeat an enemy by outnumbering them rather than by strategy or skill.
The term Zerg or Zerging is frequently used in PvMP to describe a combat tactic whereby large groups of (usually) Creeps wait at a "spawn point" to pounce upon characters just re-entering the zone following that character being killed.
Combat Strategies
Tank-n-Spank
This strategy is used in groups, and is the most common because of how quickly enemies can be defeated. This involves using a main-tank class (or pet) to draw enemy attention, while nuker classes deal massive amounts of damage from range. The main tank should also turn the enemy so that the nuker's can attack the enemy from behind, thus increasing the chance of a Critical/Devastating hit. Healers aren't necessarily required for this strategy because the idea is to defeat enemies before they can deal significant damage to the main tank. In practice, a healer is usually on-hand to prevent unexpected mishaps (such as another player generating more threat than the tank, underestimating the enemy strength, pulling too many enemies at once, etc), and to quickly recover morale so the group can continue against more enemies.
Turtling
This strategy is usually used in solo play, but can be used in small groups. This involves using strong healing skills to heal damage faster than the enemy can inflict it, while allowing auto-attacks to slowly damage the enemy. Tanks and nukers aren't necessarily required for this tactic. In practice, nukers are usually kept on-hand because without them, an enemy would take a VERY long time to defeat. When nukers are used, they must be careful not to generate too much threat. This strategy is common when there is no main tank to generate threat and draw enemy attention.
Kiting
This strategy is used by solo players and tanks alike. The technique involves using skills that do not require a character to be stationary. A character will continuously run and use these "on-the-run" skills until the enemy is defeated. Players using this strategy must have very precise control of their character's movements so as to prevent the enemy from reaching them, yet keep the enemy in range and Line-of-Sight of the character's own attacks, thereby maintaining threat (agro).
Root-n-Scoot
This strategy is used in solo play and in groups to control the number of enemies that are able to attack. This can be somewhat slower than using other strategies, but is significantly faster than Turtling. It can also be used in situations where pulling any enemy will draw too many enemies with it to defend against using any other strategy. Multiple enemies will be rooted/stunned/dazed in place, while a nuker chooses one enemy to be the target of focused damage. In this way, enemies can be drawn one-by-one away from their comrades, making their defeat much easier.
Exploiting
This strategy is against the Turbine Acceptable Use/Code of Conduct agreement with players, and may result in in-game disciplinary actions.
This involves taking advantage of programming bugs in-game to defeat an otherwise significantly more difficult enemy. Usually, enemies that cannot reach/attack the character will enter Anti-Exploit mode, and will reset themselves after a certain amount of time. However, some enemies will not enter Anti-Exploit mode when they should, and therefore are exposed to damage from the character, with no risk of damaging the character. In multiple-enemy situations, some enemies can be trapped behind obstacles/doors without entering Anti-Exploit mode. This results in the character not having to defeat these enemies immediately, making an otherwise much more difficult combat situation much easier.
Crafting
Basic Recipes
Basic recipes are those recipes given to you by default when you achieve a level of crafting.
Crafting Vendors
Crafting vendors are the novice and expert tradesmen that provide additional recipes, improved tools, and other materials for each profession.
Critical Success
Critical success means that the player succeeded in either creating more of an item than intended, or created a far superior item than intended. Using better crafting tools and using recipe-specific Critical Items will improve a player's chance of critical success. Scholars can make scrolls that also raise the chance of a Critical Success for a short amount of time.
Gathering
Gathering Professions - Prospectors and Foresters - collect and process raw materials from landscape resource nodes to produce goods supplying the Production Professions. Farmers are also counted as a Gathering Profession: for while the crops Farmers produce use components purchased from NPCs, their produce supplies vital ingredients used by Cooks (see below).
Production
Production Professions - Tailors, Weaponsmiths, Metalsmiths, Woodworkers, and Jewellers - use goods harvested by Gathering Professions to produce their products.
Cooks are counted as a Production Profession: although they can produce foodstuffs and beverages using components purchased from NPCs, they require Farmers' produce to make all their "higher potency" meals and drinks.
Scholars are also counted as a Production Profession: although in effect Scholars supply themselves by gathering components from landscape artifacts to produce items.
Trophy
Trophies are somewhat rare items dropped by creatures and enemies after they are defeated. Most trophies can be sold to a vendor for a small amount of money. Some trophies can also be useful in some way to the player, e.g. rare recipes, crafting ingredients, barter items, etc.
Ancient Dwarf-make damage is a damage type dealt by some player weapons, typically those of Dwarven ancestry. Dragon-kind are known for being highly susceptible to Ancient Dwarf-make damage. Cave-claws will be somewhat susceptible to this damage type as well, although not to the same degree.
Beleriand Damage
Beleriand damage is a damage type dealt by some player weapons, typically those of Elvish ancestry. Half-orcs, spiders, insects, and creatures of ancient evil are known to be highly susceptible to this damage type. Orcs, goblins and wood-trolls will be somewhat susceptible to this damage type as well, although not to the same degree.
Common Damage
Common damage is the type of damage that most weapons, abilities and creatures/mobs inflict. It is also the most easily mitigated, because armour contributes more to common damage reduction (100%) than any other damage type (20%). Most creatures have a higher than average common mitigation. For this reason, weapons with uncommon damage types, such as fire damage, deal more damage to them. This should definitely be taken into consideration when selecting a weapon.
Damage
Loss of morale through an attack leading to defeat of the character or death of an NPC.
Damage Mitigation
"Oh, I do not know about this. I do not know about this at all!" —Bingo Boffin Accuracy This article is marked for checking accuracy. Please check other sources to verify if the information provided is correct. Is this the actual case, or is the mitigation in fact higher if your level is higher than that of the enemy? Items needing confirmation: [1]
Damage Mitigation is a rating-based statistic that governs how much damage your character takes from different damage types.
The amount of mitigation is influenced by the enemy's level versus your character's level. If your character's level is equal to or higher than the enemy's level, then the mitigation percentage is as shown in the character window.[confirmation needed] If your character's level is lower, then your effective mitigation percentage can be lower.
To determine the relationship between the rating value and the mitigation percentage, see Rating to percentage formula.
There are three main sources of damage: melee, ranged and tactical. Damage sources do not necessarily correlate to damage types. For players, the damage source for any given skill can be read from the tooltip. For enemy mobs, one has to make an educated guess to determine the damage source, based on the animation and the skill name in the combat log. Melee and ranged damage can be avoided (blocked, parried and evaded), while tactical damage can be resisted. This is another way to determine the damage source of enemy mobs.
Damage Type
Damage types do not necessarily correlate to a particular damage source. Unlike damage sources, damage types interact with mitigations. Ancient Dwarf-make, Beleriand, Common, Fell-wrought, Orc-craft and Westernesse damage are mitigated with physical mitigation; acid, fire, frost, light, lightning and shadow damage are mitigated with tactical mitigation.
DoT (Damage over Time)
Damage over time, usually abbreviated DOT or DoT, is a class of skills which deal an amount of damage discretely over time, e.g. 4 damage every 1 second for 12 seconds. They are usually more damaging per Power cost, but this is offset because the target can die mid-DoT and thus decrease the effective damage per Power. DoTs are commonly from bleed effects, poisons and magical spells. Having a DoT on a mob can often make it impossible to cc the mob. DoTs usually will not trigger effects that depend on a specific type of damage, even if the DoT deals that type of damage.
DPS (Damage per Second)
DPS or Damage per Second as stated on weapon tooltips is the calculated number that takes the average of the min and max damage on a weapon, the weapon speed, and your own strength or other attributes that affect damage or speed. It will take all of these and calculate a balanced result.
NOTE: usually these DPS counters do not take into consideration special damages (like heat instead of kinetic) also the use of special abilities changes DPS greatly. Even though DPS is a good way to judge a weapon's potential, it still is important to look at max damage, as that is usually what special abilities relate to.
Frost damage is a damage type dealt by some weapons, attacks, and abilities utilized by both player characters (Lore-masters and Rune-keepers in particular), pets (Sabre-tooth Cat) and creatures.
There are currently no reported examples of creatures with frost resistance or susceptibility.
Light Damage
Light damage is a damage type dealt by some player weapons and skills. Especially minstrels have a lot of skills dealing light damage. The type refers to damage caused by bright light. Trolls, Orcs, goblins, the unseen, and the pale-folk are known to be susceptible to this damage type.
Lightning Damage
Lightning Damage is a damage type dealt by some weapons, attacks, and abilities utilized by both player characters (Lore-masters and Rune-keepers in particular), Rune-keeper's rune-stones and creatures.
There are currently no reported examples of creatures with lightning resistance or susceptibility.
Positional Damage Multiplier
This is the modifier applied to the damage dealt based on your position in relation to the target. For example, a burglar gets a +15% damage modifier to Surprise Strikes performed from the 180 degree arc behind a person (aka: from backstabbing them).
Westernesse damage is a damage type dealt by some player weapons, typically those of Human ancestry. The dead and the unseen are known to be susceptible to Westernesse damage. Gaunt-men and Angmarim will be somewhat susceptible to this damage type as well, although not to the same degree.
Environment
Resource Node
Resource Nodes are landmarks that signify an area where a player can gather crafting resources. Examples include Ore nodes, Piles of wood, and Sage's Lockers. There are more node locations than there are nodes, and once a set number of node locations in an area have spawned a resource node, no more nodes will be spawned until a player begins gathering resources in the area. Non-aggressive creatures (such as crickets, snakes, and rabbits) also spawn at Resource Nodes, so killing them will help to spawn other kinds of resources.
Spawn Point
Most areas of Middle Earth's landscape includes fixed "hookpoints" where enemies appear. These enemies will roam a small area, following a specific path. Once defeated, the enemy will reappear at its spawn point. If an enemy attacks a player, and that player subsequently runs away to avoid the enemy, the enemy will eventually break off its attack and return to its spawn point. Contrary to popular belief, looting/not looting a defeated enemy does NOT affect spawn rate. Enemies will happily patrol right next to their own corpse.
Invisible Wall
These define a location beyond which a player is not allowed to go. These are places around areas to deny a player from going into places that would cause gameplay issue (such as leaving Weathertop during the Weathertop instance), or to prevent players from playing in undeveloped/unreleased areas. Developers try to hide invisible walls around areas by using in-game cliffs and obstacles, or with invisible, un-attackable enemies that can quickly defeat a player before reaching the wall. However, invisible walls still can be found in a few places in Middle Earth.
Seam
These are locations where 2 separate surfaces meet. An interesting aspect of seams is that if they are not constructed properly, a character may find a way to pass into an area not specifically designed to have a character in it. This has historically been the way players have found ways into normally unreachable areas. This can also result in corrupted characters or being stuck in an area the character can not escaped from, and is NOT recommended. If a character happens to get caught in a seam and cannot get out, the first solution is to use the /stuck command to be transported to the nearest Rally Point. Alternatively a GM can transport a character caught in such a location back to a safe location.
Equipment
1H
One-Handed Weapons require only one hand to use as opposed to Two-Handed weapons which require both hands to use.
The Daybreak End User License Agreement (EULA) is displayed in the Launcher, dated December 12, 2016. This Agreement is unique to each Daybreak Game.
The “EULA” or “Agreement," is a legal document describing things you can and cannot do with the Lord of the Rings Online™ game.
The Lord of the Rings Online™ EULA governs your use of the Game Client, while "The Lord of the Rings Online™ Terms of Service" (the “TOS” or “Agreement”) governs your use of the Game Server.
A copy of the most current Daybreak EULA is installed on your Hard Drive with the Game installation, and may be updated by any game expansion or update (patch) i.e. by electronic download. Versions for english, german and french are located in the en, de and fr directories of the game installation.
The Daybreak Terms of Service (TOS) is displayed in the Launcher, dated June 22, 2015. This agreement is the same across all Daybreak games.
A copy of the most current TOS is installed on your Hard Drive with the Game installation, and may be updated by any game expansion or update (patch) i.e. by electronic download. Versions for english, german and french are located in the en, de and fr directories of the game installation.
The Role Playing Rules and Policy is a legal document which governs player behavior while playing on the indicated Role Playing (RP) servers.
Turbine has official and supported role-playing servers for our players within The Lord of the Rings Online™. These servers provide our players additional ways to interact within The Lord of the Rings Online, and give players the opportunity to be deeply immersed within the lore of The Lord of the Rings. Roleplay-Supported servers have separate naming and chat rules to preserve the atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings and provide an enjoyable experience for our role-players. Servers are designated as Roleplay-Supported by the “RP” tag before their name. These policies are in addition to Turbine’s Code of Conduct, found at https://www.lotro.com/en/content/lord-rings-online-code-conduct, which applies to all Lord of the Rings Online servers.
Turbine promulgated a formal policy on "Rank Farming" in the Ettenmoors.
Posted in the Forums on 28 August 2013:
[QUOTE=CSM_River;6890047]Hello, I’m River, Customer Service Manager at Turbine.
For some time now, the Customer Service team has been reading your comments and thoughts regarding “rank farming’. Together with the Developers, Community team, and players council we have come up with a clear, official definition and policy regarding “rank farming” in the Ettenmoors.
“Rank Farming” is officially defined as the intentional surrender of your character to an enemy; resulting in a purposeful defeat and a gain of Infamy or renown to increase rank. Rank Farming is specific to Ettenmoors PvMP (Freep vs. Monster Player). The enemy can be controlled by any player - either the same player controlling the surrendering character, or someone else.
Participation in Rank Farming is an abuse of our game mechanics, and against our rules. Customer Service can identify this behavior and will take the appropriate action on both accounts involved, based on our findings. This activity can also be reported to the in-game staff for review.
This policy is effective immediately and is *not retroactive*. We will not be taking action on previous potential violations. Any reports filed should be of actions witnessed after the publication of this policy.
Please remember that we have multiple ways to verify players are participating in this behavior. Additionally, players who frequently report others falsely may also be subject to disciplinary action for harassment.[/QUOTE]
He further expanded on the policy:
[QUOTE=CSM_River;6891797]Thanks for all the feedback and questions.
The main things I'm getting here is that you want to know the best way to report, and what is the range of action that can be taken.
Please open an in-game ticket to report it, and choose Cheating/Exploiting for your drop downs in the ticket window. If you *can* capture that names of the parties involved that's most helpful, but at least one is necessary.
Actions taken will run from warnings to suspensions.
Audacity is a “stat” which applies only to the Ettenmoors and the Sundering of Osgiliath.
Commendations are a type of in-game currency used exclusively in Monster Play (PvMP).
Fore or 
Aft balance value, and enables the 
Re-centre skill, which returns the character to neutral balance.
![[20.5S, 13.8W]](/wiki/File:Ettenmoors_map.jpg){kind=link}
