Rohan: 85 RK building a LI weapon

In working through the details of what to do at level 85, I needed a new Legendary item. Several LIs will be in order, but clearly the DPS weapon was the first.

I will break down the build and explain how it differs from the Legendary Item I built in the RK Legacy Guide. legacies-for-rk-stones

Legacies for DPS Stone

In the previous, I was aiming for an all-purpose DPS stone. I had put it out there that probably the best bet would be to take 6 of the 9 legacies from...

* “Fire skill Damage, Fury of Storm Damage, Chill of Winter Damage, Wrath of Flame Damage over Time, Fury of Storm Critical multiplier, Finesse, Vivid Imagery targets, Chill of Winter Debuff Duration, Distracting Flame CD”.

So, what did I do at level 85?

What I realized was that when I solo I use primarily Lightning with a smattering of Frost and rarely planted my feet long enough to spin off many Fire skills. When I go to the Moors as DPS, it is the same, with mostly quick strikes. When I go on Raids, I would mix in a bit more Fire and Frost, but even then it is situational and often out of a sense of duty because my level 75 LIs supported Fire. The reality is that I wanted a more driven Lightning approach and still keep my fundamental RK build similar (morale, mastery, critical, mitigations). With the Update 9 modifications to "skill interupt", it has become slightly more difficult to use skills with long inductions, making fire RK-ing (and healing) just a bit more difficult.

I decided that Lightning approach would benefit from (1) Fury of Storm Damage, (2) Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier, and (3) Finesse. The Fury of Storm Damage is direct damage for lightning skills. The Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier is just that; it is what supports the 10-15k hits. Finesse cuts through an opponent’s ability to defend himself by reducing the opponent’s resistance, block, parry, and evade.

That leaves 3 more legacies. When traited in Lightning (Solitary Thunder 7 traits), Frost skills also get the same +21% dps bonus as lightning does. The next best trait for me was to capitalize on the Frost with (4) Chill of Winter Damage, which fit nicely into a lightning skill rhythm and the traiting. “Vivid Imagery Targets”, the lightning AOE, is nice but expensive to advance and limited benefit with the skill having a 3 minute CD. 

To fit my build, I then opted to do something to further maximize lightning. I went with Stats legacies rather than the straight non-lightning DPS legacies. These stats benefit me in every situation whereas any other legacy was going to be very situational. At level 85, the stat legacies aren’t entirely trivial. They begin at +52, so (5) +52 Will and (6) +52 Fate.

What did those stats do at rank 1?

+52 Will gives +1.6% increased damage, 156 power, and +0.3% resistance (& 624 nCPR).

+52 Fate gives +0.2% increased crit chance (& +78 ICMR, +66 ICPR).

Bear in mind, that even with the legacies at Tier 6, some legacies will only ever be rank 1. There just aren’t really enough points to go around after you have sunk points into the Tactical Damage Rating of the stone.

Knowing that, any “Crystal of Remebrance”, which adds a legacy to a LI, will probably only ever become a rank 1 legacy. I got a Crystal as part of the pack when I bought RoR earlier this year. So, rather than add another minimally used legacy that would have no points to advance it, I added (7) +52 Vitality. The base stat legacy…

+52 Vitality gives +156 morale, +1.1% Tactical mitigation, +0.7% Physical mitigation, and +0.3% resistance (& +374 nCMR)

One thing I would never do is put Healing legacies on a DPS stone. Another thing I would never do is put “Battle Attuned Skill power cost” on anything. I now have 11,000 power when unbuffed and do not feel like I am trying much to get it; it is not directly one of my 4 pillars (though the Will needed to establish Mastery drives my power pool up).. Using skills nonstop, I have not run out of power since RoI. Part of the skill rotation uses skills that return power (like Improved Sustaining Bolt). I spoke with a friend who still slots this legacy, and his answer was that he can run out of power and has a Fire build. To each her own; do what is best for you!

Relics for DPS Stone

I would have chosen the same relics regardless of whether it is a DPS stone, Healing Stone, DPS Bag, or Healing Bag. Looking back at the 4 pillars of morale, mastery, critical, & mitigation, the greatest impact a relic could have might be in Morale, and I take advantage of the other bonuses when they support Morale. The reality is that a given piece of gear for RK might have +150 Will and other good bonuses, which is way more impact than a relic would have; however, if you swap out that Will-focused piece for a Morale-focused piece you will really miss the large gear bonuses that were built for the RK. It is an optimization question of benefits.

That said, relics are really neat, and you could optimize them many different ways. The Relic Guide @ update-6-relics-and-virtues gave a lot of detail about the different relics. Since the Guide was written, the Tier 9 relics and True Relics are more of the same, just slightly improved. If you have the relics and shards to make better relics great, and if not, get the best you are interested in affording.

If I were trying to further maximize Lightning DPS at the expense of morale, there are some real legitimate contenders in the relics. I would probably take the Setting of Endings (+7.5% devastate magnitude, and +Critical), Gem of Charity (+Tactical Mastery), and Rune of Wisdom (-2.5% attack duration, +Will). With Morale as my guiding force, I chose the relics that had the most Morale instead (see picture).

Star-lit Crystals

I have never in all the time I have been playing won an on-level star-lit crystal. So, when a 30% coupon came along, I bought three for this LI because I really wanted to see the effect. What impact does it have?

Here is what the 2nd Age level 85 RK Stone looks like. No legacy points have been added to the ratings in the table. You can see that the gain is about 4.8% for 3 stars. 

      The star-lit crystals also affect other variables on the LI. For example, on mine, each +1 star gave +1 to the stat legacies. I didn't check to see if other variable legacies were affected (finesse might be one).

	Increased damage %	Tactical Damage Rating	DPS number
Base Stone		70.75	155.7
1 star	1.6	71.88	156.5
2 stars	1.6	73.01	157.2
3 stars	1.6	74.14	158.0

Title

Of course, all stones need a title. I used “Will of Eldar Days 2”. It can be bartered by the Quartermasters in Rohan (I got mine in Snowbourn for example). It gives +37 Will. If you know of one that might fit the build better, do let me know. This one was the best I saw.

37 Will gives +1.1% increased damage. 111 power, and +0.2% resistance (& 444 nCPR).

All told, between the title, the legacies, and the passives (which were just a function of luck), this stone now named Supertra ("Super Rock") offers a very respectable +162 Will, +95 Fate, and +56 Vitality while still maximizing Lightning and the morale opportunities of the Relics. I think it turned out ok and met the objective :)

Legacies for RK stones

Alrighty! Let’s talk about Runekeeper Legacies for Legendary Items (LIs).

As a RK, to be your best in any situation, you need to be able to work effectively as both a DPS leader and as a main healer.

In lotro, there are four classes whose primary role is Damage: RK, Hunter, Champion, Burglar. When played correctly, all four equally do the best damage in game. Like all classes, there is more to it, but the RK is a Tactical nuker, the Hunter is a Ranged master, the Champion is master of Area Damage, and the Burglar can disable a foe and carve them up.

Similarly, the main healers in the game are the Minstrel and the RK.

One thing to realize is that the RK is NOT going to be the best Damage Dealer AND the best Healer at the same time. There is an Attunement bar that forces the RK to choose what “stance” she is in. Know your role in the group and plan accordingly and effectively.

Furthermore, the build, specifically the choices one makes with LIs and traits, will determine the Healing or Damage ability of the RK. Therefore, to be effective, we will build 4 Legendary Items: 2 healing and 2 DPS.

How do we choose legacies for legendary items?

Let’s break down the options. First, we will look at the RK stones. Next lesson will be on RK bags. (Update 06/05/12: see legacies-for-rk-bags for RK bags).

When considering Legacies, there are “Major” legacies and “Minor” legacies. You can see the difference by the color of the ring around the icon. Major = gold, Minor = silver.

See the picture below. Gold. Silver. Got it. Yeah, I know it is hard to see. Trust me, and know that there are Majors and Minors.

When you first identify a LI, it will have three major legacies. At level 10 Reforge, you get another Legacy, At level 20 another, and level 30 another. All LIs these days have exactly 6 legacies.

On the Reforge, you will usually get a Minor legacy, with a slim chance to get a Major. So, at level 30, you will likely have 3 Majors and 3 Minors. That is really just fine for a RK. Do NOT begin your build until level 30. But do start your plan before level 40 (when you are offered tier upgrades).

At levels 40, 50, 60, and 70 (via a scroll of delving), you gain the option to gain +1 tier to a legacy. So, you will want to have your 6 legacies locked down between level 30 and 40 to maximize the natural upgrades without having to use more Scrolls of Empowerment than necessary.

Major Legacies for RK stones

Here are the major legacies for RK stones. I subdivided them by what they do. There are 7 Major legacies. You will likely get to choose 3 of them for your RK stone.

Major:			Set	Min	Max
Battle Attuned Skill power cost			power	-1%	-15%
Fury of Storm Damage			Lightning	1%	15%
Fire skill Damage			Fire	1%	15%
Wrath of Flame Damage over time			Fire	1%	15%
Healing			Heal	1%	6%
Healing Attuned Skill power cost			Heal	-1%	-15%
Healing over Time			Heal	1%	10%

Minor Legacies for RK stones

Likewise, here are the Minor legacies. There are 8 of them; or you can slot a Stat legacy instead of those.

Minor:			Set	Min	Max
Chill of Winter Damage			Frost	1%	15%
Chill of Winter debuff duration			Frost	1s	10s
Distracting Flame CD			Fire	-1s	-30s
Steady Attuned Skill power cost			Power	-1%	-15%
Finesse			debuff	670	750
Fury of storm critical multiplier			Lightning	2%	30%
Vivid Imagery targets			Lightning	1	5
Legacy stat			x	28 / 33	36 / 41
Glorious Foreshadowing duration			Heal	1s	9s

Let’s build a RK stone for maximum DPS. Which to choose?

Of the 16 choices… 4 are Healing, 2 minimize power consumption, 3 add Lightning damage, 2 add fire damage, 1 adds cold damage, 1 changes fire CoolDown, 1 changes Cold Debuff, 1 adds Finesse, and finally the last is the for adding a Stat.

No, it isn’t scary. Walk with me…

Healing (4): First and most obvious, we will not choose Healing legacies for a DPS stone; scratch out the 4 healings. (Healing, Healing Attuned skill power cost reduction, Healing over Time, Glorious Foreshadowing duration)

Power (2): Second. You are a RK, you are soaking in Will & power, you aren’t seriously running out of power, so scratch the power consumptions. (Battle Attuned skill power cost, Steady Attuned skill power cost). We are here to maximize Damage.

Distracting Flame CD: Next, let’s look at the Fire Cooldown: Distracting Flame. Maximizing this legacy would make Distracting Flame have a near nil CD, effectively it would be like a heftier DOT version of Fiery Ridicule. It is a worthy consideration. If you use it, be sure to get it into rotation.

  

Damages (3): Fire skill Damage, Fury of Storm Damage, & Chill of Winter Damage are all straight damage across the board. We like these.

Wrath of Flame Damage over Time: This one increases the DOT portion of the Fire skills. It is a very useful thing when you are in a group and able to “fire” off Fire skills.

Fury of Storm Critical multiplier : This one is excellent. What RK doesn’t like seeing the crits start to roll and landing shots that do damage over 10k several times in a fight? Along with good traiting, good stats, & fortuitous combinations, this legacy is a must to get the big hits.

Vivid Imagery targets:  Let’s look at Vivid Imagery. There is a good daze, and the chance for crits start to roll. The CD is long so this skill is one of the most cautious of the skills as to when to pull the trigger. The base targets = 3 (this picture is older and doesn't match my current LI if you are keeping score). What is it worth to you to take out more foes?

Chill of Winter Debuff Duration: What is it worth to you to have your Chill hits last longer? How many are you using per fight?

Finesse: This legacy adds +670 finesse, up to +750 finesse at max. +670 finesse reduces an enemies resistance, block, parry, and evade by about 1.87%. Is it worth it, or would a better legacy be more damaging?

Stat: You can always add a stat to give a bonus to Will, Vitality, Fate. For DPS stone, I am certain we have enough good options without using a Stat legacy. Plenty of these other legacies will maximize more damage than the addition of a Stat.

Narrow that DPS stone down for me Danania,

Choose 6 from these 9: 
Fire skill Damage,                                  Fury of Storm Damage,             Chill of Winter Damage, 
Wrath of Flame Damage over Time,    Fury of Storm Critical multiplier,           Finesse,
Vivid Imagery targets,                         Chill of Winter Debuff Duration,           Distracting Flame CD.

You can see that I chose to maximize first and most importantly, the Tactical Damage Rating of the Damage stone. Yeah, I didn't talk about that. For your DPS stone, always always maximize the Tactical Damage before fidgeting with the legacies. (For your Healing bag, always maximize your Tactical Healing.)

Then I maximized (1) Fury of Storm Damage and (2) Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier. These are obvious to me to have the biggest impact.

Then, I made some tougher choices. Fire is powerful in group. I nearly maximized (3) Fire Skill Damage and (4) Fire skill DOT, but I wanted another (5) Vivid Imagery target (I really like that skill).

A couple of points were left over so I put them in (6) Finesse. I could have chosen a different 6th legacy of some of those above, but then you ask the questions, what is worth more… 1.9% enemy resist reduction from Finesse, or a 2 second improvement in Chill of Winter debuff duration, or 2% extra Chill of Winter damage?

You can see that I have spent all I can spend. Every legacy worth adding points to is at Tier 6 (the icon that looks like a spider); the last one (Finesse) holds what was leftover.

Ah-ha! But you NEED to be an uber-healer also dear RK!

Change your frame of mind and look at the Stone legacies from a healer perspective. When you are a main healer in a group, everyone is counting on you to keep the bars full. Heck, when I was younger, I sometimes didn’t even know where we were. It isn’t important. Let no one die and everything else will work itself out.

Again, we have 6 Legacy choices.

The first four are no-brainer. Take the 4 Healer legacies (Healing, Healing Attuned skill power cost reduction, Healing over Time, Glorious Foreshadowing duration).

The other two? Well, you are healing, which of the rest of the legacies will help you heal better?

I will not take away from my ability or my focus to heal my group. The other two were a clear choice for me… 2 stat legacies. I chose Will and Vitality, though Fate is a good alternative.

Clearly, with this Healing Stone, I didn't add anything to the Tactical Damage, which would be a waste of points as I am focused on green bars only.

The observant will notice that my Healing Stone is actually a 3rd Age LI (the purple colored title). Well, I made it before the skirmish camp started giving away Worn Symbols of Celebrimbor (cost is 2394 marks and 207 medallions) used to make the 2nd Age LIs. What is the difference?

At this point, very little. My 3rd Age LI needed more Scrolls of Empowerment to gain the same effectiveness, but with the Tiers at max, it got there. The grand total of what I am giving up by comparison is about +3 Will and +3 Vitality (which is not worth a remake at this point). I would recommend getting the 2nd Age level 75 if you are just starting out.

Update 06/05/12: Go to legacies-for-rk-bags for RK bags.