Steeds, Deeds, and Aegthil

All the Steeds!

One of the coolest things I have been working on lately is my Stable of Horses.

LOOK. For your convenience, It has its own tab right at the top of this blog. 

http://www.danania.net/p/all-steeds.html

There are links to pictures of all of the steeds in lotro (or currently, at least 74 of the 89 steeds I have in my stable… and counting, I'm working on it).

You will hear more about it next week also because I am trying to make it an uber Horse site that people actually want to visit! :D Friend Ravanel taught me how to make “Pages” on my blog so that opened up lots of possibilities. And friend Tomeoric taught me some basic html so that I could really sharpen its sleek look.

Give me your feedback and thoughts on it!

Deeds!

With less than 20 days to go and Summer festival about to begin, I made a final press to get through as many deeds as possible. “With a little help from my friends”, a la Beatles, I have been chipping away at it.

Some of the things that got knocked off lately…

Annuminas: Glinghant and Haudh Valandil, 75 Challenge mode. Only Ost Elendil Challenge remains.

Thank you Daweirdo, Morthin, Caramelkr, Rileigh, and Mudflapthefirst!

Fornost: All four wings of it, 75 Challenge mode! I went to Fornost as a young elf, but this was my first adventure back since the revamp. Some of it was surprisingly difficult! I guess that is why it is called “Challenge”.

Thank you Belegnost, Caylia, Nydhogg, Baroon, and Amoniel!

This shot looks way too much like the Moors… watching the horde preparing to roll in on top of us while we just hope for the best.

With the final Fornost boss dead, I can look out over the compound of the enemy knowing it was a job well done.

Dar Narbugud: Getting closer. There are 10 trolls in DN; and the slayer deed requires a killing of 60 trolls. Using a double-slayer-accelerator scroll, that is three full runs through DN (yay math). That isn’t terrible, but with one run down, several deeds were completed already. So basically, 40 trolls (or 20 trolls on double time) stand between me and my Wild Mountain Goat and the title “Saviour of Lothlorien”.

Thank you Riders of Rohan and my friends! This was one of the first times in a long time that I scheduled a raid (so it was meaningful that people showed up, hehe). Yay Nimitar, Macmerkin, Nidw, Macswife, Leirandir, Dandur, Vysion, Aradost, Ubermorgan, Morthin, and Minya!

Gate Crasher: After Nimitar and Dandur lead us through a steam-roll of DN, I arm twisted a few to come kill the two troll guardians of Isengard (finally!). I am now Supergirl, the Gatekeeper! Just as a note… don’t take these trolls lightly; I disregarded their ability lay the smack down and got flattened once (my own fault for bad agro management and running from healer and tank, lol).

Yay for the addition of Jastirria, Minlor, Shorimar, and Taisholae!

Lost Temple: Goodness, for a level 65 instance, the last fight against Ferndur is a doozy. Do not underestimate it. We won, but lost the Challenge mode. See the next picture? The Challenge mode = when you are struck with a nasty disease (yellow eye), you stand near the dead bodies on the ground, the disease explodes in a nasty disease cloud, and the bodies revive and assist the boss. You cannot stay in the cloud or you die. The Challenge is won when every single body is revived and killed. Unfortunately, we didn’t dial back the DPS enough to not kill the boss before we could get all the bodies up and moving. Next time.

Thank you Nimitar, Dirtdiver, Sailanarmo, Nitefox, and Eldjarn!

Hidden Deeds: The only hidden deeds (other than the stupid Golden egg) that I had not done were the Carnivore deed and the Emote deeds. Thank you Lalatheriel for all the meats and Daweirdo for the final stew and emotings. I have finished 13 of 16 emotings.

Carnivore hidden deed: This deed was modified within the past year with the removal of one of the meats from the game, and the Stew of Kings has been substituted.

The 16 emote hidden deeds are: bored, beg, rude, bow, cheer, salute, kiss, scold, laugh, cower, angry, flirt, thank, mock, surrender, confused. Rules: They do not count in instances, they cannot be incremented more than 5 times per day (some are less), they must be done TO you.

Solo! There is not much left that I can actually solo at this point. I soloed Nala-Dum and Lumul-nar to finish the deeds, I made progress on the Eldgang reputation (via Nurz skirmish and a Rift run), and am plodding away at Riddles Beneath the Inn (up to 43 of 83 Riddles).

Saruman: It was not in my scope to beat the Tower of Orthanc T2 before Rohan. That would have definitely cut into my festival time. Lol.

Yay to my Riders of Rohan team that lead us to victory against the Tower of Orthanc T1! Yay team: Vysion, Meledie, Clide, Memendil, Hybridd, Macswife, Dandur, Hahmburglar, Norinrad, Taradanag, and Hendred!

My friend Lothirieth posted something amazing…  A win over Saruman T2; one of the very few in the world. Check her out!

http://wanderingthroughmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2012/08/well-colour-me-surprised.html

I think that is what it looks like when a Giant Eagle smiles…

From Danania to Aegthil:

I got an interesting comment in the previous column from someone named Aegthil. http://www.danania.net/2012/08/steed-of-lore-master-farmers-faire-end.html#comment-form

Taken back a bit, I had not replied to it yet, and the next day, I discovered this post…

http://lotrominstrel.blogspot.com/2012/08/i-am-in-love-with-supergirl.html

The title alone says so much. Go read what Aegthil says.

In the words of Sally Carrera, “I create feelings in others that they themselves don’t understand, and blah, blah, blah, blah…”

Welcome to my home, Aegthil. You do know you have Competition, yes?

Here is the podcast in which Mysterixox expresses her adoration that I am Awesome…

http://lotroacademy.com/?p=962

And here is Goldenstar showing her love…

http://cstm.mymiddleearth.com/2012/05/recommended-reading-danania-net/

Are you ready to Bringiton??

Deeds, Deeds, Deeds!

In preparation for Rohan, I have been working to complete all of the deeds in my deed log. I will undoubtedly fall short as some are excessively difficult raids, and some are impossible due to being off-season. Working against me is the fact that Farmer's Faire starts TODAY (07/26), and Summer Festival will follow shortly thereafter! Meaning, there are probably less than 10 days of non-festival time until Rohan! Here are a few of the lower-lying deed fruit that I have been working…

Fishing!

Fishing is simple to do; all you need is a pole and some water. I am already “Lady of Streams” (my fishing skill is maxed out), but I had never caught a Green Sturgeon (8/9 sturgeon) or a Redband Trout (8/9 trout). The darters, trout, and sturgeon are found in certain areas: the darters in low level areas (like the Shire), the trout in mid-low level areas (like Evendim), and the sturgeon in slightly higher areas (like Moria and beyond).

Here were my results for fish hunting in North-downs one afternoon. I stopped once I finally got the Redband Trout. For 375 catches,

17% trout

13% trophy fish (including one 50-lb salmon)

14% cook fish (only Catfish and Perch at low-mid water holes)

56% trash fish (mostly barbel, rudd, smelt)

For the sturgeon, it was as easy as standing around. I dropped the line in the pond in Galtrev. Presumably, there is an underground river flowing through the area to support so many fish. For 206 catches,

14% sturgeon

13% trophy fish (including three 50-lb salmon)

31% cook fish (only Carp, Largemouth Bass, Golden Mullet, and Flounder)

42% trash (mostly pike, dirty skulls)

The Angels kinhouse is overrun with 50-lb salmon now. Undoubtedly, we will need to take some stuffed fish down to hang some maps, or art, or something that didn't come from the taxidermist.

Skirmishing!

I had to wrap my head around that one, just how many skirmishes needed to be accomplished. Because of my skirmish time data project a while back (fastest-skirmishes-marks-per-minute), I was fairly close to finishing all of the skirmish encounters, so I tore the last ones apart and found the remaining encounters. Easy peasy. Now I am quite intimidating with the new emote “bringiton”. (Finish all encounters in the 18 skirmishes, not the Survival, and you get the emote and the special title).

If ever you get lost on how to figure out an encounter, go to http://cstm.mymiddleearth.com/ and type pineleaf primer in the search bar. My friend Pineleaf wrote brilliant guides to the skirmish encounters. When guides are that good, there need only be one version.

Here was one encounter, of the last handful of encounters, that came to be checked off my deed list. Welcome Fikluk! He is in the Strike against Dannenglor, one of my favorite skirmishes because it is one of the fastest. I think DrQuinn looks a bit caught off-guard... like she didn't notice the large troll stomping toward us.

Naladum and Lumulnar

These level 60 3-person instances are not hard to do as a stout level 75 RK. However, Naladum cannot be completed solo; its mechanism is setup to where you have to be in two places at once so it is literally impossible. (Edit 07/30: I stand corrected... Daweirdo tells me that he, as a Guardian using sprint, was able to get through the 2-person gate, effectively being in two places at once. For us slower people, it is still not an option.) There are 17 or 18 lizards before the 2-person gate so the lizard-slaying deed is very doable. Lumulnar is also ok and has merravals, but I’ve never progressed it to the last boss while solo; I usually get bored turning mirrors in the final area. I actually used GLFF last night for the first time to "globally find a fellowship"; cheers to Tinyelvis and Des who I met last night to whack Lumulnar, again.

However, if you are solo AND want to do these instances but cannot bulldoze over the 3-person aspect, there is a way to launch it “solo”. Visit Broin in The Peaceful Path, in top level (north Moria map, west of Jazargund); he has repeatable quests for the solo version.

Moors!

Oh my. Moors would need a separate post. Lol. Whenever I run out of things to do or just need to blow something apart or just seek something different, I go to the Moors. I have progressed to Rank 8 recently and this past week I got my 6th piece of armor to be at maximum Audacity of 7. There is a noticeable difference, and I will go into that another post.

Isengard

Oh, Isengard is also worthy of more ink time, but I went with friends and knocked off Saruman... so, pictures shall follow, though I was preoccupied with not dying and didn't get that many. My schedule doesn’t lend itself to match the raid timing of those around me, so I take great pride in completing raids. I make a point to be on top of my game and "bring-it" every time I go out.

For grins, we also knocked off the T2 lightning wing. The rest of the T2 Isengard wings will remain on my deed list. It might take years, but someday, someday…

Eldgang

What a strange reputation to try to acquire. The Eldgang do not offer a steed. As far as I can tell, there is no benefit at all to being kindred with the Eldgang. But, there it is in my deed list, so it must be done. The only two ways to gain standing with the Eldgang is by running the Rift instance (level 50 Raid) and by running the Rescue in Nurz Ghashu skirmish. I have finished Rift raid probably 6-10 times, and fortunately, Nurz is one of my favorite skirmishes. Only another few dozen skirmishes will get me to kindred, where I can get… satisfaction of having the box checked, since apparently, that is all there is.

Methedras
And I updated the skirmish speed/marks data table with Methedras. (fastest-skirmishes-marks-per-minute).  Joy. :) 

Isengard Raids

I got to visit some Isengard Raids this past month. Overall, the teams I was with had three wins out of four runs. That seems fairly good. J Thankfully, there were many people there who knew more than I do and told me what to do and what not to do. My friend Mac took it as a personal mission to get me and others through parts of Isengard to allow us to barter for better armors. I am very grateful to know people who know more than I do, of which there were many in the various raids.

There are 5 parts to the Isengard Raid. The first three are the Acid wing, the Lightning wing, and the Fire and Frost wing. The fourth is the Shadow wing and the final is a showdown with Saruman. I was fortunate enough to see the first three. Here are a few of my pictures of my vacation to Isengard.

Acid wing:

First visit was to the Acid wing with Macrez, Mysticfyre, Dodussrond, Macswife, Dominationlove, Aaronus, Vysionmini, Dagnus, Tarandan, Corviss, Dandryf, and Aradost came in for a late fill-in. (2 guard, 2 mini, 2 capt, 2 RK, 2 hunters, LM, champ) I was on DPS.

As with much of the “trash” in the wings, we saw a lot of death before getting to the bosses. J

What I learned about the Acid wing… Jump. A lot. If you stop in the acid, you die.

Perhaps it was good fortune, but this wing seemed easier than the others. Just don’t stop jumping while the Acid is rising.

Lightning wing:

New night… “where are we going tonight Mac?”

Next up, Lightning wing with Macmerkin, Vysionmini, Kilwog, Lartessa, Macbeth, Macswife, Hahmburglar, Nunferu, Corinthianz, Magesticmyst, Assmunahi, and late fill-ins by Cherrypop and Woodstalker (2 guard, 3 mini, 2 capt, 2 RK, hunter, champ, burg).

We marched in through the trash fight. Good leadership and teamwork. No problems here.

So, the boss… The beautiful chains of lightning mean that something is not working as well for our team of heroes. It certainly is pretty though as some deadly things can be.  It was not meant to be as the hour drew late and Saruman’s forces won the night.

Fire and Frost wing:

New night. What’s next Mac?

To the Fire and Frost! Oh good, I read a strategy guide somewhere. Let’s do that. On we go with Taradactile, Byrane, Memyr, Macswife, Tarandan, Macmerkin, Mysticfyre, Aaronus, Vysionmini, Dagnus, and Corviss, and late subs by Leanansidhe and Dandur (2 guard, 2 mini, 2 RK, LM, 2 hunters, 3 champs).

Best stick together just in case.

Oh lovely, Sarumon is here. “Go away! Shoo!”

Alrighty! Two giants - something about “Fire” and “Frost”. Now it is our side versus one giant and the other half of the raid on the far side of the room versus the other giant. As long as nothing breaks down and the giants stay contained, it is easy enough.

Celebrate with a dance! I really like that chandelier/mobile hanging from the ceiling!

Lightning wing, Redeaux:

New night. We are going back to the Lightning wing? Woohoo! Hopefully, there will be less lightning-y drama than last time. Here is the entrance to the lightning wing. On we go with Macrez, Taradanag, Tarandan, Dodussrond, Gimmlet, Vysionmini, Mysticfyre, Hahmburglar, Criptek, Dagnus, Memyr. (2 guard, 1 mini, 2 capt, 2 RK, LM, 3 hunters, burg). This time I will be healing, which will be the first time I’ve healed in a group since Update 6 release.

If nothing else, we will bring a shot of color to this very drab Isengard. With the group dressed in bright reds, purples and blues, our stealthy burglar cringes at our lack of subtlety.

Saruman doesn’t want to waste his time dealing with this group. He walks off, leaving our “imminent demise” to his troll Kalbak.

He doesn’t realize that we got much smarterer since last time. One could say that we are “lightning quick”. The pretty lightning is still pretty, but we are going to give it the least effect possible.

We are in tight formation and shall win the day! “Heal like the wind, Dana!”

Nice three wings down = three pieces of armor opened. Enough seals obtained via trips to the Foundry and the 3-person Isens gave me just enough for three pieces to be bartered. Color me peachy!

Saruman:

So, I haven’t had a full-on confrontation with Saruman, but MW took me to his place so that we could talk face to face. Here is a shot of MW soloing Saruman. I just came along to watch; I brought popcorn. He is a worthy solo for such an uber War-mini as MW. (kidding J, might need 2 War-minis).

Saruman asked me to stay behind and chat after MW had to step away to save the day elsewhere.

Dana: You have not been playing very nice. Hanging out with trolls is not a good way to make friends.

Saruman: How quickly you forget; you have a history of hanging out with trolls. You and I are much the same. <flashback to the misty mountains....>

Saruman: Why have you come? I warned you before to discontinue your meddling…

<flashback to the gates of isengard...>

Dana: You haven’t been watching me very closely then. Protecting free Earth is what I do. I am the Supergirl of Lorien.

Saruman: Supergirl? You think you can help your friends? You are nothing but a frightened little girl. You are not nearly as smart or as brave as you think you are. Your friends have abandoned you. Look around you. No one cares. You walk alone.

Dana: You underestimate the power of friends. I bet that we will persevere.

Saruman: Isengard bids five.