One year Danaversary!

Here it is. Throw the confetti. Danania.net came online just over one year ago! Woohoo!

Some data review (because that is what I do…):

As of February 28, 2013, According to Blogger, the site had received,

• 101 posts,
• 92,000 visitors,
• 580 comments,
• 34 "followers".

Because of you early readers, I was blessed to have a great following before I even made the jump from guild-site-forum-writer to an actual blogger, so I had an amazing start. Then, the Riders of Rohan expansion happened in October, and the site blossomed and started to grow! The number of visitors more than doubled in October-2012 drawn to the pictures of the warsteeds and the Warsteed Traiting Guide and the other various guides and "All the Steeds" Gallery! You visitors are just awesome! I am excited that you show up, get something out of the visit, and comment! I would like to think that my writing and pictures have gotten better over the past year. :D

Visitor tally by month:

Some specific links from which the site received the most hits included,

Ketani’s Warsteed discussion… CSTM: the-price-of-a-well-dressed-war-steed 

referencing the many class warsteed cosmetics @ rohan-warsteed-cosmetic-looks 

Warsteed traiting discussions on the forums, including…

Forum: Light-Medium-Heavy-Warsteed 

referencing the Warsteed Traiting Guide @ rohan-warsteed-traiting-part-1

Goldenstar’s seal of approval… CSTM: recommended-reading-danania-net

I have more fun links on the page, Danania's Links.

Thank you to all the people who put links to this site on their pages and forums as well. You know who you are and I know who you are when you tell me, and I try to keep my Links page up to date. :)  

The most popular Google searches that hit this site included “danania”, “danania.net”, “supergirl hunt”, “lotro riders of rohan”, “rk legacies”, and numerous steeds that show up throughout the blog and gallery.

Some of your most visited pages (according to Blogger) include,

1. The original stat math post (lotro-stat-math-rk-gear)
2. The Warsteed Cosmetic post (rohan-warsteed-cosmetic-looks)
3. Fastest Skirmishes (fastest-skirmishes-marks-per-minute)
4. Steed of Victory and Steed of Dol Baran (steed-of-victory-and-steed-of-dol-baran)
5. The Herbalist build (Herbalist)
6. Warsteed Traiting, all five sections (rohan-warsteed-traiting)
7. Legacies for RK LIs (legacies-for-rk-stones)
8. Relics and Virtues (U6-relics-and-virtues)

I need to do some new posts revising some of these as Update 10 tweaked some of the digits.

And thankfully, you liked my Guide to All the Steeds, which I keep up-to-date. With my enjoyment of the Steeds, I try to make sure you will always find it full of the most comprehensive set of steeds lotro has to offer! (All the Steeds)

Thank you so much for visiting Danania.net!

Rohan: 85 skirmish solider Herbalist

One of my most visited non-Rohan posts on the site is herbalist-is-my-skirmish-friend in which I detailed the traits of my skirmish soldier, the Herbalist. Now at level 85, I brought my Herbalist up to speed. She is a potent soldier!

Also important though is that I once again used the “Scroll of Skirmish Refund” from the lotro store. It costs 295 TP. If I thought ahead I might have even gotten it with a discount coupon (but I think I paid full price because I wanted it right then). This is the other post I want to reflect on for Skirmish Refund best-295-tp-ever.

Why would I use this scroll, and what did I get for my 295 TP this time?

Let’s start with “why”. The cost of leveling a soldier is directly related to your level. Meaning, at level 85, a rank of a soldier costs less than that same rank would be at level 75. As you get the soldier closer to your level, the cost goes up.

And “What”. From the link, the first time the Scroll of Skirmish Refund arrived in the store, I was level 75 and Dr. Quinn was the equivalent of a level 75 Herbalist. I used the Scroll and had a savings of 29,158 marks on the exact same rebuild to level 75.

But, now I am 85, with the herbalist having been built using my level 75 related costs. Now, it should be cheaper to do the same thing at 85. To the test!

I used the reset scroll… and voila! It returned exactly 9,571 Marks, the same number I spent before (see previous link). To get the Herbalist exactly back to the equivalent of level 75 was a cost of 5,884 Marks. In total, it was a savings of 3,687 Marks at the cost of 295 TP.

If you have never used a skirmish reset scroll, you are possibly in for a big refund (hence the 29k marks I received last time). As for me, having used one before at level 75 and only leveling the soldier as a Herbalist, the gain was not as much for a second use. If you have never done it, and you have points in your soldier, I would recommend doing the reset when you reach level 85.

For interest, I leveled Dr. Quinn to equivalent level 86. The cost to get from level 75 to 86 with the traits I chose was 8,529 Marks. Also of interest, one cannot level a soldier to equivalent level 85; the levels come by twos. She could be equivalent level 84 or 86 (and the next up is 88).

She is da bomb! With a morale of 12,907, she can tank it all, heal through the damage and keep going. In all my days of skirmishing, I have only been threatened a couple of times on my first visits to The Icy Crevasse. Needless to say, I always feel secure with my Herbalist. Someday, I will revisit the Fastest Skirmishes post, fastest-skirmishes-marks-per-minute  (though I suspect the relative time results to be similar, but would find a comparison data set to be interesting).

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. :) 

As seen on CSTM, summary post

I normally wait until Tuesdays to post, but today I interrupt the regular schedule to bring you a “holy moly”!

Spring Festival is here, and as I do nearly every morniing, I headed over to Casualstrolltomordor.com to check out everything my hero Goldenstar has to say. I choked on my breakfast soda when I saw that my blog was featured on the front page! Link here ~ CSTM ~ recommended reading = danania-net. Go see. I will wait a moment.

<checks the clock...> Glad you are back! Ok, I noticed that I have now possibly sent some of you on a cyclical DO loop, linking to cstm, which links back to danania.net. Lol!

Let me break the chain by showing you around to some of the visitor favorites @ danania.net.

The 5th Anniversary post is statistically the visitor’s top choice. It is written in story form about the Anniversary party. 

Followed closely by "lotro stat math & RK gear" which is an analytical exercise in lotro math and how stats work coupled with some thoughts about how to build an end game RK. 

Speaking with peeps on the street, the "fastest skirmishes & marks per minute" analytical compilation is useful and certainly gets regularly visits. 

Relics and Virtues lay out all of the current (Update 6) virtues at rank 14 and relics for easy access and build planning. 

The Herbalist is an explanation of how to build a good Herbalist skirmish soldier. I have this link at the ready since I see this question asked about once a week. 

Some of my favorite stories were the Draigoch stories (Draigoch1  & Draigoch2), Isengard, and the introduction of the lil danas.

I hope you enjoy just clicking around the site. I love comments so fire away! You will see lots of horses, festivally things, Sailor Moon, and more horses. And lots of pictures.

Tuesday will be a post on RK legacies. I know you are excited. J

Fastest Skirmishes – marks per minute

This page has been updated with Methedras data (07/26/12). 

Hi there! I have been talking about this topic of skirmishing for marks for a while. I had been waiting until I collected a good enough representative sample of skirmishes to build my tables. There are some sites that are masters of knowing the lore behind what is going on in a skirmish. You won’t find that here.

When I am skirmishing, I cathartically release worries out through the lightning in my fingertips and think less about what I am fighting. “See it & Kill it (& sometimes take its picture)” is my skirmish motto. What I never turn off is my mental math processors though. So, I took these notes and data about which skirmishes were the fastest to beat, and which awarded the most marks per minute, and a few other notes along the way as to why those skirmishes are paced as they are.

Qualifiers:

• Runekeeper/Herbalist: Your mileage may vary but the table below is built on my average statistics. I am a level 75 Runekeeper, lightning traited, reasonably-well-but-not-best-end-game geared, with a Herbalist (soldier build @ Herbalist) that is doing no damage but keeps me alive while I kill enemies. At least ideally, your statistics comparing one skirmish to another might be similar. These data were generated at Update 5 (prior to RK revamp of U6 which helped the RK to get a bit tougher though I doubt it will change this table noticeably).

• Encounters: I do every encounter (there are two per skirmish) which adds to the time. In some situations, like “The battle in the Tower”, some encounters require doubling back to areas that have already been passed. Depending on the encounter, it could add a couple of minutes to the skirmish time. While soloing, as most of the “Medallions” (not marks) come from the encounters, it is worth the time to do the encounters.

• Instance Finder: All of the stats in this post were generated while using the Instance Finder (IF). Why? The IF has a setting for “1 person”, “skirmish”, “Tier 1” and it will randomly choose a skirmish for you. By letting the IF choose the skirmish, you are awarded 50% more marks and medallions. Yeah, that is huge. Don’t leave home without it. Also, notice that you get +5% morale and power if you let the IF choose the skirmish. That's a lovely chocolate frosting for an already tasty chocolate cake. ***Note: Update 6 (03/12/12) changed the IF somewhat, but it should become even easier to use.

• Tier 1: All of the skirmish data are generated for Tier 1. Tier 2 skirmishes give +10% marks and Tier 3 gives +25% marks. However, T2 takes more than 10% more time than T1 (and T3 is much longer). For certain, T2/T3 foes hit harder and have more morale so if you have any problems at T1, then T2/T3 is probably not for you.

T1/T2/T3 Comparing start to finish… I chose to clock Nurz Ghashu because the skirmish is very consistent. On T1, it always take me about 9 min 55 sec start to exit, +/- 20 seconds. So, T1 Nurz data = 10 min. T2 Nurz data = 13 min (+10% marks @ +30% of the time). T3 Nurz data = 24 min (+25% marks @ +140% of the time). The truth is I hit and run the same speed regardless of the tier. If the T3 mobs have twice the morale, I have nothing to speed up my kill rate to compensate.

Sure, if you want a serious challenge, go for T3. But the time isn’t worth the reward in terms of marks. Here is a shot of one of the encounter foes in Nurz Ghashu. Snagtalun T3… soloing (with a herbalist) a 52k morale troll that hits for more than 2k damage isn’t something I want to do for fun every day. (For comparison, his T1 morale is about 28k.)

Fastest Skirmishes

What are the fastest skirmishes?

Here is my data table.

Yeah, that is still a lot of data so I will break it down.

There are three sections: around 12 minutes, around 15 minutes, around 20 minutes.

This table has been updated with "Storm of Methedras".

Offense/Defense: There are 10 Offensive skirmishes and 8 Defensive skirmishes. Offensive skirmishes let you plow through the enemies at your pace; some have stopping points where the enemy is “counterattacking an area” that you just took. Defensive skirmishes have enemies periodically running toward and attacking an area that you are “defending”, always with the assistance of an NPC (whom you are not allowed to let die lest you often fail the skirmish automatically).

Top 7 fastest (above average speed): Of the top seven fastest skirmishes for me, 5 are Offense and 2 are Defense. Like I said, this post is not the end all of lore knowledge, but here are a few quick notes to guide us.

(1) Strike against Danneglor: Offense (#1 Speed, #3 Marks/min) – This skirmish is the shortest skirmish; it is almost too short. There are various courtyards with control points. You go, you kill, the enemy counter-attacks, you move on. It doesn’t offer many marks, but it is so fast that it is good in terms of Marks/minute.

(2) Rescue in Nurz Ghashu: Offense (#2 Speed, average Marks/min) – Similar to Danneglor, Nurz Ghashu is quick. It is set in the Rift and offers +700 Rift reputation for completion. If I complete it another 58 times, I will finally be at Kindred with the Rift people (the Eldgang). Kindred doesn’t get me anything except a stamp in my list that says I am kindred, but it is far easier to build Eldgang rep via solo skirmish than it is to get a raid team together to go run a level 50 Rift raid (which is the only other way to get Eldgang rep).

(#) Storm of Methedras: Offense (Fast Speed, Great Marks/min) – Methedras is the "new one" for 1H12, and the reason I am updating this page on 07/26/12. It is a slugfest. At the two gates, the mob roll toward you so it has both an offensive and defensive feel. A key is to not bite off more than you can handle as there is opportunity to aggro additional mobs inside the gate. Other than that, it is well laid out and straight-forward. Good for racking up marks quickly.

(3) The Icy Crevasse: Offense (#3 Speed, #1 Marks/min) – The Icy Crevasse is notoriously the hardest of the 17 skirmishes. When I win without defeat, it takes about 12 minutes to complete. Fortunately, since it is the hardest, the payout is the best. There is no comparison when it comes to Marks/minute. The Icy Crevasse = 29 M/min, and the next closest is the Strike against Danneglor = 17 M/min. The Icy Crevasse has unique mechanisms for extra damage because of the cold environment and has occasional healing spots (the green spots) during the boss fight where you don’t die quite as fast.

(4) Defense of the Prancing pony: Defense (#4 Speed, average Marks/min) – The Prancing pony is the fastest defensive skirmish. You mostly stand in one place out in front of the tavern and whack every enemy that comes along. There are enemies carrying fire to burn the tavern; kill them before they get to the Pony. Second watch Heathraw, a melee NPC, is out there helping. It is quick and easy with average marks. Here is Heathraw preparing us for the fight.

(5) Attack at Dawn: Offense (#5 Speed, #4 Marks/min) – This skirmish is an offensive race through an orc camp in Mirkwood. There are some orcs, wargs, trolls, catapults dropping destruction in certain areas. It is fairly easy, fast, and one of the best for Marks/minute.

(6) Thievery and Mischief: Offense (below average Marks/min) – This fight around Bree is a typical offensive skirmish. Kill stuff, counterattack, etc. It is offense driven, and fast, but the marks are on the low side. Kill the pig! Here is a shot of Goretusk, one of the encounters in Bree skirmish Thievery and Mischief.

(7) Stand at Amon Sul: Defense (below average Marks/min) – With the Prancing Pony, Amon Sul is the other fast Defensive skirmish. Amon Sul is very busy and has a hectic feel. Your task is to light fires, the NPC Calenglad range kills most things, and when you are not lighting fires, you get to help kill. As long as the fires are lit, it is hard to lose. It is relatively short but the marks are poor.

Next 6 Skirmishes (average speed): These next six skirmishes are not the fastest, but have a couple of high performers for Marks/minute. There are two Defensive and the remaining four Offensive skirmishes in this grouping.

(8) Assault on the Ringwraith’s Lair: Offense (below average Marks/min) – It is another typical offensive skirmish. It is a race around Dol Guldur (open air, so not claustrophobic), kill stuff, counterattacks, kill the Ringwraith at the end. The length takes a bit longer since you are physically running across DG; the marks are poor.

(9) Battle of the way of the Smith’s: Defense (average Marks/min) – The Smith’s is a defensive battle. You defend the east forge, the west forge, or the north forge and are alternating areas every couple of waves. There are several rounds of this defense. Then, you go upstairs and beat the boss troll Sadauk. The area is within the mines of Moria; as an elf, I am not meant to be underground that long. It moves along ok; you have banners to help (offers extra damage, healing, power, etc, not that they are really needed); and the Mark payout is Average. Of course, when Stothkell get knocked back by the troll and gets stuck to the wall and the instance cannot be completed, that doesn’t help at all.

(10) Breaching of the Necromancer’s gate: Offense (#2 Marks/min) – I often get this one confused with Assault on the Ringwraith. Both are open-air Offensive fights in Mirkwood/DolGoldur and take about 15 minutes. The Necromancer’s gate has much better marks though, ranking #2 for Marks/min.

(11) Ford of Bruinen: Defense (below average Marks/min) – Defend the fords of Bruinen in the Trollshaws with Elrond’s boys. It is a lovely fight, defending from the left or the right, and has help from two elven hunter types. Takes an average amount of time, but the marks are low.

(12) The battle of the Tower: Offense (below average Marks/min) – For the most part, the offensive battle of the Tower is really fast! Where this one breaks down is the very long monologue by Mazog at the end. He seems to go on and on in his villain monologue until Broin cuts his throat and makes him stop talking. Marks are low for its length.

(13) Trouble in Tuckborough: Offense (#5 Marks/min) – Tuckborough is the fight in the Shire. It is a plow-through. It is #5 on my chart for best marks/min, but takes longer than most skirmishes since you effectively have to circle the Tuckborough/Great Smials area of the Shire. Interesting dynamic, the fight starts in near darkness and the sun rises by the time you end. (I always turn my lamp on with Alt+F10 when fighting in the dark.)

The Last 4 Skirmishes (takes so long...): Given the choice, these four Defensive skirmishes are not my favorite skirmishes.

(14) Battle of the 21st Hall: Defense (average Marks/min) – The Marks are not that  bad, but at 18 minutes and lots of dead space between defense positions around 21^st Hall, the Battle drags by comparison to some of the other skirmishes. You get bonus banners and typical NPC defenders.

(15) Protectors of Thangulhad: Defense (below average Marks/min) – The basic fight of this skirmish is the easiest of all the skirmishes. You shoot catapults at the enemy as they run to Thangulhad. If you hit them, they are nearly dead when they arrive at Thangulhad camp and are one-hit knockouts. If you miss, the fight is still easy, especially with the melee NPC assistant. The encounters are out of the way and many of the encounter foes do not stick around… they are walking and you have to know where they are to get to them in time. With its long length and low marks, even though it is easy, the skirmish ranks worst for Marks/min.

(16) Battle of the Deep Way: Defense (average Marks/min) – Like the 21^st Hall and the Smiths, this defensive battle of the Deep Way is in Moria. You defend the south tunnel, north tunnel, or middle area, and you get NPC helpers and banners. At 20 minutes, I could have finished Strike against Danneglor twice and felt more fulfilled with better marks.

(17) Siege of Gondamon: Defense (below average Marks/min) – Oh Gondamon. Before I even started tracking how long this skirmish was, I was keenly aware that it was very long. “I am still in Gondamon??” At approximately 24 minutes, it is by far the longest skirmish of the 17 available. Its marks are not bad, but it is not at all proportionate for the length of the skirmish.

Relic Extras: I almost forgot! In addition to Marks and a few Medallions, you also often get LI relics as drops and rewards. I noticed no obvious difference for relic reward by skirmish. On average across all skirmishes in the data set, I received 1 tier 3 relic, 1.5 tier 2 relics, 3 tier 1 relics, and 8% of the time I received a 40k ixp rune. The variance was wide from no extras at all to 2 t3, 5 t2, and 10 t1 for a single skirmish.

Favorites? Do I have favorites? I would have to say I tend to like the offensive ones better, especially the first Seven of Nine. Besides the fact that they are longest, Mazog in the Battle in the Tower annoys me and Trouble in Tuckborough is very dark so those two are my least favorite. The only defensive ones I could say I really like are Defense of the Prancing Pony and the Ford of Bruinen. Given a choice, I don't go fight underground in Moria. 

With the new IF for Update 6 (03/12/12), as I understand it, the "Advanced" IF tab will allow certain skirmishes to be removed from the random select and you will still get the 50% mark bonus and +5% morale and power. If so, I may never go to Gondamon skirmish again. :) ***UPDATE to Post, 03/16/12: The new IF does have an "Advanced" tab and is very friendly to use. Read my comments on it here (old-halls-of-crafting-new-galtrev).