LotRO: Forging Legendary Items

In the Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Mines of Moria, a new feature has been added where players where can craft and name their own legendary items. LotRO's official site has the first in a series of articles about how that will come about which you can read below:

Weapons of eldritch power and memorable names are sprinkled throughout the lore of The Lord of the Rings. They are legendary creations of such arcane might that tales of their greatness are spread across all the lands of Middle-earth.

Consider these-

The sword Narsil, the blade wielded by Isuldur that was shattered by Sauron and Men and was used to cut the One-Ring from the finger of the Dark Lord.

Hadhafang, the weapon of the Elf princess Idril, Elrond's ancestor, wielded during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and later given to Arwen.

And lastly Glamdring, the defender of Gandalf that glows in the presence of an enemy and is inscribed with runes created by Elves for Turon, the King of Gondolin.

Now players of The Lord of the Rings Online™ can forge their own fabled items by adventuring in the Mines of Moria™ expansion. Having a special "named" weapon is an important part of Tolkien lore, and you can customize your own one-of-a-kind item using the Legendary Items advancement system.

The Legendary Items system gives you the tools to create powerful magical items, like Bilbo's short sword Sting or Thorin's sword Orcrist-provided your character reaches 51st level. This system lets you customize special equipment your hero finds within the evil-controlled halls of Khazad-dûm, and these items garner experience alongside your hero. As your item levels it earns Legend Points that can be used to advance the weapon's Legacies, special modifiers that improve class specific skills and abilities. You can also add "relics" from other Legendary Items you find in Moria by "deconstructing" those items and applying the abilities to your own custom creation.

There are three types of Legendary Items: rare, incomparable, and epic. Each type possesses increasing amounts of potential power and advancement. The cost to identify, re-forge, and deconstruct each item is based on its rarity. Your character can have up to six Legendary Items bound to him or her at any one time, all of them gaining experience and becoming ever-more powerful.

Just as legendary characters such as Frodo and Bilbo started out as ordinary hobbits, so too do Legendary Items start off as rather ordinary items. The Legendary Item system gives you the ability to build them into legends through the choices you make and the stories you forge.

Most importantly, as your item gains levels you can also change its name to better reflect your own personal bravery and background, such as: "The Great Sword of Alastor of Bree" or "The Hammer of Lotor Gravelgrinder." With a little work and a splash of creativity, you can have a weapon as powerful as Glamdring Foe-hammer, Durin's Axe, or the re-forged Andúril-the Flame of the West.

Item Advancement

At the core are the unadorned items your character discovers. From these, great weapons can be forged. These items are found in random loot drops in the ancient halls of Khazad-dûm. More can be acquired as quest rewards and barter items, as well as rescued from the clutches of some of Moria's more notorious villains. They are not typically difficult to find, as characters delving into the numerous quests should discover multiple loot drops during a normal hour to two hour play session, so long as they're working to wade through the enemies of the Dwarfs. The Legendary Items you can find in Moria are composed of Main-hand weapons, Ranged Weapons, and new Class Items that go into the new Class Item slot. Each of these items is class-restricted and can be traded or put on the auction hall.

As mentioned above, another way to obtain these items is through barter; this is accomplished with a Legendary Trader. These Dwarf traders operate out of The Great Delving, as well as in a few others locations in Khazad-dûm. There is a Legendary Trader for each of the character classes, and they accept Barter Tokens in exchange for items. Gained from loot, these Barter Tokens are based on minimum character levels, with the level essentially determining which items can be bartered for. Once bartered for and identified by the Forge-master, the true nature of an item is revealed.

There is MUCH more to read on the subject so be sure to head to the link above.

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