Useful Tips Collection

Updated: July 23rd, 2021

General Tips

Starter LIs (lvls 45-50): the quest-arc starts at Rathwald in Echad Dúnnan.
Lootboxes: they drop a lot, keys are store-only. It’s not really worth it at low levels.
Radar/Minimap: right-click to edit the icons it displays (filter) or “track nearby quests” (chooses nearest 5 for your Quest Tracker list).
Type /help in the chat window to get a list of commands.
VIP Extra Benefits (U27.1):
- Who to talk to: NPC Wenda at Bree Boar Fountain or near your Homesteads Task Boards!
- What do you get: Town Services and Subscriber’s Jug.

Click on the Jug, the item will be gone in 6hs but the buff lasts 2 days.

They do not disappear from your bags when you log out.
Sub Jug puts this Buff under your Vitals.
Town Services opens a panel for you to select from. It works inside instances and inside housing areas, too.

Keymapping/UI

Ctrl+M = I set this to open Mailbox (useful for VIPs for remote access).

Ctrl+R = I set the Reputation panel to this combo, up to you!

Right Ctrl = I set this to Mount/Dismount (it’ll remember the last mount you summoned).

Y/U keys = Find Item/Interact functions (‘Delete’ is the default key to find items near you while ‘U’ is the default key for interact with them or NPCs).

/follow: it’s useful to have this command keymapped (I use the + key) or quickslotted (here’s how)

Alt+RMB (right-click): allows you to use reputation items in bulk. For IXP runes you’ll have a scroll bar atop the panel that allows you to select the amount.

Alt+F10 = personal lantern, by default, a helpful feature in dark places or during nighttime.

Alt+R = Filter feature. Drag and drop items you don’t want to see in your bags anymore (like the lootboxes).

P = lock/unlock quickslots (this prevents you from dragging out skills accidentally – you can choose any key you like, I went for P)

UI Skins = I recommend the JRR Skins Collection since it offers a wide variety.

Ctrl+\ allows you to move the UI elements and you can resize many of them under Options. If you want to carry that UI layout and apply it to another server or account you can do so by typing the following commands in the Chat window:

/ui layout load [name]

/ui layout save [name]

These are the round ones on the left and right of your skills quickslots. Go to Options (ctrl O) – UI Settings – Toolbar. There are dropdown menus for you to choose which panels you want to display. Really useful right now that Allegiances panel can’t be keymaped.

Raiding must-haves

Selection’s target = toggle to see who’s targetting who (works for fellows and for mobs, easy to notice when you’ve lost aggro)
Induction bar display = key to spot and time inductions (yellow bars equal interruptible ones, grey bars uninterruptibles ones). You must keep the “Floating Names” option enabled for this bar to show.

Screenshots utilities

F12 hide the UI and take better screenshots!
“Floating name opacity” is a dial bar that will allow you to make transparent even the names of those objects/NPCs you have selected.
“Selection indicator” allows you to control whether you want to see the point-down arrow on top of your selected target.

Crafting Tip for New Players

You want to choose a Craft & the first issue is going to be Tools. The starter & vendor ones are old versions while Metalsmiths can make “combined 3-in-1 Tools”. You can ask in chat.. but if you’re a DIY player here’s my tip, step by step:

Step 1: Talk to the Master of Apprentices – pick Armsman – get intro quest to Weaponsmith – talk to the Novice Weaponsmith NPC – get a crate and open it = receive 2 bronze ingots.

Step 2: Talk to the Master again – pick Armourer – get intro quest to Metalsmith – talk to the Novice Metalsmith NPC – get a crate and open it = receive 2 bronze ingots. Now you’ve a total of 4, enough for tools.

Step 3: At the Novice Metalsmith buy a recipe for tools of your desired prof + basic mats from its shop & CRAFT! There’s no min. level so you can equip these right away.

Step 4: Talk to the Master again & choose the craft you wanted your character to have for the rest of its journey. You’re all set!

Plugins

There are two ways to obtain them: 1) the easy way – download the Plugin Compendium which will install your chosen plugins automatically; or 2) download from LOTRO Interface forums & install them manually.

For Quality of Life purposes

AltInventory (best QoL if you’re an alt-aholic)
AltWallet (same as above)
Travel Window II (free those quickslots!)
Horsey (works for cosmetics pets too)
PetCarousel (for LMs)
GearUp (not in the Compendium)

For Combat

Prime (oh where to start! just install & give it a go)
Gibberish (if you lag with Prime)
CombatAnalysis
DebuffVitals (very nice for LMs)
MiniRaid
BuffBars
MouseFinder

Housing

If you’re interested in the fundamentals regarding neighbourhoods, house styles, ammenities, decorations, I strongly recommend you visit a specialized website: https://en.dcodumilieu.fr/

Not only they have a great item database, but they also organize events periodically!

How to pay maintenance for a house that you don’t own:

Travel to the house you intend to pay for and step into its boundaries (the name of the owner and address pop in your screen).
Look on your radar wheel and click on the housing icon. The panel that pops then should display the upkeep for that particular house.

Note: the Housing button that appears in your Character Panel (C) will only display the houses you own and/or those that belong to your toon’s kinship.

How to travel to another kin member’s house:

Your kinnie has to have set “Primary Residence” at a personal house by clickin on the Star icon below the address in the House tab in the Character Panel (C).

Open Kinship panel (O) and select the kin member you intend to visit. If they’ve done the step described above, you’ll see the “Visit” option at the bottom of the panel light up. Click & travel.
The player you’re visiting doesn’t need to be online.

When a player hasn’t selected a primary residence, the Visit option appears greyed out.

How to visit any house:

Option 1: Stable-masters

Several stable-masters offer Swift Travels to Homesteads. The one inside each neighbourhood or the ones you can buy from the LOTRO Store to use as decorations, connect you with all the rest of the Housing areas; and then there are some other Stable-masters in main hubs for each race that will connect you to the corresponding Homestead type:

South Bree	Bree-land Homestead
Celondim, Duillond	Falathlorn Homestead
Thorin’s Gate	Thorin’s Hall Homestead
Michel Delving, Hobbiton	The Shire Homestead
Aldburg, Edoras	Kingstead / Eastfold Homesteads
Dol Amroth*	Cape of Belfalas

*Note: not the main Stable-master, but a swift horse by the Housing Broker NPC

Option 2: Tour house

If a neighbourhood you wanna visit has empty houses, you can select any of them & use the “Tour” option. Once teleported you can find the address you wanted to visit.

Now, the easiest way to find the housing lists is to visit the Broker’s Office in the center of Bree Town (31.3S, 51.2W). It’s not the only location for these individual NPCs, but it is the only one where you’ll find them all together.

Option 3: Direct travel

So, what happens if the house you wanna visit is located in a neighbourhood where all the houses are occupied? Do not fret, the Broker’s Office not only gathers all Housing NPCs but also displays “Real Estate Ledgers” on the tables, and these items can be used to travel straight to the house you’re looking for.

Useful Tips Collection

General Tips