LOTRO Tips
I am currently enjoying a renewed interest in the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online since I migrated all my characters from the old 32-bit servers to the new 64-bit replacements. I’ve created a new High Elf Lore-master on Peregrin server and am currently levelling them in a targeted play through of the Epic Story, supplemented by curated side quests. While playing recently, I realised the game UI on this alt wasn’t as I usually have it laid out. So I checked through the various documents on my PC and found a text file I had created many years ago that had a few hints and tips written down. I’ve added a few more and decided to share them as a blog post. I’m sure veteran players will be familiar with many of them but a lot of them are worth repeating. They may prove useful to those new to LOTRO or returning to the game after a long hiatus.
Saving and loading your customised interface:
Once you’ve arranged your LOTRO user interface to your liking simply type the following command in the chat window. /ui layout save X (X being the name of choice for this saved setting). You can then load this layout for any further alts by typing the following in the chat window. /ui layout load X
Filter loot, quests and sounds:
Alt + R opens the in-game filter windows. This allows you to filter out specific quests and their subsequent reminders. It can also be used to ignore unwanted loot. I use it to avoid lootboxes that frequently drop and fill your bags. It can also be used to filter out specific in-game sounds. This is especially handy if you find certain sounds annoying, such as Minstrels constantly yelling or the incessant whinnying of horses at stables.
Renaming pets and skirmish/landscape soldiers:
The Lore-master and Captain’s classes in LOTRO have combat pets that can be renamed by right clicking on them. Skirmish/landscape soldiers can similarly be renamed. Cosmetic pets cannot have their name altered in this fashion. However, you can rename them by typing the following command in the in-game chat window. /cpet rename X (X being your name of choice).
Checking to see how much time you have spent playing a specific alt:
Type the following command in the in-game chat window in chat to see how long you've played that specific character. /played
Select which quest icons are shown on the mini-map:
If you go into Options>UI Settings and tick “Show Trivial Quest Icons in Radar” the game will display the quest icons (rings) for those quests that are below your current level, on your mini-map.
Change the order of your alts on the character select screen:
If you want to sort your characters, prior to clicking on “Enter Middle-earth” click on the small triangle just below where it says “Page”. You can then choose between Name, Level, Class and Last login.
Quick travel skills:
Travelling around the various zones in LOTRO can be difficult at lower levels. Stable access is often gated by quests and reputation etc. There are some travel locations that are more useful than others due to the amount of locations they offer. Return to Glân Vraig is one such location. Based in the Ettenmoors, this skill can be earned at level 20 just by completing the tutorial quest in the Ettenmoors. It offers quick travel to West Bree, Thorin's Gate, Michel Delving and Rivendell. From Rivendell Stables numerous other travel locations are available. Return to Glân Vraig also has the advantage of only having a 5 minute cooldown. Players just starting out in LOTRO, may wish to purchase Return to Lalia's Market skill for 3 mithril coins. It teleports the player to the centre of Bree which is an important travel hub.
Disable combat music:
Whenever you aggro an enemy in LOTRO, the game plays combat music specific to that zone. These audio cues can be useful in notifying that you’ve triggered combat. However, it can also become quite annoying, especially if you’re focused on the ambient score. Hence, you can go into Options>Audio>Sound Features and check the “Disable Combat Music” button, if you wish.
The LOTRO keymap:
I have two monitors attached to my PC. I play LOTRO on the right hand screen and have the game’s default keymap as the desktop wallpaper on my left hand screen. Despite playing the game since 2008 I still forget many of the handy keyboard commands, so it is useful to have a visual reminder in my line of sight. You can find a large keymap image here.
