Learning LOTRO: Lesson Forty-Seven - Warden Class Quests

In this series, I talk about various aspects of The Lord of the Rings Online. This series is meant for newcomers, but may also help veteran players find more to love about the game.

It's time for us to check back in with our tenth (and final!) character, the nimble Serenniwil. Our elf maid has grown up a bit and has had to face the Warden Class Quests. These quests rely on the unique talents of the Warden Class and put every Warden to the test!

Since writing about Serenniwil four weeks ago, she's been leveled up to 50 so that I can cover a variety of other basics in this series. 

In this entry, we're going to talk about the first two Warden Class Quests that are auto-bestowed at level 15 and level 30. There are others, but they're a bit more advanced and complicated -- and thus will end up in a future entry. 

Class Trainer

The first thing I'll ask you to remember is that I specifically said that the Trainers are NOT obsolete even though we no longer have to visit them to learn our class skills. When you reach level 15, you're going to get some mail called "Pressing Matters." This mail is going to send you to one of the many Warden trainers scattered throughout Middle-earth, because they want to send you to help someone and learn a lesson.

And as I mentioned in previous Class entries, Trainers have a variety of goods to purchase. In the case of Warden trainers, there's a variety of basics: Crafting recipes for Scholar, Weaponsmith, and Woodworker to make fire & light oils, Shield spike kits, carvings & hymns; as well as the basic oils, basic carvings, and books for the later class quests. Higher level trainers will sometimes also have class-specific gear that is gated by local reputation or barter currency.

Level 15: A Spear at the Southern March

The first class-specific quest is going to send you to west gate of Bree (that's the main gate if you're coming from the Shire), where just inside you'll see a soldiery fellow named Andrew Oakhurst. This guy is in charge of the Wardens of Bree and leads practice skirmishes to sharpen their skills.

Andrew Oakhurst

Andrew certainly doesn't beat around the bush and says that there isn't a practice skirmish for you -- but a very legitimate threat to Bree that you can help take care of. He invites you to join his line to repel an organized group of Brigands, promising you'll learn some skill in the process. (I guess that probably means you aren't getting paid, huh?)

Hold the Line

Once you've joined the Wardens, Andrew says you'll be paired up with Toby Thorndyke. Toby explains the part of the line you're responsible for holding, and it isn't long after that the brigands begin to attack. Pay no attention to the ones to the left or right of your area. The ones you need to take care of will come straight at you and Toby. 

Dispatch the handful of waves and you'll complete the instance with flying colors. I prefer to use the Assailment stance so I can attack from a distance to start gambits and do damage before the enemy is in range -- this dispatches them quicker with less damage to myself! (Call it a bad habit of someone who loves to play hunter and lore-master!)

Spears & Shields

Successful, you return to Bree and speak with Andrew once more. He praises you for your work in defeating the brigands and says you're welcome to serve on his line any time. For a job well done, you are given a warden shield and a fancy title!

Level 30: A Defense in the Darkness

Your trainer flags you down at level 30 to say that if you want another opportunity to test your skills as a Warden that you can reach out to the elves of Lin Giliath in the North Downs because they have need of a Warden. Off you go!

Andyri

So, it turns out that not only do they need a Warden and have the means to test your skills, they are actually in dire need of your services to rescue some elves that may have bitten off more than they could chew. (That isn't what the text says, but I'm reading between the lines here!)

Into the Caves

It's another instance! You'll meet Andyri in the caves and head deeper in to find the wounded/exhausted elves. Once you speak to them, the instance moves very quickly: First you'll defend against a few waves of the Duvardain hillmen, and then you'll defend against a few waves of stone trolls.

If you use the Assailment stance again, you have a lot of time to do damage before they reach you and you can minimize any damage done to the NPCs you're supposed to protect. Once done, it's back to Lin Giliath!

A Valuable Ally

Full of praise and gratitude, Andyri assures you that she'd place the safety of others in your hands again without hesitation. (Lucky you?) On the plus side, this means you're getting a reward: a swanky title and the choice of either a spear or javelin. Both weapons are nice -- so I advise choosing the one that boosts your stats the most or improves the weaker of your current weapons.

Gambit Help at Level 21

Remember in the Warden Class entry how I mentioned that gambits become easier as you level up? At level 21, you'll get a pile of extra builder skills that add two symbols at a time, saving you time when building your Gambit queue (especially for the longer Gambits). 

Practice and building habits are the only way to "git gud" as a Warden, but these double-symbol builders go a long way to making it less tedious.

Mustering 

An important utility of the Warden class is the ability to Muster at various strategic settlements across Middle-earth in order to defend them. Similar to a Hunter's Wayfaring, each skill is keyed to a specific location. Four of them are auto-bestowed: Ost Guruth, Esteldin, Evendim, Rivendell. The rest are available from factions upon reaching specific reputation levels. I personally have not found the Musters to be useful when questing because they don't seem to be available until I have leveled past their locations. Also, Mustering only transports the Warden -- no passengers like with Hunters!

Other Class Quests

As I mentioned before, there is a class-specific set of quests that will send you back to your Trainer at level 39, and all of the classes have the same format, so I'll be talking about that set all at the same time in a future entry.

There is also a bigger set of quests at level 50 (available at level 45) that all of the classes get, but they are wildly different and more complicated. You can expect those quests to be in a much further entry in the future after we cover more of the basics. And there are a LOT of basics left to cover!

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