Summary: Chris, Layanor, and Cari go over the latest 40 questions, get excited for astronauts, and tell you how to get 250% experience. Listen now: What We Did In Game Layanor - LOTRO Got to 55% in the moors Cari - Some Leveling on my Lowbies Keep getting Heavy gear in the hobbit present. Chris - Hytbold I sang with Chris Hadfield :) News Player Submitted 40 Questions http://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?526541-Player-Submitted-20-Questions-–-Supersized-to-40 Q5: Thodorin: How many Big Battle instances will there be at Helm’s Deep launch? How many of each group size? A5: jwbarry: 8 total instances. Helm’s Dike, The Deeping Wall, The Deeping-Coomb, The Glittering Caves, and the Hornburg all available on solo/duo (tuned for one player but allowing two in). The Glittering Caves will feature a three player size, Helm’s Dike a six player, and The Deeping Wall a twelve player. Q6: Bulldozar: Can you explain exactly how the scaled up lower level players will interact in HD? A6: jwbarry: They’ll be brought up to level 95 in stats. Their gear will also be brought up, with level differential maintained. From there, they are free to engage in combat or utilize any of the mechanics within. They will likely be better at support style roles, but nothing prevents them from stepping out onto the front line. The Promotions advancement system is level agnostic, so they’re free to rank up and get better at the various roles as they improve and level. Q8: Cheery: How does the new Trait Tree methodology affect lower level characters class quests and deeds (for example finding pages and reaching kin with Moria Guards)? A8: HoarseDev: Existing quest lines that granted traits will now grant trait points to spend as you wish. If you completed these previously, in u12 you will automatically get credit under the new system. Q13: Blkplg13: Are the basic stats (might, agil, vit, will, fate) going to affect the same advanced stats (icmr, icpr, crit etc) as in live? A13: HoarseDev: We are not fundamentally changing the relationship between basic and advanced stats. Q14: Scruffynerf: Will existing group content (eg: Fil Gashan) be tweaked to accommodate the new player abilities? A14: HoarseDev: Many of these changes have been done to accommodate existing content. Some group content will play differently for sure but we are reaching from our (systems) side first. Specific changes to existing content may come later. The thing is, until these changes have steeped a while on live, their full ramifications are just speculation. Players ALWAYS find things we could not foresee on paper. Q30: SpongedarkSquarepants: Will we hear any new info on the housing update before the release of Helms Deep? A30:HoarseDev: We have some of the early bits in (changes to house inventory). We are prototyping more features and will continue to develop and add to live. Housing work is going to come in phases. Q31: Cheery: Will there be expanded use of Mithril Coins? A31: Amlug: Mithril coins will be expanded to include: new Housing Storage slots, trait tree configurations, and new barter vendors in the newbie areas. Dev Diary Waden Class Changes http://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/developer-diary-warden-class-changes-helm%E2%80%99s-deep Determination is the Warden’s new tanking line. As far as tanks go, the Warden is an excellent AoE tank, and excels at handling multiple enemies at once. Recklessness is the Warden’s new melee DPS line. It specialises in stacking a multitude of Bleeds and Light Damage DoTs on a single target. There are ways of dealing AoE damage though! The trait “Spear Sweep” allows you to consume a bleed on a target to deal damage to nearby enemies. Assailment is the Warden’s Ranged DPS and Support line. Folks who specialize in Assailment will be able to rain Javelins upon their enemies,
