My Lore-master has sat on the sidelines of my alt project up until now because it was a character that I had played back in 2007 after my Guardian had reached the late 40’s and most of our regular gaming friends had moved on to (or back to) different games. When I first started him I remember liking it quite a bit because it seemed that there was more thinking involved when it came to the Lore-master. It was more about choices such as what pet to use, what skills to use when, and how to deal with additional mobs. With my guardian I had a very reactive routine of using my melee skills, shield/parry chains/and taunts as much as possible (remember, this was before Overpower); mostly as they activated. However, with the Lore-master I found myself having to make very proactive choices of when to use crowd control skills, manage a pet, and when to use debuffs or damage skills in order to stay alive; and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This time around I felt that the Lore-master was a bit more streamlined and a lot more robust than it was previously. I remember dying quite a bit in 2007, but now in 2011 I didn’t myself having that problem. As for my pet, I mainly stuck with the bear as a pet and eventually replaced it with the Eagle when I completed my level 45 class quest. I also felt that by spacing out debuffs and damage I was able to not draw too much aggro in the initial stages of the fight; allowing my pet to “tank” the initial damage in the fight. And most of the times I found myself doing quite well using this strategy.
Skirmishes were also a lot of fun with a pet and a soldier. And when I had an NPC along for the ride, I felt that I was leading a small army. These levels really are a great time for the Lore-master and it’s hard to go wrong. I really enjoy the though of leveling him some more in the near future.
Also, Sword and Staff is awesome.
| Skill | Skill Effect | Opinion | Level Obtained |
Warding Knowledge: Drakes |
This skill creates an area on the ground that will decrease the tactical resistance and increase the chance to miss for all drakes within the area. | I don’t think I used this much, if it all during my time as a Lore-master. This might have been my short sightedness, but really the wards are a bit of a pain to use a lot in landscape mode, in my opinion. Maybe after the upcoming class changes in Rise of Isengard I’ll be more prone to use the consolidated skill. | 40 |
Frost-lore |
A targeted skill that will decrease the Tactical Damage done on up to 5 targets in a 5 meter radius. | I’ll take any debuffs I can get, but this one feels a bit lack-luster. I’m not sure if I’ll use the new proposed trait The Study of Frost-lore, but it would add some decent functionality to this skill. | 40 |
Ancient Craft |
A targeted skill that will decrease the Armor Value by on up to 3 targets in a 5 meter radius. | I like this skill, and it’s definitely one that should be used when it can. It reduces the armor value for my targets by just over 1300 at level 50 which makes me a happy guy. Your fellowship will thank you as well. | 42 |
Air-lore |
Creates a damage shield on any fellowship member. | As I’m usually in the tank role I love damage a damage shield being placed on me. However, I was a little disappointed to discover I had to place this on my pet since I couldn’t place it on myself. But still, it’s better than not having one at all. | 44 |
Sticky Tar |
Creates an area on the ground that will decrease the movement of any mobs that travel through it; as well as increasing their fire vulnerability. | One of the staples of the Lore-master from my experience with those who are more experienced at playing the Lore-master. A lot of people pair this with fire spells such as Ents go to War since that is an AoE fire spell. My only warning would be that while it does a lot of damage it has a high chance of drawing aggro as well. | 46 |
Storm-lore |
An AoE lightning damage spell that will also apply a 3 second stun. | A good spell, but the 2 minute cooldown kind of stinks. But, the 3 second stun makes up for that a little bit. | 48 |
Ents go to War |
An AoE fire damage spell that will also apply a 6 second stun. | I wish I had gotten this skill, but unfortunately I didn’t finish the book. From what I’ve seen it’s a fairly big staple of Lore-masters. | 39+ Legendary Class Book |
Eagle-friend |
This skill allows for the Lore-master to summon an eagle to their side. | For some reason it was stuck in my head that there was an opinion that the Eagle is a horrible pet, but I have to say I like it. In fact, I liked it so much that I immediately went and got all the cosmetic skins I could get for it! I love the pet quite a bit. | Level 45 Class Quest |
| Trait Name | Trait Effect | Opinion | Level Obtained |
Noble Savage |
Increases the morale, attack, critical chances, stealth detection, stealth and defensive capabilities. | I did not earn this, but it seems like a very cool skill if you’re heavily reliant upon your pet. However, there are a lot of good legendary traits and I’ve heard most people recommend passing on this one at least until the third Legendary Trait slot opens up. | 39+ Legendary Class Book |
Sword and Staff |
This trait allows for Lore-masters to equip both a staff and a sword at the same time. | This is a MUST for all Lore-masters. Not only do you look awesome, but it adds additional stats to your character by making a previously empty slot occupied and it adds some DPS through skills like Staff-sweep. | 39+ Legendary Class Book |
August 3, 2011 at 10:16 am
Frost-lore doesn’t really have a lot of use outside instances. However, in raids like BG and OD, it’s a huge help. Ivar especially does some really nasty tactical damage, so anything to debuff that is a huge help in surviving the fight.
I love the LM class, however, I’ve kind of abandoned my second one on Elendilmir in favor of a second RK instead. The class is great, it just doesn’t click for me the way captain and RK have.
August 3, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Yes, but do you have 12 RK’s like you do Captains?
August 3, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Leveling my second. (And unlike Elb, I only have two captains.)
August 3, 2011 at 10:45 am
Eagle = best pet ever. Sabercat is the terrible pet that you are thinking, I think. Eagle has the Rez, the auto-interrupt, and the consistent flanks. My staple pet. Love it!
August 3, 2011 at 1:55 pm
I’ve heard that some people like the Sabercat because it has AoE capabilities, but I haven’t earned it yet so I really can’t give any opinion for myself. But yes, I have heard it is pretty terrible.
So far I love the Eagle too. I myself went out and got as many of the cosmetic versions as possible.
August 3, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Yeah, it does have AoE auto-attacks, unlike any other pet. I do like it when deeding. I do think the FM capabilities are nice, but the Bog-lurker triggers them too, and it is a much-superior pet, but it does require you to be traited Keeper of Animals.
I actually compared all of the pets in one of my recent posts, and I find that the flank-rate is the most important thing to me. I find that the Sabercat is slightly better than the Lynx, but only with multiple enemies to flank on. The Eagle and Bog-lurker are the best flankers, but the Eagle is more dependable, as it probably flanks about every 15-20 seconds like clockwork.
Which is your favorite skin? Mine is ember-eagle
August 3, 2011 at 11:20 am
Well, Ents Go To War have a bit lenghty summoning time, so I pair it with Storm-lore, wich is almost instant. If I’m mobbed by 2 to 4 creeps, Ents Go To War will take forever because the hits I’m taking. So I use Storm-Lore, they get stunned and I have time to call the Ents forward. Lightning Storm can also use this routine.
August 3, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Great tip! Thank you!
August 5, 2011 at 4:24 am
I wouldn’t suggest this route. Storm-Lore’s short stun will put the stun immunity debuff up on the targets, thus wasting Ents’ massive 6 second stun. If you desperately need a break from combat, consider using Herb-Lore instead, as you can move away from your rooted targets and enjoy the Ent stun.
August 3, 2011 at 11:22 am
The eagle really is awesome for levelling, I agree. With steady flanks, there’s no need to wait for morale regen between fights, just keep pulling em in, drawing power as needed and healing yourself as much as you need. I actually like the sabrecat in situations where I’m fighting 3 or more mobs, it’s autoattacks are AoE, and it has skills that can trigger an FM.
Storm lore. I really like this skill for 1 big reason – it’s an AoE stun that doesn’t do a lot of damage. If you’re in a group, drop this early in a pull to reduce the damage taken by your group. Keeps the mobs grouped up and gives your tank 3 more seconds to round them up. The great thing about its low Damage is that there is little risk of getting aggro yourself.
August 3, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Thanks for all the tips! I’ll be sure to make good use of them.
August 3, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I never thought about that. Good idea!
August 3, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I didn’t get my eagle until after level 50 (an ongoing theme in my adventures is that I always seem to be out of step with the majority of the Vilya population. Generally, when I feel I’m ready to tackle an instance, everyone has moved on, and I’m stuck waiting for the next group to level up).
Anyway, I used the lynx instead – and she (Cammie, the only pet I had named until recently) stlll remains my default pet. Since I keep Sword & Staff and Ents Go To War traited, I rarely have a slot free – the third legendary is usually taken by the bog-lurker or by Improved Sticky Gourd.
Nonetheless, I look back fondly on the 40-50 range. It’s the only time I felt like I was playing the LM well.
August 3, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I never had much luck with the Lynx myself, but that could just e me. It will be interesting to move forward and see how it goes from here.
August 3, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Hi Im blackwolfe and Im an altoholic.. er.. hrm.. wait, you mean this isnt the AA(altoholics anonymous) meeting?
Anyway, interesting read. My loremaster is currently only level 33, though this info will be useful. Currently the lynx for me is very weak and it feels like it dies just by mobs looking at it.
What Im missing is the Loremaster 30-40 though.
August 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm
You need to make sure you have the Beast-lore trait equipped, as that will increase all of your pets’ basic capabilities. Also, keep in mind that the Lynx is best for a big burst of damage, and that is basically it.
Think of the Lynx as another damaging attack. My favorite is to keep the Lynx on Passive, pull the mob, then wait for the mob to pass the Lynx, then hit Attack, and then the stealth attack hits the back of the mob and does more damage.
The main thing is you don’t want the Lynx to be taking damage. If you want to use your pet to off-tank a mob while you work on another mob, then pop your bear out for a bit, because it will survive much better.
Hope that helps!
August 3, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Great advice! I’ve tried to use all my pets in different situations as I progress through the thirties, but I easily use the lynx the most. Having that burst of damage from stealth is a huge boon to a class that–up to this point–has not had a lot of DPS.
As Geldarion points out, it’s really important to have that kitty on passive mode. That way you can sic it on the right enemy at the right time, rather than just having it go haywire and blow its cover. Make sure you have the pet-attack and “heel” commands close at hand on your skill bars: you’ll be using them a lot if you go with the lynx.
The lynx is great against single opponents or in situations where you can use your cc skills to handle one enemy at a time. In areas overrun with enemies, where you’re likely to trigger encounters accidentally, I’d recommend going with a different pet.
As for the eagle, I can’t wait to earn mine. Never heard anything but praise for it!
August 3, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Haha, yeah I am definitely a proponent of Passive Pets in general, as they can often times pull more than you’d like if not under control. Groups also don’t like it if pets pull things early…
August 4, 2011 at 7:45 am
passive pets ftw in group situations, nothing worse than wiping your group with a bad pull!
I love my eagle and use him regularly in the moors when I run solo. The flanks really increase my survivability and the fear is great in 1v1.
Glad to hear you are enjoying the LM Merric, you will only get stronger as you continue to level.