LEAD Side Day Moria – Zelem-melek: Level 55–60

Welcome to LOTRO Epic A Day, where I guide you on an epic journey through Middle-Earth, one day at a time. Each Book of the Epic quest is separated into its own Day, with Side-Days for leveling up to the next book. Gather up your belongings and hit the road, a new Day awaits!

Moria’s central region is a series of long corridors that hide Orc camps and provide space for the Twenty-first Hall, which serves as the base of operations for many players and the Dwarf expedition. It’s actually not such a great region for quest-based leveling however, but does provide a good base when leveling through skirmishes or instances.

Zelem-melek Quest Hubs

Twenty-first Hall (Rec 55-60): The Twenty-first Hall (5.8 S, 105.1 W) has everything an explorer of Moria could want; I highly recommend binding a milestone here at least during your time in Moria (this is less necessary in later levels due to the new Stable route from Galtrev in Dunland). Vendors, vaults, an auction hall, relic and forge-masters, Legendary Item Traders, Iron Garrison Guard and Miner representatives, a bard,  a Stable-master, and a skirmish camp are all found within the Hall. There is also a crafting hall with superior workbenches, forges, and studies, none of which are reputation-locked! A unique set of trainers stand in the southwestern portion of the Hall, offering the Moria Dungeon and Class sets of equipment in exchange for Medallions of Moria (gained in Moria instances) along with the standard suite of skills.

There are a few quests you can pick up in the Twenty-first Hall (though more quests are found in other hubs in Moria). Most of these are level 60 fellowship quests that take place in the various instances entered through the instance join panel, however there are a few quests solo players can find spread out among the Hall’s dwarves. You can also experience the Fall of Moria through a session play offered by Skygni (5.7 S, 105.5 W).

Mezer-serej (Rec 58-60): A small mining location, Mezer-Serej features two dwarves that offer  one hour of access to separate instances to complete repeatable quests and gain Iron Garrison Resource Tokens. You can trade these tokens for IXP runes or Lothlórien Gold Leaves.

Moria Instances

Several instances and skirmishes become available as you pass through Moria or level up through the 50s (see Side Day Misty Mountains for instances that unlock at level 50).

• Level 54 – Moria: The Forgotten Treasury
• Level 56 – Moria: The Grand Stair
• Level 59 – Moria: The Forges of Khazad-Dûm and Moria: Hall of Crafting*
• Level 60 – Moria: The Sixteenth Hall, Moria: Skûmfil, Moria: Fil Gashan, and Moria: Dark Delvings, Moria: Mirror-halls of Lumul-Nar*, and Moria: The Water Wheels*

Three Raids take place in Moria, each unlocking at level 60. These raids are Dâr Narbugud*, Filikul, and The Vile Maw (where you fight the Watcher in the Water).

Rewards for these instances include Medallions of Moria that can be turned in to the trainers at the Twenty-first Hall.

*The Hall of Crafting, Mirror-Halls, Water Wheels, and Dâr Narbugud instances require the Lothlórien Quest Pack (this is included if you purchased the Mines of Moria expansion prior to the November 2010 Update 1, but is a separate installment for purchases made after the update).

Three skirmishes unlock in Moria: Battle of the Deep-Way, Battle of the Way of Smiths, and Battle of the Twenty-first Hall. Before you can run these skirmishes normally they must be unlocked by completing them during Volume II Book 5, Chapter 5. Pineleaf has written guides for each skirmish to help you complete them, find the encounters and understand all other mechanics involve.