Tier 9 and Tier 10 artifacts in Gondor and Anórien

Gondor is a very huge area to look out for tier 9 and tier 10 scholar artifacts. The Gondor region is divided in five parts. In the north (south of the mouths of the Entwash) lies Anórien, with in the east Old Anórien and in the west Far Anórien. The Anórien areas are both tier 10 areas. The southern part of the Gondor area is subdivided in Eastern Gondor, Central Gondor and Western Gondor. The following chests can be found in Gondor and Anorion:

Western Gondor - Tier 9: Adorned Chests
1. Blackroot Vale (level 95 - 97 area)
2. Havens of Belfalas (lvl 96-100)
3. Lamedon (lvl 96-98)
4. Paths of the Dead (lvl 95-100)

Central Gondor - Tier 9: Adorned Chests
5. Dor-en-Ernil (lvl 100)
6. Lower Lebennin (lvl 100)
7. Pelargir (lvl 100)
8. Ringló Vale (lvl 100)

Eastern Gondor - Tier 10: Lavish Chests
1. Lossarnach (level 100 area)
2. South Ithilien (lvl 100 area)
3. Upper Lebennin (lvl 100 area)
4. Osgiliath (lvl 105 area)

Far Anorian - Tier 10: Lavish Chests
1. Taur Druadan (level 100 area)
2. The Beacon Hills (lvl 100 area)

Old Anorian - Tier 10: Lavish Chests
1. Pelennor Fields(level 100 area)
2. Talath Anor (lvl 100 area)

Tier 9 - Western & Central Gondor - Ornate Caches

Like in Rohan, Ornate Caches can also be found in Western and Central Gondor, but these areas are far more dangerous to search for artifacts than Rohan. For easy gathering on high levels (100+) I advise you to search for Ornate Caches in the Rohan areas.

Ornate Caches contain 2 types of raw material:
- Scrap of Rohirric Text  
- Piece of Sealed Wax.

Sometimes, especially in heavy ornate caches, you can find the rare Tarnished Crest of Rohan. However, it is stated that this is a very rare drop from scholar artifacts, much rarer than the droprate from wood and ore...

The best spots for scholar artifacts in the Central and Western Gondor areas are still under research, but the Havens of Belfalas belongs definitely to one of the best areas. Rather concentrated locations of caches can be found in the pirate haven of Edhellon, but also in the Hashadîr raider camp. Another rich area to look out for Ornate Caches are the Paths of the Death, but here the node locations are more scattered around the area.


1. Blackroot Vale
A preliminary map can be found below, I will update this map soon with notes and more exact node locations.

2. Havens of Belfalas 
I completed my search in the area of the Havens of Belfalas, where I found four locations with clusters of Adorned Chests. The elven city Edhellond and Hashadîr, the Corsair raider camp south of Dol Amroth, are by far the richest locations. Both are dangerous areas, with many corsairs (pirates with turbans ... funny).

Edhellond was once a famous Elven city and port, where the Elves built their ships to sail westward and away from Middle-earth into the Undying Lands. There is also a strange tale of Amroth, Prince of Lórien, who was lost at or near Edhellond in the year TA 1981. As history says so, he was looking for his beloved Nimrodel, but was never seen again. Although you can fancy to find this famous Elven prince, your dream will evaporate soon when you visit in Edhellond. There are no elves anywhere, and the place is swarmed with aggressive Corsairs. Nevertehless, Edhellond is an excellent place to look for Adorned Chests! I found 14 locations, 2 of them where heavy chests (I have marked them with a red circle on the map).

The Elven city of Edhellond, a perfect place for artifact hunting!

To the south of Dol Amroth, the big harbour city, lies the Corsair camp and pirate harbor Hashadîr. Like all Corsair camps, Hashadîr is swarmed by pirates, but there are many chests to be found. An interesting side quest brings you to the treasure chests of five pirate ships, which can be seen in the adjacent Bay of Belfalas.

Looking at the Bay of Belfalas, from the coastal road.
The big city is Dol Amroth; the brown camp in front is Hashadîr.
The island at the horizon is Tol Fennas.

The other two locations with adorned chests are also Corsair camps, but the abundance of chests is a little bit less. North of Tadrent, there is a camp at the foot of the hills and across the river: Makham Mijann. I found eight chest nodes, two of them where heavy adorned chests. Like all the other Corsair camps in the Belfalas area, this camp is also heavily guarded by Corsairs.

Makham Mijann, the corsair camp north of Tadrent

In the far southeast of the Belfalas area lies an interesting ruin, at the top of a stony mountain slope, Abedec's Watch. If you travel to the south, along the coastal road, you will see the towers of the ruin above your head. Abedec's Watchs is rather big and like  Hashadîr you have to explore it quite extensively to locate all the eight chests. If you have found them all, slaying lots of Corsairs, the first explored chests will be respawned. So, if you have time, Abedec's Watch is an interesting place to gather you scraps of Rohirric Texts.

Abedec's Watch as seen from the coastal road.

To the south of Abedec's Watch lies the broken bridge, a huge elven construction. If you have a fast warhorse, be careful when you approach this bridge, otherwise you will drop down quite a distance. The view from the bridge to the Bay of Belfalas is breathtaking, especially at sunset. There are no chests to be hound near the bridge, but it is sure worth to visit this spot!

The end of the coastal road near Abedec's Watch

3. Lamedon
Lamedon is a rather empty area for Adorned Chests. You can find five chests in the bandit infested Tathrendalf, north of the small village Lothgobel. There are some other encampments and ruins in the area, but except at the abandoned camp at 69.7S and 59.3W, there are no chests to be found. The abandoned camp is unguarded, so you can pick easily the one and only chest near that spot. I checked all other places in Lamedon, but I could not find any other Adorned chest locations.

4. Paths of the Death
A preliminary map can be found below, I will update this map soon with notes and more exact node locations.

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8. Ringló Vale
In the woody area of Ringló Vale chests with scholar artifacts are scarce. At first sight, there isn't any adorned chest to be found. If you are doing the Gondorian treasure chest deed, you will find 4 chests scattered around the vale, but these chests don't contain anything worthwile for a scholar. In my hunt for scholar artifacts I checked all the ruins and burned places with enemy's, since there is a good chance that you will find some artifacts there. It was fruitless... The orc infested camps at Gríshru and Lumber Camp where devoid of chests. Even in Dâr Mathum and the adjacent Dead Cave, where lost of dangerous evil spirit warriors dwell, there was absolutely no sign of adorned chests.

Only one location with Adorned Chests in Ringló Vale: inside the Spider Cave

After many hours of fruitless searching, I finally found a location inside the Spider Cave, west of the beacon of Eilendoth. Inside, you will find four chests, one of them was a heavy chest (blue marked in the map). Four chests is not very much for a whole region, so I advise scholars to search elsewhere for Adorned chests in Gondor (like The Havens of Belfalas!).

Four Adorned Chests inside the Spider Cave of Ringló Vale

Be aware at the end of the cave, because this is the lair of a the Weft-Mother, a level 101 spider of of 36.637 morale. Of course, this shouldn't be a big problem for the experienced artifact hunters.

The Weft-Mother, the guardian of the Spider Cave near the beacon of Eilendoth

 

 

 

 

 

Tier 10 -  Eastern Gondor and Anorien - Lavish Chests

I am still working on these maps, but the locations which are currently known are shown below. In the upcoming weeks I will complete these areas, but for now it is up to you to find the exact locations!

Lavish Chest

Old Anórien: Pelennor Fields  
A preliminary map can be found below, I will update this map soon with notes and more exact node locations.

Old Anórien: Talath Anor
A preliminary map can be found below, I will update this map soon with notes and more exact node locations.

Far Anórien: Taur Drúadan and The Beacon Hills
The artifact location maps of both areas are in preparation, the node locations are not known yet...



Eastern Gondor: Lossarnach & Ithilien 
I have made the first part of the Lossarnach map, which can be found below. The other regions are still terra incognita ('unknown lands') for me. I hope to publish the exact node locations of all these areas soon.

Lossarnach
A preliminary map can be found below, I will update this map with notes and more exact node locations as soon as possible.

South & Upper Ithilien 
The artifact location maps of both areas are in preparation, the node locations are not known yet...

I Wanna see eclipses in LOTRO too!!!

Today, on March 20th 2015, I watched the partial eclipse in Europe, near Amsterdam.
Although it was a very cloudy day, there were some holes in the clouds. It was just a matter of waiting patiently, before we saw a beautiful partial eclips! And, luckily, our patience was rewarded with some fine views of the eclips.

At the time of the maximum, at 10.35 local time (CET), it was cloudy. But I saw some photo's from facebookfriends. This is what the maximum looked like, very near to our village (posted on facebook by some friends):

Partial eclipse near maximum 20th March 2015 10:40 CET near Haarlem (NL)

Our first sight was at 11:14 CET when there were several small holes in the sky. Although not as brilliantly as a total eclipse, the partial eclipse of 2015 was still an awesome sight.

At 11:14 CET

At 11:14 CET

At 11:30 CET

The eclips is nearly finished, 11:40 CET

Here a view of a total eclips of the sun, at August 11th, 1999 in France. I watched it live from Metz.

I want eclipses of the sun in LOTRO too!
If you have ever seen a partial or total eclips of the sun, you would agree that such an event would be a nice addition to the world of Lotro. Once in two year a total eclipse, like that one I saw on August 11th, 1999 in France (I watched it live from Metz), would be nice. And twice a year a partial eclipse would be fun too!

Man Race Traits

Racial Traits - what are they?
If you are a Man, it is good to realize there are special race related traits to earn.
In total there are nine Race of Man Traits. A maximum of 5 Racial traits can be slotted in your Trait Panel. Racial Traits are unique to each race and will enable you to do extra skills or to get some special bonuses (see the description below). Most traits can be earned to do certain slayer deeds at a specified level. These deeds will open as soon as you slay the required enemy species, like a goblin on level 13 or a spider at level 19, an orc at level 25, etc. You will earn a Racial trait as soon as you defeat the specified number of enemies to be slain, or as soon as you become 'friends' with the Race of Man faction in Bree-land.

When do Racial Traits become available?
The first Racial Trait, and trait slot will open at level 13. So, as soon as you hit level 13, you can start to work on your first Racial Trait. Here is a level overview of the the Racial Trait slots:

Level     Available trait slot
13        Racial Trait Slot 1
19        Racial Trait Slot 2
25        Racial Trait Slot 3
31        Racial Trait Slot 4
37        Racial Trait Slot 5

Note: VIP-Players have normal access to the trait slots, free-to-play players will need to buy them with TP-points.

How to earn your racial traits
You can earn the Race of Man traits by doing special deeds, the so-called 'Man deeds'. You will get these deeds by slaying enemies (wolves, spiders, goblins) and by becoming friends with the man faction in Bree-land (gaining reputation by doing special quests or finding reputation items by slaying and looting enemies).

You can earn the man related traits by doing special deeds, the so-called 'Man deeds'. You will get these deeds by slaying some nasty racial enemies (undeads like skeletons & wights, wargs and evil hillman), and by becoming friends with the man faction in Bree-land (visit the hunting lodge, west of the Auction House in Bree-town). You can become friends by gaining reputation, and you will get reputation by doing special quests. You can also get reputation from Reputation Items. These items can be found by slaying and looting enemies, or you can buy them at an Auction House.Just click on these reputation items (right of left click), and you will gain a certain amount of reputation!


Deeds at level 13

Uppercut
How to get: by slaying 50 undeads (wights, skeletons); you can find a lot of them in the Barrow Downs, but also near Kheledul in Ered Luin.
Deed: Enmity of the Dead (I)
Benefits: this trait enables you to slot the Uppercut skill, a short-distance melee attack. Using this skill grants you the ability to a little melee damage, and - more importantly - a chance to daze your opponent for 3 seconds (2.5m range, 10 secs cooldown).

Man of Fourth Age
How to get: by slaying 50 wargs, you can find them in the Lone-lands, at the sinister ruins of Minas Eriol, south of the Forsaken Inn, or north and south of the road between Ost Guruth and the The Last Bridge.
Deed: Enmity of the Wargs (I)
Benefits: you get +20 Will (interesting for Lore-masters, Minstrels and Runekeepers: will increases the damage you do with a weapon or your skills, and increases also your Outgoing Healing. For other classes Will mildly increases your Outgoing Healing. )

Deeds at level 19

Tactics and Might Bonus (lvl 19)
How to get: by slaying 100 undeads in a level 19+ area (wights and skeletons in the Lone-lands).
Deed: Enmity of the Dead II
Benefits: you get a +5% bonus to Fellowship Manoeuvre healing (green button) and damage (red and yellow buttons).

Deeds at level 25


Man Sword-damage Bonus (lvl 25)
How to get: by slaying 150 undeads in a level 25+ area (wights and skeletons in Trollshaws, Angmar, Forochel).
Deed: Enmity of the Undead III
Benefits: you will get a +5% to the damage of a 1-hand or 2-handed Sword.

Deeds at level 29

Return to Bree (lvl 29)
How to get: by slaying 150 wargs in a level 29+ area.They can be found along the foothills in Nan Amlug East, by leaving Esteldin and heading north towards Angmar. Or go to Angmar, Evendim or Forochel and ask there for directions.
Deed: Enmity of the Wargs II
Benefits: you can quick-travel to Michel Delving in the Shire (cooldown 1 hour)

Deeds at level 30

Balance of Man (lvl 30)
How to get: by slaying 150 Hillmen in a level 30+ area (north east of the North Downs near Ost Crithlanc, or the middle west part of Misty Mountains; the signature Créoth in Agamour in the Lonelands are also 30+ Hillman and will add to this deed).
Deed: Enmity of the Hillman (I)
Benefits: when you slot this trait, you will get a permanent bonus to your Block, Parry, and Evade ratings. The bonus depends on your level and is + 8.08 * Level. So, if you are level 30, you will get a bonus of 8.08 * 30 = + 242.4 to your Block, Parry, and Evade rating.

Deeds at level 35

Strength of Morale (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 250 Hillmen.Lvl 35+ Hillman can be found in the North Downs near Ost Crithlanc, in Fassach-Falroid in Angmar, on the middle and northern part of the western shore of Evendim (they are called Gauredain). There are a lot of them the higher level areas of Dunland and Eregion
Deed: Enmity of the Hillmen II
Benefits: by slotting this trait, you will get an instant heal of +2200-3000 Morale (30 mins cooldown).This trait, which can be slotted as a skill, is very useful for levels 35-70. At higher levels it is still good, but since the morale heal is not level depended, it will be a bit less effective. Nevertheless, an instant heal of 2200-3000 morale is always handy to have under your fingertips!

Duty-bound (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 150 Wargs in Angmar, Forochel of the Misty Mountains.
Deed: Enmity of the Wargs III
Benefits: .a +5% Maximum Morale buff to your fellowship for 10 min (30 min cooldown).

Virtous Man (lvl 35)
How to get: by becoming friends with the Men of Bree (to be otbtained in Bree-land)
Deed: Friend of Men of Bree. You can find this society in the hunting lodge in Breetown, near the southgate.
Benefits: you will get a +1 bonus on your traits Confidence, Justice, and Patience.

Dwarven Race Traits

Racial Traits - what are they?
If you are a dwarf, it is good to realize there are special dwarven -related racial traits to earn.
In total there are nine dwarven race traits, and a maximum of 5 Racial traits can be slotted in your Trait Panel. Racial Traits are unique to each race and will enable you to do extra skills or to get some special bonuses (see the description below). Most traits can be earned to do certain slayer deeds at a specified level. These deeds will open as soon as you slay the required enemy species, like a goblin on level 13 or a spider at level 19, an orc at level 25, etc. You will earn a Racial trait as soon as you defeat the specified number of enemies to be slain, or as soon as you become 'friends' with the Dwarven faction in Ered Luin.

When do Racial Traits become available?
The first Racial Trait, and trait slot will open at level 13. So, as soon as you hit level 13, you can start to work on your first Racial Trait. Here is a level overview of the the Racial Trait slots:

Level     Available trait slot
13        Racial Trait Slot 1
19        Racial Trait Slot 2
25        Racial Trait Slot 3
31        Racial Trait Slot 4
37        Racial Trait Slot 5

Note: VIP-Players have normal access to the trait slots, free-to-play players will need to buy them with TP-points.

How to earn your racial traits
You can earn the dwarf related traits by doing special deeds, the so-called 'Dwarven deeds'. You will get these deeds by slaying some nasty racial enemies (evil dourhand dwarves, goblins and trolls), and by becoming friends with the dwarven faction in Ered Luin (visit Thorin's Hall and go inside). You can become friends by gaining reputation, and you will get reputation by doing special quests. You can also get reputation from Reputation Items. These items can be found by slaying and looting enemies, or you can buy them at an Auction House. Just click on these reputation items (right of left click), and you will gain a certain amount of reputation!


Deeds at level 13

  Headbutt
How to get: by slaying 50 dourhand Dwarves; you can find a lot of them in Ered Luin, in a ruin north of Gondamon. In the northern part of the Shire, east of needlehole, there live also some Dourhands
Deed: Enmity of the Dourhands (I)
Benefits: this trait enables you to slot the Headbutt skill, a short distanced melee attack. Using this skill grants you the ability to do a little melee damage, and - more importantly - a chance to daze your opponent for 3 seconds (2.5m range, 10 secs cooldown, daze will stop if the enemy is damaged).

Fateful Dwarf
How to get: by slaying 50 goblins, you can find them in the west part of Ered Luin, but also in the Shire and in Bree-Land.
Deed: Enmity of the Goblins (I)
Benefits: you get +20 Fate bonus (important, since Fate will autoheal you a bit during combat)

Deeds at level 19

Guile and Might Bonus

How to get: by slaying 100 Dourhands in a level 19+ area (go to the Lonelands, south of Ost Guruth).
Deed: Enmity of the Dourhands II
Benefits: you get a +5% damage bonus on red and yellow conjunctions (these are the red and yellow buttons to press when a Fellowship Manoeuvre occurs).

Deeds at level 25


Dwarf Axe-damage bonus
How to get: by slaying 150 dourhands in a level 25+ area. 
Deed: Enmity of the Dourhands III
Benefits: you will get a +5% to the damage of a 1-hand or 2-handed Axe.

Deeds at level 29

Return to Thorin's Gate (lvl 29)
How to get: by slaying 100 goblins in a level 29+ area (Troll-Shaws, Evendim, Angmar).
Deed: Enmity of the Goblins II
Benefits: you can quick-travel to Thorin's Gate in Ered Luin (cooldown 1 hour)

Deeds at level 30

Dwarf-endurance (lvl 30)
How to get: by slaying 100 trolls in a level 30+ area (Troll-Shaws, Angmar).
Deed: Enmity of the Trolls (I)
Benefits: when you slot this trait, you will get a level dependent Vitality buff (extra Morale!) to your fellowship for 10 minutes (30 min cooldown).

Deeds at level 35

Endurance of Stone (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 250 Goblins.Level 35+ Goblins can be found in Angmar and Goblin Town (Misty Mountains).
Deed: Enmity of the Goblins III
Benefits: by slotting this trait, you will get only half damage from incoming melee, ranged and tactical attacks for 10 seconds (-50% damage, 30 min cooldown).

Shield Brawler (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 150 trolls (in Trollshaws, Sarnur, Angmar or Misty Mountains)
Deed: Enmity of the Trolls II
Benefits: your Block rating will be greater (+ 20.2 * level, eg. at level 40 the block rating will get a bouns of 20.2*40 = + 808). As a result, your defensive combat abilities will be permanently improved if you slot this trait (remember: you get the bonus only if you slot it!).

Virtous Dwarf (lvl 35)
How to get: by becoming friends with the dwarven faction (to be otbtained in Ered Luin, of hunting for dwarven reputation items in the mines of the Dourhands, in Sarnur-Ered Luin or in the Icereave Mines mines near Zirakzigil in Forochel).
Deed: Friend of Thorin's Hall. You can find this faction inside Thorin's Hall, in the upper north of Ered Luin. You can get there quickly by horse (go to a stable master in Michel Delving, Celondim or Bree-town).
Benefits: you will get a +1 bonus on your traits Fidelity, Honesty, Loyalty.

Hobbit Race Traits

Racial Traits - what are they?
If you are a hobbit, it is good to realize there are special hobbit-related racial traits to earn.
In total there are nine hobbit race traits, and a maximum of 5 Racial traits can be slotted in your Trait Panel. Racial Traits are unique to each race and will enable you to do extra skills or to get some special bonuses (see the description below). Most traits can be earned to do certain slayer deeds at a specified level. These deeds will open as soon as you slay the required enemy species, like a goblin on level 13 or a spider at level 19, an orc at level 25, etc. You will earn the Racial trait as soon as defeat the specified number of enemies to be slain, or as soon as you become 'friends' with the Hobbit faction in the Shire.

When do Racial Traits become available?
The first Racial Trait, and trait slot will open at level 13. So, as soon as you hit level 13, you can start to work on your first Racial Trait. Here is a level overview of the the Racial Trait slots:

Level     Available trait slot
13        Racial Trait Slot 1
19        Racial Trait Slot 2
25        Racial Trait Slot 3
31        Racial Trait Slot 4
37        Racial Trait Slot 5

Note: VIP-Players have normal access to the trait slots, free-to-play players will need to buy them with TP-points.

How to earn your racial traits
You can earn the hobbit traits by doing special deeds, the so-called 'Hobbit deeds'. You will get these deeds by slaying some nasty enemies (x, x, x), and by becoming friends with the hobbit faction in the Shire (visit the Mathom House, north of Michel Delving). You can become friends by gaining reputation, and you will get reputation by doing special quests. You can also get reputation from Reputation Items. These items can be found by slaying and looting enemies, or you can buy them at an Auction House.Just click on these reputation items (right of left click), and you will gain a certain amount of reputation!


Deeds at level 13

Stoop for a Stone (lvl 13)
How to get: by slaying 50 wolves; you can find a lot of them in the Shire, in the ruin north of Stock.
Deed: Enmity of the Wolves (I)
Benefits: this trait enables you to slot the Throw Stone skill, a short ranged attack. Using this skill grants you the ability to a little ranged damage, and - more importantly - a chance to daze your opponent for 3 seconds (15m range, 10 secs cooldown).

Hobbit stature (lvl 13)
How to get: by slaying 50 spiders, you can find them in the quarry of the Shire (north eastern part), but also in Ered Luin and Bree-Land..
Deed: Enmity of the Spiders (I)
Benefits: you get +20 Might (interesting for a warden, guardian, champion and burglar)

Deeds at level 19

Guile and Conviction Bonus (lvl 19)
How to get: by slaying 100 wolves in a level 19+ area.
Deed: Enmity of the Wolves II
Benefits: you get a +5% to Fellowship Manoeuvre damage-over-time and healing

Deeds at level 25


Hobbit club damage bonus (lvl 25)
How to get: by slaying 150 wolves in a level 25+ area.
Deed: Enmity of the Wolves III
Benefits: you will get a +5% to the damage of a 1-hand or 2-handed Club.

Deeds at level 29


Return to Michel Delving (lvl 29)
How to get: by slaying 150 spiders in a level 29+ area.
Deed: Enmity of the Spiders II
Benefits: you can quick-travel to Michel Delving in the Shire (cooldown 1 hour)

Hobbit Stealth (lvl 29)
How to get: by slaying 50 goblins in a level 29+ area.
Deed: Enmity of the Goblins (I)
Benefits: when you slot this trait, you will get the Stealth ability (30 min cooldown).

Deeds at level 35


Hobbit resilience (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 250 spiders.
Deed: Enmity of the Spiders III
Benefits: by slotting this trait, you will enable a (non-stackable) + 2 Hope boff on your fellowship for 10 minutes (30 mins cooldown).

Hobbit silence (lvl 35)
How to get: by slaying 100 goblins
Deed: Enmity of the Goblins II
Benefits: youcan liedown like dead and attack enemies will go back to their stations (if you are alone) or will attack other players (if fighting in a group). This very useful skill has a cooldown of 30 minutes.

Virtous Hobbit (lvl 35)
How to get: by becoming friends with the hobbit faction (to be otbtained in the Shire)
Deed: Friend of Mathom Society. You can find this society in the Mathom House in Michel Delving (Shire), which is northeast of the stable.
Benefits: you will get a +1 bonus on your traits Empathy, Honesty and Idealism.