This guide is intended for people who are coming near to the level 100 and consider crafting and imbuement of their LIs. Unlike the previous LIs which were used during the levelling and replaced every few levels, these are the final ones. After imbuing the LI continues to level up with the player, for the price of LIexp and currency (or time or both) spent on it. As for now it is impossible to deconstruct imbued LI (and receive some resources spent on it back), so it is highly recommended to spend some time on planning of the whole process and it's result.
The sub-title of this guide is 'Poor Man's Way to Imbued LIs'' -- i don't intend to hurt someone's feeling. But i try to present you clear and economical way how to get to your imbued LI without spending a fortune either in in-game currency, TPs or MCs. So whenever you're aware of the way how to shorten (or totally bypass) some step by using TPs/MCs -- yes me too, but i don't see a reason to push people towards it. Oh .. and one more thing: i use in this guide screenshots from a real LI used by one of my characters. They are here to demonstrate the procedure -- if you feel the need to comment details on that LI (legacies, titles, whatever ...), be aware that i will ignore (and eventually delete) these comments.
And finally just to state it clear: Imbued LIs are important for you in case you plan to participate on raids, especially t2c (or other hard) contents. Yes, they will make your life much easier in landscape quests (especially the fully levelled ones), but in this case it is not mandatory to burn down your budget by rash AH purchases when trying to get your LIs imbued and maxed as fast as possible.
1) Planning and Preparations Phase
1a) Legacies selection
Okay, you're coming near to level cap and consider crafting a new imbued LI. While you got your first LI around level 50, you have had 50 levels of time to observe legacies available for your particular class (and eventually traitline setup). Now it is the time to select your final candidates between them. When considering list of all available legacies for your class, please don't forget, that some legacies change their effect during imbuement.
Recommended resources:
- list of class-specific legendary item legacies on lotro-wiki
- similiar list on the lotro forums
- list of legacy changes posted by Frelorn on lotro forums after U16
Into the realm of impossible ...
Technically you can come to the conclusion, that your LI *must have* a certain combination of legacies which is (nearly) impossible to get 'in the normal way'. Like you really need a LI with 7 Major legacies, etc. Before you drop your plan, you can try to consider following:
- there are no major/minor legacies after the LI is imbued, post-imbuement legacies are equal to each other
- you can use the 'Imbued Legacy Replacement Scroll' to replace the legacy on imbued LI (for details refer to chapter 5 of this guide)
- everything for a price: while you can get 7 Imbued Legacy Replacement Scrolls in-game (at least 7 as-for now), they will probably come a bit late for your character to benefit from them. And Store price is 795 TPs ...
Notes:
- legacy lists (on the links above) can be subject of change -- always check your selection against updated lists
- the ratio of major/minor legacies isn't set in stone for any LI -- be prepared to modify your selection depending on count of these slots (see the notes further)
- it is not subject of this guide to teach you to play your class, so don't search here response to the questions like 'which legacy is the most beneficial for me?'. As i wrote above, you have had 50 levels to find out
1b) Grow up your legacies
The principle is easy: don't wait for your shiny final LIs and for the legacies you receive on them. You have free LI slots, so fill them with 3A burners (temporary LIs), level them up (to level 30 -- this is the last level where your LIs receive a new legacy and the earliest one where you can extract one of the legacies during deconstruction) and extract required legacies according to the list you prepared before. Rinse and repeat -- in ideal case you will have ready full set of legacies
Important: it is crucial to do this stage on burners which will give you legacies usable on level 100 LI -- typically level 95 and up
2) Pre-imbuement Phase
2a) Where to get your LI
While it is technically possible to imbue any age LI, people will tend to imbue mostly 1A LIs due to their pre-imbuement parameters (dps, more points to spend between your legacies, better chance to get major legacies during reforges). And because to reach this similar result with imbued 2A LI you will need (a lot) more consumables and a bit more luck to get there.
So there are two ways how to get your (1A) LI:
- get it crafted ... you will always need a Blemished Symbol of Elder King and two Emerald Shards. As-off today the cost of Blemished Symbol goes around 150-200 gold on AH and Emerald Shards go between 15-20g, so don't expect your craftsman to supply it 'just because'. Additionally there are needed 7x Legendary Fragments (you will get enough of them from deconstructing your temporary LIs during the stage 1b). And - finally - depending on the type of your LI (profession which will craft it) you need profession-specific materials in the form of 5x highest crafted ingots/leathers/wood planks. The LI recipe alone (which has to be purchased by your craftsman) costs 1.2g
- you can buy your 1A LI for the tokens you get from Roving Threats raid. This variant is possible for characters level 95+ (so they can accept quests from RT Quartermaster NPCs). These LIs are equal (in parameters) to regular ones, but the *huge* disadvantage is, that they are BoA (both RT tokens and LIs you purchase for them) -- so you can't farm them in advance with another (capped) character
- you can buy crafted LI on AH. Why people sell them there? Most probably these are 'put aside' pieces from some min-maxer type of player (see further the note about passives). Usually they are already identified, so you know what you will (eventually) purchase.
Notes:
- as for rare materials needed (Blemished Symbols, Emerald Shards) please refer to the part 4 of this guide
2b) Let's level it up!
Okay, so we got finally our new shiny toy ready to be identified, slotted and levelled up. Let's discuss a few aspects of the fact, that this particular LI will stay with us 'forever':
- Identifying and passives
You should be aware, that your LI can have outside of 'standard accessories' some additional passives giving you nice free boosts. On one hand, these passives will slightly improve during imbuement process. On the other ... the chance to get (in your eyes) 'ideal' passives isn't as good. And at last, you're working on LI which you intend to use 'forever'. Please, think about these points, i'll leave the final decision on every player. Just for illustration (so everybody gets the picture what the hunt for perfect legacies means) here is the comment from the official forums: 'It took me over 60 crafted attempts and a 3000 Gold offer on world chat for 2 weeks to finally get my champ the perfect 2 handed Sword.'
- First 30 levels and finalizing legacies
There isn't anything special on levelling up your LI for imbuement. You can use either heritage runes or just slot it and let it gather LIxp. What i want to point out here is the fact, that up to level 30 your LI gains new legacies. So AFTER reaching level 30 and reforging we are going to finalize legacies on the LI. You don't have to do it immediately -- no reason for panic if you gain additional level or few -- but you HAVE TO do it BEFORE reaching level 40 on your LI.
Also level 30 is the last point where you should review your LI and decide either keeping it or planning a replacement (because - of course - let's look at the whole process realistically: it could happen that your LI goes totally wrong in terms of major/minor legacies ratio. That's why i admit the variant, that you discard your LI at this point).
You're satisfied with your LI? Fine. Go now and replace all 'unwanted' legacies with ones you have prepared during step 1b). After replacing current legacies i recommend to apply Scroll of Delving to unlock levels 61-70 for your LI. And you should have the Crystal of Remembrance ready, it's good idea to use it now and add seventh legacy (use here the last of the legacies you have prepared during step 1b).
Just a reminder: during legacy replacement you *can* replace a major legacy with a minor one (if it meets your needs in terms of legacies planned for your future LI), but not opposite way. So plan these steps carefully.
- Finishing pre-imbuement process
During this step you should level up your LI to the level 70. During each reforge is increased the tier of one legacy on your LI -- which will save you 1x Anfalas Scroll of Empowerment later. After gaining level 70 you can (not required step before imbuement anymore) apply Anfalas Scrolls of Empowerment (total amount varies) so you max tier of all legacies you have on your LI. You're done, congratulations ... time to visit Forge-master.
Shiny toy levelled up to level 70, in the middle of finishing touches
Notes:
- as for consumables needed in this part (all the Scrolls of *whatever*, Crystals of *anything*, etc) i want to refer you to part 4 of this guide
- so far i haven't mentioned here the Star-lit Crystals -- it was on purpose. They increase the basic stat of your LI, but feel free to apply them once you think they will be beneficial for you. Generally i would add them (at latest) when you start using your particular LI. Set in stone is the fact, that *before* imbuement you can apply up to 3 Star-lit Crystals, all the others will have to wait after
- another aspect of your LI preparation process is slotting the relics. There isn't any difference betwen pre- and post- imbuement relics, so you can choose any moment for slotting them: again, probably (at latest ) when you start to use your LI. As for choosing 'the right' relics for your LI: you should already know common relics you get from deconstructing LIs or random 'sealed' drops (again: i'm trying to point out to previous 50 levels you have spent with LIs on your way up), of course this is the recommended moment to visit the Relic-master and use forging (or you can use melding with some of your current relics on the same tier/type) to get the best tier of chosen relics.
- I would strongly recommend to check the 'Melding' tab at Relic-master service for special relics (Unique, Singular and up). Some of them have *very* interesting effects impossible to obtain in any other way -- on the other hand: be ready to pay a lot of shards for melding of these relics.
- Of course you should apply the appropriate title to your LI ... every class (and LI) needs them and they are twice as much important for all these melee classes between us. But (again): you already know their importance and where to get them. For full reference you can check the wiki.
3) Imbuement and Maxing Your LI
While it could sound complicated to someone, most of the work has been done already. As i wrote before, you visit Forge-master, and ask to get your LI imbued. To be honest, i'm not sure if this step has some fee connected - but in light of money you have spent so far and you're going to spend (eventually) in the future it is unimportant.
Composition of the same LI before and after imbuement. In the center of the composition the imbuement screen
Now you have 'only' the last step ahead: You need to farm enough Star-lit Crystals (for main stat) and Anfalas Scrolls of Empowerment (for legacies) to unlock additional levels up to maximum value. And you need to supply your LI with sufficient amount of LIxp (either from questing and mob kills or from heritage runes) so it is able to reach these unlocked levels.
4) Consumables
At first i have tried to provide information on materials consumed inside particular chapters. But later i have decided to concentrate it here, so everybody can have kind of shopping list at hand.
Of course nearly every component listed further is possible to find and buy at AH and (in addition) some of them are available from LoTRO Store or can be bypassed spending MCs. While this guide aims at 'poor man's way' (to make the things in cheap/economical way), i don't mention them here.
4a) Emerald Shards (2x per crafted 1A, 1x per crafted 2A LI ... relevant only in case of crafting your LI)
are random (rare) drops from gathering resource nodes *and* farming (this time i mean a real Farmer profession). Additionally they can be purchased in skirmish camps (Crafting trader) and from Helmingas quartermaster NPC (kindred reputation required). Rarely they can drop from warband spoils boxes.
4b) Blemished symbol of Elder King (1x per crafted 1A LI ... in case you go for crafted 1A LI)
is random (rare) drop from level 100 raids, featured instances and Big Battles (as for BB it means, that only characters on 'real' level 100+ have chance to get it from drops - please don't mistake it with fact, that every character is scaled up to level 100 during big battle). Each character can get one Blemished Elder King as a reward from deed 'Vanguard of Central Gondor' -- imo this symbol comes a bit late for your character, considering the amount of grind hidden behind reaching kindred reputation to all 3 factions in Central Gondor. The only way to purchase it in-game is from Pelennor Rewards Vendor (for tokens coming from Throne of Dread Terror raid). There is no Store equivalent!!!
4c) Anfalas Scroll of Delving (usable only once per LI)
is special token unlocking 10 more levels (ie 61-70) on your LI. You will receive one Anfalas Scroll of Delving as quest reward from epic questline (Vol IV, B1, Ch6 ... in West Gondor, Lamedon) and you can purchase more of them relatively cheap from quartermaster NPCs (always certain degree of reputation required) in Dol Amroth (two vendors for two different types of currency), from Rangers of Ithilien and/or Skirmish camp (Legendary Items vendor)
4d) Crystal of Remembrance (usable only once per LI)
is special token which adds 1 more legacy slot (natively it is Major legacy slot, of course Minor legacy can be slotted there too). You can find two variants of it, both of them have the same effect:
- Crystal of Remembrance is rarely dropped from hobbit gifts (these are bind to account on acquire) for characters on level 50+, from lootboxes (Calenard and up)
- Anfalas Crystal of Remembrance is rare drop from boss chests and Featured instance Spoils. In addition to drops every character receives one as quest reward from epic questline (Vol IV, B3, Ch7 ... in South Ithilien, Osgiliath)
4e) Anfalas Scroll of Empowerment
is special token increasing tier of single legacy by 1 point. Well, this is the bread and butter of whole system. You will need a lot of them -- and the statement 'a lot of' isn't exaggerating. You can always calculate an approximate when you hover your mouse over a legacy: outside of legacy name and it's effect you see there the numbers regarding legacy tier:
- current tier (in the title) ... no explanation needed, this is the current tier of your legacy
- Next tier ... this is the tier you are working towards
- Max tier ... this is the maximum tier you have unlocked on this particular legacy. If you supply enough LIxp, your legacy will increase it's tier up to that value (and improve the gain you receive from your LI). You can increase this value using Anfalas Scroll of Delving
- Final tier ... this is hardwired maximum set by LoTRO. Once your Max tier = Final tier, you don't need to supply Scrolls of Delving anymore, only LIxp. And if your current tier = Max tier, you are done o.o
Legacy tiers of main stat (DPS) and one of the Class legacies. The note bellow ('x/y additional Tiers unlocked') is the amount of Star-lit Crystals a/o Anfalas Scrolls of Empowerment (per legacy!!!) which have to be gathered ... ouch :-(
Of course, future updates can increase the cap for legacy tier (Final tier value) so you will have to get even more Anfalas Scrolls of Empoverment to keep your LI in shape ...
The list of source(s) for these is long. You can get a few as quest rewards (both epic and local quest lines), from quartermaster NPCs in Dol Amroth and Eastern Gondor, Minas Tirith, Roving threats, etc (including skirmish camp again). Personally i like as the best variant: you get 2-4 Anfalas Scrolls of Empowerment (per character and day) during the daily Featured Instance runs.
4f) Anfalas Star-lit Crystal
is special token increasing primary attribute (legacy) of your LI: for melee classes it is dps, for casters tactical damage, on secondary LIs it's mostly incoming healing. Each Star-lit Crystal increases this primary legacy by 1 point. The total amount of Star-lit Crystals needed/spent is visible on the similiar screen to the one discussed above (at Anfalas Scrolls of Empowerment ... see part 4e).
As for source for Star-lit Crystals: you get a few (5 as for now) from quests and they drop in level 95-105 instances and skirmishes. As for vendors you can buy them from Big Battles Merit Committee and Pelennor Rewards Vendors (two Pelennor Rewards vendors for different tokens). Very interesting source of Star-lit Crystals seems to be festival rewards vendor (NPC name varies) during 'big' festivals (4x seasonal, Anniversary and Farmers Faire) --- but beware, these Star-lit Crystals are Bind on Acquire (!!!).
This is the LI after supplying some LIxp. All of the values still have a lot of potential to improve, i have only used the 'by default unlocked' space after imbuement. Still a lot of grind ahead but check the pre-imbuement screenshot and compare the values ....
5) Something has changed?
Just for case something went wrong ... poor planning or mistake on player's side, change from Turbine developers, whatever ...
There are special tokens, named Imbued Legacy Replacement Scroll. The purpose of it is to replace a legacy on (already) imbued LI by another one. Just a few notes how they should work (and please, be *very* carefull here. I haven't needed to use them yet, so i'm not 100% sure they really work this way):
- you don't have to hold the 'new' legacy extracted (from previously deconstructed LI) and ready in your inventory. You should automatically receive a list of all possible legacies for that particular LI
- there are no major and minor legacies after imbuement, so you can use this to combine legacies as you wish
- legacies replaced by this scroll have their level (current LIexp amount spent in this legacy) reset to the minimum - this dicrepancy will continue (until the cap is reached) because each LIxp gain is distributed equally between all the legacies, there's no way to speed up levelling on one of them
Where to get them? As you can see on the wiki, you will get around 7 of them (as-off today) in-game as quest rewards. Otherwise they can drop from Anorien Lootboxes and there is vendor who sells them for Ancient Ithil-coins (Throne of Dread Terror raid rewards). Otherwise only Lotro Store after spending 795 TPs ...
Oh, and - last but (definitely) not least - Legacy Replacement Scrolls are BoA, so be very careful about the character which will purchase them on the Store (if you decide to go this way) ...
