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Choosing Your Legendary Items

Choosing Your Legendary Items

Lord of Rings Forge and Relic Masters
With the launch of LOTRO Free-to-Play, the legendary item system saw two important changes. First the ever elusive Symbol of Celebrimbor is easier to come by, both from increased drop rates in level 65 challenge mode encounters and from skirmish barter.

The second change is more subtle. Ratings type legacies now shift up the value curve one notch per age AND another notch if level 65. This is a great change because now the max value of a given rating will be the same on a level 65 Second Age LI as it is on the level 60 First Age LI.

Put these two changes together and there is less reason to hold on to your level 60 first agers.

Symbols and Superior Third Marks, Oh My!

The skirmish barter cost of a Symbol of Celebrimbor is 1005 skirmish marks and 5 Superior Third Marks. Both Symbols and Superior Third Marks drop randomly in level 65+ hard mode encounters, such as Sammath Gul or Eregion School, and in 6-man+ level 65 skirmishes on tiers 2/3. They can also be earned as a reward from some level 65 daily challenge quests - Library, School and Great Barrow Maze are some of the easier ones.

The All Important Default Legacy

Each legendary item (LI) comes with a default legacy, regardless of the other legacies that may appear on that item. The value of the default legacy improves with BOTH equip level and age (rarity). For example a level 65 Second Age hunter bow will have higher DPS than a level 60 Second Age bow, which in turn will have higher DPS than a level 60 Third Age bow.

Default Legacies
Weapon
Class Item
Burglar
DPS
Incoming Healing Rating
Captain
DPS
Tactical Healing Rating
Champion
DPS
Incoming Healing Rating
Guardian
DPS
Shield Use Rank
Hunter
DPS
DPS (bow)
Lore-master
Tactical Damage Rating
Tactical Healing Rating
Minstrel
Tactical Damage Rating
Tactical Healing Rating
Rune-keeper
Tactical Damage Rating
Tactical Healing Rating
Warden
DPS
DPS (javelin)

About Those Ratings

Legacies that are Ratings shift up the value curve one notch per age AND another notch if level 65. This is a little harder to explain, so let's use Dance of War Evade Rating as an example.

A Level 60 Third Age bearing the Dance of War Evade Rating legacy uses the 9 lowest values on the curve:
+245 +264 +283 +302 +321 +340 +359 +378 +397 +416 +435

A Level 65 Third Age starts one notch higher on the curve, as does a level 60 Second Age:
+245 +264 +283 +302 +321 +340 +359 +378 +397 +416 +435

A Level 65 Second Age starts two notches higher on the curve, as does a Level 60 First Age:
+245 +264 +283 +302 +321 +340 +359 +378 +397 +416 +435

It can be a little hard to guess which LIs are implemented as ratings, although many of them have the word Rating in the legacy name. Hunter's Ranged Skill Block Chance Modifier is an example of a legacy implemented using this rule that doesn't have the word Rating in its name.

When Age Matters

Besides the default legacy and ratings, there are three more cases where the Age (rarity) of the LI matters:

1. Points. It's a bummer to find a Legendary Item with all the right legacies only to find you don't have enough points to rank them all up. First Age LIs have more points to spend than Second Age LIs, which in turn have more points to spend than Third Age LIs. The actual number of points you have to spend depends on the item experience (IXP) level of the LI, which is capped at IXP level 60. Applying a Scroll of Delving (or Scroll of Lesser Delving if the LI is equip level 60 or less) to the LI increase of the cap to IXP level 70.

Points
IXP Level 60
IXP Level 70
Third Age
590
670
Second Age
650
750
First Age
710
830

2. Number of Legacies on ID. The rarer the Age, the more legacies the LI will tend to have on ID. This is a range, but the average increases with Age rarity.

3. Pulses and Targets. Legacies that are Pulses or Targets cost less to upgrade from Rank 1 to Rank 2 on First and Second Age LIs. In practical terms, this is a minor points cost savings as it only applies to the first, usually cheapest rank. Again, it can be subtle which LIs were implemented as Pulses or Targets, though most have the word Pulses or Targets in the legacy name. One exception is Burglar's Riddle Range, which was also implemented using this rule.

When Equip Level Matters

Besides the default legacy, there are three cases where the Equip Level (the level you need to be to equip the item) matters:

1. Legacy Values. The actual bonus values you get from a particular legacy can be lower on equip level 58 or less legendary items than for equip level 59 to 65 LIs for the exact same tier and rank, and even lower on equip level 54 and less LIs. In general, you want to use equip level 59 or greater legendary items (but find a worthy replacement before deconstructing that great level 58 LI).

2. Stat Scrolls. Scrolls of Lesser "Stat" (Agility, Vitality, etc.) can be applied to LIs up to equip level 60, whereas Scrolls of "Stat" (Agility, Vitality, etc.) will work on any LI. Just a side note - both types of scrolls give the same value at the same rank, but Scrolls of Lesser "Stat" start at rank 2 and Scrolls of "Stat" start at rank 4.

3. Relics. Tier 9 relics can only be applied to equip level 61 or higher LIs. Which crafted relics you can use is also tied to the equip level.
  • Purple crafted relics (Minor Symbol of Will, Minor Symbol of Morale, etc.) can be applied to any LI.
  • Teal crafted relics (Symbol of Will, Symbol of Morale, etc.) can only be applied to equip level 61 or higher LIs.
  • Gold crafted relics (Symbol of Battle, Symbol of Tactics, etc.) can only be applied to equip level 65 LIs.

Crafted vs Dropped or Bartered LIs

On average, crafted LIs tend to have more legacies on ID than dropped or bartered LIs of the same Age. Our evidence for this is ancedotal, but we have crafted 100+ LIs for our own characters and for the data collection for the LI Spender Tool, and this seems to be true. Sorry we didn't keep better records on this.

Try Before You Grind

LOTRO Legendary Item Tool

Our LI Spender tool lets you simulate configuring a LOTRO legendary item, including choosing legacies, setting tiers, setting the item's experience level and spending points. This lets you run your own "what if" scenarios for your legendary items, and even provides a URL you can bookmark to get back to your configuration later.

Related Articles

Getting Started with Legendary Items
Legendary Items by Class & Default Legacy
Legacies by Class and Pool
Marks by Level
LI Spender Tool