Saving for that horse: a mid-level guide to making money in LotRO
Over at MMORPG.com, their Lord of the Rings Online correspondent Jim Braner has written a comprehensive guide to finding riches in LotRO entitled "Lord of the Rings Online: Making and Keeping Silver in your 20s." This is a great little guide, as it explains many of the common-sense nuances of the game that can be used to your pocketbook's advantage. For example, instead of paying for a ride from the Forsaken Inn to Ost Garuth, why not just run there? Sure it will take some extra time, but think of the drops and resources you'll be able to gather along the way.
One of the most underrated points of this guide is one that I firmly believe, yet can rarely convince others to trust. Keeping up with new armor every 5-6 levels will actually help you save money. Of course this only applies if you are a Tailor or Metalsmith, or know one fondly, as buying armor from a merchant is a complete waste. As stated in this guide, that new armor is more durable, and with a higher armor rating, you'll die less. This will cut down significantly on your item repair bills, and ultimately keep more money in your pocket.
While these suggestions are all great, I couldn't help but add a few more to the list. Check out some of my own tips on making and saving money in mid-level LotRO just after the cut below.
Some tips I'd like to add:
Don't be afraid to run! The monsters will soon lose interest in you, and tactical evasion does not make you less of a man (or woman). Expensive repair bills get a whole lot more expensive when you're dusting yourself off at a Rallying circle (rez shrine).
Focus on precious metals and rich deposits when you're in a rush. Sure, it would be beneficial to grab every node of ore you can find, but if you're in a hurry and just want to get from point A to point B, it would be worth the extra few seconds to stop for ore such as Tin, Silver, Gold and Platinum, especially when it has the word "Rich" in front of it. In fact, mining Silver in the Northern Bree Fields is one of my favorite ways to make quick money on the Auction House for mid-level characters. It is essential for Jewellers to level in two different tiers of their craft, so it's in high demand.
Go back and farm areas where the enemies are gray to you. This ties into my last point, as well. When you can run around and gather materials without the threat of being attacked, it is simply more efficient farming. Even if you're in your 20s, you can farm Copper, Tin or Rowan Wood to sell at the Auction House. When higher-level (rich) characters make an alt, they don't want to gather resources to level their crafting, so they head to the AC for a few stacks of what they need. With the new expansion out now, this is especially true. Most people with high level characters have been playing their mains through the mines, but now they're starting to create their Rune-keepers or Wardens to try those out. Seize the day, my friends!
Keep your inventory clear and grab everything you can between towns. This goes for the items that your crafting profession can gather (Explorer is the best for making money), but it also goes for random crops you see lying around. Anyone can grab crops, not just Farmers or Cooks. Also, you can gather as much as you want, but it will be a complete waste if you find your inventory filled-up halfway through. Throw stuff in your vault and only keep the absolute essentials when you set out to farm resources. When I do this, I try to make sure my essentials only take up one bag, so the rest will be free for teh phat lootz.
Most of these tips apply anywhere throughout the game, but are especially helpful in those critical middle levels when you're saving for your first horse or home. Later on in the game, you'll be swimming in so much gold, you'll laugh at how worried you were earlier. If you're not, it might be time for an intervention on your pipe-weed addiction.
If you have any money-making tips that I or MMORPG.com have missed for these mid-levels characters, let us know in the comments below.
