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The Road to Mordor: Entitled

Justin Olivetti
- Contributing Editor
Updated ·7 min read

A few days ago I asked the Massively community members what in-game titles they loved the most. Titles have been on my brain for the past week, as I've started to realize just how many -- how bogglingly, terrifyingly many -- exist in Lord of the Rings Online. I hadn't really given them a lot of thought before, because who really stops to read every small paragraph that magically floats above people's heads? "Frodo, Ring-bearer of the One Ring of Power, Fellowship of the Ring, Formerly of Bag End, The Shire." Yeah, we get it. You're Mr. Fancy Pants.

But really, titles are kind of neat, if only for the player who puts one on like a fine three-piece suit before an evening on the town. A title tells the world not only of your great (or not-so-great) accomplishments, but also a little about your personality -- after all, you chose that particular title to wear above all the others. A title can tell me if a player is really proud of his crafting achievements, or if he's a raider, or if he has a decent sense of humor.

While I'd say that -- like LotRO's hats -- a good bulk of the titles in the game are cosmetically useless, there exists quite a few that are worth procuring if you're into titular collection. Today we're going to look at some of my favorite titles in the game, as well as how to nab them. Please don't pee your pants in excitement.


Titles 101

Typically, a title is gained by completing a deed, such as most all of the first tier of slayer deeds. However, there are plenty of other ways to get one -- for example, you get your first title for your character's point of origin. Titles are then accessed on the character panel by clicking the top tab, after which you may select your preferred prefix (or none at all, if that's how you roll).

Really, that's it. You don't have to submit an application form or anything.

"The Peculiar"

I know many of my friends (and myself, if I'm honest) who are downright proud to be peculiar and don't mind letting the rest of the world know it. Throw this title up over your head and mothers will be pulling their children aside to say, "Don't talk to that stranger -- there's a peculiar look about him!"

You can get this only during the Spring Festival (so... I guess you're out of luck until 2011), and despite what the name implies, you don't have to do anything stranger than eat a bunch of fortune biscuits to get it. Collect fortunes #11-20, and "The Peculiar" will be yours! There's a lot of trading that goes on during the festival between players looking for a particular title, as a number of other ones are available, such as "The Poetical" and "The Enlightened." Yeah, I'll just stick with being peculiar, thank you.

"The Undying"

This is perhaps the most famous title in LotRO, mostly because of how crazy it makes people who try to go after it. There's only one way to get it: You can't die, at all, before reaching level 20.

That sort of sounds like an easy task, especially considering how quickly folks level these days, but you'd be surprised at how hard it is. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a bad pull, or you leave the keyboard unaware that a bear is parachuting down onto your location, or what have you. Going for this title makes people skittish, paranoid, and a constant source of amusement for friends and kinnies. For the record, I've never achieved this, although I've never seriously gone for it either. It's still cool, though.

"Vegetarian"

Nothing says "I'm out to kick your ass, Sauron!" like boasting the fact that you only eat veggies. Still, if it's your thing, then all you have to do is eat six of six different types of vegetarian foods, and you'll be sitting pretty. (In case you're wondering: Yes, there is a "Carnivore" title as well.)

"Slug-Squasher"

This isn't terribly hard to get, as all you have to do is kill 30 slugs in the Shire and be OK with the odd looks you'll get from then on out. I'm fond of wearing this title whilst strolling amid a field of RPers with ultra-serious monikers, because Middle-earth needs to lighten up a bit sometimes.

"The Naughty"

There is a series of social titles that can only be achieved by having another player use a specific emote on you -- in this case, a /scold emote. Unfortunately, while you only need 100 emotes to gain any of these titles, only the first five per day count for this goal, meaning that you'll need to have a friend help you out 20 separate days. It's hard to say if it's worth it.

"Amazeling"

People really seem to love this festival title, which is another one of the Spring Festival deeds. You have to complete five quests, all of which center around the infamous hedge maze of Bree-land, and then you'll have enough puns to retire comfortably.

"Lucky Duck"

Seriously, how awesome is that title? "Lucky Duck." I would kill for that title. Kill anyone who gets in my way, if you catch my drift. Kill him with begging as I pleaded, "Please please PLEASE give me this wondrous title!"

Alas, a lucky duck can only be attained by successfully betting on eight participants of both the Dwarven keg race and Hobbit eating-contest during the Summer Festival, which should try the patience of any man or woman. Still... to be a lucky duck would mean that all my dreams came true. I'll have to give it serious thought come next Summer Festival.

"Blind Leaper"

If you tend to fall to your death in Moria quite a bit, then you might as well get compensated for your pain, am I right? The Blind Leaper title is bestowed on anyone foolish enough to jump to his doom in six specific places among that underground kingdom. It may hurt somewhat, but the glory is worth it, trust me.

"Exemplar of Song"

This is a minstrel-only title that caught my eye for a couple reasons. The first is that it's a title that's given to minstrels who spend their time helping others -- specifically, using their mentor skill to teach someone an instrument that he normally couldn't play otherwise. The second is that this title takes, at a minimum, 45 days to accomplish; you need only mentor nine students, but you can do so once every five days. If you're a minstrel, this is a terrific title to go with your whole theme.

"Little Wonder"

The new zone of Enedwaith opened up a new set of achievable titles, but I'd have to say that this is my favorite. It's a simple exploration/scavenger hunt deed in which you have to find a series of hobbit items (including a skeleton!) in Gloomglens. The deed also gives you a pair of boots to plop in your home as well as the title, so it's definitely worth the bother.

If you're looking for even more unusual, cool, and hidden titles in LotRO, then I'd recommend this epic thread over on the Codemasters forum.


When not clawing his eyes out at the atrocious state of general chat channels, Justin "Syp" Olivetti jaws about hobbits in his Lord of the Rings Online column, The Road to Mordor. You can contact him via email at justin@massively.com or through his gaming blog, Bio Break.