shingshing.org

One of the most frequently asked questions that I hear from new Champs is: “What does more DPS – Dual Wielding or 2H?”

DISCLAIMER:

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Before I really get into the nitty-gritty I’d like to begin with a few conclusions:  There has been a lot of research and deep discussion involving lots of complicated math (yeah, that’s right, Champs can do math) and parses trying to determine if either truly does more DPS than the other. What has been found is that over long periods of time the DPS is about the same. Dual-wielding tends to be a more consistent DPS over time while 2-Handed weapons offer larger crit potential and spikes/dips of DPS. Turbine has balanced the two styles so well that you can use whatever you want and should still be able to contribute solidly to a group and play your class very well. Some have claimed that one is better than the other and have the parsing evidence to prove it. It’s more likely that their damage rotation is just more fine-tuned in one style or the other than it is likely that either truly does more damage per second.

Just because you aren’t running with a 2nd age 2H sword and critting for 7K with Remorseless strikes does not make you a fail-champ! That 1H sword with legacies such as Battle Frenzy Cool-down, Wild Attack Damage, AOE Damage, can be just as good, if not better when paired with a nice off-hand!  This decision is about getting out there, experimenting and figuring out what works best for you!

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With that said, we can begin to explore the more proper question: How does Dual-Wielding (DW) differ from using a 2-Handed (2H) weapon?

1. Pip Generation: Overall, DW is a faster style of fighting that involves an accelerated rate of pip generation and spending, especially when you increase your combat speed with Flurry (which you should do as often as possible). 2H feels a bit slow in comparison (not in a bad way) but offers larger damage per skill as compensation. The slower generation and spending of pips by 2H weapons also translates into less power usage over time then with DW.  2H may be more suited for longer boss fights due to using less power over a long period of time, but generally if you have a rune with power conservation legacies and a healthy stack of power pots, this should not be an issue.

I'm not a playa, I just crush a lot.

2. Skill Differences: Some specific skills shine when used while DW and others are more suited for use with 2H. The best skills for DW tend to be the ones that take advantage of an off-hand weapon bonus. To clairfy, some skills take into account that you are also swinging with an off-hand weapon while others don’t. Some examples of great DW skills are Wild Attack, Bracing Attack, Raging Blades, Feral Strikes and Remorseless Strikes (to name a few). Skills that tend to be better for 2H are Rend, Hamstring, Swift Strike, Clobber, Brutal Strikes, Merciful Strike, and Sound the Attack. Generally, DW is thought to be slightly better for most AOE skills because the additional off-hand hits give the AOEs more chances to crit and since Raging Blades (the shingshing) slightly favors DW.  Bracing Attack, our best self-heal skill, is best used with a DW setup because if you miss with your 2H weapon you will not receive the heal.  With DW you’ll still have a chance to hit with your off-hand, thereby doubling your chances to get that heal. Remorseless Strikes can devastate in solo play for 4-5K regularly for properly geared Champs. However, if you miss with your 2H you get nothing. With DW you still have a chance to hit with your off-hand meaning you can salvage something from the situation. Because of this, it is especially important for 2H Champs to have a high agility to minimize their misses.  Another factor to consider is Feral/Savage Strikes which is the Champ’s only skill to remove corruptions.  Dual-wielders get three 25% chances to remove a corruption while 2-handers only receive two chances.  While facing a boss such as DN’s Blind One this could prove quite helpful to the group in the long-run.

Dual-Wielding at its finest!

3. Raiding: Some have said that 2H get the edge during raiding due to the critt buffs we receive and the debuffs on the mobs. This usually results in a maxed out chance to crit and far less misses due to B/P/E deubffs on the mobs.  When you pair that with the potential to conserve some power during longer boss fights and the sheer fun factor of hitting a boss for 6-7K during the “Perfect Storm” period (which I define as a combination of aathbreakers, reveal weakness, to-arms, ballad of war, devastate magnitude buff all combined with a Remorseless Strike devastate, etc.).  I’ve used both during my raiding and have found that at times when I hit a boss with a 2H Remorseless Strike Devastate I’ll steal the aggro. The more steady (less burst) style of DW tends to result in far fewer “Oops, I stole your aggro” scenarios. Just be ready to Ebb to a tank (if you’re in the same fellowship), right after a Devastate.  Or better yet, just Ebb to the tank throughout the fight as the skill allows and don’t worry about stealing the aggro.

4. Off-Hand Stats: LOTRO’s legendary item system can be a fairly frustrating crapshoot with regards to legacies.   Mix in the fact that the 2H passive bonuses are also completely random and it can double the frustrations and make finding that perfect 2H nearly impossible.  You may find a weapon with amazing legacies but with buffs to Parry Rating and ICPR – do you really want to sacrifice your potentially awesome off-hand bonuses (Melee Crit, Might, Vitality, Morale, Agility) that you would receive in a DW setup?  I know I don’t.  Basically, it will likely take quite a bit longer to find your perfect 2H then it would take to find your perfect 1H and off-hand combo.

5. Racial Traits: Elves receive a 2% damage bonus for using a 1H sword.  As such, my Elf champ uses his 1H most of the time.  However, Man and Dwarf races receive bonuses for 1H and 2H swords and axes respectively, making 2H weapon wielding a more viable option.  It’s a shame that an Elf does not get that bonus for 2H weapons but it does seem more appropriate lore-wise.

6. Tanking: I highly recommend developing a 1H weapon (even if you prefer 2H) for the purposes of tanking.  If you’re in a situation where you need a Heavy Shield equipped it’s very nice to have a developed 1H with the proper relics. I’ve seen some Champs that were forced into a tanking situation and had no option but to equip a worthless, unleveled 1H with no relics slotted.  Epic Fail (yes, I said it)!

Example of some Champ Weapons: A 2H vs. a 1H and an off-hand with nice bonuses.

Conclusion:

Again, most evidence to support that one style is better than the other is anecdotal at best.  Since the release of Mirkwood, and the normalization of 2H weapon speeds, I’ve embraced both.  I believe that in some cases, the damage done by off-hands does not make up for the loss of the potential top-end 2H DPS.  However, I’ll admit that DW is the style that I grew accustomed to as I was leveling so it is only natural that when I face my greater challenges I will revert back to my most comfortable arrangement of weaponry.  But for more mundane grindage I enjoy using a massive 2H Hammer (how awesome is it to wield a giant 2H Warhammer?) as a change of pace and to further tweak my 2H damage rotations.  I like to mix up my play style and often will let the fun of variety override what may be the most ideal weaponry setup.  I also believe that the style of DW more properly captures the essence of what a Champion is:   A battle-frenzied Hero of the masses continuously pelting his enemies with a flurry of unrelenting strikes!

Thanks for reading,

Moramoth

Over the past month, I’ve been going out to the Moors with increasing frequency. I’ve recently hit rank 5 and I must say, I’ve had a blast, especially when I’ve gone with my kin on Gladden, The Old Timers Guild (Sundays at 9PM).  The fights are a thrill because you’re fighting (and hopefully defeating) Creeps controlled by cognizant begins, as opposed to regular NPC mobs. With that said, I’d like to share a few discoveries I’ve made about how to be “the best you can be” as a Champ in the Moors.  Please realize that my experiences are still a work in progress and I’ve got a lot to learn.  As always, I’m open to any input on how to improve my game.

"REGULATORS! Mount Up!" - Warren G (or was it Nate Dawg?)

Five Incredibly Useful Skills:

1. Clobber - it goes without saying, Clobber is a Champ’s bread and butter.  The ability to instantly interrupt War Leaders and Defilers in the Moors is the difference between life and death for a Freep raid.  You will spend a lot of time being attached at the waist to one of these two mobs and clobbering it as much as you can. If you do it right, you’ll probably find yourself subjected to focused fire after a little while. Don’t worry, if the Creeps are angry, you’re doing your job. Clobber’s cool down is 5 seconds and some War Leader’s inductions are 4.2seconds;  this means that if they restart their induction right after you clobber they can beat you to the punch. If I see them initiate a second healing induction when my clobber is on cool-down I’ll usually use Battle-Frenzy to max out my fervour pips and then use Sound The Attack to potentially interrupt them again. If they are stunned, get in a few hits – definitely a Hamstring if you haven’t yet!
2. Hamstring – Finally I’ve figured out why Hamstring exists. In PvE it’s a bit of a head-scratcher;  why would a Champ need to slow enemies?  Ideally, I’d like to speed things up in PvE and often wonder what’s taking so long for the mob to come to me.   PvP is a completely different story!  Use this on Creeps early and use it often. By default, it will slow the target by 30% for up to 20seconds, as long as it is within 3M.  It’s a great idea to use this right off the bat in an encounter with any Creep so you can stay right on top of them.  There are legacies for both weapons and runes that will increase Hamstring duration and range.  Some Champs even have special runes and weapons designed exclusively for Moors use to pimp this skill to the max!
3. Sound The Attack / Crafted Champ Horn – Sound the Attack is an area-of-effect skill that can stun up to 5 targets within 5m for 3 seconds, the usefulness of that should be apparent. If you’re trailing a Creep and want to catch up, pop Battle-Frenzy (you should have Fervent Rage slotted so Battle-Frenzy gives you 5 pips instantly) and then Sound The Attack. If successful, you should have a stunned Creep ripe for the pickings! If you’re in a jam, you should also have your Crafted Horn at the ready as it can stun additional targets at a greater range for a longer period of time. This is also helpful if you find yourself getting picked on by 2 or more Creeps in a solo situation. Use Sound The Attack and then Sprint to get away from the aggressors. Slotting Mightly Blast gives Sound The Attack a bonus of not being able to be blocked, evaded or parried and is a strong consideration for PvP play.
4. Sprint – Allows us to run at 125% speed for a minimum of 15 seconds. I strongly recommend having a utility weapon with at least a maxed out Sprint legacy (even more useful if you can also get Sudden Defence on the same weapon).  Map the utility weapon to your hotkey bars and swap it in right before you pop Sprint and then re-equip your regular weapon. This will allow you to get up to a minute of run speed at 125% – probably enough to get away from most pursuers or catch up to a cowardly Reaver.
5. Rend – this AoE skill will put a DoT (Damage over Time) on up to 5 targets. I highly recommend traiting Improved Rend to also reduce the target’s armor. Creeps love to spam stackable DoTs on us – let’s try to return the favor!  This is best when paired with the rend bleed legacy on a legendary weapon and rend pulses on a rune.  In addition, it only requires 2 fervour pips, so it’s quite quick to use and maintain.

Freeps, fighting the good fight!

General Tactics:

For general tactics I’m going to refer your to this amazing lorebook entry that focuses on Champion soloing in the moors. This goes over traiting ideas, how to prepare and what to expect.

When soloing, I use the following class traits: Fervent Rage, Improved Rend, Stalwart Blade, Vicious Strikes, Deadly Strikes, Blood Lust, Flurry of Blows. I haven’t changed this since I’ve been entering the Moors but I’m considering using Athletic for the Sprint cool down bonus or possibly changing it up completely and traiting the Deadly Storm line for AoE bonuses. This would allow me to trait Deathstorm.

My legendary traits are Raging Blades, Controlled Burn and Ferocious Strikes, although I may end up using Deathstorm instead.

As far as virtues are concerned, I almost always roll with tens in Innocence, Valour, Determination, Discipline and Loyalty. I may begin slotting Zeal for Determination to increase my melee defense or Fidelity to increase my shadow mitigation. Like I said, work in progress. 

I’m in a Raid – now what?

Now the fun begins!  Here are a few tips about being a Champ in a PvP raid:

• Determine if there is a melee raid-assistant: Usually there will be 2-4 Raid Assists in the Raid Assist Window. Inspect what classes are present – if one of them is a melee class you should follow their targets. Most of the time they will likely be following the called out targets as focused fire is the best way to bring a Creep raid to its knees. When in doubt, ask if there is a melee target assist.
• Be efficient: The called out target may be accessible to ranged classes but not to you.  To be more clear, the called target may be so far across the battle-field that by the time you run over to engage, it will be very close to dead. That’s 7-8 seconds you wasted running to an already dead target. That time is better spent distracting the Reavers that are trying to butcher your poor Minstrels or clobbering a War Leader.
• Be smart: Creeps love to set traps for you. Never detach yourself from the main group to engage a Creep running away on its own. Let it go – it’s likely that it’s leading you into a group of Wargs or towards a group of NPCs. Fight as a Raid!
• Listen to your Raid Leader (RL): Pay close attention to every word your RL has to say. Battles in the moors are often won by complex battle tactics that require everyone’s participation and execution. Don’t be that person that didn’t stay left and pulled a whole room of NPCs.
• Finally .. expect to die: If you die during PvP, keep your head held high and think of it this way: You were causing enough problems for the Creeps that they felt the need to get rid of you. You’ll live to fight another day and you’ve lost nothing since there are no repair costs to worry about.

That about wraps up my introduction to the Moors – I hope you took away a few tips! At the very least, you just killed 10 minutes at work. 

- mora

Happy Hunting!

I would estimate that 9/10 LOTRO players have some idea what I mean when I say “shingshing.” But for the 10% of you that don’t, allow me to clarify:

Shingshing is is what you hear when a Champion is laying waste to hordes of mobs.  It is the sweet music that accompanies our best (arguably) Legendary skill, Raging Blades. When I beckon my enemies to “step into the blender” it means that I’m actually about to leap into a group of mobs and pop Raging Blades.  Minstrels get ready with some heals (yes, I’m in Fervour) because I’m about to have the aggro of 4 or 5 mobs.  Loremasters, sorry about breaking that mez (not really). 

You see, Champions specialize in doing massive area of effect melee damage and Raging Blades, or shingshing as it will hereby be known, is the Rolex of AOE skills. Simply put, shingshing is a hurricane of death.

- moramoth