UPDATE (February 09): This reflects Mines of Moria pre–patch and not all details may be correct. This will be adjusted soon.
Mines of Moria has introduced a newly redesigned Traits menu. It’s prettier and, overall, a bit easier to use. I felt the redesign made it worth writing something up about the new menu, its contents and how to read it.
Before I get into specifics about each Trait panel, it is important to go over how they’re all displayed. For the most part the changes are cosmetic, but they’re different enough from the original design that they might not be obvious at first. With some playing around, they’ll become second nature.
The Traits Display
Each panel (or category) in the Traits menu contains its own type of Trait. However, they all share a consistent way of displaying these Traits. Each Trait is represented by an icon. Their current status is affected by some changes to that icon.
Traits that have four diamonds around them are equipped.
Traits that are colored in have been earned. In the case of Virtues, this does not necessarily mean they’re at their highest rank (which is 10). Rather, it means that you do not currently have any other Deeds that would raise that rank.
Traits that are gray have not been earned.
Traits that are gray with a ring icon are in the process of being earned.
It can be confusing looking at all of this, but for me that has been the simplest way to explain it. Now we’ll get into the specific panels.
Equipped Traits
This is the default panel that opens when you view your Traits. It shows which traits you currently have equipped in each category. Trait boxes that are grayed out will unlock as you raise your level.
On the right side you can see your Class Trait Bonuses. These are bonuses that unlock based upon which Class Traits you have equipped at the time. This is affected by your Trait Set, which is detailed in the Class Traits panel. I am receiving these two bonuses because I have a total of 3 traits in the Berkserker build equipped currently.
Race Traits
The Race traits tab simply shows the Race Traits you have available. This panel follows the display rules that I detailed above.
Class Traits
This is the most significant departure from Shadows of Angmar as far as Traits are concerned. LotRO now allows you to have Trait Sets; that is, specific Class Trait setups that result in bonuses and new Skills. Other games refer to similar concepts as “builds”.
Trait Sets also have the benefit of being easy to explain. Telling a friend that your Champion is using the Deadly Storm Trait Set is a heck of a lot easier than listing out your equipped Traits and current Skills.
Each class has three Trait Sets. As you can see in this picture, the Champion has access to The Deadly Storm, The Berserker and The Martial Champion. I am currently in The Deadly storm tab.
On the right side, you’ll notice the Trait Set Bonuses. The numbers here refer to how many Class Traits you must have equipped from this Trait Set to receive the Bonus. So, for example, I would need two of the listed Class Traits in this Trait Set to receive the “Fewer Area Damage Misses” bonus.
You obviously have the option of setting up your Class Traits as you please. You are not forced into any of these Trait Sets. At the same time, utilizing a Trait Set obviously has its advantages. Beyond improvements to existing skills, equipping five Class Traits in a single Trait Set unlocks a new Legendary Trait.
Beyond this, the general display rules still apply.
Virtues
This panel shows the Virtues you currently have equipped and the ones you’re in the process of earning. This panel can be the most confusing to read, due to the sheer amount of Virtues it displays. It follows a slightly different display setup than the other Traits, but I’ve detailed that above.
Legendary
This displays the Legendary Traits you currently have unlocked and equipped. These will not be available until later levels in the game. Some Legendary Traits only unlock based upon quest completion, while others only unlock based upon your Trait Set. It is not possible to have all Legendary Traits unlocked simultaneously on a single character.
As with the others, this panel follows the same display rules I detailed above.
Conclusion
As you can see, the new Traits menu is not too difficult to understand. While most of it is the same beyond a new coat of paint, the addition of Trait Sets is a big deal and something I think many people will enjoy playing with. LotRO has lacked an easy to explain set of builds and I’m hoping this will help alleviate that for many players.
