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 As with many of the systems in Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), the character mechanics are different from many other games. While this brings a sense of newness to the system, it can be difficult for many new players to understand. With the game going free-to-play this autumn, it is important for new players to have a basic understanding of these systems before they are confronted with them.

Where is the Heath Bar?

In most MMOs a character has a heath bar and a bar that governs special abilities. These two bars go up and down as you play, and few people even think about them. In Lord of the Rings Online, they have the bars as well, but the terminology and reasoning is a little different.

The green bar displays your character’s Morale. In most games, if this bar drops to zero the character dies and respawns, but this isn’t the case in LotRO. When it reaches zero, the character is so overwhelmed by the forces against them that they retreat to a safe location. While the distinction is minor, it does fit into the world as a whole. Since this bar governs emotions, Minstrels are able to ‘heal’ by singing songs that raise your spirits.

The blue bar is your character’s Power. This represents your character’s force of will and ability to go beyond simple combat. This is the pool that characters use to fuel their skills and special abilities.

Character Stats

Lord of the Rings Online does away with many of the standard conventions of MMO classes and gets rid of standard attributes such as strength or dexterity. Instead, it uses a system that fits in tightly with the lore that existed before the game. In many cases, the stat may seem similar to one from another game, like Might being similar to a strength attribute, but when you look at it also governs things that would traditionally be in other areas.

Each of the following stats represent a character’s physical, mental or emotional wellbeing:

• Might: This stat governs additional damage with physical attacks as well as your ability to block and parry. High Might will also allow a character to mitigate damage from common sources (any weapon or attack that has ‘(Common)’ written after its damage).
• Agility: Agility determines how often you hit and critical in combat. It also governs your ability to evade and parry blows and increases your ranged damage.
• Vitality: This determines your bonus Morale, and how quickly your Morale regenerates out of combat. It increases your mitigation of Shadow and Fire damage and your Wound, Poison and Disease resistance.
• Will: This stat governs your Power bar. It determines your bonus Power and how quickly your Power regenerates when not in combat. It also influences your Fear resistance.
• Fate: Fate affects your Morale and Power regeneration while in combat and your critical chance with Tactical skills. A Tactical skill is generally a combat skill that is not a physical attack, such as a magic attack, healing power or buff.

Jumbles of Stats

In many cases, people will focus on one or two stats to the exclusion of others. While this isn’t necessarily a bad way to go, by understanding the different stats and how they work together, it is possible to make a more powerful character. For a new player, knowing exactly what Fate does and why Morale is important will help smooth out their starting experience.

For more information on statistics in Lord of the Rings Online, check out the Lorebook. Look at these for more information on the class system or traits and deeds.