What follows is something none of you should really have an interest in. I wanted to have the numbers in front of me so I could tell exactly what I’ll be losing by changing builds. So feel free to not read this.

I feel I’ve allowed my stats to fall by the wayside. Up until yesterday, I felt there was literally nothing that I couldn’t survive through. Then I saw Caerlug’s random aggro and I ate a large portion of floor a number of times while the Guardian tried to reestablish in the 5 seconds Cearlug took to beat me down.

3,500 Morale no longer cuts it, when Bosses have random aggro and hit for 1,000 a shot REGULARLY - not just on crits (which hit even harder).

 

This is what my Morale was before upgrading anything.

It is my goal to get my Morale up to 5,000 ASAP. Unfortunately, I’m sort of stuck in Radiance Armour (I realize I don’t need it for the 3-mans or 6-mans, but I’m not going to carry 2 full sets of Armour. I have enough storage problems as it is), so, I’m limited to jewelry and Relics. Unfortunately (again), I have one Sublime Dawn-rose Ring of Tactics and I REALLY wanted one more (so I will assume I have 2 for comparison builds). There is definately some give and take here.

Rings:

I currently have:

Sublime Dawn-rose Ring of Tactics:
+38 Will
+19 Fate
+6% Tactical Critical Multiplier
+38 Vitality
+120 Tactical Critical Rating

My high Morale options are:

Spry Ring:
+164 Maximum Power
+183 Maximum Morale
+40 Vitality

Amber Ring:
+38 Will
+19 Fate
+155 Maximum Morale
+19 Agility
+38 Vitality
On Use: +30 Vitality
Duration: 10m

Amber Ring = 269 Morale, 359 on clicky.

Spry Ring = 303 Morale.

I’d prefer the Amber because of the Will & Fate, but it’s so rare that I really don’t want to commit the time to getting two of them.

I will gain about 380 Morale and 100 Power by switching to Spry Rings, and lose about 250 Tactical Crit Rating, 12% Tactical Crit Multiplier.

Relics:

I am currently using NO Relics whatsoever. All of my best 3rd Ages are capped, and I do not want to waste T6 and T7 Relics in them until I get the ones I really want - unless they give an option to unslot them without a deconstuction, I need to wait. I will make a concerted effort to acquire Morale boosting Relics:

T8 Ancient Rune Of The Thunder:

-2.5% Melee Vulnerability
+150 Morale
+150 Power

T7 Platinum Setting Of Hardiness:

+15 Vitality
+15 Might
+15 Agility

I will gain 390 Morale, 300 Power and -5% Melee Vulnerability by getting these Relics.

Sets:

Wristlet of Laurelindórenan:
+96 in-Combat Power Regen
+19 Will
+146 Maximum Power
+162 Maximum Morale
+360 Fear Resist Rating
On Use:
Blessing of Caras Galadhon (+20% Healing Output)

Choker of Laurelindórenan:
+19 Will
+19 Fate
+81 Maximum Morale
+19 Vitality
+288 Wound Resist Rating

I’m currently using:

Glittering Khazâd-gold Bracelet:
+94.8 in-Combat Power Regen
+18 Will
+134 Maximum Power
+18 Agility

Ashûrz’s Adornment:
+15 Will
+90 Maximum Morale
+212 Tactical Critical Rating
Give Instant Morale

I will gain 210 Morale from the Lothlorien Healer set, and a small bit of Power (30?). I will not lose any ICPR, but I will lose 212 Tactical Crit Rating and a Clicky 200 Morale Heal.

Remaining Bracelet:

I am wary to give up my 2nd Glittering Khazâd-gold Bracelet, for the ICPR it provides and for the decent power supply. But here are two good options:

Hadronechor
+164 Maximum Power
+20 Might
+183 Maximum Morale
+126 Block Rating

Insidious Cuff
+48.6 in-Combat Power Regen
+19 Might
+169 Maximum Morale
+39 Agility
+19 Vitality
Reflect Damage

As a reminder, I was using:

Glittering Khazâd-gold Bracelet:
+94.8 in-Combat Power Regen
+18 Will
+134 Maximum Power
+18 Agility

The Insidious Cuff is pretty much everybodies main standby for Morale bracelets. It is a good choice for a Minstrels, since it does have ICPR on it, plus a fair amount of Morale. But Hadronechor has almost as much Morale, plus 164 Power, so you don’t have to sacrifice as much! Either choice is good.

By switching to Hadronechor, I will gain 183 Morale, but lose 94.8 ICPR and 24 Power.

Alternate Necklace:

Whether by design or by oversight, one can unequip the Choker of Laurelindórenan until the moment the clicky on the Wristlet is needed. At which point, you slap on the Choker, hit the clicky on the Wristlet, and then swap the Choker back off. Doing this means you can use an alternate necklace 99% of the time. Not that the stats on the Choker are bad - they’re not. But if we’re gearing for Morale, lets try to go all out.

Ethuilhigil
+20 Will
+183 Maximum Morale
+20 Vitality
+252 Evade Rating

Ethuilhigil will give me 243 Morale & 60 Power. That’s 105 more Morale than the Choker, and the Power is near dead even.

Earrings:

I currently have two Sublime Dawn-rose Earrings.

Sublime Dawn-rose Earring:
+38 Will
+73 Maximum Power
+38 Fate
+81 Maximum Morale
+19 Agility

Those are really nothing to shake a stick at. But in walks the Diamond Stud Earring:

Diamond Stud:
+39 Fate
+169 Maximum Morale
+19 Agility
+79.8 in-Combat Morale Regen
+19 Vitality

I will gain 290 Morale by switching to Studs, along with 159.6 ICMR, which is VERY nice. But the tradeoffs here are worse than the other options. I will lose 374 Power. That hurts.

I’ve just seen this earring drop in the Halls of Mirrors!

Rollos:
+82 Maximum Power
+40 Fate
+183 Maximum Morale
+20 Vitality

With Rollos, I will gain 324 Morale. I will lose 210 Power. ICPR from Fate will not change, but I also will not get the ICMR from the Diamond Stud. I could definately take either Rollos or the Diamond Stud.

So, here is my Shopping List. Hopefully, within the next couple months, I can pick up most of these.

Spry Ring (Skumfil - Brumbereth) Update 6/26 - I changed my mind. I’m keeping my Rose-gold Opal Ring. I think…
Spry Ring (Skumfil - Brumbereth) OR Amber Ring (Treasury)
Diamond Stud (Grand Stair - Igash) OR Rollos (Hall of Mirrors) Update 7/2 - Got Rollos tonight on a kin run of Mirrors!!! Thank you Redwin and T!
Diamond Stud (Grand Stair - Igash) OR Rollos (Hall of Mirrors) Update 7/21 - Got another Rollos last night! Thank you T and Nery!
Choker of Laurelindórenan (Loth Rep) Update 6/29 - Hooray! Spend most of the day yesterday doing Lothlorien, and got the Choker! Next up, Wristlet!
Wristlet of Laurelindórenan (Loth Rep) Update 7/2 - Finally finished my Leaves and picked up the Wristlet tonight right before our Turtle run!!
Hadronechor (Water Works - Spit Tail) Update 7/8 - Picked this up last night!
Ethuilhigil (Water Works - Caerlug) Update 7/8 - Picked this up last night!
T8 Ancient Rune Of The Thunder
T8 Ancient Rune Of The Thunder
T7 Platinum Setting Of Hardiness
T7 Platinum Setting Of Hardiness

A Strategy Guide to Integrated Voice-Chat (brought you by Gamespy)

Aside from the Stuck Behind the Door debuff in Filikul, the integrated voice-chat (brought you by Gamespy) is perhaps one of the most difficult battles you’ll need to face while in a fellowship. It takes determination, willpower and an inexhaustible supply of patience from the entire group to overcome this encounter, but it is worthwhile to do for various reasons, a few of which I’ll list:

1. Calling someone a noob over voice is much funnier than typing it.

2. Girls have sexy voices. Their chat, on the other hand, is no sexier than a guys’. Unless you’ve figured out a way to color code IM’s from the ladies to a sexy color, like “bubble-gum and poodle-skirt pink,” or “candy-apple red.”

3. You can hear how people pronounce their names. This is key, as during difficult fights, you don’t want to have to stumble over their name when you’re yelling at them for AOEing bugs in The Lost One, or running too far on the way down to the 2^nd Forges boss, and pulling that stupid group of 4 adds onto themselves while the rest of the group watches with mild amusement. You need to be able to curse people out as efficiently as possible.

4. Most people can’t type as quickly as they can speak. With the rare exceptions being myself, Jeff K, and people running Dragon Naturally Speaking, it’s just faster to talk than to type. Many people also need to completely stop playing while they’re typing, and when you are power-leveling in a desperate attempt to hit the leaderboards for the One Kinship to Rule Them All Kinship contest, you can’t afford to stop and type things like “bio” or “tired gtg” or “1 sec – need tissue, eyes bleeding frm playing 36 str8 hrs.”

5. For people who do not use “push-to-talk” you can wind up witnessing absolute gems of personal drama, which should be frapsed and hosted on youtube.

These are among some of the many varied reasons to use voice-chat. “But why,” you may ask, “would you ever use this absolutely tragic excuse for a voice-chat system (brought you by Gamespy), when you can use Vent or TeamSpeak?” And the answer would be, “I really don’t know.”

So, let’s deal with the best strategy I’ve found to deal with this difficult encounter.

1. Assemble a group of allies willing to help with this most difficult of encounters.

2. Everyone should buff up. I recommend a strong beer, like Steel Reserve. If you want something with a little more oomph, grab a World Wide Stout (DFH), 120 Minute IPA (DFH) or a Beast (Avery). This goes for the entire fellowship. You will need these buffs to last the length of this battle. Stock up before you begin.

3. Eat food before you start. Pizza is ideal, as it can be left on the counter for at least 42 hours before it spoils. At the 72 hour mark, it should be microwaved before it is consumed to kill potentially harmful bacteria. It may take this long to finish the integrated voice-chat (brought you by Gamespy) conflict.

To begin, move your fellowship to a safe area. The crazy cat house in Bree is ideal. The cats will protect you, and they have 9 “self-revives” an hour. By cycling their deaths, you can overcome the group-wide dread that builds over time.

Now, all members may open their Options panels. Click on Audio. Bring the volume of ALL the top sliders down to .02 to .10, depending on your preferences (or completely down, if desired).

Once you’ve accomplished that, scroll down the audio options. Stop immediately when you get to the Voice section. Voice Enabled must be checked. You want Voice Volume and Voice Microphone Gain turned up all the way. Now, you can click on Mic Test. Sing “Aisha Aisha” and watch the volume indicator. If it gets into the red, good. If not, you may need to tab out of the game, and adjust your microphone gain in Windows (please Google this – but as a quick reminder, its under your sound properties / recording options). If your microphone recording volume is turned all the way up in Windows and you are still too quiet, make sure the microphone is inside your mouth. If you can actually keep the microphone inside your larynx, that is ideal. The integrated voice-chat (brought to you by Gamespy) is severely unbalanced; all voice-chat is so quiet it is barely intelligible. So if you can upgrade your larynx via “Cry” or “Shout” legacy bonuses on your off-hand item, do that.

The Voice Capture Threshold is how loud you need to be for it to capture your chat. So if you find you whisper a lot, or a mumbling drunk, you should keep it low. If you yell all your commands, turn it up. The Voice Playback Latency is the delay your voice gets before everyone hears it. If you are leading a group, you should have it low. If not, you can keep it a little higher (200ms).

The last thing is the Hands Free Voice. Turn this on if you want everyone in your groups to know your personal business, what it sounds like when you fart loudly, what pitch your kids scream at, or basically if you want to just be obnoxious. Every single noise that comes out of your house will be heard in the fellowship. Especially keep this on if you are sick and you’re coughing and sneezing a lot. It’s great fun for a fellowship to have their heads blown off when you sneeze into your mic.

If you must, assign a key to Push to Talk (under Key Mapping). That will be the key you must hold when you’re speaking – just like a CB radio. I use the “back” button on my mouse – VERY much like a CB radio.

Before you proceed to the next step, please make sure none of your fellows have a Reflect debuff on them. This occurs when someone has external speakers and a microphone near them. It is an instant group-wipe and needs to be avoided at all costs. After you’ve triple-checked for Reflection debuffs, press and hold your “push to talk” button and speak clearly into your microphone, “Sibilance, sibilance, checking the mic.”

Your fellows will need to gauge your volume, and help you make the necessary adjustments. The Microphone Gain slider, and the proximity of the microphone to your esophagus will be the two things that may need to be adjusted. When the fellowship agrees you are at a reasonable volume, continue the process with the next member of the fellowship.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide, and I wish all of you great success in defeating the integrated voice-chat (brought to you by Gamespy) encounter.