[Guide] Stat Caps, and where they should be for running T1 and T2 Content (105 Level)

Fin

Member
I want to post this information for anyone that is interested in trying group content either in Tier 1 (T1) or Tier 2 (T2).

Trying to understand Stat caps can be a very confusing part of this game. I will try to make this a simple as possible for anyone wishing to understand this a bit more. (bear in mind that I still have trouble understanding all this myself.....lol)

First thing to talk about is your Basic stats, Morale, and Power.

These are subject to all your other stats, they have no real cap, and all I can say about these now is, the more, the better. But I will talk more about them later in this post.

We also have in the Basic stats, Might, Will, Agility, Vitality, and Fate.

The first 3 are subject to your class, Might for Heavy Armour, (except for the Beorning who wears Medium Armour, but Might class) Agility for Med Armour, and Will for Light Armour.
These stats add to some of your over all stats, which stats are different for each one. I again will add more about these later, but suffice to say, the more you can get of your "main" basic stat for your class, the better.

Vitality and Fate are good for all classes and add to your other stats also, again will some things about them later, and again if you can boost them and afford to do so, go ahead.

Now we will get into the real nitty-gritty.

First your Offensive stats...(I will take them as they are listed on your character panel)

Critical Rating:
This is topped at 25% and can be reached by having 17,685 points.

Next we have Finesse:
Many people don't understand finesse, the mouse over explanation in game is a bit confusing to say the least. But again in simple terms, it is the ability of your character to hit your opponent. It has to do with that opponents ability to avoid/block/parry your attacks, but again, basically the more finesse the better chance you have of hitting your target.

Finesse as of UD19 seems to have a cap of 50% which you would need +36,834 to achieve. But......
From everything I have read online a Finesse rating of 15% to 20% is more then enough for any 3,6,or 12 man content, T1 or T2. Only thing I have read different would be for a tanky type class, they would want around 25% to be able to really hold Aggro.

Physical Mastery & Tactical Mastery:
These are the stats that make mobs go boom! They have a cap of 400%. You can reach that if you put +140,000 points in these stat lines. Needless to say, this is crazy...lol. I will have more to say about this stat later, but really if you put enough points into the stat your class uses, (Physical for melee/hunters, and tactical for casters) to reach 110%-140%. you will be doing more then enough damage. This would be about 40,000 - 50,000 points.

And now for Defensive stats.....

Resistance:
Your ability to resist Wounds, Poisons, Fear, Disease.
50% is cap for this. 30% = 17,000 points (which is fine for most content) 50% = 36,834 points (which would be great to have, but your points will serve you better in other areas)


Critical Defense Rating:
No cap, but for 50% +10,000 points to reach. Mostly only Tank classes would want to reach this.

Incoming Healing:
Capped at 25% 16,606 points to reach. Again nice to have, but really only the tanks would like to get close to the cap on this.

Block, Parry & Evade:
Caps at 25% need +36,000 points to reach but,
For T1 content 13% - 7,845 points, T2 content - 12,389 points. Once again a good stat to have for Tanks, others not needed as much.

Lastly, and probably the most important stat for all classes that wish to run T2 content is Mitigations.

Physical and Tactical Mitigation:
(This is your ability to take a punch, you will need both of them at recommended points to give you the best chance at surviving a T2 instance).

For Light Armour classes:
Cap is 40% - 13,125 points to reach but, for T2 you will need - 20,500 points.

For Medium Armour classes:
Cap is 50% - 14,500 points to reach but, for T2 you will need - 23,631 points.

For Heavy Armour classes:
Cap is 60% - 19,000 points to reach but, for T2 you will need - 27,000.

Note, when you increase your points to T2 numbers, you will not see your % increase. These are the caps that are done behind the scenes in the LOTRO combat program. Some very smart and dedicated people crunched the numbers to find out these cap points, I have taken them from several sources and averaged them out best I could.

So....What does all this mean?
Do I need to cap all my stats to run T2 content or even T1 content?

For T1 content I would suggest you try and get a few of your stats to the point caps posted. For T2 content I would try to get as many as you can to the T2 points posted.

My opinion on the stats that are more important then others is my own opinion, and others may disagree. But that is one of the best things about LOTRO, you can still play the game the way you want to if it works for you.

But I think, as stated above, that your Mitigations are the most important for running any content successfully, T1 or T2.
Not only do you take less damage, but you are lessening the burden on your healer. Staying alive in a fight is the most important thing. No matter how much damage you are doing, it doesn't mean a thing if the mobs kill you faster.

Slotting Mitigation essences to reach cap is obviously the thing to do. Keep in mind that some gear will give you boost to mitigations, as will scrolls (everyone in a group should have scrolls and use them for all group runs, just take turns popping them to be fair to all members of the group). Will and Fate will also add a boost to Mitigations. Also Your Virtues are a way to increase your Mits. Keep this in mind when using Essences on all you Stats not just Mitigations.

Next most important stats are not so clear cut. It may depend on your class.
Tanks should probably focus on their Critical Defense Rating, and their Block and Parry Rating, (Might will give a boost to both these Stats). While DPS classes should focus on their Crit Rating, (Agility and Fate will increase you Crit Rating), and Finesse, (remember Finesse need not be at cap, 15-20% is fine). For a healing class Tactical Mastery would be good to get to a level to give you the cap of 70% outgoing healing, (listed when you hover over that stat in your characters panel).

At this point it really is a matter of play style. Crit Rating is great for everyone, not just the DPS'er, Healers benefit from it greatly. Resistance is great to have at least close to 30%, again to help lessen the load on your healers.



Moral is also a Stat we like to give as much attention to as we can, having anywhere from 22,000 - 29,000 Moral on a Light or Medium Class and at least 40,000 on your Tank is a safe number for T2 content. Although I have been in groups where a LM only had 17,000 but his Mitigations where where they should be, He went down a few times, but we did finish the run.



Your Main class stat is important too but to me they, like Tactical and Physical Mastery are the Stats I wait till I have my other stats where I want them, then pour as many Essences into those 2 Stats that I can. Remember your class will dictate which Mastery Stat to increase.




To finish up, getting a Character ready to tackle T2 content takes time, their is a grind aspect to it. It also takes experimenting with your gear. I hope I have help out and not made too many people confused, bored, and caused too much disagreement with this information.

Thanks to all the people who have posted much of the information found hear across the web.



Any questions, or corrections,please post as a reply so all can view.



Thanks
 
I've gone ahead and stickied this post so that it stays at the top of the forum as more posts are added. It will continue to stay open so that folks can add questions as they might come up. Fin, I hope you'll please feel free to edit the original with what revisions or fresh material might come along, especially as new content is released and changes are made to things, and so forth. Thanks again for this excellent guide!
 
Just a further note for onlookers ... while Fin's guide is more or less idealized for running T1 and T2 group content (instances, raids, skirms) at cap, it does also provide excellent advice and general principles to consider as you're working your way up and that are also helpful for on the landscape. Newer players with lower level characters should find it useful in helping to understand why perhaps they're strong in certain areas on their toons but struggling in others. And always, if there are any questions, please do post them up!
 
I've gone ahead and stickied this post so that it stays at the top of the forum as more posts are added. It will continue to stay open so that folks can add questions as they might come up. Fin, I hope you'll please feel free to edit the original with what revisions or fresh material might come along, especially as new content is released and changes are made to things, and so forth. Thanks again for this excellent guide!


I will add what I can for sure. Was planning on adding something about the gear available and what people feel is the best to be using, and also add more on the main stats and how they effect your other stats depending on which of the three Armour types your class uses. Will post as soon as I can find the time to write that up.
 
I wrote up a bit of information on gear, it became a bit longer then I had thought it would. I was going to just add it to the existing post, but feel it would be better to start a new one just for it.
 
Well we can probably throw most of this information out the window, or into Mount Doom now that Mordor has been released...lol Although if you are following these guides they will help you step foot in Mordor, though not necessary.
 
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