LOTRO : Book 8 Dol Guldur notes released!

I already knew my class the Champion was going to get nerfed (made less powerful), but that is about the biggest impact on the changes for the next update to Lord of the Ring Online : Book 8 due next month.

If you have not seen them yet, the patch notes for Book 8 are here.

I always felt my Champ was rather useful despite not having all the latest lvl 60 gear. As long as you have reasonable armour and traits you can switch from full-on DeePeeS™ mode to tank by simply switching to Glory stance (to generate more threat) and equipping a heavy shield.

So Turbine felt that the Champ's versatility was putting the Guardian's role in jeopardy so they felt a nerf was required. Looks like all they have really done is to limit the legendary skill Controlled Burn's time to 2.5 minutes but to sweeten the shock they have also added a few extra buffs while it does last. The other major change is a penalty against incoming morale (from other players) when using Fervour - the main DeePeeS™ stance. So I will have to remember when playing in fellowships that if I'm not getting enough morale from Minstrels I should think about turning off Fervour!

It is no surprise also that Book 8 features goings on from the evil forces of Dol Guldur, although the action is set in Moria - no mention of any Dol Guldur instances. Boo.

No pics of Book 8 yet so here is my first take-down proof of the raid Turtle, sadly it just dissappears shortly after it's death so no corpse shot available!