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| THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE THIRD AGE |
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| Skill Point Farming Guide |
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| Version 1.01 |
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| by |
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| MakoSipper |
| (
[email protected]) |
|_________________________________________|
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Contents
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1. Introduction ................ [xintx]
2. Main Guidelines ............ [xmglx]
3. Characters .................. [xchax]
3.1 Berethor ................. [xberx]
3.2 Idrial ................... [xidrx]
3.3 Elegost .................. [xelex]
3.4 Hadhod ................... [xhadx]
3.5 Morwen ................... [xmorx]
3.6 Eaoden ................... [xeaox]
4. Elfstone .................... [xelfx]
4.1 of Nimble Crafting ....... [xcrax]
4.2 of Fell Shadow ........... [xshax]
4.3 of Pure Light ............ [xligx]
5. FAQs ........................ [xfaqx]
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History
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2013.09.01 - 1.00 - FAQ Completed and submitted.
2013.09.06 - 1.01 - Corrected some line breaks and unicode format.
========================
Introduction [xintx]
========================
Hello!
I made this guide in order to provide you with tips to optimize your skill
point farming process. SP farming is absolutely necessary in this game and
it'squite boring, so the less time you take doing it, the less bored you'll
be.
(And how I wish this game had cursor memory!)
===========================
Main Guidelines [xmglx]
===========================
First of all, there are a few requirements you should complete before
thinking about SP farming.
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Setting Up
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1 - Complete Eregion (the first area). This will ensure you:
* have at least 4 characters
* have the Elfstone of Nimble Crafting
* have access to Eregion Fellowship Camp
2 - Learn how to craft Lembas. This is better done on Berethor, since he can
exploit the Perfect Mode, as long as:
* Berethor has already learned Ithilien Inspiration, since it cuts the AP
cost of crafting (and everything else) by 25% while on Perfect Mode.
3 - Idrial must have learned Drain Inspiration. Alternatively, someone else
must have a skill that drains AP from the enemy (Drain Inspiration is the
first one you should get).
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General hints
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* You don't get SP when you miss. You do, however, get SP when you
sucessfully use a skill that doesn't do you any good, like healing a
character with full HP or casting Dispel on an enemy with no buffs.
* When you learn a new skill, the game automatically sets you to learn the
next available skill. However, it does NOT get SP for skills above the one
you had selected when you entered the battle, EVEN IF YOU GET ALL THE
OTHER SKILLS! That said, make sure you have the most basic skill selected
(i.e., the one HIGHER UP on the skill tree) before you enter the battle
during which you'll farm for SP.
* Travel to Eregion and make your way to Eregion Fellowship Camp (it's where
you saw the scene with the crows, the spies of Saruman, a place full of
white stones). Save there, then go stand on the part of the main road
between the two roads (one to the west and the other one to the southwest)
that lead to the save point. While there, you can just stand still and
wait for the enemies to attack you.
* You're looking for Orc Lesser Captain (the one with the banner). As soon
as the battle begins, use Drain Inspiration to drain all of the Captain's
AP. Then, kill the others (there are probably other two). The Captain will
just keep skipping his turns, since he can't do anything without AP.
* Replace Berethor (or the one who can craft Lembas) out of your party.
Choose the character you're going to SP farm for and Retreat with the
other two. Don't even think about leaving the other two characters there,
as you'll have to skip their turns (or you'll get confused using different
skills) and some skills like Company Might take longer time to cast when
there are other people around to receive their effects.
* Always use Company Might (it seems to improve item effects as well as
other AP recovering/draining skills) on the character farming for SP
before retreating with everyone. But DON'T use it if you're doing a
[Normal SP Farming] (see below).
* Now you're set. Be prepared to spend an hour or more farming for each
skill set. Use the skills mentioned below to get SP. Use Lembas if needed.
Switch to your item crafter (Berethor or anyone else) and make more Lembas
if needed.
* I'll inform you the name of the best skill you can use in order to get SP
as fast as possible. This accounts for AP cost and cast time.
* I'll also inform you the name of the last skill you learn on each set so
you'll know when to stop.
* Some sets have only skills that do damage. For those, I recommend you get
SP as you move through the game. You can also focus on getting those if
you want to level up a bit, or, if you definitely don't want to level up,
you should go back to Eregion and use them on weaker enemies. I'll mark
those skill sets as [Normal SP Farming]. If you choose to stop in order to
SP farming for those skills, equip your weakest weapons.
* When you craft Lembas, it's easier to select "Item Craft" using the RIGHT
directional button (instead of DOWN) since you'll use the same button to
select Lembas. This way, you only have to press 2 buttons (X and RIGHT).
* You can always use an Arnor Mushroom in order to use AP freely. But
they're not as easy to come across as Lembas, especially at the beginning
of the game. If you choose to do so, it's adviseable to try to master as
many skill sets as possible with the same Arnor Mushroom, like a
character's set plus some Elfstones.
* An alternative to the Arnor Mushroom is using Company Might (improves the
effect of Lembas) on the character you want SP for and Mushrooms (double
AP for the battle), which can be crafted. It will reduce your pauses for
AP recovering.
* Kill the enemy when you're done. I'm not sure it matters, but there's no
reason to risk retreating. Then SAVE before going for another round!
======================
Characters [xchax]
======================
Here's some information on the specifics on SP farming for each character.
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Berethor [xberx]
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Sword Craft: [Normal SP Farming]
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Leadership:
-----------
* Skill Used: Company Might
* You may use Fellowship Grace so you don't have to use Lembas. It also
gives you SP. Strangely enough, Company Might seems to improve its effect,
as well as the effect of items, and it doesn't wear off.
* Last Skill: Captain's Inspire
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Idrial [xidrx]
----------------
Sword Craft:
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* Skill Used: Leech Inspiration
* You won't have to worry about refilling AP since Leech Inspiration does
that job for you.
* Don't let the messages about AP loss and gain due to Leech Inspiration
fill up the screen. Once it's full, my experience is that you'll have a
100% miss chance, and you don't get SP for that.
* Last Skill: Gil-galad Rampage
Spirit Powers:
-------------
* Skill Used: Gift of Elrond (it's the quickest to cast)
* Use Drain Inspiration when needed, not Lembas, as it also gives you SP.
* Last Skill: Water Stallion
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Elegost [xelex]
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Bow Craft: [Normal SP Farming]
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Ranger Craft:
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* Skill Used: Kingsfoil Grace (learn it before learning Paralyzing Shot if
possible!)
* Kingsfoil Grace is an expensive skill. You're going to need 48,000 AP to
learn all the other skills (including Paralyzing Shot)! That's A LOT! The
easiest solution is using an Arnor Mushroom and forget about AP. It's a
good call, since casting 480 spells will take a loooong time. If you don't
want to use an Arnor Mushroom, do the following:
* Make Berethor cast Company Might on Elegost before retreating with
everyone. Strangely--as I mentioned above--it seems to boost item effects
and doesn't wear off. If you do so, you're gonna spend less Lembas and
won't have to stop as often to craft more. If you already learned how to
craft Mushrooms, make sure you use it on Elegost!
* Last Skill: Fangorn Roots
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Hadhod [xhadx]
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Axe Craft: [Normal SP Farming]
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Spirit Powers:
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* Skill Used: Endure Flame
* You may consider using an Arnor Mushroom, but I don't think it's
necessary, since Hadhod has only a few Spirit Power skills. It shouldn't
be a big problem. If you don't want to use an Arnor Mushroom, you could do
the following:
* Make Berethor cast Company Might on Hadhod before retreating with
everyone. Strangely--as I mentioned above--it seems to boost item effects
and doesn't wear off. If you do so, you're gonna spend less Lembas and
won't have to stop as often to craft more. If you already learned how to
craft Mushrooms, make sure you use it on Hadhod!
* Last Skill: Dragon Calling
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Morwen [xmorx]
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Dual-Axe Craft:
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* Skill Used: Battle Haste
* Make sure you master Thief Craft first. You may get some SP for Dual-Axe
Craft by using Seize Skill.
* You may use Steal Action (Thief Craft) so you don't have to use Lembas.
* Last Skill: Rohirric Rampage
Thief Craft:
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* Skill Used: Seize Skill
* Seize Skill gives you 1 normal SP for Thief Craft PLUS another SP, which
seems to be randomly allocated between the selected skills for her sets.
Note that this extra SP will NEVER go for Elfstones, even if she already
mastered both Dual-Axe and Thief Crafts.
* You may use Steal Action so you don't have to use Lembas.
* Last Skill: Cloak of the Plains
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Eaoden [xeaox]
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Spear Craft: [Normal SP Farming]
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Spirit Powers:
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* Skill Used: Dispel / Drain Spirit
* The obvious choice would be Drain Spirit, but Dispel is as easy to select
as Drain Spirit (Channel Health should be greyed out, since the other
members retreated) and one second shorter to cast. Doesn't seem much, but
since you're gonna have to cast 650 spells, that will make you complete
this ordeal in 10-11 less MINUTES. That's a long time of boring SP
farming! I know Dispel costs 60, while Drain Spirit costs only 5 AND
restores your AP. But I've never really had any problems with AP shortage,
since Eaoden's natural regen did the trick. I had given him Mushrooms, so
his AP pool was 1100, but I don't know if the difference would've been
significant. If it doesn't work with his normal AP pool, make sure you
give him Mushrooms (and not Arnor Mushrooms!) since it'll save you a lot
of time.
* Last Skill: Leech Essence
=====================
Elfstones [xelfx]
=====================
Here's some information on the specifics on SP farming for each elfstone.
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Elfstone of Nimble Crafting [xcrax]
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* Skill Used: Kingsfoil / Lembas
* Don't skip learning Kingsfoil if you're trying to master all skills in a
single battle. You won't be able to learn it if you do. Not that you can't
just go into another battle and easily craft 5 things, but...
* Use whichever of the two above skills. Just make sure you have enough
Lembas to replenish your AP.
* You could also take that chance and craft A LOT of items. This elfstone
requires you to craft 810 items in order to be mastered. Good news is it
doesn't make sense to master it with more than one character, as long as
you plan ahead and stock the items you're going to need.
* It doesn't matter who's doing it, make sure this person is under the
effect of Berethor's Company Might so you can make the best use of your
Lembas.
* Berethor is the best choice for this because of his Ithilien Inspiration,
since it cuts the AP cost of crafting (and everything else) by 25% while
on Perfect Mode.
* If Berethor has it, you should use the Company Might + Fellowship Grace
combo so you don't have to use Lembas at all. Not that you'll have trouble
stocking up, you just won't waste a turn crafting Lembas if you're trying
to craft a lot of items (especially Simbelmyne).
* Last Skill: Mushrooms
---------------------------------
Elfstone of Fell Shadow [xshax]
---------------------------------
* Skill Used: Whip of the Master
* Don't skip learning Dispel if you're trying to master all skills in a
single battle. You won't be able to learn it if you do. Not that you can't
just go into another battle and easily use 5 Shadowcraft spells, but...
* Keep using any method you have (you should have some by the time you get
this elfstone) to replenish your AP. If you have to use Lembas, don't
forget to use Company Might on the character getting SP so you don't have
to use as many Lembas. Scrolling down to "Shadowcraft" with the RIGHT
directional button (instead of DOWN) makes it easier to select Whip of the
Master (you also have to press RIGHT to select it). Mushrooms (not Arnor
Mushrooms!) could also help you optimize your usage of Lembas.
* Last Skill: Wheel of Fire
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Elfstone of Pure Light [xligx]
--------------------------------
* Skill Used: Gift of Galadriel / Drain Spirit
* Gift of Galadriel should be faster to use. Use Drain Spirit when you're
low on AP so you don't have to use Lembas or other skills.
* Last Skill: Blinding Light
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FAQs [xfaqx]
================
Q01: How do you master Passive and Perfect Mode skills?
A01: By levelling up. You get a SP on Passive Skills for each level and I'm
pretty sure you learn a new Perfect Mode Skill every 5 levels.
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I'd be grateful if you could send an email reporting a mistake on this FAQ.
If you have any doubts, feel free to email me:
[email protected]
=)
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