Baleleaf and Dourbark (Ost Dunhoth, Disease) on Tier 2 with Challenge done!

We have been fighting and failing with the Balrog. I have my ideas why, but am not going to share them.

Even though I would have liked to go back to kick Durin's Bane in his softer parts (if he has any), it was decided to do the disease wing next.

I like, how there is no more real trash and that the groups up to the boss are challenging and fun.

Baleleaf and Dourbark are the two bosses and as their name suggests, they are trees. The first phase of the fight is quite short and consists of damaging the trees. This will make your target cover you with sap, which 'marks' you.

Soon three bog-lurker beasts activate. The tank needs to grab them from the tree he was not attacking and bring them over to the tree he was attacking. Two of them can be killed fast, the last one of each group should be killed at the same time.

As soon as all six of them are dead, everyone hits the original target till the trees once again get protected by the bog-lurkers. Tanks need to grab them again at the other tree, but this time, they need to be killed at the same time (all six of them).

So dps them down but not kill them at once (watch your aoe attacks). When the team is ready, kill all of them quickly and attack the tree again.

If you want to get the challenge, you are only allowed to kill twelve of the bog-lurkers, so you need to pump out a lot of damage during the three dps-phases.

We needed some tries, but finally managed to do it. I won the First-Age-Symbol and this is the bow I made. Luckily, I did have enough ixp-runes to get it to level 70 and enough scrolls to max it out.

It is a bit sad, than in about half a year, the bow will be replaced again by a level 70 third age weapon, but that is the way these games work.

Minstrel - Legendary Items

There are two pools for Legendary Items (LIs for short):

Class Item Pool A 

Target Ballad Resist Rating 

Healing and Motivation Skills Morale Healing 

Raise the Spirit Healing 

Bolster Courage Healing 

Inspire Fellows Healing 

Ballad of War Magnitude 

Healing Skills Power Cost 

Class Item Pool B 

Target Song Resist Rating 

Chord of Salvation Cooldown 

Echoes of Battle Resistance Rating Debuff 

Cry of the Chorus Cooldown 

Song of the Dead Cooldown 

Ballad of Unshakable Will Fear Resistance 

Ballad of Flame Fire Defence 

Weapon Pool A   

Triumphant Spirit Cooldown 

Call to War Skills Resistance Chance 

Piercing Cry Damage 

Call of Oromë Damage 

Soliloquy of Spirit HoT Pulses 

Rally! Cooldown 

Healing Threat 

Weapon Pool B

Call of the Second Age Targets 

Call to Fate Critical Multiplier 

Recovery time Still as Death 

Tier 1 Ballad Damage 

Tier 2 Ballad Damage 

Target Resist Cry of Valar 

Cure Fear Cooldown 

So what does this mean? The Minstrel Class Item is the Songbook. I usually use my characters in raids and as Minstrel, Healing is our main job. 

Minstrel Songbook Pool

•Healing and Motivation Skills Morale Healing
This legacy is the most important one, as it affects all healing skills.

•Bolster Courage Healing
BC is our main healing skill, which makes this legacy the second most important.

•Inspire Fellows Healing
A group-healing skill (with a small buffing) which costs a lot of power. For short fights and when a Lore-Master is around, I have started using this skill. Watcher and Turtle come in mind.

•Healing Skills Power Cost
Maxed out, this skill reduces power consumption by 10 percent. Certainly nice to have.

•Ballad of War Magnitude
Champions will love you for this skill, as it gives maximal 10 percent melee offence.

•Chord of Salvation Cooldown
Reducing the cooldown for an nice, instant, power-costly single-target-heal.

•Cry of the Chorus Cooldown
Even less important, but better than what follows.

•Raise the Spirit Healing
Don't know, when I last used this skill.
•Song of the Dead Cooldown
With the Barad Guldur instance and probalby more undead in the next big raid, this might come in handy. But nothing I would really look out for.

•Target Ballad Resist Rating
•Target Song Resist Rating
I don't seem to get too many resists.

•Ballad of Flame Fire Defence
•Echoes of Battle Resistance Rating Debuff
•Ballad of Unshakable Will Fear Resistance
Don't seem to make that much of a difference.

Main Hand Weapon

•Rally! Cooldown
Reduces the cooldown for rally from 30 minutes to 24 minutes. This might seem to be not worth it, but I would recommend to get this one maxed, even if it is only on a rezing-weapon (i.e. a weapon only used for this skill. I often put the weapon on the quick-bar, above the Rally! icon and swich, when I need it.

•Recovery time Still as Death
Same as above. If possible, get one weapon with these two skills. This legacy reduces the cooldown from ten to four minutes. Nice! Saves a walk up the Tower of Barad Guldur.

•Healing Threat
In most fights, threat has been less of an issue lately. But it is always a good thing to lay low, so go for this one, if possible.

•Triumphant Spirit Cooldown
I like this legacy, even though it costs a lot of power and adds aggro. A lot of aggro. Not a skill I consider to be a must-have.

•Call of Oromë Damage
•Piercing Cry Damage
Two important attacks made 20 or 30 percent stronger? Must have on your war-speach-weapon, not that important, on your raiding-weapon.

•Call to War Skills Resistance Chance
•Call to Fate Critical Multiplier
•Call of the Second Age Targets
•Tier 1 Ballad Damage
•Tier 2 Ballad Damage
•Target Resist Cry of Valar
As I said, I usually heal or team up. These skills are important for your war-speach-weapon, but less (or not) on your raiding-weapon.

•Cure Fear Cooldown
A 3m range and a long cool-down makes this skill useless in most circumstances.

•Soliloquy of Spirit Heal Over Time Pulses
Can't remember, when I used this one.

Legendary Items

I just read on CStM, that you can move your LIs from the six slots you got at the moment.

If your main weapon is at slot 5 and you want to move it to slot 2, open your bags and open your Legendary Items panel. Switch the later to slot 5 (the one you want to move your level-up-and-decon LI to and which now holds the weapon you want to move to slot 2).

Find your decon LI in your bags and move it into the slot 5 (click-hold-and-move). Et voila.

LotRO - Rune-Keeper - Legendaries

Second class I want to share my thoughts about are Rune-Keepers. Rune-Keepers often switch from dps to healing and back during raids. This means, I usually have on healing bag, one fighting bag, one fire-damage-stone, one lightning-damage-stone and one healing-stone. This does leave little room for leveling...

Healing:

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool A

*** Writ of Health Healing
** Self Motivation Power Return
** Pulses Prelude to Hope
* Distracting Winds Cooldown
* Shocking Words Stun Chance
Writ of Fire Damage
Essence of Flame Damage
Scribe's Spark Damage

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool B

*** Mending Verse Healing
* Do Not Fall This Day Cooldown
* Word of Exaltation Cooldown
* Frozen Epilogue Cooldown
* Epic for the Ages Healing
Chilling Rhetoric Cooldown
Target Shocking Touch Resist Rating
Ceaseless Argument Power Cost

Rune-stone Pool A

*** Healing Over Time
** Healing
** Healing Attuned Skill Power Cost
Battle Attuned Skill Power Cost
Fury of Storm Damage
Fire Skill Damage
Wrath of Flame Damage Over Time

Rune-stone Pool B

*** Glorious Foreshadowing Duration
*** Target All Skills Resist Rating
* Steady Attuned Skill Power Cost
* Vivid Imagery Targets
Chill of Winter Debuff Duration
Chill of Winter Damage
Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier
Distracting Flame Cooldown

Lightning

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool A

*** Scribe's Spark Damage
** Self Motivation Power Return
* Shocking Words Stun Chance
Distracting Winds Cooldown
Writ of Health Healing
Pulses Prelude to Hope
Writ of Fire Damage
Essence of Flame Damage

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool B

** Ceaseless Argument Power Cost
* Target Shocking Touch Resist Rating
Chilling Rhetoric Cooldown
Frozen Epilogue Cooldown
Do Not Fall This Day Cooldown
Word of Exaltation Cooldown
Mending Verse Healing
Epic for the Ages Healing

Rune-stone Pool A

*** Fury of Storm Damage
** Battle Attuned Skill Power Cost
Healing Attuned Skill Power Cost
Fire Skill Damage
Healing
Wrath of Flame Damage Over Time
Healing Over Time

Rune-stone Pool B

*** Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier
*** Target All Skills Resist Rating
* Vivid Imagery Targets
Steady Attuned Skill Power Cost
Chill of Winter Damage
Distracting Flame Cooldown
Chill of Winter Debuff Duration
Glorious Foreshadowing Duration

Fire

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool A

*** Writ of Fire Damage
** Essence of Flame Damage
** Self Motivation Power Return
* Shocking Words Stun Chance
Distracting Winds Cooldown
Writ of Health Healing
Pulses Prelude to Hope
Scribe's Spark Damage

Rune-keeper Satchel Pool B

* Target Shocking Touch Resist Rating
Chilling Rhetoric Cooldown
Frozen Epilogue Cooldown
Do Not Fall This Day Cooldown
Word of Exaltation Cooldown
Mending Verse Healing
Epic for the Ages Healing
Ceaseless Argument Power Cost

Rune-stone Pool A

*** Wrath of Flame Damage Over Time
** Fire Skill Damage
** Battle Attuned Skill Power Cost
Healing Attuned Skill Power Cost
Fury of Storm Damage
Healing
Healing Over Time

Rune-stone Pool B

*** Target All Skills Resist Rating
Steady Attuned Skill Power Cost
Chill of Winter Damage
Fury of Storm Critical Multiplier
Vivid Imagery Targets
Distracting Flame Cooldown
Chill of Winter Debuff Duration
Glorious Foreshadowing Duration

LotRO - Minstrel - Legendaries

I mostly use my Minstrel for raids. Therefore my recommodations are mainly for raids.

As we know, there are two pools for LIs:

Minstrel Songbook Pool A

•Target Ballad Resist Rating 2/4 is OK, but not great
•Healing and Motivation Skills Morale Healing 4/4 must have
•Raise the Spirit Healing 3/4
•Bolster Courage Healing 4/4 must have
•Inspire Fellows Healing 2/4
•Ballad of War Magnitude 3/4 good if grouping with melee classes
•Healing Skills Power Cost 3/4 good for longer fights

Minstrel Songbook Pool B

•Target Song Resist Rating 2/4
•Chord of Salvation Cooldown 3/4 I like to use this skill, no wonder I run out of power that often.
•Echoes of Battle Resistance Rating Debuff 1/4
•Cry of the Chorus Cooldown 2/4
•Song of the Dead Cooldown 1/4 (This has become a bit better with Morfears on LT fight)
•Ballad of Unshakable Will Fear Resistance 1/4
•Ballad of Flame Fire Defence 1/4

Main Hand Weapon Pool A

•Triumphant Spirit Cooldown 2/4 even though I use this skill, reducing CD is not that important
•Call to War Skills Resistance Chance 3/4
•Piercing Cry Damage 3/4
•Call of Oromë Damage 3/4
•Soliloquy of Spirit Heal Over Time Pulses 2/4 don't use this much
•Rally! Cooldown 4/4 for groups a must have
•Healing Threat 3/4 sounds good, not sure how good it is

Main Hand Weapon Pool B

•Call of the Second Age Targets 3/4
•Call to Fate Critical Multiplier 2/4
•Recovery time Still as Death 3/4 (I had this on 1/4 but when you got a lot of wipes, this becomes more interesting)
•Tier 1 Ballad Damage 2/4 better for solo than groups
•Tier 2 Ballad Damage 2/4 better for solo than groups
•Target Resist Cry of Valar 2/4 good for CC
•Cure Fear Cooldown 1/4 (usually you have a Captain for the fears, so this becomes useless, it also has a short range and you need to look towards the person you wan't to use this skill on).