Rune-keeper (LotRO Class)  

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Rune-keeper
Critical TypeTactical
RacesDwarf, Elf
Skill LevelAdvanced
RoleNuker / Healer
Skills Traits
Contents [hide]
Rune-keeper
Lord of the Rings Online
Wikibase™
Classes

Rune-keepers are gifted linguists and masters of true names. With this knowledge, a Rune-keeper crafts powerful rune-words that help the Free Peoples. Through unparalleled mastery of Certh and Tengwar runes, a Rune-keeper evokes much more than a normal scribe.

The Rune-keeper is powerful, but must choose between damage and healing. the Attunment a Rune-keeper is at determines if damaging Dagor (Battle) skills or restorative Nestad (Healing) skills can be used. At all times, the utility skills of Thalas (Steady) may be used, but will reduce your Attunement.

Quests

The following quests can be started by talking to any Rune-keeper Trainer when you have reached the appropriate level, and are important to your progress.

  1. An Eye in the Storm<s> (15)
  2. The Word of a Healer<s> (30)

Learned in Letters

Rune-keeper Trainer<s>Dardúr<s>

  1. Meaning Upon Meaning (50)
  2. Deep Secrets of Rune-craft (50) - rewards Legendary trait That Which Does Not Kill Us.
    1. A Worthy Garment (50)
    2. Hewing a New Stone (50) - can be started after finishing step 1 in A Worthy Garment.

Legendary Traits

When you reach level 39 you can buy 3 special books. These create Deeds for you and you will find pages to these books on Human foes in Misty Mountains, Angmar, Eregion and Forochel. Completion of a book gains you a Legendary trait.

  • Golu o Maeth - Martial Training
  • Thunder and Flame - Fall to Our Wrath
  • Whispers in the Dark - Steady Hands

Satchels

There are three Satchels, each with numerous levels or quality, that give bonuses to certain aspects of the Rune-keeper. Choose the right satchel for the right job!

  • Rune-satchel of Dagor - Nuking - Increases the chance for Shocking Touch to stun your target by x%.
  • Rune-satchel of Nestad - Healing - Decreases power cost of any Healing Attuned skills and adds an additional x pulses to your Prelude to Hope.
  • Rune-satchel of Thalas - Support - Decreases power cost of any Steady Attuned skills and reduces targets resistance to Shocking Touch by x.

Attunements

Attunement Meter
Attunement Meter
The Rune-Keeper dances along the edge of a razor between Combat and Healing (harmful and helpful energies). The meter displays the Rune-Keepers current balance between these two extremes. In addition to the Power cost of a rune the description will also display information about the requirements and attunements in  (spirit),  (healing), or  (damage). Some runes will require that you not currently have the burden of any of the opposite energy on your spirit. Others will require that you have at least a certain amount of one or the other to power the rune.

Each skill will tell in its description what it Attunes and Requires. Requires is not a cost and using that skill does not spend the attunement. Only time, use of runes, or runes that attune  will move the meter.

The result of all this is that certain runes cannot be used initially in combat but must be prepared for use. Lets examine a possible casting sequence with the goal of maximizing damage by casting Writ of Fire, Shocking Words and Essence of Storm, which requires 3, 3 and 6  , respectively.

This table illustrates a level 17 Rune-Keeper. Higher level players would do more damage but the principle remains the same. We recommend that you hold off on Fall to Storm until mid-cycle. Yes, it will weakens the target vs. all Lightning damage for 1 minute, increasing the likelihood that your other runes will hit and possibly resulting in additional damage, but it moves the meter in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Damage on the DOTs shown assume that the DOT runs to completion before the target dies.

Make no mistake, there are probably better sequences to use than this. This is just to illustrate the principles involved. For instance, you could open with Rune of Restoration, then Fall to Storm to instantly reset Attunement to Balanced. In fact, since out-of-combat Attunement fades so much faster, it is not a bad idea to do Rune of Restoration, Prelude to Hope and Mending Verse just before pulling, then just wait a couple of seconds before pulling to give the Healing energy time to fade.

Rune SkillAttunesRequiresDamageAttunementCommentsTotal Damage
Fiery Ridicule1  No  89 - 1231  Fire DOT89 - 123
Ceaseless Argument1  No  35 - 472  Lightning damage124 - 170
Scribe's Spark1  --44 - 633  Lightning damage168 - 233
Writ of Fire1  3  114 - 1624  Fire DOT282 - 395
Fall to Storm1  --none3  Weakens target vs. Lightning282 - 395
Shocking Words1  3  71 - 1024  Lightning damage, possible stun353 - 497
Ceaseless Argument1  No  35 - 475  Lightning damage388 - 544
Scribe's Spark1  --44 - 636  Lightning damage432 - 607
Essence of Storm1  6  42 - 587  Lightning damage474 - 665
Note that Attunement will naturally progress towards Spirit in a short time. This time is shorter when out-of-combat, making it very hard to use Healing runes that require more than 2  when not in combat.

The Runes used on the Attunement Meter contain some clues to the meanings. Bear in mind that the devs have a tendency to simply transcribe the English phonemes into runes. The central rune, which looks a bit like an "h", is from the Tengwar, rank I grade 3 rune 9, which is normally assigned the sound of "th" and is probably being used by the devs to suggest thalas but by all rights should represent the Quenya meaning of the name for this rune, thúle or súle (meaning "spirit"). The left-hand rune, looking vaguely like a broken "F", is from the Dwarven runes called the Angerthas Moria, rune 9, commonly assigned the "d" sound (for Dagor). The right-hand rune is also from the Tengwar, rank I grade 5 rune 17, resembling an "m" but representing the "n" sound, is named númen which means "west" (to the elves "The West" means only The Undying Lands, a place of final peace and healing). Directly under the Spirit rune is the same rune again but with a vowel mark over it which appears to be the mark for an "e" which would render the sound as "the" but taken with the Quenya meaning of the rune it probably translates something like "Soul" indicating the weight of action upon it.[1]

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  1. ^ The Return of the King, Appendix E, pp 396-404

This page last modified 2010-09-13 13:24:09.