Just bought the 9.99$ package from Turbine including Moria, great deal i think.  Anyway this is a brand new account, last time i played the game was over a year ago.  So i'm starting fresh, i would like to know what class is the most "newbie" friendly and why ? 

I would go with a Warden if you like the tank type, and Rune keeper if you like to nuke/heal. Although i did die alot with my Rune Keeper ( but am nke happy )

I would argue that the Hunter is the most newbie freindly.  They have a ton of single target DPS so they kill fast.  They also get a lot of travel and escape abilities (runspeed buff, teleports).  They are also fairly simple to run, no oddball comboes to memorize.  All this makes them very good characters for a new player to explore the game with.

For proffession I would highly reccomend explorer, particularly if you end up playing a class that wears cloth or leather armor.  You will be able to make decent armor for yourself, and you'll make a ton of money selling ore on the AH.

My first toon in LoTRO was a Loremaster / Historian.  I don't think I could have possibly made the early game harder on myself...

Originally posted by Yeebo

I would argue that the Hunter is the most newbie freindly.  They have a ton of single target DPS so they kill fast.  They also get a lot of travel and escape abilities (runspeed buff, teleports).  They are also fairly simple to run, no oddball comboes to memorize.  All this makes them very good characters for a new player to explore the game with.

For proffession I would highly reccomend explorer, particularly if you end up playing a class that wears cloth or leather armor.  You will be able to make decent armor for yourself, and you'll make a ton of money selling ore on the AH.

My first toon in LoTRO was a Loremaster / Historian.  I don't think I could have possibly made the early game harder on myself...

For a newbie person to the game I would go with exactly what Yeebo said.

Originally posted by Zandora2018

I would go with a Warden if you like the tank type, and Rune keeper if you like to nuke/heal. Although i did die alot with my Rune Keeper ( but am nke happy )

It's funny, as soon as I saw the title the first thing that came to mind was "anything BUT the Warden".

Not because the Warden is great or interesting. I would say it is probably the most interesting class that the game has. However, as for "noob friendly" I would say that it has a lot more player involvement and unless the OP (or anyone for that matter) has a lot of mmo or game experience and can adapt very quickly to different types of control schemes for classes I would say hold off on the Warden.

There are just so many gambits to memorize that it might not be for everyone. I recall speaking with a Kin member who said that he had to have a cheat sheet just to remind him of some of the gambits when he started out.

As for what another poster said about the hunter, I actually don't like the way the Hunter plays in LOTRO and prefer the archer styles of L2 or Guild Wars. So I found the Hunter sort of cumbersome. I also think part of this was my issue because it drove me nuts that I could be facing slightly askew to my target and yet still fire and hit my target. I was constantly trying to line up my character to my target. So that was my issue.

My suggestion would be a Champion. Simple, straight forward "clobber monkey".

Just my two cents.

Really almost any class you play can be considered "noob friendly" - Turbine does a great job at describing all of the new combat skills / spells / abilities you gain as you level up - Just read the description and it should be pretty easy to figure out what to do! 

The Warden is a little more advanced, in that you really only have 4-5 skills on your quickslots to deal with, and the order in which you use those skills will unlock "Gambit" moves - so it does take a little more memorization - but its not THAT hard.

Guardian is pretty easy to play, Champ is easy, Hunter is super easy - Capt / Lore-Master / Burglar are a little tougher, but they all make great support classes and are very valuable in groups.

The great thing about this game, you can make up to 7 characters per server - try out a few different classes up to lvl 14 or so - wont take that long, and you will get a good feel for how they play.

Good luck, and welcome to Middle-earth!

I'd suggest Hunter, high dps and easy travels. Runekeepers are easy to solo, but be aware that you could be healing a lot in groups.

i was a newbie and went with Rune Keeper and enjoyed it a lot and never really had any problems. In fact its kinda fun and interesting with the rune meter thingy to keep track of it.

I would suggest Hunter as well. 

Originally posted by natuxatu

i was a newbie and went with Rune Keeper and enjoyed it a lot and never really had any problems. In fact its kinda fun and interesting with the rune meter thingy to keep track of it.

This is the truth.
Rune Keeper class is fun and easy to get the hang of.
 

I also suggest a hunter, My first (and still my main) character  is a hunter ^^

it is a good class to start with

i am noob in lotro and i play hunter.

Hunter or Champion would be the best classes for somebody who just strt playing that game.

 I started out as a Burglar lol :P

I have to echo what was said above about the warden - it is a really great class, but not at all noob friendly (unless you are a genre veteran, maybe).

I also can't state this strongly enough: if this is your first LOTRO character take the EXPLORER trade-skillset. Leveling your trades in LOTRO gets very expensive. If you want to fully experience that part of the game you may find yourself becoming disenchanted with it due to your being broke all the time. Being an Explorer, however, can actually help make you a bunch of money via trading your harvested and refined materials.

If you are brand-new to MMORPGs go with a hunter, champ or captain - or perhaps a rune keeper. If you are veteran of WoW, EQ or other games like that then just pick the class that sounds like you would like it. None of them are really *that* hard to play for someone who is familiar with the MMO concepts and general controls.

One thing to note about many of the hunter skills and some of the othe classes' skills is that they are induction based. I think that is the right word. Similar to mage skills in WoW - meaning you will need to stand in one spot for X seconds before the skill is fired. Some people (in the past myself included) have had a hard time adjusting to it.

In this game if you start a class and by level 10-20 you aren't really enjoying it, then drop it and start another. As I've said elsewhere here, LOTRO with the wrong class for you can be boring but with the right class for you it is extremely fun.

No love for the guard? Was my first character and have the 20 survival title so can't be all that unfriendly to noobs.

Ok thanks guys for the tips, so far i made it to level 11 as a hunter, i swear leveling is way faster today then it was last time i played.   I havent choosen a tradeskill yet, but i guess i'll go Explorer like everyone suggest.   What does being explorer actually allow you to do ?   And can you only take 1 tradeskill & gathering skills ?

Originally posted by Aguitha

Ok thanks guys for the tips, so far i made it to level 11 as a hunter, i swear leveling is way faster today then it was last time i played.   I havent choosen a tradeskill yet, but i guess i'll go Explorer like everyone suggest.   What does being explorer actually allow you to do ?   And can you only take 1 tradeskill & gathering skills ?

An Explorer can make cloth or leather armor, they are actually the most self sufficient tailors in the game.  The can also process hides (to feed their tailoring), and they can gather wood and metal ore.  As you will have little use for the latter two,  sell them on the AH for giant stacks of cash.  

You will generally want to process ore for prospecting crafting XP.  You will make more crafting XP in Forester than you will ever need to max it out just boiling hides, so it's optional to process wood before you sell it.  One advantage to processing wood is that Armsmen need wood and cannot process it themselves, so you slightly increase your market.  However wood doesn't sell for nearly as much as ore regardless.

Hunter, like the others said! It's great for getting around the world as you can TP. Choose a human one as you get the Bree TP early.

Just don't start with a lore master.

 Hunter and i personally liked playing minstrel also as a newb back there.

Originally posted by Wycliffe

No love for the guard? Was my first character and have the 20 survival title so can't be all that unfriendly to noobs.

It's a very new player friendly class but I'm not sure it will fire up a new player to get excited about the game. The class I took in both closed and open beta was Champion. But I wasn't satisfied as I had a lot of resting to do.

Then I saw in the second open beta (or whatever it was... was a long time ago) that there was a player bashing things with a shield that made a satisfying "whomp".

I learned that that was the Guardian, tried it and never really looked back.

Having said that, the Guardian can kill a bit slowly for players. This might be frustrating for some, especially if one is new to the game and is trying to learn the game world and their class.

So for toughness, sure, guardian is great. But I'm not sure if a new player would get excited about the game because of it.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Just don't start with a lore master.

QFT, wish someone had told me this. It is possibly the slowest class to level in the beginning.

Originally posted by fortuente

I also can't state this strongly enough: if this is your first LOTRO character take the EXPLORER trade-skillset. Leveling your trades in LOTRO gets very expensive. If you want to fully experience that part of the game you may find yourself becoming disenchanted with it due to your being broke all the time. Being an Explorer, however, can actually help make you a bunch of money via trading your harvested and refined materials.

Not sure I agree with this. I started the game about a month or so ago. I have a hunter at level 30 (and 1/2). And I have over 4 gold (almost 5) and I've never sold or bought on the AH. All my gear is from quests. All my skills are trained to that level and all my available traits are filled. I think if your not an AH hound and just loot EVERYTHING and sell it to vendors and you'll be ok. I'm not rich but I have money and I should have plenty to get that horse at 35.

Originally posted by scottns

Originally posted by fortuente

I also can't state this strongly enough: if this is your first LOTRO character take the EXPLORER trade-skillset. Leveling your trades in LOTRO gets very expensive. If you want to fully experience that part of the game you may find yourself becoming disenchanted with it due to your being broke all the time. Being an Explorer, however, can actually help make you a bunch of money via trading your harvested and refined materials.

Not sure I agree with this. I started the game about a month or so ago. I have a hunter at level 30 (and 1/2). And I have over 4 gold (almost 5) and I've never sold or bought on the AH. All my gear is from quests. All my skills are trained to that level and all my available traits are filled. I think if your not an AH hound and just loot EVERYTHING and sell it to vendors and you'll be ok. I'm not rich but I have money and I should have plenty to get that horse at 35.

Yeah I think the game was designed really well in that you shouldn't have any problems getting a horse by 35. I was spending a lot of money on crafting on my alt (using the funds I attained on that character, not funneling from my main), yet I still gained enough for a horse by 35.