MMORPG.com Lord of the Rings Online Correspondent Jim Braner writes this guide to etiquette within a fellowship in Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online.

Forming fellowships and rising up against a mighty foe is what LotR is all about.  So with all the time spent interacting with others it is no wonder nerves are stretched thin at times.  After all, the game is played by a large variety of people coming from different backgrounds; what is fine in one may not be in another.  When grouping, try to keep a couple niceties in mind that can be broken into three categories: social, profession, and class.  To some of you this may seem painfully obvious.  But I keep seeing it done, so perhaps its not so obvious to others.

Read the Guide to Fellowship Etiquette

A couple of observations here--

--I have found that, in playing a mini, throwing heals around draws far more threat than any damage you do. Moreover, dealing (some) damage to the mob (for a mini) is often the best way to buff the fellowship.

--Mez-breaking is unfortunate; one thing I wish Guardians and other melee types would do more often is to back away from nearby mezzed mobs so that it is less likely the mez will get broken prematurely by someone. Ideally, a mezzed mob will be mezzed *away* from the main fight, but that's not always possible. I always try to do this on my guardian, but it seems like many tanks are oblivious of nearby mezzes.

--I absolutely do not care who gets what nodes or chests, though it's nice if people ask first, I guess.

--Fellowships that are going to be together for any length of time should also agree on the fellowship maneuver they are going to use beforehand. I usually specify RRRRRB or something like that in fellowships with random players (PUGs). If the group gets those right, I'll suggest trying some of the better, but more difficult maneuvers.

My biggest fellowship-related peeve?

Getting invited to a fellowship for an instance or quest and finding that they are already half done with it. That, I must say, really bugs me. People advertising for more players to complete half-done or "nearly completed" instances should say so plainly in the LFF channel.

I wish more people would announce which mob they're mezzing or that they're about to mezz.  If you're marked for voice chat, but you don't have a mic, let your fellowship know.  Try to communicate which mob you're pulling, generally the one on the left or the one on the right?  Always the highest level one?  Always the mob in the front (the first to TAB to) or the one in the back?  Do you prefer mezzing melee mobs or ranged mobs?

As a tank, I generally try to draw aggro -- I try to pull mobs to me so that they aren't bashing on the other people in the fellowship.  Since two mobs beating on a single person in a row do more damage than two mobs beating on a single person at the same time (in simple terms, 1+1=3), if there's another tank who's fighitng a mob, then I'll try to pull a second mob onto me and off of that other tank.  Once that other mob has turned his attention to me, then I'll turn my attention back to the first mob so that we can all burn it down faster then all turn our attention back ot the second mob.

I can't tell you how many times I've shouted a cry or clicked a ranged skill as the mobs run towards us because of some dopey hunter thinking he's cool and deciding to pull with heartseeker or some nonsense like that, only to see the mob suddenly stop and become mezzed just before my attack animation finishes and the attack hits the mob.  Sometimes, I'll try to pull a mob off of someone else in the middle of the fight just as the cooldown expires on someone elses mezz and again I'll attack just as the mob is mezzed.  This happens as a Guardian, as a Captain, as a Warden (especially as a Warden, since they have more ranged attacks).

I'm not a mind reader.  I can't predict how you're going to mezz or who you're going to mezz.  Most fellowship fights feature 3 or more mobs (if there's only one mob, then the question is moot, obviously) so while I try to pull one and someone else pulls a second and a third is mezzed, well, sometimes we all just happen to pick the same mob.  Most of the time, this isn't a problem, but every so often I'll group with a loremaster or burglar who just seems to think a little differently than I do.

Communication is key.

Is "mezmorize" now the currently accepted spelling of "mezmerize" or does just nobody proofread the articles posted here?

I think looting is also an important part of the etiquette. It bothers me to see players needing on everything, especially for things that they can't use.

- You should greed what you want, and need what you actually need/can use

- If there is a class item, never press on need unless it is for your class

- Just because the price is good of said item, DO NOT need it

There are probably more that should be said about looting, so feel free to add to the list.

@Banaticus, good one on calling out mobs. It will be nice if Turbine lets you call out your target with alias...like EverQuest does.

@Dornburger, good catch, thank you.

@soponyal, I totally forgot about the looting! I love the need/greed/pass, but it is so abused.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for making a post from the ranks of the right-minded!

I play a loremaster too, and have been through my fair share of irritation at having my Blinding Flash mezzes broken.  ("Mez" as short for Mesmerise, is WoWspeak, so don't even start on the correct spelling.  LOTRO calls this a Daze effect!) 

I've also thrown some Flashes at completely stupid times,  and been glad people ignored them.  If a fight isn't going to be challenging it really is going to be quicker and more efficient to just let the Grauniads pull them in with area-affecting taunt damage, the Champers kill the whole cluster with their AoE, etc.  The sort of crowd control a Loremaster is expected to exert is not the only way.

(If 1+1 =3 for more reasons than PC AoE powers, though, I need more explanation!)

I'm honestly not sure whether a group should be practising its better teamwork -- and how to make best use of its loremaster -- or not.  But communication, especially from the leader, is what's needed to decide how it's going to be.

Need/Greed/Pass is a fine system, somewhat abused, but also much misunderstood (especially by non English-speakers, as on the English-language servers in Europe).  I sympathise with people rejecting the word Greed because greed is bad, and failing to understand the ironic way it's named.

My biggest beef is probably the extent to which people who just want to grind a quest with their umpteenth alt will run through it mashing mobs along the shortest route to the destination, kill the boss, disband and b****er off without ever saying a word.  When I'm doing a quest for the first time and don't already know the map, this might get me the Quest Completion handed to me on a plate, but it leaves me cold.  That's not why I play.

 --Os.

" My biggest beef is probably the extent to which people who just want to grind a quest with their umpteenth alt will run through it mashing mobs along the shortest route to the destination, kill the boss, disband and b****er off without ever saying a word. When I'm doing a quest for the first time and don't already know the map, this might get me the Quest Completion handed to me on a plate, but it leaves me cold. That's not why I play.

--Os."

 

This last bit, is why I don't group with anyone. Granted, it would be easier for me if I wasn't still a total noob at this game, but still.. LOTRO is very atmospheric. And I don't want other people ruining my good time on quests. So, I solo. Slow, but steady. [But not really that "steady"!]