Lone-Lands: Garth Agarwen
Mirkwood Update: Garth Agarwen has been revamped:
- NPCs to barter for items including hope tokens using the barter token drops
- They broke the original GA into 3 sections, so if you’ve done GA before you should have a feel for which areas are which
- Arboretum – The Arboretum boasts one alternate boss creature, four optional objectives, and one challenge against Grimbark. Instance is designed for 4 players and should take between 15 and 40 minutes.
- Barrows – Another “4-man” instance which contains Ivar, another boss, and 4 optional encounters which is expected to take between 35 and 45 minutes.
- Fortress – 6 man instance with boss fights against Edan and Esyld, Vatar, Dúnlang, and of course The Red-maid, Naruhe. Challenge modes in the space include a survival battle against the Créoth leader Dúnlang, who has captured some Eglain and is attempting to convert them to the service of the Red-maid, and the Red-maid herself. Expected to take 40-50 minutes.
Full Dev Commentary on Changes they Made to Garth Agarwen:
Garth Agarwen was the first instance created for LOTRO and was in need of a revision. As we set out to make the changes necessary to bring this instance into line with the rest of the game, it became apparent that only a significant overhaul would do. Thus, the Garth Agarwen cluster was born.
The former entrance of Garth Agarwen now houses a small number of NPCs who will provide players with a little more guidance for quests that go into the public area outside of the Garth Agarwen instances. NPCs in the area will also show players the items they can earn for completing the Challenges within the spaces. These rewards include new consumable tokens to remove defeat Dread -- only defeat Dread -- of the next tier once in a twelve hour (real-time) period, and weapons and shields for player classes of Incomparable quality. These items can be used at level 32 and should be useful to players well into their mid- to late-30’s; but not so good that they overshadow or replace the better crafted items in these levels. To obtain these items, players must acquire a number of Challenge tokens and then turn them in for the various pieces. All pieces are unique and cost the same amount of tokens, save the Dread-removing tokens.
Arboretum
Passing through the arch leading to the Arboretum, players will enter a familiar area where they will find the ancient and fallen Huorn, Grimbark. The Arboretum has been altered slightly to allow for a more open feel with more visibility and game space. Mob density was thinned significantly, and unified to create less of a menagerie of creatures and a more consistent theme to the space.
The Arboretum boasts one alternate boss creature, four optional objectives, and one challenge against Grimbark. We have made a pass through the treasure profile of the great tree and his drops are now unique to him. The Arboretum should prove to be a short instance allowing players to complete it within 15-40 minutes depending on group make-up, objectives completed, space explored, and difficulty chosen. The space is designed for level 32 players and meant for a small fellowship of no greater than 4.
Barrows
Entering the gate through the once-barred gateway within the ruins of Garth Agarwen, players will first encounter the Créoth, keepers of the dead. These descendants of Rhudaur watch over the “Noble Dead” and keep them safe from outside intruders. They serve as the watch guards within the space. Like the Arboretum, mob density and thus time investment has been greatly reduced to create a space that flows much better than previous incarnations. There are some twists to the space that will keep players watching their location the entire time.
As always, the master of the Barrows, Ivar the Blood-hand, holds sway here and together with his host of Wights will do his best to dissuade players from bringing about his untimely end. Defeating Ivar will reward players with treasure from an updated treasure profile unique to Ivar alone. There is one other boss within the instance, once a rare spawn, who now bars access to Ivar and his Challenge Objective. There are also four optional objectives within this space. The instance should prove to be a roughly 35-45 minute experience for players attempting the various objectives. The Barrows are designed for level 32 players in a small fellowship of no greater than 4.
Fortress
The Fortress now stands as the 6-man instance in the cluster. It boasts three optional objectives and two Challenges. The area is meant for a full fellowship of players at roughly level 32. Bosses in the space all have unique treasure profiles, save one optional objective target who shares treasure profiles with the lesser bosses from the Arboretum and Barrows spaces. These bosses include: Edan and Esyld, Vatar, Dúnlang, and of course The Red-maid, Naruhel.
Challenge modes in the space include a survival battle against the Créoth leader Dúnlang, who has captured some Eglain and is attempting to convert them to the service of the Red-maid, and the Red-maid herself. Each is unique and difficult. The completely optional Dúnlang may prove one of the hardest experiences found in a young adventurer’s life. Naruhel’s challenge has proven difficult in testing, though not impossible, and comes with a little payoff at the end to tie together the trials of the Red-maid once and for all. Maybe…possibly?
The space, if run simply to defeat the Red-maid, will likely take no more than 40-50 minutes for a solid group. Pacing and mob layout is much improved and the optional objectives should be compelling and quick. Each fight has been refined or left as-is to heighten the experience within the space. All treasure profiles have been upgraded to make running the space worthwhile to players of the appropriate level.
The former entrance of Garth Agarwen now houses a small number of NPCs who will provide players with a little more guidance for quests that go into the public area outside of the Garth Agarwen instances. NPCs in the area will also show players the items they can earn for completing the Challenges within the spaces. These rewards include new consumable tokens to remove defeat Dread -- only defeat Dread -- of the next tier once in a twelve hour (real-time) period, and weapons and shields for player classes of Incomparable quality. These items can be used at level 32 and should be useful to players well into their mid- to late-30’s; but not so good that they overshadow or replace the better crafted items in these levels. To obtain these items, players must acquire a number of Challenge tokens and then turn them in for the various pieces. All pieces are unique and cost the same amount of tokens, save the Dread-removing tokens.
Arboretum
Passing through the arch leading to the Arboretum, players will enter a familiar area where they will find the ancient and fallen Huorn, Grimbark. The Arboretum has been altered slightly to allow for a more open feel with more visibility and game space. Mob density was thinned significantly, and unified to create less of a menagerie of creatures and a more consistent theme to the space.
The Arboretum boasts one alternate boss creature, four optional objectives, and one challenge against Grimbark. We have made a pass through the treasure profile of the great tree and his drops are now unique to him. The Arboretum should prove to be a short instance allowing players to complete it within 15-40 minutes depending on group make-up, objectives completed, space explored, and difficulty chosen. The space is designed for level 32 players and meant for a small fellowship of no greater than 4.
Barrows
Entering the gate through the once-barred gateway within the ruins of Garth Agarwen, players will first encounter the Créoth, keepers of the dead. These descendants of Rhudaur watch over the “Noble Dead” and keep them safe from outside intruders. They serve as the watch guards within the space. Like the Arboretum, mob density and thus time investment has been greatly reduced to create a space that flows much better than previous incarnations. There are some twists to the space that will keep players watching their location the entire time.
As always, the master of the Barrows, Ivar the Blood-hand, holds sway here and together with his host of Wights will do his best to dissuade players from bringing about his untimely end. Defeating Ivar will reward players with treasure from an updated treasure profile unique to Ivar alone. There is one other boss within the instance, once a rare spawn, who now bars access to Ivar and his Challenge Objective. There are also four optional objectives within this space. The instance should prove to be a roughly 35-45 minute experience for players attempting the various objectives. The Barrows are designed for level 32 players in a small fellowship of no greater than 4.
Fortress
The Fortress now stands as the 6-man instance in the cluster. It boasts three optional objectives and two Challenges. The area is meant for a full fellowship of players at roughly level 32. Bosses in the space all have unique treasure profiles, save one optional objective target who shares treasure profiles with the lesser bosses from the Arboretum and Barrows spaces. These bosses include: Edan and Esyld, Vatar, Dúnlang, and of course The Red-maid, Naruhel.
Challenge modes in the space include a survival battle against the Créoth leader Dúnlang, who has captured some Eglain and is attempting to convert them to the service of the Red-maid, and the Red-maid herself. Each is unique and difficult. The completely optional Dúnlang may prove one of the hardest experiences found in a young adventurer’s life. Naruhel’s challenge has proven difficult in testing, though not impossible, and comes with a little payoff at the end to tie together the trials of the Red-maid once and for all. Maybe…possibly?
The space, if run simply to defeat the Red-maid, will likely take no more than 40-50 minutes for a solid group. Pacing and mob layout is much improved and the optional objectives should be compelling and quick. Each fight has been refined or left as-is to heighten the experience within the space. All treasure profiles have been upgraded to make running the space worthwhile to players of the appropriate level.
Basic Info (some info from here down may be out of date now):
- Quest/Boss Levels: 30-35
- Other Names: 'GA', 'Ivar', 'Red-Maid' (Agamaur refers to the area outside of Garth Agarwen)
- Size: 4-6 Player Fellowship
- Location: Northeast of Ost Guruth in the Lone-Lands
- Lotro-Wiki Link: http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Garth_Agarwen
Notable Rewards:
- Not the best place to level up (too much effort per XP), but it does offer Eglain Reputation.
- Ivar boss drops the housing decoration item:
- The Red Maid boss drops the housing decoration item:
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(from www.thebrasse.com)
