I was a very big cheerleader for Lord of the Rings Online when it first launched. Since Druid was not an option, I went with Minstrel, the default healer in the game who had some dps capacity. I like healing. I like spell damage. Sounded like a good plan. But something happened when I finishing out my quests in The Shire in my mid-teens. I lost my motivation to continue.

This is not unusual for me. I play many different games and many alts on each. When one game gets too grindy or repetitive, I focus on one of the others for a few months. However, I talked my crazy World of Warcraft buddy Claus into trying a hunter in LotRO and he never looked back. As the level difference between us grew, I became even more desponded in catching up with him.

Then last night, I got on the Test server and got insta-leveled to 30 to check out the new Lore-master changes in the latest patch. For those of you new to LotRO, a Lore-master is a pet class (creatures of the forest) with some spell dps (lightning and fire), some necromantic type emergency healing (they give up health to heal others), and some very good crowd control (roots, stuns, mezzes, etc.) Versatile, but overall kind of blah.

But last week on the Test server, they got many new enhancements. And a rogue-based pet (a high damage, lowish health, stealth Lynx). And I fell in love. I realized why I stopped playing over the summer. Healing with some DPS is not really my playstyle of choice. Versatility that includes healing and dps is what rocks my boat. And the new revamped Lore-masters are exactly that. Plus, they are nature-based. Another core reason I play Druids in most games.

So, night night little Hobbit minstrel. Back to your warm, clean house in Michel Delving where you get 6 square meals and visit from a Sacksville-Baggins if you’re unlucky. Hello, Elven Lore-master. How I ever missed that your animal-calling, lighting-throwing, enemy-rooting, fire-summoning, life-giving, ancient-ways-knowing versatility were all the hallmarks of Druidism is beyond me. But there is one thing I know now: I’ve found my path.