I'm So ConfusedFollow

But we'll try not to hold that against you... :)

I think you're making this more complicated than it has to be.

You have 14 days to decide whether or not you like the game, not to roll up the "perfect" character and take him to the level cap!

So pick something you'll be comfortable with and go from there.

Lets start with the holy trinity;

Tank - in LoTRO your basic tank is a Guardian
Healer - here abouts, the only full time healer is a minstrel
DPS - if you like ranged combat choose a hunter if you prefer melee combat choose champion

For the moment, lets ignore captains, burglars and loremasters since their role in game tends to be more complex and will probably take you a bit longer to get the hang of... UNLESS you really have a thing for pet classes (loremaster) or crowd control (captains & burglars).

Choose your race based on what you like the most. There is no real penalty or bonus attached to any race so you should pick the one(s) you prefer the look of.

Choose any server. In theory, you're only going to be around for a couple of weeks and for the beginning player they're really all just about the same.

If & when you start a paid subscription, you'll have the option to create up to 5 characters on each and every server in the system without ever deleting a single one, so what you create during the free trial will never be a factor in the future.

Don't worry about crafting, no one makes any real money from it in this game! There will be plenty of time after the trial to choose which money sink you prefer!

And when the character is rolled up and you're ready to actually play, it gets even easier! The opening section of this game is so well thought out and the tutorials so detailed, you'll be an expert long before your 2 weeks are up!

Good luck and welcome! But most of all, HAVE FUN!

A dwarf champ is a fine choice and will be a good way to get your feet wet and see if you like playing in Middle Earth.

Have fun and once again, welcome!

Just to clarify something, Captains are absolutely not crowd control. We're more along the lines of support in all walks of life... we can heal a bit, tank a bit, do a small amount of dps (compared to other classes). We have one whopping crowd control skill, and that's only with a trait applied to one of our normal skills.

Edited, Jun 19th 2008 10:46pm by Paradox

I wanted to add that the burglar can be a very fun class to start with. I started with a burglar and find it to be a very satisfying class. The class excels solo (using your vast bag of tricks to take out signature monsters that are a higher level than you, sneak through areas and complete quests or find treasure that would usually demand a fellowship, feels good), and adds plenty to fellowship dynamics in the form of combos, crowd control, and debuffs.

In my opinion the burglar only has a few negatives for beginners: mediocre DPS from levels 1-25, which can be a turn off for a beginner, and very frenetic combat to play successfully, which can increase the learning curve. However, your burst damage increases heavily at level 26 on. And, though combat on a burglar is more involved than other classes I've tried, it makes the game more fun in the end, in my opinion.

All in all, I highly recommend burglar as your first class.