Annuminas Instances Guide

[Silirien]

Found the original guide here: http://www.pooh.cz/lotro/ and decided to post it here in case the other site goes down or whatever, and so we can add our own observations.

Author of the original version: Daniel Do?ekal

Editorial history:
08.09.16 - Updated Shingrinder fight in Haudh Valandil, taking bugged knockback into consideration.
08.06.08 - Posted the guide, added some remarks to Dolvaethor fight.

[Silirien]

Main problem of Annuminas is insane respawn rates, almost impossible to enter instances and system of Contor Points which have to be taken. Most of ppl is unaware of this basic game mechanics. And some of Control points are unable to be taken with fellowships of six which results in unability to enjoy gameplay in this place.

[center:x86f535q]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p59/vial_of_black_dye/lotro/lotro-evendim-annuminas.jpg[/center:x86f535q]
Ranger camp - Echad Garthadir
Quest hub and vendor hub - there are bartering vendors available who offers armour in exchange for bartering items (drops from mobs in annuminas and instances). Unfortunately, hardly anything from their offering is good for mid to good equipped lvl 50 player. But the sets are pretty!

Ranger camp is always accesible by swimming around Tyl Annun or going inside Annuminas from back gate (on west side of shore). If first control point is taken, you can get a shorter route with high risk of being killed by dozens of lvl 50 and Elite mobs on the way. Still taking at least first point is good idea as it can speed up lot of things

There is no death respawn point in Annuminas, you will retreat on little island near Tinnundir and it takes ages and lot of troubles to get back. So better not to die.

If you die inside any instances, you will respawn at Ranger Camp and usually there is no way how you can safely return to instances you need. Call it whatever name you want, I call it stupid.

It's important to understand mechanics of Control Points

Control Points can be captured by players, when taken into control, friendly NPCs will spawn there - they offer usually new quests (giving and returning) and their presence is important as it opens various instances. When Control Point is lost, you can not return to instance, for example.

It is important to not to pull hostile monsters to control points as it will cause wipe of friendly npcs and control point will be lost. Players do not gain killing credit when NPCs kill monster, so its basically useless to use this common tactics!

Map of annuminas:
http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p59/vial_of_black_dye/lotro/th_lotro-map-annuminas-details.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p59/vial_of_black_dye/lotro/lotro-map-annuminas-details.jpg

CONTROL POINTS
First control point - GWAELBAND - on map the North West one opens a gate between this point and Ranger camp. Easy to take down with fellowship (not even need to have full one).

Second control point - CLORHIR - on map its south one - opens access to nice, short and not really hard Annuminas instance which is also place of first quests you get there. This COntrol Point is impossible to take with one fellowships as killing monsters there triggers event with more waves coming and there are too many EMs. Also when wiped there, Control Point will have even more monsters as those spawned from waves will not despawn.

Owning Clorhir opens access to Glinghast instance (also called Gardens of Annuminas).

Third control point - TIRBAND - on map east one - is also place where you have to finish one from quests killing a EM guarding that point. It's possible to take it with fellowships, but you have to be carefull.

Owning TIRBAND and CLORHIR opens gates at bridge leading to Tyl Annun island where other instances are located - Ost Elendil and Haudh Valandil.

Owning all three points is a must for finishing all instances in there.

[Silirien]

GLINGHAST INSTANCE (Gardens)
Middle difficulty instance, accesible only when CLORHIR Control Point owned. Glinghant is a relatively small, linear instance that can be completed within an hour. A full fellowship of six players is required to gain access to the one and only boss. All players should come prepared with 20 or more Pure Flask of Conhuith and Pure Flask of Lhinestad since the Darkwater mobs cast lots of fear effects and diseases.

Four terraces, each with a large body of water in the middle that flows down via waterfalls from the fourth and final terrace, make up most of the instance. There are stairs that lead up from one terrace to the next on either side of these pools. Access to each terrace beyond the first one is blocked by sets of gates, which are controlled by six levers on the first terrace. A non-hostile Flickering Limrafn moves back and forth among the levers to indicate which ones need to be pulled to open the next set of gates. The levers always need to be pulled simultaneously, and failure to pull them correctly results in a set of Darkwater mobs spawning.

First Terrace
A lot of Darkwater mobs, along with some Angmarim can be found here. The entire area should be cleared before pulling the north-west and north-east levers simultaneously.

Second Terrace
As the gates open, two High Sorceresses (one at either gate) will engage and begin summoning Tormented Horrors. They need to be interrupted and defeated before summoning too many adds and overwhelming the fellowship. Proceed onto the middle of the terrace, triggering an event in which Nengon commends you for solving the first riddle. Pull the lever in the middle to begin the event, which causes Nengon to disappear and numerous waves of Darkwaters to spawn. They will engage in groups of two or three, and there are approximately six waves. After all of them are defeated, head back down to the first terrace and pull the following three levers simultaneously to access the third terrace: north-west, south-west, east.

Third Terrace
This terrace has three sets of three Darkwaters each; pulling one of a type pulls all three. There are also three Stagnant Oaks, which activate one at a time as each set of Darkwaters is defeated. Stay back at one of the gates and pull the waves one at a time, then take down the Stagnant Oaks last. Head back down to the first terrace, and pull all six levers simultaneously to access the final terrace.

Fourth Terrace
This is the last terrace, on which Nengon can be found. Engaging and then carefully positioning him against the wall without a waterfall means that although Nengon's adds spawn they do not aggro (this might not be possible after b13 update - is fo, just DPS him down while trying to crwod-control as many adds as possible). He has a nasty knock-back ability so it is a good idea to stand with your back to the wall to avoid being thrown into the adds.

[Silirien]

OST ELENDIL
(info taken from http://www.Lotro-Wiki.com)

Location
Ost Elendil was the seat of power in the former kingdom of Arnor. It contains the throne room from whence the kings of old would rule their once-grand empire.
The entrance is located on the fortified island of Tyl Annûn overlooking Annúminas from the north, at approximately [15.9S, 69.4W].
In order to access the instance, the Free Peoples must control the camps of Gwaelband and Tirband. Controlling these points will open the gates that lead over the bridge connecting to Tyl Annûn. From Tirband, proceed north-west until reaching the bridge, then head on over it. The instance entrance to Ost Elendil is straight ahead, on the left upon coming up several flights of stairs.

Strategy
Ost Elendil is a short but very difficult instance, and can be completed within an hour if there are no fellowship wipes.

From the entrance hall, proceed to clear one or two pulls of Angmarim until reaching the main hall just beyond. At the end of the hall, Guloth awaits along with six Elder Morelendil Guard adds. The guards will not attack players who walk by, but walking up the stairs towards Guloth activates the first boss encounter. Before engaging Guloth, the south-west chamber must be cleared. All six chambers adjacent to the main hall contain Tormented Spirit mobs.

Players will notice a Counterweight hanging from the ceiling at the back of each room. Activating one will open the window behind it, and a brilliant light shines through the south-facing ones. This light is known as The Light That Burns, because it instantly defeats any Morelendil Guard and Elder Morelendil Guard that move into it, transforming them into Tormented Spirit mobs. These spirits have a Shadow Shroud buff, making them very difficult to defeat. This can be counteracted by drawing them into Exposing Light, located in the center of the main hall in front of the stairs leading up to Guloth. Note that The Light That Burns only lasts for a set duration of time after the window is opened, so it will have to be re-opened after a little while to refresh the light.

After Guloth and his guards are defeated, head up the stairs and down the passage into the throne room. As with the main hall, the south windows of the throne room can be opened to let The Light That Burns shine inside. On the opposite side of the room, the light shines through stained glass windows in two different locations onto the ground. This is where Exposing Light is present. Sitting on the throne at the far end of the room is Balhest, the second and final boss. The fight is considerably difficult, requiring a lot of coordination amongst the members of the fellowship.

Once Balhest is defeated, the day is won and our heroes can finally get some rest. Don't forget to take a nice screenshot in front of the throne!

Map:
http://www.lotro-wiki.com/images/thumb/8/8e/OstElendil-Map.JPG/800px-OstElendil-Map.JPG

[Silirien]

HAUDH VALANDIL
(info taken from http://lorebook.lotro.com)

Haudh Valandil is full of nasty fear and disease effects and the water drains power. It is full of Kergrim, cave claws, and flashing Limrafns that will summon 3 elites or 1 master elite if they get too close to anyone in the group. The Limrafns can be mezzed by minstrels or sapped, can be feared, and can be stunned. It's best to get at maximum range and then lay into them and either fear or mez them if they get too close.

The instance requires a full group of 6. Lore-Masters equipped with their AoE disease and wound cleansing skill are especially useful as are Burglars and Champions. Having a Captain positioned outside of the instance is especially useful when recovering from wipes.

The instance is set up with a circular passageway which surrounds 6 central rooms, 3 on the west side and 3 on the east side. Each room contains one or two levers which opens up the next room, moving counterclockwise around the circle. Start the instance by moving down the stairs, killing the 2 patrolling Kergrims and then the two Limrafns. There is a master elite mob that patrols the circle, so keep an eye out for him.

Room 1: NW room - Pull the outside monsters back to the entrance stairs and kill them. Move inside and kill the mobs in there. 5 or so master elite cave claws will pop up out of the ground as you approach the lever. Kill them and pull the lever and move on to the next room.

Room 2: W room - Clear the outside and inside and pull the levers.

Room 3: SW room - This room has some issues with monsters resetting infinitely. Rush into the room, move as far away from the door as possible and kill of as much as you can and have people that need the relics get them and then have someone pull the lever. Some of the monsters will respawn infinitely, so ignore these until everyone is finished. Then, move outside of the room and kill off the monsters that follow.

Room 4: SE room - This room is extremely difficult. The easiest way to deal with this room is to clear go north from Room 3 and around to the east and clear everything back down the south side to Room 4. Clear the outside and inside and collect relics. Pulling the lever will pull a very large number of Limrafns and cave claws. Have everyone but a burgler or guardian go back to the NE corner of the map. The burger should pull the lever and then use HIPS and walk back out of the room. Several Limrafns will follow the burgler out but will not aggro. Have the group clear these off and continue to Room 5. If no burgler is available, have the guardian pull the lever, click on the dodge/parry/block buff and run out of the room to the north side of Room 5's step where they should wait and die. Have a minstrel resurrect him and continue on to Room 5. Alternatively, if you wish to fight to clear the room, move everyone in the group into the room as far away from the door as possible and pull the lever.

Room 5: E room - Clear the outside and inside and pull the levers.

Room 6: NE room - Clear the outside and inside and pull the lever. Five or so elites will run into the room. Kill them.

Once all the levers are pulled, a gate will open in the southern part of the instance. From Room 6, move to the NW corner of the map, then south. You will encounter a number of Limrafns that can be pulled singly or in groups of 2. Kill them off and enter the southern gate.

Climb the stairs and you will come upon Shingrinder on the bridge across the circular passageway below. He's got a nasty knockback so it is best to fight him in the groove between the braziers and the pillars, or standing on the braziers themselves. His knockback will knock you into the center of the bridge so quickly move back to the position when you get hit. Falling off the bridge will kill you. Moving everyone off the bridge will reset the encounter.
EDIT: as of today, after B14 the knockback is bugged and sends you in a random direction, which means that fighting on the bridge is no option at all. Fellowship should run towards the wall of fire and passive Dolvaethor and fight Shingrinder there. The downside is heavy dread caused by the first, which requires Hope.

After Shingrinder dies, you will face Dolvaethor. Until you approach him, he will send a single burning Limrafn down the bridge towards the group. Approaching Dolvaethor will activate an event in which he begins to rapidly summon an increasing number of burning Limrafns. Kill them as quickly as possible or they can become overwhelming. Once you fight through them, Dolvaethor will retreat further back into the instance. Please not that these Limfarins deal damage to you while you damage them, much like Rift Limfarins, so pay attention to your morale and eat before the encounter if possible.

As you follow Dolvaethor back, you will encounter 2 elite Arnorian Wights and 2 Fiery Morelendil Guard. The Fiery Morelendil Guards will be non-aggro (green) until all of the wights are defeated. If you approach the wights or hit them will a bow shot, they will run down the stairs to their left and right and activate the 6 hidden wights on each side and will return to face you with all 14. The best approach to this encounter is to have a minstrel mez one and sap, root, sneak to, or rush the 2nd and kill it before it has a chance to run down the steps and activate it's friends. Once these 2 wights are dead, you can clear out the side rooms one wight at a time. Once the last wight dies, the two Fiery Morelendil Guards will activate and engage. They seem to have random aggro, so they will move from person to person.

Once the 2 Morelendil guards are dead, you can approach Dolvaethor and the resurrected corpse of Valandil. This is a challenging fight and one that requires significant coordination. Everyone should have morale potions ready for emergency heals and have eaten food before engaging. A hope token is also a must. Because of the fact that Dolvaethor's attacks deal fire damage, it's handy to bring Ringe Salves. Valandil attacks with melee attacks and an occasional shadow damage attack and has a Greater Protection Buff which makes him resistant to most damage types other than Westernesse and Light damage. Dolvaethor is mainly a caster and has several AoE fire attacks as well as a channeling fire attack towards one member of the group. The channeling attack is an especially devastating effect and can kill a group member in several seconds unless interrupted or removed. The channeling attack may be a wound effect (unconfirmed). Dolvaethor will fall on his knees and turn to face the channel-target.

It is best to split the group up into 3 or more smaller groups and array in a way where each group far enough away from the others to avoid Dolvaethor's AoE attack against one of the other groups. Group one should be a Guardian who will pull Valandil off to the side where To the King is used as often as possible to try to get off all green CJs. Group two should be the rest of the melee attackers (Captains, Champions, and Burglars, 2nd Guardians). They should focus on slowing and interrupting Dolvaethor's spells, especially his channeling attack where he falls to his knees. A combination of all yellow CJs and all green CJs works well against Dolvaethor. Groups 3+ should be the ranged attackers and Minstrels and can spread apart as long as they stay within healing range of the minstrel. Focus on burning Dolvaethor down and on dealing with his channeling attack. Once he's down, everyone should focus on Valandil.