Task Items

[Alex66]

Can't completely avoid it due to crafting, but that's acceptable. I'd skip crafting, but several sites have said that Crit Crafted Gear is much better than anything that drops pre-45.

Crafted "blue" gear is THE BEST you can hope for in your quest towards the endgame. Period. That said, your crafters have to be in appropriate craft guilds, earn rep to be able to craft blues etc. Some of that costs Turbine Points, which you can earn by completing achievements in-game. In fact you can earn enough to halve the cost of buying zones (or, if you watch out for sales in the Lotro store, to get you through the entire game just by spending currency you earn in-game). I have one lifetime VIP sub that takes care of guild bank etc, the rest of my team are more than capable to pay theyir way for new zones.