pos

Minstrels were introduced to three new trait sets in Mines of Moria:

  • Watcher of Resolve - a healing trait set

  • Warrior-Skald - DPS, DPS, DPS

  • Protector of Song - group/solo skills for buffing and enhancement

This build article will focus on Protector of Song, a great all-around trait set for soloing and grouping, and the one that I currently use almost all of the time. Of course, your mileage may vary!

traitscreen

This is the current build I’m running as a 60 Minstrel. As you can see, I’ve got 4 traits slotted in Protector of Song, and 3 traits in Watcher of Resolve. This gives me all of the PoS benefits, and 3 that help with healing. All in all, a good grouping/healing set up, and here’s why.

First, let me break down the individual traits I have slotted, what they do, and how you get them.

Protector of Song (Yellow)

  • **S****mooth Voice** - Transforms Ballad of Vigour and Ballad of Balance to songs that affect your entire Fellowship. Song of Vigor gives +50 Vitality, and Song of Balance gives +742 evade. Obtainable by using Piercing Cry 600 times (starts at level 1).

  • Flow of Harmony - Gives -50% power cost to active Tales. Obtainable by using any tale 150 times (not sure what level, let me know if you know!)

  • Glorious Anthem - The duration of your Anthems are increased by 15 seconds. Obtained by completing the Class Quest A Minstrel’s Hope at level 30.

  • Strength of Voice - The duration of all of your ballads are increased by 10 seconds. Obtained by using Ballad of War 500 times after level 30.

Watcher of Resolve (Blue)

  • Graceful Demeanor - Adds +20% morale and +30% power when you revive someone. Obtained by using Enlivening Grace (res) 100 times after level 20.

  • Life-singer - Gives -10% healing power cost. Obtained by using your healing songs 1000 times after level 10

  • Subtle Movements - Using your skills draws less threat with this trait slotted. Obtained by using Song of Soothing 300 times after level 20.

In a nutshell, the following is what you gain by slotting these specific skills:

  • -15% Healing Power cost

  • +10% Chord of Salvation healing

  • -60 seconds Call to Greatness cooldown

  • +25 seconds ballad duration

  • Improved Tale of Warding and Improved Tale of Battle (increased armor rating and wound resist, respectively)

  • -50% Tale Power cost

  • +20% morale and +30% power when rezzing

  • +15 seconds anthem duration

  • reduced threat

I haven’t earned the Legendary trait for PoS yet, which you get after completing Volume 2, Book 6. In order to use it, you need to slot 5 traits in the PoS line, so when I do earn it, I’ll probably switch out Subtle Movements for Battle-hymn, which gives you ICMR when you use Anthem of the Valar. The PoS Legendary trait is called Master of Tales, and here’s what it does for you:

masteroftales

I’ll personally be using Tale of Warding and Heroism 24/7 once I have that slotted, since the benefits are way too good to pass up, and with Flow of Harmony slotted, it’s even better. Some Minstrels prefer to not run Tales during group situations to save on power usage, but I’ve found that the power costs are overwhelmed by the benefits you gain by leaving one on, usually Tale of Heroism for the Fate/Will bonus.

I run this build mostly due to the great benefits I’m able to provide for any Fellowship I join, along with the decreased healing cost and reduced threat. I’ve found that the benefits gained by running this build compared to running an all WoR build far outweigh anything I would gain by slotting in that trait set, and I’ve used it to successfully heal groups in Radiance Instances, book instances, and general questing. I also use it when I solo, and sometimes switch out one of the WoR traits for Unrelenting from Warrior-Skald, which adds a stun to my Piercing Cry. This build does not let you do as much damage as you would if you ran in total Skald, and you definitely kill slower. However, you do gain the benefit of increased ballad duration, lower power costs, and a higher armor rating when using Tale of Warding, so it can be useful. I don’t switch out my traits very often due to the costs, so this build suits me just fine.

If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you!