With U21 (Mordor expansion) we are introduced to Radiance 2.0. For those that do not recall, there used to be a Radiance/Gloom end game system back when level 65 was the cap (2009) and it was removed with Echos of the Dead in 2011 as it failed to execute as planned.

The Devs have gone back to the drawing board and re-launched what appears to be a cleaner system; Light / Shadow.

Light of Earendil / Shadow of Mordor System

When you enter Mordor you will experience a new system that balances Light vs. Shadow.

Areas of Shadow can be found in varying intensities throughout Mordor. These areas weaken visitors, but the Light of Eärendil can counteract this darkness. Your character will see a Shadow and Light Rating, which will help you understand the threat posed by the Shadow.





The light coloured bar represents the Light of Eärendil and the purple bar represents the Shadow of Mordor. When it is in the middle it is balanced (zero).

The deeper you go in to Mordor the more Shadow of Mordor is applied to you. You can counter this by wearing gear that gives you + “x” Light of Eärendil. Items that grant the Light of Eärendil can be found in Mordor (currently the best sets give +20 Light with the Pocket Items getting up to +30 and an off hand of +4; maximum is 314 Light of Eärendil).

If your Effective Shadow is greater than zero you will experience a debuff called Shadow of Mordor. It will reduce your Incoming Healing by “X” percent, increase your Incoming Damage by “Y” percent, and decrease your Outgoing Damage by “X” percent.

Shadow Tier IC Healing IC Damage Outgoing Damage 1 -5% +10% -5% 2 -10% +20% -10% 3 -15% +30% -15% 4 -20% +40% -20% 5 -25% +50% -25% 6 -30% +60% -30% 7 -35% +70% -35% 8 -40% +80% -40% 9 -45% +90% -45% 10 -50% +100% -50%

The current max tier is 10, but there are areas that spike to 140 Shadow (presumably these may be sites for the upcoming raid) in which case maybe the tiers will go beyond 10.

There are no bonuses given for having more Light than Shadow.

—————————————————————————-

If you would like to support my efforts with Dadi’s LOTRO Guides, or maybe just buy me a beer, click the donate button below 🙂