Last updated: U48
Overview
In general, purely blue will be quite a lot slower as a tank. Certainly possible, but blue i’d rate 5/10.
Red leveling is rather quick. Once you get some aoe skills. Hurl object is however you’re only range pull. Making deeding a tad tedious. Overall 8/10.
How Brawler plays
Brawlers build Mettle with set-up skills and spend it with finisher skills. Damage rises with every point of Mettle, up to a maximum of nine, so the hardest hits come when the bar is full. Each finisher also tiers up an Innate Strength buff, which can be shared with the whole fellowship. This is one of the least-played classes, and the set-up and finisher rhythm splits opinion, so try it for a few levels before you commit.
Choosing a traitline for levelling
Blue (Fulcrum) is the tank line. Mettle Shield and strong cooldowns make it very hard to kill and best suited to bosses rather than big groups of enemies, but it levels slowly when you are on your own. Red (Maelstrom) is the damage line. It deals less damage than most classes but brings powerful group buffs and plenty of cooldowns, and it is the faster way to level.
Open a colour below for its levelling rating and screenshots of the trait tree at key levels. When you reach endgame, see the full Brawler build guides. Class mechanics summarised from the LOTRO Wiki.
