Farming Priorities | Bombadil Tips

For a new player in The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, the most important thing is to know who and when to farm. The easiest way would be to tell you 8-10 characters and to suggest you farm them until you maximize them. But, that is not the best course of action.

The reason why that is not smart is that as you progress you will stumble upon new requirements for the new Adventure Tiers and Quests. In our “Daily Routine” article, I already told you that being able to continuously meet Quest Requirements is the fastest way of progression.

But, to do so, you will have to unlock and improve some characters. That is why you will need to carefully plan your farming in the early game!

Guild Campaign

Only the first Chapter of the Guild Campaign offers characters shards as rewards. Those are the following nodes:

Chapter 1-1

Ugluk – unlock him and do not farm him before you unlock Pippin and Ghazh Ironhide. As soon as you unlock those 2 bring Ugluk to 2 stars. Ugluk is currently the Top Tier toon who can fit in any synergy considering that he has 2 Controlling abilities.

He should be farmed to at least 4 * in the mid-game because of Shadow Quest and because he is just worth it.

Chapter 1-3

Eddric – unlock him from the start so you can fill the Shadow team on early missions before you get better options – he is an insanely powerful character but you cannot make decent synergy with him early game

Chapter 1-5

Pippin Took – you want him as soon as possible. Pippin should be your priority before Ironhide. After you unlock Ironhide and bring Ugluk to 2 stars, keep in mind that you will need Pippin on 4 stars for the second Tier of Sam’s Adventure.

With the introduction of Arwen it may seem that Pippin is not priority any more, but I think otherwise, especially since he is easily farmed in first few days and he will successfully support you through first 3 Light Campaign Chapters at least

Chapter 1-7

Ghazh Ironhide – to unlock him you need 180 shards. But, when you unlock him, he will be on 4 stars.

Ghazh is worth your time. His special ability is AOE (same as his ultimate), which dispels 1 Boon to all enemies. In other words, Ghazh is crucial for your early Arena, especially against Rohan’s early setups and threatening AOEs and Provokes. Ghazh is slow but in this case that is an advantage since he will play right after Boons are placed (by Eowyn or Pippin or whoever else).

In short, start farming him as soon as you can. My advice is that you spend 3 Guild Energy Refills on the first 2 days to boost your XP and speed up Ghazh unlocking process. He will have a major impact on your Shadow Campaign progress and Arena Standing in the early game, especially if you are f2p.

Chapter 2-1

Naremiri – She is an elf Healer and cleanser. Her only attacking ability is her basic and she has a chance to enter Stealth each turn. You will have to unlock her but honestly, I would use some other Healers instead of her if you gonna assemble an- Elf/Strider synergy.

After revealing the requirements for unlocking Elrond farming her as one of the needed Elves on 5* seems a necessity. Since you will not use her, just farm her if there is no other way to have 5 Elves – do not prioritize her over Elrohir in any way. Hopefully, Elladan will be introduced sone enough 😉

Chapter 2-3

Grimpa – He is a Goblin Tank and you need 15 shards to unlock him. You should do so obviously because you want to have all available characters. But, in case you want to build The Great Goblin (given for free after 7 days of playing) he will fit perfectly in the Goblin team. If that is not the case, I advise that you only unlock him.

Chapter 3-1

Elrohir – Elrohir is the backbone of the Rangers’ synergy. He will have synergy with his brother Elladan when he is released and he is considered Tier S on our opening Tier List. In more than 1 article I explained his worth and the moment he became farmable in Guild 3-1 everything changed and he became the first priority for several reasons:

His Plug’n’Play potential and overall dps that fits almost everywhere
You need him on 5* for Elrond (as they say)
He can be farmed in Chapter 3 which will provide you with the most Ability materials + character shards.

IMPORTANT – Even though you don’t have any more characters to farm after Chapters 3-1 in Guild Campaign, it is not the same for everyone. Here is the list of available Ability Materials per Chapter Node:

Chapter 1 – Level 10; 8 EXP; 17 Coins; 2 Common Ability; 1 Uncommon Ability (8 energy)
Chapter 2 – Level 14; 8 EXP; 17 Coins; 5 Common Ability; 2 Uncommon; 1 Rare Ability (8 energy)
Chapter 3 – Level 34;10 EXP; 17 Coins; 10 Common Ability; 3 Uncommon Ability;1 Rare Ability (10 energy)
Chapter 4 – Level 44; 10 EXP; 17 Coins; 5 Common Ability; 2 Uncommon Ability;1 Rare Ability (10 energy)

Light Campaign

Only Hard Difficulty Nodes grant character shards. It is not clear what the drop rate for shards is but I guess it is 50% per win. You have 5 attempts daily and the energy price is twice the normal price (12; 16; etc).

The first refresh costs 25 gems, the second 50 Gems, and so on. If you are f2p, a 25 Gem refresh is justified only if you can unlock or improve the designated character immediately and progress accordingly. Otherwise, it is not worth it. One day changes nothing long-term.

These are the nodes where you can farm Characters:

Light Hard 1-1

Eothain. You want to farm this initial Light Rohan Tank every day until he is 4-5* and until you start aiming at stronger Arena synergies. As for the beginning, the Light Campaign and Sam’s adventure is where he should be the main tank in your team until mid-game and even later – at this point, Eothain is the best tank in the game. However, that will not last long

Light Hard 1-5

Herendil – In the early game your goal is only to unlock Herendil. The cost is only 15 shards and you need him for Quest requirements (Unlock 9 Light Characters). He is superb against Elves and he has an insane AOE but only on Level 5 of the skill. At the moment there are only 2 Gondor characters but I must say that the synergy between Sergent Ara and Herendil seems OP.

Light Hard 1-9

Yeftu – He is probably in the Top 3 single-target damage dealers. It is unlikely that he will be available to you (if you are f2p) on the first or second day. You need to farm him for at least 3 days if you don’t refresh, but investing in him is a smart thing to do.

Since he will be low (due to the fact that you need to slowly farm him from 1 star) Yeftu will not be your main Shadow or Arena option at the start. But, as soon as you assemble a full Haradrim synergy (alongside Wybete and Robel) farming of Yeftu will pay off. Haradrim Trio has everything you want for Arena synergy and if they are combined with some fitting duo, they will be almost unstoppable.

Light Hard 2-1

Mauhur – Almost the same applies here as for Eothain. The difference is that Mauhur is needed for early Shadow progression.

In case you choose to lead the full Shadow team in the Arena, he will be your main damage Dealer during the early/mid-game.

Light Hard 2-5

Nurraz – Farming Nurraz depends if you will farm Troll Brute from Gold Store for Gems or not. Alongside Troll Brute, Nurraz is a natural farming option. If you have other means of getting Gems (through offers for example) that is recommendable.

Light Hard 2-9

Lomion – He was the second Elf in Light Hard Chapter 2 until Leliel was transferred to Shadow 3-6. He works perfectly with Leliel and if you build him, you will not make a mistake especially if you need someone serious to pair with Strider’s Leader bonus.

It is true that you are forced to build early Rohan so you can progress, but a day of delay to make Lomion ready for the Light Campaign will pay off in the end, especially since now he is mandatory for unlocking Elrond.

Light Hard 3-1

Frodo Baggins – It is simple – you need 4 Road to Rivendale characters on 4* to unlock “The Gardener’s Journey” on Tier 2. As soon as you unlock this node farm Frodo to 4 stars! (you will have enough Energy for 3 Hobits alongside main team, side project and Elves, as long as you follow our Daily Activity hits)

Light Hard 3-5

Rokma – You will hate Orc Engineers as you progress through the game – Rokma is named Mordor Orc Engineer – 2 AOEs mass Burn and increased damage against Burn. You will already play for a few days before you can start farming him. However, keep him in mind for later and farm him if energy allows -he is an insane character!

Light Hard 3-9

Wexxe – Dunland synergy is insane. Wexxe is the tip of the spear for them. You have an early offer with all 3 of Dunland Heroes for 50$ and it can really give you an early edge for both Arena and Shadow Campaign.

Their Blood Frenzy Mechanics is capable of insane damage that is hardly resisted while they are the only characters with life steal (aside from Uglok’s leader ability passive). However, if you can’t buy that offer, focusing on Danland is not smart because their Leader Alreda the Chieftain is not available before Light Hard 5-5.

Light Hard 4-1

Wilfwyn – As soon as you unlock this node, it is mandatory to unlock Wilfyn asap. 5 Rohirims are needed for the Quest requirement.

More importantly, there is a high possibility that you already invested a lot in 3 early Rohan characters. Will you or will you not continue farming Wilfyn depends solely on your decision for the main Light teams. I put Wilfyn in the last Tier of our current Tier List because she fits nowhere and she is not mandatory for anything, but she is a pretty good character tbh.

Light Hard 4-5

Orfurz – He is a Goblin Archer. Goblins are annoying and dangerous. Those are the only characters that are considerably nerfed in soft launch and yet they pose a real threat.
Planning to assemble a Goblin team requires patience and willingness to stall your progressions so you can preserve resources for them. If that is so, farming Orfruz is the only viable solution.

However, if you can’t wait for Goblins to become available for farming you should only unlock Orfruz without making energy trouble for yourself while doing it.

Light Hard 4-9

Azhak – If you decided to build the obvious and focus on Isengrad characters for Shadow Campaign and maybe even Arena getting the opportunity to farm Azhak will be most welcomed.

He is one of those characters that changes everything. Depending on your earlier investment there is a high possibility that you will farm him constantly as soon as you unlock Light 4-9 Hard because he is that good for Campaign. However, there is no place for him in the Arena team.

Shadow Campaign

If you are f2p, a 25 Gem refresh is justified only if you can unlock or improve the designated character immediately and progress accordingly. Otherwise, it is not worth it. One day changes nothing game-wise.

Those are nodes where you can farm Characters:

Shadow Hard 1-1

Dunhar – He is a supporting character who doesn’t excel in anything, but you will need him for everything at the start. His passive placing of Protection and decent healing makes him really important in the early game. Farming him to up to 4 stars is mandatory in my opinion (needed for Shadow Quest).

Shadow Hard 1-5

Eowyn – She is an obvious early pick to be the leader of your Arena team and your Light Campaign team. Rohan Mechanic is pretty simple; they all have important boons. They have constant assistance and they can passively remove banes. As such, you should farm her on at least 4*. I repeat, at least.

Shadow Hard 1-9

Fro – In the early game, you will need to unlock 9 Light characters to fulfill Quest requirements. Fro is an obvious pick and you will need to farm him until you unlock him (15 shards).

Nonetheless, you shouldn’t forget him after that because, in the late Campaigns, you will unlock Killy and Filly, another 2 dwarfs. Dwarfs are sturdier than all other races.

They have permanently increased resistance and their abilities further prevent the placing of any banes on them. I could say that they are the most dangerous and underrated synergy out there – they have everything, but there is a long way before you can count on them. I am pretty sure you will need them for some game features later.

Shadow Hard 2-1

Grimlurz – is the 4th Orc you can unlock chronologically. However, he’s a Mordor crew and at first glance, he doesn’t have synergy with the Isengard Orcs.

That is because he can’t make team-up attacks with them therefore his passive seems useless in that set-up. However, his basic attack gradually increases in damage with every bane on the target and he can place Bleed with his ultimate ability.

Both of those skills are in full synergy with Isengrad starting trio. More importantly, by the time you unlock Shadow Hard 2-1, you will have to start thinking about the team for Dark Relics Challenge.

Basically, it is imperative that you unlock him. But whether you will farm him on not depends on your decision on what will be the priority. Building 2 average Elves to be ready for Dak Relics or building Mordor Crew later on.

Grimlurz is in the top 3 single-target damage dealers and along with Shagrat he forms probably the best duo in the game. But Shagrat’s unlock costs 100 shards and he can be farmed mainly from Arena Rewards which is too slow.

If you decide to go after Mordor Crew (which will pay off in the long run) make sure to farm Grimlurz and Rokma.

Shadow Hard 2-5

Morzha – He is an obvious choice for making White Hand Orks a formidable force. Also, you can decide to farm him alongside Grimlurz for Dark Relics Challenge, with the idea to assemble full Isengrad later.

He is a supporting character with minimum damage potential, but he is a hard counter to Rohan’s team. With 2 abilities he removes Boon(s) while granting Haste in the process.
His ultimate is insane on the last level – he removes all Boon(s) and places Haste on all allies. At the same time, he places Expose and causes damage against the designated target.

In short, Rohan seems helpless against him but in order to be effective you must control him and he must be left alone, which will not happen especially if he is in defense. Also the presence of Ironhide totally negates the importance to have Morzha.

Your decision should be according to your Arena – if most of the people use Rohan as a Defense setup, you can farm and improve Morzha, so you can easily counter them. However, I must say that Mordor Crew is considerably more dangerous and effective than Isengard in general in my opinion. Whatever you decide, be sure to unlock him asap because of the Shadow quest.

Shadow Hard 2-9

Sergeant Ara – Same as Herendil, you want to unlock Ara immediately because of the 9 light characters unlock requirement in Quest.

The Gondor duo may seem not too important but those 2 characters when together pose the greatest threat to all Elven/Strider setups. For a start just unlock her but don’t forget her because she and Herendil might be your answer to some situations later (and as we know Elves are coming)

And, I am certain that we will not have only 2 Gondor characters in the game. Things will change really soon despite the current standing of Ara on our Tier List.

Shadow Hard 3-1

Marry Bradnybuck – When you unlock this node you can start farming requirements for Tier 2 of Sam’s Adventure. You want Marry on 4 stars for start.

Also, Marry has a synergy with Pippin, and he places Mass Haste immediately which could be essential for the Arena and Road to Rivendal team. To unlock him you will need 45 shards, but you will get him 3 stars immediately. Farming Marry is not a decision, it is a necessity, despite everything you think or heard.

Shadow Hard 3-5

Uzhan – You will need only 15 shards to unlock Uzhan who is the 5th member of Mordor Crew. I already said that Mordor synergy seems the most dangerous and deadly in the current roster. Uzhan is their healer and buffer. However, it is unlikely that you will need him for the Arena.

He also improves their chances to place bane(s) that are essential for their efficiency in Campaign. It is important to say that he can work even with Isengard Orcs but his healing capabilities will be reduced.

Shadow Hard 3-9

Leliel – With the introduction of Arwen and the revealing of Elrond’s requirements, farming Leliel becomes mandatory. She was a strong character always and I said that assembling her and Lomion alongside Strider is a good thing to do, but now she is not a character you can choose or not – you must have her on 5* and start farming her as soon as you unlock Shadow Hard 3-9.

It is important to say that if you bought both Arwen and Elladan on 5* you will have to choose between Leliel and Naremiri who should be your 5th Elf on 5*. Farming Naremiri will be faster and cheaper, but if you chose Leliel you will farm Torquise which is needed for most of Elves GT8. However, do not forget to refresh Nodes with 25 Gems if you chose that path.

Shadow Hard 4-1

Robel – You have to unlock Robel as part of the mid-game Shadow Quest. I must say though that Robel is a hard counter to Eothain and that he negates everything Eothain has to offer.

It will pass some time before he becomes available for farming but I think that all 3 Haradrim characters deserve to be farmed and improved to some point. You cannot farm everyone but Robel is one of the characters who will have usefulness with a lot of different teams in almost any game feature.

Shadow Hard 4-5

Fili – I suggest unlocking him as mandatory, so you can start farming him when needed. He will become available too late to be effective in your early teams, but as I said Dwarfes are probably the most overlooked and underestimated synergy at the moment.

It really hurts when you cannot place your debuffs against Arena Defense …

Shadow Hard 4-9

Chef Krazka – So, node 4-9 of Shadow Hard Chapter 4 is your destination if you want to farm, build and improve Goblins. The Chef is their Healer and someone who should allow them to live long enough so they can be dangerous – and they can be dangerous 😉

It is your decision, but I decided at the start to not be bothered with goblins at all. If you think the same as me you will not need even to unlock him.

Main Supplies

There are several characters that can be framed in the Main Supply Store for Gems. I already mentioned in our Daily Routine Article that spending Gems for farming characters in the Main Store is not advisable at all.

Only those who spend on Gems can allow themselves that luxury. However, you will be forced to do it sometimes…

Available Characters in Main Supply Store are:

Aeldred

15 shards (5 shards=150 Gems; 10 shards=275 Gems). This is the 5th Rohan character needed for the Quest requirement to unlock 5 Rohirims. He can’t be found elsewhere so you will have to spend 425-450 Gems in order to unlock him.

He is definitely the best Healer in the game with 2 healing abilities and passive healing. With him alongside Rohan team seems unkillable in Campaigns, but it is not as easy as you may think.

Rohan’s team is good and easy to maximize but there are better options. For example, having Aeldred in the team is as if you have only 4 characters damage-wise (for example) and he will die fast even if not being focused in the Arena.

It is not as with Halbarad who has a lot of HP and can hit strong – it is more like with Pippin without other Hobits in Arena setups – he heals and buffs while making no crucial change to the outcome except delaying the inevitable.

I will repeat, you must unlock Aeldred, but after that, it is up to you – I think there are better options if you want to spend gems for farming (which i don’t suggest).

Troll Brute

45 shards (5 shards=150 Gems; 10 shards=275 Gems). Troll Brute is a popular and smart option for p2w players. Alongside Nurraz, you can form a Troll synergy with a Troll Handler (Nurraz) whose ability is to summon another troll, very fast.

With those 2 you can add almost any trio you want and expect outstanding results. Honestly, this is the option only for p2w and there are many options on how to make this work and give you the edge.

Check it on our synergy and Counter articles. For unlocking Troll Brute, you need to invest 1250 – 1350 Gems.

The Great Goblin

55 shards (5 shards=150 Gems; 10 shards=275 Gems). The Great Goblin will be available for free to everyone on the 7th day of login. This is basically only a farming spot.

The Great Goblin is the center of any Goblin synergy. You can try making some split combinations to find new synergies but the truth is simple – the more Goblins in a team the better.

I am not a fan of Goblin teams even though they annoy me so much by refusing to die, playing first, and making AOE damage with 2/3 of their attacks! Farming him would be my last decision – but that is a personal and not objective view 😉

Arena Supplies

Arena Supply Store is similar to Main but you spend your Arena coins for purchasing characters. The accumulation of Arena Coins depends on your Arena standing and your Arena wins.

By losing battle in Arena, you will not earn any Arena Coins, so it is imperative that you win continuously. You can buy 5 or 10 character shards for the price of 275/400 Arena Credits. Arena Store refreshes every 24 hours same as Arena. The reset time is the same.

Available Characters in Arena Supply Store are:

Eomer

30 Shards; You will unlock Eomer for free by fulfilling Quest requirements but you will need to farm him through Arena Store.

The strength of your early Light Campaign and Arena setup will be dependable on the strength of your Eomer so make sure to farm him every day!

You should aim to get at least 4 stars for him early/mid-game.

Golburz

15 shards. Golburz is a Goblin Bat Master – AOEs with dots and summoning of exploding Goblin upon his death. It is good to have all characters unlocked, so try to unlock him without breaking Eomer’s farming routine.

It is not mandatory to have him but it is preferable that he is unlocked and, on the roster, just in case. Further farming is justified only if you want to build a Goblin team.

Shagrat

100 shards. As I already said the Mordor crew is the most dangerous synergy in the game and Shagrat is their leader. Having that in mind, it is logical to continuously farm his shards in the Arena store until you unlock him.

However, the only way to do that is that Rohan is not your main Light option and that you don’t need Eomer crucially which you do. I mean if you are Silver I you can farm both simultaneously, but in order to be there (especially those who started on Global release and have been put into the soft launch server) you need to prioritize Eomer first!

Whatever you decide, the sooner you unlock Shagarth and combine him with Grimlurz, the better chance you have to take advantage of their power which is real.

Challenge Supplies

Unlike other Supply Stores, Challenge Store refreshes only once per reset and you need to be extremely careful what you farm and when in case you plan your progress on Challenge Supply farming.

Basically, there are 2 prices for character shards in the Challenge store – 1000 Challenge Coins for 2 shards, or 2500 Challenge coins for 5 shards.

Sometimes you will not have character shards available but you will always have high Tier gear resources at “low” prices in case you need something immediately while gearing up your roster. You need to be extremely careful about it!

During your initial leveling as soon as you unlock the Challenge function, you will get 10k Coins as a reward from Devs. 10k coins will seem too much at the moment but that is only 20 character shards in the Challenge store that can be spent in 4-10 days.

That is why there are only 2 available characters for farming in Challenge Store:

Bolg

45 shards. Bolg is the leader of the Misty Mountain crew (Trolls, Nurraz, Goblins). He grants a chance on every turn to have a guaranteed critical hit among other things.

The troll duo(Troll Brute, Nirruz) is already deadly. With Bolg they are insane – almost impossible to kill with thick armor and tone of HP and with constant AOEs that have a chance to be guaranteed critical strikes against all targets. Literally OP.

Bolg has a natural synergy with Tordok, so 2 of them are ideal for adding to the troll duo. Most importantly all members of this synergy will have their damage gradually increased as they are losing HP. You can pick 5th member accordingly – my suggestion is Robel 😉

If you can allow yourself to go after the troll duo focusing on Bolg is the only logical thing – it will last but it will be more than rewarding (unfortunately for f2p progression this is almost out of the question).

However, if you fully focus on him you will not have enough Challenge Coins to focus on the other available character in Store.

Halbarad

45 shards. Halbarad is the leader of the Rangers (Strider, Mirie, and Elrohir). He grants them Critical hits, increases their Focus, and improves their turn matter.

He has the strongest healing in the game that can be used often, his damage is ok, and he is Tank with considerable defensive potential… All in all, he is everything in one, allowing other Rangers to freely harass their enemies with their insane dps (all 3 of them -Striker, Mirie, and Elrohir). 4 Rangers +Arwen is definitely the best Light synergy currently in the game.

Can be countered only by a fully maximized Mordor Crew and we all know what is needed to assemble them. Keep in mind that if you choose farming Halbarad you should forget about Bolg and vice versa.

Upon completing Light Hard 3-9 you will get Halbarad offer for 50$… If you need my opinion, I will tell you that all 3 Meta teams (Trolls+Bolg, Mordor, and Rangers) should be considered only as the mid/end-game priority.

You don’t need them to progress. However, if you chose to farm Halbarad farm him only and ignore Bolg.

Guild Supplies

Guild Supply Store is similar to the Main stores. There are 4 resets daily and you spend Guild Coins accumulated through farming Guild Campaigns.

For character shards, there are 2 prices – 500 Guild Coins for 5 shards and 1000 Guild Coins for 10 shards. In addition, you will have the option to purchase a small amount of Ability Materials and Crystals.

There are only 2 characters available in Guild Supply Store currently:

Mirie

45 shards. Mirie is part of the currently overpowered Ranger synergy and you will need 45 shards to unlock her. There is really no pressure to unlock her urgently even though she could form a nice combo with Strieder almost immediately.

Her true potential comes only in the presence of Halbarad and his leadership so my advice is to accumulate and farm her shards only if that doesn’t interfere with the constant farming of the other character in Guild Store.

Wubete

15 shards. Wubete is a Haradrim tank that can literally be unlocked almost immediately during the first reset in the game. Along with Dunland’s Eddric and 3 initial Isengard Orcs, she is more than capable to fast forwarding you through the Shadow Campaign mission or to be even used in your Arena Setup.

Wubete opens the fight with AOE that places Slow on everyone, as long as her Focus is high enough. That is essential for early sustain and self-healing of the Shadow team in the Shadow Campaign and can be crucial in early owning of the Arena.

Like in every Hero Collector game, the most important thing in LOTRj is to play first and to play more often. Wubete is the one who can make that happen. Not to mention that full Haradrim synergy is the best turn-controlling synergy in the whole roster with one of the best damage dealers overall…

All in all, my advice is to fully focus on Wubete until she is at least 4 or even 5 stars – you will not have either Halbarad, Bolg, or Shagrat ready and prepared before.

Conclusion

This list needs to be updated with Light Hard 5 and Shadow Hard 5 farming priorities in the next couple of days. Also, with every new character or balance change the list will be fixed accordingly…

Study it, and plan your progress. Playing games like The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth without a plan is not a wise decision.

Cheers, and fear no Darkness!