Things not to do

Just like the Minecraft community, the LotR Mod community has adopted a variety of unofficial standards that will help new players get a hang of the game. Many, many people (if not most) have been very inefficient or died unnecessarily. Therefore, we'll present a list of things that shouldn't be done in order to improve the gameplay experience. However, making mistakes is an important part of learning the mod, so this page is also a collection of the most frequently made mistakes. See if you can find yourself on this list.

Also, remember that the rules are there to be broken. If you wish to simply walk into Mordor, go ahead. Don't say we didn't warn you, though.

Don't slaughter Hobbits when first entering the Shire
If you're planning to be an evil player, the prospect of slaughtering the little folk of the Shire sounds like an appealing way to get Gundabad alignment, right? Think again. While the Shirriffs might not seem like a big deal to a well-equipped player, a large group of them can still kill an unarmoured or poorly equipped player. A far greater danger, however, is getting out of the Shire and into Eriador. Killing hobbits costs alignment with the Rangers of the North, and they have both a ranged and a melee attack, and are very difficult to see, especially at night. In addition, no Wargs spawn in Eriador either, so you won't be able to get a good mount. Make sure to suit up and get at least iron-level equipment before leaving the Shire, otherwise you will probably not last very long.

Don't Chop Down Trees in Fangorn or the Old Forest
This may not come as a surprise to you, but Ents aren't exactly fond of their tree-friends being chopped down for firewood. The reason is most likely because some of those trees aren't really trees; they are Huorns! No matter what your alignment is, trying to chop down a tree or Huorn will result in them attacking you, so keep your tree-chopping to other forests, or you will pay most dearly!

Don't enter a New Biome unprepared
Alignment is a major feature of this mod. Basically, the peoples and races of Middle-Earth are divided into numerous factions, and it is impossible (unless in Creative Mode or if you choose to play as a pacifist) to gain a positive alignment with every one of them. Thus, even as you make friends, you will make enemies. Certain factions only spawn in certain biomes, so you would do well to research a new biome and its inhabitants before entering, else you may just find yourself surrounded by hostile NPCs. For more information on alignment, see here.

For some of the more adventurous players, the prospect of facing many enemies at once may not seem like a big deal. However, note that some biomes hold more dangerous enemies than others. For example, Mountain Trolls deal much more attack damage than standard Trolls, in addition to throwing rocks. The Rohirrim of Rohan are all mounted on the best horses that can be found in the mod, and will see you from 24 blocks away.

Don't be a Stranger in the Woodland Realm
As a side note, Wood-Elves in particular are suspicious folk, and may attack you even if your Woodland Realm alignment is positive. You must have at least +50 alignment with the Wood-Elves for them to completely trust you. This alignment is most easily gained by killing Mirkwood spiders or Gundabad Orcs.

One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor
When you first enter Middle-Earth, don't go into Mordor lightly. It is a barren wasteland swarming with Orcs, and any good or not yet evil enough (below +50 Mordor alignment) player who goes there without suitable armor is likely to meet a grisly death. Even though the ring portal can only spawn in the Shire, suit up, because very little vegetation grows in Mordor, meaning you will be hard pressed to find food. If you need out, the best thing to do is to find a safe place, stop, and look at your map. If you are in the western half of Mordor, head to the West, towards Ithilien. If you are in the Eastern half of Mordor, go towards the East (Rhun). However, try to avoid going to the northwest or in any southerly direction! Going towards the northwest will land you in Dagorlad and then the Brown Lands, both vast areas with little food and few living trees. Going in a southerly direction will likely make you end up in the deserts of Harondor or Near Harad, with absolutely no food or wood. As well, you run the risk of approaching Nan Ungol, a dangerous place even for players with a hundred Rohrrim to back them up.

Don't enter the Forodwaith or Near Harad without being prepared
The Forodwaith biome is freezing cold, while Near Harad is scorching hot! Both will cause you to take damage periodically. There are several ways to avoid this. In the Forodwaith, you can either stand near a light source (torch, furnace, etc.) or wear Warg Fur Armor, a cozy outfit for the cold. In Near Harad, it is best to stay out of the sun, or wear the Near Haradrim Robes added in Beta 24. This means keeping to the shade and/or traveling by night, but beware the scorpions if you choose to travel at night.

Don't kill mounts in Rohan
If you didn't know already, the Eorlingas are rather fond of their mounts. Killing one in the sight of a Rohirrim will bring their wrath down upon you. Not the best idea. If you have a need for leather, kill cows instead.

Don't travel to Utumno without being prepared
Utumno is another dimension that can be accessed from the pits in the Forodwaith. If you are not an extremely experienced and well-prepared player, do not think to survive this realm. The journey to the portal is daunting in itself, and once you enter Utumno, you will need to brave all three levels (ice, obsidian, and fire) of dungeon-crawling madness before you can find the Melkor Plate, activate it, and return safely to Middle-Earth. The foulest and darkest creatures dwell here, including Utumno Orcs, Utumno Wargs, Utumno Trolls, tormented Elves, and even Balrogs, the demons of the Underworld. These beasts will always be your enemies, for it is impossible to gain positive Utumno alignment.

And on top of it all, the whole place is essentially a labyrinth in the dark; the player will need to find stairs that will lead them down each layer, or otherwise use keys to jump down a level. The walls of special Utumno bricks cannot be mined with any tool except the Pickaxe of the Underworld. Don't even think about bringing stacks of torches or the materials to make them; torch-light does not travel far in Utumno.

Don't try to kill Warg Bombardiers with a melee weapon
If you think that killing creepers in regular Minecraft is too easy, wait until you see the new "creeper" that this mod has to offer. Warg Bombardiers, the bane of every good player, have, can run faster than you, and are equipped with a triple strength Orc Bomb, which will kill you regardless of the armour you're wearing, and likely take out your army too. While it is possible to kill these units if you're mounted by using a polearm with a long reach (i.e. a lance, pike, or halberd), the best way to kill these units is with a ranged weapon or one of the mod's throwing weapons.

Don't forget to put armour on your steed
Many of the enemies in LotR Mod have high health and attack strength. While most enemies won't target your mount, it is almost inevitable that it'll get hit by ranged units at some point. An unarmoured mount will probably get killed in combat, and that can be very dangerous if you're surrounded by enemies.

Don't try to Build Another Ring Portal
The only ring portal that you should build is the one that brought you to Middle-Earth in the first place. Ring portals cannot be built when one ring portal is already active, which means throwing a gold ring into the fire will not yield any results (beside losing the ring). Currently, there is no other use for the gold ring either, so save your eight gold nuggets for something else!

Don't look for Redstone or Diamonds
Redstone and Diamonds been removed from the Middle-Earth dimension. Don't spend hours looking for ores that are non-existent! If their absence simply cannot be tolerated, plan a trip to the Overworld. If you want to mine obsidian, consider getting a Dwarven Pickaxe or a Blue Dwarven Pickaxe.

Don't search for Saddles
It is known that in vanilla Minecraft, saddles can only be obtained from the chests found in abandoned mine-shafts and naturally generated structures. In this mod, there is in fact, a crafting recipe for saddles.

Don't forget to use bronze
Most of your tools can be made of bronze instead of iron. Bronze Equipment isn't as durable or as strong as iron or faction equipment, but that's not a problem for tools; who uses a pickaxe to fight anyways? Using bronze instead of iron for shovels, pickaxes, and axes will save you a lot of iron in the long run.

Don't spend hours walking to where you're going
If you're planning to travel to a faraway place, don't bother walking there, unless that's part of the adventure. If you wish to get there fast, consider getting one of the many mounts that this mod has to offer.

Don't build in a hostile biome
Especially important in multiplayer, this rule is almost a no-brainer. If you build in a hostile biome, you'll be unable to get out of your base without constantly being attacked by enemy NPC's, and you'll likely have a lot of problems building a base in the first place. Besides, many multiplayer severs outlaw building in hostile territory.

Don't use too much wood
Wood might look nice, but it is very flammable, and isn't nearly as blast-resistant as stone. Orc firebombs, matches, or flint and steel can do great damage to any wooden base in an instant.

Don't build too close to someone else
The land of Middle-Earth is large, even at the 1:20 scale used in this mod. There's plenty of room for everyone on all multiplayer servers.