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Races of The Lord of the Rings Online

Playable Races in The Lord of the Rings Online
Race	Release Date	Available Classes	Starting Areas
Beorning	November 5 2014	Beorning	Mead-hollow
Dwarf	April 24 2007	Brawler, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Silver Deep / Ered Luin
Elf	April 24 2007	Brawler, Burglar, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Edhelion / Ered Luin
High Elf	July 31 2017	Brawler, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Mariner, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Rivendell / Celondim
Hobbit	April 24 2007	Brawler, Burglar, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Minstrel, Warden	Green Hill Country / Archet / Little Delving
Race of Man	April 24 2007	Brawler, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Mariner, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Archet
River Hobbit	August 29 2023	Brawler, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Mariner, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Lyndleby / Mossward
Stout-Axe	October 29 2019	Brawler, Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Mariner, Minstrel, Runekeeper, Warden	Barad-dur / Ered Luin

Note: Some races are restricted to specific classes due to lore or gameplay balance. For example, Beornings can only play the Beorning class, while the newly added River Hobbits have access to nearly all classes introduced so far.

Classes of The Lord of the Rings Online

Character Classes and Combat Roles in LOTRO
Class	Role	Difficulty	Available Races
Beorning	Healer / Tank / Damage	Advanced	Beorning
Brawler	Tank / Damage	Advanced	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Burglar	Support / Damage	Moderate	Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Captain	Tank / Support / Healer	Moderate	Dwarf, High Elf, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Champion	Damage / Tank	Basic	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Guardian	Tank / Damage	Basic	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Hunter	Damage	Basic	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Lore-Master	Support / Damage	Advanced	Elf, High Elf, Race of Man, River Hobbit
Mariner	Support / Damage	Advanced	High Elf, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Minstrel	Healer / Damage	Moderate	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Runekeeper	Healer / Damage	Moderate	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe
Warden	Damage / Tank	Advanced	Dwarf, Elf, High Elf, Hobbit, Race of Man, River Hobbit, Stout-Axe

Tip: If you're unsure which class suits your playstyle, try creating multiple characters to test different roles. LOTRO allows free character slots, so you can explore tanking, healing, or damage-dealing without commitment.