After playing this game for the last year incessantly I have definitely encountered quests that I return to again and again, and others that fell by the wayside. I was wondering what the larger community thought as well too see what, if any consensus there is? Nightmare mode is a different story because they have really reinvigorated some crappy quests.

Mind you I have not played the Battle of Lake Town or Stones of Erech.

Best Quests:

Journey Down the Anduin, for sheer excitement when you finally beat it. Also it is a solid quest that I play when I am just looking to test some decks.

Conflict At the Carrodck, is pure gold. Fighting 4 trolls at once is just too much fun. All around tough quest.

Siege of Cair Andros, this quest can be really difficult for some, but I love the decision making involved in the quest. Trying to save all 3 locations or only going for a specific 1 can really change the quest a lot. And I love the siege mechanic.

A Knife in the Dark, all time favorite

The Three Trials, This one only recently came out but it is already one of my favorites. All around fun, and the endless combos are great for variability.

Worst Quests (Excluding Nightmare):

Hills of Emyn Muil, all around dull

The Dead Marshes

Into the Pit, especially in single player this quest is just location after location with some tiny enemies popping up every so often.

The Long Dark

Peril in Peralinger not a bad quest, just for me endlessley frustrating, so I tend to avoid it.

I really enjoy Watcher in the Water solo.

All this is for 2-player:

I was going to write that Into the Pit is one that I return to quite a lot, and then I saw it on your 'worst quests' list! I like it for its length (it's a really slog through Moria) and relative balance-- there are lots of locations, but no lack of enemies either (at least in multiplayer). I don't know if it's one of my favorite quests really, but it's one of my most played.

Well, I know I have odd tastes, because Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim is probably my favorite quest. Love the drama when going riddles. But this one often makes it onto people's 'worst' lists.

The Steward's Fear is also definitely in my top 5 for its replayability, cool theme, and cool mechanics.

I also enjoy Watcher in the Water. Pretty straightforward, short quest with a nice theme.

For my worst quests, I never really got over the pain of Into Ithilien and haven't played it since we first beat it. Other than that I can't think of any quests that I legitimately disliked. But there are many quests that I rarely play simply because I think I need to build a specific deck to have a good chance at winning, and I don't do that so often.

We Must away Ere Break of Day, Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim, Flies and Spiders and The Lonely Mountain are all terrible quests. They have stupid mechanics (poison should not take cards from your deck... riddles should not work the way they do, Smaug should not make 15 attacks in a row), require very specific deckbuilding and are simply too punishing/not fun enough. I think the hobbit boxes are actually pretty **** terrible and only the player cards are any good and even then are FAR too dwarf intensive. Favorites? So many! Three Trials, Journey Down the Anduin (mainly play nightmare now though), Nightmare Seventh Level, Trouble in Tharbad, Return to Mirkwood, Battle of Five Armies, Massing at Osgiliath, Encounter at Amon Din and others I can't think of right now!

PsychoRocka and I have agreed to disagree about this already in another thread. But since he speaks so strongly, it's my duty to go on record and say that there are those of us (like myself) who really really like The Hobbit saga expansions. Both of 'em.

I personally can't stand many of the Saga quests due to being extremely difficult, I hope they tone down the difficulty for the future Lotr quests, but it seems it won't clearly, being the challenges much greater theme wise...

I once got attacked by a Nazgul 5 or 6 times in a row due to a bunch of 'extra attack' shadow effects while playing Flight to the Ford. How's that for difficult, ouch! Luckily, this was round 2 and I could give up without too much frustration.

I love the theme and art just not those four quests. Battles of five armies AND over the misty mountains grim are fantastic. Just wanted to add this =)

Also with the pretty powerful boons it seems we will get throughout it should slightly remedy difficulty in the lotr saga quests

I like most quests in the game as long as they are thematic and appropriately challenging. Low or high difficulty is meaningless if the gameplay is poor, but thankfully the vast majority of quests in the game are very fun indeed. The best quests are the ones I find myself replaying the most often.

I also like dungeon crawls so:

Best quests include all Khaza Dum quests, Foundations of Stone and shadow and flame. I see the appeal of the WitW but mehhh. The Steward's Fear is great and so is Siege of Cair Andros. All VoI and Ringmaker quests are good except for Fangorn Forest. So far The Three trials is great. Knife in the Dark is also really good. Note that as the most recent quests make timing and decision making a more integral part of the game, the fun factor multiplies (e.g. when should I travel to the Ford of Brunen or the Hills of Dunland? Should I exhaust the One Ring but draw the nazgul? Etc). No best quests from the 1st cycle make the cut here. CatC is horribly overrated, it's practically just a puzzle.

Worst quests are those I deem boring or counterintuitive. Wanting to lose the scroll ASAP makes Pelargir a bad quest for example, because it goes against logic; losing control of Alcarons Scroll should not be encouraged but instead be a loss condition. Into Ithilien is the bad kind of difficult: its hard cause it's broken. HoEM is a snorefest but its the only dud from the first cycle for me, I enjoy all the rest. Road to Rivendell was also pretty boring and a bit too easy (Trouble in tharband is of equal difficulty but like ten times more engaging). In total thats only 4 quests I have played so far, which is a low number I think.

I so do not care for the Hobbit quests. Decidedly average. The Dark Riders on the other hand are very enjoyable.

I personally can't stand many of the Saga quests due to being extremely difficult, I hope they tone down the difficulty for the future Lotr quests, but it seems it won't clearly, being the challenges much greater theme wise...

They can be fairly challenging. Playing a hobbit deck, utilising frodos intuition, knowing when to travel and when to exhaust the Ring, all make the quests much easier.

For me, Black Riders is the best expansion so far in terms of quests. I like all of them.

Now, the VoI and Ringmaker cycle so far... I actually don't like those quests as much as I thought I would. I haven't played *** yet and I think I will like this one more than the others. Why is that? First thing - Dunlendings. I don't like them as enemies, I just don't feel like I am fighting against the shadow. I much prefer orcs and other foul creatures. To catch and orc quest just seems to rushed for me. When you have encounter Mugash it is best to slay him in one turn so you still have 2 turns left to quest heavily and beat the quest in the end. If you don't - sorry, do it again. It is thematic but it just feels too rushed to me. In general, Time mechanic isn't one of my favourites. Not that I am turtle player, quite the opposite.

This might seem silly to some but, HoN is my second favourite expansion. Not to mention that I like setting very much, I love Gondor. And Into Ithilien is fun! At least for me, I love going into Ithilien with my all tactics Eagle deck. Fun fun, very fun to me. Siege of Cair Andros is awesome quest, great design. I still have to win it though.

I also tend to like SoM cycle, Dwarrodelf not so much, again, setting is very important to me.

And talking about setting - I just can't wait to get my hands on The Lost Realm. *.*

Looks like my taste completely differs from most comments.

Very enjoyable:

Into the pit, foundations of stone, journey along the anduin, the dark rider quests, battle of five armies, morgul vale.

I really like them because there is 1 straight objective to go for, you do not depend on objectives or any. So it's not that likely to get caught into a tremendous long game because some card won't appear.

Enjoyable:

Into ithilien, peril in pelargir, catch an orc, shadows and flames, redhorn gate, road to rivendell.

I really like these but they have 1 big downside which makes that I don't play them that often. But I really enjoy them once in a while.

Peril in pelargir and shadows and flames, 2 quests that always turn into a similar game as the previous one. I got mechanics which makes them very easy to win so therefore not that challenging/interesting.

Into ithilien, road to rivendell: 2 quests which could result in massive changes due to some encounter cards. Sleeping Sentry for instance is horrible and fairly always destroys the game if not cancelled. As encounter card or shadow it is terrible anyhow. In multiplayer games this card always shows up.

Catch an orc, not that fun if you need to dig to bottom of 21 cards to find him. Otherwise very enjoyable.

Not that fun quests:

Hills of Emyn Muill, endlessly waiting on those 20 vp or losing all locations.

The long dark, don't like the keyword.

Trouble in tharbad, too easy for such a new quest.

The dead marches, dont like the keyword.

Think that's about it.

All quests I didn't mention I really think are fine. Fun to play, not great nor bad either.

Yeah the Hobbit quests are pretty lackluster, We Must Away pales in comparison to CatC.

The new nightmare quests are awesome, especially the Redhorn Gate. I also love the CatC and Dead Marshes nightmare a lot.

How do other players feel about the nightmare quests? For me, at this point I have beat every quest mostly solo except for Dol Guldur and I struggle with the Dunland Trap, PiP, and the Fords of Isen. But other than those most quests are beatable. So nightmare really makes the game much better.

After thinking about it some more, I'd like to add the Dunland Trap in my top ten quests.

It might well be the most-well designed quest in the game. Why?

1.Time mechanic is very important but not necessarily a loss condition. You might want to discard your hand and draw new cards.

2. Another innovation, time is used as a survival counter, and cards that reduce time counters are suddenly beneficial...if you mount a proper defence.

3. Locations are integral to the gameplay. Not only are they not filler, like they so often are, but instead require careful management, just like enemies. Knowning where and when to travel is crucial.

4. High interactivity between locations, enemies and players (locations are not threat fodder here).

5. Notice how few locations have immunity to card effects? The designers have opted to introduce different mechanics to deal with Asfaloth rather than going for the easy choice. I cannot praise them enough for this.

6. Pressure is constant, unlike most quests where once you get past the beginning of the quest the challenge is mostly over. InsteD in TDT, early game you begin engaged with a Dunlending, then midgame you lose attachments and allies and engage more enemies, then lategame you have a boss enemy messing things up.

7. Careful deckbuilding lowers the difficulty but doesn't break the quest. Forgoing items makes things slightly easier here, unlike say, running a Dunhere deck during Into Ithilien ( which crushes the quest). Very few loopholes in general.

8. Unlike the Fords of Isen, card drawing here is not always punished. Windows of opportunity arise during the game when drawing cards has no ill effects and doesn't come back to bite you. Planning accordingly is rewarded.

9. Dunlendings are tough but never feel unfair (hurrr durrr Orc Vanguard and Mamukil). They also represent their theme of celtic influenced berserkers quite nicely. I think I enjoy them as enemies more than most people do though.

For all the above reasons, I think The Dunland trap is one of the best quests in the game. A lot of time and effort was clearly spent on it and it shows. It also hits the difficulty spot for me quite nicely, even though I've spent so much time bashing my head against Chief Tusk I now resemble a dwarf.

Best quests, in no particular order, from my multiplayer point of view:

-Foundations of stone.

-Three trials.

-Watcher in the water.

-7th level.

-Conflict at the carrock.

-Massing at Osgiliath.

'Worst' is a bit of a harsh word here, as I usually don't even dislike any quest.

I'd say less entertaining mechanic-wise:

-1st quest hobbit box 2

-2nd quest hobbit box 2

-3rd quest hobbit box 1

See a pattern here?

I really enjoy:

Morgul Vale

Catch an Orc

Journey down the Anduin

Hunt for Gollum

Massing Osgiliath

Stewards Fear

Seventh Level

I dont like:

Spiders and Flies

Lonely Mountain

Shadow and Flame

Laketown

Rosghobel Nightmare

Into Fangorn

Best quests:

• All the Black Riders quests (so thematic, fun and wonderfully laid out)
• Foundations of Stone (so different each time i play it, fun quest)
• Red Horn Gate (My all time favorite Adventure Pack quest, i love the setting and theme)
• Return to Mirkwood (Love this one, very challenging but still a lot of fun)

Worst quests:

• Shadow & Flame (absolutely unbeatable without creating some super specialized Balrog killer deck)
• Siege of Cair Andros (way too difficult, at least in 1-2 Player setting, cool quest but we never play it)

I think mine would have to be:

Favourite Quests (in no particular order).

• Foundations of Stone
• Journey along the Anduin
• Battle of the Five Armies
• The Morgul Vale

Worst Quests (again in no particular order).

• Druadan Forest
• A Journey to Rhosgobel (my absolute least favourite quest)
• We must away, ere break of day
• Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim
• Into Ithilien

Favourite:

• The Hills of Emyn Muil: a calm one without pressure
• The Redhorn Gate: thematic, atmospheric, cold and cool
• Foundations of Stone: in MP environment the best one
• The Siege of Cair Andros: very challenging in a non-annoying way
• Encounter at Amon Din: interesting mechanic, in MP too easy
• all Black Rider quests: much fun with hobbit decks

Disappointment:

• The Watcher in the Water: annoying tentacles, my least played quest
• Road to Rivendell: deck construction depends on sleeping sentry
• Into Ithilien: ridiculous difficulty
• Flies and Spiders: surprisingly boring

Out of the ones I have played

Favourites:

The Seventh Level

The Road to Rivendell

The Watcher in the Water

A Shadow of the Past (has a very nice flavour, though Hide tests are annoying)

Least favourites:

Conflict at the Carrock

The Hills of Emyn Muil (then again, very thematic)

Return to Mirkwood

The Redhorn Gate (though it has great art)

Into Ithilien

To Catch an Orc - I hate this scenario

All-in-all I guess I favour the Khazad-Dûm and Dwarrowdelf quests. The first cycle wasn't great to me. I like Heirs of Númenor but it can be very difficult if you don't buy everything and have super powerful decks. I haven't begun the Ringmaker cycle yet.

As of the moment:

Favorites:

• Siege of Cair Andros
• Watcher in the Water
• Morgul Vale
• Steward's Fear
• Journey Down the Anduin
• Encounter at Amon Din

Least Favorites:

• The Dead Marshes
• Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim
• The Lonely Mountain
• Assault on Osgiliath
• Peril in Pelargir

Best (in no particular order):

Foundations of Stone
Knife in the Dark
Road to Rivendell
Trouble in Tharbad
Nightmare Anduin
Nightmare Dol Goldur

Blood of Gondor

Worst: The only scenarios I really don't like are the ones where you're waiting around forever for something to come off the encounter deck.
Hills of Emyn Muil (getting stuck while waiting for victory point locations)
Redhorn Gate (getting stuck while waiting for victory point locations)
We Must Away Ere Break of Day (because I won't finish it without the treasures and that can be so luck dependent)

Top 3

Into Ithilien

A Shadow of the Past

Morgul Vale

Bottom 3

The Long Dark

Peril in Pelargir

Dungeons Deep & Caverns Dim

My favorites include:

Journey Down the Anduin - a classic and the hill troll is always tough.

The Seventh Level - swarms of orcs

Watcher in the Water - Big Bad Boss fight

Foundations of Stone - random split quest areas are always exciting

Stewards Fear - good replayability and I like how Underworld works

Druadan Forest - Can be on the easier side, but a very different feel with prowl and archery

Morgul Vale - 3 unique boss fights

Everything from Black Riders - So good

Pretty much everything from Isengard/Ringmaker - They are really hitting their stride with interesting mechanics and great stories.

Dislikes include:

Shadows of Mirkwood cycle - seems like every scenario except CatC has one major flaw in it: Hunters from Mordor can be OP; Rhosgobel requires specific deckbuilding; Hills are boring; Gollum can disappear in Dead Marshes; Return to Mirkwood threat gain is ridiculous when played solo.

Anything that relies on Battle and Siege - Interesting idea, but it requires specific deckbuilding and makes many cards worthless

Anything that involved flipping over multiple cards until you happen to get lucky - I'm looking at you Riddles and Long Dark

Anything that has the Southrons encounter set - Every card is really hard (Southron Support esp.) and the shadow effects are brutal

Anything that has the Mordor Elite encounter set - Every card is really hard (Master's Malice and Orc Vanguard esp.)

What I like:

To me Dunland Trap and Three Trials brought the game on a new level. They're both addictive. Their design is flawless. They're masterpieces. And I love these Scots Dunlendings!

Lots of people already mentioned Jorney down the Anduin which is still a motivating ad timeless quest.

Loved all quests of the Heirs of the Numenor and Black Rider Expansions.

Into the Pit, The Watcher in the Water and Redhorn Gate are my favourite quests of the Dwarrowdelf cycle.

Well, what I don't like are quests like:

Journey to Rhosgobel, the mechanics just don't work here.

Steward of Gondor, because the solo mode is just too hard; it's great though with some house rules.

every quest that has a riddle mechanic in it (and that doesn't have a big kraken as a boss monster, 'cause krakens are cool)