How to use LOTRO traits

Ah, there's nothing like being new at a game, is there? Here I was thinking I was doing pretty well, when I discovered that I'd completely misunderstood how traits work in LOTRO. I got my first trait for one of my LOTRO characters a while ago and after looking into the character sheet and seeing the equipable traits, but seeing no way to actually equip them, I had assumed that these minor traits were automatically equipped, and that I would find some way to equip other ones later. Not so, my friends. In LOTRO, a trait must be equipped for it to be active on your character. First, what is a LOTRO trait? A trait is supposed to say something about your character, such as how generous you are. You get traits by performing certain quests or completing Deeds and sometimes by levelling up. Each trait can bestow certain positive effects on your character. In other words, a trait is like a permanent LOTRO buff.Press J to bring up the Traits tab on your character sheet and you'll see what traits you have earned, but these are not equipped. Hover over a trait to see a description of what it does and details of its effects. You'll also see that LOTRO traits have ranks, so you can improve them and get better buffs. What's more, because a lot of traits are attached to Deeds, you can actively decide to try and perform a Deed in order to get a rank in a Trait.When you've earned a trait, you need to equip it, but there is no way to do this yourself. Instead find yourself a bard (not a Minstrel playable character). Bards appear on the map as a lute icon. Talk to them and select Manage my traits. You can then drop a trait onto an available slot on your character and pay the amount to have it equipped. You have various different trait categories, such as Virtue and Character and not all the slots are available until you level up. You can't apply a Character trait until level 13 for example.You'll end up with more traits than you have slots, so you have to decide what combination is best. You can always pay a bard to re-configure your traits at any time. You don't lose them or have to have them equipped permanently.Traits are a further way to configure your LOTRO character and you do have control over which ones you earn. Combined with Deeds, they can have a significant impact on your character's abilities.