My experiences: Forges of Khazad-Dûm

Introduction
Lord of the Rings Online is my first online game ever. My only character is a hobbit minstrel. I've never done a blog before.

Hardmode Instances
I'm going to describe my experiences with the Moria hardmode instances. The focus will be on the circumstances which allowed me to complete them and get a piece of radiance gear, as well as my thoughts on the hardmode experience in comparison to the questmode one. This, of course, will be totally subjective. My blog, my opinion.
You will find no rundown of how to succeed in the instances, because I guess that such information can be found in countless places elsewhere on the web. Although, if I get specific questions (especially minstrel-related ones), I will try to answer them.

First contact
This was the first of these instances I did. I went through it four times in a row, getting the radiance coin during the last run. I was extremely happy receiving my first radiance item, because I was told, in the game and on the web, that it is supposed to be quite a chore getting the equipment. This proved not true for me.
Perhaps I should attribute my success in these instances to my habit of keeping bonds with people whose play style I enjoyed when getting to know them in PUGs. When I am looking for a fellowship, I always take a look at my friend list to see if someone is online and willing to help. This way one gets to know each other better and better. It turned out that a couple of players I got to know while questing in Angmar were quite "instance-oriented" (and the characters I got to know were all alts).
So, one day I was just asked if I wanted to do the Forges, hardmode style. When I responded that I was a little afraid, had never done one of the Moria instances before and heard many bad things ™ about these, I was reassured that it is not that hard and that I would receive guidance. And indeed, it was not hard. A nice group seems to make all the difference.

Play experience
Forges are a blast! I absolutely love this instance and have re-played it very often because I still enjoy it. I like that there a just a few trash mobs in the beginning, these are just for testing if the group can work together and to introduce the "barrel-bombs". After that, there are four boss fights after another - pure, exciting action. All of them require a different tactic to be beaten, especially the second boss still proves challenging every time.

Hardmode-Questmode comparison
Managing the hardmode allows for finishing of all quests, no special actions are necessary. I got to appreciate this not immediatly, only after doing the other instances I realized that this is not a given. Which is sad, I love that a player does not have to make a decision between "doing the hardmode" and "finishing the quests". More on this when I discuss the other instances.

So, this was my first try of posting a blog entry. I'm still learning how to do it, so please be patient. If you have suggestions for improvement, please leave a comment.