The latest, and penultimate developer diary for skirmishes, was posted a short while ago on the official LotRO website. The article can be found HERE.
Some of the information the diary conveys has already been covered in part by interviews and developer comments, but is still worth a read. In summary:
- To access skirmishes, you must first complete skirmish tutorials (which we know from previous dev diaries are accessed via skirmish camps outside most cities in Middle Earth).
- The skirmish creation panel is accessed using the UI or pressing CTRL-J.
- You can join a skirmish from anywhere in Middle Earth, except when in the Ettenmoors, inside instances, or when in combat. If the server is busy, you may be placed in a queue for joining a skirmish.
- Once your skirmish is complete (or should you fail it), you will be transported to the location in Middle Earth where you entered that skirmish
- The skirmish-join panel allows the leader to select the skirmish they wish to try out. Each skirmish is designed for different ranges of levels (e.g. Ford of Bruinen skirmish is for Levels 55 – 65), although you can still play if below the level requirements (but, this will impact upon the frequency of skirmish marks available).
- With the skirmish selected, choose the exact level the skirmish should be tailored for, its difficulty (Tier I, II, III a.k.a. easy, moderate, difficult), and the size of group (solo, small fellow, fellowship / 6-man, raid / 12-man). Once all categories are filled out, you will be made aware of the skirmish mark probability for yourself (different for those of varying level), and you can finally travel into the skirmish itself.
- A ring icon on a quest lets you know if you have the daily quest available for that skirmish.
- Defeat in a skirmish (i.e. requiring out-of-combat revival or a retreat) will not incur dread. Instead a stackable debuff will be applied to the player, meaning the accrue less skirmish marks.
- All stats and skirmish information is recorded and you can access it via a skirmish information panel.
- Intrestingly, those without Siege of Mirkwood, WILL be able to access skirmishes, but will only have limited access: being able to access a small number of skirmishes for limited periods of time a week.
All in all, things sound good for skirmishes. I was a little surprised they are available to those not subscribing to the new expansion. However, it does suggest Turbine are confident that Skirmishes will be popular, and by providing players without the expansion a ‘taster’ of how good skirmishes are, that it will act as an incentive for more SoM sign-ups. The way skirmishes work seems relatively straightforward, and the method for choosing skirmishes and difficulty e.t.c. looks very user friendly. I remain slightly confused with regards to the skirmish mark system, although I imagine this will all become a lot clearer when we get our hands on the merchandise!
Are you looking forward to the new skirmish system? Or is this a gimmick that will soon get old?
