With the launch of The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood less than two weeks away, the developers over at Turbine have been busy pumping out developer diaries on a number of topics. The two latest developer diaries outline changes in the new main menu to help with launching things like skirmishes without cluttering up the UI too much. The new changes to the menu system will also allow more customization options.

As LOTRO grows and new UI features are developed, like the new Skirmish Join and Skirmish panels, we have found that we can't just keep adding buttons to the toolbar at the bottom of your screen (or the border of your Radar) to launch the new panels. With this in mind, we set out to create a way for you to launch the new (and existing) features, which will support current needs and allow for future expansion.

The second diary explores one of the key focus points of the new expansion with the fortress of Dol Guldur. Tsieng Liu, from the LotRO Dungeon Team, explains the lore behind the fortress of Sauron and what kind of various content it will offer player who brave the dark fortress.

Dol Guldur is the fortress where Sauron dwelt when he was known as “The Necromancer.” It’s an old fortress that is now full of the foul servants of the Enemy on the edge of Mirkwood forest. It is in this region that the elves of Lothlórien are mounting an offensive in order to keep the Enemy from penetrating their forests.