Expansion
time is always a time of eager anticipation and quiet dread
amongst gamers, as the promise of new and exciting content is tempered
by the uncertainty of change. Even the most stable...Expansion
time is always a time of eager anticipation and quiet dread
amongst gamers, as the promise of new and exciting content is tempered
by the uncertainty of change. Even the most stable and venerated games
of the genre aren’t immune to this mixed bag of emotions. To
help alleviate your concerns and illuminate the darkness of the
unknown, Ten Ton Hammer has gotten hands on with the newest addition to
the storied world of style="font-style: italic;">Lord of the Rings Online,
with a behind the scenes in game look at style="font-style: italic;">Siege of Mirkwood.
Join Medawky, fresh off his guided tour of the new content, for a
preview of what’s coming and a review of what is already in
place in the current pre-open beta build.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: left; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76037"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76037" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">At the dock, ready to
venture into Mirkwood with my tour guide- Live Producer, Aaron Campbell.

Even though open beta is still a couple of weeks out it is fairly
obvious that the bulk of the content is in place for the upcoming
expansion. With many sites dubbing this a
“mini-expansion”, I was surprised and delighted by
the overall depth and scope of this newest installment to the
franchise. 
With only close to two hours of hands on time I
can already tell you that the aforementioned branding of style="font-style: italic;">Siege of Mirkwood
is a complete misnomer, this is no mini-expansion but rather a vast
enhancement that will add a whole new layer of playability to the game.
While it is true that there isn’t an entire new continent or
other worldly realm being created to explore, the addition of one of
the most feared and foreboding forests from the works of Tolkien can
hardly be dismissed, but the real star of the show is the skirmish
system.

My journey into the new area began on a lonely dock where I boarded a
small boat with my tour guide, Live Producer Aaron Campbell, and pushed
off for the far
My journey into the new area began on a lonely dock where I boarded a
small boat with my tour guide, Live Producer Aaron Campbell, and pushed
off for the far shore.
One of the first things I noticed after disembarking was the stark
contrast between the two shores.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 555px; height: 365px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76036"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 555px; height: 347px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76036" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">"We want you to feel the
contrast immediatley" - Aaron Campbell.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: right; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76034"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76034" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">Elvish Army base camp
that is established after instanced assualt encounter.

Players will gain access to the new content via the completion of a
“D-day” like encounter where the southern shore of
Mirkwood is invaded by the player and NPCs pushing in from Lothlorien
to form an elvish beachhead and encampment that will serve as the
initial quest hub.
The camp lies under the looming shadow of Dol
Guldur, former home to Sauron and the current residence of an army of
Orcs, Trolls, and other minions of The Dark Lord of Mordor, led by
three of the Nazgûl.

 Dol Guldur will serve as the focal point in the
culmination of the story that began with style="font-style: italic;"> Mines of Moria,
as players ultimately
ascend to the top of the keep to put an end to the evil that resides
there. Featuring the full scope of group content by way of three, six
and twelve player instances, the stronghold is even more impressive on
the inside than it is on the out.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: left; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76041"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76041" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">The fighting is intense
just to reach the entrance to Dol Guldur

You will need to arrive at
the place together, as even the outside is heavily guarded by some
menacing looking foes. The inner courtyard was large and it gives you
the sense of just how big the place really is, as you wander through a
portcullis into a large opening where high up at the top of the tower
the ominous fell be
 Dol Guldur will serve as the focal point in the culmination
of the story that began with Mines of Moria, as players ultimately
ascend to the top of the keep to put an end to the evil that resides
there. Featuring the full scope of group content by way of three, six
and twelve player instances, the stronghold is even more impressive on
the inside than it is on the out.  You will need to arrive at
the place together, as even the outside is heavily guarded by some
menacing looking foes. The inner courtyard was large and it gives you
the sense of just how big the place really is, as you wander through a
portcullis into a large opening where high up at the top of the tower
the ominous fell beasts swirl.

style="width: 549px; height: 200px; text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
border="0">
target="_blank" href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76042"> src="/image/view/76042/preview"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 183px;" /> target="_blank" href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76039"> src="/image/view/76039/preview"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 183px;" /> target="_blank" href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76043"> src="/image/view/76043/preview"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 183px;" />

During my tour I was able to experience two of the dungeons, the three
and twelve player versions. The three player encounter was an arena
style battle with several waves of trash capped off by a boss fight,
with each boss becoming progressively harder.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: right; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76035"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76035" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">Ignite the challenge
brazier if you dare..

While the pedestrian
version of this encounter was nothing mind blowing, the bosses did have
interesting abilities and look to offer a good test.
What really piqued
my interest here was challenge mode; by clicking a brazier in the arena
you can up the difficulty considerably by removing the trash and only
fighting the bosses… at the same time.  Teams will
want to have a high level of coordination and skill to knock this one
out. The twelve player raid instance was a classic keep style fight
with the players attempting to get to the top of keep to vanquish the
main boss. There were several boss encounters on the way up, with the
most interesting encounter being a gauntlet run that really keeps you
on your toes. The game’s built in dread mechanic is on full
display here and you will need to keep a brisk pace to limit the number
of adds and keep the dread low.

The Mirkwood quests, level cap increase and
Dol Guldur all make for an exciting addition to the game and are worth
the price of admission
alone, but the skirmish system is what pushes this over the top and
makes it a quality release.
Players of level 30 and above can now
organize a party, complete with NPC additions that you can load out to
help you, from anywhere in the world and enter the fray of these goal
oriented scenarios. Similar systems already exist in other games and
the folks at Turbine have done their homework, taking the best of those
ideas and blending them into a cohesive element that fits within the
context of the LotRO world.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: left; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76044"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76044" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">Shire Skirmish

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">"We are able to take
players back to areas of the world that were always considered safe and
add a story based challenge to it" - Aaron Campbell

While still in the testing stages it is obvious that the main
goal of the skirmish system is not one of a new and completely separate
part of the game, but one that enhances the existing game.
Skirmish
marks are obtained upon completion of the encounter and the type and
number is determined by several factors including the characters level
and the difficulty of the encounter.  The encounters have
several mini bosses called Lieutenants that are randomly placed
throughout the instance to keep things fresh and to keep players on
their toes, as you don’t know which ones or where they will
be located from one iteration to the next.  Each skirmish will
have several main objectives that need to be completed as well as
optional encounters that will come up throughout the battle to offer
additional rewards. Our skirmish took place in the Shire of all places,
allowing for an engaging fight as well as a great way to add
new lore into a game that is already brimming with it.

Redeeming your Skirmish marks also looks to be a fairly easy process as
skirmish camps are located throughout the world near every major city.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: right; width: 136px; height: 165px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76045"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 119px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76045" />

style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">Skirmish Camp, complete
with vendors eagerly awaiting you to redeem your badges of battle.

Players can elect to hold on to the marks and accumulate them to trade
up to more robust rewards or spend as they go and enhance their
characters with virtually every type of item in the game. The vendors
on display at the camp we visited were numerous and diverse in their
offerings.
The “Legendary Items” vendor
looks like it may be the most popular when the content goes live.

Whatever your opinion of game expansions may be, it is easy to tell
when one is done correctly and style="font-style: italic;">Siege of Mirkwood
is an obvious winner.  The overall direction these additions
will take the game should be to a new level of success among both
current players and game expatriates alike. If you have been away from
LotRO for a while or always wondered if it was worth checking out, I
would definitely recommend you take a look and start your own journey
to middle earth.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Lord of the Rings Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

Comments