The Lord of the Rings Online seemed less hostile at launch, but as the Fellowship moves further east away from the safer lands of Eriador, war is spreading. The forest of Mirkwood, a once lush green land inhabited by wood elves has fallen to Sauron. The evil ring wraiths known as the Nazgul circle high above the fortress of Dol Guldur, keeping watch over the land, but the elves of Lothlorien seek to strike the forces residing in Mirkwood. Will you answer the call to battle?

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style="font-style: italic;">Dol Guldur is a key point of interest in Siege of Mirkwood.

Bringing the world of Middle-earth to life is no small task, but Turbine has done an excellent job in bringing J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings to the MMORPG audience through creative use of the lore and mechanics like Session Play, which allows players to experience events from the past such as the dwarves of Moria battling with the Balrog otherwise known as Durin’s Bane. The epic storyline puts the player in their own story that runs parallel to the Fellowship's adventure and the second volume of that story is about to come to an end with the launch of the Siege of Mirkwood (SoM).

SoM is the end to the storyline that began with the Mines of Moria expansion, but that’s not all this digital expansion will hold for players. Some of the regions of Mirkwood will be opening up along with the Dol Guldur stronghold. Skirmish combat will offer players a new way to experience dynamic battles in older areas that were once considered safe such as Bree and the Shire. Add all this together and you have a digital expansion that will have Tolkien fans drooling with anticipation.

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style="font-style: italic;">Players will aid the elves in establishing a foothold in Mirkwood.

Entrance into Mirkwood

While some people call this a mini expansion, no one can deny that the simple addition of parts of Mirkwood already has Tolkien fans giggling with glee. What Tolkien fan can hear that they will soon be able to experience Mirkwood and not think about Bilbo Baggins and his run in with the spiders, or the elf king’s capture of the dwarves?

Players will gain access to this new area by launching a D-Day-style assault on the southern shores of Mirkwood from Lothlorien. Your goal will be to establish a foothold for the elves to help push further into the forest. The main focus point of this new content is the stronghold of Dol Guldur, which also serves as a main point in the conclusion of the Volume II storyline that began with the Mines of Moria expansion. Awaiting players at the top is one nasty Nazgul riding a fell beast. Dol Guldur will host a range of content for players of varying sizes from solo, small group, full group, and raids.

It’s the Little Things That Count

The SoM will not only be offering larger content for players to enjoy, but there are also a few little things that will be welcome additions to the game. To start, the level cap will be getting jacked up to 65, so you might want to save those quest turn ins for later.

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style="font-style: italic;">The Nazgul guard Dol Guldur from the wings of their fell beast.

Horses will finally become a skill. No longer will you have to worry about accidently deleting or selling your horse and have to jump through the hurdles that are GM Petitions to try and get it back. However, this isn’t the only little change mounts are getting. Players will also be able to emote while mounted and even talk to NPCs and vendors without having to dismount. I can’t emphasize how happy I am to see this little thing make it in. There’s nothing worse than having to take a 5-10 second dismount, buy a quick item, then mount up taking another 5-10 seconds only to remember you forgot to buy your potions.

Legendary Items are getting a fourth runic slot for crafted runics, so you can make those Legendary Items have just a bit more kick.

Combat is changing just a little too. One of the most notable changes is that auto-attack can be interrupted. If you thought whacking your enemy and going for a soda was a good idea, think again. Try this after the expansion goes live and you might hear your character yelling for you to get back to the controls before you make it to the kitchen. And we all know how pissed our characters can get if we neglect them.

The last thing I want to touch on is one of my personal favorites, the shared bank slots. That’s right folks; the vault is finally getting a shared bank section that will allow you to share items with all characters on your account on the same server. No more sending multiple items through the mail. However, this system isn’t without limitation. There will be some restrictions to as Jeffery Steefel put it, “To prevent difficult utilization of this feature.” I believe that’s to prevent exploits and abuse of the system in dev talk.

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style="font-style: italic;">Even the Shire isn't safe from skirmish battles.

Skirmish Battles Ensue

While the increased level limit, entrance into Mirkwood, and other subtle little changes are great, what will really have players foaming at the mouth is the new Skirmish system. This system will allow a player or groups of players to join in a skirmish in various areas across Middle-earth. The Skirmish system puts the player in a once familiar area that has in the past been considered safe such as Bree or the Shire and engages them in a skirmish to defend the town or complete other objectives. According to LotRO executive producer Jeffrey Steefel, the goals of a skirmish are randomly generated to allow players a different experience each time they enter a new skirmish. This will certainly add a nice level of depth to the new system and keep players from getting to familiar with how the fight is going to go.

Players will also be able to use NPC controlled characters to aid them in battle. These characters are actually a skill the player can use and level up with talents-style skills using Skirmish Marks. These can be switched around so you won’t be locked into a single build once you make a choice. If you want a captain one battle and a minstrel the next you can have them. Your little companions can also be given a customized look so your NPCs don’t look like a generic copy of all the others.

Skirmish Marks are earned by completing objectives in a skirmish such as taking control points, surviving NPCs, or slaying the main enemy Boss. You can also gain marks at a certain point through the skirmish so that you always gain a little something even if your skirmish is a dismal failure. Skirmish Marks are calculated on an individual basis, so you may get more than a group member during one skirmish and they may get more than you the next depending on a number of factors. According to the latest LotRO Developer’s Diary, some of these factors are:

  • Level - The higher level the Skirmish, the more SM Level differential - If a player is HIGHER than the level of the Skirmish, he will receive LESS SM. A level 65 player going into a level 40 Skirmish to help a friend will receive minimal amounts of SM.
  • Fellowship size - Larger fellowships receive more SM. This shift is not very large, and is mostly in place to keep SM/Hour rates competitive, as larger fellowship-scaled Skirmishes tend to take longer.
  • Difficulty - The higher the difficulty, the more SM earned. This shift is larger than fellowship size, as we hope to reward ALL sizes more SM if they play more difficult Skirmishes.
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style="font-style: italic;">Skirmish barter merchants will allow you to cash in on your hard earned work.

Once you earn your Skirmish Marks you can use them at barter merchants to acquire new items. In some cases, there may be a veteran version of the same item and it will require a Special Mark to obtain. These can be found on Bosses and Lieutenants in skirmish battles. The level and group size set for the skirmish will also play a role in what type of mark drops.

All this might be sounding fun to you, but that’s not where it ends. The Skirmish system will track a huge amount of battle stats that Turbine is planning to implement on my.lotro.com and into leader boards and possibly tournaments, so if you enjoy fighting for the top rung of the ladder this will probably be something you’re going to enjoy.

SoM will bring a lot of new content to the game, but it will also bring that nostalgic feeling you get every time you learn a new iconic area will open up. Mirkwood has a rich history in Middle-earth from The Silmarillion, to Bilbo’s adventure and Gollum’s capture. It’s well regarded by Tolkien fans as an iconic place in Middle-earth’s history. While we won’t see all of Mirkwood with the expansions launch, we’ll be getting closer to experiencing other iconic areas such as the Lonely Mountain and maybe even the sight of the Battle of Five Armies. New mechanics and content will provide a fun and nostalgic experience as the game takes on a darker theme as evil stirs across the land. War has been declared. Will you answer the call?


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

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.

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