The big game system to be launched in Siege of Mirkwood is the Skirmish System. A complementary way of gaining XP and usable by players of level 30 on up, Skirmishes are accessible anywhere in the game via the UI which will bring up the Skirmish menu. Skirmishes are repeatable, randomized and accommodate up to 12 players.LOTRO Gold Players can also set difficulty levels (Tier 1 through 4) and nine random objectives will show up during the skirmish system and it's up to players to decide if they wish to hit them all. The Skirmish system introduces an NPC pet - the Soldier that is accessible only within the system.
Apart from the fun, games and XP, players will reap Skirmish points which can be exchanged for rewards or used to train their Soldier. This NPC pet starts as a common foot Soldier, a simple meat shield. Players can change and improve his role by the skills that they decide to train. Yes, players can choose to re-spec the Soldier - in exchange for mere token sum of money of course. In the Skirmish system, each player can bring a Soldier with him or her, so your group can contain as many as 12 players and 12 Soldiers. Don't think you will crush the scenario with a party that large though. Although the difficulty tier can be set down, the system scales to numbers as well.
Saving the best for last, Jeff spoke of the raid instances in Siege of Mirkwood. In the Tower of Dol Guldur players can raid in the Sword-halls and Warg-pens. LOTRO GoldThere are new three-man instances there and parties of six can go after the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur within Sauron's Sanctuary of Sammath Gûl. The boss raid takes place on the top of the Tower of Col Guldur, a 12-man instance where players get to take down a Nazgul mounted on his Felbeast. His presence will have a powerful dread effect on the players all the way to the top of the tower and players will need all the Radiance and Hope effects they can get. Jeff ran his Warden up the tower, joking along the way about falling off, until we got outside the gate where he ran back and forth, trying to aggro the beasts so I could get a good look. Nasty! The art on the Nazghul and the Felbeast was beautifully horrid and the power of the beast conveyed in its form. This battle will be epic. Never mind that Eowyn took one down all by herself.
No big surprises in the storyline, but exciting additions to game content, a level cap increase and convenience improvements. LOTRO GoldAlthough they were not doing hands-on demos at PAX, there's not much fun in killing a Boss Mob with GM powers at any rate. The expansion at this stage in what they showed looked gorgeous. Siege of Mirkwood will be available "in the Fall" and that's just around the corner.