siege-of-mirkwood
Latest
Developer diary covers Siege of Mirkwood's new skirmish instances
The newest expansion to Lord of the Rings Online, the Siege of Mirkwood, will be introducing a new type of storyline instance for players to play in -- skirmishes. Skirmishes bring a new style of gameplay to LotRO, giving players the ability to participate in small military conflicts between the Free Peoples and the forces of Sauron while also being able to participate in small bits of content and still be rewarded.The first two parts, the overview and the instanced nature of skirmishes, go over what the new Skirmish system provides players, and how skirmishes put a twist on the old concept of instancing. Did you ever want to defend the Prancing Pony in Bree? How about fight along side Elrond's sons? Skirmishes will be opening up those options to players while still offering repeatable adventures for any group size.But we shouldn't talk our faces off here! Go on over and read Brian "Zombie Columbus" Aloisio's developer diary on the whole matter. He can describe it better than we can!
New content for LotRO confirmed: Volume III and Riders of Rohan are on the way [Updated]
Lord of the Rings Online fans excited about Siege of Mirkwood have even more to anticipate: in an interview with Gamerzines this morning, Turbine's PR Manager Adam Mersky confirmed the launch of Volume III in early 2010. Siege of Mirkwood will conclude Volume II: Mines of Moria, leaving the way open for the as yet unnamed Volume III.According to Mersky, "Volume III will kick off with our first content update of 2010. With our expansion this year we've changed the model; you can still expect to receive regular (free) content updates, but they may not map directly to the launch of a new Epic Story. The story will progress and proceed!" He went on to confirm that there is also another expansion in the works, and yes, it is called Riders of Rohan. This is separate from Volume III, and we'll be watching closely for more information in 2010.Between Siege of Mirkwood, Volume III, and the confirmation of Riders of Rohan, LotRO players have a wealth of new content to look forward to, and the two people left who haven't started playing might find this an excellent time to hop on board.[Update from Turbine: The actual name "Riders of Rohan" was never confirmed. They're contacting Gamerzines to fix the mistake now.]
Gaze onto Dol Guldur in Siege of Mirkwood
Back at PAX09, we brought you information on Lord of the Rings Online's latest expansion, Siege of Mirkwood. Unfortunately, at that time we weren't able to show any images of the breathtaking views Turbine treated us to -- at least not until now.Say hello to Dol Guldur, the fortress that served as Sauron's home back in his necromancer days in The Hobbit. It's pretty evil looking, yeah? it's also a massive vertical dungeon that -- and we can say from first-hand experience -- will astonish any fan of Gothic architecture . There are plenty more screens in the gallery, so take a look and share your thoughts.%Gallery-74262%
Latest LotRO dev diary details legendary weapon changes
From the last "Ask the Dev Team" session with the Lord of the Rings Online developers, we knew that some changes were coming to the game's Legendary Weapon system. The latest Developer Diary entry is devoted entirely to filling in some of the details on these changes, which should come into effect when the Siege of Mirkwood expansion launches in December. First and foremost (and definitely one of the best tweaks) is that you'll be able to tell if a legendary weapon will ever turn into something good before you pour time and money into improving it.There will also be a brand new item type, a series of "legendary item advancement scrolls". They will provide an alternative method of improving or altering legendary weapons, and will be found both as loot from enemies and from the deconstruction process. In addition, crafters are getting a significant nod with the introduction of a fourth relic slot that can only be filled by player-crafted relics. It gets better: every crafting profession can make a different kind of relic, providing a range of improvement options, and ensuring that no crafter is left out of the fun. To read up on all the details of the upcoming legendary item changes (including specifics on how experience will be altered) see the full dev diary at the official site.
Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood going live December 1
Have your frequent visits to the Mines of Moria and Mount Doom filled you with an inexorable case of the doldrums? Looking to get away to a hot vacation destination? The lush, arboreal lands of Mirkwood are ... well, they're pretty terrible. They're infested with monsters and unfriendly wildlife, and completely lacking in tropical luxuries. Still, they'll inject some fresh blood into the veins of Lord of the Rings Online when the appropriately-titled expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, goes live December 1. The expansion will be offered as a download through online distributors for $19.99 -- though current LOTRO players who upgrade their subscriptions to a multi-month plan before October 31 will get the Mirkwood expansion for free. For more info on the expansion (as well as few special offers which will accompany its release), check out Turbine's recent press release announcement.
Part one of LotRO's "Ask the Dev Team" feature now available
Recently, Turbine collected a batch of questions from the community for the Lord of the Rings Online developers to answer. Due to the amount of quality questions taken in, the devs decided to respond to more of them than they initially anticipated, and the answers will be given out over a number of weeks. We're now able to view the first installment, and we'll sum up a handful of the quicker questions and answers right here: On whether there are plans to open up the UI to customization and plug-ins: no, but there are more built-in customization options coming with the Siege of Mirkwood expansion. On the possibility of a shared bank slot for trading between one's own characters: yes! More details coming soon. (note: Turbine announced today that it is part of the LotRO Adventure Pack that can be purchased for $20 and will arrive at the same time as the Siege of Mirkwood expansion.) On future mail system enhancements, like multiple attachments: no to multiple attachments, but there will soon be an auto-complete for the "to:" field, for characters you have mailed in the past. On whether there are plans for a new PvMP zone: nope, no plans for it. These are but a few of the questions that the devs answered. Among the remaining ones, there is a particularly detailed entry regarding radiance gear and some upcoming changes. Check out the "Ask the Dev Team" feature at the official LotRO site for all the details.
Turbine announces the release date of The Siege of Mirkwood expansion
The next Lord of the RIngs Online expansion, the Siege of Mirkwood, has been dated by Turbine! The downloadable expansion pack will go live on the servers on December 1st of this year, and Turbine is offering up some very nice pre-order packages for those interested in getting back into Middle-Earth. We also have some really awesome hi-res screenshots of the new expansion for you in our gallery below!First of all, the lifetime subscription has returned to the 200 dollar price tag once more, making it very lucrative to grab a lifetime subscription if you don't have one already. Everyone, hooray for the nicely priced lifetime subscription.Also, any current or former player who changes their subscription over to a multi-month package (three, six, or 12 months) will get the Siege of Mirkwood for absolutely free. Yes, that's right, you heard us, free. The multi-month package deal, however, does not include the lifetime subscription. Sorry.%Gallery-74262%
PAX 2009: Turbine tells us all about Siege of Mirkwood
This last weekend at PAX 2009 we had the opportunity to sit down with Lord of the Rings Online's executive producer Jeffrey Steefel. He gave us a sneak peek at some of the new zone and instanced content coming in Siege of Mirkwood, as well as many of the new features. So if you're skeptical or just plain curious, we think you'll be most intrigued to see what knowledge we've uncovered after venturing deep into Mirkwood and all the way into Sauron's fortress of Dol Guldur.
PAX 2009: Turbine tells us all about Siege of Mirkwood part 2
Basically, Turbine is doing everything they can to make these just as fun on the hundredth time as they are on the first. There are limitations to how often you can do some of them, because Turbine doesn't want them to become too grindy. The first time you summon your horse after getting Siege of Mirkwood, the game will prompt you to turn it into a skill.
PAX 2009: LotRO Siege of Mirkwood coming this fall for $20
Yesterday's announcement of the mini expansion Siege of Mirkwood for Lord of the Rings Online was devoid of a date or a price, which was a deliberate choice on Turbine's part according to our PAX interview with the Executive Producer on the game. However, during our forthcoming interview with Jeffrey Steefel he informed us that fall is in fact the release date and once further testing is finished a more exact date will be announced.As for the price, Turbine seems to be trying something new with a $19.99 base price and some special promotional deals leading up to the release of the new expansion. Keep an eye out for our forthcoming interview about all things Siege of Mirkwood, including the combat and mount changes that we think you're going to find quite intriguing.
Turbine announces LotRO's next expansion: "Siege of Mirkwood"
The next expansion for Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online has just been revealed (along with the logo above): players will be able to download Siege of Mirkwood this fall and finish the epic storyline of Volume II that began with the Mines of Moria. Specifically, this will include Volume II Book 9 and an Epilogue. The level cap will be raised to 65, and along with the predictable traits, skills and virtues that come from extra levels, there will also be some new class quests. For the raiders, a new 12-man challenge involving the Nazgûl Lord awaits, and additional 3 and 6-man instances will cater to those hungry for small group content. Some enhancements to the Legendary items system and an upgrade to the game's responsiveness will be making it in too.A brand new feature to be introduced to Lord of the Rings Online in Siege of Mirkwood is the Skirmishes system: Skirmishes offer endless action in repeatable, randomized instances where players can create and lead customizable soldiers into battle, training them to greater skill as they earn victories against the forces of shadow. Answer the call of war wherever violence erupts with the new "World Join" function that lets players and their fellowships band together to fight in various locations throughout Middle-earth.You can be sure that more information about the expansion is coming up -- as a matter of fact, we'll have an interview to share in the next day or so. Stay tuned!
