Updated for Update 2
With the "solofication" of Volume II of the epic story, three new skirmishes are being added with Update 2.
To unlock these skirmishes, you must complete all of Volume 2, Book 5, Chapter 5 of the epic. If you complete 2.5.5 before Update 2 launches March 21st, the new skirmishes will automatically appear in your Skirmish Join panel. Once unlocked, these skirmishes are repeatable, even for free players. See the Battle for Moria (2.5.5) Skirmishes Dev Diary for more info.
Skirmishes by Level, Content Pack and Unlock
Ever wonder when your next skirmish will open up? This chart provides a quick reference to LOTRO Skirmishes by level and expansion.| Levels | Skirmish | Type | Content Pack | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-65 | Trouble in Tuckborough | Offense | Free | |
| 20-65 | Siege of Gondamon | Defense | Free | |
| 25-65 | Stand at Amon Sul | Defense | VIP or Purchase | |
| 30-65 | Thievery and Mischief | Offense | VIP or Purchase | |
| 35-65 | Defence of the Prancing Pony | Defense | VIP or Purchase | |
| 40-65 | Ford of Bruinen | Defense | VIP or Purchase | |
| 45-65 | Survival: Barrow-downs | Survival | VIP or Purchase | |
| 55-65 | Battle of the Deep Way | Defense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 5, Ch. 5 |
| 55-65 | Battle of the Way of Smiths | Defense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 5, Ch. 5 |
| 55-65 | Battle of the Twenty-first Hall | Defense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 5, Ch. 5 |
| 60-70 | Strike Against Dannenglor | Offense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 9, Ch. 4 |
| 60-70 | Protectors of Thangulhad | Defense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 9, Ch. 14 |
| 65-70 | Breaching the Necromancer's Gate | Offense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 9, Ch. 15 |
| 65-70 | Assault on the Ringwraiths' Lair | Offense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 9, Ch. 15 |
| 65-70 | The Battle in the Tower | Offense | Free | Epic Vol. 2, Bk. 9, Ch. 18 |
| 65-70 | Rescue in Nurz Ghashu | Offense | Free | Epic Vol. 3, Bk. 1, Ch. 8 |
Skirmish Notes:
- All skirmishes can be set to Tier I, II or III difficulty except Survival: Barrow-downs, which is limited to Tier I. Don’t worry, it will get hard enough.
- All skirmishes scale by level within the range shown below.
- All skirmishes scale by group-size for Solo, Duo, Small Fellowship, Fellowship and Raid (12-man) groups, except Survival: Barrow-downs, which is limited to Small Fellowship, Fellowship and Raid (12-man) groups.
Soldier and Skirmish Skill Ranks by Level
Your soldier's rank, soldier's skills and your personal skirmish skills are capped for Free and Premium players. You can raise your skirmish soldiers and skills to rank 7 as a Free player, but you'll need to purchase Skirmish Trait unlocks to raise them further.| Max Rank | Max Level | Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 43 | Free |
| 15 | 58 | VIP or Max Rank 15 Skirmish Trait unlock1 |
| 252 | 69 | VIP or Max Rank 25 Skirmish Trait unlock3 |
2 - Also unlocks advanced lieutenant slayer deeds.
3 - Also included in the Siege of Mirkwood expansion if you purchased it before November 29, 2010.
19 comments:
you are missing some of the MOM/SM requiremnts. I know that Survival: Barrow Downs requires SM, because it is unavailable to me.
Interesting. I'll go back through the patch notes and double check the requirements.
Per www.lotro.com, Survival: Barrow Downs unlocks when you reach the minimum level. Not sure why you aren't seeing it.
Would you recommend buying skirmishes or quest/expansion packs? I know skirmishes have more replay value endgame, but they cost as much as some quest packs, which have more immediate value - and I've just answered my own question there, haven't I? Still, other opinions would be helpful.
I actually believe that skirmishes have more value for leveling, rather than at the end game. Sure, some people skirmish at 65, but many folks run Great Barrow or Eregion Library and school for a chance at Superior Third Marks and get skirmish marks as a side benefit.
On the other hand, each skirmish you unlock has a daily quest associated with it that pays a fixed XP bonus (about 5K) regardless of level. This can be hugely helpful when trying to level, especially if you don't have many quest packs.
On the other hand, skirmishes do not provide a means of gaining TP. They may help you advance some slayer deeds, as long as you have access to the zone the skirmish is based in, but that is about it. I'd recommend buying a skirmish on sale if you have the spare TP, otherwise, there's no real substitute for quest content! I bought Thievery and Mischief pretty early on based off recommendations from the Casual Stroll to Mordor podcast.
So if i buy the Siege of Mirkwood expansion do i also get the 6 skirmishes or do i only get the quest pack and have to buy the skirmishes separately ?
Not sure what to do and the Journey to Winter Home is coming in EU on 7 december ... if i get the skirmishes to it would actually be cheaper to buy it now.
what does daily skim means?
how many times can i run it to get that bonus xp(~5k)?
Once a day. The first time you do a skirmish each day you get xp and extra skirmish marks. After that, if you do the same one again, you get no xp bonus (still get your kill xp though, which is a LOT in some skirms) and you get no bonus marks (but you still get a fair amount from doing tasks).
This means that if you want xp or skirmish marks, your best bet is to do each skirmish one time each day. If you want money (up to 500s in a chest, and some of the skirms are under 5 min long...), or certain tokens for outfits, etc, it makes sense to repeat the same one over and over.
*nodnod* Both valid opinions. Considering that I'm trying to get by completely free, the lack of TP return makes buying skirmishes rather unappealing. I guess I'll get by on GB instances and the free pair until I scrape together enough points (which will probably take several characters to do) to buy the expansions and get the SoM skirmishes.
You'll get more skirmish marks per run at higher levels. You'll also need more skirmish marks at higher levels, since things like Helegrod armor (2.3k marks each, along with other stuff), Scrolls of Empowerment (2k marks each), and mats for 2nd age reforged gear (forget name and exact amount) are all more important than things you'll get solo questing.
I recommend doing Trouble in Tuckborough and Thievery and Mischief daily as you level. The exp bonus is static, or at least doesnt scale as much as exp requirements per level do. Thus this bonus (~5k exp) is much more valuable at lower levels. With the possible exceptions of the mirkwood skirmishes (haven't tried em yet), none of the other skirmishes are really worth doing, since the npc will steal a lot of your exp. Anyways, save up your skirmish marks. Once your soldier is starting to become to gimp to do his job, rank him up, but don't bring him above 2 levels below you. If you're about to level, wait to level to upgrade him. It'll cost less marks.
With all the marks you've been saving, you'll only need to do a little bit of farming for your lvl 45 class quest. The average person will need about 5k marks, even after finding most of the quest items or buying on AH.
You can also convert 2k marks into 15-20g by buying and posting Scroll of Empowerment on AH.
To add to the above poster, most of this is correct. The 2nd age reforge item he's referring to is the Symbol of Celebrimbor which costs 1,005 skirmish marks along with 5 superior third marks.
To answer another question in this post, the mirkwood skirmishes become available as you get to them when doing volume II book 9. When you complete that particular skirmish in the storyline, it becomes available for repeat. Most of these are good for repeat, but in my opinion, the Danneglor skirmish is the quickest and yields the most marks in a short amount of time.
Also, the rift skimish unlocks when you get to the final chapter in Volume III Book 1. This is an easy 10 minute skirmish that can yield 213 skirmish marks (233 w/encounters) for the first run, and an additional 106 - 126 skirmish marks per subsequent run excluding extra marks you may find along the way.
Scrolls of Empowerment depend on demand on server. On Elendilmir, they usually go for 12-15g. If you post for 15-20g on Elendilmir, there is a chance it might not sell, so check the AH for average pricing before you post on your server.
@Anon re: "the mirkwood skirmishes become available as you get to them when doing volume II book 9. When you complete that particular skirmish in the storyline, it becomes available for repeat."
Can you confirm this is true for F2P who have not purchased the Siege of Mirkwood quest pack?
Actually, the only part of the statement that needs confirmation is: "When you complete that particular skirmish in the storyline, it becomes available for repeat."
Is that true for ALL players, including F2P who have not purchased the Siege of Mirkwood quest pack?
As far as F2P, I'm not sure whether mirkwood skirmishes become free as I had the mirkwood expansion myself for over a year now. I know that the epic storyline is free for F2P players, but not sure of the limits of that into the Moria and Mirkwood expansions whether the skirmishes would unlock or not. I downgraded to premium and still have access to the mirkwood skirms, rift skirm, and the two free skirms. However, I haven't bought the amon sul, ford of bruinen, prancing pony, or thievery and mischief skirmishes and don't have access to those.
So, with that said, and didn't see the mirkwood skirms available for purchase in the LOTRO store. I would take a guess and say they're free for F2P players once you get to that point in the epic story. (Not 100% sure though)
Needing a list of each skirmish zone's mobs please. Such as Amon Sul's Gulgaw Arm.
Those are encounters within the skirmish. If you take out one of the encounters during the skirmish (not after you've finished it I believe), you will receive the deed with all the possible encounters within that skirmish. The encounters are random and believe you only get 2 per skirmish.
I just hit level 20 as F2P and my first skirmish (tutorial) was Thievery and Mischief. Then I did Defence of the Prancing Pony and bought my first soldier.
Did I miss something or the list hasn't been updated yet?
The tutorial quest is the only opportunity you have to do that instance without purchasing it. Its a 'tutorialified' version.; The list is accurate.
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