Mirkwood Explained: Opening Skirmishes

Skirmishes are definitely the crown jewel in SoM’s crown.  Why?  Because all players 30+ can experience this content and can use it to the betterment of themselves in both present and future situations.  But how does one go about opening Skirmishes?  How do we as players open the system?  Well fear not, it is all quite easy.

Please be warned that there are heavy spoilers contained within this guide.

First off, using their favorite notification system (the mailbox) all eligible characters should receive a letter stating that there is a war going on.  The attachment that you get from the letter should begin a level 30 quest, named “Skirmishes – Reporting In” which will require you to talk to a Skirmish Captain, located at one of the skirmish camps (you can go to any of them).  These captains can be found at the following locations (via Allkhazam):

**Thanks to Goldenstar and Doc Holiday for helping to fill in the gaps!

Secondly, once you go the Skirmish Captain you will receive a collection quest named “Skirmishes – Orders of War” which will require that you collect 10 War Orders and then a Target List from any orc, uruk, goblin, troll, warg-rider, etc, through-out Middle-earth.  The only requirement is that the mob must be capable of giving you experience upon its death.  Meaning that the target level color must be green or higher.  Also note that you will not get the objective to collect the Target List until you obtain all 10 War Orders, so don’t go back to the Skirmish Captain after collecting the 10 War Orders until you get the Target List!  Don’t worry though, the same creatures that gave you the War Orders will also drop the Target List so you don’t need to wander anywhere, just keep on going.

Once you get both the War Orders and the Target List, go ahead and go back to any of the Skirmish Captains and hand them in.  Now comes the fun part, the actual introductions to Skirmishes!  So what does that mean?

Again, please be warned that there are heavy quest spoilers following.

The First Instance:
Well, now you will have two instances to complete.  The first one deals with the basic functions of a Skirmish by introducing you to a generic Soldier and the capturing of several locations within Bree.  Now this is not the Bree that you are used to, but one that has undergone a change of season (it’s snowing and the landscape is snow-covered) and it has certain areas that have been taken over by Brigands.  It is now up to you and your soldier to capture several key locations and free them.  You will also experience a counterattack and an encounter both of which are easily dealt with.

The Second Instance
The next instance beings by using the actual Skirmish Join interface to begin the “Defence of The Prancing Pony” instance (sorry, still a solo quest though).  You will also work with a more complex soldier this time by purchasing (yes, you have to spend some of the Skirmish Points you’ve earned thus far) the Warrior Trait inside the instance and equipping it on your soldier.  During this instance you will deal with a Lieutenant and their abilities as well.

And that’s it!  After the second instance you will be given the option of picking an instruction guide to the different types of soldiers available and the tutorial is complete!

I didn’t think either instance was that difficult, although I did die due to lag (which is pretty apparent in the video) and a bit of confusion on my part (for some reason my old Gladden character transferred over and not my charcter Landroval character so I kept mis-clicking).  Hopefully this kind of lag won’t be a huge issue in SoM.  All-in-all I found the experience quite enjoyable.  It’s hard to believe that the idea for this system started off so small and grew into such a major feature, if not the major feature, of Siege of Mirkwood.  I think this system holds a lot of interest and potential for future development.  It is by no means a panacea as there is always room for improvement, but this should supply quite a bit of fun for everyone.