Randomisation
I mentioned earlier that one of our design goals was: Add randomised elements into Skirmishes to keep replays interesting. We are well aware that any bit of content that you replay runs the risk of becoming boring and repetitive. By making Skirmishes both short and repeatable, we are potentially setting ourselves up for a problem. We’ve all played games where such repetition becomes frustrating. Games often tackle this problem by including enough randomized elements to keep it interesting (Rogue-like games come to mind). With Skirmishes we have put a number of systems in place to keep the variety high and each playthrough varied.

Monster Spawns
Each Skirmish has a set of monsters that are thematically linked to the story of that Skirmish. In Tuckborough Troubles, brigands, wolves and Orcs have invaded. These will be the monsters you see each time in that space. Where and when you see them will change with each playthrough, as well as what they are doing, what variety, and how difficult they are. For instance, during your first foray into Tuckborough you might find 3 swarm melee Orcs patrolling around a campfire while a normal archer Orc sits near the fire. The next time through, there may be a pair of elite wolves who lurk behind the tents! Spawns of monsters will usually be in the same general places to keep playthroughs moderately consistent, but each time through will have its own variety.

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We're pleased to reveal our pre-order programme for The Lord of the Rings Online™: Siege of Mirkwood (LOTRO), the new digital expansion to the 2008 MMO of the Year which is scheduled to launch this autumn.

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Story Instances
Now that you’ve read the overview of the Skirmish system, let’s start next with what Skirmishes are at their very core: instances. We believe instanced spaces are some of the best content in LOTRO. Instances allow us to create a directed experience, set up interesting interactions with NPC's, and fine tune battles. Almost more importantly, instances allow us to tell stories. You can't set the Prancing Pony on fire in public Bree, or have Elrond’s sons join the battle against invaders in the public portions of the game. Instead, as instances, you can expect Skirmishes to contain all of the things you've seen in other instances: monsters, quests, NPC interaction, bosses and interesting locals. Because they are Skirmishes, each of these things will have a twist that we'll talk about now, and in future weeks.

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