The Skirmish system will allow all players -- raiders, casuals, mid-level, high-level -- access to the same content. Twelve new Skirmish instances will be available in addition to a pair of tutorial instances designed to introduce players to the system. Each of these instances is scalable based on the number of players; they each accept one, three, six, or twelve players at a time, with the deficit made up for by player-created NPC soldiers- to make a grand total of 24.

Additionally, many of the instances are scalable by level. For instance, one skirmish which features an assault upon and defense of Weathertop will accept players from level 30 to 65. Each instance has nine optional challenges, each of which awards skirmish points -- more on those in a moment. These challenges are randomized, as are the enemies inside the instance (within certain logical limits, of course), so you will not likely have the same experience twice.

Continue reading

Our Aion Mmorpg-Life giveaway has ended. Congrats to all the winners and all the rest better luck next time.

• Jhawke27 won the US version with an incredible roll of 80, 100 and 99.
• petar87 is EU version winner with 91, 97 and 89.

We’ll contact the winners immediately and I hope you guys put in your correct addresses. If we don’t hear from the winners in the next 12 hours we’ll be contacting the runner ups until the keys are distributed.

We have also prepared a consolidation prize for the most fun comment made and we have decided to give the EU open beta access key to Thanos Vrahatis and his comment. This will make it possible to play in the open beta but does not cover first month subscription or retail launch.

For more information visit

Turbine has announced today new The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion. Siege of Mirkwood will be available as a digital download this Fall with:

1. an increased level cap,
2. a new region including the legendary evil fortress of Dol Goldur,
3. major enhancements to combat and Legendary Items and the introduction of Skirmishes,
4. a new system where players will train customizable soldiers and take them into battle as part of the War of the Ring.

Check out the press release

Turbine has announced the results of the LOTRO Design Horse contest. The winner is Gundryn’s Iron Gray design. Bryng and SonofMan also submitted excellent designs and secured the two runner-up slots with their entries. Check out the winning designs and look for an Iron Gray mount in a future update to the game!

Gundryn Lotro Horse Irongray

Bryng Horsecontest

SonofMan Shire Pack Horse

As you've probably known Turbine has announced a horse design contest - a great opportunity to submit your very own design for a horse which could be taken and implemented into the game as a player mount in a future content update. Along with Turbine's announcement, new topic has arrived on forums.lotro.com dedicated to all rejected horse designs.

Although I prefer funny topics, this time my attention is directed to Horse Design: Real Ones. Just take a look and you will find out why.

ShirePackHorseTravisGalloway	Lotro Horse Buckskincopy
Lotro	Lotrohorsefinal

LOTROCast Episode 11 is now available for download! In this episode, Moormur and Alberos discuss the general goings on in and out of Middle-Earth, talk about "time off," and take another visit to the LOTRO Workbench. Check out the new episode at LOTROCast.com.

In celebration of our new AION.mmorpg-life.com site’s launch we wanted to do something special for you, our visitors. What better way to start the festivities than giveaway free copies of pre-ordered Aion: Tower of Eternity? With these you will be able to enjoy the Open Beta coming on September 6th without worrying whether you’ll get the OB key and you can start the game early, with other pre-order customers.

For starters we are giving away a pre-order key and full game version key of:

• 1x copy of Aion:Tower of Eternity (US)
• 1x copy of Aion:Tower of Eternity (EU)

Find out more about rules and conditions

Important Notice For All Players: The recent spam attacks on the forums.lotro.com contain links that appear to be images or other benign files, but instead redirect to keylogging software which captures account names and passwords.

Following these links will put your account in serious jeopardy. If you have already clicked on a suspicious link, you should run anti-virus and anti-spyware immediately. Please report suspicious posts.

Patience

If you also love The Guild song "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" take a look at this video based on your favorite game The Lord of the Rings Online! Great job done by 01cinder.

The Summer Festival is soon to leave us, so don't forget to exchange your Summer Festival tokens before the 31st August!