Skirmishes = The Hotness (And ding level 31)

Shoestrings is now Level 31, in fact he just finished up his level 30 quest involving burglarizing a sword for Palma Brownlock. Here's a pic of us chillin' in the basement of the Forsaken Inn.


It was maybe 1 out of 2 quest completions I've done outside of skirmishes in ten levels. The exp is just so rich in skirmishes that they are perfect for me. I've already done all the quests outside in the big vast world of LOTRO with my other characters, and I don't have a ton of time each day to devote to LOTRO. Running skirmishes for experience and those little skirmish marks I can trade in for loot is making me an extremely happy little hobbit.



I even had a chance to group up with Steve and Christie from LiquidLOTRO last night. I'm finally approaching their level range, and we were able to group up. Here we are at the end chest of the Attack at Dawn skirmish.


It was a little messy and could have gone better, but I think that will come in time as we continue to group up. I died a couple of times just learning the ropes of the significantly harder group skirmishes vs. solo skirmishes. There were a few bosses that I hadn't seen yet (and one in particular with a pretty nasty AOE).

I was happy I was able to try a few of my group specific skills that burglars get to start fellowship maneuvers. I mean the "exploit opening" and "trip" skills are great for an easy stun when soloing, but those two skills were meant for starting fellowship maneuvers. That's a huge benefit of grouping with a burglar, you know?

I asked Steve and Christie if they'd like to try any funky group maneuvers out, and they've just been pounding all red when those pop up.

The three person fellowship maneuvers are all about flushes and straights (these work both forwards and backwards):

Resounding Strikes - Flush - Red - Red - Red
Deception - Flush - Yellow - Yellow - Yellow
Three Pronged Assault - Flush - Blue - Blue - Blue
Mustering of the Troops - Flush - Green - Green - Green
Wrath of the Righteous - Straight - Red - Green - Yellow
Strength of the Pure - Straight - Blue - Red - Green
Sinister Plan - Straight - Yellow - Blue - Red
Will of the Strong - Straight - Green - Yellow - Blue

In a three-person group, these pretty much just do as advertised. Red is damage, blue is healing mana, green is healing health, and yellow is a damage over time. From what I remember in the past, the combos just give you a little extra oomph than if you didn't complete your maneuver in a combo.

I used to really appreciate the extra mana and healing group maneuvers back when I was playing a minstrel full time. It definitely took the heat off of me and made my job easier.

I can't wait to group up more and definitely run through more skirmishes! They're perfect for me and my busy lifestyle. Great to be able to jump on and complete a skirmish in 20 minutes and jump off, and since I've been through all this before, I really don't feel like I'm missing out on the world. I'll come back through the world when I finally decide to level my crafting after I'm a higher level. ;)

Happy Dueling!