By: Joe “jwbarry” Barry

Aloha and welcome to Forochel, the frozen icy wasteland of the North! Forochel is now home to one (of two) new skirmishes for this update -- The Icy Crevasse.

Location, location, location…

Forochel is an obvious region for us to visit. We haven’t added any Skirmishes up there yet and there’s some striking and unique landscape features to be found. This allowed us to create a visually distinct space that targets an untapped suite of slayer deeds. After the three Update 2 battle conversions we felt it was important to stick with offensive-based skirmishes this time around to get a different, fresher feel. This caused us to look for more channeled, focused areas rather than wide open ones.

When picking a location for new skirmishes, we want it to be iconic, memorable and someplace we feel hasn't reached its full potential. For Forochel, we've gravitated toward the crevasse that scars the southern section of the region. This space has great visuals, a tight channeled feel, and previously only had a horse route running through it. It also feeds into our story: A sorcerer from Angmar attempting to channel a blizzard through the crevasse and out into the waters of Evendim.

Moment to moment

Our intention is for this skirmish to be on the shorter side; a quick bite-sized romp. There are only four control points for the Forochel skirmish, and limited counter-attacks. This puts the play time right about the 10 minute mark.

We're also introducing a new mechanic throughout the space: The Winds of Forochel. This buff provides an increase in outgoing damage and run speed to all players and monsters in the Skirmish. The buff will increase as players take each control point until ultimately, in the boss fight, everyone is at 150% damage and 125% run speed. This creates faster-paced combat and gameplay space that feels more dangerous, but also lets players feel more powerful. Throughout the Skirmish there are steam vents that replace the The Winds of Forochel buff with a boost to outgoing and incoming healing when stood upon. These vents can be used strategically against the various enemies found throughout the Skirmish.

Wrapping it all up

The new Forochel Skirmish culminates in a battle against the Angmarim Sorcerer and his pet, a raised Mammoth Rider, in an icy cavern. These two enemies continually switch throughout the fight, and each brings unique skills to the battle. As with all Skirmish bosses, the battle’s intensity and mechanics ramp up as more players join in the fun. The Icy Crevasse opens at level 40 and scales up to the cap. Enjoy your trek into the frozen wasteland and make sure you pack your mittens!