I’ve finally brought my Rune Keeper to level 30 and have started the skirmish experiement in earnest. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, please refer to this post. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now, and I think that, no matter what, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m a big fan of skirmishes, and enjoy working through them.

Here are some observations that I’ve found so far, in my first two days of this experiment:

1. The experience gained in skirmishes has dropped significantly since they launched.

  • Then skirmishes first launched, there was a +25% buff to the experience gained from killing monsters. This was removed a couple of patches ago, and now, XP gain is as it is in the world at large.
  • I used skirmishes quite a big with my main, Wardazar, when I was nearing level 50, and at that time, I found that it took about 4-5 skirmishes to get a level. Now, with my Rune Keeper, I’ve completed 7 Skirmishes, and I’ve barely gained 1 level

2. The money gained from skirmishes has increased.

  • When skirmishes launched, the consensus seemed to be that there was not enough money gained from completing them. This seems to have been rectified, as I’ve gained approximately 700 silver since I’ve started the skirmish experiment.

3. The repair costs have dropped TONS!!!!!

  • Damage to equipment was the same in skirmishes at launch as it was in the world at large, and this caused repair bills to be very high. Add to this the fact that you made much less money and you had a very frustrating scenario. Repair costs have now been toned down. At level 31, my average repair bill after skirmishes is about 5 silver. If I died a couple of time, it might go up to 15 or 20 silver. Very manageable.

Overall, a fairly good start to the skirmish experiment. I’m not leveling as fast as I thought that I would be, but I’m also not spending ANY time running from one place to the next. I’m also finding that I’m getting money much faster. At level 31, I’ve got over 2 gold, and I haven’t used the auction house or focused on money at all.

I’m also finding that I’ve got more skirmish marks than I know what to do with. I’m sure that will help me in the higher levels, but at the moment, I’m just hanging on to them.

See you in-game!