The new Delving system is designed to increase the risk but also reward players undertaking “Before the Shadow” missions. In a recent developer blog post, we get a peek at this new system and how it will work, and what benefits it will bring to players.
Delvings are a new mechanic debuting with Before the Shadow’s Missions. When you complete your first new Before the Shadow Mission you’ll get a special Delving gem called an Unnerving Zircon, which sets you on your path to additional challenge for additional reward!
Completing the quest gets you a Delving Zircon to increase the difficulty of any Mission offered in Before the Shadow to Tier 1 Delving difficulty. If you succeed, you’ll get the next tier of the Delving Gem, which you can use to run your next eligible Mission on Tier 2 difficulty. Completing a Mission on Tier 2 gets you a Tier 3 gem and the process continues up to Tier 10.
Read the full preview on the official LOTRO Site.