The War-forged Defender - Aerthain of Gladden

Almost all of my dragon cloaks have gone unused cosmetically. I love the designs and how they ever so eloquently glow. Most of the time, I have found they feel out of place...especially the Wyrmscale Acrobat's Cloak. It's almost as if you need specific gear that jives well with the main colors of each cloak, particularly the glow--their most dominant aspect. That's the main reason why I don't use them. However, when I found this Flame-touched Hauberk in the skirm camp, I figured that I'd give one a go. The nearly glowing embroidery on it reminded me of the Wyrmscale Protector's Cloak.

I've recently been taking a lot of costume screenshots in the snow covered Misty Mountains and frozen tundra of Forochel. This time around, I wanted something along the lines of fire and brimstone. Cold, hard steel meeting the red-hot hammers of the great dwarven metalsmiths. A noble warrior quite literally forged in the heat of battle. Given that this toon is only level 36, running The Forges in Moria was clearly out of the question. So, I had to find a place that fit this outfit...and the open forges in Thorin's Hall felt comparable to the Flaming Deeps. It ended up being the perfect setting for this photo shoot!

This outfit actually was intended for my other Warden, Cirilyn. However, it still didn't look right after letting it sit for a couple of weeks. Instead, I decided to migrate these pieces to Aerthain and see how they looked on a male body. What a difference! The shoulders were significantly bulkier and the hauberk filled out incredibly well. Don't get me wrong, I love my female warden, but on her the hauberk looked more like a snug-fitting tunic. It goes to show that the same outfit can appear very different between genders...and sometimes races too.

TIP: It can be very difficult to take pictures in areas with atmospheric heat effects. If you notice in the above pictures the slight pixelation/blurriness, that's the photo capture trying to register the heat. By turning off your post processing, you can eliminate that effect...though you will lose any sort of glowy quality on your gear as a result. I normally wouldn't have posted this, but I wanted to let it serve as an example : )

Head: Helm of the High Captain (Washed, Mirkwood Captain class vendor)

Shoulders: Hyrde-axle (White, Dunland epic quest reward)

Back: Wyrmscale Protector's Cloak (Burgundy, T7 tailor)

Chest: Flame-touched Hauberk (Washed, skirm camp cosmetic vendor)

Hands: Leather Gauntlets of Vigour (Grey, world drop)

Feet: Hall-general's Boots (Grey, Moria Captain class vendor)