Soldier of the Mark

It's been rather interesting two weeks digging through my massive cosmetic vault, spread across three cosmetic mules and several level-capped characters. At last count, I made a dozen new outfits, which I will be releasing at a rate of one per week. Anyway, as I was sifting through everything, I found those undyeable pieces released with every expansion starting with Rise of Isengard. I haven't seen anybody using those on my server in the past year, so I felt it was time to start reclaiming them and integrating them into full outfits. When I pick up Helm's Deep, I'll add the new set to my repertoire. With the upcoming expansion, I've wanted to create some sort of a Westemnet-worthy outfit.

For this particular blog post, I'm focusing my energy on the Hauberk of the Eastemnet--the pre-order piece exclusive to the Riders of Rohan expansion. On top of that, it's very rare that I focus on a heavy armor appearance.

I've always struggled with the pre-release gear, never quite knowing how to wear it without looking like every Jane Doe and Joe Schmoe. Thankfully, this hauberk made this outfit easier to compile. Because the colors are reasonably matchable, I simply had to determine whether to focus on the prominent olive color or on the less prominent gold or brown. By the time I had a finished product, I had used all three colors. What I intended as a normal Rohirric warrior's outfit ended up looking like something worthy of a king's personal guard.

If you'd like to see other outfits using the hauberk, I'd suggest checking out some well-designed sets at Plate Metal Jacket, particularly the Rohirric Warden: Lancer and Rohirric Captain: Knight.

I think it might be worth mentioning that this particular combination of pieces seems to work well on male characters from the race of men, hence the model choice. I've tried this on my male elf and it looks absolutely goofy due to their posture and generally thinner body shape. My female characters look fine in the Hauberk itself, but the shoulders and boots don't appear to fit very well. The shoulders don't sit properly on the body. I think it's a reasonable assumption, at least from my experience, that this is an outfit best used on a fuller, bulkier frame. Perhaps, a woman from the race of man with the body shape slider moved to the far right could pull this off as well.

It would have been amazing to take screenshots of this outfit either in the Great River or any of the Rohan zones, but this model can't make it past the Hollin Gate unlike most of my high level characters--which are primarily elves.

TIP: It's probably been said many times on many other blogs, but your character's race and gender will often determine the final visual outcome of whatever outfit you've created or are using. For some general tips on model-making, check out this fantastic guide created by The Starry Mantle and refer to the "Consider Body Shape" section.

Shoulders: Hyrde-axle (Umber, Dunland quest reward)
Back: Ceremonial Defender's Cloak (Olive, LOTRO Store or lockbox)**
Chest: Hauberk of the Eastemnet (Washed, undyeable RoR pre-order cosmetic)
Hands: Dunland Caretaker's Patched Bracers (Umber, Dunland quest reward)
Feet: Treiglur-lhopan (Umber, Rise of Isengard instance cluster)

**Also shares the same appearance with the Defender's Cloak, dropped by Zogtark in the Rift.