Scaled Scourge

This week's entry began with an overwhelming question: "What cosmetics have I NOT used?" For starters, I've avoided most of the crafted gear after level 65. That's when gear skins started deforming the bodies of our characters. I also haven't put any of the Eastern Gondor gear to good use. I've been reluctant to use a good portion of the Helegrod and Rifts armor sets. I've often ignored the Draigoch sets, since I can rarely get them to mesh well with gear outside the sets. Suffice it to say, the list was extensive. It boils down to personal tastes, but those tastes, in retrospect, have been restrictive. Taking a chance, I settled for some pieces I've either rarely seen worn by anyone in LOTRO, on the cosmetics thread of the forums, or by fellow bloggers.

While I sifted through my tailor recipes, I came across the medium T9 Westemnet Skirmish set. I recall posting that gear as a cosmetic preview for Helm's Deep back in 2013. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to actually use it. The reasons why? I only leveled my light and heavy classes, using their 85 Hytbold sets right up to 95 when that was the cap. And I only used my tailor to craft guilded light armor recipes.

Anyway, with the amount of scales on the Westemnet Skirmish Armor and Westemnet Skirmish Leggings, I thought something dragon-themed or worm-themed would be fun. Sure, those themes have been done a thousand times in the cosmetic community since Draigoch was released, but I rarely spend time on those themes. (As you've probably noticed, I'm often obsessed with robes and elvish gear.) While I'm on the subject of Draigoch, the heavy and medium sets go very well with the chest and leggings. However, the shoulders might be difficult to obtain. As far as I know, you still need one of the Scorched tokens to barter for them. It's been a couple of years since I ran that raid, so it may have changed. I also want to mention that the cloak is elusive. Outside of Lalia's Market, it only comes from Lost Miner - Siam, a quest in the Barnavon Mines of Carreglyn. If you can't get that one, the Cloak of Unshakable Mettle, obtained from Show No Fear in the Great River, is a good alternative.

In recent days, I've discovered a delightful little plug-in from LOTRO Interface called ItemTreasury (yes, that's actually one word). It can be used to scan the game's database for all equippable, consumable, and quest-based items. It also has the ability to filter items by class, armor slot, weapon type, and so on. It's quite versatile and has been incredibly useful in finding specific skins for outfits. If I'm on my tailor and I need a crafted metalsmith skin, so long as I know the name of it, I can search for it and try it on without having to swap characters. I'd suggest checking it out, especially if you're an outfit builder. The only downside is that you need to update it after every major content release.

Shoulders: Epaulets of the Relentless Fighter (Black, Adventuer's Quartermaster in Galtrev)**
Back: Cloak of the Boar Clan Warrior (Black, reward from Lost Miner - Siam in Dunland)***
Chest: Westemnet Skirmish Armor (Rivendell Green, T9 Tailor)
Legs: Westemnet Skirmish Leggings (Rivendell Green, T9 Tailor)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Relentless Fighter (Black, Adventuer's Quartermaster in Galtrev)**
Feet: Boots of the Relentless Fighter (Black, Adventuer's Quartermaster in Galtrev)**

**Any of the heavy armor sets from the Adventurer's Quartermaster will share this appearance.
***Skin also available from Lalia's Market at time of posting.