Whispers of Yávië

Shortly after the Abyss of Mordath released, I decided to pick up my long retired Hunter. For four years, he'd been sitting at level 85, having never crossed the Entwade and into the Westemnet. When the class trait trees first dropped and the time consuming Epic Battles were the only way to obtain top tier jewellery, I was forced to heavily cut back on the number of active alts. Unfortunately, after those four years, I'd forgotten how to play my inactive classes. I was having a terrible time with my Hunter, which had been fundamentally altered by those trees, and decided it'd be easier to roll a new one. The class just wasn't what I remembered it to be.

Anyway, having made a new alt means (and you probably guessed it) having seven new outfit setups. I may or may not have filled all seven before I started Ered Luin quests!

For my hunter's first outfit, I wanted something classic and Elvish for questing in LOTRO's pre-Dunland zones. Lots of leaves. Lots of golden trimmings and accents. That and I've also been itching to use some of the elf-stone gear from Dar Narbugud, which I've finally learned how to solo on my LM and Warden. Luckily, the solo-unfriendly Mistress wasn't required to complete this outfit. The rest was obtained from the cosmetics vendor in the skirmish camp.

And in a completely uncharacteristic move, the entire outfit was dyed the very earthy dark mossy green. Normally, I'd have gone for my bolder greens. But with the subtle and warm browns, the earthier colors were more appealing. Ranger green, with its yellowed tones, or olive would have also made great alternatives to the rare and festival-exclusive dark mossy green. Any green worked with this...except for the grayish ashenslades green. So, not only is this outfit undeniably Elvish, it's also very Autumn-themed for a *ahem* springtime post.

I hope everybody has been enjoying the cosmetic weapons project. It's been quite the undertaking. So far, I've been able to tackle two of the twelve weapon categories. Lore-master staves have made their appearance over the last two weeks. One-handed swords, which I've collected all my pictures of, should be posted in a couple of weeks. Due to this project, I've had to rearrange my schedule of blog posts. This week's entry was originally slotted for mid-June. It was either write this entry yesterday or delay it until August, when I have my next opening. There's a ton of content on the way. So much that, for the next several months, I should be posting every other weekend, alternating between outfits and weapons to avoid burnout.

Head: Ceremonial Hat of the Written Word (Dark mossy green, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Moria light armor)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Lady's Power (Dark mossy green, Champion class vendor in Caras Galadhon)**
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Wood (Dark mossy green, LOTRO Store)
Chest: Ceremonial Jacket of the Shield Wall (Dark mossy green, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Moria medium armor)
Legs: Ceremonial Leggings of the Quiet Step (Dark mossy green, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Moria medium armor)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Lady's Power (Dark mossy green, Champion class vendor in Caras Galadhon)***
Feet: Boots of the Lady's Power (Dark mossy green, Champion class vendor in Caras Galadhon)**

Main/off-hand weapons: Belegmegil (Drop from T2 Orthanc Fire and Ice wing)
Bow: Gilnor (Classic skirm camp vendor - Helegrod treasure)

**These skins can also be obtained from the Champion class vendor in Ost Galadh for medallions.
***These gloves can be substituted with the Gauntlets of the Silent Watcher (from Through the Gardens of Gondor in North Ithilien) or with the Ceremonial Gauntlets of the Quiet Step (skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Moria medium armor)