Winter Series - Warden of the Watchtower

Sifting through and shifting around my library of cosmetics in order to organize them more efficiently, I stumbled across a number of pieces from the Rise of Isengard days. Between landscape, quest rewards, and instance drops, I had quite a bit to choose from. I thought to myself, "Why not?" and proceeded to make an outfit, settling yet again on a cold-weather theme. Every now and then, whether I'm in Wildermore, Forochel, the Tâl Methedras or some other snowy area, I feel a tad underdressed.  I had been catching up on my Dunland epics on the Warden when I came to this conclusion.

Mithlond Mariner - Emeridir of Gladden

The Mariner's Hauberk--only obtainable during the Yule Festival from a Bree-land giftbox--has been my most sought after hauberk. I still have 400+ "universal" tokens on several of my characters from 2012 when we had to grind three tiers of deeds for war-steed cosmetics. I broke down and spent some this festival on the boxes to grab this particular piece. If you weren't lucky enough to get this piece in previous years, keep in mind that you'll have to wait for next year's Yule Festival! Oh yes, keep an eye on the auction houses too!

Mithril Guard - Andalost of Gladden

I nearly forgot that I had this pre-order cosmetic from Mines of Moria. It's an interesting piece, the Hauberk of the Mithril Guard, because of it's heavy blue base color. You can dye it yellow and it'll appear green, very much like rose will give you a brilliant purple. This makes it a royal pain to coordinate with other pieces. You'll generally have two options with this hauberk--use dark colors for the entire outfit (blues are easiest) or dye the robe the color of your choice and forego most of the ability to accessorize it. Either way, it makes an amazing base for Moria gear and any gold-accented piece.

Sentinel of the Golden Wood - Aldebaraan of Gladden

Until I resumed leveling my Warden, I hadn't set foot in Lothlórien in over a year. Due to the epic quest chain from the mail that leads into Rohan, I had to visit the lovely Galadriel. On the way back from Stangard, I began to remember the changes made to the reputation requirements just to enter the Golden Wood. At one time, you had to reach acquaintance to pass the first border. With the release of U7 and Great River, that reputation requirement was removed. That's when my knowledge of the lore kicked in, followed shortly by the voice of the role-player within, and I thought "With all these people and other foul creatures passing though the Golden Wood unobstructed, the Galadhrim could probably use another hand!" And that's how this particular outfit began. I logged to an Elven character and put my nose to the grindstone.