Elven Mettle - Faewynn of Gladden

When I make an outfit, I do my best to confine myself either to the lore of books or the lore of LOTRO (I do make the distinction) and avoid the films. I've never been a big fan of Jackson's interpretation and constant lore-breaking, but sometimes images, no matter how brief, get burned into my mind. Two images from The Two Towers during the Helm's Deep scenes became the inspiration for this elven battle outfit (the one here and then the other) reminiscent of the Mirkwood days.

The Ancient Inlaid Breastplate, which shares skins with the old-school heavy Ettenmoors gear removed by Update 6, has the virtue of being LOTRO's only heavy armor robe. If you were not a Moors player back then, the only way to get this robe is to complete the Rushgore quest "Banishing the Dishonored." Heavily scaled and painstakingly detailed, it offers a wonderful opportunity for your characters to be both fashionable and effective. Do not miss the opportunity to collect this item if possible. Once you complete that quest, you'll never see this robe offered again. The Great River zone actually offers several exclusive cosmetics as quest rewards, ranging from old Moors skins to pre-order skins.

Walking into Western Gondor has been a reminder of how far this game has progressed since its infancy. It's also a reminder to me how fortunate I've been when it comes to owning unique items removed from loot pools and vendors or having exclusive cosmetics from the legendary expansion packages no longer offered. Even so, there's still more to collect and more places to see!

Speaking of places, Western Gondor certainly has provided us with some of LOTRO's most gorgeous scenery. I love the feel of Tarlang's Crown with its wide range of warm colors, making it a fantastic place for pictures. However, I loved it even more during the early rounds of beta before any of the barricades, towers, and tents were placed...and before the river itself was flooded with darkwater creatures. I tried swimming down the river and learned my lesson the hard way. I had to confine myself to the northwestern end of the zone to keep myself from being shot down by angry patrolling mobs while snapping pics. Nevertheless, I'll continue poking around the zone, looking for amazing screenshot locations!

Head: High-warden's Helm (Burgundy, Ost Galadh Warden class vendor)**
Shoulders: High-warden's Shoulders (White, Ost Galadh Warden class vendor)**
Chest: Ancient Inlaid Breastplate (Burgundy, Great River quest reward)***
Hands: Ceremonial Gauntlets of the Iron Arm (Burgundy, skirmish camp cosmetics vendor, Moria heavy armor)
Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Iron Arm (Burgundy, skirmish camp cosmetics vendor, Moria heavy armor)

**You can also find these skins by talking to the Lothlórien Warden class vendor, but those versions will require the Greater Elf-stones from Dâr Narbugud.
***If you're fortunate enough to still have any of them, the old level 65 heavy Moors armor used this skin . However, they were removed with the release of Update 6.