Winter's Plumage

This year's Yule Festival has been eagerly anticipated and welcomed with equal joy. Of all LOTRO's festivals, this is my absolute favorite. There's a large variety in the cosmetics offered (robes, cloaks, tunics, and dresses) through quests and vendors, as well as a multitude of titles, steeds, and a beautifully designed Yule portrait frame. Of course, I can't neglect mentioning the gorgeous belegaer blue dye! If you haven't seen the latest rewards, other than the robe pictured in this blog entry, I'd suggest checking out Wandering Around Arda's preview. If you're like me and have had little time to spare for LOTRO this holiday season, this link may help you make some time.

Yule Outfit Contest 2018

Hymne from Cosmetic Lotro, Nathrien from Material Middle-earth, and Gloredh from Wandering Around Arda are honored and excited to announce aYule Outfit Contest! We humbly ask all of our enthusiastic outfitters to embrace their creativity this season and design fantastic Yule or Winter themed outfits for wonderful prizes!

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First prize: 1550 LOTRO Points

Second prize: Perlino steed (account wide code)

Third prize: Hauberk of the Mithril Guard (account wide code)

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We'll select the winning entries based on the following criteria:

• Representative of the Yule spirit or Wintry ambiance.
• Originality of the overall design.
• Integration of the various pieces used.
• Blending of dye colors.
• Overall impression and quality of the screenshot.

How to enter the contest:

• The contest begins on Wednesday December 19th, 2018. Entries may be submitted until midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sunday January 6th, 2019.
• To enter the Yule Outfit Contest, send your entry to outfitblogs@gmail.com with the subject line “Yule Outfit Contest”.
• An entry consists of ONE screenshot. The image may be cropped but should be at least 800px wide.
• You may enter a maximum of three screenshots, but each entry must be sent in a separate email.
• Your entry must include the following information: the name, class and level of the character in the screenshots, the server the character resides on, all armor and outfit pieces used in the screenshots and their respective dye colors.

Winning entries may be featured on all three Outfit Blogs.

Prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third Place and are sponsored by Cosmetic Lotro, Material Middle-earth, and Wandering Around Arda. All decisions will be made by these blogs at their sole discretion and are final.

Have fun and good luck everyone!

Garrison Commander

Can I say how much I've loved having Bullroarer? Whenever I've finished testing what I wanted to test, and after giving appropriate feedback of course, I like to indulge my outfitting urges. Thanks to the Eyes and Guard Tavern located in Archet and Thorin's Hall, many of LOTRO's currencies are infinite. I've created or transferred multiple characters and completed the dailies found in the Tavern to cap my commendations, stockpile mithril coins, or collect whatever else I've desired. I'd been waiting for an opportunity to create this outfit, one that complimented the Great Axe of the Khazad-dûm Vaults, a weapons periodically available in the LOTRO Store.

Gondomon General

About a week ago, when my work, home, social, and gaming life finally achieved some balance (can't forget the end of the Harvest Festival too, which I'd been grinding like crazy), I took the plunge and purchased the U23 content, Where Dragons Dwell. I've actually enjoyed most of it. And I'm excited that the dwarves have gotten some much needed love for the first time since Mines of Moria. Yes, they've popped up from time to time--the Mirkwood Epics, Thror's Coomb in Enedwaith, and Erebor, most notably--but have had no fully fleshed, substantial, and dedicated content until LOTRO's last update.

And the best thing about it, outside of the new storylines? The impressive and beautiful new dwarven cosmetics, all obtained from questing, the Figments of Splendor vendors, and the instances. Gloredh from Wandering Around Arda graciously uploaded two entries, both of which can be found here and here.

Simple Fashion - Hauberks, Part 2

The Simple Fashion series has returned this week with three classic hauberks. It's been years since I've seen these used in LOTRO. And it's been years since I've used these as well. Actually, I don't think I've ever used the Hauberk of Rhûn before. That particular cosmetic has collected dust since I purchased it back in 2012, not knowing what to do with it. I bought it with the intention of using it someday, but I'd never have expected it would take six years for that to happen!

Anyway, I've decided to keep this week's blog entry short and sweet. Enjoy the outfits below!

Of Stars and Signs

Don't worry. Unlike my last outfit post, which somewhat introduces this outfit, I'm not going to drop another massive wall of text. Last thing I need, or anyone else for that matter, is to become a broken record and recount the lengthy and painstaking origin of this outfit. (If you missed it, you can find that tale here.) Needless to say, I was excited to add half the pieces here to my collection once I finally got my hands on them! Next on my list is the Faramir's Faithful set, but that requires one hundred and twenty Morgul Crests to collect. In my two years of killing warbands, I only have nine or ten of them! (Maybe I can start convincing kinnies to do T2C Osgiliath or Pelennor?)

I'm starting to get off topic, so it's back to the outfit at hand!

Hammer Skins Collection, Part 2

Here's the second part of the hammer collection.

As usual, if there's another way of obtaining a skin listed here, please let me know in the comments.

That being said, this project will ALWAYS be an ongoing one. I still have yet to add the Thrang weaponry. I still need to go back and update with the Khazad-dûm Vaults skins from the LOTRO Store. I've heard there is also a "Storied Past" collection that's appeared in the Store as well, but I've never seen it. Players from the community, both on Twitter and the LOTRO Forums have requested shields. I have to go back and add alternative skins names to various weapons already cataloged. There is still so much to do, but the groundwork has been laid, at least!

Thank you so much for your patience, support, and your contributions! If it weren't for the community effort, this project may have died a long time ago.

Crafted Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Hunter's/Warden's Hammer of the Third Age, level 60 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Hunter's/Warden's Hammer of the Third Age, level 53 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Traders in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving

Reforged Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Hunter's/Warden's Hammer of the Second Age, level 60 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Hammer Skins Collection, Part 1

Ah, the final category. Also the one I deliberately saved for last. It's also the largest collection I have. To be honest, I've never particularly cared for using hammers unless they were an improvement between quests prior to Moria. Like with great hammers, there's no racial damage bonus. However, that never stopped me from collecting and stockpiling these on an alternate mule account. Back in the Mirkwood days, I spent my time crawling around Moria far more than Mirkwood itself. Back when the Twenty-first Hall was the major player hub. Back when everybody was farming Medallions of Moria from the instances. All of that exploring and farming netted me several unique hammers, which I'll be listing between this and the upcoming second half of my collection.

As usual, if there's another way to obtain a skin seen below, please let me know in the comments!

Ash Hammer - Crafted from the Ash Hammer recipe

Black Ash Hammer - Crafted from the Black Ash Hammer recipe

Great Hammer Skins Collection, Part 2

Here's the second part of the great hammer collection, which focuses more upon the legendary items.

As usual, if there is another method to obtaining a skin below, please let me know in the comments.

Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's Great Hammer of the First Age, level 60 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Trader found in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving

Great Hammer Skins Collection, Part 1

Right away, I'll admit that I've never bothered to collect great hammers. The main reason why? Not a single race has a racial that boosts hammer damage. As a result, I sold, discarded, or deconstructed every one that came into my possession for years. It wasn't until April, when I began this visual weapons database, that I started hoarding them. Did you know that they couldn't be crafted prior to level 60? Anything below that was either bartered, looted, or rewarded from quests. Even though this collection is likely, by far, incomplete, I'd like to think it's off to a good start!

If you see another way of obtaining any of the skins below, please let me know in the comments!

 Andbrest - Dropped by Narnûlubat in the Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu

Anduin Spear-shaker

The biggest break I'd ever taken from LOTRO was started in 2014, when I was utterly disappointed with Helm's Deep. I clung to the game, making outfits. That's it...just outfits. When January 2015 arrived, I wrapped up my affairs, tired of waiting for LOTRO to turn itself around, shut down my blog, was gone by February, and intended never to return....but it didn't go as planned.

And I hadn't expected the chain events that led to this outfit's delay.

When I came back some eight months later, I was overwhelmed. There was so much to do to simply catch up. Eastern Gondor had been released and Minas Tirith was almost here. I spent most of 2016 getting myself from Snowbourn to the gates of Minas Tirith with three level capped characters. And don't get me started on imbued LIs--those weren't around when I'd left. Honestly, I could have gotten there faster if I hadn't stopped to make outfits along the way! I had to put all those new cosmetics, starting with Western Gondor's, to good use!

Great Club Skins Collection, Part 2

Here's the second half of the Great Clubs Collection.

As usual, if you know another way of obtaining any skin below, let me know in the comments!

Crafted Beorning's/Captain's/Guardian's Great Club of the Third Age, level 60 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Golden Host Great Club of Defence or Warding - Outputs crafted from the Golden Host Great Club reputation recipe

Great Club Skins Collection, Part 1

Great Clubs are also one of the weapons I seldom use. If anything, I use them on my Beorning. As such, I don't have the most extensive collection. I do, however have almost all of the recipes and a handful of looted two-handed clubs, most of which share the same skins as their crafted cousins. As I quest or repeatedly clear some of LOTRO's older instances, I plan on adding to this category. In the meantime, this is the first half of the Great Club collection.

As usual, if there is another way of obtaining anything below, please let me know in the comments.

Black Ash Great Club - Crafted from the Black Ash Great Club recipe

Smooth Black Ash Great Club of Combat - Crafted from the Smooth Black Ash Great Club recipe

Rune-keeper Satchel Skins Collection

Unfortunately, Rune-keeper stones won't be appearing on this blog. Given how they're held, taking screenshots of them is an almost impossible task. I've tried. While stationary or in the Dressing Room panel, the stones are held in a hand hanging beside the hip, with the stone facing inward. Quite often, that stone clips into the hip. I've tried combat screenshots, which provided an unobstructed view of the stone...but my monitor is too small to collect a clear and detailed picture. That being said, I decided to offer our Rune-keepers a bone and provide pictures of the rune-satchel skins found in LOTRO. There weren't very many, sadly. Ten total, although it could be argued there were only nine on a technicality. These can also be dyed through the wardrobe and wardrobe alone.

Basic Rune-satchel of Nestad or Thalas - Purchased from the Rune-keeper Class trainers in any major hub

Student's Rune-satchel of Dagor, Thalas, or Nestad - Crafted from the respective Tailor recipe of the same name Basic Rune-satchel of Dagor - Purchased from the Rune-keeper Class trainer found in any major hub Rune-keeper's Rune-satchel of the Third Age, level 53 - Bartered from any of the Legendary Item Traders found in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, or The Great Delving

Alliance Vanguard

This was the first outfit I'd made for my High Elf Captain, Gwaimallin. Ironically, it's also the one that's taken me the longest to share. As much as I've loved the outfit itself, I've never been satisfied with the screenshot location. Honestly, it blended in with much more landscape and instanced scenery than anticipated. Each time, I'd get halfway through a photo session before scrapping it entirely. I told myself this would be the last attempt and that if I didn't share it soon, I should remove the outfit and not bother at all. I was glad to finally get this completed, and even though the screenshots aren't the best, I'm satisfied with the final product!

Club Skins Collection, Part 2

This is the second installment of the one-handed Clubs collection. There is something noteworthy about this particular weapon class. Starting with the supreme tier, the crafted clubs, both Legendary Items and standard clubs, all share the same skins with several maces. I don't have an answer as to why that was done, but this is why some of these skins are going to look very familiar. To be honest, I almost omitted them, but the collection feels more complete with them.

As usual, if you see another method of obtaining a particular appearance, please let me know in the comments!

Beorning's/Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's Club of the Third Age, level 59 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Traders found in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving

Beorning's/Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's Club of the First Age, level 60 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Traders found in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving

Club Skins Collection, Part 1

Clubs...one of the few weapon classes I didn't actively, despite having passively collected almost all of the recipes. It wasn't until I started playing a Beorning, which has gone untouched for a year, that I pursued clubs to compliment the racial bonus. Although the bonus technically covers axes and clubs, I'd been through the axe phase with my Champions. I figured I'd try something different. I did collect many world and dungeon drops while playing other classes and most of them made it into storage. It wasn't until I started this that I'd realized how many of them shared appearances with crafted and bartered skins. To make it easiest to collect anything featured below, I've listed the recipes instead of the numerous similar word drops. Of course, there were some unique clubs I'd acquired as well.

Enjoy this collection and, as usual, let me know if there's another way to obtain any of these appearances.

Ash Club - Crafted from the Ash Club recipe Heavy Ash Club of Vitality - Crafted from the Heavy Ash Club recipe

Black Ash Club - Crafted from the Black Ash Club recipe Smooth Black Ash Club of Combat - Crafted from the Smooth Black Ash Club recipe

Legion of Thrang - Draig-lûth Forgemaster

This will be most likely my final Thrang-themed outfit. Like I described in my previous entry, the limited pool of cosmetics that work with these glowing and sparking weapons made outfitting truly a struggle. This particular look of a Draig-lûth (Dragon-clan) Forgemaster took almost a week. I'm highly satisfied with how far I've been able to explore using these weapon skins. In fact, I wasn't expecting to make more than one, but I think we all know how I get when new shinies are dangled in my face! Of all the Thrang outfits, I'd declare this one to be my favorite...although I've swapped out the two-handed axe for the two-handed sword at this point. As fun as it was the use the axe, it didn't glow as much as the sword! (That and my Champ's LIs are swords!)

Crossbow Skins Collection, Part 2

Here's the second installment of Crossbow skins. As usual, if there is another way of obtaining any of the skins featured below, please let me know in the comments!

Crafted Hunter's Crossbow of the Third Age, level 85 - Crafted from  the recipe of the same name

Crafted Hunter's Crossbow of the Third Age, level 75 - Crafted  from the recipe of the same name Reforged Hunter's Crossbow of the Second Age, level 75 - Crafted  from the recipe of the same name

Crossbow Skins Collection, Part 1

Crossbows, the alternative ranged weapon for bow-users, have seen little love since the level cap reached 100. They practically vanished from the game, outside of scaled instances, and hadn't been any new skins between the releases of Western Gondor and Ered Mithrin. It's a shame since some of them are beautiful! This particular weapon class has little variety, I'm afraid. In fact, crossbows have the one of the smallest pools of design variety. Many look almost the same, except for the addition of golden trimmings. This is most prominent in the crafted ones, especially among the crossbows in the same crafting tier. I don't have a large pool of crossbows myself, but after scanning Item Treasury, there's not much that's missing. In fact, many of the dropped ones share the same generic appearance of the earliest crafted ones. However, I do have enough to start a second entry!

As usual, if you see another way of collecting a skin featured below, please let me know in the comments!

Ash Crossbow - Crafted from the Ash Crossbow recipe Golden Host Crossbow of Force - Crafted from the Golden Host  Crossbow recipe

Black Ash Crossbow - Crafted from the Black Ash Crossbow recipe

Legion of Thrang - Gúlaran Fell-summoner

I've loved how the rewards from the Armory of Thrang boxes have forced me to get creative with my latest outfits. They've been a welcome addition to my repertoire of cosmetics, considering how much my creativity has lessened in recent months. I doubt I'll make something for each of the selectable weapons, as they've been a tad expensive. I've only collected four of them--out of a possible thirteen--and that alone set me back a whopping 3600 Ashes of Enchantment. I picked the short sword, staff, bow, and the two-handed axe. At this point, three of them have been featured. The axe will soon make an appearance, I promise.

Back to the outfit at hand, before I find myself getting distracted again!

Mace Skins Collection, Part 2

As the title says, this is the second installment of maces.

If you know another way of obtaining a skin you see here, please let me know in the comments!

Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's/Warden's Mace of the First Age, level 59 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Traders in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving

Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's/Warden's Mace of the First Age, level 60 - Barted from the Legendary Item Traders in Bree, 21st Hall, Lothlorien, and The Great Delving Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's/Warden's Mace of the Second Age, level 59 - Best farmed in higher level areas and instances of Moria  Reshaped Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Minstrel's/ Warden's Mace of the First Age, level 95 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Mace Skins Collection, Part 1

Maces are weapons I haven't used since the days of Mirkwood, when I converted my Minstrel main to one-handed swords. I'd forgotten how varied mace skins are in LOTRO, considering their general shape. This weapon class will be divided into two entries, considering the number of skins I had tucked away, knew through recipes, or found browsing the database.

Like usual, let me know in the comments if you've seen another way of obtaining the skins you see here!

Amarthdram - Reward from the quest A Great Goblin Mace of Song - Reward from the level 50 Minstrel class quest Implements of Song

Anorien Valorous Mace - Crafted from the Anorien Mace recipe Galadhrim Mace of Combat - Crafted from the Galadhrim Mace reputation recipe

Scaled Spellweaver

Getting away from dark landscapes and fiery outfits for a short time, I've decided to post an outfit my low level Lore-master uses. It's not often I've focused on the Draigoch armor skins--I usually use gloves and boots to accessorize--but I discovered that my main Lore-master and my Warden still have their sets sitting in storage. Just that tiny bit of nostalgia, and the fact that my kin has been running Draigoch lately, was enough to motivate me. Other than that, and the fact I'm trying different gear combinations, there's really no story to this outfit.

Dagger Skins Collection, Part 2

Just as the title says, this is the second installment of the dagger collection. The LI daggers around seen here, most of them sharing similar appearances with each other. The differences are incredibly subtle and hard to see on such small weapons.

As usual, if you see another way of obtaining any skin shown here, please let me know in the comments!

Crafted Beorning's/Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Hunter's /Minstrel's/Warden's Dagger of the Third Age, level 85 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Beorning's/Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's/Hunter's/ Minstrel's/Warden's Dagger of the First Age, level 59 - Bartered from the Legendary Item Traders found in Bree, the 21st Hall, The Great Delving, and Lothlorien Reshaped Beorning's/Burglar's/Captain's/Champion's/Guardian's /Hunter's/Minstrel's/Warden's Dagger of the First Age, level 65 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Dagger Skins Collection, Part 1

To be honest, I was shocked at the variety of daggers found in LOTRO. Just the sheer number of skins rivals that of the swords was incredible. This particular weapon class will be handled in two parts, each entry having approximately thirty daggers each. I've opted to ignore the most common appearances for the moment, like the Boot Knife and the Bronze Dagger, given that they make up for almost fifty percent of the game's daggers and how easily they're crafted, looted, or purchased from early game vendors.

As usual, if you see another way of obtaining a skin shown here, please let me know in the comments!

Aeglang - Bartered from Forgamdir at Iorelen's Camp, outside of The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu

Aeglir - Reward from the quest Raid: Storvâgûn the Traitor Dagger of the Eglan-soldier - Bartered from the Eglan Camp in Garth Agarwen

Twilight Huntsman

Having spent enough time working on Mordor dailies, I've been able to acquire some of the latest crafted armor recipes. By all rights, I should have had them sooner, but if you know me I'm a much of a housing nut as I am a cosmetic blogger. I've lavishly spent the majority of my Silver Signets of the Thandrim on housing decorations in recent months and have been able to create a Mordor-themed house. Usually, it's the other way around, but I had enough outfits lined up that I could afford a change of pace, take a temporary respite from outfitting, and focus on the visual weapons guide.


That respite, unfortunately, wasn't much a of a respite after all. Mom had fallen and broken her ankle, which forced me to take a semi-hiatus from LOTRO until mid-May. I still logged in to screenshot a few weapons and at least say hello to my kinship, but I wasn't able to do much else while caring for her. Naturally, Stronghold of the North had just released just before her accident. I've been desperately trying to play catch up, focusing on content, while my blog quickly burned through everything I'd scheduled. I've gotten to a point where I've been able to shift my focus here again.

Legion of Thrang - Master of Shadow and Flame

You may have guessed it, based upon the title, that this outfit was inspired by Thrang, one of the major bosses from the Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu. That particular fight was isolated from the level 50 raid, made scalable, and was introduced as a temporary stand-alone instance for the duration of the Summer Festival this year. From the rewards, either by lucky drop or by spending ten vault tokens, you could collect your own two-handed Thrang's Sword, which features a tip that glows red-hot as if it were pulled from a forge. Whenever you land a blow with it, it sparks wildly, casting embers into the air. Also, the sword leaves behind a small stream of embers so long as it's visibly equipped.

Although this outfit doesn't feature the two-handed sword, it does showcase the one-handed version and Thrang's Bow, which can be acquired from the Armory of Thrang box at any time. This box is found, rarely, in Gorgoroth Lootboxes or at the Keeper of Mysteries vendor in Mordor for 900 Ashes of Enchantment. Eleven other selectable weapons can also be found in that box.

Martial Weapons Master

Orange. When have I ever made an orange outfit? I've only done it once for a seasonal harvest outfit. Otherwise, it's been a color I've avoided. But why did I decide to use it again? I've been obsessed with the Winged Blade, is one of the few purely cosmetic greatswords found in LOTRO. I've had trouble incorporating into an already existing outfit. Nothing seemed to work. Instead, I used my High Elf Captain--as I've been doing lately--to make an outfit that revolved around the sword, using the colors and designs in the hilt, pommel, and guard as a base.

Great Axe Skins Collection

I'll admit that I've never gone out of my way to collect great axes (or greataxes, for an alternative spelling--but LOTRO uses the two word alternative). Almost all of my characters in LOTRO use setups revolving around sword and board, dual wielding, and the occasional halberd or great sword. As such, my collection is very limited and sits under a layer of dust in storage. With the aid of the plugin ItemTreasury, I scanned the database to see if I'd missed anything worthwhile...and I did. I discovered some very beautiful or unique skins that aren't accessible, which I've included at the very end. Similar to my post on great swords regarding one-handed swords, several great axes share appearances with one-handed axes, just on a larger scale.

A special note--Beornings have a slightly reduced pool of LIs than other classes. I don't know the reasons why, but it might be due to their late introduction to game. This applies especially to Second Age and First Age weaponry that drops on the landscape or in instances, even though they can cosmetically use them. However, the crafted and bartered LIs remain unaffected. This just means you'll need to do some extra farming for certain ones.

As usual, I'll share what I've collected here. If you see a skin here that's obtainable elsewhere, please let me know in the comments.

 Forged Steel Headsman's Axe of Combat - Output of the Forged Steel Headsman's Axe recipe

Simple Fashion - Dresses Pt. 2

Finally, I've gotten back to my Simple Fashion theme! It's only taken three and a half years. I've hinted it a couple of times between this blog, Facebook, and Twitter since last year, but I wasn't sure if I'd ever actively make any headway. "Simple Fashion," for those seeing this tag/theme for the first time, means precisely that. Three or four, max, pieces were used in each of these outfits. Also, these particular entries have served a secondary purpose in the past--which I hope will continue to hold true--and that's to revitalize cosmetics often forgotten, underutilized, or overlooked.

To see the work I've previously completed under this theme, click on the Simple Fashion tag at the bottom of the post or simply (no pun intended) click here.

Head: Fancy Plumed Hat (Ashenslades green, LOTRO Store)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Eorlingas (Default, Rise of Isengard Heroic or Legendary edition pre-order bonus)
Chest: Farmer's Fancy Dress (Shire peach, Farmers Faire token reward)

Axe Skins Collection, Pt. 2

Here's the second installment of my axe collection, with an emphasis on some of LOTRO's more exotic and unique skins.

Standard disclaimer--this is not a complete collection of LOTRO's axes. Rather, it's what I have stashed away. If you know other places these skins listed appear, please let me know in the comments.

 Deadly Axe of the Rider - Output of the Axe of the Rider recipe

Axe Skins Collection, Pt. 1

Here's an interesting fact. Did you know that most of LOTRO's axes, at least those created prior to Legendary Items, have very little variation in design? Slight differences can be found, but it's sometimes tough to identify them. It boils down to blade size and shape, the length of the axe, the curvature of the grip, and the curvature of the pommel. Rarely, it's a matter of scale. To avoid the appearance of repetition, I've decided to group these pre-Moria axes together and list them first for easy comparison and differentiation. (In addition to being craftable, these early axe skins are commonly seen from the starter zones through Enedwaith as creature drops.)

This is part one of my collection. As usual, this is not a full library of LOTRO's axes and if you see a skin here that's obtainable in any other way mentioned, please leave a message in the comments.

 Bright Steel Axe - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Bow Skins Collection, Pt. 2

As the title says, this is a continuation of my bow collection. And as usual, beneath each one will be a description of that skin and how it can be obtained. Enjoy!

Neldil - Reward from the quest Master of Maethad Smooth Lebethron Bow - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Potent Bow of the Deep - Crafted output from the Bow of the Deep recipe Ornate Fangorn Bow of Strength - Crafted output from the Fangorn Bow recipe Reforged Hunter's Bow of the Second Age, level 95 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Reforged Hunter's Bow of the Second Age, level 60 - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Graceful Blade

Outfitting the graceful Gwaimallin, my High Elf, has been quite a challenge. Almost all of her outfits have taken a different approach. Versus piecing together clothing from various sources and the then selecting the appropriate weapon, I've been selecting the weapon first and trying to base the outfit around it. It hasn't been as successful as I hoped. Versus creating a matching style, I've found myself simply using the colors found in that weapon and hoped a random clothing combination would work.

I was surprised how wonderful this outfit looked, drawing upon a unique blend of LOTRO's more recent cosmetics. At least I felt it was befitting of a High Elf. It looked light and graceful. Ceremonial yet practical. But at the same time, I couldn't tell if it was a perfect fit for her, the weapon, or both. In a way, the weapon-centric outfitting method became the inspiration for my Cosmetic Weapons Project.

That being said, I do apologize for the lack of actual outfit posts. I decided to make my project a priority, given the size and scope of it. Once the first wave ends, which will be in a few weeks with two-handed axes, outfits will once again have the spotlight. In the meantime, I hope everybody that's been reading the content here, at Material Middle-earth, has also been enjoying the massive library of weapon skins. It's been my goal to complete it by the end of the calendar year, providing those playing LOTRO with an even greater ability to enhance their character's appearance.

Shoulder: Shoulders of the Westfold (Default, Rise of Isengard legendary pre-order package)
Chest: Robe of Anorien Mercy (Turquoise, reward from 4.4.7 - A Long Siege)
Hands: Dextrous Gages of the Last Alliance (Rust, High-enchanter ash barter in Mordor)
Feet: Lithe Boots of the Last Alliance (Rust, High-enchanter ash barter in Mordor)

Weapon: Hill-defender (Rare drop from Azgoth in Carn Dûm)