Bow-master of the Dark Wood

Here's a blast from the past. I haven't seen this outfit since early 2012. While cleaning out my portable hard drive's picture folders, I stumbled upon this. I would have loved to upload the picture, but it's so small, grainy, and had such poor lighting that it wasn't worth it. Back then, I played LOTRO on a non-gaming college laptop, which seldom handled more than very low graphics. As a special treat, I've recreated it for this "vintage" entry with a period-appropriate Mirkwood background! It took a few days to determine what pieces and colors I'd actually used. And I've even enhanced it with cosmetic weapons.

If anything, this outfit was one of my first attempts at creating a custom appearance. I remember I would just throw any old frock into the wardrobe, using basic quest dyes, and hope that the final product looked passable. Instance gear wasn't as disposable as crafted gear, trash vendor gear, or the overabundant festival clothing that clogged the auction houses. I'd buy, dye, then resell it to preserve bag space. But once I started raiding, which was required in 2012 to get half the skins here, I started valuing my clothing a little more. I put extra time and care into this particular outfit, proportional to the weeks it took to earn it.

This classic appearance is what gave me the courage to start my hobby-career as a LOTRO cosmetic blogger! The irony is that it was never posted for a very stupid, very selfish reason. I didn't want another player to copy this appearance! It became so secret that it was eventually forgotten and almost lost entirely. And I'd bet there were a few other "lost" ones too. Thankfully, I've come a long way since then. Instead of posting only what I wanted to share, I've uploaded everything to preserve everything. Anybody that's read this blog can duplicate or modify something as he/she sees fit.

I did spend some time going through those old screenshots, making sure hadn't missed anything. I was able to verify whatever outfit I found was uploaded between 2012 ans 2013...except for one. That would be my Minstrel's, Nathrien's, first outfit. I've been trying for a few months, to no avail, and recreate it. There's something about the boots and gloves that I can't quite duplicate. I'm not sure if it's the poor lighting, low graphics, the obstructive view from animation effects, or something else entirely. That picture from 2010 can be found here, in my blog's archives. I hope I can bring that one back, too, someday.

Head: Noriel's Leather Helm (Burgundy, selectable reward from Disturbances in Thinglad)
Shoulders: Shield-master's Shoulders (Sienna, bartered from the Classic skirm camp vendor under Barad Guldur - Level 65 Heavy)
Back: Thaliongol (Burgundy, bartered from Andidhiel in Thangulhad, a Malledhrim rep vendor)**
Chest: Breastplate of the Deathstorm (Burgundy, bartered from the Classic skirm camp vendor under Barad Guldur - Level 65 Heavy)
Legs: Leggings of the Deathstorm (Burgundy, bartered from the Classic skirm camp vendor under Barad Guldur - Level 65 Heavy)
Hands: Malledhrim Gauntlets of the Awakened (Sienna, T6 Metalsmith Malledhrim reputation recipe)
Feet: Malledhrim Boots of the Awakened  (Sienna, T6 Metalsmith Malledhrim reputation recipe)

Main and off-hand: Malledhrim Sword of Warding (T6 Weaponsmith Malledhrim reputation recipe)
Bow: North-wind (Dropped by Stone-biter and Shadow-eater in The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu)

**Shares appearance with the Guardsman's Cape of Naillan, bartered from the Jewellery and Cloaks skirmish camp vendor.