Echoes of Eventide

Eventide, a poetic word to describe the time of day between late afternoon and evening. In this case, specifically, sunset.

With the exception of the cloak and circlet, this is the first time I've used many of these pieces. I had purchased the Ultimate Edition of Before the Shadow before I left LOTRO in early 2022. Two cosmetic sets came with the top tier package, the Valiant Armour of the Dúnedain and the Armour of Flowing Silver. I didn't have the chance to experiment with those sets back then, nor was I able to explore the alternative leveling path through Cardolan and Swanfleet. I've been prioritizing this blog and uploading new outfits over experiencing the new story, but I hope to create a new character and adventure through the new intro zones.

Middle-earth Midsummer

Greetings! Between a lack of time, a serious burn out, and adjusting to a global pandemic, I've fallen behind in all of my MMOs, missing updates and events. I don't know when I'll be ready to return to online gaming, but I did have a chance to explore LOTRO's Midsummer Festival, which coincides with Aragorn and Arwen's wedding, for a single day. Between a generous Twitter follower and kinnies who sent me gift boxes and a brief time spent collecting tokens around Minas Tirith, I acquired the latest cosmetics.

Sadly, I don't and probably won't have the time for tinkering with the Groom's Tunic and the Bridal Veil. However, I did have the chance to make three new appearances with the festival's new dresses. Inspiration struck hard and fast, taking no more than an hour to build, dye, and take quick pictures. I loved how billowy these dresses were, especially on a human female!

I'm not sure when I'll have the opportunity to post new content again, but I hope you enjoy this latest entry!

Head: Circlet of Osgiliath's Fury (White, Osgiliath Dome Armour box from T2 Dome of Stars)**
Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of the Pathfinder's Artifice (Ered luin blue, T11 Tailor recipe bartered from the Gorgoroth reputation vendor)
Chest: Arwen's Dinner Dress (Sea blue, Midsummer Festival token barter reward)

**This circlet skin can be obtained by any light armor class. Dome must be run on T2 at a minimum of level 50 and any boss can drop this box.

Memories of the Last Alliance

It was exciting to come home on Wednesday evening and discover that The Minas Morgul expansion was available for pre-order. I wasn't expecting it so soon since the Vales of Anduin region hasn't been out very long! I did pre-order the expansion almost immediately that night, wanting to get my hands on all those new cosmetics, steeds, and the Stout-axe race. I'd known we'd be exploring the Morgul Vale, specifically, Minas Morgul itself, and I was hoping we'd be returning to explore other areas of Mordor, like Nurn (that gate in southeastern Talath Úrui was such a teaser!) It turns out that wasn't the case. After watching Friday's Q&A stream, I learned about "Mordor Beseiged," the other area mentioned on the expansion page.

As it was explained, we'll be playing a character living through the final year of the Second Age, specifically during the Siege of  Barad-dûr. If I understood MadeOfLions correctly, Mordor Besieged acts as a sort of session play styled zone, allowing us to retain our character's skill sets and appearances while experiencing someone else's narrative. Certainly an interesting way to tell the new story! Though specific details weren't revealed, I hope the Siege of Barad-dûr's addresses the end of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the deaths of Anárion, Elendil, and Gil-galad, the temporary defeat of Sauron, Isildur's acquisition of the One Ring, and the numerous sorties between Sauron and the Alliance.

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!

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.

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)

Anórien Honor-guard

Running my High Elf Captain through Gondor Epic quests for trait points has allowed me to collect some exclusive cosmetic rewards I've foregone on previous alts. Volume 4 Book 4 offers some skins you can't get anywhere else for light, medium, and heavy armor classes. Originally, I thought the Epic rewards would share the same armor skins offered by the reputation vendors on the main level of Minas Tirith. It turned out that their appearances were quite different. Part of me wishes I could endure the reputation grind. The rest of me tells me not to bother. Why? Whenever I've been in that city, I've crashed to the desktop every ten or so minutes. I've only completed the main story on my alts and nothing else.

Silvan Elegance

I was SO FREAKING EXCITED when the Replica of Elor dropped from one of my Gorgoroth Lootboxes back in late October with a daily key. I screamed. I danced. I cheered. I made everyone where I live panic moments after it appeared in my inventory. (Of course, it didn't take long for it to be added to the Vendor of Rare Oddities in Magh Ashtu and take away from it's specialness.) I've been eyeing this unique two-handed sword skin since I discovered it with ItemTreasury, a database mining LOTRO plugin, back in 2015. So many unused weapon skins exist in there...especially staves! Anyway, before I start drooling over unique weapons again, this outfit was made specifically to compliment the sleek and elegant Elor.

Oh yes, meet my High Elf Captain, Gwaimallin. She'll be the focus of multiple outfits for the next several months, each with unique weapons skins to match her attire.

Anórien Herald

It felt so surreal writing this outfit entry. My last set of them was posted in November. Before then, July. I'll admit that outfitting in LOTRO isn't what it used to be. Material Middle-earth has been around since 2012 and it's become progressively more difficult to find original combinations of attire and color. However, it's certainly not been an impossible task. I've spent some time pouring through other cosmetic blogs for LOTRO, looking at what others have used (or not used) that way I could create something unique. And this, at least to me, qualified as such. I've never seen anyone use a particular reward from the Volume 4 epic line, the Robe of Anórien Mercy. Thus, it became my central piece.

Captain's Arm

Exactly as the title says, this outfit was based upon the Captain's Arm, an incredibly rare weapon looted from Castellan Wisdan's chest at the very top of Barad Gúlaran. I farmed for this over a month, running that particular dungeon five times a day, at least three time a week. Even though it's easily soloed at 85, the drop rate is infinitesimal. LOTRO also tends to lock players out of instances if too many are entered within an hour. Given those circumstances, this was, and still is, one of the more painful halberds to acquire.

Revisiting the Early Days of MME

As promised in late November, I've gone back in time to 2012, taken old outfits from this blog, and reposted them here in bigger, brighter pictures with much improved graphical quality. It was difficult to choose from over fifty outfits, but I narrowed that list down to eight. With each picture, I've included the name of the outfit (most sound soooo corny!) and a link back to the original post for the dyes and skins. I almost changed some of the pieces, but decided to leave them as is.

Normally I post new outfits on Saturday, but I thought this would be a refreshing change of pace.

You might be wondering what was my reasoning for doing this? Here's my first reason. I never had the followers in 2012 that I have nowadays. When Material Middle-earth was in its infancy, I was lucky to get a hundred views a month. Nowadays, it nets at least several thousand. By not establishing myself on Facebook until late 2013 and Twitter in 2014, many LOTRO players didn't have the chance to see my early work as it was posted. I am hoping, today, that you'll join me on a sentimental journey and see where it all began. And for the second reason, this week's entry allowed me to exhaust whatever marks, medallions, and dyes remained simply by recreating these.

Also, don't forget that next Saturday I'll be posting my farewell entry with a new outfit! Before then, I'll be honoring one last outfit concept from a follower. If all goes well, that ensemble will appear here on Wednesday morning.

The War-forged Defender

Harvestmath Series - Gularan Caretaker

Halloween is around the corner, which means the time for costumes and disguises is here! To kick of the season, I thought I'd introduce something along the lines of an Angmarim. Specifically, this costume would be something between what an Angmarim High Priestess and an Angmarim Commander would wear. The robes, the spiked garments, the typical blacks, reds, and whites...all of the trimmings that would make the wearer look like one of the corrupted Men under the dominion of Sauron.

It might not be the most innovative outfit for the season, but it at least attempts to reclaim a class of enemy NPCs not seen after progressing past Mirkwood, at least storywise. As far as I know, the last Angmarim-like creature to be included in LOTRO is the roaming Priestess Bethan, a high level warband found to the west of Marton. I don't miss the punting, fearing, and blood pacts, that's for sure...but I've gotten tired of Orcs and Uruk-hai!

Simple Fashion - Tunic Ideas

As I promised in April, I'm kicking off my "Simple Fashion" series by displaying three outfits revolving around a certain type of gear. This installment will be focusing on tunics. There isn't anything long and complicated about these, nor do I have any tips or stories to tell. Besides, tunics are too often brushed aside after their respective seasons and collect dust for the remainder of the year. This post is about simple ideas attempting to revitalize overlooked cosmetic gear, using a minimal number of pieces. By no means are these finalized...they're just building blocks I'd like to share.

If this type of post seems well-received, I will have a similarly styled post for dresses and/or robes in the future!

Head: Turquoise Summer Circlet (Rose, LOTRO Store dyeable version)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer (Rose, Dunland quest reward)
Chest: Simbelmynë Tunic & Trousers (Ered Luin Blue, Spring Festival token barter reward)

Dusk Walker - Morghann of Gladden

Material Middle-earth is back in business with a complete overhaul of the layout and graphics in addition to an updated contact page, tagging system, and screenshot guide. Please feel free to browse around, adjust to the new layout, and offer suggestions.

Definitely taking a walk on the wild side with this outfit, that's for sure! I try not to use more than 3 different colors in an outfit because it can be artistically disastrous. However, there are several distinct colors in this ensemble and it works wonderfully! I honestly had no concept for this outfit today. It haphazardly fell together while I was both mixing and matching between light and medium armor and assigning random colors to each piece. The T5 crafted medium chest and leggings, both from the Elven Campaigner's set, were the building blocks to this outfit. I'd have to say those two pieces are arguably the most appealing and coordinated pieces of all the crafting professions in LOTRO. Elegant designs, a pleasing mishmash of colors, and dyeable areas that don't overwhelm either piece. Safe to say, this was one of my more unique creations.

Woodland Sentinel - Morghann of Gladden

Have I ever been a major stickler for the lore? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. When it comes to dressing up my characters, I've never adhered to it. Your character doesn't need to be an elf to wear something elvish nor a dwarf for something dwarvish. Sometimes it's about your character's background. Sometimes it looks too good to pass up! If you're like me, sometimes you'll get sick of using the same model for specific colorings and stylings. For some reason, my cappy always wears something in indigo, violet, or purple that's suitable for the race of Man. I've decided to shake up the status quo and throw on something green and elvish. *GASP*

Let it be said, however, that I have the utmost respect for those outfitters who willingly and consistently remain within the confines of the lore.

Thane for a Day - Morghann of Gladden

It wasn't until the release of the Wildermore on Bullroarer that I was able to find an appearance worthy of a Thane. After all, my captain had recently completed building Hytbold and the closing quest chain to go with it. It's not often I'm in a role-playing mood, but walking around with the title "Thane of Hytbold" without the proper accompaniment felt wrong. Lo, and behold! Here came the medium Wildermore Armour recipes, providing me with an elegant, gold-trimmed tunic dyeable in the most heavenly ways! Even the Wildermore Pauldrons are lovely!

Harvestmath Series - Stylish Drake-slayer

Combining a love of the lore, my anticipation for the second Hobbit film, and a current obsession with the Harvestmath season cosmetics, I found myself making this outfit. It started with the Gown of Autumn Nights, but it wasn't exactly about the color at first. The pattern on the hem and at the waist of dress is what grabbed my attention in the most unusual way. If you look closely (even at the set matching Cloak of Autumn Nights) this is supposed to be some sort of intertwining leafless tree montage. Instead, I saw a forest burning brightly, and after a chain of freely associative thoughts, I found myself thinking of a dragon's fiery breath.

A Return from a Lengthy Holiday

My, it's been a long time since I updated here. I had taken a break from LOTRO and all things LOTRO related, but I wasn't expecting it to be so long! It's been four months since my last blog post. It's been two months since I stopped playing. In a nutshell, I just got tired and aggravated with the game, not liking the direction the developers were taking this MMO. Also, with the way my non-gaming life had overwhelmed me, I had to temporarily stop the cosmetic blogging. Anyway, I'm back but not to the extent I used to be before December. Hopefully, I'll have some new outfits ready to go in the next week or two! To those of you who periodically check this blog, if there's anybody left at all (I hope!), thanks for being patient!

As an unusual bonus, here are several screenshots unused in any of my outfitting posts. Whenever I make an outfit, I take at least two dozen photos at a given time at a location...but only four of them make it to the final stages of a blog post. You might recognize some of the outfits below...but I can guarantee you that some of these haven't made it to this blog yet! Oh, the things you find archived from a different time and a different computer...

Barad Guldur Armor Sets - New and Old

Courtesy of Bullroarer, I have screenshots of the new level 85 Barad Guldur armor sets available at your local skirmish camp. I found it surprising that the new end-game gear is available without any special prerequisites, such as Dark Emblems from the actual raid. They'll be sitting here alongside the 65 6-piece sets at the Classic skirmish vendor. Make sure to click each picture for an enlarged version.  With the number of pictures here, I didn't want to make this post too long. Two sections here -- the 85 and 65 armor.

Level 85 Sets

(Heavy, Medium, Light from left to right)

The latest BG armor doesn't quite feature new skins. In fact, only the coloration appears to be different. If you notice closely, provided you are already familiar with the 65 BG armor, each set is a mish-mash of the original pieces from its respective classes. A helmet from one set here, leggings from another, and so on. The heavy set is for Champ, Guards, and Cappies. The medium set is for Hunters, Wardens, and Burglars. The light set is for Minstrels, Lore-masters, and Rune-keepers. Each class does have its own statted gear though! As for the dyable portions of this armor, only the silver-grey areas can be recolored.

Each piece costs 1554 Marks and 538 Medallions

   

Winter Hope - Morghann of Gladden

My, my, how long it's been since my last post. Life has kept me busy between looking for a full-time job, working part-time at 4 AM several days a week, and leveling my characters with the fantastic Rohan content. I've also been working hard at designing events for the holiday season, like a kinship Secret Santa, a horse race followed by a mounted fashion show, and kinship colors with a possible uniform to follow. It's been tough finding time to design an outfit, however I managed to find some to set aside! With Winter just around the corner and the upcoming Yule Festival (Dec 17 to Jan 2, tentatively), I thought I'd bring some holiday elegance and a short a short tale from a character of mine. Though there isn't a Christmas, Hanukkah, or Boxing Day in Middle-Earth, the upcoming season is still a reminder to come together, show kindness, and be merry :)