Outfit Variations

In recent weeks, some old and beloved friends returned to LOTRO. I've enjoyed questing with them, trying to balance my time between the normal and legendary servers. We agreed to stay on the same page, leveling or progressing the story only when we're together. It's been wonderful experiencing the well-written and timeless story of LOTRO again. And, more importantly, having a new alt meant having eight new outfit slots!

Whenever one person stepped away for food or some other reason during those sessions, I've gradually squeezed in some new-ish appearances during those downtimes. (The Subscriber Town Services item gotten from the VIP vendor, with instant vault and wardrobe access, has been a blessing!) I call these "new-ish" for a single reason. These were previously shared outfits that I've repurposed by altering color schemes and changing a few pieces. Making new outfits has been an ever increasing struggle and I've got to keep the creative juices flowing somehow. After all, I've made more than 250 custom appearances over nearly nine years! Not all of these repurposed outfits have been spectacular, but I thought I should share a few here. This blog has been about ideas, after all!

Before I list the pieces and the source outfits, I wanted to mention the legendary servers again. It's been a slow process with that "Story Pace" debuff, but I managed to reach level 100 and unlock all six special account-wide cloaks. Each cloak was earned through completing specific quests from the Epic storyline. I've been working with them recently and hope to have new outfits centered on said cloaks. As to when? I haven't a clue. However, I've been excited this past week to finally check something off my secret blog wish list!

 

Source Outfit: Recollections of the Last Alliance

Head: Circlet of Lorien (Default, Midsummer Festival barter reward)

Shoulders: Strong Shoulder Guards of the Reclaimed City (White, reward from The Fallen King Renewed)

Back: Cloak of Many Worlds (White, comes from the World Consolidation Gift Box)

Chest: Reinforced Hauberk of the Last Alliance (Black, reward from Rescue Rangers)**

Hands: Strong Gauntlets of the Last Alliance (Default, High-enchanter vendor in Mordor)

Feet: Thick Sabatons of the Last Alliance (Default, High-enchanter vendor in Mordor)

**This skin can also be bartered through the High-enchanter NPC in Mordor.

Winter's Wings

Another year has come and gone in LOTRO. The Yule Festival's here (running from December 12, 2019 to Janurary 8, 2020) and it's a time of year marked by mirth and warmth, celebration, charitable acts, and the comfort of friends and family. Keep an eye on global channels, the forums, and social media for special seasonal events! Secret Santas and kinship parties are very popular through New Years. This is when I temporarily slow down with Material Middle-earth, as there are a variety of events to enjoy!

With the start of Yule Festival, I also break out the cold weather outfits. This latest appearance uses two of the Ice Flower skins, available at Frostbluff for the first time. They're a delightful reskin, and a more universal one in my opinion, of the Fall Festival's Autumn Traveller cosmetics. With a larger variety of color, they boast a greater flexibility and are easier to mix with other sets. And this year, I made another warm and feathered appearance suited to adventuring in inclement and often snowy regions, drawing on skins from various regions of Middle-earth.

Shire Plum Shenanigans

This month's entry, though posted later than usual, features three outfits using the seldom seen shire plum dye. Shire plum, like purple, yellow, sunset orange, is a very bold, very bright color. When working with these dyes, it's best to remember the phrase "less is more." Depending on what clothing or armor you're dyeing, you'll stand out like a sore thumb on a earthen-toned of muted landscape. You might blind yourself standing in bright sunlight. You might blind your fellowship. You might even blind Durin's Bane in the dark depths of Moria. You may not even need the Phial of Galadriel to stand toe to toe against Shelob!

Originally, I had some overly complicated outfits put together in the dressing room when I began using this color...and they were downright obnoxious. I took a couple of them to the landscape for a few days, curious how they would appear in practical landscape use. Needless to say, that first wave failed. For the second wave, I scaled back this particular project and found the next set of outfits to be far more visually appealing. It's this wave you'll find featured here. If you're on Gladden, you might get lucky and see me adventuring in these!

At this point, I can safely say I've had my share of bright colors for now! I don't even want to think what kind of work yellow (the one dye I've refused, so far, to use) will require if shire plum was this difficult...

Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers (Shire plum, Farmers Faire barter reward)
Shoulders: Supple Wildermore Shoulderpads of Tactics (White, T8 Tailor's Guild recipe or Wildermore reputation recipe)
Chest: Elegant Formal Dress (Shire plum, LOTRO Store)

His & Hers - An Ornate Yuletide

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone in LOTRO. And it's even more difficult to believe that I actually have a chance to upload some Yule outfits, let alone have a PC to upload them with (last year, I didn't have a working one)! I'll be keeping this post rather brief. As I'm finalizing this entry, and scheduling to auto-post while I'm working Saturday morning, I have a batch of mini oreo cheesecakes chilling in the fridge. Soon they'll be done, and then it's back to the kitchen for more baking! This will be my only chance to squeeze in some LOTRO time until after Christmas.

Bundled Expeditionary

Thankfully, having drafted several blog entries is a blessing in disguise. LOTRO's move to the new data center on Monday, January 11th, has made it near impossible for me to play the game. I've experienced, along with friends, long stretches of lag, with latency as high as 1200 ms and loss reaching an upwards of 15% nearly every night this week. Until something gets done, particularly the hotfix Frelorn casually mentioned on the forums late Monday night, I won't be able to play. I'll stop in and try again sometime next week, when I have my next chance to play. If anything good came of this week, it was being able to snag the new Yule Festival cosmetics before my client crashed.

Yule Festival 2014 Cosmetic Rewards and Steed

I was going to wait until the start of the Yule Festival to post this year's new cosmetic rewards, but as pictures are popping up all over the LOTRO forums and Twitter, I'll post them now. Please bear in mind that these screenshots are from Bullroarer as well as the currency costs listed below. Once this festival goes live, I can confirm the token costs.

I do have a bit of good news regarding these new barter additions. Unlike most cosmetics from the past two years' festivals, the cosmetics are neither overdone in terms of design and nor are they the same reskinned robe we've been seeing since the Summer Festival of 2013. It's about time, I say! On top of it, the new robe includes two different skins--a knee-length one for females and an ankle-length one for males. It's based on another unique cosmetic recently posted here. Even though it is reskinned, I'm overjoyed a different model was used! Even the steed caparison has a unique skin!

The Yule Festival runs from December 16, 2014 to January 15, 2015 this winter season.

As usual, to the left of each individual cosmetic is a version dyed evendim blue to demonstrate dye application.

Robe of Winter Winds - 35 Festival Tokens (female appearance)

Midnight Chill - Nathrien of Gladden

Today kicks off the first outfit featured in this year's Winter Series. Versus doing something in a traditional blue and white theme, I've decided to try something new and experiment with skins that have gone unused in the two to three years they've been in storage. The first being the Battered Dunlending Chestguard (or any the Dunland pieces sharing this skin), which features a chain mail undergarment covered with a fur-lined coat, topped off with a strap-laden leather jerkin. Until this post, I've never been able to match it very well with anything else. The second piece, the Yule Hoodless Cloak, displaying a blizzard-like pattern and a highly unique white trim with a difficult to match silvery sheen. This sheen is only found in this cloak and often stands out in any outfit, even at a distance. If it were a pure white, I'd have used it a very long time ago.

Here's winter for you...in a sleek, efficient, combat-oriented style!

Flower Girl - Pennycandy of Gladden

My hobbit mintrel is a character I have no intention of leveling. I had created her for one reason originally--Turning of the Tide's own Hobbits to Isengard event, which I held back in September 2013, long before Sapience held it for each server. To tell the truth, Forgotten Darkness of Gladden was the first community, that I know of, to run that event in early 2012. Community events or not, I decided to keep little level 8 Pennycandy and use her as an additional model. So far, she's provided me with a significant amount of practice in clothing hobbits casually. I highly doubt I'll have any battle-ready outfits for that race.

Cosmetic Guide to Dol Amroth Class Armor

Multiple players have been asking on the forums and in world/glff chat where else they can obtain the Dol Amroth class armor skins that came with the release of U14. As a result, I picked up this project in the hopes of creating some sort of guide. Here, I'll list as best as possible the alternative methods to collecting these armor skins. Because this post is strictly for skins, I won't be including dye colors. I'll admit there are some pieces that I don't know. I never bothered to get one of each class to level 95 or subbed long enough to have the entire cosmetic library at my fingertips. However, I'll do my best. Just to warn you, you will see *multiple* pieces listed that share the same skins. 

If you see a piece that's incorrect or an alternative item with the same skin, please leave a comment below.

And by the way, only half of these sets are cosmetically original. I know my blogs and outfits well enough to know some of these have been lifted from other sites and slightly altered, whether it's by dye color or a single piece. If that is the case, I will provide links to the original creators and the specific outfits beneath each set to give credit where it is due.

Hunter ("Of the Liberator" set)

Head: Helm of the Shadow-walker (Barad Guldur level 65 medium armor from skirm camp)
Shoulders: Treasure Hunter's Shoulder Guards (T6 Tailor light armor recipe, or its level 54 or 58 crafted equivalent)
Chest: Battle Armour of the Mark (T8 Metalsmith recipe, guilded or RoR landscape barter)
Hands: Eastemnet Battle Gauntlets (T8 Metalsmith recipe, level 80)
Feet: Woodland Ranger’s Boots (Volume 3 Wildermore Interludes)

OUTFIT ADAPTED from The Starry Mantle by the designers.

Snowbound - Pennycandy of Gladden

It's been a while since I've dressed up a hobbit, especially this little darling. I don't know what it is about them, but no matter what I put on a female hobbit, I feel all warm and giggly and melty on the inside. It's like a cuteness overload! (D'awww!!!) And speaking of warm and fuzzy, I felt compelled to create a winter-friendly outfit for one. Versus using evendim blue, which I abuse to no end, I opted for the darker ered luin blue to make a bolder contrast between the lighter and darker colors, and to make the fur stand out. Have a character heading towards the Misty Mountains or Forochel? Look no further!

Despite the fact that summer is in full swing, sweltering heat and disgusting muggy days included, a little bit of winter apparel makes the weather seem cooler. Any more 90°F days (32°C), and I'll be praying for the snow! Gloredh of Wandering Around Arda used the same location and temperature-related reasons in a recent outfit, Ambassador to the Elves.

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!

Winter Series - Steel-clad Santa

It began with a simple shout-out in GLFF meant to relieve a bit of boredom waiting for this year's festivities to start. I jokingly dared someone to cosmetically challenge me for the holiday season. I seriously wasn't expecting to hear anything. Then BAM! A single tell rolled in from an anonymous player--"Make a Santa that rides to war in Rohan!" My initial reaction? Forehead met palm with a loud smack. Good grief. I kinda dug myself a hole and I had to find a way to climb out of it. It took about three days, but here we are...a chainmail-wearing, pauldron-toting, backpack-slinging interpretation of St. Nick that can still deliver gifts to children scattered across the open plains of Rohan. Isengard and Mordor beware!

Yule Festival 2013 Cosmetics

This must be indeed the "Year of the Robes" for LOTRO. We haven't seen a new dress since this year's Spring Festival. Once again, we're seeing a reskinned robe model from the early days of LOTRO. It's a simple winter-themed set this year. Nothing extravagant, at least not in comparison to the stunning job done last year for the Yule Festival.

Unfortunately, I do not have time to catalogue three years of items for my blog, especially for our new players. Perhaps I will be able to that after Christmas, when the holiday chaos has settled down. For now, I can only post the 2013 additions. However, Cosmetic LOTRO has pictures of the cosmetics available from previous years. Please stop by and say thank you to Hymne for providing these screenshots:

Yule Festival Cosmetics 2012
Yule Festival Cosmetics 2011
Yule Festival Cosmetics 2011 (Mid-festival additions)

These new robes are simple and unassuming with a pretty snowflake motif. They are, by default, dyed an interestingly muted shade of teal...at least that's how it looks to me. The images on the far right of each set show how the pieces dye, and I've used purple because the undyeable portions are so dark.

Wintertide Robe (35 Festival Tokens)

Winter Series - A Long Expected Yuletide

Why not kick off the Yule Season with a very simple and easily obtainable outfit? Well, mostly obtainable. The Fine Elven Circlet can only be earned from the Anniversary Festival gift boxes. If you don't have it, there's no need to worry! This cosmetic set still looks wonderful without it. With a little work for the upcoming Yule Festival, you can earn most of these easily without having to worry about instance grinding, leveling or endgame. Versus seeing these festival exclusives on stationary models found on the LOTRO forums and blogs, I wanted to give you an idea of how these look combined and in motion. And if you're a first timer to this season in LOTRO, you've got a wonderful idea of what to expect!

This year, the Yule Festival will run from December 18th, 2013 to January 14th, 2014.

Happy Holidays!

Shoulders: Gwir-Palvais (White, Isen 3-man drop)        Chest: Wintry-Yule Robe (Forest Green, Yule Fest 2012)     Feet: Delduin (Forest Green, BG 85 remote caster drop)

This has been an absolutely wonderful holiday season on LOTRO. So wonderful, in fact, that I have a special story to share with you.

Winter Series - A Light Dusting

Yule Tidings - Winter Series

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 :)

Tundra Wanderer - Aerthain of Gladden