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.

The Galadhrim Defender & Happy Anniversary

Happy 8th Anniversary to Material Middle-earth!

Every year I've reached this anniversary milestone, which officially falls on April 21st, I can't help but think "Has another year come and gone so quickly?" Having been blogging for LOTRO these past eight years, I'm surprised I haven't run out of content to publish between reviving old cosmetics and exploring the newest ones. I'm always finding rewarding things to do. Just in the past year, I've helped judge several cosmetic contests across several servers, I've even hosted my own with the help of Gladden's Rangers of the West, and I've also expanded the Cosmetic Weapons section to include a vast selection of shields. There have been other projects and events, too many to name in fact, but they've left me satisfied without feeling burned out, as they normally do. I've even rediscovered my love for raiding, which I haven't actively done since Riders of Rohan was the current expansion!

Silent Knife

Love that Burglar-exclusive dagger throwing action! Been a while since I've shared a combat screenshot...

I have little time nowadays for my low level alts, as Minas Morgul dailies consume most of my gaming time at night. Every so often, I take a break and work on my baby Stout-axe Burglar. In the past three months, I've put approximately twenty levels of work into her. The Burglar isn't exactly my cup of tea, but it gives me a chance to learn the class and appreciate some of the things it can do. Stealthing my way through densely populated encampments is always a blast. And so isn't flinging knives with deadeye accuracy! But that's just a bonus for me. The real treat is having another alt, which means I have eight more outfits to create! And with that, this particular appearance gives dwarves some love!

Nightshade

Many of my readers have noticed over the years how bright, colorful, and cheerful my outfits have been. I've always liked bold and brilliant purples, blues, greens, and reds. In fact, that's become a defining characteristic of Material Middle-earth. Unfortunately, that hasn't sat well with a multitude of readers. I've been getting messages complimenting me on what content is shared, but also requesting more natural and adventure-worthy outfits. I've also gotten a few rude messages that I will not repeat here. One went as far as to say I've made "outfits worthy of a carnival or circus." Of course, there have been other more modest reactions between those examples. And then there's the general pattern of comments on the official LOTRO forums' outfit thread.

I greatly appreciate my followers, both old and new. I always have and I always will. I've taken my incoming messages seriously, even if I've never gotten a response to my reply (and I have my suspicions about that...*coughjunkmailcough*). And I've also taken feedback and other criticisms to heart as well.

Elite Rider

I apologize for the absence. Most of January and the first week of February weren't kind to me. Having the flu, combined with a case of the stomach flu, left me hospitalized briefly and unable to do very much. Recovery has been slow, but my health has returned to normal. And I'm grateful for that. However, this means I've fallen behind in many aspects of my life, especially this blog. I've run out of scheduled outfits and have had little time for LOTRO. And despite the constant distractions and scramble to catch up, I found time to log into LOTRO and collect the new VIP cosmetic set, the Armour of the Elite Rider. These cosmetics are available to any player on any server so long as he/she is VIP and logs into the game by March 12, 2020.