So I’m currently running around Middle Earth with my 130 Elf Huntress as I complete the Ballad of Bingo Boffin. As a result, I’m revisiting a bunch of low level areas, and have decided to make outfits to go with it. My last outfit was worn as I quested through the Barrow Downs just outside of Bree, and today I’m sporting a more stealthy outfit as I travel through the Lonelands.
I’m actually having quite a bit of fun with this. Bingo Boffin is a pretty demanding hobbit. He’s lazy, and I’m half-convinced he can’t do anything for himself. But running around as a skilled warrior helping out a curious hobbit does make me feel more immersed in the world of Middle Earth than I have in a long time, and I’m having a lot of fun getting into the experience. Feeling annoyance at Bingo, dressing up in area-appropriate clothing, feeling superior and awesome next to this bumbling hobbit…It’s pretty awesome.
I see you orcs. Prepare to meet your maker. DIE!!!!
I really had too much fun with this. But LOTRO is supposed to be fun, so that’s all that really matters. And as much as Bingo annoys me, questing for him really does make me feel like I’m back in Middle Earth.
So you want to dance, do you? Have at me, scum!Feel my wrath!
Moving on to a different orc camp to wreak more havoc…
They’ll never see me coming…ASSASIN!
Also, it’s really funny remembering that lower level mobs won’t attack you. You can literally run through the middle of an orc camp and they won’t even come near you. It’s like you don’t exist.
I’m supposed to kill you…but…you’re not attacking me…Look, if I don’t kill you, you promise not to hurt me, right?Hmm. Maybe you’re not so bad after all…Wait, what was that? Did you hear that?More orcs! Defend me my new friend!To battle!!
Alas, it was time to move on from my new friend. So I remounted my horse, and set off for Weathertop.
From here I must go on foot my friend.
Also, I just want to say, it’s moments like this — where I can just stand at a distance and look at the majesty of Weathertop that I’m reminded of how much I love this game. This view is just so cool.
Ahh! Crebain attack!
Lol I love how the feathers just float down after you kill a bird.
Outfit:
Head: Lesser Secret of the West Helmet (burgundy)
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the Mark (red)
Lesser Secret of the West Breastplate (crimson)
Gloves: The Bowmaster’s Gloves (crimson)
Legs: Spellweaver’s Leggings (red)
Feet: Lesser Memory of the West Shoes (black)
Bow: Exquisite Black Ash Bow
Sword: Defender of Gwingris
Dagger: Hero’s Dagger
Warsteed
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (Ccrimson)
Body: Harness of the Harbinger (crimson)
Saddle: Citadel saddle
Legs: Citadel Leggings (red)
Here’s another sort of Viking-inspired outfit, this time with a distinctly Rohirric twist. The helm and gloves are both from Rohirrim cosmetic sets. It also gave me a chance to try out the Snowbeast warsteed set, which I’d gotten for myself last Christmas but haven’t really used. The outfit is very much supposed to feel like a scrapped together set.
Try me, outlaw! My baby bear will mess you up!
Ironically (or perhaps unironically if the outfit is supposed to be scrapped together??) it’s actually my high elf modeling this outfit. I think my thought process was supposed to be somewhat along the lines of, “what if my elf huntress went to Rohan and decided to immerse herself in the culture?” I’m not sure the finished product reflects that so much…by the time I finished it I actually had this narrative of a daughter of one of the horse lords who wanted to take up her father’s sword after he died, but had to scrap together her own armor and weapons to do so.
Something slew this orc…we should investigate! Oh wait. It was me. I killed it. Oops.
I actually really had fun with this outfit. I don’t know why…It’s just fun. And less “put together” than what I normally strive for.
I like that you can just see my bear cup poking out between my legs. Like it’s ready to attack, but not ready enough to go out in front lol
Outfit:
Head: Helm of the Hornburg Defender
Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of Bard’s Will (black)
Back: Cloak of the Skin-Changers (black)
Chest: Jacket of the Sunset hills (default)
Legs: none -- for some reason if you wear pants with this tunic, it will change the color of the tunic t the color of the pants. I'm not lying. I don't know why.
Hands: Gloves of the Isengard Dispeller
Feet: Lithe Boots of Thranduil’s Power (black)
Bow: Arinora’s Bow
Dagger: Bronze Dagger
Sword: Potent Dextrous sword of Finesse
Warsteed:
Complete Snow Beast set (dyed black)
I think going forward I want to make more of these “pieced together” looks. They’re really fun 🙂 It’s like organized chaos. My favorite kind of chaos (and organization, if I’m being honest).
So…after some debate, I just said screw it. I’m posting this outfit in green too. After all, the purpose of this blog is really for me to catalogue my favorite outfits for my own reference. And considering this has been my huntress’ main outfit for over a year now, I decided I would post it too. Even if it is essentially the same as the last outfit.
This outfit actually came first, as I mentioned in my last post. It has different shoulders than the previous outfit – these shoulders were my initial pick to go with this outfit, but when I dyed it all orange, the shoulders didn’t work as well. So that’s that.
I wanted to pick an elk to go with the outfit, but it proved a bit harder than last outfit. In the end I decided to highlight the Elk of Felegoth’s Glory, but I also couldn’t resist adding a warsteed as well. Oops.
Also I had a really hard time picking a spot to take pictures in. It was hard to balance finding a place that was lush and green enough while also not being too dark, as is often the problem with forests. I tried Northern Mirkwood first, but that was too dark. Then I tried Fangorn Forest, and that was pretty good, except for an overall murkiness and fog. I did end up using several photos from that though. I did then go to the Old Forest at the edge of Bree just for some last photos, and that was probably the best location I found.
It was still hard though to get pictures where the outfit stood out enough against all the green.
Outfit:
Head: Time-Worn Headpiece (forest green)
Shoulders: Wymmar’s End (dark green)
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Traveller (dark green)
Chest: Ceremonial Thunderstruck Shirt (forest green)
Hands: The Bowmaster’s Gloves (forest green)
Legs: Trousers of the Autumn Traveller (dark green)
Feet: Lesser Memory of the West Shoes (sienna)
Bow: Exquisite Black Ash Bow
This outfit has been around for a very long time. Like, over a couple years I think. It’s undergone lots of tweaking, some as recent as a couple days ago. But I’ve decided it’s time.
This outfit was actually developed at the same time as my “Forest Warrior” post – essentially, this was an alternate version, and I had to choose between the two (It was originally in green as well). After making my decision and posting the outfit, I then couldn’t bring myself to move on from it. Instead I started adapting it to a more “autumn” palette, and gave it to my fire RK. She’s had it as her main outfit ever since.
Just to give some background, sunset orange is one of my favorite dyes in game. I’m not quite sure why, as I’m not normally a huge fan of the color orange, but I love it. So. Much. It’s also the main color I’ve decided to use for my fire RK’s outfit. And, as it turns out, it matches perfectly with the default color of the Autumn Traveller outfit.
I purposely chose items that had elements of yellow and gold in it as well. This outfit is basically just supposed to evoke the image of “autumn leaves,” so I wanted as many shades of orange and gold as possible. I’m a little biased, but I love it.
I don’t often use steeds that aren’t my warsteeds (except in cities and stuff because as much as I love my war steeds, they’re still not the best at maneuvering. Like at all. Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll take my warsteed to Minas Tirith and see how far I can get before being rubberbanded back to the previous circle. It’s fun. Sort of).
Anyways, I do love my occasional elk steed, especially for an outfit like this, which really evokes “elf ranger” themes.
Outfit:
Head: Time-Worn Headpiece (sunset orange)
Shoulders: Golden Host Shoulder Pads of the Gloaming (sunset orange)
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Traveller (default)
Chest: Ceremonial Thunderstruck Shirt (sunset orange)
Hands: The Bowmaster’s Gloves (sunset orange)
Legs: Trousers of the Autumn Traveller (default)
Feet: Lesser Memory of the West Shoes (sienna)
Mount: Steed of the Autumn Traveller
I don’t often make use of “reward” cosmetics granted for buying an expansion or as a reward for being VIP. Maybe because they seem too easy? Or because I know they aren’t accessible for a lot of players? But I finally decided to try and make an outfit based around one – specifically the Isengard Dispeller set. What can I say, I’m a sucker for blue things.
I actually ended up being quite a big fan of this outfit. It’s not my RK’s normal style at all, but I kind of put myself into roleplaying mode for a bit, and was like, “okay, my elf is in Rohan, her armor is all worn out, so she gets some stuff from the locals and makes do.” Which…normally I honestly don’t make up stories to go with outfits, but this one ended up happening organically. Maybe that’s why I’m such a big fan of the outfit now?
I also wanted to showcase one of the light caparisons that you can get just from questing in Rohan, as that also fit the narrative. So I went with the light caparison of the Norcrofts (which is a favorite of mine anyways, if I’m being honest).
If you’ve followed my warsteed outfits at all, you’ve also probably noticed that I tend to use the same bridle for EVERYTHING. Which, yes. I do. It’s the head-piece of the northern herald, and is (in my opinion) the best basic bridle in game, because it is so far the only regular looking bridle I’ve found that doesn’t change the horse’s default mane at all (if you ever play around with your warsteed’s appearance, you’ll notice that it has a differently shaped mane when it has no saddle or caparison on, versus once you put the saddle on. I’ll let this lovely wild horse model what a “naked” mane looks like:
Now compare that to the more “blocky” mane that the warsteed adopts once you put most saddles/caparisons on it:
See the difference? Anyways, that’s why I almost always use that bridle. I like the look of the first mane better, it seems much more natural. Anyways – back to my elf –
Outfit:
Head: Rune-Maker’s Hat (navy)
Shoulders: Rare Mathom-Hunter’s Mantle (evendim blue)
Back: Woven Heavy Cloak of the Abyss (evendim blue)
Chest: Hauberk of the Isengard Dispeller
Hands: Gloves of the Isengard Dispeller
Feet: Threadbare Boots of the Dunland Healer (walnut brown)
Warsteed:
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (evendim blue)
Body: Light Caparison of the Norcrofts (evendim blue)
Saddle: Saddle of Lebennin
So, I got back into LOTRO recently after a bit of a break. And what do I see the first time I log in? There’s a huge special on war steed cosmetics. So what do I do? I blow ALLLL my saved up LPs on them. Cause you know, that’s what you do. Anyways, as a result, I’m now fully in the war steed craze, which means it’s time to take my toons back to Rohan!
Basically, after I got my warden a war-steed, I stopped playing him for a bit outside of festivals. So now I’m officially going through the East Rohan circuit to get all the base game horse cosmetics.
Filthy orcsies! We hates them!
I also stumbled across another randomized horse in the Norcrofts that I decided I liked, so I decided to give my warden a second steed. So, allow me to introduce Chili: my warden’s lighter horse for travel and for hunting.
SUCH A GOOD BOY!!!!!
It’s been really fun to get back into playing a warden – I personally find the gambit system really fun, and it’s just a nice blend of play styles in my opinion.
Also, as a reminder, here’s my warden’s main steed Ronan: the heavy war-horse always ready for battle:
Interesting side note I actually purposely decided not to give Ronan a bridle in this post to distinguish him from a regular steed. See normally you use a bridle and a bit to guide a horse – you pull the reins one way and the horse steers to the left and vice versa.
In battle, however, a knight wouldn’t always (and in fact often didn’t) have free hands to hold the reins given that they also had to hold their weapons. So, they would wear spurs on their boots, and war-steeds were specially trained to respond to these.
War-horses were also often unguelded stallions, because having a fiery, violent temper was an important asset to have in battle. These horses would also be trained to bite and kick on command. They were not merely methods of transportation, they were weapons in their own right.
Outfit: Shoulders: Medium Nadhin Shoulders (burgundy) Chest: Robe of Anorien Mercy (burgundy) Hands: Leather Gauntlets of the Leaping Stag (burgundy) Back: Warden's Pack (burgundy) Feet: Reworked Boots (grey) Shield: Shield of the Strong
Chili: Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (crimson) Body: Light Caparison of the Norcrofts (crimson) Saddle: Saddle of the Great Alliance Main/Tail: sorrel Coat: Red Roan Overo
Ronan: Body: Medium Banded Leather Caparison (crimson) Legs: Medium Banded Leather Leggings (crimson) Saddle: Plain Black Saddle Main/Tail: Red Roan Coat: Dappled Flaxen Chesnut
So this isn’t actually a NEW outfit, per say, but I’ve never posted it before (A similar outfit can be found in the Silent Watcher post – the chest-piece is the same). It’s been a staple of my main’s wardrobe and it tends to be a go to of mine for any new toon – or even established ones. One thing I love about it is that it looks great in pretty much any color. So, here’s a few shots in my favorite hues balanced out by beautiful locations!
My alt champ wearing all white in Dol Amroth –
Before going back to take some photos, I had never realized just how beautiful Dol Amroth really is. Probably cause the first couple times I went through there I was tired of questing in Gondor, and most of the times that I have returned it’s been only to barter for things, not to marvel at the scenery.
The white, the pink, the blue, it’s all just so regal. Not to mention that those are some epic ships and the harbor itself is so serene and beautiful.
Here’s my warden (level 77 now btw – just for the record!) dressed in burgundy while exploring Harangmar in the Lone Lands. Now, for all the fun that I’ve had questing in the area, it’s not a particularly beautiful region. There is something very cool about the red swamps and bogs that make up Agamar, Harangmar, Garth Agarwen, and the Red Pass. It’s kind of a surreal area – the only other place in game I can think of that has a similar geography is Arganaith in Mordor (which is a significantly less fun place to quest in).
As long as you avoid all the walking dead, it’s a rather nice area.
Next is my hunter in Ashenslades Green, tracking some creatures outside of Esteldin in the North Downs (JK – it’s actually the Guide to Bree skill he’s using, but it has the same animation). Also, fun fact, it took me going through Mirkwood FOUR times to finally realize that it was AshenSLADES and not AshenDALES. I finally realized it was named after a region there and that I’d been pronouncing it wrong (in my head at least – I don’t think I ever had cause to actually speak the word aloud) for years.
The jacket on its own has a default color of a darker green, but I couldn’t quite find a matching dye for the other pieces, so I decided to dye the whole outfit this color for uniformity. Full disclosure, my hunter IS wearing a different cloak than the other toons – I ran out of Ashenslades dye and I’ve been on such a fashion bender lately that all of my toons are quite literally BROKE.
Here’s my alt champ again – this time hunting shades in Ost Celebrant by the Great River while dressed in Walnut Brown hues. I must say, I LOVE this dye. I’m not normally a big fan of brown shades, but there’s something so rich about this one. It’s a cool brown – not in the sense of “oh that rocks,” but in terms of it’s actual color. Umber and Sienna in the game both are warmer, redder hues – I’m not a huge fan of either of them. But the Walnut Brown dye gives items that sense of luxury and wealth while still seeming practical.
Can I also briefly mention how weird it is to fight incorporeal ghosts with normal, steel weapons? Like, how would that work?
And of course this wouldn’t be one of my posts without a war steed outfit somewhere in there, so here’s the un-dyed West Rohan Set – It’s available FOR FREE in game as a reward for doing West Rohan war-bands. There are three pieces: the halter, caparison, and saddle (although this is actually not the saddle being worn – this saddle I bartered for during Yule Fest). They drop pretty regularly, although sometimes it takes a bit of patience to get all of the pieces. It took me a couple weeks of doing war bands on my alt champ to acquire them all, despite having only taken me 15 minutes to get them all on my LM. Luck of the draw, I guess?
Back to my main, here he is sporting one of his classic Steel Blue outfits while adventuring around Lake Town.
The North Mirkwood/Erebor region is one of my favorite regions. Maybe it’s because it was the first update after Mordor (a region which caused me to rage quit multiple times), or maybe it’s because of the variety in landscape (lakes, mountains, forests), or maybe it’s because it’s just so pretty, but I love it. Also the Lay of Rust and Rhime quest chain involving the Weeping Warrior and magnificent dragons was one that really intrigued me. I haven’t actually run Anvil yet, so I’m really curious as to how this story is going to wrap up (if it even will! I know there are still more updates to come)!
So pretty…
And because it is what I titled this post, here’s my main champ in his classic all black outfit watching the sun rise over Lake Town:
I’m all worded out by now. So here are some nice pics to wrap this post up!
Considering it’s now 2 am my time, I think it’s time I went to bed. Lest I see a sunrise like this!
OUTFIT: Shoulders: Medium Nadhin Shoulders Chest: Coat of Faramir's Faithful Gloves: The Bowmaster's Gloves Feet: Threadbare Boots of the Dunland Healer Back: Swift Wool Cloak of the Dwarf-Holds
That’s right – run away. Run from my level 22 warden!!
So I finally rolled a warden! And let me just say, it is a FUN class. I actually created this toon right about the same time I broke down and bought an Aria of the Valar. I intended to use it on my hunter, but once I started getting into the warden I confess I was torn. In the end though, I decided a class as long as complicated and lovingly-made as the warden deserved to be leveled all the way through and granted the time to properly learn the class dynamics.
The warden was immediately more to my liking than the hunter – probably because I’m so used to playing a champion and my instinct is to rush into the fray and get into the action, and that doesn’t work so well on a hunter. It does, however, work well on a warden 🙂
Sorry wolf. I need your pelt for a quest. Running, running, and running, running
Also, my warden immediately seemed like the perfect candidate to wear that specific blend of plate armor and leather jackets – i.e., the Bowmaster’s Jacket (medium isengard t1 armor). There’s just something about the warden class that seems more organized than the other classes – like, being a warden is actually a JOB – it’s not just a hobby for random Middle Earthians who want to go kill things.
In fact, wardens are present at many Middle Earth Settlements – particularly early on. You’ll see them standing outside the gates of Archet, and Comb – you’ll find them in Esteldin in the North Downs and in Michael Delving in the Shire. I don’t know who exactly is organizing them, but there’s definitely something going on there.
Anyways, about the outfit – I once again paired the Isengard medium jacket with another set. This time, however, it wasn’t from Harndirion, it was actually the medium Survivors of Wildermore crafted armor.
In my mind, the Wildermore armor actually matches the gold of the jacket much closer than the Harndirion armor pieces did – though they certainly come with a more “armor” like appearance (if that makes any sense?). I think it fits the warden though. He looks battle hardened, prepared, and well organized.
OUTFIT: Shoulders: Wildermore Shoulderguards of Combat (burgundy/default) Chest: The Bowmaster's Jacket (burgundy) Hands: Wildermore Gauntlets of Combat (burgundy/default) Feet: Wildermore Boots of Combat (burgundy/default) Shield: Thistlewool's Buckler
LOTRO Adventurer 