The wild white kine that were still to be found near the Sea of Rhûn were said in legend to be descended from the Kine of Araw, the huntsman of the Valar, who alone of the Valar came often to Middle-earth in the Elder Days. Oromë is the High-elven form of his name.

~ Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, footnote

I purchased the Helegrod Hunter’s Breastplate of the Aurochs, which is quite an odd and unique piece of armour, portraying the face of an Aurochs.  However, I don’t like the match with the other set pieces, the dwarf style leggings and gloves. In stead I restyled it for an elf in the spirit of the Great Huntsman of the Valar, who in ancient times was the one to discover the Elves. The Quenya word Oromë is translated as ‘Sound of Horns’.

I have lots and lots of cosmetics, but I still don’t have everything! (…and I hope I never will, so there will always remain something to wish for). These days I am splurging my medallions on the Helegrod cosmetics that became available after Update 6. I have quite a few pieces of the original sets but the cosmetic versions make it so much easier to collect them. The cosmetics are not bound to character, so I can store them on my mule alts! This is extremely convenient for a collector. Now I won’t have to worry about vault space and buy everything I always wanted but never had the space for. In theory one can even purchase these cosmetics for medallions and sell them at the Auction House for gold.

This week all cosmetics in the Lotro store are on sale with a 20% discount. A nice opportunity to pick up a new cloak. The Cloak of the Algraig has been on my list for quite a while and I decided it was a good match to this Elvish Aurochs outfit.

If you want to know where a certain armour piece or cosmetic comes from, you can look it up on Lotro Wiki, by typing its name into the search box. You can equip any piece of armour cosmetically through the wardrobe, even armour that is not meant for your class or level.

Head: Fine Elven Circlet, default (anniversary and loot box, cosmetic)
Chest : Ceremonial Breastplate of the Aurochs, grey dye (skirmish camp barter, Helegrod medium cosmetic)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer, grey dye (Dunland quest reward)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Hidden Paths, grey dye (Great River quest reward, heavy)
Legs: Earthen Leggings, grey dye (Great River quest reward, medium)
Feet: Reclaimed Nobleman’s Shoes, grey dye (Great River quest reward, light)
Back: Cloak of the Algraig, grey dye (Lotro store exclusive, cosmetic)

My loremaster finally entered Dunland! When I set my Lotro goals for 2012, I promised myself I would get her to level cap. Well she’s not quite there yet, but getting there! She finished all the Epic Books so far, and still needs to finish some final reputation in Mirkwood, but now that the Epic questline sent her into Dunland, she just couldn’t wait anymore. To blend in with her new environment, I made her not one, but three new outfits! I’ll post them one at a time, starting with the white one that features a nostalgic pair of leggings that I think fit in quite well with Dunland fashion.

Finding items that dye a solid white is hard. There just aren’t that many items as most pieces remain grubby or ashen. I don’t quite understand why some items seem to have solid colour layers and others have translucent layers or even darkened layers, but these different layers do create a varied spectrum of hues, which in itself is very nice. Now if only the weather in Dunland were a bit less gloomy…

If you want to know where a certain armour piece or cosmetic comes from, you can look it up on Lotro Wiki, by typing its name into the search box. You can equip any piece of armour cosmetically through the wardrobe, even armour that is not meant for your class or level.

Head: Urdhol-helm, sienna dye (Isengard instances boe drop, light)
Chest: Radiant Armour, white dye (crafted Tier 5, light)
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the Wandering Bard, umber dye (Ettenmoors barter reward, minstrel)
Hands: Gloves of Fem, white dye (quest reward, light)
Legs: Leggings of the Sun-lands, white dye (world drop, medium)
Feet: Rhydhid-lhopan, white dye (Isengard instances boe drop, light)

Since the rangers of the Grey Company send me out on dangerous missions all the time, why not wear a female Grey Company outfit? But instead of the baggy, shabby apparel that the rangers seem to prefer, I choose garments that are slightly more friendly to the female shape. And I’m not going to hide my red hair underneath one of those funny hoods, as the colour is a perfect match to my boots!

This is the third Dunland quest outfit that I made for my loremaster. This one is very simple, no shoulders or hood are used in order to make the shirt fully stand out. The details on the shirt are just too nice to hide underneath some shoulder guards.
The shirt is a quest reward from Epic Volume II Book 4. The design is seen on world drops as well, sometimes with long and sometimes with short sleeves, but as far as I know this quest reward is the only sleeveless one of its kind.
The leggings appear in several places as quest rewards around level 40-45. Last week the Starry Mantle posted a very nice outfit using these leggings: Eglan-provider.

If you want to know where a certain armour piece or cosmetic comes from, you can look it up on Lotro Wiki, by typing its name into the search box. You can equip any piece of armour cosmetically through the wardrobe, even armour that is not meant for your class or level.

Chest: Zigilburk’s Finder, grey dye (Vol.II Book 4 quest reward, light)
Hands: Leather Bracers of the Gentle Stag, white dye (Dunland quest reward, light)
Legs: Leggings of Fem, grey dye (quest reward, light)
Feet: Ceremonial Nenuial’s Boots, grey dye (skirmish camp barter, Annúminas medium cosmetic)

Hauberk alert!! Yes, Hauberks seem to be an either hate or love cosmetic item. I have mixed feelings about Hauberks as they are not equally flattering to each race and gender. On top of that, even though all Hauberks share the same basic model, there’s hauberks and there’s Hauberks. Fortunately though, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to hauberks. Many of them can be obtained easily from the Outfitters around Middle Earth, some rare ones come from Anniversary boxes, but I have to say that the nicest Hauberks are being sold in the Lotro store. So that means paying TP if you really want them. Well, since I am a big fan of “FLUFF” in the store, have done and will do more than my fair share of sponsoring the cosmetics department, I have these Hauberks too. Funny thing is though that I have never really gotten around to making a good outfit for all of them, other than for the Hauberk of the Mirrormere and the Hauberk of Glory.

Well I decided that before Update 7 comes out with the new Mystery Hauberks I should at least try and make some outfits for the Hauberks that I already own before getting any more of those! So here’s another beautiful Hauberk which has a lot of chainmail. Good for guardians or other heavy armour users, but very nice for hunters and wardens as well. I didn’t use a cloak here because I like to see these shoulder guards all the way around the shoulders like a wrap.
Gloves and Boots can be crafted of course, but I am cheap when it comes to temporary cosmetics and got them from the Heavy Armour Smith in Evendim. Be aware that they don’t match when dyed the same colour, so I had to work with a darker shade of red (crimson) for the boots.

If you want to know where a certain armour piece or cosmetic comes from, you can look it up on Lotro Wiki, by typing its name into the search box. You can equip any piece of armour cosmetically through the wardrobe, even armour that is not meant for your class or level.

Head: Urdhol-helm, white dye (boe Isengard instance drop level 75, light)
Shoulders: Gwir-Palvais, white dye (boe Isengard instances drop, light armour)
Chest: Hauberk of the Greenwood, red dye (Lotro store exclusive, cosmetic)
Hands: Chainmail Gloves, red dye (Heavy Armour Smith, Ost Forod)
Feet: Chainmail Boots, crimson dye (Heavy Armour Smith, Ost Forod)

When Lotro went Free to Play, and the Lotro Store was launched, it already had its first “store exclusive” cosmetics. Many players had insisted to Turbine on a store concept that would encourage purchasing items that were cosmetic in nature, beautiful in design but useless for game progression. So the store catered to that request by launching with a wonderful selection of store exclusive cloaks and dresses. If I recall correctly a few more store exclusive cloak designs were added with a later patch, and a year later a few store exclusive robes made it to the store as well. Unfortunately, in spite of that promising beginning, no store exclusive cosmetic items have been added since.
This leads me to believe that store exclusive cosmetics really don’t sell that well, and adding more items would require an investment in designer time that cannot be compensated with enough sales. Personally, I am very sad about this. From the very beginning I have been an avid advocate of a store concept that encourages buying beautiful, well designed store exclusive cosmetics.

The very first store exclusive cosmetic that I bought was the Cloak of the Windsinger. I was delighted with that cloak and wore it all the time. Soon enough my vault started filling up with other items and the cloak was tucked away on an alt character. I still think those early store cloaks are really beautiful, and the option to get both a hooded and non-hooded version of them is awesome. However I am craving some new ones! Last year I had hoped that the Isengard expansion would bring us new store cosmetics, and while it brought us a whole new and well designed range of armour pieces to be earned questing, nothing store exclusive was added to the cosmetics department.
I am sure that we will see many new wonderful armour designs in Rohan as well, but I would like to offer a plea to the designer team of Turbine: if you have any left-over designs that were discarded and didn’t make it into armour, please consider using those designs and add them to the store! There are many low level players who haven’t even gotten to Isengard yet that would love to get their hands on those. Please don’t let the cosmetics department wither and dye… uh oh… die!

Chest : Lesser Blade of the West Breastplate, white dye (OD Champion Set)
Head: Circlet of Adamant, default dye (Store exclusive, cosmetic)
Shoulders: Sellsword’s Shoulder Guards, white dye (Crafted T6, heavy)
Hands: Sellsword’s Gloves, white dye (Crafted T6, heavy)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, white dye (OD Warden Set)
Feet: Sellsword’s Boots, white dye (Crafted T6, heavy)
Back: Cloak of the Windsinger, grey dye (Store exclusive, cosmetic)

“The rider’s cloak streamed behind him, and his hood was thrown back; his golden hair flowed shimmering in the wind of his speed. To Frodo it appeared that a white light was shining through the form and raiment of the rider, as if through a thin veil.
Strider sprang from hiding and dashed down towards the Road, leaping with a cry through the heather; but even before he had moved or called, the rider had reined in his horse and halted, looking up towards the thicket where they stood. When he saw Strider, he dismounted and ran to meet him calling out: Ai na vedui Dúnadan! Mae govannen! His speech and clear ringing voice left no doubt in their hearts: the rider was of the Elven-folk. No others that dwelt in the wide world had voices so fair to hear.”

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “Flight to the Ford”

I am by no means any kind of expert on Tolkien’s writings and the lore of Middle Earth. I have read many of his works, and still re-read them from time to time, but I consider myself a mere bystander, an observer of his world who savours the deeper meaning of his archetypes and stories, without remembering every single name, place and passage. But I very much enjoy Middle Earth, either through reading his texts, or through playing Lord of the Rings online, or by listening to music based on his work. If you are like me, and like to digest his work in smaller quantities every once in a while, I recommend “Excerpts from Tolkien“, a website in blog format with short pieces of text and beautiful illustrations.

This outfit was loosely inspired by Glorfindel, the Elf who finds Frodo after he has been stabbed by the Nazgûl and sends him off to safety in Rivendell on his horse Asfaloth. I always have a hard time outfitting male elves but wanted to try something light and golden, similar to but not exactly the same as the Windsinger outfit for a female elf. I ended up using the same leggings, but the rest of the pieces are all different. The chest piece comes from the Ox-clan Camp Champion barter. You don’t need a Champion to purchase it, only enough seals and medallions. I really like how the RoI instance armour dyes in white, as it becomes a soft pale grey which gives a plated effect on the armour.

Head: Balladeer’s Hat, white dye (Moria dungeon armour set Minstrel/Loremaster/Runekeeper)
Chest: The Berserker’s Breastplate, white dye (RoI instance armour set Champion)
Shoulders: Shoulder Pads of Resolve, white dye (RoI instance armour set Minstrel/Loremaster/Runekeeper)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, white dye (Enedwaith raid armour set Warden)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Galadhrim, white dye (T6 crafted heavy, or Moria dungeon armour set heavy)
Feet: Boots of the Galadhrim, white dye (T6 crafted heavy, or Moria dungeon armour set heavy)
Back: Cloak of the Rescuer, white dye (Great River quest reward, light)

When the Epic Book 5 of Volume III: The Prince of Rohan was released I was thrilled. In the first chapter the rangers gave me all their old clothes! Suddenly the envy that I and many other cosmetic lovers had endured, seeing all those ranger NPC’s walking around in real casual ranger outfits, came to an end. We were finally able to dress like that ourselves! The rangers were even handing out two different sets, which was even more awesome! However, the excitement was short-lived. Soon Galtrev became infested with players in ranger outfits, suddenly everyone was a ranger and looked the same as everybody else. I felt discouraged, because as much as I liked these new cosmetics, I didn’t want to look like everyone else.
To my chagrin these cosmetics have been sitting in my vault collecting dust. With the exception of an occasional hood or some shoulders they have gone largely unused. Until now!
The Summer Festival provided us with a new funny hat. A hat that I’ve seen being used in many different outfits already, thus at risk of becoming another dust-collector in my vault as well. The hat has an undyeable green rim alongside the edge which is a perfect match to the Worn Ranger Tunic. Add to that a small green leaf brooch on the cloak and suddenly my Hobbit Ranger was born.

Last week a new type of Lottery has been added, rewarding all sorts of boxes. All characters from any level can participate in this lottery. The boxes have a chance to drop a cosmetic item, the same ones that drop from the Anniversary boxes. Some rare cosmetics can only be obtained from those boxes like the Short Elven Robe and the Short-sleeved Elven Tunic and Trousers. But also some rare hauberks like the Plain Hauberk and Forester’s Hauberk, so it may be worth participating in the lottery or otherwise keeping an eye on the auction house if you’re still after a particular cosmetic.

Head: Summerdays Hat, white dye (Summer Festival, cosmetic)
Chest: Worn Ranger’s Tunic, white dye (reward from Vol.III, Bk5, cosmetic)
Back: Cloak of the Unwelcome Guest, white dye (Great River quest reward, light armour)
Hands: Leather Bracers of the Gentle Stag, white dye (Isengard ques reward, light armour)

This is my first Riders of Rohan blog post and I’m not really sure how to start it off, because I never expected to be saying the things I am going to say. My first Rohan post was supposed to be a happy post. A post showing off my new warsteed in awesome colours with a mix-‘n-match outfit. A first post of many, sharing  the amazing new possibilities using the warsteed outfit system. Unfortunately, this is not to be. Not because the new warsteed customization options aren’t there, but because those options require a hefty sum of real life money to be accessed.

If I were to give only one of my characters access to all warsteed colours, it would cost me more than the entire Riders of Rohan legendary expansion, over $70. Given the fact that I have four characters going into Rohan, I would need $280 to give each of them full access. This is without even considering additional cost for an extra warsteed outfit panel, much less an exclusive outfit set. These solid colour options have no equivalent in game. There are speckled and blotchy skins dropping from warband spoils boxes, but no solid colours. My scholars can make dyes for my outfits, but not for my warsteed items. In other words, a huge portion of the warsteed customization options is limited to my real life wallet.

It may not come as a big surprise that I cannot afford to spend $280 for my four characters. Heck I don’t even want to spend $70 for one character! These are not reasonable amounts to spend on a cosmetic game mechanic. Even if I had that kind of money available, I would much rather spend it on a noble real life cause like The Fellowship Walk or getting Sapience to shave his beard.

I am not alone in my disappointment. @ForgotMyGambits has started a petition on the forum to lower the prices. The suggestions made in that thread to make colour packs account wide and allow individual colours to be picked are all good and may make the system more accessible. Sig from warsteeds.com has posted his frustrations. He also points out that the class steed caparisons don’t even have their original colour nor include their original skin colour. And I have seen many more tweets and comments from players regarding the price issues who feel the same.

Now I understand that Turbine is free to put whatever price they want on their lotro store items. They are also free to choose which items are going to be store exclusive. I have an above average passion for outfits and have always purchased all wardrobe options from the lotro store including many store exclusive cosmetics and some steeds, but the prices for these colour packs are far beyond my means and far beyond what I am willing to spend on a cosmetic system, regardless of my passion for it. So I am sad. Sad and disappointed that something I have been looking forward to so much turns out to be nothing but a money scam.

So far I have purchased one hide colour pack and one item colour pack for my main character. That is my limit and I am not going to spend another cent on this system unless something changes drastically. Until then, I am joining the large herd of grey warsteeds that are running across the planes of Rohan right now. I will merge with the masses, and enjoy the otherwise awesome landscape and quests while my characters clad themselves in dull shades of grey to match their dull grey warsteeds.

Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood, grey dye (Vol.III Book 5 reward, cosmetic)
Shoulders: Combat Pauldrons of Éomer, white dye (T8 crafted level 85, medium armour)
Chest: Eastemnet Assault Robe, white dye (T8 crafted level 80, light armour)
Hands: Gloves of the Westfold, default dye (RoI expansion reward)
Feet: Refugee’s ragged shoes, grey dye (Rohan quest reward, light armour)

Warsteed
Legs: Hunter’s Leggings – default dye
Saddle: Hunter’s Saddle
No additional colour customziations

The Rohan expansion so far has been everything I hoped for, except for the most important part: the armour appearances. Rohan has only two-and-a-half new armour appearances per weight: 1) the quest reward and barter gear, which is a rework of old world model armour designs and thus counts for half only, 2) the level 80 crafted armour and 3) the level 85 crafted armour.  I really like some of the crafted armour pieces but because of the deformation bugs, many pieces cannot be used. I just got my champion through the first Rohan quests and I wanted to use the level 80 crafted heavy chest piece for an outfit, but it has such terrible deformations on the chest (looks like somebody punched him really hard on his ribs) that I cannot use it as it is. In stead I had to come up with something a bit more old worldly.

A nice heavy armour outfit is always problematic for me. There aren’t really any full plate pieces in the game, which is a shame. Most of it is half plate with chain mail or even leather. Heavy leggings are the hardest part. I like the heavy Rift leggings but they all have an undyeable sienna detail on front and back and that just irritates the hell out of me. I have this manic need to match colours and details on every outfit, and having to either match or ignore the sienna gets old quickly. The Ost Dunhoth gear is a bit more flexible in that regard, but still has a lot of chain mail and very little plate. So for this outfit I had to find a compromise again. I keep wondering if we’ll ever see full plate gear. Maybe when we march to Gondor?

Head: Tarchar, white dye (barter in Ost Galadh, heavy armour)
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the Galadhrim, white dye (crafted Tier 6 Lothlórien, heavy armour, also available as skirmish cosmetic)
Chest: Ríanham, gold dye (Vol.I Bk8 reward, heavy armour, appearance also available as world drop)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Galadhrim, white dye (crafted Tier 6 Lothlórien, heavy armour, also available as skirmish cosmetic)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, white dye (barter in Ost Dunhoth, warden set, medallions of the north-men can be soloed)
Feet: Berserker’s Boots, white dye (trainer in Ost Galadh, champion only)
Back: Festive Azure Cloak, white dye (5th Anniversary veteran gift cosmetic)

Players have addressed me with questions regarding the mannequin outfits which I would like to answer in this post, hoping to clarify some issues that players seem to be concerned about.

1. Why did the mannequin outfit prices go up from 20mc to 50mc?
Answer: my best guess is that the original price of 20mc was incorrect. Mannequin outfits used to cost 775TP before update 9, which is closer to 50mc than to 20mc. In my opinion, the price of 20mc for an entire outfit was too low compared to other outfits in the store.

2. Can I still buy the outfit that was on the mannequins before this update?
Answer: No you cannot. I have no idea how often or even if these outfits will rotate at all, but don’t expect it to return to the mannequins any time soon. However there are other ways to obtain the same pieces, so ask around on the cosmetics forum.

3. I want the Armour of the West set, can I buy it in the store?
Answer: Not currently, but perhaps some day the “of the West” armor sets will be sold in the store for a limited time just like the Rift and Helegrod sets are. However if you have enough medallions and can make it to Harndirion in Enedwaith (which is even possible as a chicken!), you can purchase the regular Lesser Armour of the West pieces from the vendor there and share them with your other characters through the wardrobe system. You DO NOT need to be the exact class nor a minimum level to buy these pieces, any character can purchase these.

4. Is Cosmetic Lotro the only one designing mannequin outfits?
Answer: Obviously not, as many sets that are on the mannequins are just the regular, pre-designed sets and some ensembles that were combined by the Turbine team. I have submitted a few outfits to Turbine, based on what players had asked for in the poll on this blog. My aim is to get as many rare, obsolete or hard to acquire items on there as possible, specifically the old PvMP items and unique cloaks. I have also suggested on several occasions to simply put the original complete armour sets on the mannequins, which I hope they will take to heart and do in the future.

5. Can I submit my own outfit for the mannequins?
Answer: I don’t see why not, but I have no idea if Turbine will accept such submissions. If you are interested in sending in your ideas, please contact a member of the community team through the forum.

I hope these answers are helpful, if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask on the comment section of this post.
As for myself, I am very pleased with my new mannequin outfit, as I have obtained an obsolete Rune-keeper robe that is no longer available through any other means in game. This is true for all items in that particular outfit (displayed on a hobbit mannequin), which is a blend of Rune-keeper items and the very desirable Minstrel shoulders, so in my opinion well worth the purchase. I love to put thick robes on my super skinny Rune-keeper as it gives her a bit of shape and makes her look more normal. On top of that, the base color of this robe is a perfect match to the base color of the Rune-keeper steed caparison which is on sale this week.
I’m always happy to promote cosmetic and fluff items in the store as I’m always hoping that the revenue from those items keeps this game going, rather than items that improve your character or item stats. I’m really looking forward to loads of more fluff items coming our way with the 6th Anniversary festival that will start this week!
Just a friendly reminder to the rune-keepers: you can use ANY rune-satchel cosmetically, including those above your level, legendary and even unidentified, provided you have the Wardrobe feature and a free slot to put it in. So check the Auction House for something more attractive than the extremely dull level 85 ones that are around. I do not recommend buying the ones from the Lotro store as those cannot be dyed.

Shoulders: Lesser Arrow of the West Shoulder Guards, white dye (Harndirion barter or mannequin cosmetic)
Chest: Cer. Robe of the Word-crafter, white dye (mannequin cosmetic)
Hands: Cer. Gloves of the Word-crafter, white dye (mannequin cosmetic)
Feet: Cer. Shoes of the Word-crafter, white dye (mannequin cosmetic)
Satchel: Master’s Rune-satchel of Dagor, white dye

Well there’s not much news to report about Lotro lately, so I really have no idea what we can expect in terms of (pre-order) outfits and the Helms Deep expansion looks. I must admit I am rather curious and getting a little impatient. Meanwhile I am keeping myself busy with other things, dressing up my alts or even playing a level or two. So here’s my hunter in a new outfit.

In addition I would like to point you to a very nice post about Wardrobe Management by The Starry Mantle. In case you are wondering how to hold on to all those precious outfits and armour pieces, this guide provides plenty of useful tips!

Head: Lesser Arrow of the West Helmet, burgundy dye (Harndirion Barter Hunter Set)
Shoulders: Lesser Arrow of the West Shoulder Guards, burgundy dye (Harndirion Barter Hunter Set)
Chest: Far-arrow’s Jacket, white dye (Classic Vendor BG 65 Hunter set)
Legs: Far-arrow’s Leggins, white dye (Classic Vendor BG 65 Hunter set)
Hands: Far-arrow’s Gauntlets, burgundy dye (Classic Vendor BG 65 Hunter set)
Feet: Far-arrow’s Boots, burgundy dye (Classic Vendor BG 65 Hunter set)
Back: Swan-cloak, burgundy dye (Lotro store cosmetic)

“Nooooooooooo!”

“Foundered off the coast of Barandalf and no one around to help…”

“And those bandits on the other shore are crawling all over the place wrecking my kegs!”

“This looks bad. Really really bad…”

“Thankfully one of the kegs survived the wreck!”

“There’s nothing that a proper dwarven ale cannot solve!”

Enjoy your own Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariner and make sure to get your Pirate Outfit!

Head: Feathered Felt Hat, default dye (Lotro store cosmetic)
Shoulders: Supple Wildermore Shoulderpads, white dye (crafted light armour T8 tailoring recipe)
Chest: Supple Wildermore Robe, white dye (crafted light armour T8 tailoring recipe)
Hands: Fingerless Gloves, umber dye (Yule Festival cosmetic)
Feet: Padded Shoes, umber dye (light armour vendor Bree)

For all of you reading this blog: a happy new year! My first outfit in this new year is not strictly a wintry outfit even though it’s still very much winter outside. The Helm’s Deep expansion delivered some nice robes (crafted and quest rewards), which when used on a male elf or male race of man character are below knee length. When using these same robes on a female, hobbit or dwarf character, they are shortened above knee length. This is similar to some robes that appeared in the Rise of Isengard expansion with different appearances for males and females. To be honest I really prefer the male appearance and wish it would appear full length on females as well. This particular robe is a crafted T9 Tailoring Light Armour robe available from dropped recipes.

The Yule Festival is almost over and you have until Tuesday January 14th to finish any quests should you want to. It’s going to be long wait until the next festival as the time between Yule (December) and Spring festival (May) has been more than 4 months over the past two years, with only a Treasure Hunt and the Anniversary Festival in between. The festivals are still my main reason for logging into Lotro, so my patience will be tested! In the meantime it’s back to levelling alts.

Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood, white dye (Vol.III Book 5 reward cosmetic)
Chest: Wetemnet Campaign Robe, white dye (Tailoring T9 crafted Light Armour)
Hands: Secret of the West Gauntlets, white dye (Harndirion barter, burglar armour)
Feet: Scout’s Weathered Leather Boots, white dye (RoI quest reward, medium armour)

Continuing my fetish for long robes on male characters, I have dressed my male lore-master in the same robe that appears in my Yule Cheer post. Just like the crafted Westemnet robe from my previous post, this robe too has a different appearance for male and female characters and dyes well in solid colours, including white. Solid white dye channels used to be a rare feature in the earlier days of Lotro armour, but has become more common the last few years.

I don’t often use hooded cloaks for my characters, but make an exception for this one, the Cold Well Cloak. Originally this cloak appeared as a promotional item in a game magazine, and not many players had access to it, least of all the European players. I am glad that Lalia’s Market is now selling this cloak for a limited time. It can be dyed (unlike the original), and looks great in many colours. The design is reminiscent of other cloaks from the Moria expansion.

Shoulders: Arrow of the West Shoulder Guards, turquoise dye (Harndirion barter, hunter armour)
Chest: Jacket of Lies, white dye (Epic Vol.III, Bk.11 reward, medium armour)
Hands: Snow-dusted Travelling Gloves, turquoise dye (Yule Festival reward)
Feet: Dwarf Steel Shoes level 5, turquoise dye (Thorin’s Hall Heavy Armour Smith)
Back: Cer. Cloak of the Cold Well, umber dye (Lalia’s Market, limited edition)

I know that in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere it’s still snowing, and Winter doesn’t seem to want to end, but where I live in Europe, I haven’t seen even so much as one snowflake this season. The temperatures have been really mild and Spring is already starting. So forgive me for not being inspired to do another Winter outfit, as I’d rather look forward to the coming season.
I’ve been questing through Western Rohan and finished the Helm’s Deep expansion on two of my characters. I’m taking it slow and really enjoying the incredible design that has gone into the landscape. In my opinion this region looks far superior to Eastern Rohan and I really wish my characters could purchase a house in Aldburg.
I have envied the dresses of the women of Rohan since I first laid eyes on them. Yes I want dresses like that, with long wide sleeves, velvet textures and decorative belts, but unfortunately players cannot have those. NPC’s always seem to know where to get the nice stuff and keep it out of my reach. However I decided to get creative and come up with a couple of dress outfits that would not look out of place in Rohan. So rather than this post being about one single outfit, it features a few different Rohirric style dress options.

Chest: Farmer’s Fancy Dress, grey dye (Farmer’s Faire cosmetic)
Shoulders: Combat Pauldrons of Éomer, turquoise dye (Medium Armour T8 Tailoring recipe)

Chest: Ceremonial Dress*, black dye (Lalia’s Market) *the ones from the Summer Festival cannot be dyed
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Helmingas, (RoI expansion cosmetic)
Head: Circlet of Men*, red dye (Lottery reward) *the one from gift boxes cannot be dyed

Chest: Common Long-sleeved Dress, walnut brown dye (Outfitter Bree)
Shoulders: Gwir-palvais, walnut brown dye (Light Armour boe drop from Isengard instance cluster)

Chest: Innkeeper’s Dress, gold dye (Lotro Store cosmetic)
Back: Woodland Ranger’s Cloak, orange dye (Epic Vol.III, Interludes cosmetic reward)

Long-sleeved Summer Dress, grey dye (Summer Festival cosmetic)
Shoulders: Combat Pauldrons of Éomer, orange dye (Medium Armour T8 Tailoring recipe)
Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood, grey dye (Epic Vol.III Bk.5 reward)

For me the time of stealth has passed. I will ride east by the swiftest way, and I will take the Paths of the Dead.

The Lord of the Rings, Book V, Chapter 2

Since the release of Helm’s Deep, almost a year ago now, I have “changed main character”. For the first time since I started playing Lotro 7 years ago, I abandoned my beloved Elf minstrel Hymne in favour of an alt character. I think it all happened when trait trees changed the way I used to play my minstrel, making her so much less versatile and fun, and the lack of new instance clusters which made grouping less interesting. I was never a “top player”, but I did enjoy healing raids, groups and instances for the fun of discovering new content and fighting new enemies. I was never into it to obtain whatever is the best gear out there, so just grinding the same instances over and over again was never appealing to me. All this led to no longer wanting to play my minstrel as a main character. As a result, my woman lore-master Scrye was the first one to level in Helm’s Deep and my hobbit burglar Mayrose the second one. Hymne only came in third. My lore-master is the only one at level 100 currently, working on the dailies in Dol Amroth. Of course, my blogger name will always be Hymne, but the minstrel character tied to that name, is no longer where she used to be in order of importance.

My female race of man characters have always been my favorites when it comes to outfitting. They are easy to dress as most armour models fit reasonably well. I lament the change they made to their posture, but I live with it.
For my lore-master I’ve tried several ways to combine the Nadhin medium head piece, which gives her a bit of an Easterling appearance. I found that these Dunland quest reward pieces made a good match! I did not use any shoulder piece in order to flaunt the nice drapey shape of the head piece.

Head: Medium Nadhin Mask, steel blue dye (Dol Amroth quartermaster or lvl 50+ boe drop)
Chest: Clanweave Robe, steel blue dye (Dunland quest reward, light armour)
Legs: Clanweave Leggings, steel blue dye (Dunland quest reward, light armour)
Hands: Ceremonial Gloves of the Graven Word, steel blue dye (Skirmish Cosmetics vendor, Rift light)
Shoes: Dungeon-crawler’s Boots, steel blue dye (Burglar trainer, Ost Ghalad Mirkwood)

Yet another Swan-outfit, this time inspired by the Lothlórien Swan theme. Lothlórien is the most enchanting and alluring area in Lotro’s Middle-earth. The design and lighting of this magical place, as well as the music, genuinely capture the solemn spirit of the elves. Using some of the swan pieces from the Dol Amroth armour sets, I tried to reflect that feeling in an outfit.

The Light Nadhin Hood has a bit of a translucent quality to it, which makes the colors appear very soft and gentle when dyed. The same is true for the matching Light Nadhin shoulders, but I decided not to use those here and go with the heavy set in stead, to emphasize the swan theme. The hood leaves the neckline open, which is an uncommon feature for Lotro hoods, yet very desirable because it’s so elegant with robes.

“…sailing proudly down the stream toward them, they saw a swan of great size. The water rippled on either side of the white breast beneath its curving neck. Its beak shone like burnished gold, and its eyes glinted like jet set in yellow stones; its huge white wings were half lifted. A music came down the river as it drew nearer; and suddenly they perceived that it was a ship, wrought and carved with elven-skill in the likeness of a bird.”

Head: Light Nadhin Hood, sea blue dye (BoE drop or Dol Amroth Light Armour barter)
Shoulders: Heavy Nadhin Shoulders, sea blue dye (BoE drop or Dol Amroth Heavy Armour Barter)
Chest: Robe of the Lady’s Wisdom, white dye (Lore-master Lothlórien lvl 60 raid armour)
Hands: Leather Bracers of the Gentle Stag, sea blue dye (Dunland quest reward, light armour)
Feet: Shoes of the Lady’s Wisdom, white dye (Lore-master Lothlórien lvl60 raid armour)

This is my first Riders of Rohan blog post and I’m not really sure how to start it off, because I never expected to be saying the things I am going to say. My first Rohan post was supposed to be a happy post. A post showing off my new warsteed in awesome colours with a mix-‘n-match outfit. A first post of many, sharing  the amazing new possibilities using the warsteed outfit system. Unfortunately, this is not to be. Not because the new warsteed customization options aren’t there, but because those options require a hefty sum of real life money to be accessed.

If I were to give only one of my characters access to all warsteed colours, it would cost me more than the entire Riders of Rohan legendary expansion, over $70. Given the fact that I have four characters going into Rohan, I would need $280 to give each of them full access. This is without even considering additional cost for an extra warsteed outfit panel, much less an exclusive outfit set. These solid colour options have no equivalent in game. There are speckled and blotchy skins dropping from warband spoils boxes, but no solid colours. My scholars can make dyes for my outfits, but not for my warsteed items. In other words, a huge portion of the warsteed customization options is limited to my real life wallet.

It may not come as a big surprise that I cannot afford to spend $280 for my four characters. Heck I don’t even want to spend $70 for one character! These are not reasonable amounts to spend on a cosmetic game mechanic. Even if I had that kind of money available, I would much rather spend it on a noble real life cause like The Fellowship Walk or getting Sapience to shave his beard.

I am not alone in my disappointment. @ForgotMyGambits has started a petition on the forum to lower the prices. The suggestions made in that thread to make colour packs account wide and allow individual colours to be picked are all good and may make the system more accessible. Sig from warsteeds.com has posted his frustrations. He also points out that the class steed caparisons don’t even have their original colour nor include their original skin colour. And I have seen many more tweets and comments from players regarding the price issues who feel the same.

Now I understand that Turbine is free to put whatever price they want on their lotro store items. They are also free to choose which items are going to be store exclusive. I have an above average passion for outfits and have always purchased all wardrobe options from the lotro store including many store exclusive cosmetics and some steeds, but the prices for these colour packs are far beyond my means and far beyond what I am willing to spend on a cosmetic system, regardless of my passion for it. So I am sad. Sad and disappointed that something I have been looking forward to so much turns out to be nothing but a money scam.

So far I have purchased one hide colour pack and one item colour pack for my main character. That is my limit and I am not going to spend another cent on this system unless something changes drastically. Until then, I am joining the large herd of grey warsteeds that are running across the planes of Rohan right now. I will merge with the masses, and enjoy the otherwise awesome landscape and quests while my characters clad themselves in dull shades of grey to match their dull grey warsteeds.

Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood, grey dye (Vol.III Book 5 reward, cosmetic)
Shoulders: Combat Pauldrons of Éomer, white dye (T8 crafted level 85, medium armour)
Chest: Eastemnet Assault Robe, white dye (T8 crafted level 80, light armour)
Hands: Gloves of the Westfold, default dye (RoI expansion reward)
Feet: Refugee’s ragged shoes, grey dye (Rohan quest reward, light armour)

Warsteed
Legs: Hunter’s Leggings – default dye
Saddle: Hunter’s Saddle
No additional colour customziations

As LOTRO has been taking it slow regarding expansions, we don’t get to see a lot of new armour designs anymore. I fondly remember the days of the Rise of Isengard expansion, where every quest would reward an awesome new piece of armour. I would choose my rewards based on looks, as stats never matter that much or can be obtained by using crafted armour. Cosmetics are permanent and sometimes only available from quests.
The Helms Deep expansion did come with a few new appearances. This chest piece can be picked up as a reward from several quests in West Rohan.
I am obviously enjoying myself making winter outfits, and my little hobbit burglar is my favorite dress up character. No matter what she wears, she always looks adorable with a very high squee factor. I made her a winter outfit to match her Rohan war-steed. Perhaps the pieces used in this outfit are not that new or special, but they sure look comfy and warm.

I have made a few changes to the blog in the way previews for festival cosmetics are posted. They no longer appear as blog posts, but are now separate pages available through the side menu. When a festival is running I will place a direct image link in the side bar for easy access. You can currently preview the Yule Festival cosmetics and mount, as it has been released on Bullroarer.

Head: Iornaith’s Ward, walnut dye (light armour quest reward)
Shoulders: Westfold Campaign Shoulder Pads, walnut dye (Tailoring Tier 7 recipe)
Chest: Hauberk of Flattery, white dye (heavy armour, Vol.III, Bk.11 quest reward)
Hands: Mitts of the Encroaching Winter, walnut dye (light armour, Vol.III, Bk.10 quest reward)
Feet: Ajokoira Shoes, walnut dye (Tailoring Tier 5 recipe, Forochel)

War-steed:
Caparison of West Rohan, white dye (random drop from West Rohan Warbands)
Hide: chestnut dye
Tail, manes: white dye