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)

Steed of Plenty – 120 Farmer’s Faire Tokens
Caparison of Plenty (war-steed cosmetic) – 120 Farmer’s Faire Tokens

Robe of Plenty – 35 Farmer’s Faire Tokens

Cloak of Plenty – 35 Farmer’s Faire Tokens
Hooded Cloak of Plenty – 35 Farmer’s Faire Tokens

The cosmetics from 2012 are still available as well. You can preview those here.

I think the regular Steed of Plenty is incredibly dull, but fortunately its caparison dyes very nicely so I decided to spice up its colours a bit on my warsteed to make it look more bountiful. The 120 tokens are not hard to accumulate, with only a couple of hours play you should be able to get this, which I think is wonderful as I can get it on all my warsteed riding characters.
In my view the robe is best used without any shoulder pads or hoods. It is very decorative and those decorations are covered up by most accessories.

It’s unfortunate that for the second year in a row Turbine is doing back to back festivals in summer again. While there is a very long and boring span between Yule and Anniversary, and months go by without any festivals, now we are getting them too soon too often again. Since Anniversary we got Spring festival, Treasure Hunt, Summer Festival, Farmer’s Faire, and the tale of the Shipwrecked Mariner already around the corner and a month after that Autumn Fest is already due. Not to mention the launch of the new expansion and all those Bounder’s Tokens that still need to be collected for Michel Delving. Too much to do in too little time!

Head: Tactical Eastemnet Campaign Circlet, black dye (crafted T8 light armour)
Chest: Robe of Plenty, crimson dye (Farmer’s Faire cosmetic)
Hands: The Beast-keeper’s Gloves, cannot be dyed (Ox-clan camp Loremaster armour)
Feet: Gardening Boots, black dye (Farmer’s Faire cosmetic

Mount:
Caparison of Plenty, crimson (Farmer’s Faire reward)
Halter of the Minstrel, crimson
Leggings of the Minstrel, crimson
Plain Saddle
Hide & Tail, black

My home server Snowbourn finished the Bounder’s Bounty yesterday! Congratulations to all who participated and worked hard to donate those tokens! There was a celebration at the statue when the boon appeared, people were dancing, playing music and lighting fireworks. Even on a non-role-playing server there was a real party!
My hobbit is now the proud owner of a Steed of Michel Delving (which includes the war-steed cosmetic set) and wears the Bountiful Bounder’s title. The matching war-steed cosmetics cannot be dyed which is always disappointing, but its colours are really lovely so I won’t hold too much of a grudge over this one.

However, I do not understand why some of the more prominent items like the pre-order cosmetics in all expansions, cannot be dyed. Items that cannot be dyed instantly lose about 90% of their potential cosmetic value. Those items quickly end up collecting dust in my vault because I simply refuse to let my characters wear the same uniform as everyone else.
Who knows, I might still pre-order some time next month, but it will not be for the cosmetics. I just want to experience Helms Deep and continue playing my story in Middle-earth. Naked if I have to!

Head: Voice of the West Hat, rust dye (Harndirion barter, minstrel set)
Shoulders: Supple Wildermore Shoulders, olive dye (crafted T8 tailoring guild recipe)
Chest: Innkeeper’s Dress, burgundy dye (lotro store cosmetic)

War-steed:
Caparison of Michel Delving – cannot be dyed (Bounder’s Bounty Vendor)
Leggings of Michel Delving – cannot be dyed (Bounder’s Bounty Vendor)
Saddle of Michel Delving – (Bounder’s Bounty Vendor)
Rohirrim Elite Tail – (Riders of Rohan war-steed cosmetic)
Hide – black chestnut
Tail & Manes – sorrel

“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)

Yesterday was one of those days that I felt really nostalgic about Lotro and wanted to make (yet another) ranger outfit. I know ranger outfits are a bit redundant as there are already thousands of ranger outfits out there, but I really wanted my champion to look the part. My champ is the last of my four endlevel characters that has yet to hit level 85, and I want to get him there before Helm’s Deep launches. But in order to get me motivated to level him, he really needed a new look. So here it is, very classic ranger, and I love how it turned out. He’s questing around Ethengels now and this is just the perfect outfit for it. Ready for the last few miles in East Rohan!

By the way, don’t try this outfit on your female characters. The appearance of this chestpiece on female characters is, (just like almost every other crafted T8 chestpiece), bugged and your female legs will look like overcooked spaghetti.
Meanwhile keep an eye on the Lotteries, as the Helm’s Deep Premium Edition can be won today and every now and again.

Head: Woodland Ranger’s Hood, ranger green dye (cosmetic reward Vol.III, Bk11)
Shoulders: Fine Grey Company Wrap, ranger green dye (cosmetic reward Vol.III, Bk.5)
Chest: Combat Armour of Éomer, ranger green dye (crafted T8, medium armour)
Hands: Battered Dunlending Gauntlets, ranger green dye (quest reward Isengard, heavy armour)
Feet: Woodland Ranger’s Boots, ranger green dye (cosmetic reward Vol.III, Bk11)
Back: Campaign Backpack, ranger green (lotro store cosmetic)

“On all her breezes borne,
Earth yields no scents like those;
But he that dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.”
― Anne Brontë

I was finally bold enough to make a rose coloured outfit! I’m so proud, ha ha. I have always pretty much avoided rose dye. I think it makes most armour look like Barbie clothes and I’m not playing Hello Kitty but Lotro. Actually my female characters all wear mostly earthen colours like umber, sienna, black and olive. Sometimes I will throw in a little red or blue but I usually avoid the brighter colours like sea blue, purple and rose. Nevertheless I love it when I see players that use those colours in very original ways, it’s just not so much my style, at least it wasn’t until I saw Nathrien’s rose outfit and thought it was brilliant. It inspired me to come up with a rose coloured outfit of my own. So here’s the result: tough girls wear pink!

The shoulders in this outfit can only be obtained by Minstrels at the Minstrel class trainer in Moria, so even though these are cosmetically one of the best items in the game, they cannot be obtained by all classes. I hope that Lalia will some day soon add these to her collection at Lalia’s Market, so everyone can enjoy the cosmetic benefits of this wonderful accessory. As an alternative there are light armour shoulders in the Hobbit presents with the same design. You can try to roll for those on a light armour character, however that particular model has a dark background colour.
All other pieces can be obtained by all classes and used in the wardrobe. So even if your character is a Loremaster, you can still purchase the Guardian items in Galtrev or the Warden leggings in Enedwaith. If you want to know more about how to purchase items that are not for your class, check out my cross class bartering guide.
The leggings can be obtained at Lalia’s too as part of a full cosmetic set: Windsinger.

Head: Westfold Campaign Helm, violet dye (crafted light armour T7 recipe)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Mighty Verse, white dye (Minstrel, Watcher raid armour, Moria)
Chest: Chestplate of the Indomitable Protector, rose dye (Guardian, raid armour, Galtrev)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Indomitable Protector, rose dye (Guardian raid armour, Galtrev)
Legs: Defender of the West Leggings, rose dye (Warden raid armour, Harndirion)
Feet: Cry of the West Boots, rose dye (Captain raid armour, Harndirion)

Of all the seasonal outfits that I have created since starting this blog in early 2011, Autumn outfits are probably the most prominent. It is my favorite season of the year, and the Trollshaws have exactly what it takes to get in the mood. So for this year I had to stop by the area and create one more Autumn outfit yet again.

The Harvestmath Festival should be starting by the end of this month. I’m eagerly checking the calendar every day, but so far have not found the dates on there. The Festival will give us all a chance to grind some extra Bounder’s Tokens for (an extra) Steed of Michel Delving. Today’s patch changed the dye pattern on the War-steed Cosmetics of this Steed and made the trimmings able to be dyed. I love it when Turbine makes positive cosmetic changes like that!!

Head: Fine Grey Company Hood, black dye (cosmetic reward from Vol.III, Bk. 5)
Shouders: Shoulders of the Wall-warden, orange dye (skirmish Classic vendor, warden DG set level 65)
Chest: Jacket of the Clever Conselor, black dye (Galtrev, Rune-keeper raid armour)
Hands: Cer. Gloves of the Cabeddan, gold dye (cosmetic from Lalia’s market) *the non-ceremonial version from the Ox-clan camp cannot be dyed*
Legs: Cer. Doom-hunter’s Leggings, black dye (skirmish Cosmetics vendor, hunter Rift set)
Feet: Worn Ranger’s Boots, black dye (cosmetic reward from Vol.III, Bk 5)
Back: Wrap of the Turning Leaves, black dye (cosmetic from Harvestmath Festival)

The other day I read an interesting request on the suggestions forum for more “sensible” clothing in Lalia’s Market. The player making the request points out that he would love to see a larger selection of common shirts, pants and hats in the market, to satisfy the needs of those who prefer to explore Middle-earth in a simple and lore-appropriate outfit rather than elaborate armour with ornaments and sometimes even quite extravagant designs. I completely understand the request and wholeheartedly support it (as to me there can never be enough choice when it comes to cosmetics), but for the moment I would also like to point out, just like some others have in that thread, that you are not entirely without options currently when it comes to dressing up more “sensibly”. I agree with the OP that most “commoner” outfits are onesies, leaving no customization options other than the dye colour and perhaps some shoulders and a cloak. The fun thing about outfitting is finding the right combination, and when everything is already pre-made, it kind of takes away from the fun. However, some of those onesies can be used quite effectively for the right ragged looks, so I’ve tried to come up with an outfit for my hobbit lass that looks like it’s seen better days.

I will try to publish some more “commoner” outfits for Breelanders and perhaps Dwarves as well on my blog, to help fill the gaps a little. I don’t think Turbine is designing any new cosmetics at the moment so we’ll have to make do with the current designs. Lalia’s market mostly sells ceremonial versions of armour, but I will talk to her and suggest that she at least consider adding a few “sensible clothing” items as well.
The Harvestmath Festival starts next Tuesday so you can expect the usual preview of this year’s cosmetics on this blog. I’m looking forward to it, especially to the enigmatic “Steed of the Bat” that appeared on the splash screen during the Farmer’s Faire!

Head: Spirited Assault Hat of Éomer, sienna dye (crafted T8 light armour)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Eorlingas, cannot be dyed (RoI pre-order cosmetic)
Back: Tattered Cloak, burgundy dye (T8 lootbox cosmetic)
Chest: Well-worn Tunic, umber dye (Skirmish cosmetic)
Hand: Pitchfork, Mathom Society friend standing

Spooky Robe of the Bat – 24 Fall Festival Tokens

Spooky Cloak of the Bat – 24 Fall Festival Tokens
Spooky Hooded Cloak of the Bat – 24 Fall Festival Tokens

Spooky Steed of the Bat – 60 Fall Festival Tokens
Spooky Caparison of the Bat (war-steed cosmetic) – 60 Fall Festival Tokens

December’s Full Moon is called the Cold Moon. It is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark. Winter Solstice is upon us soon which means that it’s time to start preparing for the Yule Festival!
According to the Lotro Calendar it is supposed to start tomorrow and I have no idea what to expect. Last year’s Yule Festival was a disappointment for many players as there was such a huge grind involved to obtain the best rewards, and the festival was not running long after Christmas. This year however, according to the calendar it seems to run a bit longer until January 14th.
I will be posting the previews for the cosmetics as soon as I am able, but since I am away for work all day tomorrow it will probably be a bit later than usual.

Lotro’s Executive Producer Kate Paiz has posted her annual address today looking back at 2013 and forward to 2014. The change of focus from expansions to content and quality sounds good to me, and from what I understand a sincere effort has been made to listen to player feedback and integrate it into the game. There are a few official feedback threads up on the forum with a demand for more player input. All in all it does feel as if the Player Council interactions are paying off and it’s a shame we don’t get to hear more about the inside stories of what they are doing and accomplishing as I believe their work is valuable and relevant.
In terms of myself I’m not posting many outfits anymore as after three years of blogging about outfits the inspiration obviously isn’t the same as it was in the beginning, which is only natural. I am still moving through Helm’s Deep and enjoying the game very much, but I have become somewhat quiet on my blog. No worries because I’m not going anywhere, just not updating as frequently as I used to, but I hope the Yule Festival will bring some new ideas to post another winter outfit!

Head: Ceremonial Wandering Bard’s Helm, olive dye (Skirmish Cosmetic)
Shoulders: Yule Scarf, olive dye (Yule Festival Cosmetic)
Chest: Wildermore Survivor’s Robe, olive dye (Wildermore Cosmetic, reputation vendor)
Hands: Wildermore Survivor’s Gloves, white dye (Wildermore Cosmetic, reputation vendor)
Feet: Ajokoira Shoes, olive dye (Forochel Tailoring Reputation Recipe or Cosmetic)

Wintertide Robe – 35 Festival Tokens

Wintertide Cloak – 50 Festival Tokens + Tier 2 “the more the merrier”- deed
Wintertide Hooded Cloak – 50 Festival Tokens + Tier 2 “the more the merrier”- deed

Wintertide Steed – 80 Festival Tokens + Tier 1 “the more the merrier” – deed
Wintertide Caparison (war-steed cosmetic) – 100 Festival Tokens + Tier 3 “the more the merrier” – deed

Ho, ho, ho! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and is enjoying at least a few days off during this Holiday Season. I spent the days with my family and will be visiting other relatives later this week. Although I am obviously a gamer and like to have plenty of time to myself, connecting to the ones I love around me remains my number one priority because it feels so good to love and be loved! Exchanging presents is a wonderful way to emphasize the value of that.
At the same time I am well aware that not everyone is as fortunate as I am, so I am also reaching out to those who lack a home or even food. These little encouragements can make a world of difference to people going through a challenging period in their lives.
It’s nice to see this spirit reflected in the Yule Festival, so truly if you don’t want to, then simply don’t chase off the poor folk and don’t pester the snow beasts! The Yule Festival has changed back to a more laid back format after the grind that it was last year, and as it will last two weeks into January there’s no need to worry about getting sufficient tokens.
If you are a resident of the USA, UK, Germany or France, you will also be eligible to enter The Yuletide Contest on the Lotro Forums. Since that excludes me (and many other lotro bloggers), feel free to copy any outfit that suits you off my blog and enter it into the contest. All you need to do is dress up your own character accordingly and take your own screenshots!
I hope everyone continues to enjoy these wonderful holidays!

Head: Wintry Yule Cap, red dye (Yule Festival Sack of Presents Cosmetic)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer, white dye (Isengard quest reward, light armour)
Chest: Jacket of Lies, crimson dye (Epic Vol.III, Bk.11 reward, medium armour)
Hands: Gloves of the Vicious Proclamation, white dye (Evendim Barter Reward, runekeeper)
Feet: Rhydhid-Lhopan, white dye (Isengard instance cluster drop, light armour)
Back: Cloak of the Unwelcome Guest, red dye (Great River quest reward)
Hand: Festive Yule Mug

Note that any of these items might at some point appear as a purchasable cosmetic at Lalia’s Market in 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)

It seems that many of my fellow Lotro bloggers and players are currently in a state of Lotro fatigue, and have put the game on hold, or their blogs on hold. Even the forums have been relatively quiet lately. Much of what used to be a bustling community seems to have come to a pause, as if everyone is holding their breath and waiting for what is to come.
My own gaming activities have slowed somewhat, but only slightly. I am trying to get my third character to 95 now, and finding time to play with lower level alts as well. This game is so huge and beautiful, that I will always find a place to enjoy myself as I have alts at all levels in all regions. Nevertheless the quieting down of the creative buzz within the community does not pass unnoticed.
However unsettling this all may seem, I think it is actually a good and much needed thing. With the latest reduction of staff at Turbine and Aaron “Rowan” Campbell having taken back the Helm (pun intended), interactions between Turbine and the player community seem to have become more intimate and personal. I enjoyed myself a lot at our server’s “take the Hobbit to Isengard” event and I think the life-stream talks are doing the community a lot of good. I could focus on all the things that I feel sad and angry about regarding Lotro but instead I rather choose to focus on that which I enjoy. So there, another outfit, as outfitting is still my passion. And there are still pieces around that I have never used in an outfit, just waiting to find the right match.

The chest piece in this outfit is originally a PvMP armour piece, only available if you have enough commendations. Lalia’s Market is also stocking this as a cosmetic currently, but may rotate it out of stock again by next update.
Update 13 will bring us a new dye colour: Steel Blue. It’s gated behind a reputation grind so it will be a while before I can get my hands on that one, but that’s good motivation to do the grind! I am also curious about the finalized update to the avatar appearances, and curious what my characters will look like after the update. As far as I’m concerned, male elves can’t get any worse, so any remodeling is an improvement in my opinion. However I am well aware that many disagree with that, and I also respect that, so I can only hope that the overhaul will not make too many players unhappy. I am certainly looking forward to taking some shots with the updated models.
Last but not least I would like to point out a great outfit video that my fellow blogster Cithryth made. She makes incredible outfits and showing these off in video format is really awesome.
Check it out on YouTube: http://youtu.be/CY-hFpCobTw

Shoulders: Songmaster’s Shoulders, black dye (Ost Galadh, Minstrel trainer).
Chest: Ceremonial Jacket of the Unseen, black dye (Lalia’s Market)
Hands: West-land Gloves, black dye (T4 heavy crafted)
Feet: Songmaster’s Shoes, black dye (Ost Galadh, Minstrel Trainer)

Shoulders and Boots are also available as Lothlórien Minstrel Raid Armour pieces, and sometimes as cosmetic pieces at Lalia’s Market or on the Mannequins.

Trellis-weave Robe, 18 Spring Leaves

Trellis-weave Cloak, 15 Spring Leaves
Trellis-weave Hooded Cloak, 15 Spring Leaves

Steed of Spring Gardens, 40 Spring Leaves
Trellis-weave Caparison, 20 Spring Leaves

Robe of the Wedmath Celebration – 20 tokens

Cloak of the Wedmath Celebration – 20 tokens
Hooded Cloak of the Wedmath Celebration – 20 tokens

Steed of the Wedmath Celebration – 40 tokens
Caparison of the Wedmath Celebration – 40 tokens