A little light LotRO livery now, with a couple of my characters’ cosmetic outfits from the recent Isengard expansion, an update which, if nothing else, brought us some splendid options in the dressing-up department. This is not so much a guide as a bit of a ‘here’s something you can do’, and hey, it might act as temptation to those who are otherwise trying to resist. The devil is in the coattails.
My Captain first. I’ve long been enamoured with the Warrior Priest designs from Warhammer Online, and have wanted something similar for my melee healer in LotRO; with this outfit I feel I finally got close to the spirit of it, even if not the exact substance.
Leather Helm of the Stoic Stag – Rust
Hyrde-Axle – Default/Washed
Wood-Wanderer’s Cloak – White
Clanweave Robe – Default/Washed
Gleaming Gauntlets – Grey
Clanweave Leggings – Default/Washed
Polished Boots of the Dunland Shieldman – Grey
My Warden is still my favourite character by far, and as such I have the most outfits designed for her. Still, this is my current adventuring apparel, a nice mix of elven elegance and that steely sturdiness which is sine qua non to survival in serious skirmishing, if I do say so myself.
Winged Circlet – Umber
Hyrde-Axle – Umber
Campaign Backpack – Default/Washed
Scarred Surcoat of the Pren Gwydh Warrior – Umber
Leather Gauntlets of the Hill Watcher – Umber
Reinforced Leather Dunlending Boots – Umber
Syp recently made a post highlighting a selection of the many LotRO style blogs out there at the moment who are actively pimping outfits, so if you’re interested in LotRO fashion I’d heartily recommend checking out those links.
I would, however, especially like to highlight the splendid effort made by Devonna in detailing all the new and delightful cosmetics that are to be found in the latest expansion – Rise of Isengard, it certainly makes it that much easier to hunt down those rarer pieces which only drop as quest rewards.
Until next time, stay fabulous and carry a fine hat.
Was so excited by the new cosmetics, now it’s a case of not that one again, but have put together a very pleasing costume for my burglar.
That lotro stylist guide was very useful and confirms how reused the new looks are. I was wondering about the ‘cloak of salvation’, I’m assuming that it becomes bloodstained if you take the messy choice to solve that particular situation, took the ‘safe’ route because it seemed the burglar way to do it and I was half expecting to have to fight my way out anyway.
I think the amount of reuse is fair play, especially since it’s still a massive influx easily attainable fresh cosmetic equipment when compared to previous releases. I agree that it does get a little bit disheartening when you start getting repeated item appearances, but frankly my wardrobe and bank vault were glad for it in the end.
The Cloak of Salvation is a really lovely design touch; using an item’s appearance to reflect how a player acted during the quest line is an excellent use of cosmetic differentiation, something which I wish MMOs would use more often, rather than the widely adopted ‘if my shoulder pads are bigger than yours, then I’m better than you’ standard.
You devil!! :D
These are beautiful picks; and I agree so very much – the nicest armor is one that keeps it real and doesn’t overdo it (WoW shoulderpads *cough*). I love historic attire where you can understand the practical use behind it. I think that if you play with small details, fabrics, patterns etc. you can achieve the most convincing gear in MMOs.
Also: give me cloaks! I really miss a cloak slot in Skyrim.
The cloak is definitely missed in Skyrim, especially as so much of the land is snow-capped with freezing winds.
Having said that, I do avoid capes and cloaks on many of my characters, just because it seems to be one of those technically demanding items which is very hard to get realistic and looking right. I expect the resources that are required to get a decent cape effect far outweigh the relative merits the cosmetic item provides.
On the other hand, looking at the cape in either of the Batman: Arkham computer games shows that it can be done, and done really rather well.