Lord of the Rings Online MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

By now I'm a fair hand at the technical stuff in the Lord of the Rings Online. I have at least a basic understanding of how all the classes work, both in solo and group play, and my skill with at least one or two classes can be considered "advanced." I know how to gear my toons and I know where and how to get the best stuff. But sometimes, the "best stuff" just looks awful and I don't want to be seen wearing it. It's not enough to be good at something if you look like a dork doing it.

To this end, I have invested heavily in LotRO's cosmetic system, having purchased several additional outfit slots and expanded my wardrobe to accomodate the needs of my personal army of toons. For some toons - and I have at least one of each class - I can't get interested until I find a great "look," and when I eventually find that perfect combination of armor and outfit pieces, I'll start to really get into the mechanics of the class because it's more visually appealing to watch. 

The cosmetic system - and particularly the wardrobe - is very flexible. As long as the contributing toon can equip the item, you can put any armor or cosmetic item in the wardrobe, and any other character on that account can wear it cosmetically.  You want a level 8 Hobbit Minstrel decked out in Rift Champion armor? Have your Champ add his Rift gear to the wardrobe and it's a done deal. This makes it much easier to collect interesting, appealing outfits - the player is not limited by class, level or reputation restrictions, provided he has one character that meets the specifications of the desired item.

Often, I will start with a "theme" for an outfit based on the character (for example, "My Hunter needs to look more like an archetypical Ranger."). Other times, I will start with one armor piece and build something around that, following a particular aesthetic in terms of colour and accessories. Or, as in the case of my adorable Hobbit Guardian, I'll start with a colour idea and find pieces that look good in that colour.

With that in mind, here are 15 of my own outfits. These are just my own personal favorites - I have 13 character slots and each character has 5 outfit slots, all of them used, so 50 outfits didn't make the list. I apologize in advance for not having many female outfits in this article - I'm a dude and play mostly dude characters. Also there are no elves.

Kinship Uniform
Head: Fine Linen Hat, undyed or red - Journeyman Tailor recipe Shoulders: Pathfinder's Shoulders, black - bartered with Medallions of Moria from Hunter trainer Back: Linen Cloak, red - Journeyman Tailor recipe Chest: Dwarf-make Chain Hauberk, black - purchased from Outfitter at Othrikar Gloves: Iron Miner's Hands, black - purchased from Iron Garrison Miners Trader in Moria, requires Acquaintance standing Leggings: n/a Boots: Dwarf Leather Boots, undyed - purchased from Medium Armor vendor in Thorin's Hall

My kinship, Baruk Khazad on Arkenstone server, was originally dwarf-only, but removed the racial restriction when they wanted to get serious about raiding. That was a long time ago, but the dwarven traditions hold true. The actual uniform consists only of the hat, cloak and hauberk, and the other pieces are member's choice. For my Hunter, I went with dwarven accessories and the spiky Hunter shoulders, because they are really wide and give him more dwarf-y proportions. All of my toons in Baruk Khazad wear this same outfit with variations of the shoulders, gloves and boots.

Cowboy Rifleman
Head: Adventurer's Hat, umber - bought with skirmish marks, also available in the LotRO store Shoulders: n/a Back: n/a Chest: Well-worn Robe, umber - bought with skirmish marks Gloves: Iron Miner's Hands, black - purchased from Iron Garrison Miners Trader in Moria, requires Acquaintance standing Leggings: n/a Boots: Brushed Leather Boots, umber - bought with skirmish marks, also available in the LotRO store

Hunters are essentially rootin'-tootin' gunslingers. I went with a "dusty cowboy" wild west kind of look for this one, starting with the hat. The Well-worn Robe has the look of a duster with a sherrif's badge on the right breast pocket. I don't like the forearms of the robe - they're a drab olive color that seems too colorful for the dry, dusty cowboy aesthetic - so I covered them up with big dwarf bracers, similar to cavalry gloves. I'm considering swapping the Brushed Leather Boots for the boots from Ost Dunhoth, which have pointed, upturned toes and more closely resemble cowboy boots, but those boots don't have high tops and I don't want to deny someone in my raid group a chance at the boots if they really need them for actual gear.

Classic Ranger
Head: Traveller's Hood, olive - purchased with skirmish marks, also available in the LotRO store Shoulders: Shoulders of the Eorlingas (not shown) - Rise of Isengard pre-order bonus Back: Fancy Dwarf-make Quiver, olive - Journeyman Tailor recipe Chest: Hauberk of the Eorlingas - RoI pre-order Gloves: Gloves of the Eorlingas - RoI pre-order Leggings: n/a Boots: Boots of the Eorlingas - RoI pre-order

The Rise of Isengard pre-order cosmetics are really nice. The green-drab Eorlingas set looks very ranger-y, but I don't care for the circlets that come with 'em. I paired an olive-dyed Traveller's Hood with my set and substituted the quiver for the too-bulky green cloak. The hood has some clipping issues with the shoulders, so I don't use them together. When I disable the hood, I enable the shoulders, so it looks like the hood has been tossed back and now lays on the shoulders.

The Gambler
Head: Adventurer's Hat, black - skirmish marks or store Shoulders: n/a Back: n/a Chest: Quilted Shirt, undyed - starting gear for a new-rolled Burglar Gloves: Fingerless Gloves, black - from the Yule Festival, following the quest chain to help the poor people Leggings: Quilted Leggings, undyed - starting gear for a new-rolled Burglar Boots: Brushed Leather Boots, black - skirmish marks or store

This one was originally put together for the music system guide. I wanted a common-looking "musician" outfit, so I started with a Blues Brothers-style black hat. The Burglar starting outfit is simple and clean, so I used the shirt and pants. The Fingerless Gloves and Brushed Leather Boots add a certain "tough guy" look. He now looks like a guy you'd find in a dusty saloon playing a hand of poker at a table of prospectors and cowboys. I use this same outfit on a couple of different toons.

The Marauder
Head: Black Corsair Eyepatch - festival giftbox, LotRO Store, special barterers Shoulders: Shield-bearer's Shoulders, red - Moria barter item for Guardians Back: Cloak of the Boar, undyed - Fall Festival, LotRO Store Chest: Broin's Guard, red - Volume II Book 9 quest reward Gloves: Barrow-warrior's Gauntlets, crimson - skirmish item Leggings: Barrow-warrior's Leggings, crimson - skirmish item Boots: Barrow-warrior's Boots, crimson - skirmish item

This is a Captain ready to lead the charge into enemy lines regardless of whether or not he's actually commanding anyone. His mad daring serves as a source of inspiration to his fellows. The goal of this outfit was to appear frightening and inspiring at the same time - dangerous-looking shoulder-pads, rugged dwarf armor on the extremities and a bright, bold super-hero emblem on the chest mark this guy as a leader. The eyepatch and wild, bushy beard mark him as a crazy pirate.

The Classic Villain
Head: High Officer's Helm, black - Master Metalsmith recipe Shoulders: Shield-bearer's Shoulders, black - Moria barter item for Guardians Back: Cloak of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order Chest: Broin's Guard, black - VIII Bk9 reward Gloves: Gauntlets of the Iron Arm, black - Moria barter item for Guardians Leggings: Barrow-warrior's Leggings, undyed - skirmish item Boots: Boots of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order

This one started with the crazy stag-horn helmet, inspired by the warriors in Frank Frazetta paintings and Simon Bisley comics in old Heavy Metal magazines. The masked face is a long-standing tradition with fantasy villains, from the Black Knight to Darth Vader, and you can't go wrong with black and red. I liked the helmet so much, I built a few other outfits around it.

The Pirate Captain
Head: Feathered Felt Hat, red - from the LotRO store Shoulders:  Shoulders of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order Back: Singed Cloak, crimson - VII Bk6 Ch8 boss loot Chest: Extravagant Festival Robe, red - Yule Festival, from the quest chain to help the rich guys Gloves: Fingerless Gloves, black - Yule Festival, poor guys Leggings: n/a Boots: Boots of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order

Early on, I decided to take a non-standard approach to the Captain. The traditional approach seems to be along the lines of a "paladin" type, the knight in shining armor who valiantly saves the day, etc. Edward Teach was also a legendary captain and leader of men, but he was certainly not known for his paladin-y ways... he was more popularly known as Blackbeard the pirate. This is his "formal" pirate captain outfit.

The Blackbeard
Head: Black Corsair Eyepatch and Hat - festival gift box, LotRO store, special barterers Shoulders:  Quilted Shoulder Pads, red - Light Armor Vendors sell these Back: Singed Cloak, red - 2.6.8 boss drop Chest: Shirt of the Mighty Verse, red - Moria barter item for Minstrels Gloves: Gloves of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order Leggings: Majestic Marchwarden's Leggings - Supreme Tailor medium armor recipe Boots: Boots of the Helmingas - RoI pre-order

This was my attempt to create a Blackbeard-like pirate outfit for a Captain of low moral character but who is nonetheless an effective leader of men. Blackbeard is traditionally portrayed with a large tricorne hat and a long, fancy red jacket with a brace of three pistols strapped across his chest. There are no knee-length "jackets" in the game that suit my purpose, but the Minstrel shirt has the prerequisite strap across the chest, and the red top of the leggings makes the shirt look like a longer garment. The hat comes from various festival gift boxes, and can be purchased with special barter tokens every year on International Talk Like A Pirate Day when there is a special event at the bridge over the Brandywine River between Stock and Buckland.

More outfits on the next page!