Spear of Shu (with Li of Gladden)

Li returns with another Dynasty Warriors inspired outfit! This time she runs around as a soldier of Shu under Liu Bei's command with an outfit inspired by various designs of Shu characters.

Once again, I think this is a great outfit that captured as much as possible the essence of Ancient China with what limited armour pieces we have in LOTRO regarding style. Plus, the boots that came from the LOTRO Anniversary dragon-styled outfit make that reference to Dynasty Warriors' Shu very well as their symbol is the dragon, in tribute to the nickname for Guan Yu's weapon.

When I last played a Dynasty Warriors game, I played on Xing Cai a lot, and that meant I was playing the Bai Di castle level quite a bit. That's why I asked Li if she minded taking the screenshots at a castle-like structure in reference to that, and she was so nice to oblige me! But I think she also knew the outfit would look great within ruined walls, complimenting the rich green that adorned her cloth.

Now the feathers on her helm are nowhere near long enough, but her design sort of reminds me of Ma Chao in the games, I think particularly because she uses a spear also. Also might I say that helmet is beautiful and I can't wait to get my hands on it as soon as possible! 

I personally think I find this outfit more appealing than her last one (which was amazing too, don't get me wrong), but it may boil down simply to my soft spot for Shu as they were portrayed in the game. Nonetheless, now that she has already submitted three Dynasty Warriors inspired outfits, I hope she continues this trend, and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Head: Helm of the Slayer's Raiment;

SHoulders: Fine Camail of the Expedition's Vanguard (gold);

Chest: Breastplate of the Five Rivers (olive);

Hands: Supple Gloves of Bard's Honour (white);

Feet: Expeditionary Sabatons (umber).

The Silverhead Scholar (with Wjiyeon of Gladden)

Welcoming a new toon to the family, an alt of Sintuilë, I proudly present to you Wjiyeon, the Silverhead Scholar! 

Now, that title could be referencing her headpiece, or simply her beautiful silver hair (and I am told that after sending me the screenshots, Wjiyeon's player decided not to keep the headpiece - I think I agree with them, but it's not a bad addition if you'd like to keep it). Also, I like keeping my rule about not having outfits consisting of two pieces from the same set (just cause that makes mixing too easy in my opinion), but that's just a rule for myself.

What I particularly like about this outfit is the use of the use of Wildermore crafted piece and barter reward, and weirdly enough in my few years of having Wildermore completed, I've had alts wear Wildermore armour pieces but never got around to finishing outfits with them to keep and record - I had a guardian sister of Eadyth wear the heavy wildermore cosmetic chestpiece as the centre of the outfit but it never kicked off.

Also, it's very subtle but the chestpiece is dyed navy and the cloak is dyed indigo. Now despite that, it still feels like the 'same' colour, and is strangely reminiscent of the idea of the Blue Wizards. I'm not sure if that's what Wjiyeon was going for, but it definitely fits the whole Lore-master look, and I've not seen many Blue Wizard-y outfits around - there have been some but not many, despite the amazing opportunity.

Head: Rune-maker's Hat (default);

Shoulders: Rune-maker's Shoulders (white);

Cloak: Wildermore Cloak of Fate (indigo);

Chest: Supple Wildermore Robe of Tactics (navy);

Hands: Strong Sturdy Leather Gloves (sienna);

Feet: Threadbare Cloth Shoes (rust).

The Eerie Elf (with Sintuilë of Gladden)

Another outfit submission by Sintuilë and I am loving this one! I was actually planning on using that head piece for my hunter Eadyth but it just had not found a place just yet, so I'm really glad to see it in use here on Sintuilë, especially in conjunction with Halloween (note that I'm writing this post in November of 2017).

So what I like about this outfit is that it achieved exactly what I could not years ago when I created my own elf-maid champion: an outfit both elegantly dress-like as well as intimidating. My inspiration was of course the elves of the Hidden Guard during the Mirkwood expansion., but the dress-like pieces never flared outwards as much as I needed them to. Whilst this piece does contract in certain poses, I think it does the job very well, and really big congratulations to Sintuilë for being able to pull this off!

One thing I never noticed before I started writing this is that the leaf at the base of the shoulderpiece really matches the leaf-like patterns that flow down the robe, which I find absolutely fascinating as they aren't from the same set, but share this oddly similar motif. True, it's not that hard to find similar motifs, but even the chainmail in the game have so many variations to the point that they really don't go together sometimes, so this is a wondrous discovery!

I also really like the choice of location - I think, since it IS Halloween after all, this is the perfect place in game to take pictures, though it might just simply have been Sintuilë not wanting to move too far away from the Haunted Burrow where she does her dailies - I've bumped into her a few times already!

Head: Expeditionary Cap (red);

Shoulders: Lore-keeper's Shoulders (white);

Chest: Rune-maker's Robe (red);

Hands: Ceremonial Gauntlets of the Iron Arm (burgundy);

Feet: Ceremonial Wandering Bard's Shoes (burgundy).

Controversial Clothing (with Jularr of Gladden)

I think the outfit speaks for itself regarding the name - if not, it will once Jularr turns around.

Yeah... I have to say, I don't dislike it - I think it's a nice, fresh, bold move by Jularr to wear something as striking as that. I've seen some outfits in my ~6 years (by the time you're reading this) I've played, and most did not work at all for me. There were a certain few, and I've been sure to commend them, but never have I had the honour of commending one by posting it on my blog (as well as having the honour to getting the opportunity of posting something of the like). 

I think I've used the cloak in a past outfit, but I don't have it anymore, and I don't remember which toon it was on either. I honestly even forgot the cloak even existed because I've not seen it around for so long. But hey, this amazing ensemble by Jularr is a rejuvenating experience, especially in re-experiencing the cloak in its glory.

Head: Harvest-brew Hat (forest green);

Back: Wizard's Cloak of the Rider (rust);

Chest: Decorative Hauberk (rivendell green);

Feet: Ceremonial Nenuial's Boots (default).

Dagger of the Deathless

So, bad news: I deleted Brina before I realised I didn't actually document the pieces used in this outfit. However, I'm 95% certain all pieces (except the cloak) can be found in the Skirmish Camps, so I guess let this be a challenge to you guys to find out what those pieces are? Also, I only found 11 pictures, and among the few were only two poses (both you'll see on this post), so sorry for that too...

Crimson Kin (with Jularr & Halygr of Gladden)

I'm pretty stoked to present to you two community submissions in one entry because they coordinated their outfits to match one another with a similar colour scheme. When I received the files I was so excited to post this, and at the time I'm writing this up, we are 10 months early, so you can guess how impatient I am for this to finally be published!

Here is Jularr, a Dwarven hunter, albeit a pretty heavy duty one. What I like quite a bit is that he doesn't wear a helmet, or cover his head, which shows how sure he is that he won't need it. I think it's pretty badass, and hey, it shows off his cool hairstyle too.

The intricate gold details on the shoulder guards are something that helps the outfit stand out as they contrast brilliantly with the black dyeable area. Another thing about it is that both the shoulder piece and the chest have a wing motif going, which I did not realise before, and that's pretty cool that Jularr managed to put the two together into one outfit.

Shoulders: Shoulder Guards of the Reclaimed City (black);

Chest: Lesser Blade of the West Breastplate (red);

Hands: Gloves of Might (navy);

Legs: Leggings of the Coastal Bulwark (black);

Feet: Pelennor Boots of Wrath (rust).

Jularr's counterpart, Halygr the champion, equips a more aggressive armour with more spikes to it, mirroring the sharpness of his blade. As he needs to engage in close combat, he protects his head with a helmet reminiscent of Dwarven design so his enemies know with whom they mess. Also worth noting is that Halygr's outfit here requires only pieces from skirmish camp barterers, so it's much easier to replicate.

Although I do love the outfit, the problem is quite obvious here: there is a lot of clipping. The armour clips through each other, the beard clips through the helm, and while I can't blame Halygr's player for putting it together, one can wonder why this is still a problem in LOTRO, especially with an outfitting fanbase that is as big as it is. Just a few days ago I saw Nathrien of Material Middle Earth tweet to the official LOTRO twitter page regarding the Harvest Festival cosmetic rewards clipping and stretching very badly. Let's hope this gets fixed soon!

Head: Ceremonial Helm of the Brazen Call (red);

Shoulders: Ceremonial Shoulders of the Gloom-bane (gold);

Chest: Ceremonial Town-saver's Jacket (crimson);

Back: Cloak of Many Worlds (gold);

Hands: Ceremonial Dragon-scale Gloves (grey);

Legs: Ceremonial Pathfinder's Leggings (red);

Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Graven Word (gold).

Bree-town Border-guard (with Kyix of Gladden)

Very simple outfit by Kyix, going for the very simple guard or watcher look. We just got her to pose around at Bree because it helped the name fit the alliterative nature of the blog (lol), and also it looks more mannish than anything to be fair. 

You might remember a shot like this by Brina a few posts back, and I thought it would be a funny allusion to that, only this time by an actual respected member of society. 

Of all outfits, this is the one that got more than 3 pictures, and that's not a good thing because I really have nothing to say about it. To me, as well as Kyix's player, it just speaks for itself.

Like, yeah, no idea what to say...

Head: Potent Dextrous Helmet of Fate (sienna);

Shoulders: Ornate Pauldrons of the Dunland Swordsman (white); 

Chest: Lesser Steadfast Chestguard of Fate (black);

Hands: Kelkka-maker's Gauntlets (white);

Feet: Barrow-warrior's Boots (black).

Winter Warmers

I never thought greens and reds would be the main colours in a cold outfit...

I based the outfit around the chest-piece which I found during an Featured Instance run. What happened is that I tried it on to see how it looked and I loved the combination with the leg piece that I had equipped. After that I knew I wanted those to be the bases of the outfit and I started from that.

Now, I had no clue how this outfit would turn out, and I didn't have a destination in mind either. It just happened, and before I knew it, I was using the Cloak of Mammutti, which most people use for winter/snow outfits. However, the colour scheme here did not mirror that at all, I didn't think, so it sat in the dark from this blog for a long time, and only really was in use for FI runs, as that's where it came from. 

Back: Cloak of Mammutti (olive);

Chest: Potent Dextrous Jacket of Prowess (olive);

Hands: Ceremonial Gloves of the Aurochs (rust);

Legs: Ancient Doom-hunter's Leggings (crimson);

Feet: Defensive Eastemnet Skirmish Boots of Might (olive).

Snow Sentinel

In his final moments serving the land of Gondor, as he draws his final breaths, Gildomir remembers the time when he was but a lowly sentinel in the snow, facing no great threat more than a wild cat or two every week.

'Twas a much simpler time, when he could socialise all he wanted with his fellow guards. No enemy would show up before the gates, and so no guard really required any thick armour more than the mandatory uniform for some - Gildomir was a volunteer, and he felt very cold in the winter, so they permitted thick wraps for him.

No real requirement for hiding either, Gildomir could afford to adorn himself in a beautiful sea blue dyed hauberk that stunningly contrasted the sienna. Most of his armour, let's be real honest, was for the sake of fashion more than protection, which he got all from simply exposing his right shoulder, clad with the shiny shoulderpiece handed down to him from his father, and his father before him: an heirloom of a family of wardens. 

As Gildomir closes his eyes one last time, he relives the warmth of the smoke he puffed on his first night as a snow sentinel.

Head: Medium Nadhin Mask (sienna);

Shoulders: Westemnet Assault Shoulderpads of Balance (sea blue);

Chest: Patched Hauberk (sea blue);

Feet: Vrushed Leather Boots (sienna).

Captain of the Chasm (with Kyix of Gladden)

Again returns the captain of champions and guardians alike, Kyix, to lend her aid to the dwarves of Moria, as they scavenge what is left of their once glorious mountain behind the trail of the Fellowship of the Ring. In such a dark place, she is a beacon of hope against the many dark creatures that lurk, be they orc or beast.

With all my other toons that have passed Moria, not one of them had a Moria-themed outfit simply because I found it too difficult to make. But here is Kyix showing me that it is in fact possible to do it. I especially like the bright gold bits on her armour that really act as a reflection of light in the dark, a perfect representation of what a captain should be, although it can be hard to sometimes hide one's fear in such a dark and near-desolate place. 

Looking at her choice of pieces, I can tell she had quite a hard time finding the perfect pieces for this outfit. Like I said before, I tried a lot and didn't have any success but this seems to be the best way to put together a Moria-based outfit. I don't know, it looks really nice to me, I really like it, and I wish I came up with this!

Head: Ceremonial Helm of the Brazen Call (evendim blue);

Shoulders: Ceremonial Stone-reader's Shoulders (walnut brown);

Back: Ceremonial Singed Cloak (walnut brown);

Chest: Hall-captain's Breastplate (evendim blue);

Hands: Ceremonial High-protector's Gloves (evendim blue);

Legs: Ceremonial War-captain's Leggings (evendim blue);

Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Gloom-bane (gold).

Lü Lingqi (with "Li" of Gladden)

Once again we welcome a new member to the My Middle-earth Mode family, who requested she only go by "Li" on here. As her debut, she chose to put on display an outfit inspired by the stylistic and colour choices on the latest Dynasty Warriors 9 design for Lü Lingqi, the daughter Lü Bu.

As a huge fan of the series, I am completely excited to share this outfit with you guys not only because it looks great, but I'm in awe at her determination to capture a similar essence using armour pieces that really do not resemble at all the style of Dynasty Warriors, being set in a completely different universe and culture. Despite all that, the outfit turned out beautiful, and I think Li did a great job with it.

When we were determining the location for the photoshoot, we really could not agree on the most suitable location for this outfit, as the inspiration behind came from I think the late Han dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms period. This is a similar problem Kyix had with her Samurai Settler outfit, which we decided to form a narrative around the outfit almost depicting a samurai getting lost in Elven lands.

I haven't seen the Helm of the Hammerhand in so long, so Li, you have been a great refresher of it! Plus, I never thought I'd see it in this kind of use (not Rohan themed) because of its very prominent horse carving. But I guess on an outfit inspired by a member of the Lü family, it makes sense as Lü Bu was famous for riding the Red Hare into battle, and the horse on Li's helmet could be a nod to that.

Also, the dragon emblem on her chest could be interpreted as a demon, which is also quite appropriate as Lü Bu is likened to a demon on the battlefield. Now I'm not sure how historically accurate that is, but I'm almost 100% certain that in the games, he has been referenced as such. Thus his daughter would believably be attempting to bear that same infamy.

Head: Helm of the Hammerhand

Shoulders: Embossed Mantle of the Abyss (red);

Chest: Breastplate of the Slayer's Raiment (white);

Hands: Supple Gloves of Bard's Honour (white);

Feet: Anorien Battle Boots (walnut brown).