Midsummer Festival 2022

Myndariel finally joined in the Midsummer Festival celebrations, and it was so worthwhile and enjoyable!

Aragorn and Arwen's wedding

She went through all the quests for the epic quest chain Vol. V. Book 1: A Time of Celebration which tells the story of Aragorn (also known as Elessar) and Arwen's wedding in Minas Tirith. After completing Chapter 7: A Wedding at Midsummer, she earned Gondor's Steed which looks awesome.

Gondor's Steed

There are lots of repeatable quests in the Midsummer Festival version of Minas Tirith, plus additional quests in Bree-land, the Shire and Ered Luin, so players of all levels can take part. The rewards are cheap so it was easy to collect all the mounts and some nice new outfits. If I wanted, I could also earn some cosmetic pets and housing items.

Apart from Gondor's Steed, there are several other mounts available this year:

• Steed of Entwining Blossoms
• Blackroot Steed
  
• Lamedon Steed
• Lebennin Steed
• Lossarnarch Steed

You can check these out on my Mounts Gallery page.

I love the main outfit for this year! The Robe of Entwining Blossoms is very pretty, especially when combined with the accessories, and it dyes well, with a slight colour gradient that adds a nice effect.

Steed of Entwining Blossoms and matching dress

Robe of Entwining Blossoms (left: default, right: dyed rose)

Also shown are the Circlet of Entwining Blossoms (head), Mantle of Entwined Blossoms (shoulders) and Boots of the Entwining Blossoms (feet). Instead of using the matching cloak, I really liked the delicate lace-like Bridal Veil (it can also be dyed various colours). 

There are also bride and groom sets of outfits, but they didn't appeal as much so I didn't collect them. I did buy Galadriel's dress (which is the same as what she wore to the wedding) and Arwen's Dinner Dress (which also has a lovely colour gradient effect).

Galadriel's Dress (left: default, right: dyed gold in honour of Lothlórien)

Arwen's Dinner Dress (default, dyed rust, dyed sky blue, dyed turquoise)

There's still a few more days to enjoy the festival, so now that Myndariel is all set, some of my characters on my Free Account would like new mounts and outfits too.

Tunic of Entwining Blossoms

Mynimuso, my hobbit minstrel, discovered that the dresses don't look so good on hobbits, but the tunics fit nicely.

Yule Festival 2020

I wasn't planning on taking part in the Yule Festival this year - I've done the event many times before. But ... I saw the new outfit and it was "Ooh, nice. My characters would like that." 

Mynaruun wearing the Poinsettia Crown, Cloak of Flurries and the Gala-worthy Gown

There's only a few more days of the Festival to go, so my characters each did the 10 activities and earned at least 35 tokens so they could each buy one piece of the costume for my newest character Mynaruun, a level 9 rune-keeper who didn't have an outfit yet and was wearing mismatched, ugly, quest rewards. Now she looks pretty. 

My lore-master (not Myndariel, another one called Myndibeth) has done the Yule Festival before and had enough tokens left over from last time to buy a festive mount. She also bought the Vestments of the Northern Sky to make a new outfit.

Ice Flower Steed

Mynaruun would really like the Yule Gala Steed to go with her outfit, but I don't know if she can get enough tokens in the next few days to buy it during this festival. Plus, she's on my free-to-play account and she doesn't have riding unlocked yet (I make it a rule they have to get to level 20 and earn the LOTRO points themselves before they can ride). Can I get her to level 20 and earn the mount before the end of the Yule Festival? 

* UPDATE * Mission accomplished!

Yule Gala Steed

Mynaruun did the Yule daily quests each day and quested through Ered Luin and Bree-land and is now the proud snowflake queen. Cold as ice indeed! Maybe I should try and get her a frosty pet?

OK, I admit it, I got sucked into the icy vortex of festival deeds and quests and collecting rewards. It was fun and now I'm really looking forward to playing LOTRO in 2021. 

I wish you all a wonderful and happy new year and may you stay safe and well in Middle Earth and real life!

LOTRO's Eleventh Anniversary

I've been taking a break from LOTRO for a few months because I got frustrated questing in Mordor. I've been playing Elder Scrolls Online and Path of Exile instead, but when I heard about LOTRO's 11th Anniversary coming up, Myndariel was quick to return to The Party Tree (a week too early). While I waited for the festival, Myndariel has been levelling in The Wastes instead of Mordor, finished off the last of the epic quests (now completed all four volumes) and bought a premium home in Belfalas because her personal home near Bree is full of decorations collected over time and across Middle Earth.

Myndariel's holiday home in Belfalas

Finally, the 11th Anniversary arrived and to my delight I found Myndariel had heaps of tokens left over from last year so she could buy the new mount and cosmetics straight away. 

Armour of the Waking Wood (front)

Armour of the Waking Wood (back)

I especially like the outfit - it looks beautiful and would probably suit an high elf or Northern Mirkwood theme. The outfit comes with chest-piece, shoulders, gloves and quiver.

Sea-ward Steed

I'm not sure what to think about this steed. It reminds me of Dol Amroth with the little wings around the face and shoulders and the ship on the blanket. I have a hobbit minstrel who really likes that bright blue so she'd probably like sitting on her Sea-ward Steed playing one of the new fiddles - the Bardic Fiddle or the Traveller's Trusty Fiddle. As far as I know, these new fiddles have a greater range of notes that can be played than the original fiddles that were released recently.

Myndariel also got an anniversary present - for playing LOTRO for four years she received the Festive Azure cosmetic outfit. Next year, she'll get the Festive Azure steed.

Festive Azure Dress and Cloak

Festive Azure Tunic and Cloak

The Scavenger Hunt continues! The reward for completing one of the Year 11 scavenger hunts is a Gollum Festival Mask cosmetic item and the Ent Horn emote. Below are some tips on where to go.

For more information about the previous 10 years of scavenger hunt quests and rewards, see my guide to LOTRO's 10th Anniversary.

Year 11 Tales: Gollum

• Search for the Precious in Gollum's Cave - Goblin-town, Misty Mountains
• Gather 3 Remembrances in Gollum's Cave - Goblin-town, Misty Mountains
• Find the open shackles along the road west of Barad-dûr - Dor Amarth, Mordor
• Find the cell where Gollum was held by wood-elves in Felegoth - Felegoth, Eryn Lasgalen
• Visit the Memory of the Creature at Garbert's Cottage - Tâl Bruinen, The Trollshaws
• Find the tree Gollum climbed in pursuit of Frodo on the edge of Lothlórien - Talan Haldir, Nimrodel, Lothlórien
• Swim in the Anduin south-east of Floodwend - Nîn-stazg, The Wold, East Rohan
• Gather 2 Remembrances in the Dead Marshes and the Noman-lands - The Dead  Marshes, Western Gondor (base camp and through portal to the Noman-lands)
• Swim in the Forbidden Pool - Henneth Annûn, North Ithilien
• Listen to Gossip in one of the markets of Dale - Dale, Dale-lands
• OPTIONAL: Visit the Memory of the Ring-bearer south of the Camp of the Host and experience the session "The Precious, At Last" - North Ithilien

Year 11 Travels: Ruins of Middle Earth

• Gather 24 Remembrances (remembrances available shown in brackets below)
• Explore the ruins of Midgewater Marsh - Marshwater Fort, Midgewater Marsh, Bree-land (x3)
• Explore the ruins of the Misty Mountains - Iskeld's Lookout, Bruinen Source West, Misty Mountains (x3)
• Explore the ruins of Annúminas - Gwaelband, Annúminas, Evendim (x2)
• Explore the ruins of the Barrow-downs - Ost Gorthad, Southern Barrow-downs, Bree-land (x3)
• Explore the ruins of Emyn Lûm - Ost Galadh, Emyn Lûm, Mirkwood (x3)
• Explore the ruins of Bâr Húrin - South Ithilien, Eastern Gondor (x3)
• Explore the ruins of Haerondir - Noman-lands, The Wastes (x3)
• Explore the ruins of South Ithilien  - Brangobel, South Ithilien, Eastern Gondor (x3)
• Explore the ruins of Lebennin - Ruins of Ethillorn, Lebennin, Central Gondor (x3)
• Explore the ruins of South Trollshaws - Ost Dúrgonn, South Trollshaws, The Trollshaws (x3)
• Explore the ruins of the Trollshaws - Echad Gauradan, Tâl Bruinen, The Trollshaws (x2)
• Explore the ruins of Kingsfell - Ost Lagoros, Kingsfell, The North Downs (x2)

Year 11 Trifles: Long List of the Ents

(I needed some help from Lotro-Wiki to find these ones)

• Eldest of all, the elf-children - House of Celeborn, Caras Galadhon, Lothlórien
• Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses - The Endless Stair, Foundations of Stone, Moria
• Ent the earthborn, old as mountains - Wellinghall, Entwood, West Rohan
• Man the mortal, master of horses - Meduseld, Edoras, West Rohan
• Beaver the builder - Dale-lands (below waterfall NE of Dale)
• Buck the leaper - High Moor, The Trollshaws (NW of hunter's camp site)
• Bear bee-hunter - Buckland, Bree-land
• Boar the fighter - The Greenway, North Downs (NW of the Tarkrîp Assault Camp)
• Hound is hungry - Bree Mess Hall, Bree, Bree-land
• Hare is fearful - Field of Cormallen, North Ithilien (near river)
• Eagle in eyrie - Dómstoll, Misty Mountains
• Ox in pasture - Starkmoor, Dunland (on a hill SE of Cartrev Andras)
• Hart horn-crowned - Eryn Lasgalen (near bridge NW of Caras Tilion)
• Hawk is swiftest - Torech Andraug, Eregion
• Swan the whitest - Wyrmdenn, Rushgore, The Great River
• Serpent coldest - Tyrn Fornech, Evendim (near border with Forochel)
• The hobbit children, the laughing-folk, the little people - The Party Tree, The Shire

Cosmetics: Blue Bear

I don't normally do cosmetic outfit posts - there are other blogs like Wandering Around Arda, Material Middle Earth or The Starry Mantle that create lots of great-looking outfits and presents them beautifully.

Nevertheless, I really like my Beorning's outfits and I'd like to share them. The first I think shows an almost Elven litheness inherent in the flexibility to change between man and bear form, while the second outfit with heavier armour shows strength and her willingness to make a stand, protecting her allies from the enemy.

Outfit 1

Tyravorth wore Outfit 1 for most of the first 90 levels. She changed helms a few times - she started off with the starter Beorning headband, and at one stage wore a shiny navy and gold metal helmet, but I liked this hat best.

Oh, my characters tend to hide their weapons when they're out of combat (unless they have a really cool looking weapon).

Head: Scholar's Hat (Misty Mountains quest reward from "A Scholar's Lesson", dyed navy)
Shoulders: Battle-tested Shoulders (Level 59 quest reward, Battle-tested Armour box, dyed navy)
Chest: Ceremonial Town-saver's Jacket (from Skirmish Camp, dyed navy)
Hands: Elven Leather Gloves of Vigour (random mob drop around level 41-44, dyed umber)
Legs: Ceremonial Town-saver's Leggings (from Skirmish Camp, dyed navy)
Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Quiet Step (from Skirmish Camp, dyed umber)
Back: Eastemnet Cloak of Might (crafted T8 cloak from tailor, dyed navy)

Outfit 2

This was taken just after the battle of Helm's Deep. The chestpiece was a heavy armour epic quest reward for taking part in the battle and she liked it better than the medium armour option. So she collected it and then raided the shared wardrobe for other pieces to go with it and dyed them navy, or umber for the gloves. I used the same cloak - I like how it dyes and the pattern isn't boring, but it also doesn't distract attention from the outfit.

Head: Inquisitive Lore-master's Hat (East Rohan quest reward from "Leaders from Moria", dyed navy)
Shoulders: Fine Grey Company Wrap (Dunland epic quest reward from Vol 3, Book 5, Chapter 1, dyed navy)
Chest: Breastplate of the Rider (West Rohan epic quest reward from Vol 3, Book 13, Chapter 6, dyed navy)
Hands: Dholen-lhaw (Dunland epic quest reward from Vol 3, Book 4, Chapter 5, dyed umber)
Legs: (not visible)
Feet: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Boots (Dunland quest reward from "Once a Servant, Now a Wizard", dyed navy)
Back: Eastemnet Cloak of Might (crafted T8 cloak from tailor, dyed navy)

Myndariel's Wardrobe: Violet Swan-Maiden

The new slotted armour from Dol Amroth looks very nice and I'm sure will be a popular addition to many LOTRO players' wardrobes.

Violet dye has been Myndariel's favourite colour from the beginning, but she's never found the right opportunity to wear an outfit that colour. Until now. The funny thing is that the main part of the outfit didn't even need any dye.

I finally gave up on matching the outfit to the staff or vice versa as it really does limit options, especially when legendary staves seem to have the same appearance for at least 30 levels.

As described on Wandering Around Arda, the Dol Amroth sets have a theme relating to swans and feathers, and you can see that in the robe with the violet "feathers" overlapping through the chest portion, the long white sleeves and skirts reminiscent of the swans' white plumage and long necks, while the dark overlapping "feathers" underneath perhaps remind us of the black swans.

Myndariel is wearing:

• Chest: Light Nadhin Robe (Dol Amroth or Vol 4, Book 1, Chapter 12 reward)
• Shoulders: Light Nadhin Shoulders (Dol Amroth or Vol 4, Book 1, Chapter 2 reward)
• Back: Cloak of the Rescuer (dyed violet, Great River quest reward)
• Hands: Elven Explorer's Gloves (dyed violet, crafted, Tailor T4)
• Feet: Wildermore Survivor's Medium Boots (dyed violet, People of Wildermore rep)

I really like the cloak with this outfit because it looks like it's got little twigs and leaves and flowers on it which make me think of the swan's nest. I also like that it doesn't cover the head, but it looks like it could (hood pulled back). It's nice to find a use for some of the Wildermore gear too and the boots have the same violet-white-black as the robe which worked out well.

My reward to Myndariel for reaching 100 was to get her some war-steed accessories because the free options are so limited. So now her steed is white with violet (actually indigo but it looks very close) rune-keeper's tack.

Myndariel's Wardrobe: Dunland Red

Dunland provides a lot of nice looking quest rewards, which inspired part of this outfit. The colour scheme, however, was chosen to match Myndariel's current staff rather than blending in with the local environment.

Most of the iconic quest rewards are also available from the Men of Dunland quartermaster in Galtrev. For a look at some of the different armour available, see Lotro Wiki: Cosmetics - Dunland Armor Sets (sorted by class) or Lotro Stylist: A Cosmetic Guide to the ROI Quest Rewards (sorted by armour slot).

In Galtrev, Dunland

Sunset at Fang Tor, East Rohan

Standing out against the snow in Wildermore

Myndariel is wearing:

• Chest: Robe of the Countless Stars (Men of Dunland rep vendor, dyed red)
• Back: Cloak of the Dreamflower (Vol II, Book 7, Ch 9 reward, dyed umber)
• Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of the Dunland Healer (Dunland quest reward: [66] A Glimpse of the Fall, dyed black)
• Hands: Dunlending's Gloves of Confrontation (Men of Dunland rep vendor, undyed)
• Feet: Explorer's Shoes (crafted, Tailor T4, dyed umber)

Myndariel's Wardrobe: Lothlorien

Myndariel earned enough rep with the Galadhrim to get the robe. At the time, she was using a legendary staff that looked a shepherd's crook with a green glowing orb. She saw the dress, saw the staff, and thought a green and gold theme would be perfectly appropriate for questing in Lothlórien, or any other leafy place.

In Lothlórien

In Dunland

In the Eaves of Fangorn

Myndariel is wearing:

• Head: Dwarf-make Circlet (LOTRO Anniversary gift box)
• Chest: Lórien Fancy Robe (Galadhrim rep vendor, dyed olive)
• Back: Reveller's Gilded Cloak (LOTRO store)
• Shoulders: Rock-climber's Shoulder Guards (crafted, Tailor T6)
• Hands: Rock-climber's Gloves (crafted, Tailor T6)
• Feet: Rock-climber's Shoes (crafted, Tailor T6)

Myndariel's Wardrobe: Glacial Blue

Original version in the Misty Mountains

Updated version in Dunland

This has been Myndariel's favourite outfit so far and has always been about the dress. The dress was a reputation reward from the Elves of Rivendell and up until then Myndariel had been wearing robes that weren't particularly pretty. At first she didn't have anything to match the dress as the shade of blue isn't available as dye, but she gradually found a circlet, a cloak and a weapon to complete the pale-blue-and-white look.

This outfit inspired her to collect a stable of white pets as her companions in battle (and give them glacial-themed names) and her favourite mount is the white Grey Steed.

Head: Turquoise Summer Circlet (Summer Festival/LOTRO Anniversary Cosmetic Gift Box)

Chest: Long-sleeved Elven Dress (Elves of Rivendell rep vendor)

Cloak: Cloak of the Silver Star (Skirmish Camp cosmetics trader)

Staff: Lore-master's Staff of the Third Age
Alternative Staff: Amarthis (quest reward for [30] A Lore-master's Will)

With Amarthis