The joke goes that there is no threat to Middle-earth that’s so pressing and dire that a player can’t call a time-out to put together a new outfit. Fashion wars are as strong in Lord of the Rings Online as they are in most other MMOs, and any opportunity to pause and whip together a cool look is perfectly acceptable. Sauron can wait; we have to find the perfect matching pair of pants.

Play LOTRO for freeI’m absolutely no master of fashion in LOTRO, but I have been putting together outfits for almost two decades now and have a few tips and tricks that I’d like to pass on to the next generation of budding adventurers — or even you grizzled veterans. So let’s talk about creating that perfect ensemble for your Dwarf, Hobbit, Man, Beorning, or Elf!

Dyes give you a splash of color

LOTRO was forward-thinking back in the day by providing the ability to dye cosmetic gear. Over the years, many shades of dyes have been added, some of which are available only in certain festivals.

However, the dye system comes with two caveats. First, there’s only a single dye channel that addresses a fixed portion of that piece of cosmetic gear, and second, each piece of gear dyes differently. So you might put a blue on your shirt and the same blue on your pants, and both might end up looking as different shades.

Thus, you have to experiment with dyes to get the look you’re going for. Keep in mind that you can always preview how dyes look in the dressing room before using them. I’d also encourage you to dye saved wardrobe gear almost exclusively, as the wardrobe can save multiple dyes per piece and let you reuse those over and over without having to re-dye.

Weapons have their own fashion war

Added later on, cosmetic weapons let you retain your favorite look for your main piece of fighting gear. This is great when you don’t like, say, the visual appearance of your legendary weapon and want to utilize a much better design that you found on a different weapon.

Keep in mind that you can’t equip a weapon skin to a different kind of weapon (i.e., you can’t use a spear skin if you’re actively using a sword); they have to match for the visual to change. You can also use weapon auras, if you have them, to add some of those special lighting effects to your cosmetic weapon.

Anchor your ensemble on a single piece

When I’m putting together an outfit, one trick that I end up using a lot is to start with a single cosmetic that is really interesting to me and then try to find other cosmetics that complement it.

This can become a fun challenge to see if you can make some sort of wild piece of gear work as the anchor to a full outfit. I’ve ended up with some of my all-time favorite outfits by working through this challenge, as it encouraged me to use cosmetics that I normally wouldn’t pick.

Different outfits for various occasions/biomes

If you have all of your outfit slots unlocked, you will have a total of eight looks (plus your default equipped gear) to modify and save. One thing that I really like to do is to create outfits to fit certain occasions as a kind of mental roleplay thing.

For example, I’ll have one outfit with furs and a heavy cloak for any time that I’m in a wintry zone. Likewise, I have a lightweight summery costume for warmer climes. Other ideas are outfits for socializing, or battle-scarred armor for dangerous places, or whimsical outfits for when you’re feeling a little silly.

Investigate and shamelessly steal ideas from others

Some of the best sources of inspiration for outfits come from other players! There have been many times that I’ll see another character run by with an eye-catching look. I might take a screenshot or even investigate their cosmetics to find out what they’re wearing.

There are also some great LOTRO fashion blogs out there to provide inspiration while pointing you to where you can get each piece. Here are some: LOTRO Fashion, Material Middle Earth, Cosmetic LOTRO, LOTRO Stylist, The Starry Mantle, LOTRO Savvy, Aesthetic LOTRO, and Wandering Around Arda.

Manage your wardrobe well

Finally, it’s pretty important to keep a handle on the wardrobe system. You have only so many slots to use, and those fill up incredibly fast. Make sure you don’t have any duplicates, and don’t throw out pieces that you’ve invested many dyes into unless you’re sure.

Personally, I don’t keep items in the wardrobe that I’m not likely to use that often. Some of those I might put into the vault or shared storage as a kind of secondary wardrobe (especially since I’ve long since filled up my wardrobe to overflowing!).

Every two weeks, the LOTRO Legendarium goes on an adventure (horrid things, those) through the wondrous, terrifying, inspiring, and, well, legendary online world of Middle-earth. Justin has been playing LOTRO since its launch in 2007! If you have a topic for the column, send it to him at [email protected]/topic/y.