Holiday Spirit

Merry Christmas! Today marks the first day of the Yule festival, as well as our first day into the new Update 9: Against The Shadow, and I finally got around to creating my own holiday-inspired outfit. It's nothing fancy, but it will serve me well as I run around Frost Bluff for the next few weeks.

no, she is not levitating, she is dancing ;)

Up until now, I have avoided saying anything negative about Turbine's recent changes to this game. But I have to be honest this time; I am not happy with the way this festival is set up. It's a grind - all the best prizes are gated behind two (or three?) tiers of deeds. This annoys me to no end, because I avoid grinds like the plague for the simple fact that they so tedious! Speaking personally, I can persist through these deeds because I'm not going anywhere for the holidays - but other players who travel are likely to miss a couple days (or even weeks) of the daily quests needed to complete the deeds, and ultimately may not be able to claim their prizes. That makes me very sad, because everyone should have a fair chance to bag some cool freebies. As much as I love the festivals, this is going ruin a lot of the fun which makes these festivals so special in the first place. I wish you all good luck and hope everyone gets the chance to claim the steeds.

• Head: Balladeer's Hat, dyed Dark Green (Moria Minstrel Vendor (21st Hall), Skirmish Vendor)
• Back: Golden Tree Summer Cloak, dyed Olive Green (Summer Festival Reward)
• Chest: Long-sleeved Elven Dress, dyed Red (Rivendell Kindred Vendor)
• Shoulders: Shoulders of the Helmingas, cannot be dyed (Isengard Pre-order)