It's happened to me before and it will happen to me again: bumping into an NPC in Lord of the Rings Online that looks better than your own character. Player customizations barely got upgraded after the initial launch of the game back in 2007, while the developers did keep improving the looks of their NPCs. In this post I'll be sharing some NPC hair styles that I'd love to see in-game for characters one day (but they're not there yet, unfortunately).
Hairstyle history
Somewhere in 2009 or 2010 (I don't remember the exact moment), a handful of new hairstyles were added to the game. After that, some new (mostly uncombed, wild-looking) hairstyles were available to the new Beorning class, but no changes have been made for other players.
Meanwhile, new faces and hairstyles were developed for NPCs, especially when new regions were added east of the Misty Mountains. Lord of the Rings Online has a good record for making each area unique and the Dunlendings, Rohirrim and Gondorians needed faces and fashion that would stand out.
Good-looking hair
A short stroll through Dol Amroth, Western Gondor, made me drool at all the hair styles the lady NPCs wore, especially because there is no real long hair available for player characters in the game. It doesn't get longer than my elf Ravanel wears.
In Star Wars: the Old Republic, new hair styles are released every once in a while. These are always super popular. I wouldn't mind paying some Turbine Points to get the following styles in LOTRO (as long as it's not excessive):
In Star Wars: the Old Republic, new hair styles are released every once in a while. These are always super popular. I wouldn't mind paying some Turbine Points to get the following styles in LOTRO (as long as it's not excessive):
Click for a larger image
From left to right, top to bottom: low ponytail with hippie hair band; half updo; loose ponytail; double braid and loose hair combo.
Click for a larger image
I hope I got the names right, because I'm not a professional hair dresser! I do wear my long hair in some of these styles, though.
All these styles are NPC exclusive
Do you love these hairstyles as much as I do? Which one would you use for your character?
I love all of these, but especially the loose ponytail and the mullet, haha. What a bummer that they've been updating the NPC looks without putting much time into the player characters. WoW did a revamp of the Blood Elf character model a while back (which is the only race I play, pretty much) and they look so much better now! But with the outfits I give my characters, you can barely see any of the updates:P
ReplyDeleteWow's character model revamps (or well, the whole major graphics update, really) were amazing. In LOTRO I find the graphics overall still acceptable (mostly due to the landscapes being cutting edge tech with release), they even gradually get better as you progress through the game (I always find this funny), but for characters they could really do with an overhaul like that in WoW.
DeleteOh and I *love* blood elves. I made two even, and I heard from people on Twitter that there are amazing hairstyles available for them (with long braids and everything!) once you make it towards the main city. The latter proves to be somewhat of a problem for me, though: although I really love the WoW characters and keep creating more and more, I can never really get myself into the game. :(
So, how come you don't see the lovely hair of your WoW characters? Do you wear hoods? /gasp
The loose ponytail and double braid and loose hair are my favorite. If those were available in game I would make a female character, a human female even.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago lotro was ahead of its time when it came to character customization. Its character creator was more detailed than the competition and the appearance tab was without equal. Unfortunately they have not been worked on for years and now it is incredibly dated. Oh well, I still enjoy it.
The double braid and loose hair is one of my favourites as well: you look good both from the front and the back! Although I do wonder how someone can have *so much* hair. That's pretty rare IRL.
DeleteI don't mind the limited character creation all that much myself, but I know of people for who it's a real deal breaker and don't play LOTRO because of it, so if they would ever update it (pipe dreams, I know) I think it would give a boost to the game. Each to their own, I guess. For me the landscape graphics of a game are way more important (you see more of that while you play) and in that book LOTRO still is awesome. :)
Hey I am wondering since I encountered these (http://i.imgur.com/0Carwx3.jpg and http://i.imgur.com/LN8yBy8.jpg) images of a female characters hair which I can't create in the character creation I have asked the devs for help but all they could say is that "Factors that can influence the appearance would be facial structer, skin tone, clothing option" which didnt gave me a hint about what exactly this particular hairstyle is made of so to say. So I was asking do you have any idea how to get that look? Since you tried a lot of hairstyles (or making a page about it) so I figure you know more then me. Lemme know please asap and I will be forever in your debt
ReplyDeleteHmm. I don't recognize the hairstyle immediately, I'd have to check in-game (but I can't right now, need to run and then I'm on holiday, sorry) but unfortunately the quality of those pictures isn't very high, making it hard to see. It looks like you've taken the pictures from YouTube? You could always consider asking the character themselves if you know their server. I've found that most players are glad to help if you ask something about their outfit or appearance. Sorry for not knowing the answer! :)
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