LOTRO Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics
How to Change Their Race, Outfit, Hair and More!

LOTRO Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics - Change their Race, Gender, Hair Style and Colour and Outfit!

Described by the tutorial in LOTRO as “Soldiers of the Free Peoples”, the NPCs that accompany you in Skirmishes are essential to your success. But this is an MMO, and we know that gear is practical, but we prefer to hide it with outfits, in many cases, at least! In a more-limited way, LOTRO have given you a way to customise your helper with Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics. You have options that set their race and gender, hair style and colour and the outfit they are wearing. But what do these look like? Here are all the options available to you, grouped by race, to help you decide, enjoy!


About the Default Look

In each case, I’ve provided details of what the default/unedited versions of your Skirmish Soldier are. This is to save you spending Marks/Medals if you’re happy with some aspect of the default look. Some of the default outfits are available for marks/medals, but some are not. I’ve tried to identify which are for you!

About Hair Colours

While the hair colour options are the same for all the races, I’ve chosen to show them on one hairstyle for each race anyway. This should help you decide more easily which looks best for you. I did find that black hair tended to stop most of the texture from showing, but your computer or settings may do things differently.

Customisations Per Race

So, let’s get to it! On larger screens, you’ll see each race has tabs you can navigate through. If you’re on a smaller screen, this will appear inline, so I recommend you make use of the “Section Menu” buttons instead of scrolling forever and a day!

Stephan on Patreon noted that, although there is a default look per race, you still have to slot a race before you can add customisations. Thanks Stephan!

Dwarf Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Dwarf Hair (and Beard) Styles

Hair (and Beard) Colours

Dwarf Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Here are the outfits you can put on your Dwarf Soldier. As mentioned above, if you like the Merchant’s Outfit, then you do not need to purchase this. If you prefer the one with short sleeves, then go ahead and add it to your collection!

Elf-Maiden Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Elf-Maiden Hair Styles

Elf-Maiden Hair Colours

Elf-Maiden Outfits

Elf-Sire Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Elf-Sire Hair Styles

Elf-Sire Hair Colours

Elf-Sire Outfits

Hobbit-Lad Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Unless I’ve missed something (which is always possible) Hobbit-lads have one less hair style. However, they have more outfits than other races.

Default/Uncustomised Look

Hobbit-Lad Hair Styles

Hobbit-Lad Hair Colours

Hobbit-Lad Outfits

Hobbit-Lass Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Hobbit-Lass Hair Styles

Hobbit-Lass Hair Colours

Hobbit-Lass Outfits

Taking as many shots as I needed to for this post was really difficult to do during LOTRO’s daylight hours! You can’t take Skirmish Soldiers indoors – they’re called landscape soldiers for a reason. I’ve kept all my original shots below, but I’m aware a few may need retaking in the middle of a non-rainy day.

Man Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Man Hair Styles

Man Hair Colours

Man Outfits

Woman Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Default/Uncustomised Look

Woman Hair Styles

Woman Hair Colours

Woman Outfits

How Much Do Options Cost?

There are actually two costs involved:
  • Buying the Options: these are either Medallions×2 and Marks×5 OR Medallions×3 and Marks×11. You acquire these from the Cosmetics Vendor at Skirmish Camps.
  • Applying the Options: When you confirm your choices at the Skirmish Captain, there are two different prices:
    • Race: 17×Silver Coin, 50×Copper Coin
    • Other Options:Silver Coin, 90×Copper Coin
Note: You are only charged for changes to your cosmetic options, not every time you confirm/traing your Soldier.

How To See Your Charges

How To Set Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Now you have seen the range on offer, how do you acquire and set skirmish soldier cosmetics? It’s a simple process if you have Marks Marks and Medallions Medallions to spare. To see how it’s done head over to my Skirmish Soldier Guide and skip to the How to Change Your Skirmish Soldier’s Appearance section.

What Is Not Customisable?

Quite a lot, but it’s not like making your own characters with tons of options. But examples are:
  • Facial Features: You get the same face model for each race and gender combination.
  • Skin Colour: All NPC Soldiers are white-skinned. While I believe that is in lore for Hobbits and Elves, the Race of Man and Dwarves had a much more broad variation. Sadly, this is not an option for us.
  • No Brunettes Allowed! Brown hair is curiously not an option.
  • No Blinking Allowed! Your Skirmish Soldiers are older NPC models, therefore they do not blink…but they do sometimes move their heads when stood still.
  • Weapon Appearance: There is a default weapon skin for each class. That cannot be changed.
  • Outfit Components: Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics, in terms of their outfit, are one-piece items.
  • Outfit Colours: You cannot dye their outfits. However, some do have different colour variations.

A Critique of Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

With month-long Skirmish events like Ill Omens and the Treasure Bugan, I think it would be awesome for LOTRO to expand the options here.

  • In the very least, to be able to use higher-res face models would be a huge step forward.
  • For us RP-ers, the most ideal thing would be to have a mini-barber. This could give us a wider range of hair styles and skin colours.
  • Eyes that blink: no, I’m not kidding! LOTRO have made some NPC quest-givers as models roughly based on the options play characters have. Why not do the same for Skirmish Soldiers?

I realise these will never happen. But if we don’t see opportunities to make the game even better, how do we encourage the team and express those ideas? For now, this is wishful thinking, as it wouldn’t be revenue-generating. But it’s definitely a system that needs an upgrade/polish.

LOTRO Ill Omens Skirmish Event Guide by FibroJedi LOTRO Treasure Bugan Event Guide

TL;DR Get out there and create your Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics

Although it may seem you have a bunch of restrictions, there are plenty of options to add a touch of personality to your Soldiers. So, go earn some Marks and Medallions and set your Skirmish Soldier Cosmetics how you want them. And remember to enjoy your time in Middle-Earth, friends.
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