The introduction of new starter avatars in Second Life, featuring "Legacy Lite" bodies and "LeLutka Lite" heads, has created a demand for compatible free items. According to a detailed blog post, Linden Lab has partnered with established content creators to provide a more robust foundation for new users. These new avatars are accessible through the "Avatar Welcome Pack" in the Library folder of a user's inventory. The pack includes bodies with three base options (Asian, Black, and Caucasian) for both male and female avatars, along with heads, skins from LeLapeau and Velour, hair from Wings, Stealthic, and Doux, shoes from Phedora, and outfits from various designers.
While the new starter avatars offer significant improvements, users may encounter limitations. The blog post notes that while many vendors include alphas with their clothing, free or inexpensive alpha sets are also available both in-world and on the Second Life Marketplace. Users can also reuse alphas from the Senra capsule wardrobe. Regarding Bakes on Mesh (BoM), while applier HUDs are incompatible, there is a wide availability of BoM makeup and hairbases. Users who have collected free LeLutka head gifts in previous years may already possess a full set of BoM EvoX hairbases and makeup. BoM eyes are also compatible. For eyelashes, which are not supported by BoM, the default lashes are described as "perfectly good." Fingernails and toenails can be managed using alphas to remove the included nails, allowing for the use of Legacy-compatible nails purchased elsewhere. A technical issue has also been reported where the chin depth and angle sliders do not respond when using a head with the Legacy Lite female body, affecting all mesh heads, not just those from the Welcome Pack.
For users seeking free skins, several options are available. The blog post mentions an annual December event where LeLutka typically offers free EvoX Bento mesh heads, and participating stores offer free skin gifts with waived group join fees. Additionally, the store groups for Alexandrite, Boataom, Leronso, Purple Beauty, and Tres Beau are free to join year-round and offer free group gifts of women's EvoX skin fatpacks. For male avatars, free options are limited, though Brabos offers two free group gifts of male EvoX skin fatpacks for a group join fee of L$50.
Several in-world locations are highlighted for obtaining free clothing and accessories. The Palomma Plaza, which requires joining the free Palomma Plaza group, offers a collection of freebies for both men and women. The store is organized into rows, with specific brands available on different floors. For menswear, brands such as Emerald Men, Tastic, Furtacor, Telsiope’s, Pixels, Muho, Madcat, Hardcore, Shohina’s, So Meshed Up, Always Blossom, and Suna are listed. For womenswear, vendors offer items compatible with Legacy bodies, and users are advised to read vendor panels carefully. Flat TMP shoes are noted as compatible with Legacy Lite feet.
Another location, the Helping Haven Gateway, houses The Ladies’ Free Shop. This location has a central spawn point and offers freebies for women on the 1st and 3rd floors, and for men on the 4th floor. No group is required to claim these items. Women's freebies on the 1st floor include outfits and accessories from Cute for You, Mangula, Monomania, La’La, Salesita’s, and Ewa. On the 3rd floor, women can find items from Safyra’s, Enigma, and Ewa. Men's freebies on the 4th floor include items from Saute, Urban Streetwear, Cheerno, Impacts, and Dossier. The location also offers free hair from Firelight and jewelry.
Specific brands also offer free group gifts. WellMade has a generous group gift wall with over 30 free group gifts for women, including clothing and footwear, many of which are Legacy-compatible, and their store group is free to join. KC Couture offers four sets of flat shoes for Legacy bodies for a group join fee of L$1. Kiki Kaikai provides nearly a hundred free group menswear gifts, with most fitting the major male mesh bodies, and their group is free to join. Elementtare is part of a new group called DMSE – Men’s Station, which is free to join and was created in collaboration with Duk, Strunsh, and Mazzaro.
For users interested in visual demonstrations, a 40-minute YouTube livestream by Naria Panthar is referenced, which discusses and demonstrates the new starter avatars.