Unrestricting the Appearance Tab

[Desirsar]

<p>It was tough to decide whether to bump a previous thead on this topic or create a new one.  People in game told me a new thread would go better, so here it is...</p><p>I'm really starting to hate the lack of good looking armors and color combinations available for many of the classes because apperance slots are restricted by class.  Level is understandable, but not class or any other factor for a purely "fluff" item.  Could we get this talked about at developer meetings or something, just on the off chance that one programmer could be spared for the brief moment needed for this change?</p><p>In previous threads, one of the most common arguments I see against allowing casters to wear anything heavier than cloth or druid-y types anything heavier than leather is the "RP" element of being able to move for casting.  Which of these types of casters would you rather play :</p><p>1) To cast a simple lightning bolt or fireball spell, the caster waves his arms in the air to do the Y-M-C-A dance, sticks one index finger in each nostril, removes the right index finger to place it in his left ear, bends over to place both hands together between his legs and clap at the wrists as if to fan away a fart, jumping up and landing in a dance split, and finally standing to do a Michael Jackson pose, at which point his spell goes off on the target.</p><p>2) To cast a lightning bolt or fireball spell, the caster merely raises his arm and points one finger at the target in an entirely cool looking and yet ominous manner - BOOM.  Nuke hits.  Three targets?  Point, point, point...  BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.  (Of course, he'd now be out of mana.)</p><p>We're supposed to be playing mighty characters who have mastered (or at least attempted to master) arcane elements, so I know which one I would choose.  If you don't prefer the obvious one, you probably should be playing Hello Kitty Online if you really need to stick to MMOs, otherwise you'd be excellent at table top RPGs or LARP, and those are much more fun in a good group.  (To be honest, I don't like LARP, but I've seen people come from there to RPG sessions at conventions, and they're...  interesting...  if nothing else.)</p><p>If we really need to stick to boring conventions of overly wordy fantasy book authors, we need to stick to them completely - and restrict appearance slots to matching the armor type (cloth, leather, chain, plate) to the effectively worn item in the regular slot.</p>

[CorpseGoddess]

<p>Personally, from *any* perspective--including RP--it's just as weird to have a giant troll tanking in cloth, and yet under the current standards, it's allowed.</p><p>I'm a big fan of opening up the fluff spots.  So many more options would be made available to make our characters more unique.</p>

[Nimeesha]

<p>As a caster, I thinks it's fine the way it is. But meh, that's just me. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/ed515dbff23a0ee3241dcc0a601c9ed6.gif" border="0" /></p>

[valkry]

<p>The main reason this keeps getting brought up is it is one of two possible solutions for a 'mage' problem... we are stuck in some of the least appealing and most over-recolored gear around.</p><p>1) First solutions: As OP suggested, open ALL gear up to ALL classes in the appearance slot. I'm not so much of a fan of this. If you do want cloth versions of different armour (esp plate & chain) looks they are available. Also, some of us (usually older gamers who grew up w/ D&D) can't get past the concept of 'arcane spell failure due to armour.' While its easy for folks to say... it just doesn't matter, what you are suggesting is almost heresy to some of us... we simplely aren't willing to believe it & well there are still enough of us around that we scream when you suggest a mage can wear (even for appearance) plate armour.</p><p>2) The solution many of us have been BEGGING for FOR YEARS... is new cloth models. There is ONE ROBE, ONE STINKING ROBE pattern that has been worn sense release. Sure it's been recolored hundreds of different ways, but it's still the one same cut of robe. Now it has gotten slightly better, there is the 'Anotonica' formal dress... which looks decent on about 1/2 the races, and I do once in a rare while see the male version around. There is the "Little Bordello on the Praire" dress & the male version "Middle Ages German Pesant." They have 'style issues' and likewise have been recolored to death. The vest/pantaloons that are being released are a big improvement, just because it's not more robes.</p><p>How about a contest, SoE let some of the talented, and even not so talented artists in the community draw up a new cut of robe. Pick the best two styles for male & female, and then recolor the snot out of those for the next 4 yrs... at least we would feel that your FINALLY heard us & did something about a feature of the game that greatly annoys many of us.</p>

[Zutan]

<p>I personally dont like it when plate (or chain) wearers are wandering around in robes etc.  IMO you should be able to 'appear' to be wearing 1 armor tier up or down from your normal armor. (if not just 1 tier down)</p><p>Level restrictions should probably be kept in place just as an extra 'reward' for leveling up.</p>

[Lasai]

<p>The best game designs have always had unrestricted gear and weapons choices... but with meaningful armor encumbrances and plus vs minus in skill selections and training.</p><p>Unfortunately skill based games have gone the way of the dodo in favor of simplistic implementations.</p><p>As it stands I would be happy to see appearance slot restrictions go away totally.. and yet still retain CLASS based restrictions to enable the use of specific class appearances. </p><p>Unrestricted Appearance slots could allow people to at least roleplay a skillset they aren't allowed to actually have, ie a chain wearing finger wiggler or a crusader who has advanced (regressed) to a robe wearing mage Knight.</p><p>I also play a Caster somewhat... in Heavy Plate.  I have a Shadowknight.  Caster Knights reflect the old skill based setup in that we supposedly sacrifice spell damage for the strength to wear plate and swing big nasty objects, but, we still cast.</p>

[Jesdyr]

<p><cite>Zutan wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I personally dont like it when plate (or chain) wearers are wandering around in robes etc. </p></blockquote><p>Orginally you could only wear the same class as what you had in the normal equiptment slot. So if you had on chain the appearence item could only be chain. The only reason we have what we do now is because of a MASSIVE thread that was something like 100 pages of posts. Most of those posts where the same few people going back and forth so the outcry was not nearly as large as it might have seened, but the devs listened to it. After that more people (mainly me) complained to remove all restrictions and nothing was changed.</p>

[Finora]

<p>I personally like the way it is currently implimented.</p><p>However, I would kill to see more cloth gear appearances and more straight fluff armor (like the city merchant & faction armors, which I think should be completely unrestricted). Armorers should get some 'ceremonial' pieces in chain & plate that are equipable by any class. Tailors should get more real armor looks that are also ceremonial & usable by all classes as well as some new variations of town cloths.</p>

[Oleary]

<p><span style="font-size: small; color: #ffff00; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">OK...  I think the OP has a really good point here, but (ready trolls?) I think this will all become a moot point once the new Snap-On system is implemented.  Too many poeple saw the new concept as the abandonment of the idea of new looks; I think we will see exactly what we had hoped for (appearance wise) once this is implemented.  Sure, we still won't be able to sit down, or lay on beds, but I fully expect to see our customizability increased exponentially... 2 cents...  (braces for barrage of insults)...<img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/136dd33cba83140c7ce38db096d05aed.gif" border="0" /></span></p>

[Rhak]

<p><cite>Oleary@The Bazaar wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size: small; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif; color: #ffff00;">OK...  I think the OP has a really good point here, but (ready trolls?) I think this will all become a moot point once the new Snap-On system is implemented.  Too many poeple saw the new concept as the abandonment of the idea of new looks; I think we will see exactly what we had hoped for (appearance wise) once this is implemented.</span></p></blockquote><p>Honestly, I have about as much trust of this system working as the so-called 'new player models' coming to light. Yes, I know they were canned. That's my point.</p><p>IHMO - everybody should be able to wear every type of armor in the Appearance slots. Plate users can wear cloth - why can't the cloth users at least use leather or chain? I would've loved to put my Fury into the Chain armor set from way back in the Void event - but I couldn't.</p><p>Or at the very least, as stated up top - MAKE A NEW ROBE MODEL.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p>I can't imagine why anyone would want to wear clumsy, ugly, metal armor in appearance. </p>

[Rijacki]

<p><cite>Rhakos@Guk wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Or at the very least, as stated up top - MAKE A NEW ROBE MODEL.</p></blockquote><p>Sadly, I'm not holding my breath.  Oh sure, there will be a new texture overlay on that single robe shape and they might add spikey shoulders to it, but there won't be a new robe shape.</p><p>We might, though, get more of the leather looks used for cloth and that would help.. kinda.. maybe... a little.</p><p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I can't imagine why anyone would want to wear clumsy, ugly, metal armor in appearance. </p></blockquote><p>Because it's better variety than being restricted to a small a few vests & pants (all re-use from leather), and ONE blasted robe.</p>

[Desirsar]

<p><cite>Rhakos@Guk wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>IHMO - everybody should be able to wear every type of armor in the Appearance slots. Plate users can wear cloth - why can't the cloth users at least use leather or chain? I would've loved to put my Fury into the Chain armor set from way back in the Void event - but I couldn't.</p></blockquote><p>I'd settle for them going back through the armor in the game, from release to the newest expansions, and removing the classes for which items "are not meant to be used".  Don't even give plate wearers the option to use cloth or leather or chain.  Saves a lot of grief on NBG rolling, and gives every class equal options for appearance.  (The devs here do prefer the "nerf somehing" rather than "bring everything else comparable up to the same level" type of balancing.)</p><p><cite>valkry wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>1) First solutions: As OP suggested, open ALL gear up to ALL classes in the appearance slot. I'm not so much of a fan of this. If you do want cloth versions of different armour (esp plate & chain) looks they are available. Also, some of us (usually older gamers who grew up w/ D&D) can't get past the concept of 'arcane spell failure due to armour.' While its easy for folks to say... it just doesn't matter, what you are suggesting is almost heresy to some of us... we simplely aren't willing to believe it & well there are still enough of us around that we scream when you suggest a mage can wear (even for appearance) plate armour.</p></blockquote><p>I started playing D&D with my sister's group at the bowling alley where my parents had a league...  when I was 4.  (That would be 1982.)  I owned books for at least 4 RPGs by the time I was 6.  I've seen enough differing mechanics to know that nothing is "standard", and you should either stick religiously to one set of "physics" (thinking more in a sci-fi sense than I should be), or just go with whatever is the most fun.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p><cite>Rijacki wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Rhakos@Guk wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Or at the very least, as stated up top - MAKE A NEW ROBE MODEL.</p></blockquote><p>Sadly, I'm not holding my breath.  Oh sure, there will be a new texture overlay on that single robe shape and they might add spikey shoulders to it, but there won't be a new robe shape.</p><p>We might, though, get more of the leather looks used for cloth and that would help.. kinda.. maybe... a little.</p><p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I can't imagine why anyone would want to wear clumsy, ugly, metal armor in appearance. </p></blockquote><p>Because it's better variety than being restricted to a small a few vests & pants (all re-use from leather), and ONE blasted robe.</p></blockquote><p><span style="color: #800080;">Some of the cloth armor looks nice.  None of the chain/plate looks nice.  "IMO"</span></p>

[Rhak]

<p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #800080;">Some of the cloth armor looks nice.  None of the chain/plate looks nice.  "IMO"</span></p></blockquote><p>I'll believe it when I see it. Here's to hoping that you're right.</p>

[valkry]

<p>Some cloth armour looks nice... sorry Lethe, it's the same 3 or 4 outfits and after 4 yrs, they stink.</p><p>My grandmother (if she were still alive) would be in her 90s & she would not be the least bit embarassed to wear the 'bathrobe' my (hopefully MILFy) High Elf has been stuck in for the last 4 yrs. Surely it's time to get a robe with a different cut. It doesn't have to be V-neck cut to my belly-button, just something, ANYthing different that looks like a mage robe. Even give us the choir-robe look from Harry Potter movies just something NEW, not recolored, again...repeat ad nauseum.</p><p>And sorry, I don't know that I want to wear them, but I think my hubby's guard looks quite sexy in his armour (as long as he doesn't get silly & accidentaly by the chain (purple) shoulders with his teir 7 plate.</p>

[Chips]

<p><cite>Streppoch@Guk wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Personally, from *any* perspective--including RP--it's just as weird to have a giant troll tanking in cloth, and yet under the current standards, it's allowed.</p><p>I'm a big fan of opening up the fluff spots.  So many more options would be made available to make our characters more unique.</p></blockquote><p>I BANISH THEE!! TO.. um?...that ugly place in the men's room of a gas station on an interstate ..somewhere....</p><p>i would like my male troll to tank in a mumu and stockings cause people would cry from LOLing too much , its an</p><p>appearance slot!!! not allowing cloths on fighter types ruins the role playing..if one does role play , i mean do fighter</p><p>types wear armor 24/7?...no , think of a robe on a fighter as a fancy..smoking jacket or bathrobe ( people call mage wear</p><p>bathrobes all the time) cause they LOOK like bathrobes!!</p><p>lighten up man clothing should be interchangable if not for anything but laughs, its not like they grant bonuses in</p><p>appearance slots.</p>

[Lethe5683]

<p><cite>Rhakos@Guk wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Lethe5683 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #800080;">Some of the cloth armor looks nice.  None of the chain/plate looks nice.  "IMO"</span></p></blockquote><p>I'll believe it when I see it. Here's to hoping that you're right.</p></blockquote><p><span style="color: #800080;">Oh, I wasen't talking about the new stuff. I mean some of the cloth armor currently in the game looks nice although the problem is there's only two types... the robe and the vest.  None of the new armor I have seen so far looks good in the least.</span></p>

[Nakaru-Nitepaw]

<p>5 words: primary secondary weapon appearance slots</p><p>So many good looking weapons out there that that have terrible stats, and we get stuck using ugly weapons that have good stats. I see a problem here.</p><p>*adds* Until you get you're epic, that is if you like having weapons that unusually spin around in you're hands as if they had a motor built into the hilt.</p>