Guild Wars 2

What I mean is being able to transmute a heavy armor look onto light armor (either not being able to transmute stats or the armor just drops to the appropriate amount), or medium onto heavy, etc. NPCs already pretty much don’t follow armor class restrictions, many sets already kind of skirt borders between armor classes, and there are HoM skins that can be applied to any armor class. The argument that a player’s relative level of squishiness should be easily readable doesn’t really apply because 1) squishiness/survivability is already largely divorced from base armor on items, which is really the only thing armor class communicates, and 2) weapon, class icon, skill visuals, etc. already identify classes better than their armor’s look.

This game already allows a good amount of freedom in appearance customization, so why not go that one final step? I know this is unlikely given that we currently can’t even preview items outside of our armor class (though we used to be able to, just like hoods not instantly making you bald…) but it would be a great feature that I’m sure a lot of people would love.

I will pay real money for this. +1

:)

— Kirsten

I would also pay to look the way I want to look on any character, yes.

It seems that only light armor was give any thought into looking nice when created.

I quit my guardian due to none of the armors looking good. Either they have ugly chain/scale armor mixed into my platemail or leather bits that wont dye the same color to match up with the rest.

Same here I’d totally appreciate this feature as I’m an outfit kitten myself :> +1

Yes, they need to open up customization more and more. Why even create such restriction in the first place, I do not know.

The main problem here is that youll have players taking advantage of this to look like other classes. For instance in wvw and pvp, a small guild group could all be different classes, but they could all look the exact same(robes for example), how are you suppose to anticipate their attacks? They could all look like mesmers with greatsword yet they are all really warriors and guardians.

Devs typically see this as a problem, another example was warhammer online, where you could custimize your appearance, but only your allies can see it. The enemy realm only sees the real appearance of the armor, otherwise high elves could technically dress up like dark elves and so on.

jinxy.8457:

This would ruin the balance of the game pvp wise and will encourage less variety on armors as people would just get the cool looking ones for their race

The pvp issue is a bit overblown, but still reasonably legitimate, I think, but I really don’t see how “Everyone gets to look the way they think is cool” is a problem. So what if there’s less variety? It just means there’s a popular armor set. That aspect doesn’t harm the game in any way.

Also they could enforce the restriction for non-wvw pvp, and wvw is so unbalanced, chaotic, and zergy anyway that armor appearance would be one of the smallest things affecting outcomes. Moreover, you could think of it as camouflage.

This is one of the worst suggestions I’ve heard yet… Might as well make transmutation stone work cross weapons too while you’re at it. Let’s make tridents into longbows and greatswords into warhorns just for the variety and customization.

The way I identify profession is by the skills they use.

I can’t identify between a Thief vs. an Engineer until they press their first skill.

+1 to this.

Schixeno.8596:

This is one of the worst suggestions I’ve heard yet… Might as well make transmutation stone work cross weapons too while you’re at it. Let’s make tridents into longbows and greatswords into warhorns just for the variety and customization.

Weapon appearance can’t be compared to armor appearance because there is no other way to communicate what the character is capable of doing without the weapon’s appearance. Armor appearance only conveys one thing: Is that guy a warrior/guardian, engineer/thief/ranger, or ele/necro/mesmer? There’s already substantial ambiguity even with armor class restrictions, but the ambiguity is broken as soon as you see what weapon they’re using or what skills they use. The armor doesn’t really tell you anything important that you couldn’t figure out elsewhere (see class emblems, skills, pets, particle effects, etc.)

Even the logo/icon next to your enemies portrait shows you what class/profession your foe / target is. So that’s just simply being unaware :P

I disagree with this suggestion every time it comes up and will always disagree with it. Armor class is part of a professions’ identity, and I want more things to make professions distinctive, not less. Allowing cross-class armor transmutation would pretty much entirely remove that and make it a complete free-for-all. Having mages running around in chainmail while warriors run around in skimpy clothing just wouldn’t do it for me.

Would it allow more freedom in appearence customization? Well, technically yes. But more freedom and less structure isn’t always better, IMO.

Just, no unless one thing is also implimented.

Penalties for not wearing your proffession’s armor. Traits cannot lessent hese penalties and actually get turned off (if the penalty increases cooldown time on skills then all traits reducing cooldown get unequiped and greyed out untill you wear the proper armor).
When one trains to fight in a certain style of armor, wearing more OR less, affects how well you fight. Take a knight that trains and fights in fullplate for 5 years and have him fight without any armor and they will end up dead very quickly. Someone used to heavy armor also get used to a fighting style where they allow the armor to take hits that those in leather or cloth would be forced to block/parry. In the middle of combat, training takes over.
If you wear cloth you are used to dodging everything and not having weight holding you down. Suddenly you have this weight on you that is not just holding you down but restricting movement as well. trying to dodge blows as usual and not sos ure how much of a blow the armor can take, Weight slowing downt he dodge allowing an enemy to easily dispatch you.
Used to wearing leather armor, add metal over it and while (ironically plate armor is less restrictive than leather armor due to how it is fashioned and kepts on you) you are used to armor you will not be nearly so used to the weight or it’s defensive properties. Medium wearing light suffers from the same problems of heavy wearing light. Even leather armor wearers allow the armor to take hits rather than dodge.

As long as there is a negative (a negative that is NOTICABLE) than I am fine with it. I’d likely even take the negative in pve, course in pvp I’d wear my proper armor.