Transmutation Stone + Piece of Gear = Unlock Skin in the Skin Collection
Your Skin Collection works like the Hall of the Monuments Heirloom Vendor
- You purchase a Skin as a consumable, as many times as you want, for 0 gold, that you use to apply its skin to a piece of equipment of the appropriate type.
Starter Gear is automatically Unlocked in the Collection
Basic Transmutation Stones used to unlock Normal, Fine, Masterwork and Rare Skins
Fine Transmutation Stones used to unlock Exotic and Legendary Skins
Could be as follows:
- 1 Basic Transmutation Stone + Normal Item
- 2 Basic Transmutation Stones + Fine Item
- 3 Basic Transmutation Stones + Masterwork Item
- 4 Basic Transmutation Stones + Rare Item
- 1 Fine Transmutation Stone + Exotic Item
- 2 Fine Transmutation Stones + Legendary Item
This change would not devalue Transmutation Stones.
Why?
Because currently players are conservative with Stones.
With this suggestion, players would feel encouraged to actually collect all looks in the game.
ANet could even create an achievement that tracks what’s the highest number of skins one of your characters unlocked.
Great, i’d suggested more times indeed that the cosmetic systme could work more like DCUO, where you actually bank and reuse every style you have earned.
MrNobody, I love that idea. I wish it would be considered. They could still use the transmutation stones and have the sales, but you could then use the same skin over again without having to always use it.
Good chance they’d sell more transmutation stones that way if someone could ‘swap out’ looks to suit them whenever.
I’m only concerned that i could re-use what i’ve earned already.
Eg. i wear style A,
then earn style B,
transmute B over to A, (losing A)
then i earn C
i transmute C over to B (losing B)
i get bored of C… B was really nice, then i have to go and grind B another time :OOOOO
and this for every old style i had earned and wish i could use again some time later.
The argument most used in this case is that the game need sinks, but this is rather a con, if we want to speak technically.
Erm, my suggestion is precicely about re-using the skins, permanently.
Hall of Monuments Heirloom gear works like that.
You buy the skin (for 0 gold), apply it.
Later you get new equipment, go to HoM, buy the skin again (for 0 gold), apply it.
And so forth.
The best game I’ve played with “skins” or appearance is EQ2. There was an actual slot for each piece next to the actual equipment.
I hate to transmute some items because I want multiple looks. Forces you to either take gear with the wrong stats your using, create another exotic, or just keep transmuting over said piece.
@ MrNobody.4357
Dang skippy. DCUO had such a great cosmetic tab. Since they have a transmutation system, and it is related to the economy because they can be sold and purchased, they could make a DCUO like tab and once you get what you like, you can then transmute it.
Just a thought anyway.
Poor craftsman blame their tools. Poor players blame their Engineer.
As they are right now, TS are a rather heavy-handed way of extorting gems from players. Because, you know, looks are important – and if that’s the case, why not just have “Cosmetic” slots – easily the best solution, exists in plenty other RPGs – or have TS be much more easily available? Should we really have to shell out 10$ just to have a change of wardrobe (once)? Dyes definitely aren’t like that…
Obviously ANet needs money in the long run, but this is really rather contrary to their otherwise incredibly nuisance-free monetization scheme.
It doesn’t compromise the game in the slightest, but it’s just plain annoying.
PS: Oh, and let me transmute PvP and PvE gear, for kitten’s sake! And a cuddly rabbit, please! And a candy bar.
I dunno. I used the transmutation stones to move a rune I really like (3 runes of the Noble) as I leveled up. I guess I could have bought BL salvage, but it’d have cost a lot more, since we get piles and piles of lowbie transmute stones for free.
I’m used to the stones and like the way they work.
Oh, oh, I know! An even better idea than “Cosmetic” armor slots: “Dye-like” skin-picking system for armor! Eh?
As in, you’d be able to “Sacrifice” any random Armor/Weapon you find to “Unlock” it for future use just like you currently unlock and change dyes – so that you’re free to swap out, mix and match random skins at will. Gives you a little more security and customization options, saves bag-space, no messy interface changes either.
It could even be made to require current Trasmutation Stones to do the “Unlocking” if the cash income they produce is so important.
I really wish they’d just add a wardrobe tab. The current system with the transmutation stones is interesting, but clunky, and forces you to farm them (I have a character slot I just make new characters on and explore one of the cities to get 3 more stones, then delete them and start over) if you want to be able to change your look more more than a couple times.
I mean, how hard can it really be? So many other games have it. “I really like how this chest piece looks! So once I outlevel it, I’m just going to drop it into my wardrobe chest slot, and now poof, I always look like I’m wearing it no matter what actual gear I’m using! Yay!”
Hell, they could actually make MORE money doing it that way — sell really cool cosmetic gear on the store!
@wumpusrat.4769 That was my first thought when I heard how they’ll be handling this aspect. Wardrobes are way better. Unfortunately, I’ve no hope of such a feature being implemented. ArenaNet has shown us clear as day where they’re headed with the cash shop. Why would they implement a free (or even one-time purchase) slot, when they can make a fortune by selling stones over and over again?
@wumpusrat.4769 That was my first thought when I heard how they’ll be handling this aspect. Wardrobes are way better. Unfortunately, I’ve no hope of such a feature being implemented. ArenaNet has shown us clear as day where they’re headed with the cash shop. Why would they implement a free (or even one-time purchase) slot, when they can make a fortune by selling stones over and over again?
Yeah, they’ll never get a dime from me for stones, though. Like I said, just make a character slot that you perpetually recycle to farm more stones — takes about30m or so to get through the intro and fully explore one city (I use the human city, since it’s the easiest for me).
Besides, what would make people more inclined to use the store? Purchasing stones to change your gear ONCE, knowing that you’ll have to get more stones to change it again, or a choice of several cool-looking wardrobe armors, that you could buy once and swap to at will? I’d be far more inclined to drop down $5-10 or so for wardrobe items that I’d always have then than I’d EVER be (as in, never) to buy trans stones, when I can get them for free.
I just made another post on this topic before I saw your post. I would love this system! Another version of it would be: you can store your gear for free and then transmutation stones are used to apply any of your stored gear’s looks to your items. Please implement this system Arena Net!
DaniellsAwesome, that’s an improvement, but all you’re doing is adding a “storage”.
I think what’s wrong with this system is having to re-buy and re-apply a skin everytime you get a new piece of equipment.
What if I want to have multiple builds, that require different types of stats?
Why should I be punished for it?
Spending Stones to permanently add the skin to your collection, and then using a HoM vendor to purchase a consumable version of any skin you unlocked would be ideal.
That’s an illusion, CobaltSixty.
It just makes alot of players conservative in their playstyle, and more frustrated.
Costs more? Spend less. Farm more. Get bored of the game quicker.
The money sinks will work properly when the economy is fixed.
That means, above all, taking care of bots, hacks and exploits.
On a sidenote, ANet should make less items available to buy purely with gold, and instead require crafting materials for nearly every item – even if just a couple of them.
This would create a inherent item sink by giving value to crafting materials, in turn encouraging the salvaging of items, in turn making less gold available in the game, and so on.
