I’ve just had a moment of inspiration, and I’m hoping Anet reads this idea because I think they will like it.
What if you could create a weapon that is truly unique in appearance and reflects your character? What if you could make a custom skin out of different parts the same way you might select different armor pieces to make a unique outfit?
Introducing a new type of weapon that falls somewhere between exotic and legendary on the scale of difficulty to obtain: Player Character weapons, or PC weapons. Or perhaps simply “Unique” weapons. They have the same stats as exotic (or ascended, if those ever come out) and they are craftable in the mystic forge. The components themselves are also crafted in the forge.
The way this will work is through a 3 step process.
1. Decide what appearance you want to go for. There will be many options, the only limit is Anet’s time and imagination!
2. Gather the materials and use them to craft the 4 component pieces.
3. Put the 4 pieces in the forge, and presto!
Let me explain how the weapon will be customizable through these components. I’ll use a sword as an example. You need a grip, crossguard, pommel, and blade. These are the components you will be crafting first. There can be as many different looking blades, grips, etc as Anet feels like making. Say you want a jagged blade, a purple glowing grip, an extra fancy crossguard, and a spiked pommel. You craft those components and combine them. Say you want a straight blade instead, but you still want the glowing grip and such. You would craft the straight blade and combine them that way. Maybe you want the straight blade with a curved handle and a spiked knuckle guard instead of the fancy cross guard. Go for it!
The key here would be for Anet to design a collection of interchangeable parts. If they could somehow take a blade model and assign an attachment point to the bottom of it, and a corresponding point on the grip and cross guard models, they would essentially be loaded stuck together like glue. It would be up to the modelers to make sure they design the different pieces in such a way that they fit together without floating or clipping badly. Obviously its a bit more complicated than that under the hood, but I’m sure any modeler would know what I’m talking about. I’m a noob at modeling, but maybe some experts could figure out the fine details. I’m sure the programmers and animators would have to deal with some new issues in the way these weapons are handled in the game visually, but Anet have proven themselves an outstanding creative group. I think they could do this.
The cool part about this is Anet could take this system in a bunch of different directions and really make it a special thing for each individual player to craft their own weapon that symbolizes them. The finishing touch would be the name of the weapon. Wouldn’t it be cool to be wielding [(your name here)‘s Staff]? Anet could add some of these components as personal story, or living story quest rewards. The choices made by the player about which quest path to follow could determine which component you get, and ultimately your choices and actions would affect your weapon’s appearance. They could add special components during holiday and living story events. They could even sell some components in the gem store. Better yet, add a new gem store item similar to the transmutation stone that allows you to “unmake” your unique weapon and receive the components so that you can reforge it with a different combination.
You hear that Anet? Gem store ideas.
So here’s to hoping a dev reads this. Anyone feel free to critique or contribute.
I’ll even include some images to illustrate my meaning, if you don’t mind the crudeness of my drawing. :P
I’ve indicated the attachment points in red, and the components are obviously the black scribbley bits.
