Guild Wars 2

why are there so many of the same armor sets through the whole game and same looking weapons through the whole game until I basically get to end game and get all these different looking weapons with same stats essentially. I come from a guardian I just maxed at level 80. why for most of that time did I have to rock that same looking scale armor for the whole majority of the game only to get some decent looking armor and then have it out stated by the same scale armor I was just wearing. same goes for weapons. I wont forget getting the light sword in a story quest then having a generic looking “sword” out stat it basically forcing me to play with that same sword I was using since basically lvl 1. now im lvl 80 and get all these different looking armors and weapons that are close to same stats. ike why cant you use those looks that are same stats for lower class weapons. this game has enough cool weapons that I shouldn’t have to grind my way through the whole game looking at the same one. and now at lvl 80 everyone is using a single type of armor depending on the type of build they want for that class so it basically kills most of the armor and weapon animations anyway. and then loe I get to lvl 80 get a sweet sword do a dungeon and bam! generic looking sword, better stats. this makes not want to try out another class bc I know what I will be looking at for another 80 lvls.

First off you get 3 transmute stones every map completion you can use for your character whenever you get a basic looking drop that has better stats then what you are wearing.
Secondly you can get the dungeon armor before lvl 80. They each offer their sets as lvl80exotics and as the exp lvl requirement rares. So AC lvl 35, CM 45, TA 55, ect so you don’t have to wait armor wise for the dungeon appearance.
Weapon-wise I get your point it sucks that we always end up getting the basic look, but then again I would always just use my transmute stone to keep whichever one I liked better since I have so much of the stones. Between checking out all the karma/heart for other skins and the cultural weapons seller in the cities and crafting there are a bunch of skins available even for low levels you just have to look for them and use your transmute stones.

When you hit lvl 80 the only issue then is having to use transmute crystals (blue one). That’s probably why a lot of people don’t reskin the armor once they get/find the stats they want. Or people just like the skin a lot that’s why everyone is wearing it.

I can’t say I agree with the general complaint. Between karma vendors, storyline rewards, and the occasional bit of crafting or dropped armor/weapons, I feel like I got a pretty good variety of gear as I progressed from 1-80. And if I got something I didn’t like, I’ve got more than enough transmutation stones from map completion to stick with what I like.

It gets more problematic at level 80, when, if you want to transmute level 80 gear, it takes transmutation crystals, but 30g for 10 crystals (at current rates) strikes me as an acceptable gold sink, to get the stats you want onto the armor you want. It gets pricey if you factor alts into the situation, but, personally, with my alts I usually wear what I want for looks, and may or may not get around to giving them proper, optimized builds. Most of the game is very forgiving of playing with less-than-optimal setups, so I’m okay with this arrangement. All that gold has got to go somewhere.

I’m less convinced that people looking similarly is an issue of cost, and more just of taste. If a look is popular, people are going to wear it, whether or not it has the best stats.

I had the same gripe when leveling many of my characters, I wear the same aesthetic for half the level up process, then briefly a crafted set in the middle, and then back to the same aesthetic. If leveling took longer, it would have really annoyed me. Thankfully you can get out of it and to level 80 fairly quickly. I wish there was a wider variety of more basic looking low level armor. I don’t like for my characters to be too flashy, and I would use some more of it.