Guild Wars 2

What I would like is simply a skirt for my lady warrior. I would like to give her a Sophitia-like look, and “just a skirt” would be enough (eventhough I’d like the laurels as a helmet too)…
Like that
or like that

Zalyn.9534:

Flag on the play: Appeal to nature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature) and excessive use of evolutionary psychology for false authority.

Bonobos, our closest relatives, have matriarchal societies and freely engage in sexual activity in all combinations for social bonding. Yet monogamy and sexual restriction of women is advocated in many of our cultures.

Most animals have male displays that are beautiful, aesthetic, and probably “sexy” to the observing females, who get to scrutinize and choose (see: blue-footed boobies), but humans unnaturally turned it around.

Sorry, but we’re talking about humans. I don’t remember bonobo women in bonobo tribes keeping fire up and feeding children with cooked food while bonobo men with bonobo spears were doing Boss Blitz hunting mammoths in an organised way. Pre-historic men didn’t have feathers or horns to display either, as far as I remember.

Zalyn.9534:

“Natural” as an argument especially falls flat when thrown about by people playing computer games.

When those people playing computer games stop projecting real life onto video games and start preferring charrs and quaggans to humans, then I’ll be totally fine with this statement. Until that time, I’ll have to remind of it those people who can’t help but make comparisons, or simply shake hands with people who say “It’s a video game, everything is possible if it is fun!”

Zalyn.9534:

The arguments against inclusion of revealing styles for males boil down to the following flawed arguments, and I’m going to sum them up here because I’m tired of them being brought up in ways that really come across as condescending and shaming:

I’m personally okay with pretty much anything, just sayin’. I’m stating that having men associated with physical power as a primary factor of attractiveness and having women sexualised makes a lot of sense from the natural point of view, while having elegant men and she-warriors is more of a fetish. None of these are “bad” at this point in time, in my opinion, cause, ya’now, YOLO and we have too much people on Earth anyway, but having “natural” things as dominant and “unnatural” things acceptable is, well, natural.

I personally prefer skimpy clothes on my sylvari mesmer because she uses illusions and grows her own armour anyway (and because I enjoy seeing that midriff, I admit it), I prefer my fire-themed ele to be skimpy because she’s a squishy zerker mage and she’s naturally hot in anything non-revealing and she looks good like that, and I’m fine with my guardian to be in heavy armour because she’s, well, a guardian and not a mage. As for female Asura engineer and male Charr warrior, they will get whatever looks appropriate on them as “animals” of their respective professions – probably a cute steampunk something and a steel and threatening something. If I went for a Conan warrior theme, then yes, I would’ve needed something shirtless; if I went for a male elf/avatar-like ranger, I might’ve needed something revealing again, but more elegant – and something like those FF outfits might have worked.

Still, I’m not into such characters, so I don’t need those, but I see that some people would like to have them, and I’m okay with that. But even knowing all that, I will still keep saying that she-warriors and elf-men are not “natural”, and there are perfect biological reasons for it despite having (or not having) these things represented in video games.

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

What I would like is simply a skirt for my lady warrior. I would like to give her a Sophitia-like look, and “just a skirt” would be enough (eventhough I’d like the laurels as a helmet too)…
Like that
or like that

Yes, this is not about skimpy, it is beautiful. I support at least 1 heavy armor include similar skirt.

Well. if we’re asking. The Sophitia style armor would be neat.
How about a Taki style jumpsuit. Ninja!!

Ceridwen.6703:

A lot of what I saw wasn’t just the bare chest alone. It was that old Apollo’s Belt I’m always asking to see in GW2 that hints of stuff I probably can’t discuss here. The bare chest is completed with this, and this is why there should be a few pairs of trousers with an actual lower rise so this can be seen. It should work for lady toons too, for those so inclined. I’d actual just redesign the harem pants this way as an optional craftable at level 20, or whatever it is (not throwing the original out, mind). Regardless, it’d be thinking in V.

Oh when I say “chest” I mean from lower abs to upper chest xD. Because if a man is showing off his chest, he’s more than probably going shirtless or open shirt (else it looks kind of weird).

I think there’s only one legging that has shows off the Apollo’s Belt for male heavy. It’s the sylvari T1, which my guardian is wearing. Unfortunately, from behind it goes really high above the buttocks.

Zalyn.9534:

6) games shouldn’t be vehicles of social change
Empirically denied - media change us as much as we change media, and gaming in particular drives computer technology, social practices, and cognitive evolution in people. Every time a design choice is made in a game, it has social impacts. ArenaNet and Bioware are two specific examples of game companies who recognize this and enact it through their products

This is probably the main reason why some of us have an issue with views like yours: we do not want our games to become politicized.

And another point I should make clear is that while I find the examples shown unappealing, I don’t object to their inclusion at all. I simply disagree with the view that in order to have gender equality in games we need to dress male and female characters identically.

Jahroots.6791:

This is probably the main reason why some of us have an issue with views like yours: we do not want our games to become politicized.

And another point I should make clear is that while I find the examples shown unappealing, I don’t object to their inclusion at all. I simply disagree with the view that in order to have gender equality in games we need to dress male and female characters identically.

Games have never been apolitical. Read Ian Bogost. Read Nick Yee’s new book, The Proteus Paradox. These are established experts in game studies who have done lots of research on games. Every game, from Chess to Monopoly, reflects and promotes political ideologies and practices.

Video games are already politicized because they came from mindsets that catered to certain demographics and excluded others. When certain groups of people are portrayed a certain way, or if they are completely excluded, that is a political statement, even if it is unintentional.

Look at the discussions in the forums; there are a bunch of politicized discussions. Some want the in-game economy to be changed. Some want more storylines. Some thing that the Gem store needs to be changed. Those are all political positions. Gold trading is a political issue that deals with opportunity cost, in-game labor, and RL economic inequality. That is political. The questions about how to deal with gold seller whispers and chat spam are political.

Just because it was invisible to you doesn’t mean it isn’t political. People are making the politics visible and asking for people to be more informed and aware of how their experience is different from others. And when they make people uncomfortable for making visible what was invisible, they are accused of ruining the game for people. That is unfair.

How we went from skympy or not skympy clothes to a debate about politics on the videogames?
Oh, the internet.

Lol. I’ll have the blue pill, please and thank you.

This thread needs a

So that readers can get to the posts that are relevant.

I like skimpy. I don’t like skimpy. I like both. More armor sets or options please anet! Let male armor be similar to female.
And this

rincewind.9528:

You missed, let’s the females wear male version of the equipment.

^^^^^that’s all that’s really necessary here.

You missed, let’s the females wear male version of the equipment.

Hey, I offered some great options for costumes and armor several pages back, but they got politicized by people trying to talk about cavemen and evolutionary psychology.

rincewind.9528:

You missed, let’s the females wear male version of the equipment.

Lemme add that one.

I think that the fact that this subject keeps occurring means that it is of concern to people. However, many people in this thread are caught-up in the word “skimpy”.

I think that all of the currently-available armor should stay because I don’t care if some people like to dress their characters in a more “social” rather than “practical” manner.

But just as characters should be able to dress socially, some people would like to dress their characters more practically. There are currently very few armor sets that are something you would actually wear into battle or adventuring. I’m not saying the armor should be dirty or banged-up. You can have chest and leg pieces that are nice-looking but also provide good coverage for adventuring. And don’t have a skirt (which is highly impractical)!

Djinn.9245:

I think that the fact that this subject keeps occurring means that it is of concern to people. However, many people in this thread are caught-up in the word “skimpy”.

I think that all of the currently-available armor should stay because I don’t care if some people like to dress their characters in a more “social” rather than “practical” manner.

But just as characters should be able to dress socially, some people would like to dress their characters more practically. There are currently very few armor sets that are something you would actually wear into battle or adventuring. I’m not saying the armor should be dirty or banged-up. You can have chest and leg pieces that are nice-looking but also provide good coverage for adventuring. And don’t have a skirt (which is highly impractical)!

You will have to define what you mean by practical.

i mean light armor really has no part in practicality, they just call it light armor by convention, it is clothes, and is primarily defined by not being armor. I suppose one could say it should be like jeans and a tshirt, but thats only really more practical from a cleaning standpoint, skirts, or jeans, neither will stop a sword or a bullet or fire spell.

medium armor, is basically “light armor” its clothes that considers some for of defense, but not necessarily uniform i its standard. just putting mettle plates onto clothes in key areas/chosen areas amounts to medium armor. Its main function would be to provide some protection with minimal effect on movement.

but how would you define a practical armor?

@Zalyn: Thanks. You have both more patience and more eloquence than I do.

Aerlen.5326:

I voted for more non-skimpy and by non skimpy, I mean no freaking boob cups, boob windows, or other crap that screams look at my T&A. I can’t tell you how much light armor I can’t see my toons using because it’s stupid skimpy.

This. There’s maybe a handful of non-cultural light armor sets that I can stand in terms of being aesthetically appealing as well as not quite as sexualized. As people have said before, it’s NOT only about the amount of skin, though that alone is irritating enough. I felt hugely uncomfortable with my sylvari elementalist for most of her history because the light outfits are soheavily gendered, and her being an animated plant made them look all the more stupid. My norn necromancer got the cultural T1 ASAP, which shows some chest but at least has fully covered legs instead of yet another bare-thighs-and-panty-shots-skirt. And don’t get me started on the starting outfits. I made my mesmer a charr in no small part to get away from all that nonsense — though playing charr has its own gear-related frustrations.

Jahroots.6791:

This is probably the main reason why some of us have an issue with views like yours: we do not want our games to become politicized.

They already are. They always were.

No matter where you go or where you look, the status quo is not neutral, not apolitical, not free of agenda, especially when issues like equality, diversity and prejudice are concerned. These don’t just go away because we don’t like to deal with them. The stories we tell are heavily influenced by culture and influence culture in turn. They’re part of what makes is human. And only some of us have the privilege to be able say “Shut up and go away with your BS, I don’t wanna hear about it”. The rest of us have to live with the BS no matter what.

You are “politicizing” “your” games every bit as much as we are. The game designers, the publishers, the marketing teams all “politicize” their games before any of us even get our hands on it.

Poor Tyria.

Queen Jennah decrees more skimpy options for foot wear!

RedStar.4218:

Oh when I say “chest” I mean from lower abs to upper chest xD. Because if a man is showing off his chest, he’s more than probably going shirtless or open shirt (else it looks kind of weird).

:D No redefining anatomy! That’s just being cheeky. You mean the trunk (or torso).

Ceridwen.6703:

RedStar.4218:

Oh when I say “chest” I mean from lower abs to upper chest xD. Because if a man is showing off his chest, he’s more than probably going shirtless or open shirt (else it looks kind of weird).

:D No redefining anatomy! That’s just being cheeky. You mean the trunk (or torso).

Oh thank you ! I couldn’t remember those two words xD.

RedStar.4218:

Ceridwen.6703:

RedStar.4218:

Oh when I say “chest” I mean from lower abs to upper chest xD. Because if a man is showing off his chest, he’s more than probably going shirtless or open shirt (else it looks kind of weird).

:D No redefining anatomy! That’s just being cheeky. You mean the trunk (or torso).

Oh thank you ! I couldn’t remember those two words xD.

My pleasure! It’s probably useful for all of us if we can use the correct terms; less confusion and cross purposes that way.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

This thread needs a

politics

hide spoiler

for all the political agenda posts

So that readers can get to the posts that are relevant.

I like skimpy. I don’t like skimpy. I like both. More armor sets or options please anet! Let male armor be similar to female.
And this

rincewind.9528:

You missed, let’s the females wear male version of the equipment.

^^^^^that’s all that’s really necessary here.

armor skin are bound to body type, to make it happen, there will be extra workload to modify the current male version skin into a female one.

A work around is add a new female body type (or couple) thats not so female, which is closer to male one and by default these body type only wear male version of armor. But still there are issue for the open chest male armor, female in these armor will have their chest naked….

Given that one of my favorite fiction armors of all time is XCOM:EW’s Titan Armor with a fully armored helmet, I vastly prefer non-skimpy and properly proportioned and functional armor. Smooth lines, little if any artsy stuff, and obviously meant for a balance between protection and mobility.

So, I voted the last option on the list. I love proper armor, and I want to see more of it on all levels.

Crossaber.8934:

A work around is add a new female body type (or couple) thats not so female, which is closer to male one and by default these body type only wear male version of armor. But still there are issue for the open chest male armor, female in these armor will have their chest naked….

I suspect that leads to a female head awkwardly attached to a male frame.

That aside, do you really think anet is going to get their money’s worth on both creating this combination and having to maintain it for every future hair and face style that comes along?

Lishtenbird.2814:

GW2 female armour: skimpy or not?

• I prefer skimpy armour and want more choices of it.
• I prefer skimpy armour, but options are enough and we could go for non-skimpy ones now.
• Everything is fine and we have enough options for both.
• I prefer non-skimpy armour, but options are enough and we could go for skimpy ones now.
• I prefer non-skimpy armour and want more choices of it.

Here’s the poll.

Basically interested in stats, at least the ones from the forum sample.

Please try to keep it civil, as I would be happy to see some solid numbers on the poll before this thread derails and gets personal, which unfortunately happens in threads on the subject.

Thank you.

EDIT: Here’s a good armour gallery in case anyone’s interested, by the way.

i voted 1 because im a human female warrior, and that’s like the epitome of fantasy. the less armor she wears, the more protected she is, in harsh weather, the thick of battle, et all!

Chadramar.8156:

I voted #5, but what I really want to vote for is “No gendered armor at all, each outfit should be the same for both genders”.

Demented Sheep.1642:

Funny of “attractive in different ways” tends to mean guys don’t get sexualized overtly and instead get ‘strong’.
Guess what? a lot of girls would like that “forced equality”. If we have deal with your kitten you should deal with ours.

Bullseye! Thank you.

No, (straight) dudes, a heavily muscled guy who maybe has his shirt off is NOT sexualized in the same manner as a scrawny slip of a girl with inflated boobs, heels and frilly underwear.

Larynx.2453:

Uh yeah. There’s a reason ArenaNet doesn’t have armor like that in this game. That looks kittening ridiculous.

So a half-naked man (un)dressed to look “sexy” is ridiculous, while half-naked women (un)dressed to look “sexy” are par on course. That is exactly the problem. We’re pretty much brainwashed from birth to not only accept but demand ridiculous, objectifying and even degrading images from women.

If you don’t like seeing a dude made up like that, it should be a wake-up call of how the hetero male gaze that we’re supposed to think of as the natural default treats women. What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander. If it isn’t, something’s messed up.

By all means, people should be able to have and enjoy their skimpy “armor” — for both genders. An outfit that looks like flamboyantly decorated lingerie on the girls should be a flamboyantly decorated banana hammock on the boys.

There’s a difference between sexy and ridiculous. Shirtless is one thing, a guy with a leather bra is another.

Ceridwen.6703:

videoboy.4162:

I wouldn’t mind some Spartan armor for the guys.

I did this in Age of Conan. Here, have a gander at Sneakytim.

Well, hello there, SneakyTim!

Fenrina.2954:

Crossaber.8934:

A work around is add a new female body type (or couple) thats not so female, which is closer to male one and by default these body type only wear male version of armor. But still there are issue for the open chest male armor, female in these armor will have their chest naked….

I suspect that leads to a female head awkwardly attached to a male frame.

That aside, do you really think anet is going to get their money’s worth on both creating this combination and having to maintain it for every future hair and face style that comes along?

for your concern, thats why i said need new female body type in order to make use of male armor skin. i dont know how it will influrence the income if they make such kind of effort.

Actually anet already putting effort to balance out some new release armor skin. Dont you see the new rampart and strider armor got very similar design to both gender. If they got more good feedback by the sale volume they will continue to design so. But if the sale volume is low then they will simply make full covered male and skimpy female to ensure income.

Wanderer.3248:

There’s a difference between sexy and ridiculous. Shirtless is one thing, a guy with a leather bra is another.

A guy with a leather bra isn’t sexy? C’mon.

But people, we need more armors. Anet should give us more armor. But they need to take it to the extreme!!
Skimpy armor, sexy like no one! Absolutly shameless!! Smoking hot!!!
And good old functional armor. But bigger and badder. Full of plates, enormous pauldrons that put Wow pauldrons to shame and make then cry alone in a corner, scary looking helmets, powerful looking armor.

Because sometimes I want to dress sexy. Or cute. And delight in my own sight. Laugh on the face on the reality and run adventuring being absolutly fabulous!!!

And sometimes I want to be a behemoth of steel, a mountain in the battlefield, a tank of medieval times, a Panzer Tiger of the fantasy realms, a menacing sight that inflict fear in my enemies!!!

Anet should give us the option to be both. AND TO THE EXTREME!!
(Plus, when we change we need those trasm stones from the gem shop, so anet wins too).

And don’t forget the option to let’s the player using armors from the other gender, for the preexistent ones.

And we’re done!! Everyone happy!!

rincewind.9528:

Anet should give us the option to be both. AND TO THE EXTREME!!

Yay, ladies like this and males like that everywhere!

VergilDeZaniah.3295:

rincewind.9528:

Anet should give us the option to be both. AND TO THE EXTREME!!

Yay, ladies like this and males like that everywhere!

Nothing wrong with that, you know. The important thing is having the choice!!

Let’s just take a glance at Tera and copy some of their armor.

It was one of the most downloaded mods on Skyrim for a reason.

I would throw this armor on my Norn and teach SFR what a real Spartan is.

I like skirts. I’ve always liked them, I almost exclusively wear them, and most of my characters in-game wear them.

I like long flowy things, I like short and poofy things, I like ruffles, I like tiers, I like lace and chiffon.

My Elementalist carries two sets. She has her PVT gear, which is elegant and pretty, and shows barely any skin at all. She also has her Berserker gear, which I deliberately made as revealing though adorable as possible, just for the heck of looking almost like a schoolgirl.

I like the freedom we get. I can deck her out in spikes and scary things, I can make her have long elegant dresses, I can make her look like a teenaged prostitute. It’s my decision, and ANet lets me make it.

So in short, I think that skimpy outfits are fine. I think that having only skimpy outfits isn’t, though, because it restricts us too much. It’s not a question of morality for me. It’s a question of expression.

If “non-skimpy” was replaced with “BAD-kitten ” then I would totally vote for that.

TBH, I want more bad kitten looking armor for female models than skimpy. A lot of armor actually looks pretty awesome for males already, but look like poopy on females. It shouldn’t be EXACTLY the same right? PLEASE FIX.

I can’t imagine light female armors not having something like a ‘breast-cup’ of sorts, because normal female clothes feature such anyway. The heavy armors… I wish were somewhat more equal. Along with the mediums (What is with all those plunging necklines)

That said – I largely want more skimpy available on the males. I love the female Orrian armor (I’d gladly trade: Female get more masculine Vanguard so males can get more female Orrian!), and wish I could wear something with that aesthetic on my males and charr. The medium male armors are in desperate need of more skimpy outfits (Nothing to let me play a dashingly handsome rogue, half-dressed ranger, or can’t-be-bothered-to-get-properly-dressed engineer!)

Also – the only part of male anatomy that maps to a female chest is the male chest. But it evens out if you present them in the same way (Guess what?! A large driving factor in the “Female breasts are sexual” misconception is the way we have outfits emphasize, cover, and morph them into more ‘appealing’ shapes).

Dangit, I hit the wrong thing and mis-read the poll. I DON’T think we have enough options for non-skimpy and prefer non-skimpy and want more choices.

More variety of all kinds!! More sexy outfits!! More cute outfits!! More bad.kitten outfits!!

Take this TO THE EXTREME, anet!!! Do it!!

This might constitute a new thread but perhaps we can start posting examples of armor we’d like to see in the game? I think it’d be neat to visually see what kind of styles the community wants.

How come you never see females complain in threads like this?

Nick.6972:

How come you never see females complain in threads like this?

Good question. I’m a female but.. I like the choices we have and just want more choices. Skimpy or not skimpy. As long as they’re cool. And dyeable. And not clippy.

There are so many people out there who would love more equality and variety in the armour sets. I for one fully support equalizing the thematic designs and levels of how revealing a set is instead of females having 90% of the revealing/ornamented gear and males having 90% of the tanky looking, utilitarian gear. Either that or having 2 versions of an armour set and the player being able to toggle between skimpy and non-skimpy would be great too.

Either way I’m just sick of being forced into having my toon dress a certain way based on their gender, and if I want to dress them outside the binary, being restricted to the 1 or 2 non-binary pieces out of the dozens of armour sets available.

I would like to HAVE gender specific armor for Charr and Asura. It is kind of sad that they both have male only armor sets except in town clothes. And no, it does not have to necessarily be some kind of skimpy outfits either. It would be a nice change to not let them have just a unisex set of outfits as they do now. I like my female asuras and would like to see them in dresses or long skirts, something other than the plain old pants of the male sets as they mostly have in light armor and all they have in medium armor. It is kind of sad that a lot of the female armor of the other races have these great sets and when you put it on a female asura or charr it’s just the male version….

hannah mee.7925:

This might constitute a new thread but perhaps we can start posting examples of armor we’d like to see in the game? I think it’d be neat to visually see what kind of styles the community wants.

It’s been done countless times. You basically have everything, from Terra’s really skimpy armors, to things even a nun would consider to be too covered.
And in the end, it’s of no use.

For 2 years we’ve been saying we wanted a medium armor sets that didn’t come attached with a coat or something a top that goes lower than the waist. In 2 years we had enough medium sets though the cash shop to understand that Anet doesn’t want to do that.

I prefer skimpy armour and want more choices of it.

yyyyyyyoink! and i want this for male characters too, i want for my warrior to be decked out so that i can see his friggin pecks and calves, mmmm man-flesh

RedStar.4218:

hannah mee.7925:

This might constitute a new thread but perhaps we can start posting examples of armor we’d like to see in the game? I think it’d be neat to visually see what kind of styles the community wants.

It’s been done countless times. You basically have everything, from Terra’s really skimpy armors, to things even a nun would consider to be too covered.
And in the end, it’s of no use.

For 2 years we’ve been saying we wanted a medium armor sets that didn’t come attached with a coat or something a top that goes lower than the waist. In 2 years we had enough medium sets though the cash shop to understand that Anet doesn’t want to do that.

Well nobody’s really tried making a condensed thread of just posting links to imgur or wikis or other image databases that visualize what they like.

PlagueParade.7942:

I would like to HAVE gender specific armor for Charr and Asura. It is kind of sad that they both have male only armor sets except in town clothes. And no, it does not have to necessarily be some kind of skimpy outfits either. It would be a nice change to not let them have just a unisex set of outfits as they do now. I like my female asuras and would like to see them in dresses or long skirts, something other than the plain old pants of the male sets as they mostly have in light armor and all they have in medium armor. It is kind of sad that a lot of the female armor of the other races have these great sets and when you put it on a female asura or charr it’s just the male version….

Depends on which armor but in general: Yes please, i want my Aetherblade skirt on my asura…

Nick.6972:

How come you never see females complain in threads like this?

Why do you assume all the posters are male?

Taygus.4571:

Nick.6972:

How come you never see females complain in threads like this?

Why do you assume all the posters are male?

Rule 16?

phys.7689:

Djinn.9245:

I think that the fact that this subject keeps occurring means that it is of concern to people. However, many people in this thread are caught-up in the word “skimpy”.

I think that all of the currently-available armor should stay because I don’t care if some people like to dress their characters in a more “social” rather than “practical” manner.

But just as characters should be able to dress socially, some people would like to dress their characters more practically. There are currently very few armor sets that are something you would actually wear into battle or adventuring. I’m not saying the armor should be dirty or banged-up. You can have chest and leg pieces that are nice-looking but also provide good coverage for adventuring. And don’t have a skirt (which is highly impractical)!

You will have to define what you mean by practical.

i mean light armor really has no part in practicality, they just call it light armor by convention, it is clothes, and is primarily defined by not being armor. I suppose one could say it should be like jeans and a tshirt, but thats only really more practical from a cleaning standpoint, skirts, or jeans, neither will stop a sword or a bullet or fire spell.

First, I said battle or adventuring. When I go hiking I don’t wear thigh-highs and a mini-skirt. I wear long pants and sleeves so I can go through brush without getting scratched-up and ticks. Etc.

Second, cloth “armor” was used in medieval times by the peasantry who could not afford leather or metal (lookup “padded” or “quilted” armor). Of course it wasn’t as protective but it was also more maneuverable. Look at Ninja costumes, etc.

medium armor, is basically “light armor” its clothes that considers some for of defense, but not necessarily uniform i its standard. just putting mettle plates onto clothes in key areas/chosen areas amounts to medium armor. Its main function would be to provide some protection with minimal effect on movement.

but how would you define a practical armor?

No, you think of “leather armor” as being the kind of soft leather that modern leather pants are made out of. In medieval times, leather armor was very hard and much thicker. So medium armor is definitely medium armor. And medium armor can also include a certain amount of metal.

So for “practical” medium and heavy armor, I would like to see armor that looks nice but doesn’t have frills or skirts, etc.

Djinn.9245:

phys.7689:

Djinn.9245:

I think that the fact that this subject keeps occurring means that it is of concern to people. However, many people in this thread are caught-up in the word “skimpy”.

I think that all of the currently-available armor should stay because I don’t care if some people like to dress their characters in a more “social” rather than “practical” manner.

But just as characters should be able to dress socially, some people would like to dress their characters more practically. There are currently very few armor sets that are something you would actually wear into battle or adventuring. I’m not saying the armor should be dirty or banged-up. You can have chest and leg pieces that are nice-looking but also provide good coverage for adventuring. And don’t have a skirt (which is highly impractical)!

You will have to define what you mean by practical.

i mean light armor really has no part in practicality, they just call it light armor by convention, it is clothes, and is primarily defined by not being armor. I suppose one could say it should be like jeans and a tshirt, but thats only really more practical from a cleaning standpoint, skirts, or jeans, neither will stop a sword or a bullet or fire spell.

First, I said battle or adventuring. When I go hiking I don’t wear thigh-highs and a mini-skirt. I wear long pants and sleeves so I can go through brush without getting scratched-up and ticks. Etc.

Second, cloth “armor” was used in medieval times by the peasantry who could not afford leather or metal (lookup “padded” or “quilted” armor). Of course it wasn’t as protective but it was also more maneuverable. Look at Ninja costumes, etc.

Those cloth “Padded” armors would be Medium Armors in Guild Wars 2. “Light” armor is strictly scholarly robes and other unrestrictive clothes, worn only by wizardly types. Actual ‘light’ armor is for Rangers, Thieves (See your Ninja example), and Engineers.

medium armor, is basically “light armor” its clothes that considers some for of defense, but not necessarily uniform i its standard. just putting mettle plates onto clothes in key areas/chosen areas amounts to medium armor. Its main function would be to provide some protection with minimal effect on movement.

but how would you define a practical armor?

No, you think of “leather armor” as being the kind of soft leather that modern leather pants are made out of. In medieval times, leather armor was very hard and much thicker. So medium armor is definitely medium armor. And medium armor can also include a certain amount of metal.

So for “practical” medium and heavy armor, I would like to see armor that looks nice but doesn’t have frills or skirts, etc.

Medium armor in GW2 is a blend of lighter real medium armors and what we’d call ‘light" armor. Trenchcoats aren’t made of hardened leather. We’re not dealing with “Medieval times” here, just by looking at the style of the armors.

Most of the “Heavy” armor is a range of what other games consider Medium armor and actual Heavy armors.