Guild Wars 2

Everyone just picks whatever skins are most prestigious or the most obnoxious, largest & ridiculous looking glowing mess possible. The majority of dye channels and Gliders have no place in this game, and were a terrible design idea. Not to mention the awful Outfits that everyone without a hint of taste seems to throw on.
It really is such a shame to see that whoever thought up the skin ideas (90% of the Gemstore skins in particular) couldn’t show some restraint, especially since how amazing GW1’s aesthetic was. Even most of the hairstyles have just become stupid jokes (seriously, F U to whoever made the norn moustache) It has totally tarnished this game & ruined any chance of immersion.
If it wasn’t for Path of Fire coming out soon, i would uninstall.

I have to admit, most weapons seem badly proportioned. Scepters tend to look more like cricket bats.

I would point out that there is a weapon design contest running right now. Here’s your chance to introduce a better one.

So basically you’re going to keep playing anyway? :P

There are plenty of varied armors and weapons out there. From mundane to over the top. I see people in gear that cover the whole spectrum.

It amounts to personal taste. I am like you OP, in that I like more sedate equipment. We are not everyone, however. Many people obviously love the more out-there looks.

I personally have no problem with immersion because of this. I look at it like I do real life. There are things that are not my style and things that are. That is what makes everything interesting.

Can’t say I’m a fan of a lot of theses flashy skins, outfits, silly tonics etc, or stuff like the big glowing raven glider which blocks half your screen if someone deploys it in front of you.

But the majority seem to enjoy this sort of stuff, and they clearly sell & make Anet money in the process. So as people spend lots of money on shinny things you can’t really blame Anet for continuing to design more big over the top glowing stuff.

I’d quite like it if Anet did design & add some more neutral / understated looking outfits to the gem store to give some options for those of us who don’t go for the stuff with lots of sticky out pointy shoulder bits etc. But again, with limited time & resources to design new outfits, I can see why they’d focus on just shiny/big/flashy stuff that will no doubt be the better seller for them.

If someone wants to run around looking like a nauseous disco ball at Mardi Gras more power to them. Why ruin someone else’s fun just because it isn’t your fun?

I can’t say that I have any interest in my characters wearing any of the overly gaudy, ostentatious, and outright ridiculously overdone skins. However, “despise” seems a bit much. Maybe I just recognize that in a game where I am able to play with (sometimes) more than a hundred other players, there will be people who have wildly different desires and tastes than I do. I have to (regularly) practice tolerance in RL. Why should I not do so in a game based on playing with lots of others?

Putting all aura infusions and full legendary gear fits my playstyle. #Dealwithit.

Taste varies by individual think about all the styles and brands of Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks, Clothing, etc we have. Not everyone is the same (Thank Goodness). Talk about boring if we were.

I disagree that “everyone” picks the flashiest, glow-iest, biggest armor or weapons, although I know that was hyperbole. I have a few flashy, glow-y things but prefer more understated looks in general. For example, my thief — since she wants to be sneaky I dress her in the most form-fitting armor possible without a million doodads sticking out all over, then I dye it all black. No glow. No shoulder spikes jutting out a mile. No butt cape.

Perhaps someone else has a character who’s a big show-off and flashy, glow-y armor fits his personality. Please don’t let it bother you since you get to dress and arm your own toons however you want.

Don’t fret too much, OP. There’s a chunk of the forum community that still appreciates simpler designs, and they’re occasionally vocal about it.

I personally don’t need my character to have a cartoonish profile with gigantic shoulders and overcompensated ego gear. I had enough of that in WoW, where the character proportions were more toony anyway, and pauldrons were huge in order to be noticeably different.

It’s not a “stop doing this ANet” statement, just a call to mix in some designs that aren’t WoW-rejects and fit nicely. Like some of the civilian clothes (which we totally should be turning tonics into outfits for!).

The answer is logical legendary armor

Guild Wars was much more serious and grown up in that matter. Sure it also had non-serious tonics for fun but at least there were no unicorn shooting bows and SAB rainbow clouds everywhere. It was much more immersive.

And even if there had been things like that, you wouldn’t have noticed it because of the instanced zones

I’m already afraid of the mount skins.. You’ll see gliders for a few seconds, but when they’re riding on their pink unicorns constantly…
Some devs even considered the standard “cute” giant bunny mount to be one of the things that don’t necessarily fit into the GW universe.

I really wish they would bring back the armor styles of GW1
I played Mesmer at the time because I wanted to work in fashion and boy did the Mesmer of gw1 has STYLE
I loved the look of the other classes too.
and then when we went into elona and cantha.
They stayed true to those cultures fashion and it was amazing. Combining the high fantasy with historic fashion ahhh I was hooked.

Whoever is designing things now isn’t really doing a great job. I’m sorry to say. Everything is just soooo flashy there is no logic to why things would be designed that way.

I just realized my struggle with the current state of design while typing this.
LOGIC.
Back in gw1 they really design armor with logic in mind. NOW they just slap a dragon tail on the back of plate armor because.. cool.

I get that there is variety and you can mix and match and make cool designs.
But yes… its totally hard to stand next to someone with a fractal backpack and take them seriously. “why are you constantly glowing green” I asked the character standing next to me shining with all his might"
“why snowfall constantly dropping over you?” I ask my self as we stand in the desert of elona
“oh so that weapon adds sparkles to your footsteps” are dragons intimidated by sparkles
“oh you are a charr a race of beast like cats who forge weapons and tanks?” I say as I stand next to the charr shooting out rainbow unicorns from his sparkly short bow.

look I like that these are there… but the game has just become oversaturated with it. PLZ CHILL with the auras man.. I literally can not!

Add my voice to the plea for more simple skins and outfits. I still want my town clothes back! I admit I have one of those obnoxious raven gliders, but I feel kinda bad when I use it and I dye it the most sedate color scheme I can. And if I’m in a group, I always switch it to a smaller one. Have you been in a HP train lately? The gliders in a group that size is obnoxious. Plus you can’t see a kitten thing – like where to land a tricky jump. Just ick.

If I had to pick one thing to roll back in this game, it would be the SAB glider. I love SAB and it’s fun, I get it. I just don’t want the pixelated skins etc leaking out of the Box into Tyria proper. That’s obviously just my opinion, but every time I see someone glide by on a rainbow cloud I cringe. I get the appeal – I really do, I just … just really wish that line hadn’t been crossed.

I definitely could agree with this. The design team of Anet are lacking in ornate design skills. It would seem their artistic philosophy can be summed up by this formula:
Good look = 1000*(particle effect) + stick figures + oversize + X*floating part
Not to say they never had any single good design, however the trends seem to be the over-abuse of particle effects to compensate for the lacking in intricate ornation

Musashi.1735:

ruined any chance of immersion.

Always lmao at complaints about immersion in MMO’s. News flash: there are other players in this game. If you want immersion, try reading a book.

quaniesan.8497:

I definitely could agree with this. The design team of Anet are lacking in ornate design skills. It would seem their artistic philosophy can be summed up by this formula:
Good look = 1000*(particle effect) + stick figures + oversize + X*floating part
Not to say they never had any single good design, however the trends seem to be the over-abuse of particle effects to compensate for the lacking in intricate ornation

Speaking of which, Carapace Heavy chest pieces are, hands down, the best armor non-gem store armor piece in the game.

Andred.1087:

Always lmao at complaints about immersion in MMO’s. News flash: there are other players in this game. If you want immersion, try reading a book.

If you play a game that takes place in the middle ages and only features medieval clothes/armor/weapons, there’s still immersion, no matter if there are other players.

Like I said, in Guild Wars, there were no quaggan backpacks, no unicorn bows, no SAB cloud rainbow gliders.

there have been a good amount of “simple but elegant” designs in the gem store/black lion ticket traders. Simple fact is I doubt these bring in anywhere near as many gem sales as “flashy particle” skins.

If the visual noise of other players bothers you that much, set your player render counter to the lowest level possible so you don’t see the horrible flashy things that offend your eyes.

Every time I see people with maxed out everything, aura’s, legendaries en legendary armor I get jealous of their ability grind for thousands and thousands of hours. Do you just shut your brain off or something?

I spent what I suspect is a higher than average amount of time in-game looking at other peoples characters (I even have a folder for screenshots of ones I really like) and I get the impression that most people are genuinely trying to make their character look good.

But of course ‘good’ is subjective. 3 of my guild leaders like to make their characters as shiny as possible. But even then there’s variation, one goes for sparkles on top of an otherwise normal costume, one goes for all-out shiny (I think if she could she’d look like the ley line anomaly) and one is genuinely going for over-the-top obnoxious because he finds it amusing.

But there’s plenty of people who go the other way too and make their characters not just dark but like some kind of darkness wraith (often involving the Phantom Hood).

And people who try to make their characters blend in with the world. Sometimes to the point where I mistake them for NPCs.

I’d post examples but I’m never sure how people feel about someone else posting their character on the forum. So as an alternative check out this topic: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Post-a-pic-of-your-character-only-if-your-armor-is-mix-n-match/page/52#post6720644

Edit: But by request is one of the aforementioned guild leaders. Can you guess which one?

Danikat.8537:

I spent what I suspect is a higher than average amount of time in-game looking at other peoples characters (I even have a folder for screenshots of ones I really like) and I get the impression that most people are genuinely trying to make their character look good.

But of course ‘good’ is subjective. 3 of my guild leaders like to make their characters as shiny as possible. But even then there’s variation, one goes for sparkles on top of an otherwise normal costume, one goes for all-out shiny (I think if she could she’d look like the ley line anomaly) and one is genuinely going for over-the-top obnoxious because he finds it amusing.

But there’s plenty of people who go the other way too and make their characters not just dark but like some kind of darkness wraith (often involving the Phantom Hood).

And people who try to make their characters blend in with the world. Sometimes to the point where I mistake them for NPCs.

I’d post examples but I’m never sure how people feel about someone else posting their character on the forum. So as an alternative check out this topic: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Post-a-pic-of-your-character-only-if-your-armor-is-mix-n-match/page/52#post6720644

Edit: But by request is one of the aforementioned guild leaders. Can you guess which one?

I just wend blind

In a previous game which I will not mention by name, I used to joke that the characters’ shoulder armor was designed to save them from carrying backpacks and lunchboxes, and that when it came to skulls, spikes and flames, the phrase ‘less is more’ was not in the cognitive vocabulary of the game designers OR most of their players. Also used to complain when the guys got an interesting outfit and the female version was basically a gilded bikini.

So Anet is hardly alone.

Tekey.7946:

Guild Wars was much more serious and grown up in that matter. Sure it also had non-serious tonics for fun but at least there were no unicorn shooting bows and SAB rainbow clouds everywhere. It was much more immersive.

And even if there had been things like that, you wouldn’t have noticed it because of the instanced zones

I’m already afraid of the mount skins.. You’ll see gliders for a few seconds, but when they’re riding on their pink unicorns constantly…
Some devs even considered the standard “cute” giant bunny mount to be one of the things that don’t necessarily fit into the GW universe.

Well this isn’t guild wars 1, this is two.

We have talking salads, overgrown rats but somehow a giant bunny is out of place? Sure.

I have left groups when someone pulls out Twilight, it figuratively looks like a censored kitten. I get it OP, but exhibitionism sells and not everyone can maintain a sophisticated and cultured aesthetic. Having good taste can be lonely. Thankfully, there is tasteful gear that I can use to make my character look like a vampire ninja maid.

I feel you, OP. I set my player model quality to lowest about a year ago and have not looked back.

Tekey.7946:

Andred.1087:

Always lmao at complaints about immersion in MMO’s. News flash: there are other players in this game. If you want immersion, try reading a book.

If you play a game that takes place in the middle ages and only features medieval clothes/armor/weapons, there’s still immersion, no matter if there are other players.

Like I said, in Guild Wars, there were no quaggan backpacks, no unicorn bows, no SAB cloud rainbow gliders.

I’m not sure how medieval-appropriate Cat Ear’s or Wedding Attire, or Formal Attire, or even Santa Claus or Rudolf hats were in Guild Wars. /shrug

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Tekey.7946:

Andred.1087:

Always lmao at complaints about immersion in MMO’s. News flash: there are other players in this game. If you want immersion, try reading a book.

If you play a game that takes place in the middle ages and only features medieval clothes/armor/weapons, there’s still immersion, no matter if there are other players.

Like I said, in Guild Wars, there were no quaggan backpacks, no unicorn bows, no SAB cloud rainbow gliders.

I’m not sure how medieval-appropriate Cat Ear’s or Wedding Attire, or Formal Attire, or even Santa Claus or Rudolf hats were in Guild Wars. /shrug

I didn’t mean to say Guild Wars provides a medieval setting, I meant games in general. I think there are some current alpha/kickstarter MMORPGs that do have this medieval approach.

The second sentence should only emphasize how the Guild Wars universe changed in this matter, it definitely had some outfits or tonics, but the armors and weapons were much more conservative – no quaggan backpacks, unicorns, nothing greatly over the top, just real armor.

for me it depends on the character. Ele? Some effects, bright dyes. Mesmer? some effects, very contrast-y dyes. Ranger? No effects, muted colours. Very toned down. Guardian? Black and stylish. Few effects, if at all. Rev? Black and different style. No effects. Necro? Toned down, pale, ‘dead’ colours etc pp. Thief? Stealthy colours, no effects at all.

Basically I want my characters to show what they are through their gear:
Elementalist? I unleash the power of the elements on you! I want you to see me! Be warned! Permafrost white! Glowing coals! Electricity!
Mesmer? I will so screw with your perception. You think this looks unreal? Oh, you will be surprised
Ranger? You only know I am here, because of that arrow in your throat.
Guardian? Here I am, your rock in stormy sea. You are not my friend? Do I smell… heresy? BURN!
Rev? Here I am, your slighty off putting rock in stormy sea.
Thief? You won’t even know what killed you. Now shush, no tears, only dreams…
Necro? You think I have time to be flashy? I deal with death all the time!

So for me flashy is sometimes great and sometimes not. It depends on the character. Also sometimes I change for the environment. My sylvaris look different in TA dungeon than in Orr… since I have a ton of transmutation charges, I don’t have to worry

So, be as flashy or not flashy as you want. Some of us just want to stand out, others want to show off all that hard-to-get gear and infusions/auras they earned. Some want to look normal. Some enjoy fine tuning dyes and armor styles for a very sophisticated non-flashy-but tasteful look. Some just don’t care. Each to their own.

But: I prefer flashy, sparkly commanders over muted ones. They are easier to see…

Again, those items listed above weren’t ‘real armor’-type gear.

Regardless, it matters little. Cat Ears were popular in Guild Wars, and popular in Guild Wars 2, as well. If the Devs ignore player preference, then (as there already is) there would be threads lamenting the lack of such items.

Musashi.1735:

Everyone just picks whatever skins are most prestigious or the most obnoxious, largest & ridiculous looking glowing mess possible.
It really is such a shame to see that whoever thought up the skin ideas (90% of the Gemstore skins in particular) couldn’t show some restraint, especially since how amazing GW1’s aesthetic was. Even most of the hairstyles have just become stupid jokes. It has totally tarnished this game & ruined any chance of immersion.
If it wasn’t for Path of Fire coming out soon, i would uninstall.

I agree with your sentiment.

Armor, weapons (not just legendaries), back items — the design has become quite awful as of late (with very few exceptions). Instead of simple but elegant classic fantasy world designs we keep getting more and more futuristic looking, shrill, over-designed stuff. (By the way, I don’t recall this being a sci-fi MMO, but perhaps I got that wrong?)

I have been complaining about this for months, but it seems the more you complain the more kitten of the kind they release, even more ridiculous and extreme than before. (But the kids seem to love it, which only proves that they are deliberately turning GW2 into a game for minors.)

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Again, those items listed above weren’t ‘real armor’-type gear.

Regardless, it matters little. Cat Ears were popular in Guild Wars, and popular in Guild Wars 2, as well. If the Devs ignore player preference, then (as there already is) there would be threads lamenting the lack of such items.

Oh come on, this is definitely not about cat ears. Cat ears were so subtle you wouldn’t even notice. Not even about chaos gloves. Just compare the first two pictures of GW with the picture of Danikat and you’ll see what I mean. The flashiest Norn with 2 disco balls as weapons in his hands.

A certain game has a certain style. I liked the style of GW and aesthetics are one point of choosing which game to play. Now this style was changed drastically, I don’t like the aesthetics of GW2 anymore.

Ok, you win. I’m sure the Devs will give your suggestion the attention it deserves.

Good luck.

I need to make my toons more brighter and flasher !!

While I have reservations about certain trends, I believe Guild Wars 2 has a good diversity of fashionable skins people can use.

… Including all those sparkly glowy thingymabobs of blindness.

If a player doesn’t care for a skin, they are not forced to use it. If a player does use a skin a different player dislikes, it does not mean the first player has bad taste. Remember, five people will walk into a room and walk out with ten different opinions.

On a side note: any backpiece recommendations for an human Elementalist with Dominator weapons?

Why would you want to acquire a high end skin and not use it, though?

WARIORSCHARGEING.2637:

I need to make my toons more brighter and flasher !!

At least he’s dressed for the weather in that rain slicker.

Most people have kittenty tastes and aesthetics.

Hardest thing to earn = the best. Most expensive dye = the best. You notice how expensive all the glowing ascended trinkets are?

The massive farms going on in the LS maps for the newest one? Newest shiny = the best.

Just the nature of people, generally. They need something to “do” and the most fanciest of prizes is a goal for them to work for.

If that’s how they have fun or eek enjoyment from the game, so be it. Not for me personally but it’s obviously “it” for them.

Besides come on you know the moment this is burned into your retina’s that this guy has some serious dosh either in game, IRL, or both. Gotta respect that dedication.

If he used cash to gems for even half of this, he’s keeping the lights on for the rest of us.

Him and others like him have an important role to play in the MMO ecosystem. Let them do them and you do you.

I do find the gigantic glowing backpacks, weapons, and armor to be a little gaudy and offensive to the senses. But then again, it is the player’s choice to put all of these items on, so you can’t blame the devs if everybody wants to look like a Christmas tree.

I honestly dont mind the… extravagant… players, its the gazillion minis that annoy me.

YOU all look the same to me.. you grey hooded people :-)

I find i don’t mind it. What grinds my gears is people that think they’re good at making cool characters and put down others for having darkly coloured or subtle characters that try to fit a theme. Like bish, its the devs that made the armour cool, anyone can look cool in this game. You gotta do more than look cool to be cool, you gotta have feeling.

If some guy with all gold armour and disco balls for maces and a monocle comes along, well guess what to me that’s cool, that guy has a theme and it’s clear what he’s going for, as opposed to the mishmash of spikes and capes next to him. You gotta have a reason to your rhyme, and anyone that can pull that off without having to tell you what it is, well you have my respect.

Musashi.1735:

It really is such a shame to see that whoever thought up the skin ideas (90% of the Gemstore skins in particular) couldn’t show some restraint, especially since how amazing GW1’s aesthetic was.

I think that’s for the Asian market, which GW2 has done rather well with. To a western eye their aesthetic can appear lacking in restraint.

Personally I’d rather gouge my eyes than wear most of GW2’s armours or outfits. Especially in the light category. But there are a few I do like and I just don’t care about what other people wear.

And as a general rule, the harder it is to acquire a weapon or armour skin, the worse it looks. Most legendary weapons look insane for my tastes. From a player perspective I think that’s awesome. If all the hardest to get stuff looks hideous, it’s super easy for me to be happy with the much better looking, basic skins and not bother with the grind.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, and kitten I’ll keep saying it, Arenanet, Put More GW1 Armors Into This Motherkittening GAME.

Anyone got a throat lozenge?

I think there’s armours aplenty already (not that I’d mind more). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now – all they need to do is open up the weight classes so any toon can use any armour. Kitten the clipping. We can handle it. Give us the freedom of choosing.

For me, there are several levels of visual mess in GW2 (list in no particular order)

1. Realism vs. Fantasy mess
GW2 has a good mix of stylized & realistic overall look. If you are a purist of immersion in a realistic world, you should use basic crafting swords and the few rapiers and gladii in game. Everything else is a “combat paddle”. The same applies to armour, like basic chain mail. Gliders also contribute to this.

2. Dye madness
You can break any realism with “golden male Norns” (as we have seen in this thread). With GW2’s dye system, we have to live with that side effect.

3. Skill effect visuals
GW2 has gone worse with that with every addition after launch. Just compare some ground targeted abilities of Guardian to Firebrand or Necro to Reaper/Scource. As you are supposed to react to a visual clue or skill wind up e.g. in PvP, this is hardly possible with todays particle effects. IMHO, the devs should at least give us a better options to reduce / turn off the visual combat noise via skills.

4. Prestigious flashiness
With a few exceptions, Legendary items are not very modest when it comes to visuals (animation, shine, footprints etc.), which was not be the problem when we did not stack the effects. These days, you might carry a legendary weapon, an aura, a shiny backpack, an animated armour price and a trinket with hovering globes. over your mist emitting Ley line shoulders. The possibilities to create something obnoxious have risen. At least we can mute the horse bow now. Perhaps some sot of button to reduce clutter on fellow games you see would be another side project for a dev.

5. Meta gatherings & WvW
When you see events like HoT metas, world bosses and large WvW battles all those factors combine. because there are so many people crammed in one spot of the map. OK character models get toned down automatically and you can chose some visual options in competitive play. Some issues like skill effects remain though.