Guild Wars 2

. . . Same old tiresome gender discrepancies.

This is not the same armour as this. Yet again, male scholars are stuck with another dull-looking full robe while the female scholars get their bits out.

I’m not saying armour can’t be skimpy. I’m not saying it has to be practical. I’m saying can they at least look like they belong to the same set? Can they at least be equally skimpy on both genders because there’s a dismal lack of skimpy armour for guys?

Problem: Armour diversity and choice is sometimes arbitrarily restricted by character sex.

Suggestion: For future armour sets, keep the following design maxims in mind:

1) The armour set should look aesthetically very similar on both character genders. Minor detail changes are okay, but as an overall rule of thumb, they should look like they belong to same armour set. Key defining features of the armour set should be present on both versions (e.g. if there’s a particular motif, or mantle design, or design shape/flow/pattern going on). If there has to be variation, it would probably be much more appropriate for it to be based on race, because the charr get short-changed so often with humanoid armour basically just stretched to fit them.

2) The armour set should not be more revealing on one gender than it is on the other. Revealing armour is okay. Showing flesh is okay. But keep it generally equalised.

If the concept/design with one armour set for one gender becomes divergent from the other gender’s version based on these two design maxims, split them into separate armour sets. This could mean keeping the variant aside for later release as a separate armour set, or introducing armour set variants in some way, shape or form (discussion on which is welcome).

Why this is important:

• Aesthetic consistency
• Ensuring that players aren’t locked out of armour they might have wanted because it is arbitrarily only available to certain genders
• Ensuring that players don’t feel they have to play a certain race or character sex in order to achieve the non-sex/race-related aesthetic they want for that character
• Avoiding player disappointment when they see one gender’s version of an armour, based on preview pics and marketing and armour icons, but discover they can’t have it on their character because their character is not a man/woman/ or is a male-armour-by-default race.
• Reduce confusion/improve consistency around the male-armour-by-default races, who have in the past been given gendered town clothes for arbitrary reasons, but then only get male armour in other cases, etc. . .
• Given that most revealing armour falls on the female version of a particular set so far, this would also open up a lot more diversity in available male armours, for players who want their boys to be wearing something less restrictive.

For more info/analysis of examples, see my original suggestions thread.

Please. Your gemstore armour offerings are boring me to tears. Give us something different. Convince me to part with my cash.

I have to agree, I don’t like either. The male gear is boring, and the female gear is insulting when put next to the male gear.

If Anet is so progressive as to have homosexual relationships, can’t they treat women with more dignity? At least the paragons of GW1 were equal in their revealing armor designs between the genders.

[img]http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gw2-strider-medium-armor-skin-human-female-6.jpg[/img]

vs.

[img]http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gw2-strider-medium-armor-skin-human-male-3.jpg[/img]

Female has got even kitten physics. They took a page from Mirana from Mass Effect. Male gets a bulky skirt covering his kitten .

I guess they’ll never give males actual leather pants.

At least you don’t look like a makeshift norn when donning any of them…

As much as a request for “skimpier” male armor may raise a few eyebrows from people its really not that strange. Many of the Armor sets in Guild Wars had a much more exposed “barbaric” look to them that was really cool. Warriors loved that kitten in GW1. Also Necromancer Fissure of Woe Armor was incredible. It was practically just a loin cloth and obsidian spikes growing out of exposed skin and i don’t think armor could get any more gnarly in a game.

I’ll second this rant, but we should be careful:

The Secret world had/has this problem too and people complained about it. So what did funcom do? release “Gender Equality” which was a swimsuit set.

Women got a full covering wetsuit with rebreather… The snark comes in when males got a lime green body thong.

Admittedly, it’s hilarious.

Elric.6971:

I’ll second this rant, but we should be careful:

The Secret world had/has this problem too and people complained about it. So what did funcom do? release “Gender Equality” which was a swimsuit set.

Women got a full covering wetsuit with rebreather… The snark comes in when males got a lime green body thong.

Admittedly, it’s hilarious.

It was an April Fools joke.

I would like to buy the medium one.

BUT I CAN’T BUY GEMS!

This is beyond absurd, and ugly, and useless. We already have a lack of variety in armor in that males can only wear long boring stuff and females barely can wear anything without their kittens or kitten hanging out, and yet we get more and more and more stuff like this. Phoenix armor, phalanx armor … and why? Are the 14 year old hormone ranging teenagers who jerk it to their female human toon and think skimpy armor on males is “homosexual”, really the main target audience of this game?

I agree it’s really sexist and immature. Good thing I play a Charr.

I’m just really happy to see that they’ve taken a big step towards giving Light Armor females a pair of pants. For your next set, Anet, will you give us a straight up pair of pants, without any added “dress” cloth pieces?

Although, I agree that there is too much of a discrepancy between male and female armors that are supposed to be part of the same set.

On another positive note, this female light armor seems to be one of their best crafted/designed yet.

Tai Kratos.3247:

I have to agree, I don’t like either. The male gear is boring, and the female gear is insulting when put next to the male gear..

I know, the Gladiator female top should be bare too!

Zenith.7301:

[img]http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gw2-strider-medium-armor-skin-human-female-6.jpg[/img]

vs.

[img]http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gw2-strider-medium-armor-skin-human-male-3.jpg[/img]

Female has got even kitten physics. They took a page from Mirana from Mass Effect. Male gets a bulky skirt covering his kitten .

I guess they’ll never give males actual leather pants.

There’s really no reason the guys couldn’t have some fishnet sections, too. The design choices are bizarrely arbitrary. The way they treat male armour is almost prudish sometimes.

If they really wanted a fishnet and non-fishnet version, they should have made them both available to both genders. ArenaNet is so progressive in some ways with their game design, and then they keep making this terribly basic mistakes that make me headdesk.

You can do better, Anet.

that female armor looks super uninspired

It looked good on the site, then I saw it ingame and decided not to buy it. It’s just another variation on a theme we have way to many off.

Now, if they made an actual robe for females, I’d buy it in a flash (even after the town clothes debacle, go figure).

Xae Isareth.1364:

Elric.6971:

I’ll second this rant, but we should be careful:

The Secret world had/has this problem too and people complained about it. So what did funcom do? release “Gender Equality” which was a swimsuit set.

Women got a full covering wetsuit with rebreather… The snark comes in when males got a lime green body thong.

Admittedly, it’s hilarious.

It was an April Fools joke.

Not only was it a joke (and in pretty poor taste considering gender inequality in armour is a legit issue across multiple MMOs – punch up, not down), the main controversy actually flared up when they removed the mankini after April Fools because management said it wasn’t in-keeping with their vision for the game.

So the fact that they added a mankini wasn’t actually the problem. The fact that they then got prudish about it afterwards, all while being happy to keep some quite sexualised and skimpy female armour in game, is. It’s a painful double standard.

I just dunno how long I have to sit here waggling my eyebrows at Anet, jingling my purse, pointing emphatically at male caster armour like this and whispering pretty please.

+1 because OP is TOTALY RIGHT
+0 because I don’t even like the way of these “armors”

I don’t like the light armor because it looks boring and similar to many others found in game. The only reason you would buy it is for the bottom. The others look fantastic.

Also, I don’t care for your hurt feelings. A lot of people like armor that way and “boo-hoo” if you don’t.

Tai Kratos.3247:

I have to agree, I don’t like either. The male gear is boring, and the female gear is insulting when put next to the male gear.

If Anet is so progressive as to have homosexual relationships, can’t they treat women with more dignity? At least the paragons of GW1 were equal in their revealing armor designs between the genders.

Well their only homosexual relationships I’ve noticed are between attractive females.

I do love the female light shoulders and chest.

My main excitement is for the female medium top. Not revealing and not a trench coat.

ThiBash.5634:

It looked good on the site, then I saw it ingame and decided not to buy it. It’s just another variation on a theme we have way to many off.

Now, if they made an actual robe for females, I’d buy it in a flash (even after the town clothes debacle, go figure).

I’ve been wanting a really nice looking robe for my Necro or Ele except there isn’t anything like that for the females at all. I wouldn’t even mind if it showed some bust as long as it was classy looking.

So I’m not the one who thinks the game is being designed for homosexual people?
Not like we have a problem with them, at least I won’t make this stance in a worldwide game – but what about those who love D&D, where ALL of it began? The CORE!

I don’t particularly care for the light armor…. That top just doesn’t go with that bottom (for the female). Hell I prefer the male version, and I’m not even that fond of it either.

Medium and Heavy seem pretty decent in this batch though.

Sunshine.4680:

Well their only homosexual relationships I’ve noticed are between attractive females.

Logan and Rytlock are two attractive males. What about their relationship?

Sigh…..yet another round of armors that look horrible. The medium armor on female looks pretty awesome, I’ll give them that. Light male armor….WHAT.THE.EFF. “Hmm, let’s do a robe/pants combo, gaudy shoulders that don’t really match, and hmmm, it’s missing something….a mask! Everyone loves these masquerade masks!” /facepalm What is this like the 5th set of armor that looks exactly the same as currently available armors?

Heavy armor: Hoo boy, all together not their best, but I can visualize using certain pieces. Male heavy helm, that was a hatchet job, terrible. Just… terrible.

They really need to get their acts together with armor design. Do they sub that work out to people who don’t currently play the game? Anyone who actually plays GW2 would not have released a male light armor that looked like that. And then ask for money on top of it. Clearly that team didn’t realize that there are several sets of armor that look almost exactly like that already.

DigitalKirin.9714:

Sunshine.4680:

Well their only homosexual relationships I’ve noticed are between attractive females.

Logan and Rytlock are two attractive males. What about their relationship?

Don’t pull that BS, Logan and Rytlock are friends, and there is not a kitten thing more to be said about two guys being that close. It is completely ridiculous, not to mention completely prejudiced, that in a day and age when people claim to be ‘open’ and ‘accepting’ towards just about any type of relationship that two guys can’t be friends without being typified as gay. You’re homosexual if you are attracted to the same sex, not if you’re an effeminate man or a masculine woman, not because you’re artistic man or an athletic woman, not because you have a lisp, not because you have close friends of the same sex.

That said, ANets handling of sexual dichotomy is pretty awful, but at the same time pretty typical of the entertainment industry.

Conncept.7638:

DigitalKirin.9714:

Sunshine.4680:

Well their only homosexual relationships I’ve noticed are between attractive females.

Logan and Rytlock are two attractive males. What about their relationship?

Don’t pull that BS, Logan and Rytlock are friends, and there is not a kitten thing wrong with two guys being that close. It is completely ridiculous, not to mention completely prejudiced, that in a day and age when people claim to be ‘open’ and ‘accepting’ towards just about any type of relationship that two guys can’t be friends without being typified as gay.

That said, ANets handling of sexual dichotomy is pretty awful, but at the same time pretty typical of the entertainment industry.

If people read the book where both met they would understand it much better, just saying.

About the armor, I haven’t liked most of the armor skimpy or otherwise, the female top looks little more than a bra, I don’t call that style, which is sad considering the bottom half had potential.

I really think anet needs to hire some new people to design the armor.

It’s just a kitten game

I like the light and heavy armors, and I LOVE LOVE the medium. I had just over 900 gems left in my stash and spent 800 on the medium for my thief. In my opinion it is by far the best medium female armor in the game.

This is my biggest problem with playing female asura characters (which are by far my favorite), especially with light armor. I’m not looking for revealing, but it just seems like far more time is spent making the female versions of the armor look good than the male versions (which is what female charr and asura get).

Warden.8927:

It’s just a kitten game

And it’s just my kitten money they’re not getting more of by keeping up this double standard of female gear showing more skin on the same exact armor set. See how consumer feedback is relevant?

The female medium armor is BEAUTIFUL. This is how you do sexy and classy while still making it feel like it’s protective/of a medium weight. Standing ovation. Reminds me of necro kurzick gear from GW1. Too bad my male mediums miss out on the cool fishnet effect (whyyy).

The female light armor looks like Human t3 light bottoms with just two of the hanging panels in tact and some pants (praise the heavens, pants). The female shoes look almost exactly the same as Feathered/Flamekissed and Phoenix. How many sets with feathers at the ankle does a girl need? I’m happy that breasts are at least not on partial or full display in her bra top this time around. But why can’t my male Sylvari/female Asura have skins based off of the female version? My sylvari boy already missed out on the cool floating feathers from Phoenix set, I’d like it if he could wear something more proportionately revealing to the female version than a very conservative “deep v” style tunic.

Thank you for the heavy, which looks close enough to being the same set on both genders that I am considering buying it.

I didn’t care for this light armor and had not seen the male one. That is quite a differance. I would love for a sleek light armor like the heavy and med get. A nice covering pant set that can be tight if you like. I really really want some nice light armor pants with no weird skirt attached more than anything .

Conncept.7638:

DigitalKirin.9714:

Sunshine.4680:

Well their only homosexual relationships I’ve noticed are between attractive females.

Logan and Rytlock are two attractive males. What about their relationship?

Don’t pull that BS, Logan and Rytlock are friends, and there is not a kitten thing more to be said about two guys being that close. It is completely ridiculous, not to mention completely prejudiced, that in a day and age when people claim to be ‘open’ and ‘accepting’ towards just about any type of relationship that two guys can’t be friends without being typified as gay. You’re homosexual if you are attracted to the same sex, not if you’re an effeminate man or a masculine woman, not because you’re artistic man or an athletic woman, not because you have a lisp, not because you have close friends of the same sex.

That said, ANets handling of sexual dichotomy is pretty awful, but at the same time pretty typical of the entertainment industry.

I can’t help it…I’m a Fujoshi T__T

EDIT: In regards to the post. I don’t care much for the new armor and the skimpy one…well we don’t have enough of those so I kinda let it slide. I personally think is blah but I can see some people liking it. Different strokes for different folks

kimeekat.2548:

Warden.8927:

It’s just a kitten game

And it’s just my kitten money they’re not getting more of by keeping up this double standard of female gear showing more skin on the same exact armor set. See how consumer feedback is relevant?

The female medium armor is BEAUTIFUL. This is how you do sexy and classy while still making it feel like it’s protective/of a medium weight. Standing ovation. Reminds me of necro kurzick gear from GW1. Too bad my male mediums miss out on the cool fishnet effect (whyyy).

The female light armor looks like Human t3 light bottoms with just two of the hanging panels in tact and some pants (praise the heavens, pants). The female shoes look almost exactly the same as Feathered/Flamekissed and Phoenix. How many sets with feathers at the ankle does a girl need? I’m happy that breasts are at least not on partial or full display in her bra top this time around. But why can’t my male Sylvari/female Asura have skins based off of the female version? My sylvari boy already missed out on the cool floating feathers from Phoenix set, I’d like it if he could wear something more proportionately revealing to the female version than a very conservative “deep v” style tunic.

Thank you for the heavy, which looks close enough to being the same set on both genders that I am considering buying it.

I agree that gear sets should look the same on both genders. And i do agree that arenanet have done a poor job with armour skins ( imho through the whole kitten game really)

I was very disappointed when I saw the Dark Souls armour set did not look at all like a Dark Souls armour set on females. Phalanx Heavy-Armor fail.

Warden.8927:

I agree that gear sets should look the same on both genders. And i do agree that arenanet have done a poor job with armour skins ( imho through the whole kitten game really)

Looking exactly the same is kind of a ridiculous standard, I don’t want to see guys running around in a bikini top or every girl in a shirt and pants. But fulfilling a similar aesthetic on both isn’t that much to ask for.

And to tell the truth, while this isn’t exactly the same there at least some similarities. The pants are very similar, as well as the head. Gloves and boots are at least a similar cut. The principal problem is the chest piece, though I’m not sure what they could put on a guy that would match a bikini top, or on a girl that would match a leather ‘Fabio’ shirt. There are armor sets which are far worse than this one when it comes to looking different between the male and female versions.

I prefer characters to not be in skimpy clothes regardless of sex but that is personal preference. I do not mind if they add that option for other players in game.

What does irritate me slightly is that these sets often do not resemble each other, sets should look very similar and be equal in quality for both sexes.