Guild Wars 2

I like the sound of that. Although I’m not sure if that would be simpler than having all armour – be it random drop or merchant purchase – come in one package (essentially a “onesie”), with x empty upgrade slots, that you can optionally split into gloves, trousers etc so you can mix and match.

You can then have the “onesies” in the crafting menu alongside the individual armour pieces but also with all their material requirements combined, so as to keep it balanced.

Star Trek Online is another good example; you choose your outfit – including colour scheme – at character creation (or change it later at a tailor NPC) and that’s the one you get to keep for the entire game, while your stats come from a single suit of armour whose visuals you can hide, so you don’t have to care when swapping it out.

Actually, I think it should be like in the KoTOR games: have the chest piece count as the whole set (in appearance), making the process oh so much simpler but also have the option of splitting it into individual pieces (trousers, shoes etc) for those who want to mix and match.

One of the most tedious aspects of RPG’s in general, for me, is having to constantly swap out armour pieces for more effective ones in order to stay competitive, regardless of how ridiculously mismatched I end up looking. I find this especially jarring, considering that all the NPC’s get to stick to the same outfits throughout, in fact, I find that an immersion-breaker. The cosmetic and functional should be entirely separate. The Secret World gets this right by having your outfits’ stats tied to upgrade items that you can freely swap out when you find something you like the look of better. I would very much like to see that system in GW2, instead of having to use Transmutation Stones all the time. Granted, if that were the case, then we’d have no reason to buy them but that can easily be resolved by replacing them with Gem Store-exclusive (cosmetic) armour sets.

Given that GW2 is far less gear-dependant than other MMOs, this issue isn’t so bad here, however, I do feel like it doesn’t cater to those, like me, who prefer consistency.

One of the most tedious aspects of RPG’s in general, for me, is having to constantly swap out armour pieces for more effective ones in order to stay competitive, regardless of how ridiculously mismatched I end up looking. I find this especially jarring, considering that all the NPC’s get to stick to the same outfits throughout, in fact, I find that an immersion-breaker. The cosmetic and functional should be entirely separate. The Secret World gets this right by having your outfits’ stats tied to upgrade items that you can freely swap out when you find something you like the look of better. I would very much like to see that system in GW2, instead of having to use Transmutation Stones all the time. Granted, if that were the case, then we’d have no reason to buy them but that can easily be resolved by replacing them with Gem Store-exclusive (cosmetic) armour sets.

Given that GW2 is far less gear-dependant than other MMOs, this issue isn’t so bad here, however, I do feel like it doesn’t cater to those, like me, who prefer consistency.