I never (ever) thougth that WAR would be the first ones to pick up on something that I, at least, have been kicking and screaming about for at least the last two years publically. Kudos to you Mythic for being the first to have the light bulb come on.
Our solution is to introduce a new system that will let you set your armor and weapon appearance independently of your armor stats, so that you can look how you want to look and yet keep the statistics that you personally prefer. The goal is to give players the added benefit of having the new armor sets available to them, but the ability to change their appearance if they don’t like the way they look. We also think this will introduce a level of customization that players want to have for their characters.
Having said that – seriously why did it take this long for said bulb to go off? Pull the camera back a bit folks, sheesh.
The next step – finally convince someone, somewhere (preferably that’s working on a game) that this can go far beyond this. Tank, DPS, Heal, Control – they are not classes, they are playstyles. But we force players that wish to play a given playstyle into certain classes. In other words – character creation and customization is a joke from the word “go.”
Why not let players choose a class – and then determine how they will play that class? Is there any reason why I can’t play a Mage who Tanks, while my buddy plays a Mage who Heals? No, there isn’t. It’s a big wide MMO world out there. Somebody kick down these doors and lets get the party started, thanks.
Harbinger Zero 
I quit WAR after they gave me 23+ overcharges during that debacle, but I was a fairly hardcore player for two 5-month periods. The thing I don’t like about this option is it takes away from those players who could determine a rough estimate on an opponent’s RR by looking at their armor. When I started wearing warlord and sovereign gear, I also noticed I was treated differently on the battlefield, even when I was playing during my unusual times against unknown enemies. This option eliminates that strategic element.
Jim,
Eliminates or adds a strategic element? The added ability to deceive one’s opponents, to make them think twice about what you have hidden under the visuals – I don’t think this reduces one’s options, I think it increases them.
Chronicles of Spellborn tried it with separating visuals from stats – the game failed (due to other shortcomings).
If one doesn’t like a “class system”, he should play a game with a skill system – it was that way since Meridian 59 and Ultima Online 😉
Ghanur,
My complaints are not resolved by a skill based system. In UO for example, high physical resistance comes from heavy armor. In Meridian 59, the best protection comes from – you guessed it – plate armor! What if those resistances weren’t tied to the visual of plate?
Oddly enough – the games that come closest to what I am talking about are CoX and CO. Both allow one to play an archetype with visuals detached. Sadly, both are set in the superhero/modern/near future genre. We need something along those lines in a fantasy line.
Lord of the Rings Online and EverQuest II have had appearance slots for quite a while now, so I’m not sure WAR can claim “firsties” on this, unless there is some unique spin to their method that I missed.
I am actually a bit surprised that WAR picked up on the idea, being a PvP focused game. Being able to see who is wearing the badass armor set is a lot more critical there. It would be like allowing somebody in EVE to reskin their Onyx as an Osprey or some such.
Hmmm, I guess I saw this as being somewhat different from appearance slots in that you can actually change the look of the armor without having to layer a second armor over it. When I ran through New Halas, I had to wait to level 20 to get appearence slots, and even then, I was stuck with appearences of what I had already collected, or what I was willing to shell out for a second outfit from the npc store/auction house. If I’m reading this right, from day 1 in WAR, I can customize the look of any armor set I get. Again to EQ2 – if epic level players want fur-lined chainmail that my lowbie is wearing in New Halas – they have to mentor down and go finish quests to grab the right armor pieces. Not so here.
A subtle disctinction to be sure, but a step forward still I think.
I think the EVE comparison is a bit of a stretch – unless you are locking players into one set of turrets/launchers/modules at all times. WAR players can’t swap out their abilities or role, it’s set and still visually identifiable.
So you’re saying that they can customize armor in WAR without having access to that piece of armor? That seems… odd. But, whatever. WAR needs victims… erm… players, so they may feel more free to experiment.
I still think it is odd for a PvP game to allow this. The temptation for somebody with the Badass Blate of Instant Smotage is going to be to change their appearance to look like their only holding the Cardboard Butterknife of Bending so as sucker in victims who think they are facing an easy target.
Their should be they’re. Damn this lack of comment editing at WordPress.com.
Heh, yeah its probably only because I use the free version. If I had any semblance of programming skill I’d have shelled out for the pro stock awhile ago.
As for suckering in victims – it generates another iteration in the game, so to me that adds a a strategic element rather than reducing or eliminating one. But I’m not a dyed in the wool (I love that phrase, but have no idea as to its real meaning or origins btw) PvPer so its not as big a deal to me one way or the other.
I enjoy the ability to customize my uniform independent of my gear stats–armor can be hidden–in STO (made by Cryptic, just like CoX and CO). I dislike the mismatched armor I often end up with WoW. And I still look like a ragamuffin in AoC, but at least it fits the story for now.
Yeah AOC delights in that, but honestly I don’t mind so much. When I GM’ed PnP RPG’s I usually played with the equipment lists so that chain was the heaviest armor available. Its a minor change in the game, usually easy to do mechanically, but it makes a big impact on the players and instantly set the world apart. I was disappointed in the Lord of the Rings movies on this point in fact – Tolkien never describes any armor heavier than chain in the trilogy – but in the movies, virtually everyone was rocking late medieval full plate.