Blizzard has recently been on a commenting spree on the topic of tabards. For a while now, Blizzard has been thinking up ways to solve the tabard dilemma -- the game features tons of awesome tabards with really cool designs, some of which even have an on-use effect, but no way to economically store these items. Players are forced to clear out large swaths of inventory space in order to keep all of their tabards, and Blizzard has even introduced tabard vendors that sell earned tabards so these cool clothing items won't be lost forever by players. Hit the jump for the posts as well as my own little thoughts.

After forum poster Dize made a thread called Tabard Spam on the official forums, Blizz blue community manaer Lylirra chimed in with some interesting tidbits about the current state of tabards.

Lylirra RE: Tabard Spam

This is something we've been looking into for a while, and we're confident that we'll be able to implement a feature sometime in the future that gives players a better storage solution for their tabards. We're not sure if that feature will be a cosmetic tab or a drop-down list similar to titles just yet, though; there's still several factors that we need to consider carefully (certain tabards have on-use abilities, for example, which makes storing them a bit more complicated) before we can settle on the best course of action.

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Lylirra RE: Tabard Spam

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A 75 slot tabard only bag and bank slot doesn't sound any more complicated than a 32 slot mining bag.

Is that really the most elegant solution, though? It might be quickest and simplest, but that doesn't mean there aren't better alternatives available. If we can implement a type of storage that's integrated into the character UI and doesn't take up extra bank space, then that would probably be more ideal.

(That option might not be technically possible due to the way some tabards work, of course, but it's something we're investigating.)

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Lylirra RE: Tabard Spam

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For this, give us a huge bank slot or bag or keyring equivalent and then make something pointlessly complex if you wish.

We're not trying to over complicate the situation, but if we're looking at adding a new feature, we want to make sure it's meaningful and appropriate for the game in the long-term. (Or, you know, at least try to.)

Right now, we're considering a variety of options because we agree that tabard storage would be great, and some of those options extend beyond simply adding another bank slot -- not because they're complex, but because we believe they'll make the most sense and feel the best when you're in game.

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The basic gist of all of this is that there are a ton of potential options and solutions for the tabard dilemma, some elegant and some rudimentary, and that Blizzard wants to find the best solution to the problem before slapping something together. One of the big issues with tabards is that some of them feature on-use abilities and are treated like items. You would have to find a way to treat a tabard's on-use ability differently if you were to, for example, make tabard selection like that of titles.

I agree that the tabard solution needs to be better than another bank slot and a bag full of tabards. Character customization is one element that Blizzard has been behind on compared to many other MMOs, and these posts make it clear that it is looking for very Blizzard-esque solutions to our concerns. I just want them sooner than later, because easier character customization would be a nice treat. Heck, more robust character customization would be a big treat.

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Tags: blizzard, blue-posts, character-customization, customization, many-tabards-left-side, tabard, tabard-storage, tabards

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion