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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsTransmogrification and the dismissal of the silhouette theory
by Mathew McCurley 
Aug 17th 2011 at 2:00PM
For me, the most stark change that patch 4.3 is bringing about is not a change to the systems or gameplay, but a philosophical change at the heart of World of Warcraft that spells out some of the potential big announcements that might be coming our way during BlizzCon.
Transmogrification is bigger as a philosophical leap than we think, and here's how.
The silhouette theory
World of Warcraft's factions are rooted in an idea called silhouette recognition. What this means is that you can easily tell who your friends or enemies are based on their aesthetic look. The reason there are no "humans" on the Horde side is because Blizzard wants you, as a Horde player, to point out a human on the battlefield. The same goes for every race. No two sides have races that feature identical silhouettes. This is even the reason worgen are forced into their bestial forms in combat -- players need to know that you're a worgen.
This goes for gear as well. Blizzard practically invented the gear tier system in raiding and made it so your two most prominent pieces, shoulders and headpieces, were the sought-after marks of power and prestige, and a physical reminder of player accomplishment. My shoulders currently tell you that I've been to the Firelands, killed many bosses, and taken their stuff. My silhouette is instantly recognizable as a raider who is geared and powerful.
Transmogrification is the antithesis to silhouette theory
For a long time, players and the MMO world together have complained that World of Warcraft was behind the times when it came to player character customization. WoW has been out for a good long time, before a world where sliders for every part of your character's attributes were a staple in the industry. Over time, the age of the system has proven an issue, with Blizzard even updating the models of the faction leaders to provide a better in-game design to older models. Thrall, for instance, only recently shed his level 30 greens for his new shaman digs.
The reigning philosophy was that gear in WoW defined a player and that player's appearance. Gear could easily tell you who and what you were going up against. A warrior looked like a warrior in warrior tier gear, and his race was readily apparent.
Transmogrification is the antithesis to silhouette theory. By allowing players to change the look of their gear from one skin to the next, you remove the ability for any one character to be instantly recognizable in power and prestige in PVE or PVP. A level 85 paladin who is wearing a full set of the Judgement armor set could or could not be a tier 12 raider -- you need to inspect closer to figure it out. If you're on the battlefield in Tol Barad, for instance, you cannot accurately gauge your enemies based on their gear if transmogrification is active during PVP combat in PVP areas, other than looking at their health pools.
There is no doubt that this new system will connect players to their characters more than ever before, and I applaud the move. I have been a vocal critic for some time about the lack of character customization in the game, and I am glad to see Blizzard shedding the old philosophy and bringing to bear new features for the players. Interestingly enough, I wonder how this will affect tier gear creation and whether there will be an emphasis on less impressive gear and more on different art assets, as players might not even care to see their new armor. I sincerely doubt that that will be an issue, however. Blizzard will still churn out cool-looking armor sets for every tier with each new raiding environment.
The future
Here's the real meat of the issue. With transmogrification signaling the end of the silhouette era, could this possibly mean that with the next expansion, potentially concerning oft-rumored Pandaria, that we could see the inclusion of WoW's first bi-factional race? Could Blizzard be giving us pandaren for both sides of the equation now that the concept that players and factions are defined by their silhouettes is out the window?
Dual-faction pandaren make a lot of sense for Blizzard and for the WoW community in general. You don't want to upset either faction with a sense of bias or favoritism, especially when dealing with the fan-favorite pandaren. The story could be worked in such a way that pandaren get a starting zone much like the death knight beginning experience and choose their faction at the end of a heated battle that has the Horde and the Alliance at each other's throats over territory on Pandaria, or even an outside threat like the kvaldir. Could there be two factions of pandaren, one of nobles in the capital and one of the outliers, living outside the bounds of the society formed as clans adhering to the "old ways"?
None of this is fact and none of this is confirmed, but removing one of the biggest roadblocks to cross-faction contamination is one of the bigger sea changes in philosophy in recent history with Blizzard and WoW. Maybe, at this time, we are seeing such radical shifts in ideology because of the need to innovate and keep up with other games releasing soon. The great Cataclysm experiment showed that WoW has to change even more fundamentally to retain and grow the subscriber base. Blizzard has been developing WoW with a very conservative mindset, still rooted deeply in the EverQuest beginnings of the genre. Now, with patch 4.3 signaling the end of one of the bigger design philosophies, anything is possible with the next expansion.
Anything.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back! Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 8)
Charlie Aug 17th 2011 5:00PM
I didn't read a lot of comments but did anyone mention that it also opens up the door to groups defecting?
What I mean is look at the current state of the undead. What's to say they can't splinter off and end up picking their own side?
Think about it. Hellscream won't allow them to reproduce. Sylvanas could very well be killed.
Who's to say the whole faction can't splinter off?
Also, same goes for the trolls. They are not horde as a whole. Actually, no one race is. Look at the humans with the Scarlett crusaders.
Ucbearskin_cub Aug 17th 2011 7:39PM
Random idea... Why not make transmogrification free... And add in an option that would allow other players to choose whether or not they can see the default look of your armor, or the altered look. This would allow for people to use the silhouette method of judging another player if they choose to do so.
Sergel Aug 17th 2011 4:25PM
Personally, i think these will fix many issues in WoW. I know too many people who only raid for armor because they like the way the new armor looks like looks better than the one they have. If people can look like they want, then hopefully more people will raid for the fun of it. Though the stats still matter i guess.
thawedtheorc Aug 17th 2011 4:28PM
Rubish. Alliance Pandarians will still have to carry purses and thus easily recognizable.
kenny Aug 17th 2011 4:49PM
Here's my issues with this Silhouette Theory. An Orc is an Orc is an ORC! This system will not change how recognizable that is. However what does is the Goblin engineer who has had a malfunction and morphed into a Dranai. Aleady in teh game, been for a long time. I know that doesn't stick when it goes to PVP, but the fact still stands that it looks and moves liek a Dranai, it's silhouette is a Dranai. I don't care if I look at you in level 20 gear and have to inspect you to see your actual gear level. Not important if you can do the job.
Dimmak Aug 17th 2011 4:50PM
Not really sure why my notes got posted instead of the actually comment. Let me repost what I actually typed:
The silhouette concept is really only important in PvP as in a PvE scenario we can just use inspect. To combat this you should be able to have a personal option of disabling this, perhaps just in battle grounds and arena. Or a simpler method would to deny the ability to reskin pvp gear but I think that defeats the purpose.
Personally I am dying to reskin my gear back to my starting DK armor set because it just feels so more "DK" than my fire lands gear.
As to Pandaria and the Pandarens, I love their concept even if they started as a April's fools joke. As I only play alliance I would be infuriated that they went to the Horde and I am sure the opposite side would be as well. In this case a race such as the Pandaren would need to be cross faction.
Dimmak
cygnus Aug 17th 2011 5:01PM
everyone does*
Can I Transmogrify the comment system to get one with edit button? Ill even farm for one .
cygnus Aug 17th 2011 5:03PM
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=65311
This was supposed to be a reply... The petition stands tho.
safyreking Aug 17th 2011 5:02PM
Dual faction race eh? I can promise you there will be some graphical distinctions, not unlike how druids of various races look different when shape shifted - if this actually comes to pass. Personally I'm not so sure about a new race.
Expansions:
BC - Blood Elves and Draenai
LK - DK's
Cata - Goblins and Worgen
??? - I predict another new "Hero Class" if not a new race... Brewmaster anyone?.. eh eh? (new drunken fighting animations for all the races??? Um, yes please)
But transmogrification?... Oh **** yes. Sign me up. I miss the old tier 3 graphics. What i'm curious about is just how many different skins will be available to us? Could additional skins maybe be 'discovered' say through something like, oh, archaeology? "Hark! What's this?! An ancient manuscript describing what warriors of lore looked like!... Fascinating!". Or some such nonsense.
wyndy Aug 17th 2011 5:11PM
I hope this silhouette change will eventually result in my druid being able to once again use image changing items like noggenfogger, transporter malfunctions, etc and still be able to shift into my fighting form while remaining in the altered image. (yes once again we could early in vanilla) I am sick of the argument that folks immediately jump to that is you can't tell what kind of druid it is, as it's no different then trying to figure out what kind of pally/shaman even warrior to a lesser degree. Heck unless you mouse over other classes that are using them sometimes you can't tell what kind of class they are period a skeleton looks like a skeleton, a furbolg (transformation rod) looks like a furbolg so that as well never rang true. A couple of holiday achievements also require you keep the "image" on while in battlegrounds meaning kiss your armor boost, damage reducer, or spell buff goodbye if you try to get it. They don't ask other classes to lessen any of the above to do so.
Dude Aug 17th 2011 5:36PM
Argggh @ Panda's. Give Horde Ogre's.
Thomas Higgins Aug 17th 2011 5:44PM
No, you cannot have them. Ogres for the Alliance! You can have the Pandaren. Hell, you can even have the Ethereals, I don't care. Just give me and my Alliance comrades the Ogres in trade.
underground_slacker Aug 17th 2011 5:38PM
Isnt the silhouette theory only racial? i mean thats always been why no alliance tauren tuaren of horde dark iron dwarfs right? so in pvp alliance sees a cowman and its a guaranteed enemy, horde see a purple trollus-novus and its a night elf.
If anything this will enforce it more, how many paladins will no longer be wearing the same as every other plate class and be in straight tier 2?
*the answer is "lots"
Thats going to be even more identifiable, the silhouettes of many sets are pretty unique and make not just the race but the class instantly recognisable.
Plus think about how the player is inclined. eg: they pick a death knight and stuck with it to 85 they are going to be inclined for less pink and silver bc plate and more black and purple wrath plate just to be inkeeping with the theme.
nclay Aug 17th 2011 6:19PM
So essentially 4.3 transmorgification is turning everyone into a druid :P
dirk.mahoney Aug 17th 2011 6:58PM
Silhouette theory is at least partially bogus when it comes to gear, Mat.
You cite shoulders (granted, to a point) and helm as being the big indicators. Helm can be switched off, so I reject that one. As for shoulders, you yourself have a druid, no? Once you shapeshift, the gear no longer provides the silhouette - only the colour/model of the form gives anything away, because the gear is completely obscured (except for the weapon in Moonkin form).
So to a large extent, druids have always been exempt from this theory - you can never really tell what stage of PvE or PvP progression a druid is at using a mere glimpse from across the battlefield.
I'm really not sure silhouette theory and gear have ever had too much of a relationship with each other, at least not to the extent you'd have us believe. I think it's fairly safe to say that gear transmogrification is NOT the enabler for a bi-factional race. The character model and walking/running animation is much more telling of faction honestly -- gear has nothing to do with allowing Pandaren for both factions.
Mahram Aug 18th 2011 12:13AM
On the whole this is a really neat feature but I'm not sure why they don't make all the old sets available. I was really excited about this feature until I read that only sets you own are available to use for re-skin. Unlike a lot of people, apparently, I don't hoard old tier gear and keep my bank nice and tidy with only current items. I feel like I'm being punished for that now.
Farming old dungeons again that I've already run countless times trying to find gear? No thanks.
arctik Aug 18th 2011 12:33PM
this only seems like a problem in pvp.. just disable transmogrification to pvp gear
jon1799 Aug 17th 2011 7:52PM
I just want to know why they announce it in another country, and not here in the USA
Philster043 Aug 17th 2011 7:54PM
I don't like the idea of a bi-factional race at all. I have never been confused by what somebody is wearing in a BG before (of course, it helps that I'm usually healing as a priest, but even when I'm dpsing as a feral cat, when I see red approaching a flag, I attack regardless of whether that guy will kick my butt or not) but what WOULD confuse me to no ends is in the midst of a big battle if there are 20 Pandarens fighting and I wouldn't be able to tell enemy or friend. This will especially be true when healing. I don't see this ever happening and I hope it won't.
aaron Aug 17th 2011 8:44PM
so if they made a bank for your old items this suggest you have to own the item you want to mirror the look of? that really sucks considering how much of my old gear i have sold...practically all of it.