Breakfast Topic: What's your armor design style philosophy?
by Matthew Krotzer 
Nov 13th 2011 at 8:00AM
It's safe to say that gear appearance is one of the most important (and most debated) topics in the World of Warcraft. Every major content patch, one class (or many) claim to have gotten the short end of the stick in terms of design. From paladin skirts to fish-headed hunters, everything is a matter of personal opinion when it comes to finding something that best suits your character.
What sort of gear do you think best represents your character or class? Does your shaman look best in glowing orange Earthshatter gear, or would you prefer something humbler, like the hooded, bead-bedecked garb that Go'el/Thrall now wears? Does your rogue strike a pose in the Al'Akir-esque turban of phosphorescence, or a more utilitarian concept such as the Assassination Armor?
What would you like to see for classes other than the one you most identify with? A gleaming set of pristine armor for the paladins? A razor-edged, dingy, but deadly-looking set of plate for warriors? Perhaps something a bit more traditional and humble for priests? Perhaps you think that the designs have become over-ornate, eschewing substance for frills.
Are some classes more suited to something a bit plain, while others should have over-the-top with effects? Does there need to be parity in special effects within a tier, or would you prefer armor that makes sense for each class, rather than being visually comparable?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Chivvy Nov 13th 2011 8:20AM
Mage sets should keep to 'magey' colors, namely blue, purple, red and a little bit of orange, and stay away from earthy colours. The purple version of the Time Lord's Regalia looks awesome, I'm not a huge fan of the brown set though.
Rogues should be...well, rouge-like. Simple gear that you can sneak around in, nothing too glowy as with some of the past sets.
Shamans, unlike Mages, should stick to the earthy colours. Browns, greens and reds all look great on Shaman, and they can even pull off some shades of blue. Personally, I prefer kilts and robes for Shaman, and some of the wolf-like motifs.
Calicia Nov 13th 2011 9:23AM
"Rogues should be...well, rouge-like. Simple gear that you can sneak around in, nothing too glowy as with some of the past sets."
This. I'm combat, so I go for more of a martial look whereas assassination and subtlety would be more ninja-like, but the concept is the same: simple.
Since the Defias set has some holes, I've gone away from that gear for transmogging, but I still think it's the best transmogging set for assassination/sub. For my combat rogue, I've put together a hodge-podge of gear that I like, but the most remarkable thing is that the belt and shoulders are from 30-40 level quest greens. No WWF belts or outrageous Joan Collins shoulders for my rogue.
I really like the simple offset shoulders that I found:
http://www.wowhead.com/item=33247
I found these single spaulders in four color combinations so I can always mix and match with other pieces if my transmogging tastes change.
Stridez Nov 13th 2011 10:18AM
"Rogues should be...well, rouge-like."
I'm not sure I can agree with this. Quite frankly, in PVP, a red rogue is a dead rogue. :P
On topic, I'm not sure what I want my armour sets to look like. These three paradigms you've listed all can work well, and can provide the art team with nice inspirations to draw from for each class.
But really, I just want it to look good. I'm well aware that what appeals to me is by no means representative of the community as a whole, or even anyone else for that matter! But for me, that's what it boils down to. You can have the coolest concept in the world, but if the execution is poor, those cool ideas have gone to waste, and we're stuck wearing ugly.
To be perfectly honest though, I'm pretty easy to please. I can usually see redeeming qualities in armour sets that have the general wow forum population ranting and raving (not that it takes much :P) I definitely hope the rise of transmogrification means that the art team can be a bit more adventurous with some of their future designs. I think DKs in particular could use a bit more variety in their tier sets. Skulls and spikes, anyone? There's gotta be more than that! :D
Eternauta Nov 13th 2011 12:25PM
Agreed with the kilt's for Shamans and Paladins.
BTW, I think set design should be based on class iconic looks rather than the monsters we kill. That's what I liked about the Vanilla tier sets.
The best pally tiers for me are T2, T6 and T13. All of them were based on Paladin lore more than raid lore.
Blayze Nov 13th 2011 8:29AM
I've stolen the Paladin's TBC dungeon set for my Warrior. Everyone else is likely to go for the "my stuff's been hit by maces so many times it's actually perfectly form-fitting now" look, but my Warrior's dressed in a set of full plate that actually looks like he intends to fight you in combat and not just impale his own head on his shoulder-mounted spikes.
EverythingRuned Nov 13th 2011 10:25AM
If you're talking about purple judgment, you might not be the only one to grab that 8]
Blayze Nov 13th 2011 4:14PM
No, I mean Righteous.
Soulflame Nov 13th 2011 8:40AM
I'll take this opportunity to again complain about the hunter tier armor. It looks silly and crappy. The only good sets were T1,2 and 5.
What I liked about T1 was that it wasn't stuff that wasn't body parts from creatures you killed. T2 and almost every set since then were trophies of stuff you killed. That's nice and dandy, but what about the other design philisophies?
We lack sets that embody what I would like to call 'counter-art'. The giantstalker set is actually made for combatting Giants (as opposed to trophies that prove you were already victorious). I would have loved for more tier sets (and hunters are not the only one with this problem) to embrace that philisophy. We could have had sets that focussed on water in T12, because water could be used to combat the fire (and fighting fire with fire is boring in this case as it looks a lot like grafting trophies again, coming back to philisophy 1).
The third philosophy (visuals based around class skills and talents) are used on other classes sets, but not on the hunters one. I am still waiting for sets that incorporate leaves and such, we are hunters, we need to blend in and stalk prey. T13 was the best point they could have done this; they gave other classes a set based on their new talents, and hunters got Camouflage at 85. So I was superexcited about T13, until they revealed it as just another trophy-style tier. Even worse, it is dragonstalker v2.0 and even worse than that, T13 is still not as good looking and iconic as T2. I fully expect over half of the hunters to transmogryph the set away...
Blizzard, please, for the next hunter sets, think more then 2 seconds about the viisuals.
llcjay2003 Nov 13th 2011 10:18AM
I agree with you for the most part, but I actually really like the Firelands tier for hunter.
Twill Nov 13th 2011 11:10AM
I like T11, but it serves a very specific water theme.
For transmog, I will have my female Night Elf in the outland re-color of T2
Texicles Nov 13th 2011 1:49PM
I would love to see a more traditional hunter look some time, a la the rangers of Tolkien lore or the even the archers/rangers of WC lore. Something simple, but deadly. Muted earth tones, some oxidized chain and hardened leather, that sort of thing.
Brock Nov 13th 2011 2:08PM
I too was hoping for a camouflage based set this time. I think the wyrmstalker set is really cool, it just doesn't look like hunter armor, pretty much like all hunter sets. I will be wearing leveling greens and quest gear comprised of leather and light mail in green and brown colors.
Emophia Nov 13th 2011 5:27PM
I really liked Tier 10, 11 and 12.
Not sure about 13 yet tho.
Saeadame Nov 13th 2011 8:39AM
Priests and Paladins should always wear ~rainbow~ armour, and have wings with sparkles.
Yes, that's right, SPARKLES.
Druids should be covered head to toe with ~bright green leaves~ with antlers and feathers sticking out from their joints.
HEAD & SHOULDERS, KNEES & TOES COVERED IN FEATHERS AND ANTLERS. And leaves. But mostly the other things.
Mages should be a cone of ~magical magicness~ which causes them to float on a cloud of ~pretty, sparkly magic~ (THAT WILL BURN YOU IF YOU TOUCH IT ~FIRREEEE~)
Warlocks should be covered in ~misshapen skulls~ with green glowy eyes and a necklace of demon horns.
'cause they be HORNY.
Warriors and Death Knights should ~drip blood~. Just, from everywhere. Leave a trail, like the Path of Cenarius only... bloodier.
Hunters should clearly look like fur trader types. Unshaven, unwashed, and wearing animal pelts with no underwear.
Because hunters are TOO EPIC FOR UNDERWEAR
Shamans should wear their totems like a rocket pack, ready to deply. What is this magically appearing from the air crap? NO - Rocket pack totems, I demand it.
Rogues should be invisible all the time. IF THEY'RE INVINCIBLE HOW COME YOU CAN SEE THEM?!?!
(I apologise for this, I've been up all night writing essays, and I have clearly driven myself insane. Oh well.)
Paciphae Nov 13th 2011 2:59PM
"Hunters should clearly look like fur trader types. Unshaven, unwashed, and wearing animal pelts with no underwear."
Said armor set should have a set bonus relating to all of the *fleas* that will undoubtedly be biting your character. "Two piece bonus: Insane Itching. Grants you the 'Flea Bitten Furmonger' buff giving you 10% increased attack power at the cost of 5% of your focus because your fleas are driving you mad."
Bart Nov 13th 2011 8:39AM
Make a sunwalker based set.
/end
Marolas Nov 13th 2011 5:16PM
Take any of the Paladin tiers that look like they were either rejected Shaman choices or deviations from the 'ideal paladin' theme. The red T8 from Ulduar and the green T10 from Icecrown Citadel come to mind. (You can also claim T5 if you'd like, but honestly I wouldn't wish sparkly-purple plate on anyone that didn't want it.)
After all, Sunwalkers aren't really worshippers of the Light per se, they're just reformed druids that know how the other half lives (praise of the sun instead of the moon). The day Blizzard can design a Tauren-focused paladin tier that also looks good on Blood Elves, Humans, and Dwarves is the day I stop complaining about Paladin skirts... I mean kilts.
It's not that I don't agree that the Sunwalkers need some love, I just don't think their design meshes with what is 'iconic' about paladins. But then again, now that transmogging is a reality, I guess they can go buck-wild with their choices to give more people access to what THEY think looks cool!
Tai Nov 13th 2011 8:50AM
I think it should be a combination of race and class. For instance, I can see my blood elf pally wearing the blood knight looking gear because she would never step out not looking perfectly matched and in her best. But I also have an undead hunter and for her I've been collecting raggedly looking clothes because she doesn't care. I'm not on an rp server, I just think that a troll rogue might want a different outfit than a goblin rogue would.
pinutos Nov 13th 2011 7:23PM
agree completely about gear matching race as much as class. I've gone with the war paint armor set as a base - hot weather trolls would prefer as little coverage as possible. Plus Tsunami boots since they're invisible on trolls. Always thought it was weird, 'boots' that didn't cover my feet.
Mortenebra Nov 13th 2011 8:59AM
It always seemed like it was easier to design something equal parts epic and non-hideous for the other classes-- everyone but hunters and, in some ways, rogues. Warlocks get to look dark, demonic, and intimidating. Mages get to be flashy and powerful like they fart magical prowess. Warriors look seasoned but resolute in plate-- even if their armor isn't polished, it still looks large and impressive. Paladins and priests should look like they attract and emit holy light energy (and thus glowy). Shaman and druids, being more natural and "primal" energy wielders can garb themselves in the majesty of nature. And DKs get to look dark and intimidating while being in plate.
But hunters and rogues seem like they would require streamlined gear for the purposes of having to move quickly and, for the most part, silently. I understand the idea behind hunters "wearing the latest and greatest kills," but it's just never been my cup of tea. Give us trophy halls for that sort of thing, if you must. Hunters should be in leather and mail, simple and weathered, and probably a lot of buckles to strap things down and keep them noiseless. When I was piecing together my transmog set for my hunter, almost everything was easy to pick out... Except the shoulders. It's hard to do "epic" and "utilitarian" at the same time. I always thought a hunter's "epicness" was in her gun, bow, or crossbow rather than her armor.
Stands to reason that my main alts are a paladin and a priest so I can be "epic" and "glowy" on my other days. lol