Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsHi, my name is Anne and I'm addicted to transmogrification
by Anne Stickney 
Mar 2nd 2012 at 9:00AM
I have a problem, and its name is transmogrification. I like collecting gear sets. I like picking up different pieces of gear and putting them together. I like making my character look unique and pretty, and I cannot stop. Every time I think I've found the perfect outfit, I keep it for about a week or two until someone in my guild invariably links a piece of gear that is just so cool that I have to find it and build another set around it. You'd think void storage would have solved my bank woes, but it really hasn't.
In fact, transmogrification has only made the issue worse -- and it all has to do with quest rewards. See, once you complete a quest and get the reward for it, you can't get that reward back again if you delete it to make room for things. Unfortunately, a lot of the nicest sets out there are floating about in 1-to-60 zones as part of quest chains that you cannot redo if you happen to lose that quest item. So if you want to continue to use it for transmogrification, you have to keep it. Forever.
You see the inherent problem here?
In fact, transmogrification has only made the issue worse -- and it all has to do with quest rewards. See, once you complete a quest and get the reward for it, you can't get that reward back again if you delete it to make room for things. Unfortunately, a lot of the nicest sets out there are floating about in 1-to-60 zones as part of quest chains that you cannot redo if you happen to lose that quest item. So if you want to continue to use it for transmogrification, you have to keep it. Forever.
You see the inherent problem here?
Right now, my void storage is full to bursting with old set pieces and weapons that look really, really cool -- and my bank is in the same state. Rather than alleviate space issues, void storage simply gave me more space to throw these really cool set pieces and made it easier for me to go out and nab and store any new cool pieces I wanted. The problem here is that there is a finite number of spaces in which I can store all this soulbound stuff, and there is far more amazing gear out there than there is space to put it all.
But I'm not the only one bitten by the transmogrification bug. There are a ton of blogs out there that have popped up on the subject. There's WoW! Fashion! and the unrelated WoW Fashion, both of which feature all kinds of original and outstanding sets. World of Wardrobes is an amazing resource site that has a list of armor models sortable by type and more importantly by color, complete with links to Wowhead so you can find all of that gear. Wowhead itself has its own transmogrification tool that lists all of the outstanding matched sets you can find in game. And then there's Go Mog Yourself, which features both author and user-submitted outfits and info on where to get the sets.
Obviously I'm not alone in my transmogging obsession -- and I seriously doubt I am alone in the dire need for more bank space. Blizzard gave us an amazing, innovative, and downright fun new toy with transmogrification, but unless we get more space, that tool is going to become way more of an annoyance than the super-fun toy that it is right now. I'm seriously hoping it adds more void storage slots or tabs in the near future; otherwise, Mists is going to be a painful bout of trying to decide what exactly I can part with in my bank -- something that I thought void storage was supposed to fix.
Patch 4.3 lets you transmogrify your gear to look like any other gear your class can wear -- but you have to collect it first. Check out our coverage of transmogrification and start running those old dungeons!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Transmogrification
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Rob Mar 2nd 2012 10:03AM
It sounds as if your guildies, and Blizzard (and some of the other commenters), are enablers. I'd recommend rerolling, but you might see something you like in the newbie area.
Mycroft Mar 2nd 2012 10:04AM
I am full of regrets, as while I like cool/interesting/unique mog items, I already blew through Loremaster of everything long before there was any kind of hint of transmogrification. With a few exceptions, all of the items I managed to actually save up are unusable. I have the invisible vest and old ironjaw on my druid, the high warlord's shield wall on my warrior, and the scarlet monastery mail on my paladin.
I'm sure if I found a piece from a quest that I really, really, really needed to have, I could put in a ticket, and after checking to make sure I completed the quest they could mail me the item, but there's definitely a limit to doing that, and even then it's not guaranteed.
Riari Mar 2nd 2012 11:59AM
I put in a ticket to try to get a quest reward back that I had deleted before transmog. The response was that they do not refund quest rewards, or do swaps. Unfortunately that was the only pair of a quest shoulders that had the color version but there luckily was a similar shoulders in another zone that had colors that would work.
Nathanyel Mar 2nd 2012 10:18AM
This is why I would've preferred that the Void Storage had come in the "Wardrobe" variety, a place where you could store old gear indefinitely (and without limit) but still use it for transmogrification.
mibu.work1 Mar 2nd 2012 10:20AM
I've come accross this problem as well. I deeply hate the current options for transmogrification, and love collecting armor sets. As such I've determined the best I can do is to build original sets for each of my alts.
Hunter: Dungeon set 1 outland recolor, with Rhok'delar and dranic windstaff for the weapons. THe shoulders are Defiler's mail spaulders, for that trollish look.
Warrior: Deathbone armor set, with Sul'thraze the lasher for trollish look.
Rogue: Set based in questing gear, for a more shinobi-eqsque look, helped by the wonderful Ginn-su sword double transmog.
I'll spare ya'll the rest, that's just what I'm most proud of.
Luotian Mar 2nd 2012 10:23AM
Links? I LOVE seeing armor sets people have worked hard on :).
Hoofio Mar 2nd 2012 11:28AM
Links you say?
http://eu.battle.net/static-render/eu/bronze-dragonflight/217/22553049-profilemain.jpg?alt=/wow/static/images/2d/profilemain/race/6-1.jpg
link your latest mog frenzy!
ThaJinx Mar 2nd 2012 10:26AM
I have this problem and it's horrible. I'm working on an outfit for my Blood Elf that pulls mainly from the Sun Cured leather items that you can buy in the Blood Elf starting areas along with some influence from the Eye of the Storm emissaries, and it has all come down to the pants. The Ghostclaw Leggings (http://www.wowhead.com/item=22998/ghostclaw-leggings) that are acquired while questing in the Ghostlands are a match for the emissary pants, but come on, I threw those out as soon as better gear was available to replace them.
The only other matching model are the Blastguard Pants (http://www.wowhead.com/item=29498/blastguard-pants), a crafted item for which the pattern can only be learned of you're Exalted with the Aldor, which means I'm currently slogging my way through the grind to take me there all the way from Exalted with the Scryers. I'm going to get a Feat of Strength out of the deal, but really, it seems like an awful lot of work for a pair of pants for simple aesthetic purposes.
...but I must have the pants.
ThaJinx Mar 2nd 2012 10:47AM
If anyone was curious to see what the full set would eventually look like, you can find it here: http://www.wowhead.com/compare?items=29332:24699.-18:31263.-60:29500:29498:24694.-18:24700.-18:24696.-18:64914
Edymnion Mar 2nd 2012 12:31PM
Try opening a ticket. I know in the past I've seen a cool item for a toon that was something I sold while leveling that can't really be gotten any other way, and I've opened a ticket with wording along the lines of "Hello, I did quest X back before transmog came out and ended up vendoring item Y from it because I upgraded. Now I'd like to use it for transmog, but thats the only place to get it from that I can find. Is there any chance I could get it back? I'd be happy to pay the money I got for selling it back."
Its worked every time I've used it so far. Last one it worked for was the Black Ice ring. It vendored for 100g and I didn't realize it actually showed up on your toon with it's own special model until after I had hocked it. GM was happy to take the 100g back and return the ring to me.
ThaJinx Mar 2nd 2012 12:48PM
Are you kidding me? I'd never even *thought* of that. I'll give that a shot as soon as I'm able to log in; thanks a lot for the tip!
lsprof4 Mar 2nd 2012 1:15PM
I love my Tauren war's Deathbone set, but I prefer my Frightskull shaft as a wep, leaves no room for interpretation.
lsprof4 Mar 2nd 2012 1:17PM
That was supposed to be a response to the post above, arrrrgghhh
Ithrandil Mar 2nd 2012 10:43AM
Reading this and messing around with the Mogit addon has given me a fantastic idea. What if Blizzard were to use the functionality of that addon: an in-game modelviewer of every piece of armor in game, that you can click on and add to a viewing room style preview. Combine that with a database of all item ID#s in game and a simple check to see if you've had the item (similar to how achievements check off when you equip a legendary or a piece of a certain ilevel for [EPIC! ] and such). Combine that with the database we know blizz already keeps of each character's completed quests. And of course make that the exact interface that opens up when you talk to the Transmog Ethereal NPC
Viola! an in-game, per-character database and UI for transmog that doesn't require anywhere near the data storage of keeping things in your bank, saves you a trip to an from the bank, and doesn't take up space for the player or organizing your bags. You just select a slot, scroll down the options you've unlocked, click it onto the character window and finalize the change.
marcoscr05 Mar 2nd 2012 10:49AM
I think I'm no t an xmog addict, but is awesome, I spend a lot of time looking at possible outfits but most of them I just forget.
About the quest rewards...I really want http://www.wowhead.com/item=41824 for my Tauren. And there seems to be 3 items with the same model, but 2 of them are main hand and I need a One-Hand. The drop in Azjol-Nerub is just a myth!
OUFanInKansas Mar 2nd 2012 10:46AM
My proposed solution...
Get rid of the need to store sets for mogging by not requiring you to have the physical item when visit the ethereals.
Instead, make the following changes:
* A new vendor that will take any item that can be a mog source. This vendor will take the item (and a bit of gold) and "destroy" the item.
* Items destroyed in this way are added to a mog list.
* To solve the quest reward issues, this list would be bind on account. So, if you destroyed a quest reward, an alt could earn this reward and then use it for mogging.
* The mogging interface would be changed to pick from a list of gear that a character has access to. This would be the gear on the player, (worn or in inventory) as well as gear from the mog list.
yab Mar 2nd 2012 10:53AM
Hi Anne. I too know that feeling. I'm spending all of my dailies money on Transmogrification as well.
Hoofio Mar 2nd 2012 11:12AM
Hi Ann /clap
My name's Hoofio and I like to mog too much too.
I don't think more bank space is the answer .. be honest, we'll never have enough, will we.
The reason we have finite bank space is ultimately an economic one for Blizz.. I'm sure they'd like to increase our bags ten-fold but that would cost in memory. The void bank thing of stripping gems and enchants, as everyone knows, is to save just the item ID and therefore "data space".
However, I was using the Everyquest add-on the other day to work out whether I could still get some shoulders from HFP.. (already did the q /cry) ... but I had a thought. It might not be perfect but I bet Blizz knows pretty much every quest we've done.. Why not keep the bag space the same but have some way for us to get rewards for quests we've completed again..
Maybe some timewarp (cough-ocarina-cough) device to just redo the quest or some other way like through the Darkmoon Faire? Blizz doesn't have to shell out for more server space, we can happily delete items in the knowledge we can get them back, mogging isn't a series of disappointments (why didn't I keep my Naxx frost resist gear?!?!?), dogs living with cats etc.. you get my drift?
Otherwise, I'm going to be very stressed about halfway through MoP when I start going out questing with literally three spaces in my bags... Unless the gear is as nasty as it was in Wrath.. dung coloured viking look? Don't think so. :P
Snuzzle Mar 2nd 2012 2:06PM
Sorry, I got to "Hoofio" before I couldn't continue, on account of me picturing a tauren warrior dressed up like Roofio from "Hook" complete with awesome hair, and groupies surrounding him chanting "Hoof-i-ohhhhh!"
You can see why I got distracted.
Chuckrox81 Mar 2nd 2012 11:24AM
My girlfriend has spent something like 6k gold on haircuts on one character. Maybe 10k overall. Ill just say that she enjoys her transmogging.
Nothing to feel anything about, it is a great feature. Best thing to come out of the cataclysm.