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MMOSide Chat - How Important Are Cosmetics To You? | MMORPG.com
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MMOSide Chat - How Important Are Cosmetics To You? | MMORPG.com
Personalizing your avatar is something many people say they love about playing online games. Showing off the new costume or the powerful end-game armor you found are some things Bradford's buddies enjoy doing in their MMO. How about you? How important are cosmetics to you?
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I can remember top level armour getting more and more fancy in Lotro, but my no nonsense Dwarf looked ridiculous to me, though other guild members loved the new armours. Eventually a costume option came in where you could have an overlay outfit that was not what you were wearing for defence and buffs. I had thrown away my "best" plate, it had a simple efficient look, lived in, battled and gave a classic no nonsense Dwarf look. So I picked that up and guildies where like "You got that old gear again from what 30 levels ago?" Others saw the point though.
However, I tend not to like how cosmetics are implemented in these games. Additionally, I'd just prefer our own gear to have "the look" I want.
What's the point of giving gear their own visuals?
Either make it so that "gear" is just a set of stats and apply anything you want or make it so that you can permanently apply a visual to gear.
I don't like that Lord of the Rings Online approach where you have a hooded robe and a non hooded robe. I'd prefer something like Everquest where you can put the hood up or down. Lord of the Rings Online has some of the worst gear designs I've ever seen in a game.
I don't like how in Elder Scrolls Online you can have a cosmetic with a helmet but can't take the helmet off.
They should just have people who love cosmetic systems design it or ask people who utilize cosmetic systems what they want to see.
Additionally, I would prefer cosmetics to look like what they are. So not wearing full armor but having the cosmetic be a wispy gossamer robe.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
(My son speaking to his Japanese Grandmother) " Sorry Obaba, I don't speak Japanese, I only speak human."
I'm usually wearing a mishmash of armor and have since I started MMO gaming in 1999. I do notice cosmetics, but it really just doesn't make a huge difference for me.
Wait, which cosmetics with a helmet do not have the option to remove the helmet?
CO works that way (and TSW did too, rest in peace). Your stats has no relation to the outfit you have equipped, so you can freely wear anything you like.
ed. and for the peasant VLDL video, I like to gather the different emotes too
Most of Age of Conan's armor while in keeping with the lore, is pretty bland and I'd rather not look like everyone else so putting an outfit together works; but I only pick from what's in game, I wouldn't spend money to do it.
Dungeons & Dragons Online - most of the stock stuff is fine so it's only rarely I'll change it, but again if I do it's only because I got a free mirror to use on something I've gotten in game.
Lord of the Rings Online - I'm more willing to do cosmetics in LotRO just because it's so easy to use stuff you get in game.
Star Trek Online - I'd say this one is the most important cosmetic-wise. If I'm going to make a classic Trek character than he's got to wear the right uniform. STO is also the only game I've spent money on for cosmetics since my Romulan just had to have the classic Trek look.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
The catch for me is you have to be able to get whatever currency also thru game play to buy the items in the shop. Granted I can agree with making it a grind to get the currencies. It would allow those that want the item to just buy it or grind for it.
With that said, I detest cosmetics in loot crates where you don't get what you actually wanted. All of those can die a fiery death.
This fundamentally changes based on what "winning" is to you, and even more so in the context of an MMO. For a lot of folks I play with getting their character to look cool, is "winning", as in that is the part of the game that they really play for.
I get (and appreciate) the point that, at least you don't have spend dollars to be competitive in dungeons. Personally I really need to feel more of a connection with the way my character looks, rather than just being a great bit stat stick.
And they have been from the start. Even if the way an armor looks only reflects what it is, like for example back in EQ1, Soulfire being a flaming sword, this was a massive part of the game, because if Soulfire looked like every other sword, there would have been a huge letdown for everyone that earned it. They wanted that special skin to show they earned that special weapon.
But even back in EQ, some players hated how some graphics looked, wore older under powered gear because they liked the way it looked, like all those Druids running around in Black Chitin Leggings, because they were 'Plate' and looked badass, or to go with their GEB and finish the set with Brown Chitin Breastplate.
Even starting players where they putting on the most recent looted item, because it's all they have, and better than what they have, still take a moment to compare it to their previous item, to see if it looks better, worse, different, etc.
Anyway, cosmetics have been a huge part of MMO's mainly because the game is visual, so like anything visual, cosmetics, the graphics, and how things look, play a role in the overall ambiance of the game.
With that said, Ideally, I liked how GW2 had a wardrobe, where if I unlocked a skin, I could apply that skin to any matching item I was wearing. IE: Heavy Armor Skins go on Heavy Armor, Sword Skins go on Swords, Staff Skins on Staffs, etc, etc,
I prefer this idea to things like Outfits or Cosmetic Weapon slots, because it still keeps what I am wearing/using, to what I am wearing/using as what it is.
This way when I change my gear, the graphics change with it, this is super handy for weapon swaps, so I can see what I am using as I am using it.
I just think this is the best cosmetic armor/weapon system I have dealt with.
GW2 is also a rather unique situation where collecting skins for your weapons is in fact a huge part of the game as a whole. Which is not a bad system all things said and done.
But, As always, I am going to say this again. I support selling playable content, and that everything players want, should be put in that content pack, where they can play that content to earn whatever it is they want, be it skins, mini's, mounts, weapons, armor, or whatever. They want a fancy weapon skin, they buy the Adventure Pack/Expansion, that has it, and then they go play the game to get it. Simple as that.
But then again, I am not against selling Cosmetic Items in the store, and I think a dual system could be in place, where players can choose between paying or playing for the skin, depending on their mood, in either case, I think the content needs to be sold regardless, like you need to buy the adventure pack/expansion to unlock being able to buy any of the skins/cosmetics/items/mounts/mini's/etc from the pack.
But in any regards, cosmetics are a huge part of MMO's even people that try to play off that they are not into them , are into them, they want a specific look, they may want to look very Spartan, or they may want to look very Ostentatious, I think the ongoing joke I have heard about Gamers is their Color scheme is Black, Black, Black, with a little more Black. But, some really get into vibrant colors, they like the shiny, others get into themes for their individual characters, where their Cleric looks like a Lighthouse beacon, of colors and effects, and their Barb is in a Minimalist look wearing black.
But in either case, the more invested a player becomes in a game, more they have worked on and developed their character, the more they are driven to build a custom or desired look they are going for, to present themselves, they want to look a specific way to send a specific vibe.
Just like the first post, where they talk about their cosmetic armor is a suit of what looks like generic armor, but they have a reason for wanting to look this way, they put in effort to look that exact way, they didn't just grab whatever from a chest and slap that on without a care in the world.
So, Cosmetics are, and will always be a huge part of MMO's, the question is only, how well they are used and implemented.
For me, GW2 really sold me how amazing they could be for a game, and I love their system to no end, I have also contented myself with what DDO does, and I can see the advantage of having a single Cosmetic Armor slot, so my armor stays the same from first level to max level, but then again, the graphics in DDO are old, sedated, and very limited compared to GW2, so, it's not as much a big deal that DDO has in comparison such a rudimentary cosmetic system.
The Cosmetic Armor Slots in BDO on the other hand, made it feel like they were using some archaic outdated system in a modern game, and thus they were not even trying, they could have done a much better, more involved system like what GW2 had, and given how much they invested into graphics in that game, it was a wonder why they didn't, so that was a neg shot on their system for me, and while still an amazingly beautiful game graphically, bleh. But as I recall, that was done to push the store, so there is also that, but again, that is not a good sale point for me to shove the store down my throat.
Anyway. Yah, cosmetics are always going to be a huge thing for MMO's, either as marks of progress and accomplishment, or just a means to make an avatars ass look sexier, they are always going to be a huge part of the MMO landscape.
So, toss a coin to your cosmetics shop.
I self identify as a monkey.
However there have been two different places to hide them ever since they added the "outfits" collectibles tab.
The hide helmet for virtually all things is under appearance > hats of the collections tab - it's right at the top left.
For polymorphs there is a separate setting under Settings > Gameplay called "Hide Polymorph Helmet... that's where "hide helmet" used to be before they added the collectibles tab back in 2018.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I certainly don't obsess over it and typically skip right over the section of patch notes that discuss new outfits or new mount skins.
Having said that...
ShankTheTank said:
... I agree with you. To many that is definitely a big part of their game play and cash shops always treat cosmetics as the least egregious thing to carve out of games and sell instead.
Any player who considers cosmetics a core part of their game play is being disproportionately targetted and steered toward the cash shop of all MMOs compared to those of us who barely pay attention to cosmetics.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
WoW, just looking like things you have earned. With the ability to run lower level dungeons solo. It was also a awesome way to earn cash. Same thing, I could change my look every day and never run out of new combinations.
That being said. I just wanna look cool, some style. My fav outfit in ESO was the one I earned in the thieves guild. Im easy to please. I love in WoW I can hide lots of armor slots, belt, cape, chest and shoulders. So my character does not look so cluttered.
I dont mind a company making money on cosmetics but I dont have to look like a noob while they make money in a cash shop.
Went searching for some cosmetics on offer but they were even more hideous and finally some came on offer a few days back if you can call 25 Euros cheap I bought it. The original price may have been 35 Euros.
I get that Path of Exile is free to play but the armour in the game is deliberately ugly. I think they must have devoted a few employees to make the dropped armour look especially drab and to encourage players who are staring at their toons for hours on end to surrender and purchase some outfits.
I think some of them are priced ridiculously high. That I guess is a matter of taste that the ones I like are all so expensive. On the other hand spending so much time playing it I cannot really get upset when the game gives me so many hours of fun that I throw some money their way because they have definitely earned it in spades.
However in a lot of other games I have never bothered about cosmetics. I have run around with the armour I've obtained in game and haven't had any desire to buy anything from the shop. When my husband and I were playing SWTOR he would spend so much time just trying to get outfits on the Galactic Market the auction house in the game. I think that was what it was called. Since we had subscribed, I refuse to play that game without one, we had loads of coins. So he would buy packs and sell them on the market then get whatever costume he liked. He was really into it and his toons were dressed to the nines. I always poked fun at him saying he was worse than a woman as far as shopping for outfits went.
I have mixed feeling about it. I think the game should not diabolically make sure the armour that one obtained while playing was not so hideous that you would be subtly manipulated into buying cosmetics. I feel that some decent options should exist in game and exclusive to the game and not found in the cosmetic shop.
However this is a tricky thing when the game is F2P. Then you cannot really complain because it would look so petty but on the other hand the murder hobo look is so unattractive.