In pre-launch days, the one system I disliked the most in Guild Wars 2-to-be was the transmutation system. Coming from Lord of the Rings Online, with its excellent wardrobe system, the design of the Guild Wars 2 transmutation stones felt like a step backwards in usability and a step forwards in the cash shop arena.
This system, I felt, directly went against the idea of Guild Wars 2 rewards. I felt I the cost of using cool skins, for say a week, was too high. At the base level, I had to overwrite a skin or make a new item. It cost inventory slots, or it cost gold. This is ignoring the transmutation stone to begin with.
Thankfully ArenaNet is finally creating a full wardrobe system.
Skins are now account-wide unlocks. Instead of having a single sticker that a player has to use and re-use, it’s like having a machine that can make any amount of stickers I want. My Grenth Hood is one of my favorite acquisitions, but since it was a gem store item I only had one. Now I get that skin unlocked and all of my characters can get a Grenth Hood.
Applying a skin to an item still costs a Transmutation Charge, but players with hoarded transmutation items can convert them. Still, the system seems much easier to digest in terms of purchasing more Transmutation Charges. The cost is much simpler to understand.
I think the best part is that now unlocking skins seems like a worthwhile goal. I feel players will want to unlock the skin, for if nothing else to have the capability to use. My inventory is going to clear out as well. I have been hoarding skins from the start.
This is by far the best part of the feature pack coming in a few weeks. I am looking forward to the new traits and other balances, but I feel that this feature is going to be the star of the show. We have a few more blog posts to look forward to, so there might be other surprises in store as well.
–Ravious
I just read some of the multiple forum threads on this and there are quite a number of ostensibly sound reasons why it’s not a great deal for everyone. I agree that the existing system is cumbersome and this is something of an improvement but it still looks fussy and over-complicated to me, especially compared with systems in other games like DCUO. I guess we won’t know for sure until we see it in game.
I have much more of a problem with how armor and clothes actually look in GW2 than I have ever had with how they are applied. There has never been one single skin for either weapons or armor sold in the Gem Store or given as a Living Story or other special event reward that I would use on any character of mine for free. That’s why the upcoming Wardrobe is going to be so good for me on bank space – I kept all the free ones even though I knew I would never use them because…well, because I don’t know why…
What’s more, there’s precious little in-game armor that I like either. I spent almost an entire Sunday quite recently looking at every single tradeable piece of light and medium armor on the Trading Post plus all the Cultural and Karma armor in the game on various websites. I was literally unable to find anything I liked that I didn’t already own.
In fact, almost all the looks that I like are very low-level common drops, low-level crafted and low-level Heart vendor items. The exceptions are some of the Orrian weapons and the Krait high-level crafted stuff. Before I get excited over having a Wardrobe ANet are going to have to get some designers who can make new items that look like something I can actually imagine any of my characters wearing. When I look at my folder of beta screenshots it’s quite disheartening to see how much better everyone looked back then compared to the Fancy-dress Warehouse on Fire Tyria has become.
I’m ambivalent on the Dye change too. I only ever use dropped dyes. I have never bought one to use on the Trading Post. (To resell, yes). I have always seen dropped dyes in the same light as Collections in other MMOs, a fun activity that adds a bit of excitement to everyday play. I also liked them being character bound because that added a secondary level of entertainment in deciding who would have each one.
Consequently, for me at least, the Wardrobe change is at best neutral and the dye change removes an aspect of gameplay that I enjoyed. I don’t feel particularly strongly about either change and there are some positives, but on balance and on paper it feels mildly negative. Maybe I’ll like the changes better when I get to see them in action. I hope so. Chances are, though, that both will be something I’ve forgotten about in a matter of days.
I applaud the change. Ever since City of Heroes did this in 2004, I have wondered why so few games have followed.
Been sitting on my single piece of Scarlet’s Spaulders skin, waiting with bated breath for something like this. The charr and asura were both trying to fight over it, and I had no idea whose look I wanted to change more, and using which stats.
At least now the option for overwriting a look onto the same piece of armor is there, while paying for the privilege in either real money, exchanged gold, or more impetus for map completion on alts.
Slow clap.
Still not enough to bring me back, but it is one of features I will look up to, if I ever reconsider my GW2 status ;).
Is Anet planning anything in similar fashion for weapons? I would love to mess around on low lvl toon with the Eternity and stuff :D
Yup, anything that could use a transmutation stone is now in the wardrobe system.
Good, goooood… now I only need blood of a virgin… wait?! What? Did I said it out loud?!
If you ever reconsider your GW2 status, end of April would probably be a good time to do so (as the massive feature pack is released on April 15th, but we know straight after patch is often not the best time to try it out). It may not address your core issues, I don’t know, but an awful lot of what’s being changed is stuff that people were crying out for at launch and in the first year.
I was always pleased to get a dye drop, -1.
Gloves that drip orange muck that look good on nobody but I hesitate to delete no longer in bank, +1.
50-odd items held in bank because it’s faster than previewing from the TP no longer in bank, +1.
They seriously need to get the person responsible for low level gear to come back and design us some more skins. I am not a Laser-Bat. Not doing that, -1.
Still no elegant Legendary skins, -1.
It’s great news for people with restricted bank space but doesn’t give me any options for playing Dress-Up that I didn’t already have. It looks like it was a lot of work too, should have just given everyone a free bank tab.
“Gloves that drip orange muck that look good on nobody but I hesitate to delete no longer in bank, +1.”
THIS. I want to keep my souvenirs from the living story, but I don’t need this on any of my characters and these things take up more and more bank space (I almost want a trophy cabinet).
“They seriously need to get the person responsible for low level gear to come back and design us some more skins. I am not a Laser-Bat. Not doing that, -1.”
Myself and my boyfriend feel the same. What I would really like to see is for the gem store to stock some new cultural designs – have ‘Norn Week’ and ‘Asura Week’ etc all over again. Adding some sparkles and some tech-look gear is well and good but let’s not JUST add that when Tyria already has such charming aesthetics.
I just sold all my dyes… now I am 150 gold richer…
It’s a bit of a gamble not using your own avatar on this site because you never know what you are going to get Joao.
Nevermind, at least you are rich.now.
I like the new collection aspect, but still using a charge every time turns changing armor still into a limited decision. “Is changing to this skin worth the cost of using a charge”. So aside from the UI, I see myself changing how my armor looks about as often as I do now.
I know, though… B2P. I guess I was just hoping for a “collect and unlock” method. Like, you can collect all the skins, but then the charges could be used to permanently unlock it for unlimited wardrobe use… or if you use a charge on it once, you can forever. … Maybe I’m just too use to Secret World. If every time I changed outfits, I had to use a store-purchasable-consumable, I wouldn’t really touch the system.
So I assume the way everybody is onboard with this, is that once we can use the skin over and over again. The cost each time is a charge and does not destroy the skin? Like the achievement skins, kind of?
Whatever. While I do get a little tired of seeing the same skin on my character, it doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the game. I wouldn’t come back for that if I had left either jcSadOne.
I know, right?
My beef wasn’t with customization (even if it was extremely lacking in customization oriented game), but with writing and storytelling.
Re. my earlier comment: storytelling… has shown some improvements. But still has a way to come, IMO (and this from a fangirl and lore fan).