Okay, so back when the old Grand Marshal and Warlord PvP sets were scrapped in favor of Gladiator gear for honor, I was actually pretty dismayed, but not for the same reason as most others. I wasn't really concerned about "Welfare Epics" or "AFKavers" simply standing at the entrance of AV and getting good gear because of it. I was sad because the look of the sets was going away!
Yeah, that my sound a bit crazy, but bear with me for a bit, let me explain myself.
With a lot of people complaining that the Burning Crusade has led to the homogenization of the factions, the old PvP gear was some of the last gear that truly differentiated the factions and allowed you to proclaim your pride. The polished golden armor and brightly colored silks of the knights of the Alliance were in clear contrast to the dark, bloody colors of the Legionnaires of the Horde. High-ranking Alliance Warriors, Paladins, and Hunters especially were immediately recognizable by shoulders which carry alliance insignias, and the weapons available to both sides carried insignias and emblems of their respective allegiances.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving Shamans and Paladins for both sides (and giving Seal of Blood to the Alliance), but there's still something to be said for having some pride in your faction when you're engaging in Battlegrounds or World PvP, and there's few better ways to show that pride (besides a yell or an emote that the other side won't even understand) than showing your faction's colors or symbols in battle. That was where it was really nice to be able to have that look. It went even more-so for Trolls. Warlord's gear was the only way some Trolls had to ever get some full boot cover on their poor calloused feet.
We've got the stats back from that old level 70 gear, as it is now purchasable for gold and reputation, but unfortunately, it's back with generic skins that are the same for both factions. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. It's probably not quite possible, or at least a bit much work, for them to have the vendors sell the old gear straight up, since they'd have to somehow make the vendors show different sets of gear to Horde and Alliance. But that said, the generic sets seem a bit bland compared to the grand old golden eagle and lion's head crest of the Grand Marshal's Plate Shoulders or the giant spiked crescent of the High Warlord's Plate Shoulders. I'd love to have those back on a level 70 set so my characters can show their support for their faction.
In the interest of fairness, I should note that you can still get the old Horde and Alliance armor looks on the level 60 PvP gear, so if you're willing to take a somewhat major stat hit, you can still show your spirit. But seriously, can't I look good AND have the power to split the skulls of all those Horde savages who dare defile the sacred woods of Ashenvale?
What do you think? Is PvP gear getting too homogenized? Or does all that matter is that a Gnome is dead whether the axe that cleaved them in twain has a Horde emblem emblazoned on it or not?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-09-2008 @ 7:56PM
Durane said...
I agree... I miss faction-specific armor. I'm hoping it makes a comeback in WotLK with the introduction of Lake Wintergrasp. That'd make me happy.
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3-09-2008 @ 7:57PM
Elmo said...
paladins and shamans trade was fine.
but what they did with Shattrath and the non-unique look on pvp sets make me a bit sad.
the rivalry between the Horde and the Alliance is gone.
they are now more happy friends who want to achieve the same things. except for that there are a few bullies who still like to hunt each other.
the arena also removed Horde Alliance battles, world pvp is gone thanks to flying mounts and 70 elite guards in every town.
as it seems now there isn't much room left for fooling around.
you either do arena or pve or you have nothing to do.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:03PM
Junzim said...
Exactly.
I've always been saddened that before the gear used to say "FOR THE HORDE!" or "FOR THE ALLIANCE!!" or "FOR STORMWIND!"
Now it says "I'M A PRIEST!" "I'M A MAGE!!" etc
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3-09-2008 @ 8:05PM
Kaphik said...
This is pretty much the only issue I have with the current gear. Unique looks are gone, and it smacks of laziness. It was one thing to bring back the old tier armor as greens and blues, but no new armor models?
One used to see someone in pvp armor and they knew they'd have a fight on their hand. If they saw someone in Tier 2 or Tier 3 armor, they knew what that person went through to get it.
A big part of the appeal of a role playing game is customizing one's character. In MMORPGs that customization is done mainly through gear. Everyone is starting to look exactly the same, and it's getting pretty boring.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:15PM
Brunixx said...
Yeah, I agree. I think even just having our gear with the colors of our faction would be a good start, because it really is wierd that horde and alliance look exactly the same.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:21PM
Zarzuur said...
I wonder how the Wrath sets will look compared to the Outland ones ..
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3-09-2008 @ 8:28PM
Durane said...
It really is lazy. I like being able to look at someone and tell what faction they are from they're armor. I want something that looks somewhat unique.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:35PM
Saldemora said...
Yea this with many other things will bring the end of Wow's success. They're starting to worry too much about drawing in more players than keeping the game competitive and fun.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:36PM
Slayblaze said...
It seems odd but even with the myriad of problems with the oldschool PVP back before Arena and BC, there are some things that are missing now, and the unique armor sets are one of them. I wonder if we were so glad for any change to what was often a frustrating PVP reward system, that we ended up throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
I actually wouldn't mind going back to the old way where you bought honor with marks, titles with honor, and gear with gold while holding a certain title. It was a good thing to do away with the old 'honor decay', so that should stay as it is now. But bring back the unique PVP gear sets, and make the best top-tier set be only available through BG's and not just a color pallette swap with the PVE gear (they could keep the Arena Season the same as they do it now since it is so easy to get anyway, that *shouldn't* be unique).
That would help out the spark back into battlegrounds but now that Blizz is focusing too much on Arena e-sport competition I have little hope of much future BG improvement beyond the occasional half-hearted tweak.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:37PM
Pål said...
Having vendors show different inventory based on your faction is no problem. I took a Tauren Druid to Elwynn on the tournament test realm, and the general goods vendor still had the wolf, not the tiger, and the accessory vendor had the insignia of the Horde.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:38PM
hpavc said...
When blood elf paladins had their own amazing set i was impressed, but then the alliance shaman had the horde models and textures ... lol.
Yeah, lazy is bad ... unless they are just going to make something gold ... then that is horrible. Enough with the gold, no more gold.
The gm hunter shoulders on an elf, just amazing. The warrior shoulders with that little tassel ... nice touch well done.
All the very rounded pieces with large glowing gems ... reminds me of the guy that ruined all the epic mounts, lightforge, and succubus models with glowing eyes on one patch.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:42PM
Baluki said...
I agree, I miss the faction-specific gear. I don't know if they should make brand new models for faction gear, but it would be nice if we could display faction insignias in certain areas of our gear, like the shoulders (especially shoulders), knees, cloak, shield, and maybe even a small one on the head. Having tabards is nice, but you can't always see them (especially on trolls).
Or maybe they could have everyone carry around a faction banner on their back in Battlegrounds like they do in Arenas. That might be taking it too far though.
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3-09-2008 @ 8:58PM
englishpolice said...
"Wherefore art thou?" equates to "why are you?" not "where are you?".
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3-10-2008 @ 6:11AM
Daniel Whitcomb said...
Well, I was going to make my subject "Does PvP gear with any other skin look just as sweet?" but that just seemed overly clunky. :)
3-09-2008 @ 9:54PM
Adam said...
Couldn't agree more. Gladiator gear should look like it's meant for PvP, it shouldn't just be recoloured PvE gear.
You should be able to look at someone and not have to ask, "Wait, is that Vengeful gear or Tier 6?"
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3-09-2008 @ 10:43PM
shabaz said...
Just look at past historical battles. People showed the colors and they represented their countries. I love alliance i am all about it, and i want to show my shinny gold armor proudly
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3-09-2008 @ 11:00PM
Kevin said...
I still think the grand marshal's claymore http://www.wowhead.com/?item=18876#sold-by is one of the coolest 2-handers in the game. I was recently watching Level 60 pvp videos and that sword is just so big and cool looking.
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3-10-2008 @ 1:18AM
Lanth said...
Still got my blue PVP set in the bank from when I was 60. Champions Dreadgear (for warlocks), one of the more awesome looking sets.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Champion%27s_Dreadgear
Lasted me for a while, still had at least one in Nagrand. Occasionally wear it in Shat for kicks.
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3-10-2008 @ 1:54AM
Raaj said...
What's the easiest way around this laziness, you may ask?
Cave in and add the feature that more and more MMO's are adding these days: appearance slots. Then they can continue making horrible looking armor and I won't care because I can keep showing something better over it.
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3-10-2008 @ 1:54AM
Khanster said...
i had this talk with a rogue buddy of mine and we were like they should totally reskin the pvp s1 weps because we just loved the ol skool look of them.
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