Unfortunately, players unhappy with the look of the new gear shouldn't be holding their collective breaths for an update. Drysc has already stated that Blizzard's artists are devoting all of their energy at Wrath of the Lich King. He says that it takes time to develop new armor sets and that he's not surprised that the new (Badge) gear are mostly color shifts. While Arena gear has traditionally been recolored versions of their PvE counterparts -- e.g. Season 1 gear was recolored Tier 4 -- the new sets create problems because they're no longer distinctive to each class but rather to the armor category to which they belong.
Discerning targets is an important part of PvP, and Season 4 gear makes that more difficult by homogenizing gear according to armor category. Take, for example, the Mail Shaman and Hunter sets pictured above. They are identical in design but differ slightly in their coloration. Just remember that Shamans have green accents and you should be set. Well, almost. The same dilemma exists for Rogues and Druids, Warriors and Paladins, and the three cloth classes.
If there's anything about players and their classes, at least in my experience, it's that players take pride in their distinctive appearance. I mean, could any other class honestly wear the Corruptor Raiment? One look and you know it's a Warlock. While its implications in PvP are obvious, its ramifications in terms of class pride, role-playing, and sheer player satisfaction shouldn't be dismissed. Many players like looking good. That's one reason why item sets are so popular. If anything, the minimal statistics raise, prohibitive personal ratings requirements, and the fact that they don't look distinctive per class are disincentives to obtaining Brutal Gladiator gear.
While it's too late to clamor for a change, I certainly hope that Drysc's proclamation that the armor models (among other things) in Wrath of the Lich King being "far and above better than anything in the game thus far" proves to be correct. More importantly, I hope that Blizzard is designing with class personality in mind. While I don't find the Brutal Gladiator item sets to be categorically unappealing, I do think they lack personality. I don't want my Warlock to be running around looking like a Mage. So even if Blizzards artists devote their energies to making super-cool armor for the expansion, if they're categorizing it by armor type rather than class, I honestly think it'll be brutally ugly. Will we see faction-specific class-distinctive (PvP) armor in WotLK? We can dream, can't we?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-03-2008 @ 6:17PM
kr3wman said...
The Plate Sets aren`t that bad looking and their color schemes are different enough.
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5-05-2008 @ 5:52PM
infection said...
what? with the antlers on it? are you kidding?
5-03-2008 @ 6:18PM
C.A. said...
Good to know that our subscription fees are going towards an expansion that isn't even out yet rather than making the current game that we all play a bit better. Oh well...
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5-03-2008 @ 7:06PM
PeeWee said...
Indeed, I always thought that the money they'll charge us for the expansion would pay for the actual development of it.
5-03-2008 @ 7:55PM
SpaceDog said...
Eh... This doesn't really make sense. Why are we talking about costs and fees? PeeWee, it's obviously a matter of time, not money. I don't see how money fits in to it. And what better way to make a game better than by giving it a new expansion?
Obviously the expansion has to be developed before it's released. Would you rather nothing at all was added while it's being developed?
I think the sets look alright. I understand people might be a bit disappointed that they're shared by different classes, but I think they look alright.
5-03-2008 @ 8:08PM
C.A. said...
@Spacedog: The money comes into when CM's say that the artists responsible are too busy working on a separate project (WotLK), when they should hire new artists for it or to fill the gap of the artists that move to the expansion project.
5-03-2008 @ 10:51PM
Freehugz said...
Yeah! All the developers should work for free and get paid after the expansion comes out so they won't touch MY subscription fee money.
/sarcasm
5-04-2008 @ 6:54AM
SpaceDog said...
Of course I understand that time spent also requires money to be paid, but no one here can really pretend to have any idea regarding how our subscriptions are being spent.
I think Freehugz is right (albeit sarcastic :) ).
Also, I doubt it's as straightforward as "hiring more artists". Similarly I don't know the inner working of the Blizzard departments, but I wouldn't expect a bunch of new people to be employed, trained up etc. just for a new set of arena gear that a relatively small number of people will obtain.
5-04-2008 @ 7:24AM
C.A. said...
I can understand that. I wouldn't expect Blizz to hire people just for arena gear either (or work for free, freehugz :P). I personally hate arena.
It just seems like they are making an excuse as the reason to reskin the armor because the artists are so busy. I can't say for sure, but the company seems to be doing okay money-wise and this just seems like cutting corners where it's unnecessary.
I'm sure they would be put to good use after they made art for armor, like maybe finishing the top of everything in Azeroth so we could use our flying mounts there or something like that.
5-03-2008 @ 6:18PM
Dekae said...
Brutally ugly gear will stay ugly ...Brutallity?
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5-05-2008 @ 4:22PM
Badger said...
Dude, this overuse of the word "brutal" is totally BRUTAL.
/Nathan_Explosion
5-03-2008 @ 6:28PM
Edgewalker said...
Here's a tip for shamans and hunters. If you see someone decked out in that gear, it's probably not a hunter. If it is, well you probably are fighting one of the top 20 hunters in the game. Good luck.
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5-03-2008 @ 7:07PM
Angus said...
LOL
You realize the exact same thing will be true of the Shaman, right?
And the shaman will pretty much all be resto.
5-05-2008 @ 2:09PM
Silverrealm said...
"you are probably fighting one to of the top 20 hunter's in game"
This was funny! I do enjoy identifying people by their gear when they run around the major cities.... seeing them at the mailbox... but I am not a big junkie on gear.
I don't care that my gear isn't a set, although I am primarily PvE. But to some people this is apparently a disaster... *shrug*
As they say "I don't know, I never understood it".
5-03-2008 @ 6:29PM
Zarzuur said...
IMO, gladiator gear should either look battleworn/ugly or ceremonial/shiny. Also dungeon and tier sets should be themed according to their sources.
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5-03-2008 @ 8:55PM
Lohrr said...
I agree completely.
And where are the faction specific gears? I think the old Grand Marshal's and High Warlord's are some of the best armor (and weapon) sets. On first sight you know what class they are and which faction they belongs to.
http://www.wowhead.com/?search=high%20warlord
http://www.wowhead.com/?search=grand%20marshal
What's better to show your allegiance than a shield with a huge emblem of your faction on it?
Armor sets should show from where they're obtained, because they shows the wearer's story. You should be able to look at a guy's gear and say "Oh that pally is a veteran for the alliance" or "that warlock has been to the Outlands".
5-03-2008 @ 6:32PM
Sirg said...
They should have recolored some of the older sets, like an old dungeon set or tier. These look overdone and you get the feeling that the artist was bored. Having the same models for casters or melee is terrible.
Wow had a problem because so many people look the same, and now it gets worse.
Now I think that having such a high arena requirement rating is a good thing - we won't see many of these ugly pieces :)
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5-03-2008 @ 6:32PM
Mats said...
I think this is a good thing.
I saw the Tier 3 looks go to wast, had to be re-used on mobs so people could see it.
Might as well make these sets, who so few will be using, somewhat ugly, so that they don't go to wast as well.
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5-03-2008 @ 6:56PM
Stormtamer said...
Can understand your point Mats, but the very best PVP gear in the game pre-expansion, should really not just look exactly the same on everyone.
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5-03-2008 @ 7:03PM
Slayblaze said...
There is no way I would be caught dead wearing this crap, even though it MAY actually cost me my (virtual) life by having lower stats. I like being more powerful in better gear, yes. But I do have certain standards and a sense of style and what looks good. This garbage doesn't even meet my barest of bare minimum standards. Blizzard should be ashamed for what they've decided to release in this gear, and the attitude that "it'll be okay" since they are busy working on other projects is absolute bullshit.
I realize they are on certain timetables for future releases but seriously...they need to pull a small team of 5 artists to clean this stuff up before it goes live. There is simply no excuse not to.
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