Lord of the Rings Online

Originally posted by heerobya

It will become a common practice in all future MMOs.

Mark my words.

Why will it become the new "standard?"

Because people are:

A) Tired of the devs telling us what looks cool, maybe I don't like the look of the uber gear
B) Tired of looking like garbage until you get the uber gear
C) Tired of looking exactly like everyone else

For the PvP issue, I think this should apply to PvP as well. But you don't get to choose what you look like. Let me explain:

PvP based on Rank, like LOTRO, and like LoTRO MP you get new looks when you gain Rank. 

That way, you can look at another person and see what PvP Rank they are without having to mouse over them or click on them, etc.

Why? Increased performance, instant recognition of a player's relative prowess in PvP.

And also, what Army is the history of Armies has NOT had some sort of uniform? Some sort of visible identifiers of rank? 

Prove to me you're uber based off what you do in PvP, not on how many shiny epix you are wearing.

Sorry I have never thought anyone was uber because of PvP, especially in this game where PvMP is really a joke (but trying to improve so I will give it that.)  PvP rank here...earned by standing in a group outside or inside a fort trying to hit everything you can so if that player happens to die you earn credit.  Or wow you must be uber, 4 of you ganked 1 player...give me a break.  There is no fair fighting or balance in this to where skill actually comes into play.  The only thing I would think if a players clothes showed off PvMP aspects is "Ok, they PvMP."

I have much more respect for someone wearing epics because most of the time it was earned through group play and you had to do your job within a team to succeed.

I look forward to the clothing option coming and I think it will enhance game place nicely.

Point taken. And you might laugh: I agree.

If the game was as authentic as it could be, you could go to an Elven smith and tell him to craft armor look XY for you and you'd be fine.

But as it is, you ARE forced into looking like a packed warrior if you're a Champion, no way around this. But maybe some champion players want their characters to  be swift and agile. You can get the items for this, but you will STILL look like a full blown warrior in battle armor, although all your gear is, lets say +agility.

So yea, I agree if you can tell what it does by the look of an armor piece. Until then, I love this customization...

Meridion

Its true thats EQ2 has implemented this kind of system before LOTRO (i am a EQ2 player) but it really doesnt matter who did it first, at least for me. Its good to know that Turbine is doind a good job administrating their game. Listgen to what your player base want or have to say is a path to success and im glad they are following it. Good job Turbine!

Originally posted by Teiraa

Originally posted by Kyleran

I think its a nice idea for PVE based games like LotRO, and bad one for more PVP oriented games since recognition of what a player is wearing can be an important part of knowing the capabilities of your opponent.

That's exactly why in LotRo this feature will be disabled in PvP zones.

Nice to see I wasn't alone in my thinking.  I haven't seen it so much recently, but back in the day in DAOC it was actually quite hard to determine what class other players were, especially from other realms.  I used to enjoy the subterfuge that went on all the time (I had a Healer who was indistinguishable from a Thane) but in the end there were clues in the types of weapons people wielded or armor worn that could help you discern what they were.  My worry in PVP is if players were allowed to just pick what they wanted to look like, you'd never be sure what they were until you saw the first cast or sword swing.

But not an issue for LotRO as you pointed out, they've taken the proper approach IMO.

Originally posted by Kyleran

 

Originally posted by Teiraa

Originally posted by Kyleran

I think its a nice idea for PVE based games like LotRO, and bad one for more PVP oriented games since recognition of what a player is wearing can be an important part of knowing the capabilities of your opponent.

That's exactly why in LotRo this feature will be disabled in PvP zones.

 

Nice to see I wasn't alone in my thinking.  I haven't seen it so much recently, but back in the day in DAOC it was actually quite hard to determine what class other players were, especially from other realms.  I used to enjoy the subterfuge that went on all the time (I had a Healer who was indistinguishable from a Thane) but in the end there were clues in the types of weapons people wielded or armor worn that could help you discern what they were.  My worry in PVP is if players were allowed to just pick what they wanted to look like, you'd never be sure what they were until you saw the first cast or sword swing.

But not an issue for LotRO as you pointed out, they've taken the proper approach IMO.

 

The side-effect of this will be that the Freeps will look, more than ever, like a 3-ring circus.  Few people will worry about how their real gear actually looks, and when they hit the Moors, they will look like Krusty the Clown.

Separating the skin and the stats? meh, that's not new.

Guild Wars did it before, and maybe other MMOs I don't know of as well.

Originally posted by rikilii 

The side-effect of this will be that the Freeps will look, more than ever, like a 3-ring circus.  Few people will worry about how their real gear actually looks, and when they hit the Moors, they will look like Krusty the Clown.

Glad the op is happy about this. I don't do the pve but I can understand his excitement. I felt the same when I found a game I could actually play a monster in and I didn't have to spend weeks leveling via quests.  These new looks will be interesting but should cause little confusion in pvp as the players actions pretty well say who they are. But I already enjoy laying dead in a zerg of freeps listening to all the sounds, music, yells and all the pretty armors. Quite a change from the mp side. :)

thanks i will do that mate