One of the wonderful things about GW2 armor sets is the detail and of course the dye system; even if many items look similar, it never feels as if everyone around me is wearing the same stuff. Gear looks different on a tall Norn than it does on other races and with the endless color variations, you get a way more individual look for players than in most other MMOs, already at a low level.
Another nice thing to notice is that instead of limiting armor classes to very specific materials, such as cloth, leather or mail, GW2 introduces light, medium and heavy armor. This means in terms of fabrics and material, there’s a lot more variation for every class in what they can wear. My Elementalist is currently adorned in a mixture of cloth, leather, fine metal and bone. Depending on the gear I choose, I can look like a classic caster clad in soft silks or then a tribal warrior princess. Even the dyes will react to different materials: if you use the same color on a soft fabric, it will produce a fuller color than for an obvious leather strapping for example. I love this level of authenticity!
Naturally, like I did for Skyrim or WoW before, I’ve had a look at what armor sets and generally shiny gear combinations GW2 has to offer for my level range and armor class. My bank is currently stuffed with some of my favorites (seriously wtb more bank slots!) for potential transmutation use later on. For my fellow MMO fashionistas, here’s the four more unique, classy light armor styles I’ve mainly used up and around level 35, including names and some information on where I got them. Many different level items in GW2 share a model and often vendors in the same area sell stat variants of the same item (with prefixes such as “strong”, “mighty”, “honed” etc.). So, checking the market place would be another solution or alternatively Guildhead to find similar item models.
All styles are mix and match with a focus on chest, leg and shoulder pieces (I personally don’t care as much for gloves or shoes and I usually don’t display the headpiece) and no gemstore items were used. Enjoy!
(click image to enlarge) |
Information (numbers from left to right):
1) Items: The entire “Oldgate set” is acquirable from the lvl 15 heart vendor located at Nolan Waypoint, west of Oldgate Clearing, Diessa Plateau. Other heart vendors in the vicinity sell same-model pieces with different stats. The set includes a rather nice hood not shown on the picture.
2) Shoulder: “Conjurer Mantle of X”, random drop, levels 30+
Chest: “Magician Coat of X”, frequent random drop
Skirt: “Magician Legs of X”, frequent random drop
3) Shoulder: “Johan’s Cloth Mantle”, lvl 26 heart vendor in Snowblind Peaks, NE of Gendarran Fields
Chest: “(Hearty) Student Coat”, frequent random drop
Skirt: “Bronson’s Bone Leggings”, lvl 28 heart vendor in The Bloodfields, NW Gendarran Fields
Note: Same-model items and matching pieces can be obtained by crafting the “Shadow Armor” set with tailoring. The patterns can be bought at the lvl 24 heart vendor in Jormabakke Stead, NW Snowden Drifts.
4) Shoulder: Norn Cultural Tier 1 armor, lvl 35
Chest: “(Strong) Country Coat”, frequent random drop
Skirt: Norn Cultural Tier 1 armor, lvl 35
Note: All unique Cultural Tier armor 6-piece sets can be acquired in the capital of each race. The first set is lvl 35 and costs approx. 3 gold in total. I skipped the chest piece due to money shortage (and not liking the huge bare midriff very much).
So, what’s to say that being a noob means you also have to look like one? Level up in style, I say! =D
I’m pretty sure we have the same hairstyle, though mine is red with a green accessory. I’ve not bothered at all with appearances, since so far, nothing has looked excessively stupid. A bit of dye here and there and I’m ready to go.
I have to agree; I expected rather bad armor in terms of silly nekid, but so far GW2 has surprised me with great items. there are some bad examples, especially for the starter gear of the females, but there’s enough choice to look the way you please.
And am glad you have good taste in hairstyles! =D
The set includes a rather nice hood not shown on the picture.
You mean the one in your header image? 😉
Haha indeed, you have a good eye! 😉
I don’t have that armor anymore, only had it during the beta where I took few screenshots of it (hence also the worse quality of the first of the four images!).
I don’t like the shoulder armors in the pictures, but I *do* like the style variations here. I havent bought/played GW2 just yet so I’m eating up all the info you all blog about 🙂 Thanks for these kinds of analysis!
Glad you enjoy these! I actually quite like the shoulder items, especially the second and fourth one. I kept getting whispers ingame of people asking me about those, which gave me the idea for this post. 🙂
Very nice article! Going to collect those armor sets right away. Will there also be a lvl 36 – lvl x guide in the near future?