Armor skins

Itzamna

The Lord Oakenbane set in the alpha 2 tank preview is nice. Will players be given the option of using set skins from defeating earlier encounters in end game?

Songcaller

Yes. Transmog is an option.

Liniker

@Itzamna do you mean the Titanbark set? https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Titanbark_Mail

Itzamna

This makes me happy

Songcaller

The cosmetic can't be transmoged but there will be similar sets like the cosmetic. I assume we saw the similar set in the video rather than the cosmetic set.

Itzamna

@Liniker yes, the set with the chest piece from defeating Lord Oakenbane.

Liniker

Actually, I think we need some clarification from the team, because the Titanbark Mail set is an Exclusive cosmetic costume that was sold back in Aug 2019

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Voyager_plus_pre-order_pack:_Aug_2019_-_Sep_2019

And the information we had is that exclusive costumes would Not be obtainable by players as you can see from the following Quote:

StevenSharif wrote: »

Hello friends, a quick clarification on the shop cosmetics.

There will not be recolors or material swaps on the monthly cosmetics as a means to populate additional achievements in game by player characters. There will however be variants of the cosmetics for NPC populations including quest-givers, guards, merchants and creatures. Additionally, from an armor standpoint, we cut armor sets up into many different pieces. These pieces can sometimes be used as part of other sets, that may include helmets, wrists, gloves etc. So while you will not see an achievable white version of the corvid castigator set in the game for example, you may see its shoulder piece used in another set, or its leggings, or wrist piece used in another set (not every piece as to form the whole set, but perhaps a couple pieces). This would be difficult to notice at first glance, due to the material, texture and color variation used, but this modular approach to content creation makes achieving a wide variety of looks achievable for an MMORPG of our size.

With that being said however, the intent behind my approach to these cosmetics, as well as the cosmetics that will be achievable in the game, is to provide a richer experience of visual diversity than we are typically accustomed to in the MMORPGs we have played in the past. There will be legendary cosmetics that are ONLY achievable in game and players can know wont be offered in some cosmetic shop in the future undermining their accomplishment. As well as for the more casual players time exclusive purchasable cosmetics from the marketplace, that players who purchase these can rest assured they won't be available again in some sale by the company in the future.

It's important to remember, Ashes is a NO-BOX COST subscription only game, with an optional cosmetic marketplace. This achieves a few things from a monetization model. Having a lower barrier to entry for players to try the game when they don't have to fork out $60 for the box price is good, our box price is 0$. This also places an emphasis on the game's retention and our continual updates and content creation to keep players playing and staying subscribed (a put your money where your mouth is sort of philosophy for us as a company). It also means players don't have to spend $60 everytime there is an expansion.

Is there an answer that satisfies everyone? Nope. And that's ok. We are open and transparent with our philosophies and business model. You know what you are getting with Ashes and to me, given my experiences in other games, it is a nice breath of fresh air.

This post and the responses above show that we need clarification, why is intrepid using cosmetic costumes as in-game obtainable armor while selling costumes under the premise that they are "exclusive" and unobtainable? If they are just using them as place holders, we need to know that and that needs to be clear

Also, I do think is weird that intrepid is creating names and icons for the individual pieces that supposedly can only be worn as a full-body costume, if they are only placeholder

We also have seen Steven wear recolors of these costumes that should also not be obtainable by players, only used for NPCs

I hope intrepid can address this in the near future

Songcaller

Fair enough. Another issue around the shop which adds to the pile. Thanks.