You people keep arguing from a lore and entitlement perspective when this is about gameplay....
Well, the developers have intended the PvP gameplay to function differently than by LOOKING AT someone's armor/gear - since combat won't be turn-based and thus won't pause long enough, for you to do that.
Also, appearance-and-customization options *usually are* more-tied to lore than function, in MMORPG's. I can't really think of a game wherein the opposite is true, without looking outside the MMORPG genre.
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Pretty standard from a gameplay perspective
Well, the developers have intended the PvP gameplay to function differently than by LOOKING AT someone's armor/gear - since combat won't be turn-based and thus won't pause long enough, for you to do that.
Also, appearance-and-customization options *usually are* more-tied to lore than function, in MMORPG's. I can't really think of a game wherein the opposite is true, without looking outside the MMORPG genre.