Early T-10 Armor Art Review

Chalk this one up to my attempt at increasing post counts, and that I'm kinda tired of talking about set bonuses, but lately as the PTR rages on, there have been more and more model previews of the Tier-10 armor sets. Today I'd like to give my early general impression of the styles used and how they stack up, as a whole, to previous sets. If you'd like to actually see the sets, bounce on over to MMO-Champion and browse the news posts (I'm not collecting all those here, I don't like you that much).

First off, these new sets are a radical shift from the faction specific sets we've seen in Trial of the Crusader. In place of shiny faction armor well crafted for warfare, we will be treated to somewhat grotesquely designed armor pieces reflecting the undead nature of the Citadel. For some classes it works, for others... not so much. For instance, Death Knights are, by nature, evil, and the attitude they present is that of the vicious yet elegant swordsman. As such, the Death Knight armor set is very dark with glowing highlights, and the obligatory skulls abound. It is also somewhat reminiscent of the saronite starting gear (massive plates strapped over fur linings).

Other classes, however, to not quite transition well into "demonic" mode with their armor sets. Paladins suffer from this. Paladin armor sets have always been geared towards the bright, "holy-warrior" image, with brighter armor and shining highlights. For Tier-10, however, the colors have been radically toned down and subdued. And there are skulls. Skull on paladin gear. That's like putting flowers on Death Knight gear. To me it just portrays the wrong image. On top of that, the Paladin set just isn't that visually appealing. It's, well... boring. Another class that doesn't quite make the transition to this new environment is, surprisingly, Warlocks. Warlock sets have always been demonic in nature, which fit well thematically during the BC era (and, arguably, the BC era 'lock sets were the best looking). But undead just isn't quite the same thing as demon. The 'lock T-10 armor set is just laughable. The witch hood just doesn't quite evolve on top of previous sets (though few things compare to the Grand Apothecary Putress armor that was T-8). The shoulders on the 'lock set also look as though the 'lock is wearing an entire wing of the Saronite Citadel, which just looks ridiculous. It doesn't fit.

And finally, there are some sets that, well, I guess just need to be seen in game to give them a true evaluation, because these sets, from the screen shots, just look pretty... meh. Take the priest set. Very small number of colors used. There just isn't much depth to the set. The model itself seems pretty sedate, too. It looks like it could be a dungeon set. T-8 Priest seemed very regal, as though it demanded authority. The use of color helped to accent the armor nicely, and the ninja-hood was just icing. Very fitting of a healer, especially one that devotes themselves to the Light (it made less sense for shadow, but I don't like shadow). I want to see the druid set in game, too. It seems to have captured the scourge themes we'll be seeing in the Citadel while retaining the nature aspect of the class. It looks like robes covered in Venus Fly Traps. From the screenshots, it appears to be the most polished (texture- and geometry-wise), but I'd like to see the set in game to see if there are any animations or additional effects that come with it.

In closing, I would like to give mention to what may end up being the coolest looking set in T-10, the Mage set. The Mage set combines elegance with evil, in a way only the darkfallen San'layn can. So at least one class has something radically imaginative to look forward to. The rest of us get reused themes, dull decorations, and under-refined armor (even considering the function-over-form mentality of the Scourge).