Arguably, the title is true for most MMOs since they are all pretty heavily gear/item based. Â But what I’m talking about here is just the look of your character in game. Â Over two years ago I wrote a post trying to find drawbacks in implementing a system that divorced form from function. Â And just four months ago, I made another post on appearance items. Â Now, thanks to Melmoth over at KiaSA, I’ve learned that Lord of the Rings Online is implementing a Wardrobe System.
What’s really interesting here is that they even went a step farther with their design than I imagined anyone would. Â First, putting an item in the wardrobe will copy the name and look (no stats) and then you can sell, give away or even destroy the original item. Â Let me say that again, if you like the look of an item but don’t care for it for any other reason, you can copy it to the wardrobe and then get rid of it. Â Second, with some restrictions, your wardrobe is available to all the characters on your account on the same server. Â Got an awesome looking hat that you want to wear on all your alts but it requires doing a high level quest and having certain reputation? Â No problem! Â Just put it in the wardrobe and all your alts can wear it!
This is one of those features that every MMO from here on out needs to copy. Â The days of mismatched, ugly but good gear or self gimping with weak gear to look good should be over now. Â As Melmoth says, no excuses any more.