Should glamour have job restrictions or not?

[Reinha]

So I was looking around my retainer's inventory for some RDM glamours and saw this sweet combination of caster gear and a BRD/MCH hat.



It got me thinking about what the game would look like if there were no job restrictions in glamour. Everyone could mix and match different pieces to create their own look for each job. On the other hand roles would become less distinguishable at a glance. To preserve the identity of jobs I think artifact gears and other job specific gear could remain restricted (just like racial starting gear), and the gear shared by multiple jobs/classes could be unlocked for every job.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever wanted to mix gear of different roles and do you think being allowed to do so would compromise the aesthetic and lore of Eorzea? Feel free to also share your opinion about unlocking artifact gear. Please note that I'm mainly talking about being able to glamour and not about being able to equip the gear.

[Vidu]

I'm torn on this and I would like to explain why:

Ofc I would like to see more glamour options and more than once I found a piece of gear that would be PERFECT but that this job couldnt wear.

I'm also not worried about jobs being less distinguishable - seriously, we're having gear (even rather silly stuff like swimwear) that can be worn by every job already. And often enough a piece of gear is just a re-colour of pre-existing gear from another job.
And that is what I'm worried a bit about (at least sort of): When everyone can wear everything the design-team might resign to make less distinguishable gear.
To explain what I mean by this, I'll use an example: The level60 weaver-artifact-set. Super cool looking stuff. Really, really great! It has obviously been designed with weaver in mind, so it fits that job especially. Even better example: the original carpenter-artifact, the level 50 stuff. The designer explains in the artbook that its inspired by traditional japaneses carpenter gear.
So I'd say, we're benefitting from the art-department designing stuff specifically for certain classes - and I know that that doesnt need to get completly lost when its being unlocked, but seeing how they're already using re-colours for casters (white for healers, dark for casters on robes, for example) and such, I feel we should rather support diversity than just scream "free for all!"

Personally I'd like to see a compromisse like: Gear stays "glamour-locked" for a year/an expansion and gets unlocked afterwards. No idea how easy that would be in the tech-department, but seeing how they change the accessory-stuff with SB (making them locked to jobs aswell), I'd hope for some changes in the glamour-system, such as: allowing to glamour things that arent for your class, wether that be a necklase, an earring or maybe a pair of shoes.

TL;DR.: Unlock items for glamour, but only after a certain time has passed.

[Astrus]

I'm unsure what my position on this is.
I'd love to see more glamour options open up. On the other hand part of me thinks it's important for some gear to stay exclusive to the job it was designed for.

My ideal system would see artifact gear stay job locked with a similar (yet different in the details) variation of said gear available for glamour purposes for other jobs, everything else would be freely glamourable.

[Zojha]

Personally I'd like to see a compromisse like: Gear stays "glamour-locked" for a year/an expansion and gets unlocked afterwards.

I'd propose a different compromise:
You may only glamour gear that you can equip legitimately with at least one job.

At that point, the glamour lock is pretty much artificial. You can equip the item normally, you can glamour the item normally, there is little reason you shouldn't be able to do so on a different job.
Plus, it's a nice way to reward leveling multiple jobs without impacting gameplay.

[Vidu]

You may only glamour gear that you can equip legitimately with at least one job.

No, no you didnt get the point behind my compromise - and maybe you'll tell me that its a silly point and that I should have more faith in the art-department, but the reason for my compromise was basically: Let the art-team design gear thats for specific jobs and let that be reflected in the lockout. That way they're still making gear that fits certain jobs best and create unique looking stuff (just like the weaver-set I used as an example). I'm a bit worried (and again: you might tell me that thats silly) that once the lock is gone they'll be more tempted to design more generic looking stuff that fits everyone - but if its unlocked like a year later I feel that wouldnt matter to much anymore. It has been designed as a unique set, used as a unique set for a while and now it can be opened up for general use - and be replaced by new sets on the unique-part.

[Zojha]

No, no you didnt get the point behind my compromise [...]

I did - But I don't think it matters whether you do the unlock after X amount of time or after the player has leveled the respective job and thus acquired the means to equip the gear normally.

Either way, the art team would design the gear with the respective job in mind, because unless you level other jobs as well, that's the only aesthetic you'll get. If you only play NIN, you'll only get to equip and glam NIN gear, from now until eternity, so of course they'll design the gear accordingly.
Alternately, you can argue that if the art team knows that it doesn't matter in a year anyway, they would just make it generic from the get-go. Why bother for just a year?

To me, it seems more like wanting a shelf-life/15 minute of fame mentality. Which, admittedly, is how a lot of the game works - Stat items, Raid gear, Glamour items from crafting etc.

[Cidel]

TL;DR.: Unlock items for glamour, but only after a certain time has passed.

I think the dev team sort of does this; remember how some role-specific sets (like ranged's Shikaree set) became "levelling" gear for different jobs in Heavensward, and then they made the Kirimu coat and Arachne robe (where's my non-caster/MNK Bolero devs!?) a level-one glamour for everyone? So it's fair to say that they absolutely have the power to give old sets to other roles after time has passed (unfortunately, they see to be quite choosy on what gets this treatment). Honestly, I think they should be doing this with a broader array of old equipment sets rather than hand-picking a few.

But I'm still of the opinion that gear that is locked to one job/class should stay that way. I don't expect the devs to change that.

[heynowjose]

The way I see it is this. All gear should be glamourable EXCEPT for artifact gear. I think AF gear should for obvious reasons be only for those jobs.

There's really no reason to prevent ppl from using other gears for glamour. Especially now that you can pretty much dress as anything.

[ErikMynhier]

The way I see it is this. All gear should be glamourable EXCEPT for artifact gear. I think AF gear should for obvious reasons be only for those jobs.

There's really no reason to prevent ppl from using other gears for glamour. Especially now that you can pretty much dress as anything.

In the long run, this is how I feel too I think. Gallant gear to PLD only and the like, but everything else? This isn't FF12 where you need a license to wear a hat yo.

[TaranTatsuuchi]

I'm really fond of this glamor set I've put together.
(Actually, I changed the gloves to the cuffs but don't have a screenshot of that handy. And switched to the Squall pants.)




The chest piece is BRD/MCH only, the hat is the bard 50 af...
I can really only use this on my Bard, but I wouldn't mind being able to use those locked pieces on other classes.

The problem with the dyable versions of that chest piece is they color the white parts as well, and then it doesn't quite match up with the boots as nicely.

We really could use multiple dye channels...