Glamour restrictions: a hinderance to creativity

[Bobby66]

That's great and all when you're just looking to achieve a general silhouette. I can think of many ways to make a plated healer... Or a Paladin that looks like it's a Dancer in a distance. XIV's glamouring already let you do that.

But then, the argument falls short when it comes to more passionate glamour users that want a bit more intricate design options with mix and matching. For example, a tank not being able to have the chestpiece - but with a much better dyeing pattern - that a Dragoon uses, even though it's literally the same item model. Or a caster not being able to wear the Late Allagan beret that comes with a built in microphone+earsets that the healer has, but there is literally nothing else in that game that looks like that.

Maybe you want your sleeves cut short for a simpler design? Well, too bad that the only 3 options that sort of do that are Caster, Scouting and Healing respectively.

Also, someone that sees the restrictions as some sort of token -putting their creative brain to achieve hard-to-get silhouettes - would be able to take that much further with less restrictions.

Maybe even if they removed I would just keep self imposed restrictions. I still have my own preferences, and if it came down to a vote between the two I would vote for more restrictive and unique gear.

It seems that only people who inherently have no creativity say this.

You are free to fell that way, I came from a poor family I use to have to make due with dollar store art supplies. Now that I have the money to use professional grade supplies I appreciate the depth at which the tools allow me to go even still sometimes I prefer to work and create something awesome with cheap dollar store supplies. Do I prefer the cheaper stuff hella no but it is still nice to create something cool with less.

In short I most likely would still self impose my own restrictions.

[Iscah]

It wasn't a technical limitation. They intentionally made the "replica" versions so that the original items remained class locked.

Yes, but the reason for keeping the original items class-locked is technical. It stops people from being able to equip the thing that doesn't belong to their class when it's "real gear" with stats. Make a level 1 replica that is only suited for glamour instead, and that is not an issue any more. The decision becomes just whether they want that appearance to be restricted or not.

It's what I think we should be pushing for rather than a blanket unlock. There are clearly some designs they want to keep restricted, but they should be increasing the amount of replicas they give us. I'd like to get one set each patch like they do for fully new glamours.

[Iscah]

I feel that ever since HW, the item designers started to worry more about the sets revolving more around a specific theme (their place of origin) rather than following the premises of plate=tank, dress=caster, etc. All it takes is a quick eye-glance around a website like Eorzea Collection to objectively see this fact. There are instances of the armor weights following closely what they're supposed to (i.e. Moonward) but it honestly feels like that's not the norm when we look at the bigger picture.

The designs are definitely "place of origin" first, but they're still usually varied towards tanks getting heavier gear and mages more flowing gear. It can get hazy in the middle, though, depending how they want to spread out the DPS outfits.

Skimming EC in the gearset section rather than glamours...

Aglaia: tank in full armour, DPS light armour with drapes, mages in robes
Darbar: similar outlines at a glance, but the heavy classes have a lot of visible armour and mages have more skirt
Asphodelos: tank is an outlier but the others are similar to Aglaia
Radiant: weird set all round, but the mages still got robes
Classical: heaviest gear on the tank, lightest gear on the mages
Moonward: role-appropriate cosplay
Neo-Ishgardian: weird
Shadowless: weird
PVP designs: mostly role-targeted but the aiming one is an outlier to the heavy design of the rest
Palaka: heavy classes have a full top with pauldrons, heavy gloves and boots; DPS have lightweight pieces; mages have long half-skirts on the tops
Skallic: heavy classes are bulkiest and have the weird goggles and chin armour thing
Imperial: very place-themed, but mages get capes
Shire: standard armoured/lightweight/long coat outlines
Bonewicca: weird
Alliance: tanks have heaviest coat, mages get cute tunics

I guess the thing is that looking within a single class, there is a wide range of designs, but generally looking at one complete series of designs for a dungeon, the tanks still usually get the "heavy within the theme" set and mages get the "robes within the theme" set.

To pull a more specific example instead of moving woodenly through the list, the Ravel Keeper sets: the tank gear there is very lightweight compared to other tank sets, but within the Ravel sets it looks like armour compared to the mages' light cloth tops and long skirts.

[Flaws]

It's what I think we should be pushing for rather than a blanket unlock. There are clearly some designs they want to keep restricted, but they should be increasing the amount of replicas they give us. I'd like to get one set each patch like they do for fully new glamours.

Oh, nah. Definitely blanket unlock. Absolutely for sure.

[Iscah]

Oh, nah. Definitely blanket unlock. Absolutely for sure.

I mean, I'd prefer a blanket unlock, but I see it as the difference between something they'll almost certainly refuse, and something they have shown they are willing to do.

[Siddiax]

It's what I think we should be pushing for rather than a blanket unlock. There are clearly some designs they want to keep restricted, but they should be increasing the amount of replicas they give us. I'd like to get one set each patch like they do for fully new glamours.

Great, that would mean we'd get 10 sets in 4 years. How would they decide which replicas to release ? What if they don't release the set most people want ? Do we have to wait until the next patch ? Next expansion ?

You can't seriously expect for anyone to push for that idea.

[Flaws]

I mean, I'd prefer a blanket unlock, but I see it as the difference between something they'll almost certainly refuse, and something they have shown they are willing to do.

Its in their best interest not to refuse a blanket unlock as we've outlined many times in many different threads. There are only upsides and it will open up any new jobs and roles to have infinite glam choices. And this is one of the most requested features for years as others have said, way before I started playing. The more years that pass, the more content and jobs that are being added to the game - the less sense these restrictions make from every perspective.

[Raikai]

The designs are definitely "place of origin" first, but they're still usually varied towards tanks getting heavier gear and mages more flowing gear. It can get hazy in the middle, though, depending how they want to spread out the DPS outfits.

Skimming EC in the gearset section rather than glamours...

Aglaia: tank in full armour, DPS light armour with drapes, mages in robes
Darbar: similar outlines at a glance, but the heavy classes have a lot of visible armour and mages have more skirt
Asphodelos: tank is an outlier but the others are similar to Aglaia
Radiant: weird set all round, but the mages still got robes
Classical: heaviest gear on the tank, lightest gear on the mages
Moonward: role-appropriate cosplay
Neo-Ishgardian: weird
Shadowless: weird
PVP designs: mostly role-targeted but the aiming one is an outlier to the heavy design of the rest
Palaka: heavy classes have a full top with pauldrons, heavy gloves and boots; DPS have lightweight pieces; mages have long half-skirts on the tops
Skallic: heavy classes are bulkiest and have the weird goggles and chin armour thing
Imperial: very place-themed, but mages get capes
Shire: standard armoured/lightweight/long coat outlines
Bonewicca: weird
Alliance: tanks have heaviest coat, mages get cute tunics

I guess the thing is that looking within a single class, there is a wide range of designs, but generally looking at one complete series of designs for a dungeon, the tanks still usually get the "heavy within the theme" set and mages get the "robes within the theme" set.

To pull a more specific example instead of moving woodenly through the list, the Ravel Keeper sets: the tank gear there is very lightweight compared to other tank sets, but within the Ravel sets it looks like armour compared to the mages' light cloth tops and long skirts.

As far as I can see, nearly half of that list is full of exceptions and outliers - you wrote "weird" in some cases, and they are defnitely outliers. I still stand by the point that getting classic armor weight equivalences is defnitely not the norm.

But then, subjectiveness also kicks in because I really don't see Palaka's heavy sets being able to fully represent the idea of armored tanks when all they have are just small pieces of pauldrons.

[Bobby66]

Looking past my own reasons, what exactly does SE lose if they do not remove the restrictions? What motive do they have to toggle such a request?

How exactly is this in their best interest? Are players leaving in droves? Sure it is one of the most requested features but even so not much changes from SE PoV if they add it or do not add it. I doubt such an change would increase player retention by a statically relevant margin.

Also imagine if they do remove class restrictions, but do not remove the gender restrictions due to w/e reasons they will get backlash on that front. Will get backlash from a storage stand point let us be fair SE actually gains more annoyance if they go further with this request especially if they do not do it in such a way that removes or fixes all restrictions such as gender, race, and clipping. Seems more like a hassle for a change that will most likely not have a large impact on player retention.

It is slightly easier to handle it from a replica POV granted idk if they have added more since the new races but I could see them adding one every so often.

[Darthgummibear]

Maybe even if they removed I would just keep self imposed restrictions. I still have my own preferences, and if it came down to a vote between the two I would vote for more restrictive and unique gear.



You are free to fell that way, I came from a poor family I use to have to make due with dollar store art supplies. Now that I have the money to use professional grade supplies I appreciate the depth at which the tools allow me to go even still sometimes I prefer to work and create something awesome with cheap dollar store supplies. Do I prefer the cheaper stuff hella no but it is still nice to create something cool with less.

In short I most likely would still self impose my own restrictions.

This is a fallacious argument and you know it. What you are describing is a closer allegory to learning how to draw with a No. 2 pencil before having access to a Cintiq tablet, whereas in both scenarios you still have the full creative freedom that a real world scenario would entail. A gross oversimplification of the glamour situation likened to your example would be more like "You can paint, but your only tool is forever limited to testor cerulean blue. You can never use other paints or colors because reasons."