I've got it all sorted in my bank. My prayer gear for arduous, but relatively safe slayer tasks. My primary magic armor for the more dangerous, possibly multi-style-based fights like Tormented Demons. My tougher melee armor for much longer, perhaps tougher slayer assignments that I don't want to waste much food or prayer potion on. My incredibly top-gear combo for special occasions like the Fight Cave and God Wars bosses. And of course, my lightweight casual gear for when I do other stuff, mainly skilling and questing. That's 5 different uniforms taking up about 35 spaces in my bank, including jewelry and capes, which also differ sometimes.
There's not one armor that could handle all these situations at once (especially looking good while doing it) that I can just wear all the time and be ready for anything. I, as well as any other player, need to plan ahead and pick out the best gear to fit the situation I'm presented with. The reason for this is because there's not one piece of gear that can do all of these things.
So what's so strange about that? Many games do this, and for good reason. If there was one such armor that was good at everything, everyone would wear it and nothing else. Like in the times of Runescape Classic, when the runite plate was the absolute best (still is), that's all that everyone wore on their chest when they reached the high enough level and completed the Dragon Slayer quest. When you could wear runite, you didn't bother switching back to adamantite because you liked the color, or try on leather armor for the range bonus (whatever you shot, you would end up meleeing anyways unless you got it behind a fence).
That being said, if Jagex created this whole new armor, with incredibly flashy effects and style, and it took them 3 weeks to design, plan, and model out, but the stats didn't compare to that of runite, who would wear it in a fight? And if it was heavy, nobody would use it for skilling or running around. Maybe stand around in and look cool, but that's it. If it was cheaper and more easily available, sure, they'll fight for a bit in it, but once the goal of runite was achieved, this crazy-cool armor would be cast aside with the mutter that Jagex should really do better with runite's color or improve the stats of the other armor. Because of this declining popularity, all that time would be for waste, and this armor would be forgotten.
Case and point: How many of you guys still wear mithril or adamantite? What about green dragonhide? You still going to wear it when you get the levels for runite and black dragonhide? And these armours just got an awesome update where they look wicked cool. And I myself have never actually seen a set of full mithril yet, nor have I seen sacred clay armor in a while. Even the incredibly good armors like Torvus and 3rd Age are so rare that it's a rare occasion I see more than one piece on a player at a time. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a full set of 3rd Age ranger gear before.
But this is not necessarily a bad thing. The point of having all these armours is choice and availability. If you cannot wear runite, you can at least try on the next best thing. Or maybe you do like the colors and want to see how well you fare with a weaker armor against a strong enemy (check out those Woox16 TzTok-Jad videos). And having these incredibly rare and expensive armours is a sign of status and wealth just to have a piece on.
My point is that there are over 200 million players in Runescape now. With all that diversity, you need to make yourself stand out if you don't want your character lost in a crowd. You don't play the game as a city guard or a simple White Knight, looking the same as them all. The best way to do that is to give them a style. Make them look unique and recognizable. Give them some personality, you know?
I'm not just a guy in armor running around slaying stuff. I'm Alex 43. I've got my character his own backstory, and with a set uniform and style, a sort of personality surfaces; especially when questing. Alex 43; spiritual warrior of the behind-the-scenes draconic lord Sartranomin, cast onto the world with the role of Watcher.
And yes, I'm roleplaying. But isn't that the point of an MMORPG? The RPG stands for "Role Playing Game". That's how you play it. You don't play baseball by throwing a basketball. You play by throwing a baseball. You play a Role Playing game by role playing! Common sense!
That's why I have all those different armours. Not just for the purposes, but also for the different styles. Alex 43 wears proselyte armor and has attained a trophy helmet from the fremennik to wear in glorious battle. He's constructed himself a full slayer helmet, has earned himself a set of full Veracs, and has taken down TzTok-Jad for a fire cape in an all-or-nothing battle to the death.
Still, that's a lot to remember. A whole bunch of backstories that explain where these armours came from, and a new one for every new piece that comes in. Especially if it's not quest-related. It's a lot easier to have just one main look.
This is why I like the new Customization feature in Runescape. You can wear your oh-so-powerful runite armor to benefit yourself in the game and still attain to a style of your own. I hope that one day, we'll be able to add our own in-game outfits to the customization menu, like my Dragon Ceremonial outfit. Then I wouldn't have to change my appearance at all! Sure, it's limited now, but give it time and it'll grow.
So there you go. Don't underestimate the different kinds of outfits in Runescape. It doesn't have to have good stats to be your best.
Until next time,
Cheers, cannoneers!
This was originally posted as an
Informer Runescape article.
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