timholtorf submitted:

Just wanted to let you guys know there is a game that does in fact have a Holiday seasonal outfit that actually covers everything.  You know, the type of outfit you look at and think “hey, that’s pretty stinkin’ warm looking”.  Guild Wars 2 managed to create an outfit skin that looks practical on both male and female models (granted, there’s five races in the game, two of which do not look human at all, one which looks like 8 to 9 feet tall humans and then there’s the plants).

This doesn’t mean that Guild Wars 2 isn’t without it’s flaws regarding what could be called fetishized armour.  The female versions of the armour and outfit skins still has a lot of eyebrow raising aspects to it (such as some of the light armour pieces).  There’s also the problem with the fact that the female version of many of the outfit skins and the male version look completely different.  This is something that has begged the question “why can’t my snooty noble type wear pants and a suit jacket, why can’t she have that, why does she have to stick with an off the shoulder evening gown?”.

There’s also the issue with the Norn (the 8 to 9 feet humans) that some might find.  When meeting the females of the species they show a lot of skin.  It could be cultural, due to the fact that they pride themselves in decorating their bodies in intricate tattoos.  But meet a few more Norn and finally see the dudes, you’ll find that the bare skinned options aren’t just for the women.  The men like to run around showing off vital areas of the body which can sustain damage from even the bluntest of long swords (this is a world that has guns, too, so bullets are an issue).

For the humans of the game, it does seem they have practical armours…. until you see some of the variants for some light and medium armour classes.  Especially the light armour classes.  Male humans in the elementalist, mesmer and necromancer professions have some good covering and either fits their profession or makes them appear as though they are ready for a board meeting, or are just dressed up like Liberacie and ready to take the stage.  For the women, it would appear as though many of their armour options are some good looking ballroom gown or some weird swimsuit that defies all logic (why do you need three foot wide shoulder pieces, what possible reason could there be for that).

I won’t get into the armours for the charr or the Asura.  Mostly because they aren’t human even in appearance.  The charr are what you’d do to a tiger if you wanted to make them semi bipedal, give them two extra ears and four horns along with opposable thumbs.  The Asura are just basically three foot tall sharks.  Really, have you seen them when they smile?  Those are shark critters.  And the Sylvari are plants.  They have male and female forms, but there’s a lot of question as to whether or not they identify with a gender at all.  Seems some do and some don’t, so…. I can’t comment on a plant species (besides, they’re born in pods fully grown).

And while the armours of the medium and light professions may be questionable at times, one might think that means there is some hope for the heavy armour professions.  Well, sort of.  Except they still have boob plate.  Some of which is really evident.

But I just thought at least, to make your holiday season bright, that at least one game has a sensible outfit skin for winter fun.  So, Merry Christmas!

It’s refreshing to get a submission that talks about Guild Wars 2 as a game that has both some decent female costumes and lots of pretty damn bad ones at the same time.
Usually we’re messaged with praise for it, which makes us look at some of the designs and go “huh?”.

TL; DR: GW2 is one hell of a mixed bag., but that particular outfit looks cute and warm as hell!

~Ozzie

I’m never sure if Guild Wars 2 is trying to cover all bases and someone say they please everyone, or if they have a spinner they use to make design decisions…

– wincenworks