Literally most of the skins have some sort of spikes all over. I kinda wish there was more fantasy-like skins
I want more regular armor, pirate related, conquistador looking, stuff from the 1500s in general.
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I think NW’s design department’s a bit confused but they do have the spirt!
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Well its supposed to be a game set in the colonial era and armor had spikes like that back then
but do you honestly see a colonial influence in most of the cash shop skins?
I definitely don’t.
Amazon skins department are built different. Everytime i see the whacky looking skins i always wonder if they let some 5 year old design all the skins 
Historically no one used spikes much on armor beyond one on top of a helmet. Studs, yes, spikes no. Your own arms hands and weapons would get caught on the needly spikes they use in game, or pseudo-viking style horny helmets, likely getting you hurt or killed.
New World has gone for a punk aesthetic on many armors with helmets you can’t see out of and dangerous protrusions that seems more punk inspired than invoking historical design.
Too bad, really. I’d honestly prefer to see more ‘historical’ skins. The game purports to have influences from many times and cultures, I think they could expand on that. Any culture with any kind of seafaring presence might have influenced equipment and fashion in Aeternum. Possibly some cultures who only hugged to coasts in small boats could have ended up there thanks to a mystical squall or something. There were plenty of interesting and colorful designs.
Using those would give New World a more distinct aesthetic than the current ‘punk-and-oversize-anime-weapons’ they’ve got going. For example:
Tabards in general. Cloaks if you insist. Could be emblazoned with Company crests, as could shields. It’s been done in other, much older MMOs.
Of course you’d have to fix Company Crests first. They’re truly appalling as they stand. The current designs are very limited and the colors are mostly restricted to secondary colors. Good Lord these need a rework before you’d actually want to carry them on a tabard, cloak or shield.
Introduce a barber where you can get your hair and skin restyled and/or dyed.
There are tons of period distinct hairstyles, from Greco-Roman curled coifs to muttonchops, goatees and waxed or handlebar mustaches which could add cultural flair (or dissonance).
Temporary war paint or permanent tattoos would go a long way toward individualizing characters and would reflect pirates as well as many Age of Discovery cultures. These stylings (including removal of tattoos) should be available through a casual skill - Barber? - with dropped/marketable recipes. Dyes should be made by cooks as they are now, with slightly different ingredients for skin/hair dyes than current paints/enamels.
While you’re at it, please expand color availability. Please. I beg you. I want deep purples, crimsons, proper black, gold/siver/copper routinely available. Give us scintillating blues and emerald greens reminiscent of Eastern and Mesomaerican colors. Please.
Scots kilts in different tartans. Dunno why, but this is a special favorite of mine. Campbells vs MacDonalds anyone? Or everyone against the English?
Rennaissance Italy/Germany, with all the counter-colored puffs/slashes/plumes, a la Landskenechts and Swiss Pikemen, would be nice. Very distinctive, flamboyant and colorful. Flamberge style swords and two handers with their wavy blades would be great.
Age of Discovery skins. These exist, and can be created for end-game gear, but are kind of lackluster given the game’s theme.
- Bicorn/Tricorn hats featuring extravagant plumes
- Breech and stocking trouser combinations.
- Tailed coats with multiple rows of buttons and gold or silver braid, epaulettes and turnbacks in contrasting colors.
- High boots with turndown cuffs a la 3 Musketeers.
- Piracy-themed endgame gear can be created, but some special items like headscarves, eyepatches, a pegleg and a hook hand would go well in a game with an avowed pirate aesthetic.
- English Puritan ‘Lobsterback’ helmets and broad-brimmed Royalist hats with rich trim and feathers.
Islamic themed gear would add a nice touch. They had a vast seafaring tradition in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and even the Pacific that’s usually ignored by Westerners. Scimitars, spired helms, turbans, spiked round shields (spikes!), clothing with Arabic text patterns could all add flavor. Just be sure to use historical text and check the meaning before adding it to the game, please.
Far Eastern style armor also exists in game, but not for end game gear. At times but the Japanese and Chinese had a naval presence in the Pacific, and Chinese fleets made it into the Indian Ocean. Some historically inspired Chinese and Japanese style gear from different time periods would be very cool. Want a Samurai helmet? Katana? Naginata? Lacquered lamellar armor? Carry a Dao? Why not? Eastern style muskets exist in game, why not asymmetric longbows?
With the release of Bright Sands, classical Greco-Roman and Egyptian clothing would be nice. Some is already in the artwork. Expand on it! I’d love to wear a Lorica Segmentata or Corinthian helmet in the field. A Roman Toga Praetexta with a gilt Laurel of Victory would give a nice Julius Caesar look when on the town.
Norse (Viking) and ‘Dark Ages’ gear would not go amiss either; some chainmail and furs and swords without real crossguards, roundshields with rounded bosses.
With the Arthurian questline and look coming for Monarch Bluffs, some High Middle Ages gear would be good. Elaborate plate armor already exists in game, and some of it (crafted Orichalcum and Starmetal in particular) look really good, but in a definite Late Medieval or Rennaissance way. Having mixed plate and chainmail heavy armors would be outstanding.
It’d be nice to have bits from the Americas as well. Mesoamerica themed, such as highly ornamented Aztec Eagle Warrior quilted armor or buckskin like Eastern North American peoples wore would be terrific for light and medium armors. Headdresses could get positively outrageous.
Yep, I’ve thought about this entirely too much. My apologies.
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Now that I’m thinking about it, why not just allow players to keep a lower level look they particularly like? Maybe a limited inventory of items or outfits they like the look of? One friend in particular has been disappointed to give up his purple ‘pimpspear’ and his spiffy (American) ‘Revolutionary War Subaltern’ look. I miss wearing a full set of Orichalcum heavy armor.
I can’t tell you how much I despise the ‘Sauron’ look of the Voidbent heavy armor helm, even if I can hide it with a skin. But the available skins mostly fail to scratch my itch for something heroic looking rather than punk.
As someone pointed out, though, for PvP purposes skins should probably be classed as light medium or heavy just like actual gear. You should not be able to disguise your light armor as heavy or vice versa. You really want that ‘tell’ of armor class in PvP, especially when picking out a target to shoot.
My two cents again.
For most of them yeah
I think we may be looking at Roman era being the focus in Brimstone.
Looks like Greco-Roman and Egyptian to me. In the trailer the columns are more of an Egyptian style than a Roman one. The terrain is arid to desert with Egyptian styled pyramids, ruins and such. The critters in the Expeditions have a very Egyptian vibe too.
Makes sense. Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. He installed the Ptolemaic Dynasty which stayed in power for 275 years, until Rome annexed Egypt in 30 BC. The famous Cleopatra was the last ruling Ptolemy. (Actually, all firstborn Ptolemies were named Ptolemy if male and Cleopatra if female, making things VERY confusing. Plus, per Egyptian tradition they married brothers to sisters distressingly often.)
Greek culture and architecture were heavily influenced late Egyptian construction. Of course, this being a game the developers can do what they like. You’d think omnipresent Ancients construction would influence even the most recent architecture, but the pirate vibe seems to predominate. It’s easier to slap together a house with pegs and rope.
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