I see a lot of folks have come from WOW and they use the transmog system for utilizing pieces of gear that folks like and want to use as skins. However, while I played WOW I preferred the system that RIFT went with.
If you picked it up in your backpack you owned the design as a skin. Any gear. All skins. I loved it! Mix and match was awesome! It was not account wide only character wide… So you had to pick it up. And yes, they have shop skins and I bought the ones I liked there too.
I know this undermines the transmog system but after 15 years of playing WOW I never managed to get the drops to complete those “leet” sets. All you haters can berate me for my poor playing skills but that won’t change the fact that I might suck at end game and I still prefer the free system. Some of the most interesting gear I have picked up in NW aren’t from end game, they are just drops.
To suggest something that requires monetary input and create a time sink how about making armor crafting worthwhile? OK say you found something you really like. For example… an actual dress for a female, and a fascinator (I love hats). What if you can put them away and level the appropriate armor skill to 200 upon which you get the skill to make tokens that turns any piece of gear into a skin.
That token would be made from higher end materials…NOT PVP and NOT EXPIDITION only mats. I hate those requirements as I truly suck at both… (But that is another story and I paid for my game too). The same can be repeated for weapons.
We do not need to copy a game that we obviously left. Yes, we can like pieces parts of those games (I can run down the list I formerly played) and want to drag them over but how about something else?