The best part about fantasy games is that it is fantasy and thus does not have to be realistic (I mean, come on - we're literally throwing magic around and having backpacks with as much space as an entire garage). :] I'd advocate for both realistic armor options like the basic leather armor and the breast plate for those who want it, and more elaborate and decorative armor for those who wishes for that. :] Each to their own immersive fantasy!
Never understood this argument. Yes this is fantasy, yes there is magic and bags of holding and whatnot, but any fantasy world still has grounding in the real world unless otherwise specified. If the worldbuilding doesn't say otherwise, you can assume the gravity in a fantasy world is close to that of the real world, people bleed when they are stabbed, and humans think and behave in ways that make sense to us. It makes sense, for example, if a wizard wears fanciful clothing, because a wizard doesn't have to worry about defensive or practical properties of their gear – they have Mage Armor. It makes sense to have ornamentation on ceremonial, commissioned, or unique gear, but generic? Why would a regular blacksmith decorate every set of plate armor he makes with intricate ornaments? It takes time, effort, and additional skill for no gain. "Because fantasy" only works for things like magic, things that have no equivalent in the real world. For everything else, there has to be an explanation, and handwaving it away with "it's fantasy!" is, frankly, the answer of a poor writer and worldbuilder.
For the actual topic, I don't mind the base armors for the most part, but it does start to get too much with +1 and +2 versions. The design philosophy in general is a little odd. I don't understand why most armors have coats, skirts, and other dangly bits, when the models themselves are rigid. It looks silly when a coat, which should move independently with its own physics or at least canned animations, is magnetized to my character's legs and backside. If they want rigid models that's fine, but why design armors in such a way that it creates the most unflattering image when they're translated from paper?
