Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Transmogrification

I think transmogrification the way it is typically used in games serves as a replacement for visual aesthetic progression in stages. I don't dig that, because then it feels like the devs are just ceding this ground entirely to the player's whims, instead of using it as a reward, with the result that the game then doesn't have any real aesthetic progression. You just look however you want, and appearance becomes static and doesn't progress.

I'll use an example with clothing and armor to explain what I would prefer.

For regular clothing and non-enchanted armor, I would like to be able to choose from a number of basic options with a fair bit of variety there, so rather than 1 suit of chainmail with 1 look, there might be a dozen. For clothing there might be 100 options.

For armor perhaps I can dye the cloth components or alter the colors there, but the leather and metal components/colors can't be changed. So there is a limit on how far I can push my look. I can get closer to my ideal, but not the whole way.

Now I find a basic +1 enchanted version of the same. Here there is some limited transmog allowed for certain elements, making the +1 enchanted version inherently more exciting than their non enchanted equivalents, and so also simpler to recognize, but again with an upward limit on far I can push it.

Much later I find a +2 enchanted version, with a unique Name. Here I should be able to get even closer to my desired look somehow, than I could with the +1 version. Perhaps here it becomes possible to change the tint of the metal or select a faint colored glow. Perhaps I get to make that choice initially, but then it's set for the duration, at least until I find another set of armor lol.

Typically this not how things work in such games. The higher the enchantment, the more specific and unchanging the look becomes, or else it's anything goes the whole time, but I think it should be the opposite. Meaning that by the time I get to those higher levels of enchantment +2 my freedom to customize the aesthetics should increase rather than decrease. And it should be possible to tell at a glance that someone is wearing better gear of that sort, because it looks cooler and offers more combinations in that way.

What I don't like is a generic look for all regular and enchanted equipment. You know, where chainmail +1 is always tinted blue and you know it's chainmail +1 because of that blue tint. Or chainmail +2 always has a bunch of gold everywhere, and so the gold is how we know it's +2 chainmail rather some expensive but non enchanted Chainmail. To me that just isn't very exciting. If want to be a Green Knight, I should be able to achieve that in some way, but with a sense of progression. I also don't want to become 'The Green Knight' simply because the enchanted armor I just found makes that my only option and forces that on me.

Regarding Enchantment, a much more engaging and satisfying approach would be to include an actual Enchanting mechanic that is part of the gameplay. So perhaps instead of just finding the full suit of armor, I find some special element which (with the proper magic) can change my suit of non-enchanted mail into a +1 version. And when that occurs I get to choose a special tint that makes the item more unique. Stuff of that sort.

I am pretty disappointed right now with what's on offer both at the start and the finish. I feel they are taking the approach where all armor of a given type/tier of enchantment will always look the same, and I find that boring. It would be different if I was totally blown back and amazed by the artwork in every instance, but I'm not, and I'm super picky with this stuff. If Full Platemail means gold and pink and sparkly with giant pauldrons, I won't be wearing it, even if the stats are killer and it's the best armor in the game. If it's uglier to me than regular half-plate it's going to feel like a step down and a total bummer. So in that sense I'm for some degree of transmog sure, if the options otherwise just kinda suck, but I also don't want them to just give me everything at the outset either. Rather I want pacing and rewards at regular intervals, and for the game to cultivate a sense of aesthetic progression, which to me is actually more important than the given stats.