Game attire. Form over function?

[Dio]

When playing games ( usually RPG's ) where you can choose your attire and there are different stats, do you ever go for an item with lower stats simply because the more functional stuff you aquired looks bad?

I'm replaying the Witcher 3 at the moment and I don't like to go around without a good looking outfit on. Sometimes I find myself coming across some better stuff in terms of defence or perks but it looks ghastly. If that happens I tend not to actually put it on and wait for something that is both attractive and with better stats to come along. When I go around I have to do it in style.

What about you? Do you prioritise the look of equipment and attire over that which is more functional or like me do you have to wear what looks the best?

 

[Viral Maze]

Form over function usually. A small different in strength or magic, or dex doesn't really matter. If its a night and day difference and the new gear is way better, I'll go function over form. Usually when play RPGs I'll research weapons and armours and have a basic idea of what weapons and amours to get at which levels so I'm rarely caught in the struggle of looking good, and trying to max stats.
In the Witcher 3 I wore Griffin armour, then switching to Wolven armour exclusively. Before I'd level up and get to the level where I could wear the next rank of the Wolven armour, I'd go out and find all the schematics, and greate the armour so the moment I hit level X, I could switch to the better gear.

 

[Emma]

It really depends. I try to balance form and function best I can. But will compromise for form sometimes. I really like Elder Scrolls Online's system though. It gives you purely cosmetic outfits that change your appearance but don't override the actual gear you have equipped, so underneath you can have whatever does what you need or want it to do without affecting appearance. And I do not just simply go for what is the "sexiest" I actually put all my characters (I have ten, five of each gender), in lore-appropriate clothing. The only ones in "sexy" outfits, you could say are my female dunmer and female bosmer. For their background it fits them. But my female khajiit, female altmer, and female breton (my most used character) all have full mages gear. Either robes or battlemage armor, which is full body. My females are all mages or rogues. so they wouldn't need or even able to use heavy armor. I have one rogue male, he wears a medium armor, with a medium is cosmetic outfit. And the other four males are all warriors. Two that are sword and shield, two that use larger weapons with two hands. They all have heavy armor and look it because they get up close and personal in slug-it-out melee so they logically need good, sturdy armor.

I play that same mentality in all the games I play if I can. You can get away with something that isn't that protective on mages because they're not supposed to be able to take melee hits. They are usually glass cannons that rely on melee partners to back them up in melee combat so they don't get hit themselves. And rogues would rather avoid being hit at all rather than be able to take it so armor is not critical to them either. so they too focus on what boosts their skills. Warriors obviously need great armor because they are meant to get in there in the thick of things and take a beating. often having to be a tank to protect allies with weaker melee defenses.

When I don't have cosmetic only changes as an option, the usual compromise I make for form over function is that I will only use matching armor pieces, that belong to a whole set (if that is that the entire armor isn't one inventory item that is), and I will not mix and match parts even if another part would work better.

 

[Ronin]

Customization is one of my favorite parts of openworld games. Can't say that looking good was ever a key aspect of a journey, but if there's a primary equipment section (for stats and the like) and a fashion section (affects character appearance), then of course I'd do some messing around with the fashion gear. Although fashion gear is more of a JRPG thing since WRPGs like to stick to realism and make the player pick and choose what to keep or discard, because weight matters. Light criticism aside, I typically wear whatever has the highest stats and bonus effects for a given situation.

 

[the8thark]

This is exactly why many modern games have some form of transmogrification.

 

[AncientPoe]

Yes, I will sometimes prefer to use the better looking or more authentic armor or clothes despite a discrepancy in usefulness. Currently in XCX my armor is not what it could be, simply because I like the look of the armor I have now, despite the fact that I could use a "fashion" armor to keep my appearance, because I feel that the armor I'm wearing is what my character likes. (also because I'm in it for the skells and I can't bother to give a **** about ground gear much)

 

[Azure Sage]

You can't kick butt if you ain't cute. I always prioritize looks. If it doesn't look good, I don't use it unless there's no choice. Of course, that's only for the ugly things. For example, armor with giant shoulder spikes, armor that's super bulky, helmets that totally cover the face (thats not my style), certain types of weapons... Same for clothes, too. I don't mind using things that aren't totally in line with my aesthetics if they're just normal-looking or something. But not if I think they're ugly.

 

[Deleted member 14134]

It don't matter how easily you can slay that dragon if you don't look like a badass doing it.

 

[Mipha]

This is a big problem for me in terraria. I want to look cool but also not die and most of the good stuff looks terrible imo

 

[Emma]

But do make sure you even CAN equip it in the first place.

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

This is a big problem for me in terraria. I want to look cool but also not die and most of the good stuff looks terrible imo

I have the same issue with Terraria. I haven't really found anything that looks nice. I did find the Hermes boots, which I very much enjoy.

 

[Ventus]

I prefer form over function in most games. Don't get me wrong, I love being the strongest warrior and getting tink tinks, but if I have to wear a thong or a bear onesie, I'll just settle for something that looks better with lower stats.

 

[Seth]

I go with function first, although I will try to avoid mismatching armor so it doesn't look terrible, but otherwise always function.

 

[Blue Star]

I try and strike a balance, though I tend to go form over function. If the armor's ugly, I won't wear it unless I NEED it. If I need it, I'll usually keep some armor that I think is cuter to change into when I go to town or something.

Slightly different but similar, in Fire Emblem Fates, I won't change characters into certain classes because said certain classes look ugly in my eyes. I don't care that the mechanist's stats are overall better than the master ninja's and they can use bows--I'm going for the master ninja class, every time.

 

[SpiteChaotic]

I do my best to do both. In monster hunter i'll try to best match up the armors that give me the skills and looks pleasing in some way with my weapon. Unless the skills i get are so great that i can't ignore them for style. Cause if I want a specific task done I will get it done no matter what.