The Way You Look Tonight

There was a recent conversation on Battle.net where people worried about mismatching armor and everyone looking the same. Bashiok had a few words to comment about these ideas. First was with the subject of mismatching armor looks. Whether it be from wearing various armor types or that one strange off-colored piece, Diablo II had characters constantly walking around looking like they got dressed in the dark. With Diablo III, the aim is to get pieces to be more cohesive with one another so nothing stands out as particularly odd-looking.

Official Blizzard Quote:



That's not a feature or desired feature. I think what was being said was that applying color shades to items and making them a mess of bright purple or bright green is not very visually appealing, and so we'd like to avoid that. And we have, we do have dyes which alter gear color, but it's allowed in very measured and specifically tailored ways so that it doesn't look so garish.
As mentioned by Bashiok, the http://diablowiki.com/dye system" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - dye system"/> dye system will be invaluable to helping players create a cohesive look to their armor. The team has designed these dyes to be used on items, but not necessarily overwhelm the look of the character. An example can be seen below on the various colors and particular coloring of these dyes.



Beyond this matching of armor, people commented on how many varieties of looks there will be, for fear of everyone looking the exact same at high-end levels. Blizzard has mentioned a few times that their plan is to involve multiple types of items at end-game. Uniques, rares, crafted items, and set items will all have their place on high level characters. However, even with the numerous amounts of items in the game, it is only safe to assume that many people will have the same look. After all, with the set amount of item looks, most people will be wearing the highest level armor which means people will look somewhat similar as Bashiok states.

Official Blizzard Quote:



Well, there are a finite number of items, so being able to interact with potentially millions of players and never see two people who look alike unfortunately isn't too realistic. In addition, there are only a certain number of set looks per class, and so eventually there will be points where all the highest end players have the highest end set. That's where dyes, and even runes come in, among other things, to visually distinguish individuals. It would be awesome to have unlimited amounts of art going in to the game, but there has to be a line somewhere. Hopefully we can keep that line moving every once in a while though.
Perhaps the most interesting comment to point out in his statement is the fact that "runes and other things" will help our characters look different. Awhile back, there was mention of certain skill choices changing the look of your character. Not their actual appearance but how they look while fighting the Denizens of Hell. Even the DiabloWiki.com - Runestones Runestones we place in these skills will change our appearance. As Bashiok points out, even two Wizards with the same skill set will possibly have different runes inserted into these skills and this will change the overall look of these two characters while playing together. Their actual appearance will not change but their skills will look unique to each of them.

Official Blizzard Quote:



Assuming you're not standing around just admiring each other you'll be out and about killing stuff. Since each rune alters each ability in a visual (and usually mechanical) way, even if you and another wizard look exactly alike it's pretty unlikely you'll have the same skills chosen, but if you do, you're even less likely to have the same runes socketed.
Customization of characters in Diablo III appears to be a focus whether it be from skill choice, trait distribution, or armor choice and physical appearance. We can all hopefully look forward to many combinations of characters to play with.

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