Greetings, ESO community and ZOS team!

A while back I suggested scabbards and visual equipment in this thread here about "Things we miss from past Elder Scrolls games". Some people really liked the suggestion and I promised I'd make a full thread on the matter! Well, here I am.

The objective of this thread is to suggest the addition of cosmetic scabbards (weapon sheaths) and the possibility to see both our weapon sets on our characters models. So let's go on with it!

SCABBARDS

PURPOSE & REASON
Scabbards have always been a part of the more gritty and realistic feel the Elder Scrolls games aimed for. It adds not only realism but also depth to customization and they look really cool. We would have more options to make our characters look like we wish and we would also lead ESO further away from average MMO models that have unsheated weapons hanging from belts by adding this Elder Scrolls unique flavor to the game.

Though they are not really present in Morrowind due to technical limitations, they've been around Arena and Daggerfall and made they return on Oblivion and Skyrim:





WHAT ZOS GETS
Well, scabbards are COSMETIC ADDITIONS to the game. Might sound a bit of work for something that is not really useful, right? Well, not really. Small improvements and additions like this are always well received by the community and make the game more unique... Also, as I said - COSMETIC additions... This means ZOS could even get a bit of extra income by selling some custom designed and unique sheaths for your weapons in the Crown Store! More things to sell and that won't alter the game balance - way to go for a store, ZOS

VISUAL EQUIPMENT

PURPOSE & REASON
It has always bothered me that when the enemy gets too close and I sheath my bow before drawing steel, my bow and quiver simply... disappear! It would be amazing to be able to see BOTH sets equipped by our characters simultaneously. There are both visual and gameplay benefits in this one. Visually, well, it's simply nicer to see your gear - and if scabbards were ever added, it would be even cooler to have both sets showing at the same time. As for gameplay, you'd be able to recognize threats in PVP, something similar to the different staff animations that will allow people to identify the staff type. The only issue this could bring is not knowing which set is currently equipped when your weapons are sheated, but I'm sure some small icon or visual cue could solve the problem. Optionally, a "Toggle visual equipment" could be added to the menu, allowing people to show or hide their secondary set as they please.

WHAT ZOS GETS
If we ever get Shield Dyes (as it was mentioned) or even the scabbards suggested here, having both sets on display would encourage people to show off cosmetic stuff even more. So not a big encouragement as the Scabbards themselves but still something cool, unique and that would please a lot of players for bringing the game even closer to the original TES games. (Your quiver is always on display, in Skyrim and Oblivion, for example)

HOW COULD IT WORK
I've spent some time figuring out how could the visual equipment work without glitches/clipping. I've come up with a solution that looks cool for most cases (except when using two sets of One Handed + Shiel, I guess) and it also gives us a bit more of control over character customization and looks.

The idea is: Weapons will be placed on your body differently according to their equipment set slot. Let's call both set slots "Slot 1" (initial one) and "Slot 2" (the lower one; the one you unlock upon reaching level 15)
The same weapon type would look differently when equipped on Slot 1 or Slot 2. For example: A Bow equipped on Slot 1 would have the quiver on your back and a bow equipped on Slot 2 would have the quiver on your belt. This would not only allow deeper customization (Some would like the quiver on the back, some on the belt, just swap the equipment as you please) but it would also solve the problem of clipping. I've come with a concept for all 25 possible combinations of weapons that show how would each type behave with each other type on each slot.

The full range of combinations can be seen on this big table I've created (you'll probably need to enlarge it by clicking HERE):



But you can also check out each combination on this IMGUR ALBUM

Of course, this is just an idea. But I've worked on it to show that IT IS possible and it looks cool. I'm sure ZOS can come up with better ideas for the shields, for example, so I'll just toss the ball to you

So, these are my ideas for some small, mostly cosmetic improvements that could add A LOT to the game experience. They're not big, deep systems like Housing or new weapon types (which I would also like to see one day, sure), but I think they're reasonably realistic in terms of effort and benefits.

So, what do you guys think? If you like the idea (or have anything to say or add), please do. The more buzz threads generate, the more likely Devs will get to see them

- DaniAngione