Female perspective on armor/fashion choices

Jhalin

I'd prefer a selection of functional to fashionable (avoiding sexy)

I pick this one mostly because I really do hate when good heavy armor design is blown to pieces by boob plates.

It doesn’t even look good. There’s nothing attractive about it. I’m a girl that like girls and I honestly think it just looks tacky at best.

At least with the leather armor being form fitting makes sense.

As for the boob windows and flesh flashing on female models with certain motifs, grim harlequin and skinchanger come to mind, I find that annoying. It’s inconsistent and means I can’t mirror an outfit from a male toon onto a female toon without slapping a big ol target smack dab in the middle of their chest.

Tbh I like options for showy stuff when it’s showy for every character. I love the Deadwater style, Fang Lair midriffs galore, and Assassin’s League form fitting options and thieves guild’s slim leathers, but I don’t like full armors being striped down just to add a “sexy” factor when I just wanted to use a particular style.

albesca

Vanos444 wrote: »

...

Wow, those would make Almalexia blush.

Also, they're are horrible, in my opinion: what kind of fighter would wear something that covers and hinders mobility of limbs while leaving the torso unprotected? And high heels, really?

ayu_fever

Armor options should be "sexy" (as in armor designs that allow me to accentuate/display female sexuality)

since i only make female characters i very much would love bikini armors and skimpy armors.
they would be very welcome style of outfit/costume options for sure!

IndianaJames7

I’m a guy so I won’t vote in your poll as requested, but I will say that I disagree with your general assessment that guys don’t care about outfit selection. The fact that someone is willing to comment on a forum post about in game fashion is probably as good a filter as you could need to determine wether they care about the subject regardless of their gender.

Sure 11/13 of my toons are male and so ‘sexy/pretty’ isn’t really the look I am going for, but I do put in a considerable effort trying to make them look unique and badass. The two female toons I have also received the same attention but I did feel restricted in terms of my ability to match them to my vision. And I know there are many other dudes who would agree with this sentiment.

LadySinflower

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

I would not only talk about armor and costumes but also hairstyles. This game is sadly lacking in long, full hairstyles that are not unevenly textured and/or tied back in some fashion. I know that it's impractical for a person to have long, thick, flowing hair in the type of environment this game represents, and not have it braided or put up out of the way. But it's a game that indulges in some fantasy types, so I want thick hair down my back that looks soft and silky, not a mess that looks one missed brushing away from dreadlocks. The textures are awful, the braids and curls don't look right, and the longest style in the game is still a lot shorter than what I want. They can make the eyes and skin look nice. Why is the hair a disaster?

For armor and clothing styles, I would like to see more low-cut chest pieces, but not slooty (as it's called in Skyrim). Some sexy, close-fitting styles and a little cleavage would be a good thing. A talented artist can draw armor or clothing with some sexy details while still keeping it functional and protective. Skimpy bikini-style armor for males or females is ridiculous. It would offer no protection to the wearer and no suspension of disbelief would ever convince me otherwise. I wish I was talented enough to draw what I was thinking of, but sadly I have no talent.

Tigerseye

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Vanos444 wrote: »

Lol! I hope you know. Males do play female characters, right?!

Yeah, of course, but I think the point of this poll is to try to, specifically, find out what women want for their female chars.

Cirantille

you forgot to include my personal perspective - let me explain it to you

To me they seem normal.

After seeing what other games do out there with female armours I am so glad we don't have anime skirts or bikinis. Those are yucky.

But if people want more options we can let them have it, why not?

Tigerseye

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

albesca wrote: »

Vanos444 wrote: »

...

Wow, those would make Almalexia blush.

Also, they're are horrible, in my opinion: what kind of fighter would wear something that covers and hinders mobility of limbs while leaving the torso unprotected? And high heels, really?

I don't really mind bikini armour, but high heels worry me.

I just imagine the twisted ankles, constantly.

SidraWillowsky wrote: »

ErinM31 wrote: »

SidraWillowsky wrote: »

Donny_Vito wrote: »

SidraWillowsky wrote: »

Katahdin wrote: »

However I do feel that "sexy" doesn't necessarily equate to "revealing" or showing a lot of skin.
Sexy can be done in a tasteful manner which is what I prefer over a lewd style.

I agree but I'd rather not give men the option to make their characters look any more like blow-up dolls than some of them already manage to do (which is actually almost impressive given the lack of sexy options.... when there's a will, there's a way, I guess).

They can't be trusted.

I can usually tell when a guy makes a female character (which is odd in it's own way, but that's a different topic), as it's usually 6 ft+, athletic, and blonde hair with a revealing outfit. The actual women I play with tend to make their female characters more realistic, not the Hollywood-version of themselves.

Exactly... 80% of male-created female characters look like this. Don't get me wrong- I've seen some fantastic female characters created by dudes, but the majority of them seriously DO look just like you described. And yeah, mine are all short, athletic, and usually wear the Welkynar armor (I've tried other but I just love the wings).

Wow, no reason to disparage the other half of the playerbase! Yes, I have seen characters as you describe, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s far more variety than that, including in a recent thread on this topic, one male player shared pics of his characters and, while they were all chesty (nothing wrong with that either — all my male characters have a lean athletic build I find ideal), they had a variety of looks and their attire was classy.

There’s nothing odd about a guy making a female character or vice versa. Part of the appeal of fantasy games are to play characters totally different from you or that express different aspects of you, among many other things.

God, those poor, oppressed males. It's not as if they get that sort of female archetype in, you know, almost every other game ever. Can't we just have a FEW where the option to make a female character look like a sex doll isn't a thing? Yeah, I'm salty or triggered or whatever, but TES franchise is a breath of fresh air for me in a sea of games where females are objectified and degraded.

ETA that I've met many great dudes in this game. Still don't want that option.

The thing is, I don't really know what you mean by a "sex doll"?

Obviously, I know what one is, but how far do you extend the definition?

Does every char with larger breasts make you think that?

Or only ones with large breasts and full lips?

Or only ones with large breasts and full lips that are very thin elsewhere?

Or do they have to be very curvy, on the bottom half, as well?

You get what I mean?

If you mean a char that has big boobs, a big butt, a minimum sized waist, full lips, long hair and bikini armour, I get why you might be a bit suspicious, but if you mean a char that just has a few of those things, you might (wrongly) think a man made them, when they didn't.

Even if a char had all those things, they might still have been made by a woman.

There was a player in WoW whose char ran around in black leather bikini armour, all the time and I did find it a bit unusual, as apparently she was a girl irl, but there you go.

Tigerseye

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Thinking about this, my main objection to a lot of the armour/costumes is that they are not flattering to chars with non-small busts.

They give them a uni-bosom look and make their busts look far bigger (or wider, to be specific) than they do undressed.

Also, there isn't much simple, form-fitting stuff.

A lot of the longer tops are made in one size, presumably to fit the maximum sized butt?

So, if your char has a smaller than average butt, it looks weird on them, as it sticks out beyond their natural shape.

Then you have the perennial problems with floating belt buckles and annoying flaps/hip things, of course.

craybest

i agree with this a lot, even though ESO is probably the MMO that does it the most carefully and much more even than other games. in many other games armor is absolutely different from males and females, like in gw2. and i won't even get into games like tera or others where female armor is absolutely ridiculous.

svartorn

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Male opinion here as well, but I play exclusively female toons in this game (but mostly male toons in WoW, big fat ugly dark iron dwarf male).

As with all things, I think selection and choice is the right way to go. If you want to have a sexy female character or a huge buff male character not wearing any chest armor, choice and selection is best. If anything I think we should have more revealing outfits for males and females, as well as the ability to hide chest/shoulder/gloves, etc. A shirtless male bezerker toon covered in tats would be awesome.

I would probably use more revealing clothing options on my magicka caster toons, but I prefer my clothing + light armor look on my main character templar.

I enjoy playing a beautiful character with functional armor.

php64

I'd prefer a selection of functional to fashionable (avoiding sexy)

As a female player, I’m sick to the back teeth of unrealistic armors and clothes that have your characters boobs hanging out. You can tell this game is mainly designed for blokes lol.

Yuffie91

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

php64 wrote: »

As a female player, I’m sick to the back teeth of unrealistic armors and clothes that have your characters boobs hanging out. You can tell this game is mainly designed for blokes lol.

Eso is not nearly as bad as other games

bakthi

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Up front disclaimer: I am Dude.

I was talking to my girlfriend about this the other day. Specifically, character customization option in ESO, how they compare to other games, etc.

It's kind of funny; she's a belly dancer, and tends to prefer more revealing outfits. Though she does love the look of some things in the game, like Olorime, that aren't. But if she played...she's performed in a Sindel costume that she made, if that gives you some idea. By contrast, I usually go for a look more like Brienne in GoT.

So I think there should be armor options for everyone. Though I'm aware of what might happen, and yes, there have been too many games in the past with nothing but metal underwear.

I will say this: body customization seems VERY limited in this game. I can make a tall petite character or a short petite character, and they can have defined muscle tone or not. That's...it. I have very short and very tall friends, many of whom are very active athletically, with a variety of physiques, and you can't really make a character that looks like any of them. I mean, look at this:

https://www.boredpanda.com/athlete-body-types-comparison-howard-schatz/

Why can we only make a few of those people as characters? In some ways, PSO was more flexible. ESO really ties you to some narrow height and physique ranges.

Feindrah

I'd prefer a selection of functional to fashionable (avoiding sexy)

I was about to choose selection of all three but then I realized that the sexy option is probably referring to chain mail bikini and stilettos so I ended up saying I prefer function and fashion.

Preferably I like having a wide choice of styles for all characters to wear. An extra plus is when the armor doesn't change much or at all when playing a different gender. The one thing that I almost always dislike though is bikini armor. There is only one instance where i'm ok with it. I just think it's really ugly and not functional. Emphasis on the ugly part.

Honestly ESO is pretty good with outfit choices! I would say there are a few things for me that I personally still don't prefer like metal boob cups on chest plates (which can be done but not in the way most games present them. The metal cannot act a bra ya'll) but in the end ESO has a much better grasp on outfits than most mmo's.

Grandma

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

cool on you for asking women their perspective. I don't ID as one anymore but i hope you accept my contribution since I have a lot of experience with it.

choice is pretty much the only choice [ironically]. Removing existing options would only irritate players, so I don't think that's a great idea. If we were designing a game from the ground up, I'd love to see the two options being fashionable or functional and just drop sexy because I feel like it's not even really "sexy", it just exists pretty much exclusively as male eye candy- as most female features in video games are exaggerated to be. But when these sexy options go away and female characters look.. y'know.. like normal human beings.. you get all these elitist clown basement dwellers talking about how you're oppressing women's sexuality because they can't play as naked women with boobs the size of a mattress anymore. I'd rather not cater to that crowd so if they left that'd be fine by my book.

anyway, back to ESO. I feel like it has a decent amount of the 3 choices, minus one huge pet peeve of mine: why the hell are my character's lungs apparently stored in their boobs? when you're wearing heavy plate armor, your boobs practically shrink and expand as you breath, even if they're covered with metal so it appears they bend the laws of physics. I know they never will, but visiting that and making it so the breastplate size stays the same as they breath would be awesome.

As it stands ESO has a good balance like I said. in fact, if anything, as far as actual motifs [not costumes] go, there's few that show a whole ton of skin, which I can appreciate in a way. The only one coming to mind is the worm one from fang lair chest piece that shows most of your body.

there is of course the final question i will raise that I don't pretend to have the answer to: what is the point of all these skins and tattoos they make for us if we can barely see them under our armor most of the time? should they be more visually prominent ie. glowy, or should we have more options to actually see our tattoos? it feels like to show them off you're shunted into the nordic bath towel.

edit:

[snip]

[Edit for bait.]

Araneae6537

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

@IndianaJames7 I think OP was saying that there is generally less controversy or strong opinions regarding outfit styles for male characters, not that male players don’t care about outfits. That may or may not be accurate, but that is my understanding.

@bakthi I agree on more options and customization being a good thing! I think that ESO is already better than many games in that regard (which isn’t to say that I wouldn’t be happy to have even more). Aion may have had even more (I only played it briefly) but SWTOR had exactly four options (which were quite different at least) while the limited range in GW2 was frequently infuriating (for human female it could be summed up as thin to very thin with large to extra large breasts).

@Ash_In_My_Sujamma Disregarding that many males have voted in this poll, any collection of people, women included, are going to want a range of options. That doesn’t mean that each of us doesn’t know exactly what we want.

*Edited to combine several comments/responses I wanted to make.

Araneae6537

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Vanos444 wrote: »

Lol! I hope you know. Males do play female characters, right?!
On topic, As a male I want female armors to be like this in lineage 2 { tap the spoiler tap before SJW's gets jealous, I know ESO as a ton of them creeping around....}

WoW also as this as well.

Sadly, ESO has in the form of rare costume...
Like my main in this Link

Are you serious or trolling? Of course plenty of males play female characters and vice versa; the OP was interested in knowing the views of female players but since there are no way to limit poll responders...

I would not mind if ESO has more revealing armors so long as they were lore appropriate. I do think those you pictured to be in poor taste, to be lewd rather than sexy or simply revealing (not to mention rather ridiculous and ugly IMHO). But I never wish to restrict other players options to suit my taste. So long as there are plenty of fashionable and functional options for female characters and any sexy (or xxx) options are for both male and female characters, I would not take offense or complain.

SirAxen

I'd prefer a selection of functional to fashionable (avoiding sexy)

Do your thing.

Starlock

you forgot to include my personal perspective - let me explain it to you

Yuffie91 wrote: »

php64 wrote: »

As a female player, I’m sick to the back teeth of unrealistic armors and clothes that have your characters boobs hanging out. You can tell this game is mainly designed for blokes lol.

Eso is not nearly as bad as other games

Yes, by quite a landslide in many cases. When the game was launched, there were NO styles that made the game look like softcore pornography. A few have been added since then, but for the most part, it's pretty obvious that the design intent still isn't to basically make softcore fantasy pornography. Thank gods for that. There's some other MMOs on console that I just went "yeah, nope" after I observed all their female characters looked like they came out of a porno or something.

Edited to fix the filter smacking pornography without the -ography at the end, which is frankly really bizzare...

Yuffie91

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Starlock wrote: »

Yuffie91 wrote: »

php64 wrote: »

As a female player, I’m sick to the back teeth of unrealistic armors and clothes that have your characters boobs hanging out. You can tell this game is mainly designed for blokes lol.

Eso is not nearly as bad as other games

Yes, by quite a landslide in many cases. When the game was launched, there were NO styles that made the game look like softcore pornography. A few have been added since then, but for the most part, it's pretty obvious that the design intent still isn't to basically make softcore fantasy pornography. Thank gods for that. There's some other MMOs on console that I just went "yeah, nope" after I observed all their female characters looked like they came out of a porno or something.

Edited to fix the filter smacking pornography without the -ography at the end, which is frankly really bizzare...

Yes..like Vanos444 has posted earlier. Compared to that eso is very modest

ZOS_JesC

Greetings, we've removed a few nonconstructive or appropriate comments. Please remember to be respectful and on-topic when posting. Thank you.

Bexy

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

I'm female but a tomboy (I wear masculine clothes in real life) and my characters are also tomboys, I prefer simple/plain/comfy armor styles in games. BUT I think all 3 listed styles (functional, fashionable, sexy) should exist for the sake of customization and to please every kind of player! The more options the better.

Katheriah

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

I'm a woman, I love my womanly stuff. I wouldn't want to miss my bewbs or my hips or anything else and I love high heels, dresses and jewelry. Online I play everything. Male, female, confused… EVERYTHING. Stronk Viking, sexy sorceress, weird kitty, 'look at my pecs' Chad, warrior princess, pink nun, scary lizzy, skull lover. You name it, I've got it. Give me choice. I want to be able to make outfits that cover every inch of my chars, or show as much skin as I want.


#FreeTheNipples

phermitgb

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

I appreciate everyone's input on the question. I know this type of thread pops up about once a month, but they usually seem...skewed, in one direction or the other, every time I read them - and I was hoping mostly for a "primarily" female perspective on female attire in video games in general, and ESO in particular. I don't mind the male perspective, mind you, just that I hear the male perspective fairly frequently, so I'm already pretty familiar with the most common male perspective responses.

I'm not particularly surprised that most people prefer a selection of all 3, so that they can pick and choose from options based on their particular tastes, be it thematic appropriateness or personal preference and so on. I honestly, was a little more interested in the two extremes - just how strong a presence would there be that PREFERRED either pragmatic only outfits or had a strong interest in sexy only outfitting?

Anyway, like many of you, I tend to prefer outfitting based on character concept. Being male myself, I do occasionally like the option of outfitting my female toons with varying degrees of fashionable choices that highlight their femininity for social occasions - my attention to detail for male toons in social occasions is less energetic, but I do like a few of the formal-wear options that men have.

When adventuring, I skew in other directions, less dependent on gender and more dependent on a sense of appropriateness for the fantasy role I've picked for them - so, tanks are often heavily armored, my magic-users are usually some degree of armored robe wearers, and so on, usually without regard to gender.

Anyway, continue with your thoughts - I've loved reading all the various responses, and am curious to hear more...

NotaDaedraWorshipper

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

After seeing the results of this poll I totally reconsidered the idea that women don't know what they want.

Or maybe it shows the big truth that people are different and vary in what they like? Not to mention men has voted aswell.

php64 wrote: »

As a female player, I’m sick to the back teeth of unrealistic armors and clothes that have your characters boobs hanging out. You can tell this game is mainly designed for blokes lol.

What, where?!
ESO has one of the lowest amount of overly sexualised clothes I've seen in a mmo. Even the clothes, which usually are costumes, that is considered "sexy" which I assume stand for revealing in this case, fits the setting. Like Egg-Sister Bias-Cut Casual Wear. That's more or less a bikini for us, but it fits argonians perfectly and is not overly sexy for them. It's what you probably want to wear when you're a humanoid lizard living in swamps and likes to swim. The men wears just as little!

It's one thing I like about ESO. It doesn't look out of place fitting the setting, nor is it overly sexualised and mostly doesn't look that different between a male or a female character. It reminds me of the old days when I played Age of Conan, which had armour that looked the same on both. A short sarong looking kilt? Prepare to show some leg ladies and gentlemen.

phermitgb

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

bakthi wrote: »

...
I will say this: body customization seems VERY limited in this game. I can make a tall petite character or a short petite character, and they can have defined muscle tone or not. That's...it. I have very short and very tall friends, many of whom are very active athletically, with a variety of physiques, and you can't really make a character that looks like any of them. I mean, look at this:

https://www.boredpanda.com/athlete-body-types-comparison-howard-schatz/

Why can we only make a few of those people as characters? In some ways, PSO was more flexible. ESO really ties you to some narrow height and physique ranges.

I only have one question regarding the link. Why is everyone so shiny? They didn't ALL just come off of a workout session, did they? Were they made shiny to, I dunno, highlight muscle tone or something?

Otherwise, it's a very interesting arrangement of body types for athletic people - I just have a hard time getting past the confusingly seemingly unnecessary shininess of them all.

Linaleah

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

all I ever want when it comes to cosmetics in my video games - is equality. i want all the options for EVERYONE. from skimpy to fully armored - as long as both female and male presenting characters get essentially the same options? I'm good.

that said, in recent years i have found that I'm less likely to get creepy whispers if my characters look exaggerated and skimpy, than when they look realistically pretty and marginally tastefully dressed. I'm guessing becasue my more garish characters get assumed to be played by a dude.

seriously, even back in swtor - my jedi shadow who was dressed very skimpily, becasue of the personality I gave her, and looked as "conventionally attractive" as you get - got no whispers. meanwhile - my mandolorian bounty hunter in her full heavy mando armor, her buffest body type you could play and short practical hair? got creepy whispers all the time. and I've noticed this tendency in ESO as well. skimpy outfits don't get whispers. so in some ways, if you want to be left alone but still want to play female character... it might be a good idea to play a skimpy photoshopped model :P

Seminolegirl1992

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Choice is preferable. Hell, I'd be psyched if we had the option to hide whichever armor slot we pleased (especially shoulders)!

NotaDaedraWorshipper

I'd like a selection of all 3 (functional, fashionable, and sexy, allowing me to choose depending on how I feel at any given moment)

Seminolegirl1992 wrote: »

Choice is preferable. Hell, I'd be psyched if we had the option to hide whichever armor slot we pleased (especially shoulders)!

They are the bane of all outfits. Along with hip flaps.