Social Armor. Something isn't.. "Right"

[Sephendrine]

I noticed this too. It annoys me because I'd love to have my Smuggler wear that lovely social set from Coruscant, but it is light armor so I really shouldn't. Yet I get to see Jedi Sages and a bunch of Kira Carsens running around questing in it. ;_;

 

Social gear is just as useable for combat as any other orange piece of gear, and it seems hardly fair to make it only available to light armor users. And though tanking in a slave girl outfit may seem silly, I think it is equally silly that social "trooper" type gear is classified as light armor, or that a Jedi can traipse around the galaxy dressed as an Alderaanian noble or a sand person.

 

Besides that, I distinctly recall a certain quote about being able to raid dressed as a slave girl or sand person . . .

 

I always reasoned that it is called "social" gear not because it is designed solely for socializing in, but because it is available only to those with a certain social level.

 

If you want to wear it on your smuggler, then go ahead and do it. Mod it up the way you want, with cunning, endurance, etc. and then go out questing in it. 99% of the time you will have no difficulty. If you have trouble with elites, just have some gear to swap out that you think is better. What's the big deal? It's gear that is there if you want to use it. That's all. The game makes it functional for you to do so. Swapping out gear is very easy in this game.

 

There is nothing to suggest it was intended to be someone's go-to gear. Even for light armor users. If you are not high end pvping in pvp gear, you will get wiped.

 

I think part of why this is perceived as an "issue" is that people come from WoW or similar games where people judge you instantaneously by what gear you are wearing at the moment. Even if you are just out questing.

[Eldren]

For the most part, slottable armor has nearly no stats itself without mods. It's a cosmetic piece. The whole purpose of the orange gear in this game is to let players keep a look they decide they like without having to sacrifice level-appropriate stats. I like the Revan-ish full-face helmet/mask my Marauder is wearing right now. I'd be a little sad if I had to eventually give it up for a look I might not like just because that look gives me better stats.

 

Fortunately for me, my Revan-ish helmet is orange. I can keep that look for as long as I personally like (and I anticipate keeping it for quite awhile), and keep the mechanics of the gear relevant throughout by upgrading the mods I have in it.

 

So ultimately it isn't going to matter if heavy armor classes are wearing "light armor" from social gear. Mod it up with spec and level-appropriate mods, and you're doing just fine.

[boobaffet]

Really? you can't answer this yourself? The game kind of Answers it for you. its SOCIAL armor, not ADEVENTURING/LEVELING/PVP ARMOR.

 

If Social armor were medium/heavy then classes would just wear it all the time because it looks so awesome/unique/RPish. They dont want you wearing it all over.

 

Its SOCIAL armor. Armor for bank sitting. Get it yet?

 

Why make it moddable if it is not intended to be used in combat?

The way it is now only 2 class out of 8 can use the social gear without losing any armor stat.

[darthjerro]

Okay, here's the answer.

 

You CAN mod it and use it, but it won't be the best gear for flashpoints or pvp. However, after you mod it, you should be able to quest in it just fine, and you can always pull out your optimal gear if a certain fight is a little too tough.

 

In other words, it's just another OPTION to give players more ways to customize their characters. It surely is never intended to be End Game gear. But yes, you can use it.

 

There is no problem with this, unless you are one of those people who want to do absolutely everything in only the best gear possible, which makes no sense in a mmorpg. That's like Easy Mode. This isn't a dungeon runner game. You can use gear/mods etc to customize just how "difficult" the game is for you at any point in time.

 

What isn't 'right" is the notion that you should be able to raid or pvp in social gear. Why would you even want to? Those activities have their own gear rewards.

 

Im a tank. WHich tank in their right mind is going to put on light armor and go questing in it. And about making yourself the best you can be in mmo's. Lol, just lol. So i should carry around 2 sets of armour and manually swap them every time i FP and do hard quests.

 

I gear the best i can because my class calls for it in group play, not to gimp myself and make questing harder ( its already hard enough questing as a tank )

 

Heres a hint, i play on a pve server because i have no use for RP whatsoever. I NEVER collect pets or do any meaningless fluff activities in mmos that you dont get a cash, gear or title reward from. Does this tell you what kind of a player i am.

 

I am not here to play dress up.

[boobaffet]

So ultimately it isn't going to matter if heavy armor classes are wearing "light armor" from social gear. Mod it up with spec and level-appropriate mods, and you're doing just fine.

 

They will lose armor if they choose light armor over medium/heavy armor.

 

No matter the mods.

[RamataKahn]

Social armor is intended to be for roleplaying and *social* occasions, not for killing mobs, doing flashpoints, pvping, or raiding.

 

Then why does it have mod slots?

[Dire-Wolf]

Here is SR's response (from another thread) on social gear being only light armor. I know he says "moddable gear", but it was in response to a question about social gear.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenReid

 

 

There are plans to allow those who adopt tanking roles to be able to gain the armor benefits when wearing moddable gear. Again, this is not a high priority feature right now, but I know it's something that Damion feels is important.

 

Only those who spec tanks? So I guess dps specced medium and heavy armour weares don't matter?

[McVade]

I was happily leveling up my social tiers so I could use some of the social armor. As I was browsing some of the vendors I started noticing something.. While many of the Social armors are attractive or down right functional, they are.. Light Armor.

 

After doing research it seems there are no medium or heavy armor variants of Social clothing. Even Social clothing that should be heavy or medium is light armor, leaving me scratching my head.

 

I would just argue "Pfft.. It's social armor, it doesn't matter!" Except that all social armor is moddable, meaning it is functional in combat.. If the highest tier armor you can wear is light armor..

 

I want to enjoy the Social armor, but I'm a Bounty Hunter and need Heavy Armor. Will Medium and Heavy Armor users get some love or are we doomed to see Light Armor users enjoying it and nobody else?

 

I have to agree with this.

 

Seeing how much fun my Jedi Consular friend has gearing up his Sand People outfit kinda makes me sigh.

 

I'm in no rush to join the Sand People, but if Bioware could address this so we have all the visual flexibility of light armor classes (Either Appearence tab or whatever), I would be a big fan of that.

[STD_Skindancer]

Social armor is intended to be for roleplaying and *social* occasions, not for killing mobs, doing flashpoints, pvping, or raiding.

 

because it was stated that it could be used even in end game ops and be just as good as other armor if you put the mods in it. their intention for this armor was clearly stated at the comicon panel.

 

thanks for playing, i hear we have some lovely parting gifts.

[Sephendrine]

Im a tank. WHich tank in their right mind is going to put on light armor and go questing in it. And about making yourself the best you can be in mmo's. Lol, just lol. So i should carry around 2 sets of armour and manually swap them every time i FP and do hard quests.

 

I gear the best i can because my class calls for it in group play, not to gimp myself and make questing harder ( its already hard enough questing as a tank )

 

Heres a hint, i play on a pve server because i have no use for RP whatsoever. I NEVER collect pets or do any meaningless fluff activities in mmos that you dont get a cash, gear or title reward from. Does this tell you what kind of a player i am.

 

I am not here to play dress up.

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

You're right, no tank in their right mind would tank a flashpoint or pvp in social gear. But if you have problems questing in modded social gear, either you are fighting mobs much higher than you, or you haven't learned to play your class yet. I suspect the latter.

 

By the way, no one ever forces you to wear social gear, so what's this talk about "gimping" yourself? Huh? That's exactly what social gear will do for you, no matter what armor your class uses, but some people don't mind questing while they are a little "gimped". Obviously the whole concept of moddable social armor --- that some people can use it if and when they want to --- is hard for you to understand, and THAT seems to be the "problem" here.

[MMOrpgPrincess]

Its the same with the Dark / Light armors, there is almost no medium armor at all, which is already the hardest to get type in the game compared to light and heavy.

 

They messed up armor altogether in the game anyway, lvl 50 you have to get pvp armor with expertise and look like every other lvl 50 or you suck compared to other lvl 50's....

 

Orange armor becomes pointless at lvl 50....crafting pointless after lvl 50....( except for biochem and cybertech ).....

 

I hate the way they made armor in the game. Cant make your charcater look original without gimping it or making it worse or less powerfull.

 

Fricking lame....

 

Something to look forward too in future content patches!

Edited January 8, 2012 by MMOrpgPrincess

[Gartean]

Bump for justice,i have always hated how the sage helmets look(for pvp,pve...) so i decided to pick up a social item and mod it to match my likings (http://i44.tinypic.com/23jpr2d.jpg for pic)[even tho i will have to use a tier helmet for the bonus and hide it since there arent that good mods for the social items...]

however,my brother who is vanguard hasnt used any social helmet,despite its look because it was light armor and he would lose the bonuis armor

[SnoggyMack]

so you would be sub-optimal.

 

Being sub optimal never stopped the unwashed masses before. Why would it stop them now?

[Kharnis]

Really? you can't answer this yourself? The game kind of Answers it for you. its SOCIAL armor, not ADEVENTURING/LEVELING/PVP ARMOR.

 

If Social armor were medium/heavy then classes would just wear it all the time because it looks so awesome/unique/RPish. They dont want you wearing it all over.

 

Its SOCIAL armor. Armor for bank sitting. Get it yet?

 

You are completely and utterly wrong.

[ShadoeWrayth]

Simple Solution:

 

Add an extra tab for your character - Appearance

Under that tab you have a few equipment slots (I think social gear has 4 slots right?)

Remove all mods from social gear

Social gear will now only modify the appearance of your character, regardless of what you are wearing... Put on the Voss Mystic, and even if you are dressed in a shirt and pants, you get the White Mystic Robe look...

 

Now, Everyone can wear whatever they want, mod it however they want, and social points matter for what they are intended - to make your character look cool

 

Eventually, they could of course add Heavy/Medium gear, and then add a requirement that you can only wear social gear that matches (would make more sense than a heavy armored trooper wearing robes or a bikini lol) But taking any form of stats off the gear (mods/Armor value) would make it easier for Devs to push them out - Just have a name, which set it goes in (Hvy/Med/Lt), what social tier, and what it looks like...

[Idunhavaname]

Okay, here's the answer.

 

You CAN mod it and use it, but it won't be the best gear for flashpoints or pvp. However, after you mod it, you should be able to quest in it just fine, and you can always pull out your optimal gear if a certain fight is a little too tough.

 

In other words, it's just another OPTION to give players more ways to customize their characters. It surely is never intended to be End Game gear. But yes, you can use it.

 

There is no problem with this, unless you are one of those people who want to do absolutely everything in only the best gear possible, which makes no sense in a mmorpg. That's like Easy Mode. This isn't a dungeon runner game. You can use gear/mods etc to customize just how "difficult" the game is for you at any point in time.

 

What isn't 'right" is the notion that you should be able to raid or pvp in social gear. Why would you even want to? Those activities have their own gear rewards.

 

It's not an option when you're a heavy armor tank.

[Xeku]

Social armor is intended to be for roleplaying and *social* occasions, not for killing mobs, doing flashpoints, pvping, or raiding.

 

********

[Terin]

Even though I'm primarily playing an Assassin, I completely agree, this isn't right.

 

When it comes to SOCIAL armor, vendors should sell all three variants, even if they use the same graphics.

 

I'll admit, though, my Guardian would *LOVE* to be able to Mod some Light-armor to use for Tanking. I just think Light-Armor robes look much more "Jedi-like".

[GloamingLeuceti]

Bioware have yet to fix the bug with social gear that causes the modded stats to disapear from your character when zone loading...

 

But seriously, as a Jedi I want pants not skirts damn it, either add more pants or fix the bug so I don't have to strip every time I zone!!!

Edited January 14, 2012 by GloamingLeuceti

[AutomaticBob]

Seriously, people?

 

Some dev comes up with the fun idea to put in the slave outfit to wear while spamming LFG and dancing on top of the holo terminals in the flaspoint terminal. Then they decide to add mod slots so you could even slot them up and wear them while goofing off running dailys. Great, fun idea. Then people get there undies in a bunch because you can't tank instances in them? It takes two seconds of thought to figure out that they made them light armour so it would take minimal amount of dev effort to get a fun idea into the game where anyone could wear them.

 

My main is a sith juggernaut. Am I mad because I wont be able to tank eternity vault in social armour? No.

 

Am I mad because Sorcs and Assassins get more mileage out of them?

No.

 

I'm just glad the option to dress up like a Sand Person and go around force choking jawas is there if I ever feel like doing it.

 

Jeez, lighten up.

[darthtoph]

I was happily leveling up my social tiers so I could use some of the social armor.

 

blablabla...

 

At least you can level up your social tiers, mine has been stuck on 115 for weeks now, and I'm far from the only one with a broken social bar.

 

Even reported it three times, each and every time I get the standard blablabla droid reply and then BW close the ticket, no follow up whatsoever.

 

I guess I'll never get that Galactic Party Bomb. Thanks BW!

[JayceJa]

it is NOT called social armor because its intended to be used only socially, its called social armor because you need social points to unlock it

 

AND GUESS WHAT

 

you unlock social points by doing group QUESTS, FLASHPOINTS, ETC.

 

 

its currently poor design that you lose out on stats using aesthetic equipment, anyone saying otherwise is plain wrong, just as it the current way endgame armor stats cannot be put into moddable gear

and guess what!?

both have been said to be fixed in the near future

[gurugeorge]

I don't see any good reason why Social armor should be restricted to Light.

 

It's supposed to be an alternative advancement path for social players, so it ought to have all the options any gear up to lvl 50 would have (although of course not the options that specialized gear for endgame or PvP would have).

[CharagonIGN]

BioWare, in their infinite shortsidedness, came up with social gear that isn't supposed to be used as combat gear... and then made it perfectly functionable as combat gear for two classes.

 

Which was incredibly stupid. They basically gave an entire section of gear to a single class.

[asmox]

Im a tank. WHich tank in their right mind is going to put on light armor and go questing in it. And about making yourself the best you can be in mmo's. Lol, just lol. So i should carry around 2 sets of armour and manually swap them every time i FP and do hard quests.

 

I gear the best i can because my class calls for it in group play, not to gimp myself and make questing harder ( its already hard enough questing as a tank )

 

Heres a hint, i play on a pve server because i have no use for RP whatsoever. I NEVER collect pets or do any meaningless fluff activities in mmos that you dont get a cash, gear or title reward from. Does this tell you what kind of a player i am.

 

I am not here to play dress up.

 

i play a tank in my right mind and i wear light armor.