Transmogging, Diablo-Style

One of the interesting new features of Diablo 3's first expansion, Reaper of Souls, is the addition of transmogrification via the new "Mystic" artisan. Like in WoW, transmog allows you to change the appearance of your gear so you can come up with a cool look that you might prefer.

But the big difference is that in Diablo, you don't need to have the gear in your inventory. You can unlock several models simply by training the Mystic, and anything that she does not learn automatically will be permanently added to her list as soon as you see the piece of gear drop.

The fact that this does not take up inventory space makes this version of transmog extremely attractive for those of us who play WoW. Transmog came with Void Storage seemingly as a nod to the fact that we'll want to hold on to far more stuff now that we might want to keep it around for cosmetic purposes. Yet even with eighty-some-odd spaces in this extra bank, it's not terribly hard to fill up. Allowing the gear to simply work like a checklist and allowing us to ditch everything that we're not using anymore would, certainly in my case at least, allow for us to clear out a huge amount of inventory space for use of more practical things, like professional materials and side grade pieces we aren't quite ready to trash yet.

But transitioning to a Diablo-style transmog system would not be simple, and the reason is that the way that gear models work in Diablo is very different.

As you level up in Diablo 3, you'll tend to find pieces of gear that are appropriate to roughly your level. Like in WoW, gear requires a certain level, and typically, this required level will determine which gear model the piece of gear uses. For each class, there are several "tiers" of gear models that change as you level up (armor that is not already class-specific will change in appearance depending on who is looking at it. So the same helmet that you pass from your Barbarian to your Crusader will just look different when you switch characters.) For example, every non-Legendary Demon Hunter helmet from level 61-69 will have the same model (though sometimes different colors - Diablo 3 has an equipment-dyeing system.)

What this means is that despite the vast number of gear pieces you'll find throughout the world, there's only going to be about 20 different types of helmet you're going to see, with the exception of legendary pieces, which tend to have their own unique looks that don't change based on your class.

WoW, on the other hand, has an absurd number of gear models. Try to think of every single mail helmet model, and since WoW does not have a gear-dyeing system, you have to count every alternative color scheme as a separate model. The number must be enormous.

Admittedly, in more recent years, Blizzard has tried to have "tiers" of gear models. Your 30-40 leather armor tends to be the same model in varying colors since Cataclysm. But there are sometimes exceptions here. Then think about the models in Mists alone. Let's talk about plate helmets. Going strictly from appearance, there's the same model for Jade Forest and Krasarang Wilds/Valley of the Four Winds, but with different colors. Then there's the model used in Kun Lai, Townlong, and Dread Wastes, all with different coloration. Then there's three color-schemes of dungeon-drop blue gear. Then there's a model for each class through each PvP season (along with alternate colorations for elite gear and crafted gear,) plus engineering goggles, and then tier set models for every class, with at least three color schemes of each for the various difficulties.

I count 33 plate helmet models (and I could have been wrong) in Mists alone. Then account for the fact that you might have gotten a DK-normal-mode-lookalike helmet on your Paladin, and the LFR Paladin tier helmet, plus (crap, I forgot the MSV/Timeless Isle models, so add in like six) and you can see why this could be confusing. And that's before we get into all the unique weapon models.

But is it enough to prevent them from doing it?

Fundamentally, how difficult would it be for WoW to have a really long (probably hidden) list of all the items in the game? (I know next to nothing about programming, but I'd bet there already is such a thing.) Simply checking things off on that list seems like a fairly simple thing for a computer to do.

From a UI, perspective, though, I could still see it being a little difficult. Perhaps transmog could consolidate your list down, eliminating any two items with duplicate models? Likewise, as I've suggested before, higher-difficulty versions of certain pieces of gear could yield you a checkmark on their lower-difficulty equivalents.

I don't think this is something they could really just slap together in an afternoon, but I imagine many people would be happy with some of these changes.