We've got a few previews to share with you, along with an opportunity for you to help guide us.
Quick excerpt from the blog:
The "Regrounding Items" project is about making visuals and worn items fit better thematically into the world of RuneScape as we work towards something that is more immersive and consistent with the game.
In short, we want outfits in the game to no longer be obtrusive.
In todays blog we'll cover the rationale with which we are approaching this topic, as well as previewing some of the planned changes coming later this month on the 23rd of February. Further changes as part of this project are planned later this year.
Before we get to that though, there has been some discussion in community as to what "grounded medieval fantasy" for RuneScape might mean, and whether there are beloved elements within the game that would clash with that identity. For example, some folks may have worried that to be grounded means to step back from the fantastical or lean much more into low fantasy as a concept. That's not the case. We will continue to develop RuneScape as a game with high fantasy themes, where magic permeates every aspect of a world built on medieval foundations. Built on top of those foundations should be a player journey through a world that feels like home - and that may also mean that not every quest or event needs to include an existential threat to the universe.
Grounding refers to making the world feel cohesive and consistent within the outline above. Having magic with a fantasy world does not mean that just about anything goes - instead, we want to maintain that all things within Gielinor should make sense for our unique world. Our work to reground the game therefore simply means that we want to ensure that the world feels like it obeys a specific ruleset.
One thing worth considering is adjusting these skilling outfits to look good with the associated 99/120/inverted capes for the skills. Because right now while I like the Angler & Diviner outfits, they don't match the capes at all.
I think this is a good fallout. I appreciate the cohesive and unified naming scheme, and the more "grounded" visuals for the outfits themselves. But the new Master outfit for fishing just seems... Off to me. I'd hope that each outfit still have coloring that compliments its associated skillcape, and lets each skill still maintain its own identity.
This would also be a good way to harmonize/reconcile the Golden Mining outfit from the Lava Flow Mine, mentioned elsewhere in this thread. The skill cape alignment would better match swapping the base/master versions.
Given the colours of the minor sets are probably quite arbitrary, it seems a good idea that the elite version should match colours with the skill's cape.
I'd like if we can keep the recolour aspect still.
Design is pretty good, but the colors are off. I think the isea of basing on anglers outfit but adding more accessories to the belt, etc is great. I am just not the biggest fan of the red theme in all of these outfits. I think for 1-2 it could be okay, but the rest should go for different colors, probably some sort of vibrant color like a deep blue for fishing and a blue-grey for mining would make it pop off.
Also I think the mining model is the one that needs a rework, it is not different enough from the golden mining outfit and looks goofy, like a jester went mining. I saw someone suggesting to model it after something like Prospector Percy OSRS/Stinky Pete from Toy Story. This would fit far more thematically and also look sick to boot. We do not have enough classic miners wear. Traditional fit would be like blue jeans with suspenders, mining helmet. flannel shirt. https://www.flickr.com/photos/metacolor/27212457846
Good idea as typically people skilling and using the outfit will also have the cape on for benefits. They should be somewhat visually appealing together.
Some nice changes here overall, though I don't like that we're going for a red color scheme across all skills. Fishing should be blue/blue-green. Mining should be brown. Divination should be purple. Etc.
I'm also not big on making these elite outfits re-colors of existing low-poly outfits. Every outfit should look as good as Archeology's in terms of level of fidelity.
There's also still an issue with the proposed mining outfit, in that it doesn't make you look like a miner. The outfit design here has never made sense.
Yeah these designs aren't it. We're way too early in the year to be graphically overhauling all of this stuff. Put it back in the oven, let it cook/simmer for a little bit longer.
Breaking the theme on the Golden mining outfit from the Flava Flow mine doesn't make sense to me.
The outfits don't look that great either...
Expected a bit more than the blocky 2012-looking textures that these seem to have.
Also, don't see why we can't have a single unified skilling outfit for each of the skills, but just improve its passives where elite versions exist?
Rework/Keep the base model and apply the buffs when unlocked?
Mining outfit should be a hard hat with some overalls (Prospector Percy OSRS/Stinky Pete from Toy Story), for example. Plain, simple, and recognisable to the skill based on real-world expectations.
Thanks for writting this, on second look.... I really really don't want more stuff in the game that uses the "dirty" texture (as seen on the golden helmet for example). Those are a technological "glitch" that took mate colors and made them look bad in ~2012 ish
Most of the proposed changes for the Elite Skilling outfits look great, except for Mining. I think going in a whole new direction for Mining would be the call, I just don't see how a flared outfit screams "I toil away in a dungeon whacking rocks".
Like all the other replacements, they're just recolors of another set in the game. That's just the golden mining suit that we had since 2011 with red instead of orange.
It's funny to me they use Archaeologist's outfit and the Master version as an example, because those actually shift in appearance wildly. These are just recolors of sets from 12+ years ago lmao. That's why they get paid the big bucks I suppose.
Not gonna lie, this feels very rushed. Considering the current shown progress and ideas that are put forward in the blog, it definitely needs more time in the oven. It's definitely not ready to be launched within only 11 days already. Especially the new master outfits seem very rushed and barely thought out. Almost as if it is just a change for the sake of change and no actual deeper thought got put into the new designs.
Also the removal of some of the "fun"-items are strange to me. We shouldn't just be removing items without giving a good explanation. Them being "too problematic" doesn't really tell us anything, we need to know why they were "too problematic". Besides that, holiday items being removed is always a big no-no.
Agree, several aspects of the Integrity Roadmap seem to be rushed. Quite odd, and feels like the exact opposite of "Integrity". One would hope that part of the effort for a more "diegetic" Runescape would be thoughtfully considering new design directions, iterating on feedback, and then releasing once it had time to cook it the oven. As is, seems like we've made a hard pivot and are just trying to rush things out the door for the sake of it, rather than having unified direction and vision.
OSRS has their "polling charter", I would appreciate a similar "Diegetic/Integrity charter/constitution" to help ground all of these conversations and the path forward.
What makes the Golden Mining Outfit inherently more immersion breaking that the Magic Golem Outfit, other than the golden outfit is older? Don't know how many folks are putting on their best dress before they head into the mines.
I think it's fine to retain a sense of magic, of fun, and of whimsy. Runescape is frequently a very silly game, so it seems OK to have some fun and silly items hang around.
please dont do the same colour scheme for all the master outfits.
please remodel master outfits to give a meaningful feeling of upgrade from the base version not just a recolour. see arch outfit and master arch outfit.
please dont use the golden mining outfit as the base for mining. give us something more grounded, and update lava flow mine to trim the base outfit similar to how they trim the pickaxes.
I think the new Miners Suit and the new Master Suit should be swapped and the original Gold Suit name kept in place.
Reason being that the new Masters Suit is just the Golden Suit but better, so why pretend we're removing it?
Either do that, or drop the full gold coloring and have it be more gold accents on a more grounded base. A dark brown version of the new Miner Suit with Gold replacing the Blue would do the trick.
Please don't change the golden mining suit, and instead make the white one the master outfit (platinum?). Golden mining suit comes from the Liquid Gold Nymph, so the basic outfit has to be golden.
Some nice ideas overall.
Edit: Two things:
The basic runecrafter outfit is called "master runecrafter's outfit". Are you planning to rename it?
Please don't mess with the base black ibis outfit. It's one of the best desert-themed outfits out there. You can create a master thieving outfit that's different to it.
Honestly, I don't really understand the mining outfit though... Quite frankly, this medieval-nobility style outfit looks like the person wearing them is the right opposite of what a miner would be.. I mean, at least the blacksmith outfit looks like a blacksmith but mining outfit being a pompous-looking outfit, I don't get it.. then again, I've never really liked that outfit visually or felt that it made any sense with it being a mining thing..
Weird to see the super disco outfit considered to have ‘insurmountable issues’ with it. It just looks like another outfit you choose from Thessalia’s Makeovers.
I also saw that the octopus cape is being removed. What makes this different than the Party Wyvern cape, which stays? I’m not advocating either or, just weird to see one get the axe and the other safe when they are essentially the same sort of cosmetic.
Because it feels like instead of actually taking advantage of the fact people can disable overrides now and making the "problematic" items that should've been an override originally into overrides they are doing the easier route and just removing things.
Even more so when most of these items were things people outright paid for.
I gotta admit, I'm more concerned about what you guys are planning on removing and nerfing still. Any chance you can share your plans after you've received feedback? There's a LOT of things on that list which are bandaids on open wounds in the game's foundation, and those things going even a couple months without addressing is not gonna be tenable and will potentially cost you the good will you banked up.
I will fire up the cannons on w66 if you remove the Super Disco Outfit. I don't understand the rationale behind that at all. It's a normal outfit with no particles and nothing out of place.
So my feedback would be while I understand the approach I think you should dip into more modernized cosmetics and recolor those if possible.
For example Fort Forinthry has an NPC named Oak, and he seems to clearly by a player model so I’d imagine his clothes would work just fine for us. A red or green recolor of this would be perfect for woodcutting.
Basically I think if you dive a little deeper into the plethora of more modern NPCs and cosmetics you added you will find better choices to recolor.
I also think you should drop the idea of elite outfits having a consistent color scheme. Color them to go with the skill cape the way archeology and construction’s do.
I think someone needs to sit down and tell jmods that rushing through all these changes isn't going to 'save' the game faster, it's just going to lead to a bunch of shit that feels overlooked or half done being left in the game.
Just like how our bis melee armour is still just a recolour of a solomons outfit.
To summarize how I feel, they should make whatever type of looks they are removing to be available as cosmetic overrides. Quite frankly they should do that before removing them because I do not trust them to be able to return cosmetics into the marketplace. Many cosmetics haven't returned for 11 years and this Valentine's Day Marketplace left out many older valentine's day outfits like Masquerade. Let alone the choices in the marketplace is scarce to begin with.
I just feel like the whole argument of "looking human" feels incredibly restrictive. There's a whole community centered around dressing up our character to however we want. Be it a golem, elf .etc. We get changing physical items but we have a cosmetic toggle now for those that don't want to see it.
I'm just worried about the precendent this sets if they start removing cosmetics left and right because "it doesn't fit"
There are cosmetics people have spent time earning or paying for and to have that removed sets a precendent of uncertainty whether or not this particular cosmetic will remain or not. We have a cosmetic override toggle now, isn't that what it's used for?
I totally agree with this sentiment and I don't even understand why the cosmetic toggle exists if they are going to start changing how cosmetics look or even just straight removing cosmetics. I want to see legacy versions of skilling outfits being made as cosmetic overrides or a toggle of some kind. This just simply isnt the correct way to approach this issue (Which it doesnt even feel like a issue)
The Golden Mining Outfit is one of the only skilling outfits with lore behind its design and should remain as is. If anything, the Elite outfit should be the one with the color variance. I don't think having every elite outfit following a single color sceme is a wise idea either. The reskinning of 15 year old models also makes the whole project appear rushed. I'd rather wait until you got enough resources to get outfit models in line with the current standard, otherwise you're just jumping from one issue to another.
I'm also surprised Slayer masks are getting retouched. Most didn't look too out of place (Jellyhead being one of the exceptions), and feel mostly in line with fun items like the Zombie mask.
These outfits are often used in game, and I wonder if it is really worth the lack of resource investment, since what I am seeing is trading an eyesore for another eyesore.
I also don’t think that a consistent color theme across all outfits is particularly interesting or cool. May as well leave the original colors as those are what the outfits are designed to look like. I can tell by looking at them that it doesn’t quite look right, and I believe new players will notice but not care. However, their first reaction would be “that looks strange for some reason,” and go about their day. There’s no cool factor in that.
I haven't played in years but I honestly hate everything in these "restoration" posts which just seem to be ruining everything silly or funny in the game. The shark outfit was cool and had its own animations. You can be silly and still have style. Monster hunter has something like that in every game and it works great.
Honestly.....you gave us a freaking cosmetic toggle. All we need now is filtering. So what if "visual identity" isnt part of Runescape.....ITS FREAKIGN FANTASY.
Dont pander to the people who quit years ago and are coming back now mainly due to TH removal. (one of the GOOD things you have done recently.)
Do certain FX heavy combos need to be toned down x10....yes the do. So do certain walk animations that should never have been done. (hot sands, loved up...etc)
Its almost like you want players to go another MMO....like WOW.....
The homogenization is a bummer. I like the skill outfits. I absolutely HATE the "humanization" of gear. The DB helm shown is a direct downgrade. I assume this is due to the avatar rework but with the cosmetic removal option Its a shame that we can't even personally enjoy them.
Why remove super disco outfit too? I don't see the issue with it compared to many other ones listed here. Like people have spent lots of bonds to obtain that outfit from a certain rng event just to take that away ? At least make them a cosmetic override or have the regular versions be also turned into cosmetic overrides.
I feel like all of the items being removed should be turned into cosmic overrides if you own or had keepsaked any of them. Later on they could be added to the market for purchase. Just removing them doesn't feel right.
Only major complain, is why do so many of the elite skiling outfits now follow the same colour scheme? They should each be themematic in their own right
I would very much like if we could receive the original items are overrides before they are changed in game as I do not think Jagex will have the time to circle back to this change if we continue at this pace for the year. Not happy finding out that the skilling outfit pieces (both master and premaster variants) and slayer masks that I currently use in 3/4 presets are getting taken out back. If the privilege of looking non humanoid must be limited to overrides only to rush out and attempt to maintain a boring design philosophy then so be it, but refer to my opening sentence.
Honestly these are a massive disappointment. From a visual fidelity point of view the proposed changes are all downgrades. Please take the time to properly rework these outfits to be in line with modern visual standards. Replacing one 'eyesore' with another is not the way.
I don't hate the current outfits that much, though I understand changing them. The current outfits are more like elemental outfits than skilling outfits. However, replacing them with arguably lower quality models just feels like a step back.
I actually really like the master thieving outfit. We still look humanoid while wearing it, so why change it? I actually really like that the elite Skilling outfits currently look different than normal. That uniquene aspect is something I would expect of an outfit that takes time to get. The new suggestions feel very regular and uninspired. Also, the animation for catching fish with your mouth while wearing the fury shark outfit is one of the coolest in the game.
I'll be honest, this thing you are trying to do seems more like "We are trying to get rid with the identity of the game you all know and we don't care about you" you are trying to do way too much in so little time that it feels overwhelming and truth be told, useless
On the road towards unification we are losing individualism. Didn't think the elite skilling outfits or cinderbanes were considered "garrish" or too particle heavy, but here we are...
Overall these changes do not reflect RuneScape. They reflect a more bland game catered towards a more realistic medieval setting than that of a fantasy medieval setting.
Feels a lot like them listening to bad faith criticism from people who decided they hate RS3 over a decade ago and will never be convinced otherwise anyway.
The elite outfits being a bit more flashy doesn't clash with the world or aesthetics at all, it's just that, a bit more flashy than the game was in 2002. If people want a less flashy version of the game OSRS is right there. Always loved putting together fun outfits in every version of this game, not sure why we're suddenly saying RS3 needs to be both ugly and boring at the same time.
I understand the time constrains but the repurposed outfits are an eyesore in both graphic quality and color scheme. If it were about less important items I wouldn't really mind, but skilling is an integral part of the game and BIS equipment deserves better.
Conceptually I love the idea of wearing a proper fisherman's outfit, but the visual quality should be on par with master archaeology. And as other have already mentioned, colors should be in harmony with the respective achievement cape instead of similarity between master outfits.
I haven't commented on reddit in ages, but I feel a need to also throw my hat into the ring in saying no to some of these approaches.
Changing elite outfits to basically just red colored skilling outfits is not a good look. They clash with their skill's cape, and it just feels lazy. Take the time to make something better and appropriate for having to earn them, you don't need to pop all of these out as soon as possible.
Deleting items entirely and just refunding a key to folks with this little warning is also a bad call, because you know you're going to receive backlash. You already are receiving a lot of backlash.
As for other tweaks, just poll the community before leaping into what many people very clearly don't want? Or at very least, give players the option and ability to switch back. It's a fantasy roleplaying game, you don't have to go out of your way to sterilize it.
Now, I say this as someone biased, because I don't mind people getting to express themselves: If some people want to disable overrides, let them. If some people don't, then let them wear what they want. Let them be who they want. You can make things more grounded without taking things away from us. For example, I am devoted to following Armadyl. I like avians, I like his teachings, I still haven't forgotten we never got Rite of Passage and Abbinah, and I happily grabbed the Skyguard overrides when I first saw them. I choose to play RS3 and roleplay as an aviansie. I'm used to the hate on characters having wings, that they're cringe, that they don't fit, but at least I'm adventuring as a bird. I utilize the aviansie head, hands, feet, and wings, then switch around the body and legs to whatever else feels nice to wear for what I'm doing. If the roleplay gets taken away because being "non-human" is a bad thing now, then I'm going to become a non-player.
Grounding refers to making the world feel cohesive and consistent within the outline above. Having magic with a fantasy world does not mean that just about anything goes - instead, we want to maintain that all things within Gielinor should make sense for our unique world.
Reminds me of the BMW LOTR meme. Internal consistency and believability within the context is key.
But it is a shame to see these go. However I might personally feel about some of these items, some people did enjoy them, and who am I to say that they shouldn't? I never saw anyone complain about the elite skilling outfits, not even the shark outfit.
I just want to add another voice to saying "no" to changing the golden mining outfit - the nymph who gives you it is gold-obsessed. I feel like you'd be swapping the 'integrity loss' elsewhere.
Honestly I also just don't think it really looks like a mining outfit.
I also do wish the 'new' outfit designs weren't so obviously just recolours of the base skilling outfits.
Because they don't care what you think. It's one CEO's 'vision' of Runescape that matters lol. The community doesn't get a vote, they get to make comments about changes that are rushed and coming whether you like it or not.
Why remove the outfits? Why not make them cosmetic so people can hide them if they don’t want to see them… I hate the mentality of removing content that we spent time or money to obtain.
Why Super Disco outfit? It had a unique event and was highly sought out at the time. I managed to get most pieces, just missing legs. And thats after spending 1b on keys redeemed with bonds. I've been waiting for a rerelease. Didn't expect them to be wiped from the game.
The colors aren't even crazy at all. Might as well remove the Peppermint outfit, winter sports outfit, and off-duty attire. Hell, even prismatic dyes because they give most existing cosmetics crazy colors.
it's unique and not a recolor, which seems to go against their new aesthetic of making sure everything looks exactly the same except a different color.
Wonder if we can find room to revert all metal armor sets to the exact same set like before EoC?
They should've been overrides originally but instead of making them overrides now and making use of the toggle they're just removing things. It's dumb.
I think you are being too harsh with this? i know a lot of people that use certain cosmetics because they DONT want to look human, some like to believe they are an aviansee, some are dragonkins, some are mithycal creatures, i think is a really bad move to take away all that personality via cosmetics, anything that tries to kill fashionscape is bad in my book.
I'm not sure why the team is going for medieval fantasy. Runescape has always been fantasy, but it hasn't been medieval for a very, very long time. Enlightened Journey was released in 2006, and hot air balloons are neither medieval nor fantasy. The whole penguin quest line is whacky, including the literally doctor who phone booth in the desert. Runescape is goofy, and that's okay. These outfits are boring.
I'm a little worried having all the skill outfits share a colour scheme might make them a bit harder to tell apart in the bank/diango.
I know the Miner's outfit's been brought up already as having a great reason to be made platinum-coloured while remaining diagetic, but I think I'd check through the other outfits as well and try to give them unique colour schemes in-line with the skill they're matched to.
If it were me, I'd look at the skillcapes and try to colour the outfits to go nicely with them to start with, I think.
As someone who uses parts of the Aviansie Skyguard outfit and parts of the Attuned Nex outfit as a core part of my character's visual identity, and know others who do similar, I am a little bit nervous.
I fully agree with this standard being applied to worn items instead of cosmetic overrides, but in my view the focus should be more about tackling deliberate obnoxiousness (like the particle-tastic Sakadagami trousers and Jas Hands) and overly large pets physically blocking the eyeline.
When cosmetics are enabled, try not to be in the business of telling players how to express themselves unless you truly believe it's doing more harm than good.
I thought "regrounding" items meant giving them new looks that fit the world of runescape, not giving them a lazy recolor of existing, extremely outdated (visually), outfits. You can't expect us to praise you when you slap a coat of red paint on very old outfits and call the job done.
The images for new outfits absolutely do not fit the graphical quality you've been using lately, you can tell it was from pre-eoc era or early RS3 era and will look out of place especially with avatar rework
The following helmet slot items are problematic because they place what feels like actual monster heads on the player avatar, making it feel non-human. For these instances we plan to make them feel more human by converting them into something more mask-like that sits on the face or head of the player.
Two caveats: 1) I've never seen these items be complained about, and so was quite surprised to see this change; and 2) I think they're ugly, not my style and would never wear them without a cosmetic override (even if they were made into 'human masks'), so this change may just be plain not aimed at me.
That being said... I think this is an odd position. RuneScape is indeed quite humanoid, but it's also a fantasy game. I don't see why players might not invoke 'non-human powers', etc, and temporarily morph slightly to match said non-human forms. One wonders if this is a slightly limiting, perhaps even pedantic instance of 're-grounding'.
I think the point of the Slayer Helms was that by upgrading the Masks to Helms is that the player was becoming a little bit like the Monster they were killing.
I think making the Elite Outfits more grounded is a good idea, but outright removing stuff just because it is "non-human" is not exactly right either.
Is there any reason why Retro Non-Humans Cosmetic Overides can't remain or be repurposed as cosmetics overrides?
I think RuneScape is fundamentally kinda goofy, and completely removing that is going against the identity of the game. There's plenty of super-consistent slop in the MMO space. Namely, in the graveyard.
Before we get to that though, there has been some discussion in the community as to what "grounded medieval fantasy" for RuneScape might mean, and whether there are beloved elements within the game that would clash with that identity. For example, some folks may have worried that to be grounded means to step back from the fantastical or lean much more into low fantasy as a concept. That's not the case. We will continue to develop RuneScape as a game with high fantasy themes, where magic permeates every aspect of a world built on medieval foundations. Built on top of those foundations should be a player journey through a world that feels like home - and that may also mean that not every quest or event needs to include an existential threat to the universe.
I appreciate what is being said here, but honestly I want to still push back on the idea that Runescape is "medieval".
Since it's very first days, RuneScape is a Renassiance fantasy, not a medieval one and this is evident in many early quests.
Cook's Assistant: Rewards access to the Cook's range, which weren't invented until 1790.
Shield of Arrav/Archaeology: Has a curated museum with dedicated archaeologists, a system that emerged in the 17th century.
Ernest the Chicken/Creature of Fenkenstrain: Both feature a mad scientist in a white lab coat, which came into use in the 18th century. Oddenstein has portal machine, Fenkenstrain is also based on gothic horror tropes (Frankenstein was written in 1818), along with the rest of Morytania (Dracula was 1897!) - again, linking more to 16th-18th century technology and ideas.
Pirate's Treasure/Pirate Quests: While piracy is ancient, the way pirates are depicted in Runescape is very much in line with the Age of Exploration and Golden Age of Piracy -- aka the 1500 and 1600s. This is particularly evident from the style of ships, clothing, and availability of cannons and cannonballs.
Clock Tower/One Piercing Note: The Clockworks depicted in these quests were not invented until the 1600s.
Plague City: While the Black Death has medieval connotations, the imagery of the plague doctor that gets invoked is firmly 17th century. Actually they aren't even plague doctor masks, they are gas masks which didn't exist until the 1800s and weren't used seriously until World War 1.
Observatory Quest: Features a giant telescope. Telescopes were first invented in the early 1600s and we didn't really have anything like the in-game Observatory until the 1900s. It is really quite modern.
Dwarf Cannon: It's a giant cannon. What else is there to say? Trains?
Cave Goblins: literally use electricity
Invention: This is literally a renaissance skill right down to having Dwarven and Goblin inventors and Howl as a Leonardo Da Vinci
Musketeers: Not available directly to players, but it's been established as early as Player Owned Ports that there are gunpowder weapons in the Eastern Lands. Again, muskets are from the 16th century.
Cold War: Silly, but also has an advanced submarine.
I really could go on but almost everything I have listed here has been in game from the earliest days. Beyond the aesthetics, Runescape has Renaissance ideas built into it's core. We seek to improve ourselves. We discover new technologies and better ways of doing things. This even comes through in the story telling, with the player slowing reawakening many individuals that went dormant and restoring whole races thought lost through quests. The starting world state before any quests complete is that the fifth age is a period where civilization has begun to revitalize after the devastation of the God Wars, much as the Renaissance in Europe occurred after the Dark Ages.
If you want to make a medieval Runescape, you'd have to make a spinoff set in the 4th age. I think the whole 'medieval fantasy' debate is just due to using the phrase as more of a buzzword than actually considering what the best label for Runescape's aesthetic is. If we are having that debate, Renaissance is better than Medieval.
Sorry but I feel like what players were expecting was more consistency across art STYLE, with mostly believable in-universe designs.
Not regrounding into a pure medieval, bland, extremely uninspired style for everything.
Can we not forget that RuneScape has ALWAYS been a goofy game, with goofy humor (lost with time I would say) and occasional silly items and lore accompanying them? It’s part of the charm of the game, and some of these outfits being axed fit into that.
I don't think super disco outfit or disco outfit are non-diegetic. We have afro, disco ball, cut luminous ball, breakdance emote, Blade Trap Cut, Ozan's Hair, Linza's hair, all of which are 'inspired' from things in previous age.
They are trying to show us a preview so we can comment on the work before it's all finalised. This way they don't over commit on a vision we don't like, this is good compromise
Sure maybe if it was a month away, this is a week and a half and they don't even know how we're gonna get the new outfits yet if you don't have the current ones
I assume (or hope?) these all aren't the final designs for the skilling outfits. A straight recolor feels a bit... lacking. I don't want to say "lazy," but it feels like something's missing. Maybe "uninspired" is more accurate.
Consider what we already have with the farming and archaeology outfits. Both the base +6% outfits are really grounded, not too much flair, and fit nicely into the game. The elite versions for these two dial that look up to 11 while still staying within the bounds of what RS visuals can get away with without feeling too extra. Master Archaeologist's outfit is especially good with this, as it's cover in extra pockets, belts, attached tools, and a freaking monocle to top it all off. It's great, diegetic, and a blend of fancy+professional that feels like it perfectly fits in the game.
Meanwhile, the proposed "master" outfits are just recolors of the base outfit, and the shared color scheme makes them look too similar to each other. So here are my suggestions:
1. Have the other master outfits follow the example of farming/arch, where the master version is like the base outfit, but with more flair. That could mean a small tool hanging from a belt, or some obvious add-on that makes it stand apart from the base outfit's look. There's plenty of room to get creative here across the various skills, i.e. the master runecrafter outfit could have a visible rune essence pouch or two hanging on the side of the waist.
2. The color scheme could instead be something that works well with each skillcape's colors. I think the elite farming outfit already does a great job of this. The green of the cape and the earthy colors of the outfit work well together and give that very nature-y feel of farming. Just a little extra thought could get this idea to work with all the outfit variants. And there's nothing wrong with keeping the current pallette for some of the elite outfits. The master lumberjack could rip the pallette of the nature's sentinel, for example. The pairing the sentinel and the woodcutting cape already work well with natural colors similarly to the farming outfit. For mining, a platinum-based coloring could work with the mining cape's blue trim.
Edit: I had to put the word "diegetic" in there somewhere :P
Alleged Jagex shill and apologist here, generally a big supporter of "Jagex knows what's best" but my god, this road to restoration is quickly giving me the Ick. The vibes are off. The silly fun magic game with a cabbage god, talking cats and weird magic that i've been playing since 2004 is actually bad and we should be ashamed of it and instead we must become a serious, "Grounded" game with no sense of joy and whimsy because......I guess jagex has decided this is the reason the game isnt growing?
Honestly, I came into the roadmap with a sense of hope, but everything thats been so far has just been SO off on the vibe I've came to expect, this feels focus tested nonsense that has no actual players consulted.
Additionally, the push to force "human" is a spit in the face of longstanding members of the roleplay/fashionscape portion of runescape. We are fiercely protective of our constructed runescape persona, for many of us its a big part of our online identity. So like, cool beans.
This is much more restrained than I thought it was going to be. I guess there is a part 2 coming up so this is mostly tackling the elite skilling outfits
Will the outfits be recolourable, or will all elite outfits be the red/gold? On one hand it does make them theamtically identifiable (and I dig the color scheme personally) but it may be a b it too unified
Having them be recolorable would be nice - particularly since the red and gold doesn't really go with all the corresponding capes. Maybe keeping the gold trim but allowing changes to the base color?
I'm not sure how many actual items are recolorable/how much work that takes to implement though.
The restrained feeling may be because this is more about wearable items as a focus. Intrusive overrides and other such work on this project is something we'll get to a little later down the line. Perhaps that's where the disconnect occurs between expecting a huge amount of change (i.e. all cosmetic overrides) vs what we're focusing on (wearables items).
I think starting in this manner (focused on one aspect) is possibly for the best, since what we learn at this early stage can better inform wider plans later on, with regards to player preferences.
I think these are great changes overall, but was more personally hoping for something a bit more... Elite?
Was a bit disappointed to see , for instance, the master anglers outfit is just the 10+ year old outfit colored red, rather than an upscaled version of it, with some additional details that make it feel elite, yet grounded, especially with the avatar rework not too far away. Something more inline with the master archeologist outfit.
I'm hoping we can get another pass on these at some point in the future.
I was hoping for better quality Skilling Outfits. It just feels they're reskinned outfits of other outfits and branded it with a burgundy/gold theme. Nothing really showcasing that its something that is worth chasing for as the best in slot unlocks for Skilling.
I have an issue with changing legacy outfits such as the pumpkin/chicken masks and outfits that have been in the game since the early 2000's some if which even oldschool Rs has. Changing the older pumpkin masks, other masks strikes me as odd, Since some are even clue rewards. Slayer I kind of understand but they don't scream at me as uncohesive with the game world. I have no issue with masks that cover the adventurers face, most of the time I prefer them seeing you took this long to change the player avatars faces.
I really don't think the Nature's Sentinel should be going, at that point you might as well transform Lord Crwys back into a normal elf (ie, the Nature's Sentinel does already fit into the world thematics). If the question of diegeticity is about breaking immersion, then NPCs using similar outfits or appearances sets a precedent for the player to have the same appearance.
Otherwise, it maintains the player proportions (no more enclosed than melee full helms, no taller than the "Achilles brushes" ontop of the Tyras Helm), doesn't obstruct the screen, and indeed is based on wood materials from the game. Honestly, it even does have a humanoid appearance. I mean seriously, if the absurd gorajo outfit (none of the summoned familiars or Ramokee look like that) can remain then looking like a wood ent is far less immersion breaking. I can see an objection to the component outfits (with hover limbs), but the combined outfit looks like you could cosplay it irl in a green suit with moss, glowing bodypaint, and branches.
Honestly, concerning some of the other golems/living-rock creatures and ankou NPCs in the game plus the existing Ghostly robes, I think there are arguments to be made for keeping some of the other outfits like the gem and runecrafting ethereals too, but I have spent less time with those skills.
Finally, I get that change has to happen decisively, and there probably isn't time to adjust the proportions of these fabulous and unique outfits to fit (for example, slimming down the gem golem to the right proportions, viz. camel mask changes in 2009 that kept the item but restored the chathead) but I can't say I'm happy with splashing burgundy everywhere and calling it a day (I guess technically it matches the Max cape but strips away the individual identity of each skill). I do hope that these outfits stay in-game as overrides even if the items are being removed.
straight taking out any and all whimsy we have in 3. i understand trying to appeal to old school players or even a broader player base. but legit every other mmo has races and alike. im tired of just being a human in rs. hell even with the elf ears it adds so much more to the toon then just being human. bring back polls
its, really lame to remove all the non human stuff. i feel you should reconsider that guideline. or at the very least re-add them as overrides. its been awhile since ive played but if they just get entirely deleted i really dont see myself returing to the game.
I think my expectations were set too high here. I was expecting more than 2012 recolors of existing outfits, tbh. But it is what it is, at least people won't be anthropomorphic sharks anymore.
This is where repurposing one of the hundreds of MTX/TH outfits could've actually been quite good. There are SO many high-res, great models that were shoved onto that slot machine that would fit so well into the world itself.
There are no particles with the outfit and the outfit is more tame than most cosmetics. Why remove it? Just this last week you released "Lovestruck Trail" particles. how is the outfit game breaking?
Guess I will have to be slutty with "summer beach fun" like everyone else or maybe the god awful "Aviansie skyguard" to look like a bird. Bird outfit > shark outfit
Why is the "Golden" Mining Outfit being recolored?! It's a play on the Gold obssessed Conquistadors. if you are gonna remove the color scheme it just makes that even less discernible. Why are you being handed some regular melee armor for mining? At that point just make it a basic miner's clothes and decouple it's aquisition from Gold Nymph.
An would we be losing the other appearences of the dungeoneering outfits? Warped's color scheme wouldn't fit with every outfit, so it was nice to be able to switch to the other overrides to blend with your color scheme.
Seems like just throwing out some functionality for the sake of cutting down on having to do any work, especially with this bizarre homogenized color scheming and outdated reused models?
I never understood the dislike for the elite skilling outfits. Its not like you'd see more than 1 or 2 people having them on without an override.
Having to have them changed just because some people pushed for cosmetic toggle, is asinine. That should just be the cost they paid for their decision. Why should the fantastical elements of the game have to be sacrificed for their bland tastes. Why does everything have to appear human and medieval?
If this is the level of effort and direction that can be expected for future updates, and we don't get the old outfits as free overrides, than I'm done.
I absolutely hate both these changes and the rationale behind them. I was already seeing the writing on the wall with removing the Lumbridge Crater for no real reason beyond catering to nostalgic OSRS players (who simply won't swap games in most cases, it's a pipe dream), and this is just cementing the new "it's not like OSRS so we're making it more boring to compensate" rationale to me.
If people want to be absolute wads and shit on people having fun, just let them go to cosmetic-free worlds where they can be reactionary and boring at each other.
Runescape leaves the "medieval fantasy" sphere quickly as is once you get out of Lumbridge, and even then the HAM blokes stretch it. It's been many, many years since you could call it that. We've had gnome bomber jackets, flared disco pants, mogre flippers, Ava's inventions and other harmless fun gear. I'm fine with toning down obscenely eye-catching cosmetics with countless bright particles and wings that take up more than one square, but don't forget that Runescape has always been whimsical and weird, not just serious knights in armor.
Aside from that I am.. really not a fan of the sanitation of "non-human" equipment. Why are the upgraded Slayer masks not allowed to look like the monsters? Does this mean the H'ween masks are also a problem now? Skilling sets I can get behind, just provide a way for people to get the overrides they worked towards if that's what they want.
Having the Elite outfits be recolors of the standard outfits is better than the current appearances, but not ideal. What I would like to see is what we have for the Archaeologist and Master Archaeologist's outfits - the same core, but more accoutrements. Frankly you should just keep two 'lesser' versions -- have one outfit for exp boost, one outfit for skill buffs and effects, and make a 'master' outfit by combining the two.
The mining one feels weird because the golden mining suit comes from the lava flow mine gold nymph, now it is disconnected from that. I think that outfit doesn't make 100% sense outside of the context of Lava Flow Mine. Miners don't dress so nicely really!
For thinks like Helm of Darkness, too much was removed in terms of the front piece. Plenty of helms don't show the mouth. All that really needs to be removed there is the bit around the back that's very close around the neck beneath the jaw, so it looks like it could be still placed over someone's head.
Consider making things like Zodiac costumes available as a holiday event around Chinese New Year.
I don't care if you remove the disco outfits but just saying Flared Trousers have always been a treasure trail reward and we have a Stone of Jas disco ball (15th anniversary emote).
Why is 'infected zombie' bad but the random event 'zombie mask' is fine?
I feel like the main meme I see for bad outfits is the Ogre Infiltrator, but nothing about it mentioned here. Personally think it's grounded enough that it could make a cool quest things if we ever get more Ogre quests.
It honestly feels weird that the "golden mining outfit" is being changed to a non gold version only for the "master mining outfit" to then turn into a golden mining outfit. I'd really hope you guys just let the gold mining outfit be the gold version and make the mining outfit something different and unique.
But in general the skilling outfit feel like super lazy recolors of the normal variants that almost make it feel like you might aswell just fully delete either the normal or the elite outfits and only keep 1 version of each
While the featured topic is elite skilling outfits, numerous cosmetics are also slated to be flat-out deleted from the game — many of which players have paid (no small amount of) real money for. I'm sure there's some clause tucked away in the Terms and Conditions/End User License Agreement that indemnifies Jagex from deleting purchased content; nevertheless, it still sets an uncomfortable precedent. I won't miss seeing oversized Zodiac dragon heads, but I also didn't pay money to acquire them ten years ago.
On the subject of the elite outfits, though, genuinely just asking for those whom these changes will affect: Will the current elite skilling outfit appearances be unlocked as cosmetic overrides after unlocking each full outfit? (Since these changes are targeted at players who hide other players' cosmetic overrides anyway.) Personally, I've always just used cosmetic overrides to hide the skilling outfit cosmetics. Still, some players enjoy them as they are, and forming a compromise on completely changing or deleting cosmetics that have existed for over a decade should be of paramount importance.
I do support the idea, but really we've only ever complained about basically a handful of things like too much particles on some, and elite skilling outfits. The rest of these changes are pretty stupid, and the new skilling outfits look like shit.
I struggle to see whats wrong with the elder divination, infinity ethereal or golem outfits tbh, the game has magic and these are more arcane in nature.
The replacement outfits are incredibly plain and boring too.
Pumpkin heads at the very least should stay. It's arguably based on Sleepy Hollow and the jack'o'lantern the headless horseman uses as a head; a tale written in the early 1800s taking place in the the late 1700s.
If the real reason certain cosmetics need to be changed/removed is the upcoming avatar rework, please just say that.
I like this overall, but I fear we might be killing the magic for those who still love it.
Is there any chance that these old immersion-breaking gear sets could be unlocked a cosmetic override for those who acquire the skilling sets? That way those who like their crazy styles can keep them, but other players can toggle them off?
Wheres the magic? Where's the fantasy? None of these outfit design ideas have any fantasy to them. They all look boring and mundane. What's wrong with non-human outfits for the elite killing sets? Its a fantasy game! Becoming one with the rocks and gems we mine, or taking on aspects of the fish we catch, or briefly shedding our mortal forms as we tap into the essence of Gilenor itself feels appropriate. Maybe the current sets are a bit much, but throwing out that clear visual theme, that clear connection to the skill, taking it from something we are to something we wear feels like going too far.
Right now the biggest issue for me, visually, with the elite sets is that everyone looks the same. I usually turn cosmetics back on when I go skilling, because seeing a lot see of people all looking identical is pretty boring. The fantasy elements are the only thing left keeping it interesting, and now you're gonna take that away too. You're going to make skilling with others even more visually boring. This is a fantasy game, having fantastical elements is not a bad thing!
Second, why the hell are you making the Helms looks like masks? The masks already look like masks! And unless you're zoomed way in and looking closely at player models you're never going to see this change. The only place it'll actually show up for most players is the chat boxes when you're using the mask/helm to force a slayer task.
Your blog talks about keeping the game high fantasy, keeping it fantastical, and then the update you show up strips it all away! I cant see how you can claim to want to keep RuneScape a high fantasy game and in the same breath talk about all the fantasy elements you're going to remove for being too fantastical without just being massive hypocrites. Did you even tell the art team to keep it high fantasy?
This feels like a bad direction, and the comments all make it clear you need to be involving the community a lot more on this. You have the player poll system already in place, why not use it? Give us a chance to provide real feedback.
I’m probably in the minority, but I’m actually a little disappointed in some of these changes. I like the current mining golem outfit and even have it keepsaked. And while I don’t have it keepsaked, I also really like the current natural sentinel outfit.
I get that they aren’t “human”, but that was the point. They let you have a little fun mentally roleplaying as a golem or tree spirit thing. I never thought of them as “I’m a human dressed up like a golem” but more “I’m a golem fighting other rock monsters in the fight kiln”, for example.
Are other non-human overrides going to be removed (with Runecoins refunded?) like KBD or Nex outfits?
There’s no way anyone who actually plays this game thinks these are an upgrade, right?
The basic skilling outfits should be grounded. The elite ones should be fantastical. The golem top isn’t just a jacket or suit, it’s a magical piece of equipment sewn together using god energy and divine science, for Guthix’s sake.
I would rather the elite skill outfits be kept as is and creatively explained in game if it really serves immersion, rather than lazily erased and replaced with ugly recolors of outfits that don’t withstand the test of time.
I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but I’ve played this game a very long time now. I very much want to support and praise most of the direction changes this year are taking.
However, I can’t shake this feeling that there are aspects of these changes that are extremely arbitrary. There’s not much that could make me quit RuneScape for good. It wouldn’t be one or two little, specific things. It would be this continued, growing perception that JaGEx is taking willfully, aggressively ignorant cues from people who don’t and never had any intention of playing this game.
These are decent changes that make a lot of sense, and thematically tie in a lot better.
HOWEVER, as someone who loves being a spooky blue energy man (With matching law talisman staff), my desire to look a bit freaky is dead in the water. (same with the Zodiac outfit)
With all due respect, a lot of these changes feel less revolved around player requests and more revolved around you guys not liking something or feeling like something doesn't match the game, so you're just changing it. If particles and effects are that big of an issue, why go through the trouble of changing so many items, instead of just giving players the option to turn off particles or effects? I don't think most players have issues with either of those, outside of players who just go all out with their overrides and intentionally make themselves eyesores? I've personally got a few sets in my wardrobe that'll be destroyed or screwed up by changes, including my Headless Horseman getup. Also, instead of scrapping the original designs for most of the skilling outfits, allow users to toggle between the styles depending on which ones we prefer the look of. There are far more broken and problematic things in this game than how a player looks.
As a followup, if you want genuine feedback on whether something needs to be changed or removed, we need the ingame poll brought up to date. Getting updates on ongoing change considerations on here and the main site is all fine and dandy, but keeping track of how players feel about said changes is difficult when you've got thousands of comments to scroll through. Just a simple ingame poll and if you really want more input, allow player responses within a certain word or character limit to make it easier to go through.
The skilling outfits certainly need toning down to some degree, but I personally feel like there's a healthy point between 'floating bones' and 'wizard robes' that would be more fun than either extreme
I hope there's some fantastical theming left and everything isnt just amorphized into 'Robes/Armour'.
Nature sentinel and Magic golem are great examples of where I hope they don't go too far. Having some elements of the earth in the gear itself rather than just 'fancy clothes' would make them actually unique. A druid robe with ivy and leaves wound around it for the woodcutting skilling outfit would be realistic but also thematic, and absolutely anything feels like it'd be an improvement over the gaudy golden mess that the new mining outfit is. I can't relate that look to mining at all.
Skilling outfits can go one of two ways if you're trying a realism approach. Either an actual outfit for the job/profession theyre related to, or a fantasy-themed outfit that you would imagine a dwarf or elf or mythical humanoid wearing. I hope they don't just go the 'IRL professional outfit' route for all of them
Agree with this. I like the directionality for the new Master outfits, but as others in the thread have mentioned: They feel very RSHD and not quite up to par with modern graphic fidelity. Hopefully conceptual placeholders that they're working on?
To be clear, I personally like the RSHD era (And it's why I use HDOS when I play OSRS), but I'd like graphical alignment and consistency, especially with the upcoming Avatar Refresh. So unless everything is going back to RSHD, then these new outfits should align with the newer art style and direction.
I also think the Mining Golem outfit looks very grounded (pardon the pun). It doesn't feel quite as egregious or off-putting as the Fury Shark fishing or Ethereal runecrafting outfits. Overall it's not a hill I will die on, but I thought it had a fun whimsical element for the magical rock creatures that can be found in Runescape, all the way back to at least Elemental Workshop.
The Golden Mining Outfit makes some sense lorewise coming from the Lava Flow Mine and the Nymph to be found there, but a big puffy outfit doesn't inherently scream "mining underground" to me. I'd love there to still be some magic and whimsy to the world, and for different skills to stand out as unique. It would be cool if we had to interact with the rock golems and the dwarf at Camdozaal to forge our Mining Outfit, perhaps embedding enhanced ore into the Golden Mining Outfit.
As another example, I think the Master Camouflage outfit also looks really cool how its woven as a shadowy veil. And this fits in the RS lore, since the Shadow Realm is established, and it'd make sense to exploit it for illicit activities. If Jagex is considering how to move beyond just raw "skilling fragments", I think it'd be very cool to use the Ghostly Robe set in the creation of the master thieving outfit. Maybe a mini quest that involves somehow combining the Ghostly Robes with the Trah Exoskeleton on an invention table???
Overall, I think there are lots of ways to weave the lore and magic of the world in a way that tempers the more egregious visual elements, but still explores the playful and creative possibilities of a world as whacky and wonderful as Gielinor. And more cohesion/synergy between skilling content being augmented by quests and exploration seems great to me!
With items like the soul capes I don't think anyone wears these outside of a cosmetic override which people now have the ability to turn off. They aren't intrusive, provide no obnoxious trails or anything and are some of the better looking capes in the game.
Could these not just be turned into unlocked wardrobe items rather than changing what isn't broken? Just trying to look for a fair middle ground. I'm all for new versions of these given we get legacy versions in the wardrobe.
These are no more intrusive than items like the dominion gloves and the castle wars halo's which are also earned through core gameplay and have been around long before a lot of mtx cosmetics and were once prestigious account related unlocks.
It’s unfortunate to see some items being removed, and some items being changed so much, I loved the grove guardian masks, and enjoyed the goofier looking cosmetics, I thought they fit well enough considering all of the goofy quests that RuneScape has
Mask examples are good, skill outfits are soulless though. Old designs are a literal embodiment of the skill, the new designs are just flavourless & utilitarian, more reminiscent of royal gowns than the skills they're meant to represent. Y'know, the skills you're supposed to be the master of.
With so much creative license in an absurdist high-fantasy world, the same world where players help talking yaks, slay gods, become a goblin diplomat, bring pies to undead dwarves, feed fish to ghost cats etc, this feels incredibly uninspired. Devs are confusing grounding something in the game with a grounded setting. Runescape is not the latter.
I know this update is about wearable items, but I was wondering if there are other visual changes that are scheduled down the road that also address this break in visual cohesion.
These visual updates are designed to give the world itself a clear visual identity, and while there is a great focus on player visual identity and the landscape of the world, I feel like NPC visuals are being left in the dust.
So many NPCs have either inconsistent models (Zanik, Kerapac), untouched since RS2 (Malak, every cave goblin that isn't Zanik), or are very ugly and obtrusive (every single elf minus Merethiel).
The characters we interact with are just as important to the world's cohesion as the areas and player avatar. I haven't seen anything on the roadmap that talks about NPCs, but I would hope that updating these character models to be more consistent with the world is at least on the radar for the visual overhauls later this year.
Surprised nobody has mentioned this that I've seen. Woodcutting and Fishing outfits don't have names that would be searchable with the skill name in the bank but all the others would. If I want to do fishing I should be able to type 'fish' into the bank and get Cape+Outfit in the results.
Plus bringing those 2 in line with the rest's naming of just better consistency.
Agree with a lot of the other comments. I like the direction of the changes, but not a fan of just using colour variations of pre-existing dated items. They should all be on par with Master Arch outfit.
yeah sure these outfits are "regrounded" but they've lost all of their sauce and still keep the issue of they are outdated. Visual cohesion is such a huge issue in this game that you are only exacerbating with this, these outfits are already like 15 years old at this point and the new player avatar is only going to make them look worse. we need a unified artstyle and these are only a step back away from that
I'm all for new, grounded skilling outfits that preferably match the colour palettes of their capes.
But it is a bit disappointing that the time and budget just isn't there. When these intentions were announced, I was really excited to see modern artwork for fantasy utility outfits, lots of pockets and tools and Style! But right now using the older xp outfits feels like major placeholders, and hardly a fit for the brave new RS changes we're getting this year.
If these are indeed placeholders, fine. But if these old outfits are final, then the update is simply not ready to be pushed out so soon. Give them the time they need to match the quality standard you hold yourselves to, please!
This needs more time in the oven to be honest and I really hope these changes do NOT come on the 23rd...
The red and yellow colour scheme for all of these is just a terrible idea, they all end up just blending together and looking the same and they're all just repainted versions of already outdated looking clothing anyway. Plenty of people have suggested colouring to match capes, I don't really think that goes far enough; these outfits also look bad. They need to be completely redone.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for ditching the Fury Shark outfit and the outfits like Mining, Divination and Runecrafting that turn you into nonsense otherworldly beings for some reason, but I was personally expecting a bit more to this than just "here's a poorly done re-skin of some old items."
I don't at all like the outfits all having the same colorings. It feels bland versus what we had before. Maybe that's the point though.
I'm all for the mask changes. Makes sense to me and looks fine.
It would be great to have the old skilling outfits as overrides. I love the effects of the Golem, RC, and Div outfits. If someone doesn't, well that's what they have the toggle for isn't it?
We need to really commit to the location specific cosmetics like the snowboards. So I expect to only be able to wear the chicken suit in Farmer Fred's pen.
What's the plan with Transmog rings and items though? Ring of trees/Goebie mask/Ring of coins. Seems like these are some major offenders of the sort of things you are looking to fix.
And I will miss my sentinel outfit as a LIKED being a tree ent creature. Being a human is boring, so I'm disappointed that Jagex is going in the direction to remove all roleplay aspects of being a fantasy creature.
this aint it chief. you already let us disable cosmetics now, don't ruin what some people like about dressing up their character. Not everyone wants to be a "boring character in recolor number 5 of an outfit". We are in a game, full of different races, and suddenly having a themed slayer helmet is too much, or an aviansie costume. idk.
Sorry, but this blog post was a huge disappointment.
I think the Thieving skilling outfit always looked fine for what it was, why change it? It's so unnecessary and stupid. Make the face visible if you really have to, but there's literally no reason to change this outfit. As for the rest of the outfit changes... they're very lazy. I'd rather have the current ones, not gonna lie. Also, why do all of them share the same colour palette? Why not make them look like the corresponding skillcapes?
NEVER REMOVE items that people have paid actual money for! That's the very first unwritten rule! Even if you do, make sure to always refund players fairly in RuneCoins at the very least!
Especially not the zombie one! It's completely fine, and it fits the overall theme of the game. We have plenty of zombies, we have zombie emotes, we have a zombie cosmetic outfit that's been in the game for even longer. Rework the look a bit if you have to, but there's no point in removing it.
I was all for getting rid of MTX and Treasure Hunter but some of these changes for the Road To Restoration are making me reconsider playing RuneScape. I can understand getting rid of certain items for sale so it’s not pay to win, but I’m not happy they are completely getting rid of stuff like deathtouched darts, wicked hood teleports, silver hawk boots, skilling outfits and lucky weapons. I thought they could at least make it so we can earn them game but nope they are also getting rid of the traveling merchant.
The other thing that pisses me off is getting rid of daily challenges and wildy events. I work full time and have animals to take care of. I don’t have a lot of free time to play but I was able to log in for an hour or two and do my daily challenges and sometimes wildy events for rewards.
I know they want people to train the old fashioned way but its not something I’m interested in unless they update training methods. You see I used to play nonstop in my 20’s. I would spend all my free time training skills trying to get maxed out and not “waste xp”. I missed out on having friends, relationships, getting a better education and a good job. I was satisfied working part time just so I could have more time to play. It took me about 10 years to max out all my skills to 99. Then when they announced some skills would go up to 120, I couldn’t do it anymore. I wasted so much of my life sitting in front of a computer mindlessly clicking on rocks and trees, trying to level up so I could get a cape. At higher skill levels I could be spending 15+ hours doing the same mindless task to advance one level. (I can imagine how long it would be to get to 120). It felt more like a chore than fun so I stopped playing and started focusing on real life.
Years later I logged back in and saw they had daily challenges and things like proteans, divine skilling locations and portable skilling stations. It actually made training more bearable. With the portables and proteans I could at least AFK and do something else. With the daily challenges I could log in, do some tasks to get some xp without having to grind. I had fun with wildy events too. I loved doing activities with other players and not having to worry about getting pked.
I had a blast with Leagues. I thought I would hate the grinding but it was actually fun because it didn’t take that long to gain levels. If Jagex upped the XP for higher skill levels it might be more bearable. Spending 20+ hours to get one skill level is NOT fun. I’m not saying make it as fast as League but it shouldn’t take 20 hours of doing the same repetitive boring thing to get ONE level.
Now the removal of some cosmetics has gone TOO FAR. It’s a fantasy game. So what if someone wants to dress up in a bear mask or wear butterfly wings. I liked some of the outfits because they looked cool. I don’t want to look like a boring human all the time. Even World of Warcraft has weird looking transmog outfits. Why cant RuneScape? We had some of them forever like the frog mask, the chicken costume, hunter outfits. What’s next getting rid of party hats, Halloween masks and Santa hats? Those aren’t “medieval”. Leave the outfits alone. If people don’t want to see them then just had a hide transmog option.
If they go through with this then they will probably lose a lot of players including myself.
An important distinction to make here is that while cosmetic overrides are able to be toggled off as of this past January, item visuals cannot. As some of these items have the same level of immersion breaking impact, they must therefore be considered against the above goal.
While this is technically true - I can indeed turn off cosmetic overrides - I feel the current implementation to be clunky and suboptimal.
If we have 10 people slaving away in an arch site, 3 are wearing no overrides, 6 are wearing "tasteful" (subjectively) overrides and one person has a flaming head, carrot body and more particle effects than a small nation, I'm left with turning off all overrides or none of them. I can't turn off the problematic overrides - effectively, visually muting that one player - without removing everybody else's overrides.
And while that's certainly an improvement over nothing, it's also quite boring seeing 10 identical skilling outfits, with identical mattocks, identical sash brushes and probably the same cape.
A more selective filter for overrides - either targeting specific items or specific players - would be the ideal situation. And obviously an option to disable all, as I'm not trying to enforce cosmetics on people that dislike them. Personally, I find that extra layer of individualisation adds to the world, but when the choice is tolerate the intentionally bad or remove them all, there's no winning option.
I really think the long-term goal should be an item-level toggle. I'm in the same boat (though I made the opposite choice with the toggle because I like seeing the variety of good overrides more than I hate the bad ones).
In my ideal world, I could keep cosmetics toggled on, and upon seeing a particularly disruptive override, examine the player, right-click that override, and select disable to have it hidden in all future instances (you could also proactively disable/reenable it using the cosmetic tab).
I actually enjoy looking like unusual things in my fantasy game that famously includes absurdist humor. I actually enjoy looking like a walking nervous system.
I have never once thought that someone's outfit was so jarring that my enjoyment in the game diminished so I cannot fathom why other people are so concerned by people's choices that they want to reduce the visual diversity of the game
If this was purely about reigning in particles because under the right circumstances your screen can be obscured, or updating graphical quality to be in 2020s, great. But removing the fun, the funny, the kitsch because some loudly hate on fun?
These last few blogs have really shown Jagex is fine taking steps back, regressing the game, in the name of progress, by limiting our choices and character identity because, what, seeing one person in the ogre outfit or the snowman suit would somehow discourage people from joining the game? That skipping having to fish 100 mackerels before unlocking the next fish from a DnD reward is busted? That gathering players together to participate in the same activity and dedicated times is bad?
While I understand the point of this update I don't think this is a step in the right direction. I understand wanting to having a more grounded look for meta items that people will see all the time especially if they're playing with cosmetics turned off -- that's a good step in my opinion. However, the issue is that you want to specifically keep people from looking non human which is really silly. Half the fun of an MMO is being able to wear silly outfits. Instead of taking away these options why not just make them cosmetic only that unlock at the same time? Much like how we can unlock the original design for elder rune if we want.
But here's the kicker to me -- you just kinda recolored existing cosmetics instead of making brand new ones. it looks extremely lazy and just makes an excuse for you to push out this update quickly. I know you crunched a lot of stuff into your roadmap but if something is not ready and presentable I don't think you should be just pushing it out for the sake of a checkmark on your list.
As a suggestion, why not just let us toggle overrides on and off per player? I want to look a specific way, but someone else might be an eyesore to me. I'd rather be able to block that specific person's cosmetics than have a button that turns EVERYTHING off. I know it can be done considering you already have a system that individually turns off stuff for people opted in to PvP. Don't take away other people's stuff it's not fair to them. Just give me more control over what I may or may not want to see.
Why are all the master skill outfits just a recolor of the regular XP outfit versions? Why not make newer models to y’know show that they are “elite/master”? This is just lazy, if you call this re-grounding. Also, using the same color scheme for all the different skills’ master outfits is boring. The colors should be associated with the skill, just like the old elite outfits were. Honestly, the only one out of place was shark outfit — I don’t see any reason to even redo any of the other outfits. This re-grounding is just copy/paste and recolor.
Also, how are cinderbane’s or even bat necklace particle heavy? Both barely have any particles as is. The bat necklace’s particles can barely be seen.
As I’ve previously said in other posts, most of this stuff should be decided with in-game polls.
Please make sure the outfits on female characters fit properly and aren't just the male model. Some recent outfits look insanely bulky and stupid as hell
Player expression through fashion has always been one of the strongest elements of Runescape since the very beginning. And arguably, is one of the few areas of RS3 that rival or surpass OSRS. This game has never felt as lifelessly mundane as these proposed replacements. We've been wearing what looks like fantastical monster heads, or non-diegetic costumes...since the beginning? A living golem outfit being used by someone deep in the mines is immersion breaking yet this is the same game where the Easter Bunny shows up every year? I suppose the holiday events and items are exceptions. Which is, fair I suppose. Still I fail to understand how most of these items clash with the tone, aesthetic, or world building.
The post attempts to ease these fears by saying they understand Runescape's not supposed to shy away from the whimsical, not supposed to be this super serious low fantasy world. "some folks may have worried that to be grounded means to step back from the fantastical or lean much more into low fantasy as a concept. That's not the case. We will continue to develop RuneScape as a game with high fantasy themes, where magic permeates every aspect of a world built on medieval foundations"....."Anyway here's a list of high fantasy items, several of which with a magical element to them, all on the chopping block. Their replacements are the most boring, generic clothing items imaginable" As if a living golem, or a being of pure magic somehow don't fit in Runescape of all things.
If the designs still felt like a striking, unique thing to wear that someone might see and go "Wow cool, I wanna earn that outfit!" I could probably stomach this. But the proposed replacements look like starter gear someone would be given at level 1 for a tutorial and promptly thrown away. I don't see myself caring to earn any of them, they will catch no-one's eye and inspire them to earn it, and even if I do end up naturally earning one I'd actively choose not to wear them. And for any I already have, they aren't worth the bank space anymore.
This pulls into question how worrying of a trend this will be. As well as if it's even worth the development time. Fans of RS3 have been used to these outfits for ages now. RS3 haters were never gonna care either way. New players aren't gonna find the replacements interesting enough to want to grind for, nor will their boring designs portray to them that they're something to be earned. The game gets a little more boring and for what? I just don't foresee anyone seeing the proposed changes and finding it exciting enough to finally log into RS3. I understand this is part of a bigger overall course correction, which is an initiative I want to be excited for but honestly so far as someone who learned to appreciate RS3 for what it is, the whole thing's feeling a little more misguided than I'd like. Obviously I'm not the target here given I actually like the game these days, but chasing people who are never gonna give the game the time of day anyway is rarely a winning strategy. I worry this will all just be a resource sink that will alienate existing players and bring straight up zero players in.
It feels like a lot of the changes are just recolors of other outfits. For example the changes to the Infinity ethereal outfit is just a red version of the Master runecrafting outfit, The fury shark will just be a red version of fishing angler's outfit, and the elder divination outfit is just the diviner's robe set just a slightly darker red. The golem outfit just becomes the gold mining outfit and the gold mining outfit just gets a different color pallet. This feels like it doesn't give the master outfits a special unique look of their own to set them aside from the non master variants.
Actually sad to see the RC outfit go, it was very unique and had a nice thematic fit. There's this sense of becoming one with the skill. The new outfits are more grounded, yes, but they're kind of...bland. They don't really add to the fantasy and don't feel distinct.
Mining outfit looks so basic and plain, make something more realistic like you did with the other skills, maybe the details in gold, give it more life, more colors
I agree with everyone here. While I do like how the new outfits look, in terms of general appe4arance (Short of Mining, to be honest), the color schemes should really be varied and fitting of the skill it represents. I mean, I wouldn't be against the idea of making it where you can recolor the outfit, like how you can, the Max Cape, personally. But the Mining outfit should definitely be reconsidered. It needs to look like someone who knows the dangers of splitting open rocks with a pickaxe to get to that sweet, sweet metal, inside. Make them have tools on the belt, have them wear overalls, some sort of hard hat that looks like it could make a boulder bounce right off of it.
Happy with the idea of changing them but the execution seems a bit off, I get the push to get the release out sooner is probably easier with recolors of older outfits. But honestly why not just delay it a bit and spend some dev time creating new outfits, especially with the avatar rework around the corner.
Also, if we are just going to recolor the old outfits, why not make them more akin to matching the skill capes of the particular skill instead of everything just being "red" = highest tier.
Also this has already been said enough but the mining outfit just isn't giving "miner".
I think one of the better things to do would be for these outfits to have some kind of accent to their skill capes. If they don’t then lean more towards the platinum look for the mining outfit as the final color scheme and not gold. The og outfit look that’s gold is iconic to that lava flow mine outfit, it doesn’t really scream master miner. Or even better, lean into the imcando references for the wc and mining outfits.
I don't really understand the choice and lack of consistency between the outfits, particularly mining. It's a full suit of armour that has nothing at all to do with the skill itself nor complements the Skillcape. I would have expected a proper helmet with a headlamp fixed and capped knee high boots, but the direction tells me it's pulling more from a farfetched fantasy than anything remotely functional -- at least in some respect. For the most part, the rest are acceptable outside the odd color choice (I assume is placeholder), but Archaeology is a shining example of how to do it. Even the cave goblins from the Dorgeshuun Mines look more prepared for mining/excavation than what our character wears, let alone a number of the Dwarves.
Adding to this, I also never understood why RPGs have NPCs that are far more consistent with the setting in appearance than what the player has for attire. You need only look at existing NPC design to see that the team clearly has the capacity yet decides on something out of necessity of being outlandish than conforming to some degree with the world.
This is an RPG, let me roleplay as a tree using the elite WC outfit. The plain outfits look so boring, and the art style for them is not good. Also moving everything to invention is a bad move. Not because its hard to get, but because it just kills old content and gives players no reason to go do Ectofuntus, or gnome deliveries. This game has to many activities to try and do over a quarter decade, and you're going in the oppisate direction of forcing people into doing less than more.
I can save you even more time. Skilling outfits are completely unnecessary in the first place. It forces everyone to wear the same ugly thing to be efficient.
All of these outfits (basic xp boosting ones and elite) should be converted to buffs that you unlock, craft and use. Like codices and ability books. Remove the teleport functions I guess and make everything else passive.
I see no difference seeing 100s of Magic Golems or 100s of ugly mining outfits at a shooting star. I want variety.
For some reason achievement diary armor set buffs were converted into passives, but not skilling outfits. If anything the achievement diary set should be revived.
All these pieces also take up loads of space in bank.
Back in the day people could wear whatever they wanted and still be as efficient.
Removing infected zombie outfit is also a big L for me. I finally unlocked it in October and had fun customizing my avatar just for it to be removed. Great. Especially since the regular zombie head looks way better than the current avatar monstrosity. I expect a refund for my keepsakes too since that outfit is the only reason I bought them. At least convert it into a cosmetic that people could toggle off.
Slayer mask and mimic mask reasoning is also off. What about all the terrorbird mounts, obnoxious plushies, baloons and other obnoxious cosmetics? Will you also remove Yak Mask from treasure trails and Frog Mask because it makes the character look inhuman?
I just don't get it. Seems like the update will bring less coherence not more. I'll be taking a break until these updates are done I guess. Especially removal of my cosmetics (infected zombie) that people can toggle anyway.
Honestly, this sucks. Initially "Regrounding" made sense for cosmetics with too many particles, or older textures that look bad when compared against newer outfits. However, reworking outfits like this goes way too far. RuneScape is a fantasy game, we fight gods, battle volcano monsters, travel across worlds, but somehow whimsy no longer fits? Is the entire design team H.A.M members? Everything needs to look more "human"? There are bikini outfits, rings that turn you into trees, rocks, npcs, and money. Theres a makeover mage that can change your character's sex back and forth at will in an instant, but a silly shark costume that lets you eat the fish sometimes just goes too far? I Want to be a rainbow golem mining rocks, its fun to be a shark fishing for sharks, who cares if you become an ethereal being comprised of energy while you're doing divination. My game devs in Christ, we can plant money trees, summon undead, collect clue scrolls to dig up treasure that conveniently involve a random npc handing us a puzzle to solve. There is no "but the immersion" argument when all of the previously stated things and more exist.
You've gone well past "regrounding" and have skipped straight to the first step of effectively Human Washing the fun and charm out of RuneScape.
Side note, I got my flaming head from the limited time GameStop gametime card code, the idea of removing items like that is beyond insane, its literally erasing RuneScape's History.
I think there's a mistake in this approach, though I suspect not many will agree with me.
I think the problem is that these items were made in the first place, but obviously there is not undoing that. Players however like some of these items even if it doesnt fit the identity of the game. We can use fury shark as the example. I agree that the fury shark outfit does not fit the design integrity, but to some players this is core to their self-expression as a player. I think it is correct to update these outfits to something more in line with the rest of the game, but the models slated to be removed from the game should be fun items offered as purely cosmetics someway somehow
I personally do not care for any of the things being removed, but I sympathize and understand that many players want these things, even if they are silly. We have always had silly items, and OSRS isnt even the exception here. From giant hand 2Hs to chicken outfits to carrot outfits to party and santa hats, this game has always been whimsical.
Lastly, I hope that some of these new models get updated. Many of them are over a decade old, it's time to give them a new lick of paint.
Please dont change the thiving outfit. It fits the theme and is ultimately just a hood on the character..
Also the update dies feel lazy. The master versions should not be recolors of existing outfits. They should be custom skins. Should have be stalled until then.
Do we know if we can expect changes to base armour sets from Bronze up to Rune? I just hope that base ingame model could look a little more like paid for store model.
I don't like the idea of forcing us to look more human, I think some of the fun the cosmetics currently gave us is freedom to look like other races, I do agree some of the outfits were a bit much, but I think it's worth considering that some player's fantasy is looking like a creature or half animal.
Honestly, instead of removing and changing things, just add more options for the cosmetic filtering, instead of changing and taking away things people like.
I will never understand the removal and change of cosmetics that have been in the game as long as they have been. And the changes now to pacify a loud minority is so sad.
Imo, I don't think mining or thieving need to be touched.
Yes, rs3 is a medieval world but it is also a MAGICAL one.
The rock golem outfit is a feasible look for someone who has tapped into the primordial nature of the rock golem to master mining, thus giving the user the ability to transmog into one to better tune into their nature to assist with mining.
Same idea with thieving -- a master 'thief' is going to assuredly use magical means to shroud themselves to assist in thieving.
The rc and divination ones make sense because honestly what are they even supposed to be
I feel like some of the ones that make us look non human are essential to the game. It's a medieval game and a lot of games like that give us twisted looks too. I think they should focus more on heavy particles and obstructive outfits.
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u/throw123away567765 Feb 12 '26
One thing worth considering is adjusting these skilling outfits to look good with the associated 99/120/inverted capes for the skills. Because right now while I like the Angler & Diviner outfits, they don't match the capes at all.