Looks play a huge role in MMOs. In fact, vanity is big business in the genre, with players spending copious amounts of time and money on items that look cool but do not have any stat bonuses or practical use. With that in mind, it’s really no wonder why World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion, Battle for Azeroth, is going to have new transmogs on top of a new WoW mount or two.
Side by Side
For this major update, players are going to have Kul’Tiras and Zandalar armor sets. And because this is Battle for Azeroth, the transmogs are going to be faction-specific. From the aesthetics standpoint alone, it’s already pretty easy to tell which one belongs to a particular side. The Kul’Tiras obviously takes from your typical fantasy medieval inspiration because they’re the Alliance, while the Zandalar for the Horde features tribal Aztec-patterned designed, true to the faction’s motif ever since. For each kind, there are four sets each: Cloth, Leather, Mail, and Plate. Each set comes in three colors.
Fit for the Alliance
For Kul’Tiras, the Cloth, which comes in black, violet, and green is perfect for spellcaster types—thanks to its hooded robe-like look. Leather, on the other hand, has a hood and comes in three variants: bright brown chest piece with forest green sleeves, dark brown with pale green sleeves, and purple with blue sleeves. It’d go perfectly well for non-tank DPS classes. And while it’s not the best transmog that fits these classes, it’s still pretty solid nonetheless.
Mail has three versions that differ in color of linen parts, namely green, blue, and black; and Plate has shiny silver linings with gold details, darker unpolished steel whose details are duller and bronze-like, and bronze with chrome linings. While both would usually suit heavily armored classes, between the two, Mail is the more aesthetically pleasing option, as the headgear of Plate has a tendency to look like an awkward hat.
Horde Couture
As for Zanadalar, The Cloth looks like your usual warlock garb, complete with feathers on the shoulders and the headdress. It comes in red feathers and blue-green linen, bright green feathers and black linen, and cyan feathers with blue linen.
As for Leather, it comes in green and yellow, red, and black. Compared to its Kul’Tiras counterpart, it shows the wearer’s midriff. Its pieces are a lot sleeker and edgier (in a good way), making it the superior Leather transmog of Battle for Azeroth. Mail, on the other hand, features metal parts that are chiefly gold or bronze of varying shades. Just like Leather, the wearer’s midriff is exposed, making it seem slightly bulkier than—or just as light as—the Leather design-wise.
Last but definitely not least, the Plate features a Roman helm-like headgear whose plumes are colored blue, cyan, or sapphire-blue, shoulder pads with tusks, body armor that extends to the upper thighs, shin guards, and sandals. Aesthetic-wise, the transmog set doesn’t look heavier than Mail.
Overall, Zandalari is a lot cooler than Kul’Tiras, but that’s kind of an unfair competition, all thanks – or rather, no thanks – to Blizzard. That, however, doesn’t mean the latter doesn’t have its charms; it’s just that it could’ve been made more awesome.
There is more to war than just clashing swords and occupying territories; there’s also the part where fashion is taken into account. And regardless of whether you agree with us or not on which faction the winner is in this aspect, new transmogs are always a good thing. Also, if you’re not satisfied with these transmogs, there might be new ones coming once Battle of Azeroth rolls in by the 14th of August.