Shado-Pan transmog and player-created games

The coolest things to come out of Pandaria's multitude of reputation grinds were the rewards that players could reap at the end of what was sometimes an excruciatingly long journey. It was your treat for weeks, sometimes months of endless dailies. The rewards are fairly extensive -- mounts, new pets, items for your farm, trinkets and toys -- but none were quite as well received as one lone item from the Shado-Pan: the hat. A transmog-only stat-less item, the Replica Shado-Pan Helmet was created specifically for use with transmogrification.

There was one minor problem with that, however. Shado-Pan armor was most definitely not included. This left players with the task of building outfits to go along with the sets. And due to this, players got ridiculously creative with solutions to the problem, sorting out which color schemes would look best with that unique red bandana and hunting down the various pieces, one by one.

We've actually put together several different solutions to the puzzle of the Shado-Pan helm -- a leather option I posted in a Queue ages ago, and another couple of leather options posted by Dawn Moore in a transmogrification column. But Kamalia from blog Kamalia et alia went above and beyond with a recent post that highlighted not just leather options, but plate, cloth, mail -- the whole gamut of gear for every armor class available, all created and put together just to match that ridiculously snazzy hat. Her post includes screenshots and lists of all of the items used in each transmog, and it's really worth checking out if you're looking for some new ways to use that unique little reputation reward.

I think, oddly enough, what I enjoy most about the Replica Shado-Pan Helmet is the fact that it doesn't come with any kind of armor set included. This turned getting the helm from a simple reward to a fun game, a side-journey that most people don't really think about taking -- a quest to gather the perfect outfit. There are no NPCs that set you on this quest, there are no gold rewards at the end, the only reward, really, is having a snazzy looking character that fully utilizes that nifty helm.

But for those of us that love transmogrification, that's really all the reward we need. Transmog isn't just about putting together outfits, it's about the hunt for the perfect piece. Sure, if you want to just slap together an old armor set and wear it, you're perfectly capable of doing so -- but putting together something really unique is what makes those of us that could be classified as transmog addicts smile. And all it takes is one really unique piece of gear to set the whole process in motion, like a cool new weapon, or a new set of spaulders, or one unique and snazzy helmet that takes a time investment to obtain.

I don't know if that's what Blizzard really had in mind with transmogrification, but we've managed to make a game within a game out of the system. I don't think that game will ever really get old. And while it's nice to see complete transmog sets like the Dark Shaman outfit available in the Siege of Orgrimmar to shaman players, I think I'd be perfectly content to see these little one-off pieces like the Replica Shado-Pan Helmet sprinkled throughout Warlords of Draenor. What do you guys think? And while you're thinking about that, be sure to check out Kamalia's post, especially if you've been searching for just the right combination to create that perfect faux-Shado-Pan look.