Advertisement

Style for a price: Transmogrifying pandaren fashion

Anne Stickney
Updated ·7 min read
0
Image

Leveling through an expansion usually means a jaunt into the worst that fashion has to offer. Mixed and matched greens and dungeon blues, pieces of sets and gear that just don't go together at all. With Mists of Pandaria, we finally have the opportunity to avoid the leveling clown suit altogether, thanks to the transmogrification feature introduced in Cataclysm. For the first time, we're in control of our own destiny as we level ... or at the very least our own fashion sense.

While you could easily just transmogrify your gear to any of your favorite sets, let's face it -- you're in a strange new land, one full of mystery and untold adventure. And it's also full of some of the nicest fashions a diehard transmogrification fan could ask for, too! In a twist of utter convenience, Blizzard has placed a vendor in Dawn's Blossom over in the Jade Forest who will sell players that don't have the best of gear some green sets for leveling purposes.

But they aren't just for leveling, they're actually pretty nice looking examples of pandaren fashion. And for a small chunk of change, they can be in your bags and ready for transmogrification, too.



Fashionable Faded Forest

To get your hands on some new gear, simply head to Dawn's Blossom in the Jade Forest. You'll be sent there naturally as you're leveling, anyway. Keep your eyes peeled for Singegruff, the Adventuring Supply vendor. He may not be the best dressed pandaren in the world, but he's got some amazing outfits you can purchase. Dawn's Blossom is a neutral town, so both Alliance and Horde can check out Singegruff's wares and pick up some new pieces.

Faded Forest Cloth

Singegruff sells two different cloth sets, one Satin, and one Silk. However, both sets are visually identical. Since you aren't actually going to wear these items, you're just using them for

Style for a price Transmogrifying pandaren fashion THURS 927

transmogrification, you can simply ignore the stats. Just go with whichever option is cheapest, which is what we've done here.

You'll notice I didn't include pants or bracers with this look. Because it's a long robe, there's absolutely no need to transmogrify your pants. And because the robe has long, sweeping sleeves, they'll cover any bracers you happen to be wearing. The crowing piece of this cloth set really is the hat, although I've heard mixed reactions to it, both good and bad. You can always forgo purchasing the hat, and simply turn your hat graphic off if you like. Personally, I love the helm -- it screams pandaren, and the sweeping lines of the hat are a really nice match to the sweep of the shoulders and the curved pattern of the robes. With a decidedly neutral color palette of bronze and copper, you really can't go wrong with this look.

Faded Forest Leather

As with cloth, Singegruff sells two different types of leather gear. One is a set labelled Leather,

Style for a price Transmogrifying pandaren fashion THURS 927

and the other is a Hide set suitable for druid casters. Although the hide gear is supposedly defined by a set of "robes," the robes are really just a leather chestpiece that looks identical to the leather set version. Once again, we're picking and choosing between cheaper versions.

In Cataclysm, Blizzard introduced armor sets with spaulders that only covered one shoulder. I love the one-shoulder look, and thankfully we'll see more of it in Mists, including the Faded Forest set. This is honestly one of my favorite leather sets in the beta. The gold, bronze and copper color looks nice on all of my characters, and I love the scrolling pattern. The only thing I don't love is the helm -- but you can always turn that graphic off anyway. You'll notice this set is slightly more expensive than the cloth, this is because you'll need to buy legs and chestpiece. Bracers are optional, they don't really show, but you can pick them up if you'd like.

Faded Forest Mail

Singegruff offers two different types of mail sets, one labelled Ringmail, and one labelled Chain. It

Style for a price Transmogrifying pandaren fashion THURS 927

doesn't matter which set shaman or hunters pick up, because once again, they're identical in color and model. Check the list for the cheap versions.

The model for this set looks really odd on my blood elf character -- don't let the screenshot fool you, the helm on this set is actually pretty neat, when your hair isn't in the way. It features a sweeping piece over the head that ends in a topknot, and it looks surprisingly cool. The primary colors in this set are a dark brown and charcoal, but there are pops of purple throughout the outfit that make it stand out. And this is unlike any other hunter set I've seen to date, the shoulders are pretty understated, and the delicate scales make for a really nice transmogrification look all around. As with the leather set, the bracers are optional, you aren't really going to see them on your character anyway.

Faded Forest Plate

Singegruff carries three different options for plate, one for casters, one for dps, and one for

Style for a price Transmogrifying pandaren fashion THURS 927

tanks. Labelled Burnished, Heavy and Armored, all three are identical in color and model, so you can pick and choose for savings!

I'm not completely sold on the helm for this outfit, but it works with the complete set, honestly. As for the rest of the oufit, the shoulders are fairly understated, but the rest of the plate is structured and layered in a way that looks pretty flattering on any character. Primary colors are bronze, gold and charcoal. And thankfully, this plate set doesn't feature the giant "innertube" style belt that seems to have been favored for most Cataclysm armor sets.

None of the Faded Forest sets are really flashy in terms of color or glowing effects -- in fact, they're all downright understated in appearance. But what makes these sets work are the tiny details found in each outfit. And because every set is a fairly neutral color palette, you can mix and match with pieces from plenty of other sets out there in game. Just because we're leveling, it doesn't mean we have to wear a clown suit -- the land of Pandaria has plenty of fashion to offer. Keep an eye out for other unique pieces while you're leveling, and soon you'll have enough items in your closet to compose wholly unique pandaren fashion of your own.

Patch 4.3 lets you transmogrify your gear to look like any other gear your class can wear -- but you have to collect it first. Check out our coverage of transmogrification and start running those old dungeons!