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Arcane Brilliance: Taking your mage transmog beyond tier sets
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. She also maintains the mage blog, Manalicious. I haven't written about transmog here yet, which is really a terrible oversight. It was always in the works, though, there's just been so many other things to talk about. But I find myself at liberty to do something a little more light-hearted this week and so let's talk about fashion! Many potential transmog enthusiasts might find themselves getting a bit overwhelmed when it comes to choosing what to wear. You don't need an article that tells you "tier sets look good," because it's kind of a given. They were designed to match each other, so yes, an entire tier set isn't necessarily a wrong choice. At the very least it'll look cohesive, and mages have some great tier sets. But it isn't necessarily an original choice, either, and it won't set you apart in a sea of cloth-wearers or even mages wearing the entirety of Tirisfal Regalia. So what we're going to talk about, for anyone who might be less confident in their transmogging, is how you can take your transmog to the next level and what you should consider as you do. We'll look at color and contrast, how to build a set around a unique piece, or take a potential theme and make it your own.
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.
What's the perfect transmog?
When Mists of Pandaria was first released, my boyfriend asked me if I'd put together a transmog outfit for his pandaren monk. He didn't give me any guidelines on what he wanted to look like though, so I settled on gathering him all the appropriate pieces for an Orgrimmar Grunt's outfit. I figured since he's an officer in an Alliance guild, he'd find it funny. Unfortunately, he didn't even recognize what the outfit was supposed to be when he put it on (/cough Alliance noob) and as such, didn't really like it all that much. He opted to just wear the chest piece (he enjoyed how the male pandaren's belly stuck out the front) and left the rest in his bank. Sigh, silly boys. Though mildly annoyed, I wasn't especially bothered by my boyfriend's rejection of the outfit I sent him... At least, I wasn't initially. A few weeks later he sent me a link with the proclamation that this was, "the best transmog ever." I curiously brought up the link, wondering what would make him respond in such a way. Would it be a recreation of a recognizable character he liked? Maybe it would be something he thought looked cool? Unfortunately, it was nothing like that and honestly, what I saw made my heart sink. The "best transmog ever" was just a mismatched outfit. Yellow leaf shoulders, silly red hat, there might have even been a piece of Wrath-era frost resist in there. Was this all it took to impress him? Sigh, stupid, silly boys! So the question is, what kind of transmog do you like? What kind of transmog outfits do you want help putting together? Answer the poll below, or give us some ideas in the comments so we can make them for you! %Poll-79239%
Transmogrifying a Maiev lookalike set
One of the most frequently requested sets for transmogrification has to be the unique look of Maiev Shadowsong. Unfortunately, it's also one that is impossible to duplicate. Although Maiev's armor and weapons are utterly stunning, there are no player equivalents anywhere in game. The only place you can find the armor is on NPCs, and they aren't going to share their wardrobe. That hasn't stopped players from trying to recreate it, however. And this week we got an email submission from reader Krainz, who managed to put together a surprisingly reminiscent version of Maiev's unique look, using in game armor with the same color palette. Although it's not an exact match by any means, it's close enough that it definitely looks like a Warden outfit. And it was honestly too cool not to share with you all.
Prepare for Pandaria: Transmogrify your way into Hellscream's Vanguard
It's almost time to hit the seas and head to Pandaria, so why spend these last few weeks pulling together a set to look the part? Last time, we covered the unique look of the Ravenholdt elite, a black and blue leather number with a snazzy sword to boot. This isn't just a Ravenholdt uniform. It's also used by the Blacktalon Watchers that work as the eyes and ears of Wrathion the Black Prince in Mists of Pandaria. Speaking of Pandaria, in order to head to Pandaria's shores, players must complete quests in their respective capital cities. From there, you hop aboard an airship and make your way to the mysterious, mist-cloaked isle. For the Horde, this means a trip with General Nazgrim and a select force of Hellscream's Vanguard, whose black, brown and gold set makes a pretty distinctive look. If you're going to head to Pandaria as part of Garrosh's forces, you may as well find a uniform that fits -- if you're a plate wearer, that is. Thankfully, most of this set is quite easy to obtain, with one glaring exception that can be substituted with something similiar, with a little creativity.
Transmogrify your way into the Ravenholdt elite
Ah, Ravenholdt. Besides being the object of frustration for rep farmers worldwide, Ravenholdt is more importantly home to an elite organization of rogues. Who are they allied with? No one in particular. Why, they might even be allied with you -- if you had the right amount of coin, that is. Ravenholdt Manor is perched high in the peaks of Hillsbrad Foothills. Home to rogues all over the world, the organization is a loose one. It never really seemed to hold any real purpose in World of Warcraft other than squabbling with the Syndicate. That is, of course, until we saw the introduction of the legendary quest chain for Fangs of the Father in patch 4.3. At that point, Ravenholdt stepped from a handy place to grab a recipe for Thistle Tea to a full-fledged, bustling area with its own fascinating storyline. And while Wrathion has now flown off for greener pastures, Ravenholdt remains for any who choose to visit or grind endless amounts of reputation. The guards of Ravenholdt have seen a facelift in recent years, and now have a snazzy uniform that highlights leather pieces largely from The Burning Crusade. With transmogrification, any rogue can show allegiance to this shadowy organization in perfect style.
Become a Guardian of Hyjal with transmogrification
Players expecting the Cenarion Circle to show up in Hyjal might have been a little surprised to find the Guardians of Hyjal patrolling around up there instead in Cataclysm. These defenders of the world tree Nordrassil aren't actually the Cenarion Circle at all. While some may be members of the Cenarion Circle, the Guardians of Hyjal are their own organization in their own right. This is why you'll see druids roaming around as well as warriors in full plate standing guard at Nordrassil's roots. The Guardians of Hyjal are actually a collaboration between the druids of the Cenarion Circle and the Green Dragonflight. They've banded together to protect Hyjal from any would-be villains and to ensure Nordrassil's survival. With the uprising of Ragnaros in the region, it would seem that the group is sorely needed -- and as a faction in Cataclysm, players can join up with these guys and cash in on reputation rewards. And if you really like the look of Hyjal's plate defenders, it's actually pretty easy to replicate it with transmogrification!
Wanna catch 'em all? Themed transmogrification for Pet Battles
Pet Battles was released on the beta servers earlier this week, and it's ridiculously fun. Not only can you train a team from your corral of existing pets, you can also wander out in the world and capture even more pets to level up. Needless to say, I've been having an incredibly good time with the new feature, and I'm looking forward to playing it on live servers when Mists hits. Of course, the obvious statement at BlizzCon when this feature was announced was that it bears a remarkable similarity to Pokemon. The truth is, there are a ton of these critter battle-themed games out there, and this one just happens to have that Warcraft flavor we all know and love. That said, why not use transmogrification to deck your character out in Pokemon style? It's a little tricky to do, but we've got some cloth sets that may fit the bill.
Transmog into the Masters of the Universe
Some of my fondest childhood memories involve plunking myself down along with my brother and sister and happily watching a few hours of incredibly cheesy cartoon shows. I grew up with classics like Thundercats, He-Man, Transformers and many more. While these days those old cartoons seem incredibly outdated and more than a little silly, for me and my siblings, they were amazing feats of animation that sparked our imaginations and creativity. Not so coincidentally, imagination and creativity are two things that work incredibly well with transmogrification. After delving into the world of comic book superheroes, I decided to try my hand at recreating some of the looks worn by the heroes and villains of those beloved old cartoon shows. After all, there's already a version of He-Man and Skeletor in game. Although Adam Eternum and Keldor the Lost look spot-on in game, they're wearing combinations of different armor types -- something that doesn't work for transmogrification, unfortunately. But a little mixing and matching goes a long way toward creating decent enough looks that will have you evoking the power of Grayskull in no time flat.
Man of Steel? Dark Knight? Transmogrifying DC's greatest superheroes
I think I've mentioned before that while I love comics of all sorts, I'm a DC girl at heart. While I've got a ton of obscure titles, I think my favorite from the DC portion of my collection has to be The Killing Joke, which I picked up when it was released. It was a horribly violent story, but the interplay between Batman and the Joker was an oddly chilling moment that showed more about both characters than any comic I'd seen before it. Batman is one of those utterly iconic figures. Dark and brooding, the Dark Knight has his own methodical way of handling situations that is a direct contrast from his millionaire playboy persona. Batman's a manmade hero, but his counterpart, Superman, is an alien from another world whose heroic deeds and super strength can be attributed to his otherworldly origins. Both of these characters are instantly recognizable, and hopefully with today's transmog tricks, your character will be instantly identified as one of DC's finest as well.
Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! More superhero transmogrification
There is plenty of WoW machinima out there, and there's plenty on my favorites list. Up there on the list is Aquaman's Lament, put together by Spiff and based on a song by Mark Aaron James. It wasn't just the catchy song that caught my eye; it was the WoW twist on several different superheroes. This was, of course, before the days of transmogrification, and several of the sets shown used mismatched armor types for a surprisingly effective look. Now that we've got transmogrification, we can take these looks and use them for our own, with a few tweaks here and there to make sure each set fits under one armor type. I love comics, I love superheroes, and I love World of Warcraft, so Aquaman's Lament hit a home run for me. And figuring out how to make the sets featured actually work with transmogrification is about as much fun as wearing the sets themselves!
Transmogrifying the women of DC comics
I love comics. I have a monstrous stash of comics carefully bagged, boarded, boxed and stacked in my closet. It runs in the family -- my father collected comics when he was a kid, and he has a particularly painful tale of how he collected Superman from day one. He actually owned Action Comics #1. However, when he left home and joined the military, his mother (bless her heart) decided to throw away all his old comics while cleaning house. Sometimes my dad looks at what that #1 issue sells for today, and he gets a little sick to his stomach. However, while I do enjoy reading Marvel, I have to say I'm a DC comics girl at heart -- much to my father's dismay. Last time, we looked at ways to transmogrify characters into beloved comic book figures and tried our hand at transmogrifying looks for some of the Avengers. Well this week, it's the ladies turn. While we can't get exact replicas of many of the DC comics sets, I've tried to put together three looks here that recall some of DC comic's most heroic and devilish women.
Avengers Assemble! Transmogrify your own superhero team
Transmogrification isn't just for making your character pretty or wearing old sets. Where's the fun in that? There are thousands of pieces to choose from for your look, and there's no reason you can't make it a distinctive one -- paying homage to video games or popular comics is just as much fun as being pretty. Today, we've got an iconic foursome of characters who have been staples in Marvel comics for decades and recently made a smashing success with the film The Avengers. Though Warcraft's armor doesn't contain exact replica's of Ironman's iconic armor or Captain America's easily recognizable shield, you can still use transmogrification to compile a look that screams Marvel Comics. Just because the Hulk doesn't wear anything more than a pair of pants in the comics doesn't mean we can't capture his look through some well-placed camouflage. And even though we can't get our hands on Mjolnir, there are more than enough warhammers lying around to find a good replica.
Transmogrifying a tribute to engineering
We've talked a lot about creating transmogrification looks that mimic other characters -- in-game NPCs that we adore like Thisalee Crow or even looks that pay homage to characters from other beloved video games. But there's absolutely no need to limit yourself to mimicking other characters with transmogrification. It can be just as fun to create an homage to a favorite mount, pet -- or in today's case, a profession! Today we've got two looks based on the beloved profession of engineering. I actually stumbled onto this look while trying to create a monochromatic piece for the heck of it, but I was pleased enough with how it turned out for me that I decided to share it with all of you. In addition to my own leather number, I've put together a cloth outfit as well -- and I'll see what I can do to create a mail and plate version in the following weeks.
Transmogrify your blood elf into the druid of your dreams
OK, look. We know according to current lore, blood elves cannot be druids. The quel'dorei left behind Nordrassil and any tree-hugging ways they might have had when they were banished after the War of the Ancients, thousands and thousands of years ago. Blood elves are all about the arcane, not about nature magic. But apparently, there's a huge contingent of people out there that would still like to be able to play them in game. It's doubtful we will ever see that particular race and class combination come into play. However, the magic of transmogrification can at least give you the look you're going for. There's no shape-shifting or nature spells with this look, and you'll need a leather-wearing class to pull it off -- for blood elves, that pretty much means a rogue. But if you're dead set on blood elf druids and you'd still like the look of one, even if you can't play the class ... well, this combination ought to do the trick!
3 robeless transmogrification looks for the fashionable caster
Once upon a time, most of the gear a distinguishing caster had to choose from was robes. If you wanted to wear the best gear available to you, your choice was pretty much a robe and some sparkly shoulders. There are very, very few sets, if any at all, that are modeled around pants and tops. This eventually led to the creation of the infamous video above by Cranius. Forget classy pants -- if you want to fling fireballs, a dress is pretty much your only option. Or rather, it was your only option. With transmogrification, cloth-wearing casters suddenly have a whole host of options open to them that don't involve robes at all. Male characters who would like to look super-manly now have the opportunity to do so. And female casters who are tired of fighting dragons in skirts? Well, you've got plenty of options, too -- and today, we're highlighting three snazzy cloth looks with nary a robe in sight. My fellow casters, it's high time to drop your skirts and take a look at just a few of the looks out there to nab.
Transmogrify your character into a dark ranger, take 2
Sylvanas' dark rangers are bow-wielding marksmen, which you would think belong firmly in the hunter class. However, they aren't anything like a hunter at all -- in fact, all dark rangers in-game are currently wearing leather sets. If you take a look at Dark Ranger Vorel above, she's wearing the leather Opportunist's Battlegear set available during The Burning Crusade. All other dark rangers are wearing variations of that particular set, except the dark rangers we covered last time on this particular guide. So what's a hunter to do if they want the dark ranger look? Well, there's no way to recreate the exact armor sets of the dark rangers, because they don't exist in mail form. So if you're looking for an exact replica that you can transmogrify, you're out of luck. However, we can still build a pretty classy -- and dark -- mail hunter set using transmogrification. While it may not be an exact replica, today's set captures the feel of the dark ranger minus all that bothersome leather.
Transmogrify your character into a dark ranger, take 1
Sylvanas' dark rangers first popped up in WoW during Wrath of the Lich King. These ladies aren't quite hunter, and they aren't quite rogue -- they're a mix somewhere in between. The first models we were shown were over in Howling Fjord, where a group of dark rangers handed out quests to leveling Horde members. These rangers are in leather gear suitable for a rogue -- and it's easy enough to obtain their look. Since rogues are losing their ranged slot in Mists, this is a limited time opportunity to snag the look of a dark ranger, bow and all. Of course as with most NPCs, there will be bits and pieces of the look that you simply cannot obtain. Obviously the dead, pale skin and glowing red eyes are right out, and unfortunately, the boots are out as well; the one look-alike that existed for those boots was available in the original 40-man version of Naxxramas, and it was removed from the game when Naxxramas was moved. The hood is also an NPC-only model, but fear not! There's another hood that is just as suitable, in a place most players have long forgotten about.
Transmogrifying an homage to Bolvar Fordragon
Bolvar Fordragon is one of the coolest figures in Warcraft lore (check out our Know Your Lore: Bolvar Fordragon for a detailed rundown). While he was once a noble lord of Stormwind, Bolvar's story throughout the course of Wrath was an epic tale of nobility and heroism in the face of damnation. Today, we're going to create a look based on Bolvar. No, not the extra-crispy, end-of-Wrath version -- and not the shining vanilla-era Bolvar, either. And definitely not the in-between Bolvar that is comprised mostly of Alliance PvP gear. While I was looking at olden-days Bolvar, I realized his look could not be recreated; his armor is pretty unique, and it isn't something players can obtain in game. But as I was looking at Bolvar then and Bolvar now, I had a idea. What if we take a little of Bolvar's fate and apply that to the look of the shining hero of yesteryear? Take that distinct, filigreed, gold and silver plate look and tarnish it just a little, a reflection of what Bolvar's been through in the course of his lifetime?
Transmogrify your gear into a Thisalee Crow look-alike
Thisalee Crow is one of the new NPCs of Cataclysm, encountered in Hyjal. A member of the Druids of the Talon, Thisalee's unique personality immediately set her apart from her fellow druids -- and so does her unique set of threads. Thisalee's a fashionable sort, whether she's sitting quietly on the sidelines or holding a dagger to a harpy's neck. It's her gear that sets her apart in this case. You're not really going to see that particular set of gear on a player character, and there are a few good reasons for that. Thisalee's model has a few distinct characteristics that can't be recreated with transmogrification. First off, she's wearing a Feathered Breastplate as a shirt, with another leather chestpiece on top of it -- something we can't do at all. Secondly, those gorgeous, white leafy shoulders? Sadly, we can't get those in game. However, that doesn't mean Miss Crow's look can't be cleverly replicated with a little transmogrification ... albeit in a slightly different color scheme.
