So what's all the fuzz about skins, outfits, and stuff?

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Yeah, this place appears to be a bit dead these days. Not like “back then” when the pub was open all night and we bragged and lied and joked and fought and made new friends and occasionally were reprimanded by @Zesiir for behaving silly (Bless his soul). Anyway, I still pop by now and then to see if any of the old patrons have left me a message.

But now that I’m here, there is something I’ve always wondered about. What is this obsession about skins for weapons and all bizarre kinds of peculiar outfits, that I wouldn’t be caught dead in at a masquerade in 60’ties Berlin? Why is that so appealing to some (obviously not me)? Does it make one feel cool or special? Is it some kind of group identity thing? Is it to stand out when playing online?

I remember back in the 70’ties when I was eight or nine years old, me and my brother dressed up like The Sweet (Ohhh, the glorious days of Glam-rock) which included our moms high heeled boots, scarfs, and lipstick, and we jumped around in the sofa playing air-guitars while playing Ballroom Blitz on the record player … when our parents suddenly appeared out of nowhere. That incident might have cured me from ever dressing up again. Ofcourse, this happened before any of you (or probably your parents) were born.

Still, I would appreciate if someone could explain me why skins and outfits are so cool. Please.

Well, there seems to be no-one here, so I’ll just pin the note to the wall …

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It is a way to express yourself in the game. I like looking like a tough guy. Then add crafting to the clothing you can also add a little to your skills that you selected for your character.

On a side note: When my GF and I are playing private and just goofing around in the game, she sometimes changes clothing for the weather or location. She has the yellow rain coat set, even down to the boots, for when it rains, snow, when we are at the ski slopes and so on. It helps me know what kind of mood she is in too.

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For me, it’s a matter of maximum completion more than anything else. I do enjoy customization, but not as much as knowing I’ve hunted down every possible morsel of free content out of a game I thoroughly enjoy.

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From my point of view there are different reasons.

  1. It’s just nice to have found everything, although I’m not directly searching them.
  2. A cool but not exaggerated weapon-skin gives me somehow a better feeling while using a weapon. It doesn’t have to be colorful, just beautiful or realistic or fitting how the weapon works or the games setting, sometimes just clean is enough.

Of course this skins topic for me also depends on the game itself.

  • In a pure FPS it’s not as important how my character looks like, but how my weapons look like.
  • In a pure 3rdPS the characters become more important.
  • And, in a singleplayer game it’s even less important how the skins look like than in a multiplayer game.
  • In a cooperative game it’s in general for fun,
  • in a competive game I try to get advantages with my skins, like harder to be seen.

For GZ I additionally would have loved if the skins, or better the apparel, would have granted additional bonuses or even negative effects… Just for what they are or look like, not by crafting certain values.
A helmet should give me some bullet protection for example… Like many RPGs do it.

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I have heard this type of question to often really, why pursue / collect weapon skins, achievements, suit sets, etc. :crazy_face:
Maybe the question can be reversed in; why some people think that collecting what a game has to offer is not worth doing? It is part of a game after-all. Is it important? No of course not, but the whole game is not important. It is obvious that different players have different ideas about what brings enjoyment. So some like hunting for collections, other don’t see the point.

For me personally, I always try to get to most out of a game. I like exploring a lot, but I am not a hardcore completist by any means. Currently I am searching for the last 40 of 143 letters that completes that collection in Far cry 6. But at some point I will call it a day. Because in the end, having collected all is really not important. :coffee:

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lol, first thing I think of after the reference to The Sweet : No you don’t have to be so bloody cool !
:joy:
But I don’t get all the fuss about apparel either. I do singleplayer, nobody gets to see me. I like it when it provides some extra protection. I just don’t want to die while destroying machines. And even then : I simply respawn.
Bit of an endless topic. Live and let die, to quote another band.
:star_struck:

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Thanks for all the answers :slightly_smiling_face: I appreciate that, as this has puzzled me a bit.

@JuanEyeJack, I understand the “tough guy” thing (I’m sure that you are one IRL) and I’ve actually made my character looking a bit like me in my late teens - clothes and all (and a tiny bit slimmer) - leather jacket, jeans, Casio watch and all. Quite funny that you and your GF dress “for the occasion” - if my wife was into gaming, that would probably be fun to do too - brings immersion to the game, rigth? But I only play solo and never change outfit.

@davzigvon, makes sense too, actually. I couldn’t rest until I had all the gnomes. And - come to think about it, I always pick up clothes laying around. Even got the fashion badge (which put me down a bit, actually :sweat_smile:).

@Madchaser, I remember when I picked up the 5* AI-76 (“The enemy of my enemy” mission?) I just thought that it was so cool looking. Yes, I do appreciate the artwork of these weapons. And I guess that camouflage skins make sense :thinking: … but some of the graffiti skins … not really for me. Still, I get your point. Regarding outfits, when I played Hogwards Legacy (3rd person) I actually cared about looking okay - so you have a point there too. But once I found my favourite attire, I kept it for the remainder of the game.

And yes, @Gysbert, of course there is a completion aspect - I agree (just like the gnomes) - but regarding skins and outfits, does the game indicate when you’ve gathered them all? And you are right, players are different, and I guess that was why I raised this question in the first place. The quite naive reason why I keep opening almost all the boxes I come across is probably the Kinder Egg effect. Might this box contain something, I’ve never encountered before? Something extraordinary! Like the Elder Wand and an instruction to cast Avada Meccano to bring down any machine :joy:

Which again brings me to Hogwards Legacy … and the point @trikke11 made. In HL you will get nowhere without constantly trading attire, as all your offensive and defensive strengths rely on the quality of clothes. But it works so much better in HL. I’ve tried doing some crafting of clothes in GZ, but I did fine without. So really no incentive for that in GZ.

Thanks for your inputs - I’m still a bit puzzled (especially when it comes to the Halloween attire :roll_eyes:), but I do appreciate that some find it entertaining and even useful.

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