Recently I read a lot of complaints on different platforms where people were unhappy with how the new WoM weapon skins were handled – the glow effects were added to the basic-looking skins rather than the fancy-looking ones. People question why Fatshark did this.
My theory is that Fatshark wanted to make players choose between fancy-looking skins with no glow and basic-looking ones with the glow. If there is a fancy-looking skin with the glow, than it is a non-choice for most people. We all like shiny things, let’s not try and deny it. When a weapon has a skin that is both fancy AND shiny, and all other skins serve no role other than a temporary replacement until you get the best one.
Personally, I like this approach, and I like having to choose. For example, I use a fancy non-glowy skin on my Rapier and my Flamesword, but I use glowy skins on most other weapons. I also like seeing other players use different skins. However, I think the big problem is that Fatshark isn’t using this approach consistently, and that is the reason for the recent controversy. Some weapons have skins that are both fancy and glowy, while others don’t. I don’t think anything can be done about that now, because changing existing skins always makes lots of players unhappy so it will do more harm than good. But I guess it’s something to consider when designing future cosmetics.
I mostly prefer the basic weapon skins, but it would seem a lot of people don’t. I believe I mentioned this on Steam already, but since most weapons have two skins with glow it would make sense to add one “trash” skin with glow and one fancy skin with glow.
The old Dlc weapons used the 1000 kills skin as a base for the glowy one, so you got the idea of upgraded skins.
The new ones are a bit meh.
The worst offender is the red Stick&Board skin which is the basic one with some glowing sticker put in place by a under 5 kid.
Yeah I was really disappointed in the “Red” illusion that you get for the Spear and Shield
Like I’ve been using the base skin for months, and they finally add new ones, only for one to be so mediocre I thought my game was bugged and not showing off the new skin.
I wish they went with what they did for the first DLC weapons; make it actually feel like progress with your weapons.
Imho illusions should be separated from glowing. In a perfect world you could choose your skin and then, if the weapon is red, you could decide if apply the glowing effect too.
Can I be totally honest?
Many “glowing illusions” are pretty bad. There are many not-glowing ones much better… But after +1000 hours spent and tons of opened chests… I feel that not use glowing illusions is a kind of waste.
I’ve never been hung up on the glowy skins, since the majority of those in base game are also just normal skins with a bit of glam.
And, yeah, if the glow was important to me, that’d be an issue. I don’t think FS wanted to make players feel like picking a skin is a hard choice. Just a wee bit too weird to be true.
Besides that the throwing axe glowy skin is the best of the WoM glows because it matches the runes and is actually bright enough to see in 3rd person, unlike the billhook or spear n shield which have really subdued glows you can’t see well (I play without bloom, if that makes a difference).
By comparison, the glowy rapier is a lightsaber and it’s just repainted basic skin.
Most weapons have basic and not so basic glowing skin. But all new weapons have only 1 - pretty bad. Rapier has only a junk pistol+ glowing rapier skin, and it’s absolutely horrible.
Generally Fatshark and their “skin policy” is questionsble at best. Glowing trash-level weapons, weapon shafts/handles in a shape of a cross, to guarantee mangled hands of the user on first swing (pickaxe, Kruber’s 2h hammer), horribly damaged weapons (throwing axes) etc. etc.
But the absolute worst offender is Saltzpyre’s repeater pistol. Just a black blob of junk.
So it goes.