Character/Weapon Skins: An opinion and request for other's opinion

General Discussion
#1

Before I begin, I want everyone to know that I am not attacking anyone who enjoys weapon and/or character skins at all, so please keep the conversation civil.

I am genuinely curious as to why so many people put so much stock into weapon and character skins. I have never understood the fascination with them for a couple of reasons:

  1. They do not change anything about how you play the game. There are no special abilities/power ups that come with them… no new firing rates, special ammo, extra damage, etc. The only thing that changes is literally the way the thing looks.
  2. It is often categorized as “content” in a game, but as a purely cosmetic item, I don’t feel the word “content” is justified, because again… it does not change how you play the game at all.

When the Hivebusters DLC got announced, I was VERY excited. To me, that is true content added to a game. Sure, I’m still firing the same bullets from the same guns using the same characters that have been there since launch, but there was lore added, new locations, new characters (even if via CGI), and most importantly, a new enemy (Wakaatu). This new enemy even made its way into Horde as a new boss enemy as well, adding to two different modes in the game (Campaign and Horde).

When new maps are added, I too see this as content added. New maps provide new strategies when playing the game in several different modes (some more than others, sure, but different nonetheless).

On top of the fact that weapon and character skins don’t add anything new to the gaming experience (remember, my opinion!), I also don’t understand the need to gather up a bunch of them. You can literally only play as one character at a time and have one weapon skin on a gun at a time. Maybe if TC were to add in a optional randomizer that just picked from what you’ve earned for your character/weapon skins, that would help the situation a bit, but I still go back to my above two points about skins adding nothing meaningful.

So, Gears community… what is it about skins that make them so attractive to you and why do you seem to think that adding tons of skins to the game is enough justification of “supporting the game with content”?

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#2

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They’re shiny!

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#3

Your answer is about what I expect people’s feeling are, but your comic doesn’t help your argument.

Clearly, wearing a princess tiara and princess full body tights are increasing her princess powers, so I’d throw money at that, but not Chrome Steel Marcus :laughing:

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#4

I think for the most part people like to feel different then the other cookie cutter characters or weapon skins. People realize that cosmetics don’t change the game but I guess it makes the game less stale by adding new cosmetics. Sure getting a DLC was great, and getting new maps are real, new content. I think asking that of TC is a little too much.

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#5

I just think Baird be Sexy and I want more of it.

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#9

I dont really care much for the cosmetics to be honest. I would rather look at the prettier ones, but i wont really go out of my way for them.

I do swap up my weapon skins - only so that they contrast when on the floor or on the weapons locker so they are easier to identify.

A couple of years ago i was talking to a friend whose 14 year old son played fortnite. He said that the kids had to get the latest character skins to keep up with thier school friends. So i think this is the main reason - peer pressure among school children.

#10

Personally I was happy with the way Gears of War 3 did character skins. There was only various lore skins and they didn’t go completely crazy multiple variants that nobody asked for.

As for weapon skins, again in Gears 3 there wasn’t a ridiculous amount and some were tied to progress in that game and even previous titles . They weren’t treated as “content” back then either, just a small bonus cosmetic item for the fun of it. It was in this way that it worked without making the game look stupid. Nobody was particularly bothered as much as they are these days.

At least with the progress skins, I felt these had more meaning. Certainly more so than a skin bought with scrap, coins or real money. For example, I used the Onyx Hammerburst, which was unlocked by getting 6000 kills with it. Beautiful weapon.

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#11

Its simple, your character looks cool! :sunglasses: Nothing more, nothing less. Its like clothes… you want to differ. Glad to spend money for this.

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#12

I guess this is the main difference. I’m 35 years old and still have some shirts that I wear all the time that I got in high school. I’ve never felt the need to buy new clothing to make myself feel better or different. If I like it, I continue to wear it. And since I can only wear one shirt at at time, why buy a boatload more?

And just because it’s the internet, no, I’m not personally attacking you. We just have a difference of opinion in the feelings we get from skins.

#13

R.I.P Bedazzled Skins, I never got to complete you. Lately I’ve been sticking with my DB weapon skins to help me cope lol. Love that sleek metallic “orderly” look, the COG blue and Swarm red highlights are subtle as fug.

Boils down to preference imo, gotta shake things up from time to time.

#14

I’m one of those people who likes to play as characters they actually like and avoids characters i hate. I hate Fahz (love the actor but he just does too good of a job making him a badguy), so i don’t play as him. More so, since class isn’t tied to a character anymore. Load-outs and skills were a huge draw for me, as well, loving the engineer but being ‘meh’ on Del, so now that that’s not a factor it primarily just comes down to who i like more. The comments and voices, the aesthetic of the gear they have on (the theme of their skins, i mean). It’s nice to have various versions of the characters, as some times an armor looks great and sometimes, despite my love of the character, the armor looks terrible.

I’m a nut for character creation and customization, though, so the more i can tune in to what i want, the more i love it. As such, currently, i’m rolling as the male onyx guard, with the matte black weapon skins. That way i’m not any one specific character but if i had it my way, i would love to see a full on character creator for this game. I love the design and details.

Every now and again, though, you just get that one character that just has the best lines, like Ice-T as Aaron Griffin.

#15

My Chrome Steel skins put me in a position of dominance over my opponents, and serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for my teammates.

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#16

If only…

#17

I like black steel more than chrome. Chrome isn’t worth the money to me.

1 Like
#18

But why is black steel worth the money to you?

#19

In Operation 5, they added Anya, Dizzy, Sid, Mikayla and three Lambent characters who have their own lines and dialogue. I have no idea if they use different voice actors. I still haven’t unlocked any of them, so if their voice lines and dialogue are considered content, then they have to be paid for. It wasn’t just cosmetic character skin. Some people like to check out what lines each characters have and has nothing to do with cosmetic.

Even if the character skins are cosmetic, you can’t check out or listen to their voice lines in customisation unless they have been paid for. So that says something.

#20

If that’s what people find interesting about the character skins, then I hope they are happy with that as content. Personally, I still wouldn’t consider it true content added, but rather more “shiny” stuff.

Also, that statement doesn’t hold for weapon skins.

But hey, like I mentioned, I’m keeping this an attack-free thread. I’m just fascinated with the infatuations of others.

1 Like
#21

Sometimes people buy stupid things in various places. I only bought one cause I supported the esport and like the coloring of the Uir black steel. In Gears 5 I bought the Johnny cog soldier cause the money go to charity.

#22

I will admit I bought this as well, and for the same reason, because of the charity aspect.

#23

Idk I’m someone who hates playing duplicate characters . In versus it can be a strategy if all the same character , but otherwise I like to original . When playing horde instead of people calling your name they call you your character . Skins help versify. If you ever played arcade you see cpu characters always the same basic skin and people come in and out of game . Just a little thing that I enjoy is collecting skins too . I’m a gears fan of lore and history so it’s cool. Weapon skins not so much since it’s the same for every character horde or vs plus too many to keep changing