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Best Armor Designs?

Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:03 pm

I believe this is the best section for this topic, considering it doesn't focus on any single game.

I love armor and weapons, and each game in the series has had many different armor sets, however there are some armors that do make continual appearances and they change in design to different degrees between each game. So I am curious, which game had your favorite design for each of the "staple" armors?

Daedric:
Dwarven:
Ebony:
Elven:
Fur:
Glass:
Iron:
Leather:
Orcish:
Steel:

Also, which is your favorite design for armors that have appeared in more than one game?

Bear/Stormcloak Officer:
Blades:
Bonemold:
Chitin:
Dark Brotherhood:
Imperial (Heavy):
Imperial (light):
Stalhrim:

Lastly, out of curiosity, which is your favorite armor set that has so far only appeared in one game?

Misc:
Last edited by Leckan on Mon Jan 27, 2014 12:27 am, edited 4 times in total.

Re: Best 3D Armor Designs?

Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:25 pm

Good thread!

I'll only be comparing the three latest main installations, becuase I know near nothing of the ones before. For shortness' sake, I'll refer to morrowind, oblivion and skyrim as 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

Deadric: Morrowind. A close call since they're all very similar, but I liked the contrast in 3.
Dwarven: Skyrim. I definitively don't like 3, and 4 and 5 were very similar but the latter's helmet made it the winner.
Ebony: Morrowind. Perhaps it's the contrast, perhaps 5 just seems 'un-ebony' for me, with the lack of yellow. 4's is very nice too.
Elven: close call, but I'll go with Oblivion. Morrowind didn't have any elven armor, unless I recall wrong.
Fur: Skyrim, easily. I love it's collection of fur armors. The others are just horrible!
Glass: Skyrim. It simply looks best. 3 looked to spiky, and 4 too glassy (yeah I know) and clean.
Imperial (heavy): Morrowind. I don't like 4's 'medieval knights', and 5 looks to exaggerated, yet still I liked to roman feel. 4 lost by far tho.
Iron: Oblivion. 3 is just terrible. I very much like the detail in 5, but I also like the simplicity in 4. The helmet in 5 is a bit much.
Leather: Morrowind. It looks very rough and simply, I like that. Gives the proper ashlander feel.
Orcish: Morrowind, though all three are beautiful. I'll rate them, from best to less, 3 4 and 5.
Steel: I don't really like any of the three, but morrowind is the best. 4 is simply horrible, and I don't like 5.

Bear: I haven't played dragonborn. But the bear armor in bloodmoon was rather nice, especially the backside.
Blades: Oblivion. I liked the more appearnt japanese style.
Bonemold: Morrowind did it best.
Chitin: I prefer morrowind, but 5 is still good.
Dark Brotherhood: Oblivion.
Imperial (Light): Skyrim. I simply love it.
Stahlrim: Skyrim. 3 is just... no comment.

oh, that one's hard. Can't even recall a set that's only appeared in on game. Not a full set at least. I think the imperial newtsale cuirass in morrowind is very nice though.

edit: oh do I feel stupid now? How could I forget Odrinators!? They are, in my view, just excellent. The gold together with the blue is wonderful, and the details, and the awe-inspiring golden mask.. I prefer vivec's ordinators over almalexia's. gold is simply best. I really can't think of any guards that are more frightening and commands such an aura of authority.
Last edited by VelothiConservative on Mon Jan 27, 2014 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:11 am

Daedric: Morrowind, due to the different style of helmets and shields
Dwarven: Oblivion, though Skyrim's wasn't bad either.
Ebony: Oblivion, I especially like the motif on the shield.
Elven: Oblivion, possibly my fav armour in the game.
Fur: Skyrim, lots of different variants to choose from.
Glass: Morrowind, I like the spiky design.
Iron: Skyrim, the armour looks good for a low-end item.
Leather: Oblivion, the whole ensemble looks good.
Orcish: Morrowind, the armour set looks really menacing, especially the distorted face on the tower shield.
Steel: Oblivion, very shiny and bulky. Skyrim's version looks pretty good too.

Bear/Stormcloak Officer: I like Skyrim's and Morrowind's designs equally.
Blades: Oblivion, like VelothiConservative, I prefer the Japanese 'samurai' style compared to what they had in Skyrim.
Bonemold: Morrowind, due to the number of options and variations.
Chitin: Morrowind, it was a very useful set of armour for a new character.
Dark Brotherhood: Morrowind/Tribunal, the armour looks very sleek.
Imperial (Heavy): Morrowind, I really like the horse design on the cuirass.
Imperial (light): Skyrim, Morrowind's Imperial light armour didn't really look right and you couldn't complete the whole set.
Stalhrim: Morrowind, it looks more ice-based compared with Skyrim's.

Misc: Ordinator, High Ordinator and Royal Guard armour from Morrowind and Tribunal. And the Nordic Mail from Bloodmoon looks pretty awesome too. Sorry, I couldn't choose just one. :)

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Mon Jan 27, 2014 3:40 am

Why didn't this thread exist a long time ago?
Hidden:
Daedric: Skyrim. You look like a demon, and everyone knows I like demons...
Dwarven: Oblivion. I don't like the look of the helmet. It weirds me out.
Ebony: Skyrim. Next to the Daedric, Ebony is the most badass armor in-game.
Elven: While I'm not a fan of it in either game, I'd say Oblivion takes this one. Maybe it's the three-toed boot, I don't know...
Fur: Skyrim. That cape was totally legit. A+
Glass: Skyrim. Morrowind and Oblivion's hurt my eyes...
Iron: Morrowind's just barely edges out Skyrim's. I don't know. It just seems more knightly or whatever.
Leather: Morrowind. Gotta love that scarf. On a side note, I loathe the helmet in Skyrim.
Orcish: Oblivion. I detest the helmet in Skyrim. Oblivion gets bonus points because of the pig on the cuirass.
Steel: Morrowind. Like the Iron armor, I just think it looks more appropriate. I hate Oblivion's, but Skyrim's is alright.

Bear/Stormcloak Officer: Skyrim (Stormcloak Officer) I don't really like either, but Skyrim gets bonus points for the claw gauntlets.
Blades: Skyrim. Badass.
Bonemold: Skyrim. I just feel like Skyrim did it best. Probably because it looks more realistic.
Chitin: Skyrim. I think the red cloth compliments it well.
Dark Brotherhood: Morrowind. I have no idea why, but Morrowind's looks so [&@%!] cool.
Imperial (Heavy): Going to have to go with Oblivion. The Imperial guards just commanded a sense of authority in that hulking armor.
Imperial (light): Morrowind. The helm in Skyrim looks so bad I could cry.
Stalhrim: Skyrim. Stalhrim in Morrowind SUCKED.

Misc:
1. Mythic Dawn Armor (Oblivion):
Spoiler:
Worker: Hey, boss! Check out this awesome armor we made!
Boss: It is pretty cool, Ron Jeremy.
RJ: I know, right?! We're going to give it to the player if he joins the Mythic Dawn. We're working on a whole questline for them, too!
Boss: Hey, Ron! How about we don't give them the badass armor, and make there be no benefits to joining them?!
RJ: Errmmm...
Boss: Think of the possibilities!

(^ Actually happened in official real-life.) The Mythic Dawn armor is without a doubt, my favorite armor of all time. It was very well designed, just a shame you can't get ti without cheating.... WHICH I"M NOT AVERSE TO DOING!!!!!
2. Steel Plate armor (Skyrim) This one barely missed out on the the number one spot. I especially love the helmet.
3. Brusef Amelion's Armor (Oblivion): How this guy afforded such intricate armor is beyond me. All I know is that it looks good, and sucks late-game.

Might I suggest adding a category for favorite guard armor?

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:36 pm

Spoiler:
Daedric: Morrowind, especially with the face of terror helm. Oblivion's Daedric is much different but still pretty good. Skyrim's was just... meh. (Does Madness Armor count as a variety of Daedric?)

Dwarven: Skyrim. That one looked so much better than either Oblivion's or Morrowind's, especially the helm. Oblivion's set didn't look dwarven and Morrowind's was just ridiculous.

Ebony: Skyrim. It looks so imposing, probably the best looking armor in Skyrim. Oblivion's was very good except for the ponytail helm, but Morrowind's... not so much. It's helmet looks like its on backwards!

Elven: Oblivion. I really like the banded cuirass, although the duck-foot boots look a little silly. Skyrim's elven was also good.

Fur: I have absolutely no opinion on this, I don't ever use fur.

Glass: A tie between Morrowind and Oblivion. Morrowind's spiky style of glass looks awesome except for the helm, which looks REALLY silly (it makes you look like the adoring fan!). I also really like Oblivion's style of plate glass armor. For some reason, I really don't like Skyrim's glass. It just looks like elven and the glass color is completely off.

Iron: Skyrim. Iron looks pretty much the same in every game, but the Dohvakiin helm in Skyrim's set makes it my favorite

Leather:Skyrim. The Thieves guild armor is the best leather armor by far. All other leather armors are just meh.

Orcish: Morrowind.

Steel: Morrowind


Bear/Stormcloak Officer: no opinion
Blades: Oblivion's set was better
Bonemold: Morrowind, because of the huge variety, especially the Redoran Master Helm. Skyrim's looked almost exactly the same.
Chitin: Definitely Skyrim, although the light cuirass would be so much better if it had plates covering more of your chest. Morrowind's helm looks stupid.
Dark Brotherhood: Morrowind.
Imperial (Heavy): Oblivion's guard armor is more unique than Skyrim's Roman armor although many of Morrowind's Imperial armors are also nice.
Imperial (Light): Morrowind's Dragonscale Armor (does it count as light or heavy?)
Stahlrim: Skyrim's light variety. Morrowind's stahlrim looked crappy.

Misc: Madness armor with Count Cirion's Helm

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:01 pm

Daedric: Skyrim, as it is the most refined looking of of of the past Daedric.
Dwarven: Oblivion, I like the art decoish helmet.
Ebony: Skyrim, it resembles the Brute's armor from Assassins Creed 2.
Elven: Skyrim, it looks like it came from the renaissance.
Fur: Skyrim
Glass: Oblivion/Skyrim, this one is a tie, as I love how it is shiny in Oblivion, but the design is better in Skyrim.
Iron: Morrowind, it looks like actual armor, rather than Skyrim, which it appears your arms can be chopped off... Also resembles the brute's armor from Assassins Creed 2.
Leather: Skyrim, in Oblivion it was ugly
Orcish: Morrowind, because it was fancy looking
Steel: Morrowind, same reasons as iron.

Bear/Stormcloak Officer: Morrowind, hilarious looking.
Blades: Oblivion, the Skyrim one is completely out of place, and makes no sense.
Bonemold: Morrowind, it looked like it was made from gold.
Chitin: Morrowind, same reason as Bonemold.
Dark Brotherhood: Morrowind, it wasn't so tight that is squashed your balls.
Imperial (Heavy): Morrowind, fanciest.
Imperial (light): Morrowind, fanciest.
Stalhrim: Skyrim, Morrowind had ugly Stalhrim armor.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:37 am

The problem I have With most of Morrowind's armour is that the pauldrons look so damn oversized, it almost looks like wings...

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:42 pm

Daedric:Definitely morrowind, oblivions is abit naff and skyrims is sort of cool but a little too ostentatious.

Dwarven:Skyrim for this one, it looks awful in morrowind and alright in oblivion.

Ebony:Morrowind again, it looks the coolest their, looks pretty great in oblivion too, don't like skyrims, should have kept the yellow and lost the huge pauldrons. the ebony mail looks awesome in skyrim though.

Elven: Probably skyrim....
Fur: Definitely skyrim, it looks dead cheesy in the other games.

Glass: Morrowind by miles, it looks awful in oblivion and worse in skyrim.

Iron: Skyrim for this one although Iron always looks crap.

Leather: Morrowind all the way, all the different varieties look great, it looks naff in the other games by comparison.

Orcish:Morrowind again, it looks alright in oblivion i suppose, but naff in skyrim

Steel: again morrowind, steel armor actually looks cool in morrowind, its all kinds of cheesy in oblivion and im not keen on skyrims. Steel plate however in skyrim looks great.

Also, which is your favorite design for armors that have appeared in more than one game?

Bear/Stormcloak Officer: Hate them both
Blades: Skyrims version looks great and I wore it for ages with my battlemage because i hated orcish and ebony.
Bonemold: Morrowind by miles, it looks awful in skyrim
Chitin: same as above.
Dark Brotherhood:Oblivion for this, it looks weird in morrowind. looks alright in skyrim though.
Imperial (Heavy): Don't like any really, probably a few heavy pieces from morrowind look alright
Imperial (light): morrowinds light imperial armors like newt scale were pretty cool.
Stalhrim: hate it with a passion in both games.

As for unique armor.....

skyrims Thieves guild armor and nightingale armor are great. Ordinator armor and her hand armor is great too.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:00 am

Leckan wrote:
Bear/Stormcloak Officer:
Blades:
Bonemold:
Chitin:
Dark Brotherhood:
Imperial (Heavy):
Imperial (light):
Stalhrim:

Lastly, out of curiosity, which is your favorite armor set that has so far only appeared in one game?



How is Dark Brotherhood armour being counted? While not explicitly named "Dark Brotherhood <armour piece type>", in Tribunal, Oblivion, and Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood has had unique armour in each game that is faction-specific, so I am inclined to believe that should not be in the "Only in one game" section. Or, am I misunderstanding the ordering of your lists vs text?

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:30 am

Damon wrote:How is Dark Brotherhood armour being counted? While not explicitly named "Dark Brotherhood <armour piece type>", in Tribunal, Oblivion, and Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood has had unique armour in each game that is faction-specific, so I am inclined to believe that should not be in the "Only in one game" section. Or, am I misunderstanding the ordering of your lists vs text?


Wrong ordering.

I've noticed that sets like Ebony Armor frequently appear in the series, so I consider it a "staple" armor. But sets like Chitin Armor have only appeared in 2 games.
I didn't provide a list for "one game only" armors because there are tons of them and it's really up to each person that responds to provide an example; Ordinator Armor so far seems to be a popular selection.

Perhaps though the Dark Brotherhood Armor could be considered a new staple armor if it has started appearing in consecutive games.
Last edited by Leckan on Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:30 am

Yeah, Leckan, Ordinator's armour is a good one, though my all-time favourite armour design is the Imperial Knights Templar armour from Morrowind. This armour set only appeared in that game, though IDK how you're ranking it (under general LEgion armour or separately), since there were several types of Legion armour, and that was one of two (the Duke's Guard armour being second) that was held by upper ranks. as opposed to the standard trooper's armour.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:09 am

My Dark Brotherhood character never wears the Dark Brotherhood armor. She wears something like this.
Image
I enjoyed combining the Cheydinhal City Watch cuirass with Leather gauntlets and boots for Casandra when she lived in that city, and when she took up her "day job" in the City Watch as a ranger on patrol in the surrounding county. It made her look just a little different from the other guards, and the Green Robe Hood serves perfectly as matching headgear rather than the usual chainmaille affair.

Casandra Serein has, across the span of two games, preferred wearing stolen City Watch armor as her primary outfit. Even in Skyrim, she wears a Solitude guard's armor in combination with the the Shrouded gauntlets/boots as her 'official' Dark Brotherhood gear because that is the way she rolls: disguised as a guard.
Last edited by Dark Spark on Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:07 pm

Dark Spark wrote:My Dark Brotherhood character never wears the Dark Brotherhood armor. She wears something like this.
Image
I enjoyed combining the Cheydinhal City Watch cuirass with Leather gauntlets and boots for Casandra when she lived in that city, and when she took up her "day job" in the City Watch as a ranger on patrol in the surrounding county. It made her look just a little different from the other guards, and the Green Robe Hood serves perfectly as matching headgear rather than the usual chainmaille affair.

Casandra Serein has, across the span of two games, preferred wearing stolen City Watch armor as her primary outfit. Even in Skyrim, she wears a Solitude guard's armor in combination with the the Shrouded gauntlets/boots as her 'official' Dark Brotherhood gear because that is the way she rolls: disguised as a guard.


Yeah i always found it daft that a shady group of stealthy assassins would wear an easily identifiable uniform.... "hey aren't you a dark brother hood assassin!?..... errr no?" its pretty silly really.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:11 pm

Raynil dralas wrote:
Dark Spark wrote:My Dark Brotherhood character never wears the Dark Brotherhood armor. She wears something like this.
Image
I enjoyed combining the Cheydinhal City Watch cuirass with Leather gauntlets and boots for Casandra when she lived in that city, and when she took up her "day job" in the City Watch as a ranger on patrol in the surrounding county. It made her look just a little different from the other guards, and the Green Robe Hood serves perfectly as matching headgear rather than the usual chainmaille affair.

Casandra Serein has, across the span of two games, preferred wearing stolen City Watch armor as her primary outfit. Even in Skyrim, she wears a Solitude guard's armor in combination with the the Shrouded gauntlets/boots as her 'official' Dark Brotherhood gear because that is the way she rolls: disguised as a guard.


Yeah i always found it daft that a shady group of stealthy assassins would wear an easily identifiable uniform.... "hey aren't you a dark brother hood assassin!?..... errr no?" its pretty silly really.


Just wear civilian clothes, but then switch to the Dark Brotherhood gear when you're on a mission.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:31 pm

Well well, I like this thread a lot! I had to compare with all of the three iteration's I've played to decide these. Man, TES has always had good armor designs...Mostly.

Daedric: Morrowind: completing the set also makes you feel accomplished
Dwarven: Oblivion: better design, and more iconic. I always loved how the shields and swords looked
Ebony:Morrowind: I always liked how rich and regal it looked here. Makes sense, the empire at this point had exclusive rights to it
Elven: Man, this is a tough one. Both iterations in Oblivion and Skyrim are great!.....Oblivion. I like how...Bright? It looks
Fur: Skyrim all the way! I love how barbaric it looks here
Glass: Skyrim, easily. In Morrowind you looked like freaking Doomsday, and Oblivion's is too smooth
Iron: Morrowind. It's a very imposing set!
Leather: Toss up between Morrowind and Skyrim. Not sure here
Orcish: Morrowind. A brutish armor worn by a race of brutes. Fits completely
Steel: Oblivion. Has a knight look to it, fits the time period too


Bear/Stormcloak Officer: Morrowind, it's very shaggy looking. I could believe this version would keep you warm
Blades: Oblivion
Bonemold: Skyrim. Morrowind's is great! However, the better graphics with the slightly improved design do wonders here
Chitin: Morrowind! Can't beat that first armor set you usually find
Dark Brotherhood: Morrowind. That full set of black with the helmet is scary. The LAST thing you want to see when you wake up, but it's exactly when you get to see it
Imperial (Heavy): Morrowind, Oblivion's is too bland, and Skyrim isn't what I think of when I think imperial armor
Imperial (light): Morrowind, same as above
Stalhrim: Morrowind 100%! I liked the Skyrim iteration, but the classic is untouchable

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Fri Jul 08, 2016 11:47 pm

I only like the fur armor. It's lightweight, warm, and completely reasonable in a climate like Skyrim's. All the others are hideous (except maybe Thieve's Guild leathers).

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:01 am

Fiar wrote:Well well, I like this thread a lot! I had to compare with all of the three iteration's I've played to decide these. Man, TES has always had good armor designs...Mostly.

Daedric: Morrowind: completing the set also makes you feel accomplished
Dwarven: Oblivion: better design, and more iconic. I always loved how the shields and swords looked
Ebony:Morrowind: I always liked how rich and regal it looked here. Makes sense, the empire at this point had exclusive rights to it
Glass: Skyrim, easily. In Morrowind you looked like freaking Doomsday, and Oblivion's is too smooth
Iron: Morrowind. It's a very imposing set!
Leather: Toss up between Morrowind and Skyrim. Not sure here
Orcish: Morrowind. A brutish armor worn by a race of brutes. Fits completely
Steel: Oblivion. Has a knight look to it, fits the time period too


Blades: Oblivion
Bonemold: Skyrim. Morrowind's is great! However, the better graphics with the slightly improved design do wonders here
Chitin: Morrowind! Can't beat that first armor set you usually find
Imperial (Heavy): Morrowind, Oblivion's is too bland, and Skyrim isn't what I think of when I think imperial armor
Imperial (light): Morrowind, same as above
Stalhrim: Morrowind 100%! I liked the Skyrim iteration, but the classic is untouchable


I snipped out the ones I had no opinion one way or another for, but I agree with the rest of your list for the most part.

I will, however, disagree with you on a handful of points.

Dwarven: I actually felt like Skyrim's looked cooler than Oblivion and Morrowind's.

Bonemold: I prefer Morrowind, because there was variety to the armor, as far as chest, pauldron, bracer/guantlets, helmet, and shield design went, so you can mix and match for your own personal blend of "cool". Sure, the HD version of the armor favored by the Redoran looked nicer in HD, but aside from the scarves or whatever on it in the Morrowind version, it wasn't my favourite set as a complete set of just that one piece, and I appreciate being able to mix and match pieces of all the sets to what I think looks good.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:07 am

Dohva. wrote:I only like the fur armor. It's lightweight, warm, and completely reasonable in a climate like Skyrim's. All the others are hideous (except maybe Thieve's Guild leathers).


The generic Thieves Guild armor wasn't that great, IMO, not bad, just average looking. I loved the Nightingale Armor and feel like it was easily the coolest set I've owned in Skyrim. It's a shame that I only had the one character that did the Thieves Guild and I've always been a Heavy Armor guy, because I'd wear it again.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:24 am

Actually, yea. You're right about the Nightingale armor, Damon. It's the coolest one in Skyrim and I can't believe I forgot all about it! The Thieve's Guild armor I'm referring to is the specific one that came with the Dragonborn dlc; the one Sapphire's father gives to you after you do the quests for him.

Re: Best Armor Designs?

Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:29 am

Dohva. wrote:Actually, yea. You're right about the Nightingale armor, Damon. It's the coolest one in Skyrim and I can't believe I forgot all about it! The Thieve's Guild armor I'm referring to is the specific one that came with the Dragonborn dlc; the one Sapphire's father gives to you after you do the quests for him.

Oh, I haven't seen that one. On the save on my brother's Playstation that I did for Dragonborn, I wasn't using a thief character and I didn't meet Sapphire or Sapphire's father, so I didn't know there was an armor added in Dragonborn. (Edit for clarification: As the town smithy, I've met him in his capacity as a smith, but I didn't know there was more to him than just being the local smith, and I missed that he shared a surname with a Thieves Guild character, because again, I only did the TG one time, a couple years ago)

I looked on the wiki and online at the armor you're referring to, and maybe it's just personal preference, but I find the standard brown armor that actually has sleeves to be aesthetically a bit more pleasing than the Blackguard's armor. And yes, I go by aesthetics and many times I've chucked aside armors significantly better than mine for crappier ones that I've held on to for ages. :p
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