So there I was in Final Fantasy XI wearing sub-par gear because it looked better. This was in 2004, meaning it was well before the game had any kind of cosmetic system, and it was also at a point when every single +1 was massively important because stat values on gear were generally lower. I knew that I was making myself worse as I was leveling. But I made that decision because darn it, I looked better in that gear. It was a pain I accepted in stoic fashion, assuming that you include “telling people about it loudly” in the overall profile of “stoic.”
It is currently 2025, so nearly every MMORPG has some form of cosmetic system in place, but sometimes we still make choices that hurt us because of the cosmetics. You use your jackal in Guild Wars 2 because you love a skin even though you know it’s not a great mount. You choose to make your Hunter kinda look like a Shaman in World of Warcraft because you really want to be using a two-handed weapon. You get the general idea. So what’s the most painful cosmetic choice you’ve made in an MMORPG?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
