I actually think the character models in WoW still look pretty great. I have a deep hatred of “sliders” that I see others suggesting be added, as the games that include sliders often have loads of wonky-looking characters because of them; World of Warcraft has always set itself apart by having a unified, hand-crafted suite of options to choose from, that ensure your character will look good and “fit” the setting, no matter what you pick.
That said, I do think a couple of new options could go a long ways. Here are a few options that I think are realistic in scope (nothing I think is going to take weeks of artists’ time to create), but would still be meaningful additions.
In no particular order:
Across the board/All Races:
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Less “shine” to their eyes
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More “old” and “ugly” options (namely for NPC’s)
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Less extreme “discoloration” on skin textures, their hands and feet are often noticeably darker than the rest of their body, which looks strange
Kul Tirans
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Give them a more traditionally “masculine”, not-fat face option, with a strong jaw-line
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More course-looking hair and beard styles
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LONGER hair and beard styles
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An option to rein in the size of their gut (they can be big bois, but their stomach literally looks like a bowling ball from the side, does some horrible stretching to textures)
Night Elves
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A brighter, more vibrant “Purple” skin color. A lot of their skin colors look more blueish or greyish, or the opposite and very “normal” red and pink hues, but Night Elves have always been described as having purple skin. The Demon Hunter-exclusive skins are closer to the mark, imo.
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More of a “proud” posture, shoulders back, and a bit more muscular (not as roided-out as Illidan, but closer to official artwork in WC3 and early WoW)
Tauren
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The option to cover their hands and fingers with fur. The Vanilla opening cinematic shows their hands covered in fur as well, their current iteration just looks kind of fleshy and gross
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More of an “angry/serious” Face option, something a little more no-nonsense
Gnomes
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Less “human” face options. They made the worst transition to the newer models in WoD, and something about them feels quite unsettling.
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More defined “eyebrows”. A lot of their current options look more like jagged rocks or crystals protruding from their face, rather than actual eyebrows.
Mechagnomes
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An option to go FULLY robotic.
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An extension of that, perhaps even their torso becomes a bit more mechanical if exposed.
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More replacements for your “ears”
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A robotic Face option, maybe your “eyes” look more like light-up screens projecting the appearance of eyes, with CRT scan lines?
Worgen
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A lot of folks clearly want the ability to add a tail. I personally think the idea sounds stupid, but I also don’t know if the lore ever mentions them having tails or not. If so, I would image a short, sharp-looking tail option would look good (please, just don’t add anything goofy like a big, fluffy looking tail).
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I’d personally dig more dangerous-looking talons for their feet, not this big cuddly-looking “puppy toes” they currently have
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For their “glowing” eye options, something that’s closer to the pale-yellow option of the original Worgen models
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This goes a bit beyond the standard, but Worgen should have the ability to “Hide” any one-handed weapon transmog, and attack solely with their claws
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I actually don’t think they need “underwear” like most races, give them a pelt of fur and allow them to “Hide” their pants as well, FULLY embracing the “werewolf” fantasy
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Again, maybe going beyond the normal scope of this thread, but I feel like their Heritage armor should do something unique for when they shift forms. Like in Worgen form, their Heritage armor should look ripped up and way more savage.
Orcs:
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In contrast with literally every other race, I actually think they should get a younger, more “human” looking Face option. Something that kind of showcases a younger, more aggressive-looking Orc, where many of the current options look older and a bit haggard
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A “goatee” option that doesn’t have that stupid little “bone pick” sticking through it
Draenei
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I’m gonna be honest; their “Tendrils” options look AWFUL. Those need to be completely redone, give those bands of metal some actual geometry, or at the very least look a little higher rez.
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More “friendly” looking face options
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I personally think the Man’ari options should be stripped and put into a separate “Eredar” allied race, but either way, maybe a Face option with some kind of evil looking “runes” etched into their face
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Truly BLACK hair color
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A few more “bald” options, but with different types of forehead plates
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A permanent “Mark of the Naaru” option, like the Lightforged get
Lightforged Draenei
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Truly BLACK skin-color, like obsidian black (I think that would actually look great)
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Different colors for their “Light” glowing eyes and tattoos (bright Naaru-matching white, or a light blue color, maybe even more of a molten orange sort of color)
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Option to hide or remove their “armor-tattoo” stuff all over their body
Dracthyr
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Options for every point of their body, to add “ridges/plates” for a bulkier, tankier sort of “look”. Shoulders, forearms, and legs in particular.
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For the “pattern” of your sub-color, the ability to only apply it to your wings and torso, NOT your hands and feet
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Less “pretty” armor styles for your barbershop armor (much of it looks very elven or feminine, which is fine, but some more bulky options would be a good mix)
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An armor-tint that PERFECTLY matches the Evoker Legendary (perhaps only unlocked after acquiring it, to make it feel more “special”)
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Maybe scale coloring that matches the “Heart of the Aspects” coloring a bit more, a truly golden look
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Maybe alternatives to armor for more imposing draconic options. Like the above option for more “plated-ridges” to your silhouette, maybe having cracks in your scales with faintly glowing magma, or magical glowing arcane runes adorning your scales, just looking a more innately “powerful”
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Option to TOTALLY Hide ALL of your armor slots (so your Visage can look however you want, without having to consider how your transmog will look on your actual form)
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For the current Visage form, the ability to hide ALL of your scales from your face and forehead, maybe more aggressive-looking eyebrow options, or hiding eyebrows entirely
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Again, this goes beyond the normal scope of customization options, but the ability to choose any Race (on your faction) for your Visage. I would LOVE to make mine a Dark Iron Dwarf, and lean into a “Black Dragonflight” sort of theme.
That’s all I got for now.
as somebody that enjoys a more ethereal/faerie type of aesthetic I like the new pretty items being added. The fact is that I can mix these items in with the old ones and make them look cool but still retain a feminine style on my character is nice.