The purpose of this thread is to discuss the customization and model changes you’d like to see for the Nightborne in the future.
Since the Nightborne’s release, players have been unanimous in requesting more youthful faces and hairstyles with fuller, appropriately youthful hairlines. The majority of the additions added in 9.1.5 are not aligned with that request. To compound the issue, many of the customization options they added in 9.1.5 feature poor quality texture work, lack a sense of refinement, and have barebones levels of details.
Below, I’ve included some of my critiques of the Nightborne’s customization options with image examples.
Face Options
The Nightborne have need of fully youthful, wrinkle-free face options. Even the two most youthful looking faces for the Nightborne female all still have varying amounts of wrinkles and a weathered appearance.
The players that want weathered, wrinkled, or mature face options SHOULD have them, but there should be just as many youthful options for those that don’t.
Face 1 - Under eye wrinkles and nasolabial folds (wrinkles that form on the portion of cheek nearest to the nostrils).
Face 7 - Intense under eye darkness with bags and wrinkles with deep nasolabial folds that extend down to the lips. Freckles or sun spots speckled through the face. Overall, the general look is very weathered.
Eyelashes
The female Nightborne’s eyelashes are entirely outer corner heavy, without any added details to extend them closer to the inner eye for a natural look.
NPC Nightborne with eyelashes that extend to the inner corner of their eyes.
Hairstyles
Many of the female Nightborne’s hairstyle options feature receded hairlines that are not appealing. Many of the designs are either not flattering, or are wholly devoid of the Nightborne’s personality.
Regal Bun - The sides of this hairstyle just behind the front bangs are incredibly sparse. This hairstyle would benefit greatly from having that space filled in, as well as the hairline lowered.
When viewed from the top, the bangs are appear to be paper thin.
High Bun - The base hairstyle for the “Regal Bun” hairstyle, but features a fuller hairline. Why go through the trouble of making the “Regal Bun” hairstyle look worse when this perfectly fine base exists?
Topknot
This hairline needs to be lowered and filled in with hair on the side.
Regal
The geometry of this hairstyle is incredibly blocky and chunky, and does not frame the face flatteringly. Graphically, this hairstyle looks poorly.
Vim
Another hairstyle option with an extremely receded hairline that would benefit from being filled in.
Highborn
The hairline for this hairstyle is incredibly patchy. The NPC version visually appears much better, with the option to cover up the sides. (See below.)
As you can see here, the NPC version has added bits of hair on the side to cover up the weirdly patchy sides.
Shaggy
The texture work in the back of this hairstyle is poor, and lacks any definition.
Pigtails
This hairstyle appears very out of place for the Nightborne, who are described as having a hyper focus on being elegant and refined. How does a barebones, undecorated, utilitarian hairstyle like this inform the identity of the Nightborne?
Legion Zone Overview: Suramar - With the Nightborne, there are no slums—there are just grades of “How elite are you?” They worked on becoming as elegant as they could, and now you’ve got this arrogant, super-refined culture…
Vogue
The vogue hairstyle clips into the headdress option added in 9.1.5.
Repurposed Headdress Options
The “Headdress” option they made available to female Nightborne was taken from the “Regal” hairstyle, where it was removed and then repurposed for every hairstyle. It’s hard to be excited about a recycled option.
Regal Hairstyle Prior to 9.1.5
9.1.5 Repurposed Headdress Option
Alternative Headdress Option
Repurposed Hair Decoration
The hair decoration implemented in 9.1.5 is just an asset from a hairstyle the Nightborne launched with that was removed for repurposing.
Launch version of the “Vim” hairstyle, featuring its unique hair decoration.
The repurposed hair decoration from the “Vim” hairstyle featured on the “Sideswept” hairstyle added in 9.1.5.
Incompatible Hair Decoration Positioning
Hairstyles that feature parted hair, particularly a side or off-center part, are incompatible with a hair decoration that is quite clearly meant to sit dead center of the head.
Improper placement
Improper placement
Here, the developers attempted to make sense of the hair decoration by purposely placing the hair decoration directly where the hair is parted, to little success. The hair decoration was not designed for the hairstyle it is being applied to, especially not in this configuration.
Improper placement
Another off center hair part with a hair decoration placed smack dab in the center.
Proper Placement
Here is an example of a hairstyle that IS compatible with the hair decoration.
Jewelry
Two of the female Nightborne jewelry options are quite clearly derived or are heavily inspired by a female Night Elf jewelry option. The unique aesthetic of the Nightborne should carry through to their jewelry and not be copied from the Night Elves.
The “pendant” option is actually just an earring asset the Nightborne launched with that was again repurposed.
Additionally, and worst of all, the female Nightborne’s jewelry is incredibly low-resolution.
The “Pendant” necklace option which was added in 9.1.5 was made by repurposing an asset from an already existing earring option. Again, more repurposing to get around creating something unique and thoughtfully crafted for the Nightborne.
Male Nightborne
As with the female Nightborne, the male Nightborne is completely without a fully youthful, neutral expression face option. Even the most youthful-looking available options all have various wrinkles, scars, frown lines, and a generally angry appearance.
The players that want weathered, wrinkled, or mature face options SHOULD have them, but there should be just as many youthful options for those that don’t.
Face Options
Face 1 - Angry, wrinkled, pouting lips, gaunt face, frown lines, and forehead wrinkles.
Face 9 - Angry, wrinkled, pouting lips, gaunt face, frown lines. Intense under eye wrinkles and darkness
Face 10 - Angry, wrinkled, pouting lips, gaunt face, frown lines. On the positive side, this face has slightly smoothed out forehead wrinkles.
Face 11 - Angry, wrinkled, pouting lips, gaunt face, frown lines.
Face Expression
The male Nightborne could do with a set of faces with a “neutral” expression, without frown lines, wrinkles, and downturned, pouting lips.
Hairstyles and Headdress
Cascade
This hairstyle has the barest level of hair physics, and doesn’t even rest naturally in the back where the hair is longest.
Vigor
Flat, and without texture in the back.
Frontal view of Vigor hairstyle, where the scalp is visible.
Sidepart
Flat in the back, seemingly without texture. Appears identical to the back of the hair in the “Short” hairstyle. Two hairstyles unfortunately featuring the same low quality texture work in the back.
Short
The back of this hairstyle looks unfinished, and possible copied over from the “Sidepart” hairstyle.
Short Tail
Exposed scalp underneath the front of the hairstyle.
The hair decoration featured on the Short Tail hairstyle is incredibly low resolution.
Headdress Options
A decent start for the male Nightborne, but look no further than the male Nightborne NPCs to see styles and details that are far and away better than what is available to the players.
Alternative Headdress Option
Model Issues
Eyebrows Disappear With Certain Headgear Equipped
An unfortunate vestige from the Night Elf base model. Blood Elf eyebrows will clip directly through headgear, but Nightborne and Night Elf eyebrows just completely disappear.
Heritage Armor Chest Piece Conflicts with New Chin Decorations
The Shal’dorei Finery chestpiece comes with a chin adornment that is tied to the armor and cannot be removed. This conflicts with the new chin decorations they’ve added for both male and female Nightborne.
Luminous Hands
This feature, added toward the end of the 9.1.5 customization additions, is incredibly underwhelming.
NPC Version of Luminous Hands
Tattoos
The visibility of tattoos varies greatly, and would be improved by either changing the behavior of the tattoos to be more visible, or allowing for a slider to increase/decrease luminance of the tattoos.
Additionally, some of the newer tattoos for male Nightborne have jagged edges and look poorly, even when fully zoomed out.
Male Suramar Tattoo - Hand with Jagged Edges
Female Suramar Tattoo - Hand
Male Suramar Tattoo - Lower Leg with Jagged Edges
Male Eternity Tattoo - Lower Leg with Jagged Edges
Links
Below, I’ve included links to past discussions regarding various aspects of the Nightborne.
Nightborne: The Fixes We Need
Nightborne: Still in Need of Improvement
Feedback: Nightborne Customization
