Does Obsidean Armor still hold a place of respect and status cred?

Oh for monks it looks much better than tats, which were the only option for +energy in prophesies. But once Factions came out I replaced mine with 15k Kurzick.

I didn't even mind when the salvage kits all pulled runes out instead of the ecto.

I think it's very important to realize that almost all the people who are saying, "FoW used to be impressive to me, but now its not" are people who are reflecting on their own change in status, as much as any changes in the economic value of FoW armor.

When it gets to the point where you can make millions in GW gold, where everybody that you play with and have been playing with for some time is in the same position, where you only play the very high-end areas, where there are still goals you haven't achieved (like the certain few titles that still seem lust-worthy), it's very easy to lose perspective. One really annoying thing about success is that once you get it, you tend to be surrounded by other successful people who take success for granted; then, more success is impressive and less is...not worth mentioning.

So yes, the people who haven't made their way that far - and there are plenty - are still likely to be very impressed, although I'm sure some will suspect that you ebayed it.

In a game that has been around for 2+ years, it's not that amazing anymore that people have enough money to get obsidian armor. Even if I was a completely new player coming into the game, realizing that the game is 2 years old would stop me from being impressed by someone's accumulation of wealth.

It's just like rank 3 was zomgwtfbbq awesome during E3 for Everyone, but now rank 3 is just hmm, congrats?

I'm just reading this topic & what I'm thinkinh is "what the hell". I mean fow is not expensive, ectos are 5k now, so the full set is like 650K max. Which is like u open a chest in hoh & got one lucky drop, or in pve u find a req9 elemental sword & yay u can buy fow, it's just a fancy armor, nothing special, just if u have money to buy it, why not? You dont need to be ebayer neather rich to buy it.

Ive never thought any better of anyone wearing FoW armor. Its of little significance IMO. I dont think any of the sets are the best looking options for their class (except Paragon) and their cost simply means the wearer put their resources into it and not somewhere else. I could have gotten FoW armor for my Necro but I think the Luxon 15K is SIGNIFICANTLY better looking than the necro FoW set and thus I have decided to go for Treasure Hunter, Drunkard, Wisdom and Skill Hunter titles instead of putting my money towards that. Just a matter of choice, if you are getting the armor because you want people to look up to you then you are wasting your time I think. If you think its a good goal or challenge and/or you think its great looking, then go for it and have fun.

I know a guildy who spent months farming for the fow set, I also know an ex-guildy who ebay his golds for the set. The former is a great player and still playing daily after 19+months, the later was also a great player and left the game 5 months ago. Now if someone who doesn't know them, see them in fow armor, what will that person think?

Well... I know that there are people out there owning 20 stacks of 250 ectos plus 3000k, but... having 650 k is enough for me to be considered rich. And there are not many drops now valued in 650k, either.

I think that after 2 years, many people has saved enough for FoW. I did it, btw. But a second set is a big efford again. Fow is only fancy armor, but if you are not an ebayer nor incredibly lucky, it's expensive, and NOT easy to get.

If you assign "respect" and "awe" to something in a computer game, you really need to re-evaluate why you play the game.

Honestly, I view FoW armor as just another skin. In many instances, FoW pieces mix very well with other armors, so I attempt to get those pieces. But assigning any sort of "pride" to those pieces...well, I might remember the process of getting it (which may make it have some sentimental value), but "beating your chest" because you've gotten it...that's another thing.

I never really notice what type armor someone has, I always figured it was preference not status.

Titles I notice but seeing as most can be bought or spoonfed now I only really respect Legendary Cartographer, Vanquisher or Guardian Titles. It used to be skill hunter that I respected the most, however with the introduction of Elite tomes that too can be bought now (sigh)

Think I may save up enough tomes to have a level 1 legendary skill hunter just for giggles

When I first saw the "prestigious" FOW armor, I chuckled. People farm 24/7 for months for THAT?!

I never viewed it as an "elite" armor since the materials for it are buyable by anyone in the game. If shards or ectos only dropped in HoH rarely or were given as prizes for top 10 GvG guilds after each ladder season, I'd appreciate it much, much more.

Now it just shows that they farm like crazy and are probably very boring persons.

Wait, Vabbian is cheaper than FoW right, it needs less of it's rare materials and costs 5K a piece.

Anyway, at the end of the day, you should only really get any 15K armor because you like it. I mean, why should you care about how many think you ebay, they're nobody to you.

I don't think I would ever get FoW, it looks ok, but after what it tooks to get my assassin's vabbian(which I love to bits), I don't think FoW would be worth the grind to me.

But, if you want FoW, get it, don't let anyone's opinion get in the way of what you want.

I don't see the logic behind armor "sets" anyways. They should have all been designed to be used mixed. The newer pieces are better in that respect. An armor combination (plus color) that looks good as a whole is much more of a show of skill IMHO.

My point was also that it would be nice to have armors and weapons that actually had some awe and respect to them. Something which you could own with pride.

But at the minute, we have nothing. Mainly due to the fact all things can be baught with enough money.

It would be cool if we armors and/or weapons you can only get after completing some huge task which takes skill and talent.

You can mix and match armor sets if you want to. Especially since making them statless! Most probably dont mix well together, but there is nothing stopping you!

The end of campain armors are the closest thing we have to that.

We have gold trimmed capes which you get by winning the GvG ladder. That's a huge task that takes skill and talent.

Well, I will never try for a set of Obsidian for my necro, because Obsidian necro has to be one of the worst designs in the game.

I don't care much for "status" armor, I go for what looks good. I thought Vabbian was the set that looked best on necro, so I got that. When inscriptions were made available for Proph/Fact, I got myself an AL15 bonelace to slap radiants on for my 55. I still think bonelace is one of the best looking designs in the game.

To me, it's about look and personal preference...

An example, I chose Kurzik 1.5K armor over the 15K armor for my female warrior because I think it looks better... I didn't have the 15K either, but if I wanted it I could get it...

I really couldn't care less what armor the other players in the game have... I like seeing guys with rare weaps tho, altho I don't think they leet or anything. They do get a "hey bud, nice sword" from me tho...

FoW armor held a place of respect? Must have missed that. My view on FoW is that it's generally ugly, so people who have it are the type that believe anything worth a lot of money looks good and lack an inherent sense of style. I checked out the FoW armors before I had a clue about how much they actually cost, and the only one I had any interest in was mesmer female FoW (which I did get).

Also, the first person I knew who got FoW armor ebayed it. That didn't exactly seem very impressive.

By now, anyone who spent some of their time farming and has played the game for a while should be able to afford it. Seeing someone in FoW isn't exactly an uncommon occurance anymore, and it hasn't been in a long time.

So don't get FoW armor expecting to get respect or status. Get it for yourself, either because you think it looks good or you think it's an accomplishment.

Get the armor because you like how it looks, not because of it's price tag. I hold the same principle for any weapons I buy, I'll only buy it if I like its look, and if the item happens to be on the high end I won't mind paying it. Personally, I thought war and monk fow looked the best, so I bought it, and price or "internet-cred" didn't affect my decision.