Extreme Makeover: Armor Edition!

Ok, ok, so today's title is super corny, but deal with it. Gosh, now I feel like even more of a nerd than I did when I realized I was designing clothes for my Perfect World character.

I'm sorry, but the people who designed the women's armor in Perfect World were definitely men. Bra, miniskirt, and stiletto-heeled hooker boots are not sensible battle attire.

The boots probably bother me more than anything else, mostly because I hate running in heels so much that I project my own pain onto the sprites.

My alternate character, Siloam, can probably get away with the heels. Since she's a cleric, she spends most of her time hovering benevolently over the field of battle dispensing healing spells. Meirizhu, however, is an archer, and archers do a lot of running away from werewolves.

So I took the heels off the boots, covered up most of the vital organs with metal or leather, and gave her pants. I won't try to fool myself or anyone else into thinking that this new armor is 100% practical, but I think it makes a little more sense.

The color scheme is still up for debate. I have six prepared at the moment. You can find all six here if you're interested. The one shown here is my favorite, but I'd like to hear any suggestions.

Siloam's next. She's going to get a pretty new robe.

And, speaking of marriage...

I have a sneaking suspicion that two members of my faction are thinking about tying the knot. They should. They work really well together.

This prospect makes me want to go "SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!" with cute girlish delight.

Also make dirty jokes about "grinding." Faction chat was a mess of it last night, and I found it highly entertaining.

Here's another weird thing about marriage in PWI: many players have more than one character. So you could conceivably have two characters... or more... married to different people. I don't think my brain could handle doing that.

Mawwiage.

I realized today that I have neglected to mention one of the weirdest things about Perfect World:

You can get married.

Yes, you can pay some gold for a wedding pack and visit an NPC called the Eldest Matchmaker and get hitched to your sweetie... or whoever answers your world chat message proclaiming "RICH SEXXY BM LOOKIN 4 HOT WIFE W/ BIG BOOBS!! PM ME!!!!1"

Benefits of being married are, as I see it, threefold:

• As a wedding gift, you receive a bunch of items. That do something. I'm not sure what.
• When you grind with your spouse (oh, the puns!), you get extra experience from the enemies you kill.
• From that day forward a sign floats above your head, over your name and your faction's name: "So-and-so's Wife/Husband." Because you can never have too much text hat.
  

Then, of course, there's also the system announcement that proclaims to the entire server that the two of you are now husband and wife. This is usually followed by a cascade of world chat and private messages, from other players you may or may not know, congratulating you.

It seems there are two main attitudes toward marriage.

Some people take it really really seriously. They tell each other in world chat--which, by the way, costs money--how they will love them forever. This is kind of creepy... but I have to fight the urge to also call it sweet.

Then there are other people who forget they're married, cuddling and smooching other players. Adultery, I say! Disgusting! This can cause some drama in world chat... some calling of names, some character assassination, etc.

Luckily, it is possible to divorce your cheating spouse! Yes, for 2 million coins you can annul a marriage.

I will never forget this message I saw in world chat one day: "WANT TO SELL MY CLOTHES SO I CAN DIVORCE WIFE. PM ME."

Then, later, "WIFE FOR SALE, 2 MIL."

I have mixed feelings about the whole idea of marriage in a game.

On the one hand, it's just silly. I mean, it's a game. Let's not be obsessive here. There's something a little creepy about "marrying" someone you've probably never met in person--even if it's not a true marriage, it's a facsimile thereof.

On the other hand... I'm tempted. Marriage is just cute. Every time I see characters holding each other, some part of me goes, "Awwwwwwww!" And it would be nice to have someone to rely on for help killing things and questing.

I would never consider marrying some random player. It would have to be someone I had spent a lot of time talking to, someone near my level, someone I already did a lot of grinding (*snicker, snicker*) with. And I don't have anybody like that right now.

Kind of like in real life.

Funny how that works.

Trying so hard not to be shallow

I will not buy a new dress. I will not buy a new dress. I will be content with my armor. I will be content.

This is what I keep telling myself. Up until this point, it hasn't been hard. But the new Plumed Embrace outfit would look so cute on Meirizhu!

The problem is that I'm poor. There are two kinds of currency in PWI: coins, which you earn for stuff you do in the game, and gold pieces, which you pay for with a credit card. If you want to buy gold pieces, the minimum you have to shell out is $50. That would get me enough gold to buy tons of Plumed Embrace outfits. There's no way I'm dishing out that much actual money, though.

There is an alternative. I'm sitting on a small pile of mirage celestones, semi-precious little rocks you can use to upgrade equipment. It really doesn't make sense to do that, though, until you're at a super-high level and keeping your weapons for a long time. So, do I keep stockpiling them until I'm level 60, or do I sell them and buy pretty clothes from another player?

I can't believe this is even an issue. I used to think it was so silly to dress up your character in clothes that don't help in combat.

But, like I told Thug, I have to make some concession to girliness.