This mod changes and switches the appearances of some of the armors, using only the game's own assets, for a more aesthetically pleasing and rewarding armor progression system.


Since I am no longer working on this mod, I'm releasing my personal files and notes I used in the making of it. That way anyone can take them and make whatever modifications or fixes they want to. I just kindly ask that you credit me in your project if any of these files end up being useful to you. Thanks!


This mod currently modifies only light armors. Also it does not change any armor that's human, dwarven or qunari restricted.

I only directly changed the appearance of craft-able armors, which I feel is the most relevant type and where the armor progression is felt more impactfully. It may affect the appearance of some of the looted armor, that's not intentional but more of a positive side effect.

All "Superior" type armors will look exactly the same as their "Sturdy" counterpart. That's a limitation present in the original game as well. Changing that goes beyond the scope of this mod, as that kind of modification starts going into game design territory, not just simple visual swaps anymore. Also I'm not completely sure I would be able to do it even if I wanted to.





In the process to make the armor progression more aesthetically pleasing I had to get rid of some of the armor models, which limited my pool of available visual options to swap around. To make up for that, however, I also edited in some medium armor arms and legs appearances for some of the armor, where it felt appropriate. So, the price for better looking armors is more subtle visual differences between armor types, with the only differences sometimes being different arms, gloves, boots, legs, shoulders or some other minor detail, which I don't find to be a bad thing at all.

For consistency on how each piece looks I also modified which arms or legs upgrade go into them, so the medium armor looking arms and legs will receive medium armor type upgrades and light armor looking arms and legs will still receive light armor type upgrades.

That means arms and legs armor types are consistent with the upgrades, meaning if a light armor is using a medium arm appearance, the arm upgrades will have to be medium. The legs are also consistent that way. It turned out really nice!


I made this mod because didn't like the way some of the armor in the game looked, especially some of the upgraded armor compared their inferior versions. I wasn't pleased with the game's armor visual progression, so I rearranged some of the armor appearances. I haven't touched any stats at all. So now, basically, the better-looking armor are also the most powerful!

Goes without saying but that's based on my own personal opinion and taste, yours might differ. I'm sure there's a lot of people who have no problems with those Coat type armor chests.



How to install:

• Download the file.
• Unzip the file.
• Load the Better_Appearances_for_Armor_Progression.fbmod file into Frosty Mod Manager.
• Apply the mod.
• Have fun!
  

List of modified armors:
Light Armor

• All craft-able Apprentice armors.
• All craft-able Enchanter armors.
• All craft-able Battlemage armors, including Tier 4.
• Keeper Robe.
• Griffon Robe.
• Superb Light Armor of the Dragon.
  

Changelog:
v1.0

• Initial release
  

v1.1

• Rearranged some looks around for more consistency with the original armor naming conventions and also to help promote some more visual variety inside each Tier.
• The armors with shoulders have been moved from Battlemage Tier to Enchanter Tier only. The shoulders cause some clipping with some arms upgrades, so a compromise is unavoidable and it's more important that the higher tier armors look better with upgrades than it's lower tier.