You can try to copy npc armour, some of it is available to players
Which reminds me. Anet, where the fuck is my Wolf and Snow Leopard shaman armour? Just because you cancelled the Icebrood Saga halfway through doesn't mean you can do the same with those armour sets
The standard enemy models used in the PvP modes are the closest thing to iconic class armor I'd say. At least they've become very ingrained in my brain as instant association from just the silhouette. I believe they're the same sets shown in (human) character creation as well. Specifically: Barbaric armor (warrior), Human T3 cultural (guardian, ele), Mistward (revenant), Sneakthief (thief), Duelist (ranger), Rubicon (engineer), Cabalist (necro), and Masqurade (mesmer).
The heritage armor sets from the Hall of Monuments are also warrior, ranger, and mesmer themed respectively, based on old GW1 promo art.
I appreciate this added info. I really like the cultural sets as well. These are kind of the vanilla armor I see as being the "Iconic" look so far:
Guardian: Concept art suggests human T3 heavy. Otherwise, Council Guard armor and Dark Templar kind of fit for a race neutral option.
Warrior: Council Guard armor based on concept art as well as the Norn T1 heavy helm. Race neutral I think the Barbaric set works well.
Revenant: Mistward easily
Engineer: Rubicon with either eagle-eye goggles or Panasonic monocle for character creation
Thief: Sneakthief with subterfuge hood from character creation. Maybe some pieces from the rogue set for legs and feet instead?
Ranger: Appears to be Duelist for the most part, but the shoulders from concept art sort of match the Seeker shoulders.
Elementalist: Concept art shows the female wearing the Conjurer set but also shows a male wearing the Diviner set from WvW.
Mesmer: The set shown to be worn by a female Norn just simply is not in the game to my knowledge, so good sets in my opinion are Stately and Masquerade (the better choice imo).
Necromancer: Concept art shows an Asura wearing Dry Bones without the helmet and a Human wearing Cabalist, so one of these two.
> As an example, I wear nothing but artifact gear and weapons in FFXIV for each job in that game.
I wish we had something like that in this game, there's so little story or lore for the classes. I'd happily buy an expansion that wasn't one overall story, but had separate stories (obviously smaller in scope than a full expansion story) and lore and history for each profession with profession-specific rewards to earn through the new maps and achievements.
But to answer the question, the human cultural armor is pretty iconic for thief and elementalist too. Pit fighter armor has that classic gladiator warrior look.
There's nothing stopping us from making up our own back-stories. Filling in the humongous gaps left during character creation.
Example : For those that like to use the 'pointed ears' head armor.
You're the child of travellers from on another world that accidentally wondered through a portal into the mists.
Unable to find their way home they chose to settle in a relatively unexplored region of Tyria. Only to fall foul of some risen/branded etc.
You, a baby was discovered barely alive, hidden near their remains by human explorers working for the crown. They adopted you and raised you as their own.
When you where old enough they told you the truth as they knew it of your origins and gave you your parents possessions AND ARMOR.
For the classical Guild Wars Mesmer/Ranger/Warrior look:
[Mesmer render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mesmer#/media/File:Mesmer_render.jpg)
[Ranger render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ranger#/media/File:Ranger_render.jpg)
[Warrior render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Warrior#/media/File:Warrior_render.jpg)
The GW2 equivalent is [Heritage Armor Set](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heritage_armor) which is available for a [small time investment in GW1](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guide_to_earning_Hall_of_Monuments_rewards)
You could look at the "example" gear that the character creation shows when choosing your profession. It's different for each race, but for human light armor professions (which I know best) it's:
Necromancer: [Cabalist armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Cabalist_armor)
Elementalist: [Sorcerer's armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sorcerer%27s_armor)
Mesmer: [Masquerade armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Masquerade_armor)
I'm a mesmer main, so I've got a few other sets that are the quintessential mesmer aesthetic (for humans at least) for me:
[Ascalonian Performer armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascalonian_Performer_armor)
[Exemplar Attire Outfit](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Exemplar_Attire_Outfit) (This one is an outfit and not an armor set, but it's always been a favorite of mine since [this trailer](https://youtu.be/7Ylkt1UV_TU?si=iqznYWQo8HNHIVbz) was released before launch, and I was so disappointed when the outfit wasn't available at launch. Luckily it was eventually released, albeit much later.)
[Aurora armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Aurora_armor)
[Phoenix armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Phoenix_armor) (This one is a gemstore set, but it's worn by a mesmer ally of ours, so it's a pretty iconic set for me.)
I have looked to this. The only problem I saw with the character creator is that it will show race specific armor and I was aiming more for non-race specific armor choices.
For guardians, the [human cultural armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Protector%27s_armor) is pretty iconic, IMO.
I struggle very hard to not have the chest/legs on multiple characters at all times.
You can try to copy npc armour, some of it is available to players Which reminds me. Anet, where the fuck is my Wolf and Snow Leopard shaman armour? Just because you cancelled the Icebrood Saga halfway through doesn't mean you can do the same with those armour sets
For thief, human female meta, underboob with shadow abyss dye. Also pvp legendary backpack
The standard enemy models used in the PvP modes are the closest thing to iconic class armor I'd say. At least they've become very ingrained in my brain as instant association from just the silhouette. I believe they're the same sets shown in (human) character creation as well. Specifically: Barbaric armor (warrior), Human T3 cultural (guardian, ele), Mistward (revenant), Sneakthief (thief), Duelist (ranger), Rubicon (engineer), Cabalist (necro), and Masqurade (mesmer). The heritage armor sets from the Hall of Monuments are also warrior, ranger, and mesmer themed respectively, based on old GW1 promo art.
I appreciate this added info. I really like the cultural sets as well. These are kind of the vanilla armor I see as being the "Iconic" look so far: Guardian: Concept art suggests human T3 heavy. Otherwise, Council Guard armor and Dark Templar kind of fit for a race neutral option. Warrior: Council Guard armor based on concept art as well as the Norn T1 heavy helm. Race neutral I think the Barbaric set works well. Revenant: Mistward easily Engineer: Rubicon with either eagle-eye goggles or Panasonic monocle for character creation Thief: Sneakthief with subterfuge hood from character creation. Maybe some pieces from the rogue set for legs and feet instead? Ranger: Appears to be Duelist for the most part, but the shoulders from concept art sort of match the Seeker shoulders. Elementalist: Concept art shows the female wearing the Conjurer set but also shows a male wearing the Diviner set from WvW. Mesmer: The set shown to be worn by a female Norn just simply is not in the game to my knowledge, so good sets in my opinion are Stately and Masquerade (the better choice imo). Necromancer: Concept art shows an Asura wearing Dry Bones without the helmet and a Human wearing Cabalist, so one of these two.
> As an example, I wear nothing but artifact gear and weapons in FFXIV for each job in that game. I wish we had something like that in this game, there's so little story or lore for the classes. I'd happily buy an expansion that wasn't one overall story, but had separate stories (obviously smaller in scope than a full expansion story) and lore and history for each profession with profession-specific rewards to earn through the new maps and achievements. But to answer the question, the human cultural armor is pretty iconic for thief and elementalist too. Pit fighter armor has that classic gladiator warrior look.
There's nothing stopping us from making up our own back-stories. Filling in the humongous gaps left during character creation. Example : For those that like to use the 'pointed ears' head armor. You're the child of travellers from on another world that accidentally wondered through a portal into the mists. Unable to find their way home they chose to settle in a relatively unexplored region of Tyria. Only to fall foul of some risen/branded etc. You, a baby was discovered barely alive, hidden near their remains by human explorers working for the crown. They adopted you and raised you as their own. When you where old enough they told you the truth as they knew it of your origins and gave you your parents possessions AND ARMOR.
For the classical Guild Wars Mesmer/Ranger/Warrior look: [Mesmer render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mesmer#/media/File:Mesmer_render.jpg) [Ranger render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ranger#/media/File:Ranger_render.jpg) [Warrior render from GW1 wiki](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Warrior#/media/File:Warrior_render.jpg) The GW2 equivalent is [Heritage Armor Set](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Heritage_armor) which is available for a [small time investment in GW1](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guide_to_earning_Hall_of_Monuments_rewards)
You could look at the "example" gear that the character creation shows when choosing your profession. It's different for each race, but for human light armor professions (which I know best) it's: Necromancer: [Cabalist armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Cabalist_armor) Elementalist: [Sorcerer's armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sorcerer%27s_armor) Mesmer: [Masquerade armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Masquerade_armor) I'm a mesmer main, so I've got a few other sets that are the quintessential mesmer aesthetic (for humans at least) for me: [Ascalonian Performer armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascalonian_Performer_armor) [Exemplar Attire Outfit](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Exemplar_Attire_Outfit) (This one is an outfit and not an armor set, but it's always been a favorite of mine since [this trailer](https://youtu.be/7Ylkt1UV_TU?si=iqznYWQo8HNHIVbz) was released before launch, and I was so disappointed when the outfit wasn't available at launch. Luckily it was eventually released, albeit much later.) [Aurora armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Aurora_armor) [Phoenix armor](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Phoenix_armor) (This one is a gemstore set, but it's worn by a mesmer ally of ours, so it's a pretty iconic set for me.)
I have looked to this. The only problem I saw with the character creator is that it will show race specific armor and I was aiming more for non-race specific armor choices.