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[Jeronimo Jones]

I've never even thought of this enough to have a favorite but I think some of these are far from functional if the function is protection.

Edit: Though to be fair, there probably are a limited number of good examples because sex appeal.

 

[Mister Chippy]

didnt the greeks?



mass produced for the average infantryman or not, they had that motif going on.

Mainly ceremonial, due to the impracticality of the design in combat and the difficulty of production.

Like I said earlier, it might have happened, but it would never have been used in actual combat because it's so bloody impractical

 

[killatopak]

Not to go off-topic here, but since when is Sylvanas a DotA character?

EDIT: Nevermind, the image is now no longer Sylvanas.

She was the model used in the original DotA mod. Arthas was Omniknight, and Illidan was Terrorblade. Lots of WC3 and WoW heroes were used as models for the DotA ones.

 

[jon bones]

Man this thread just makes me dislike FFXIII even more. Happy to see that series end.


For the most part there are some great examples. In particular Samus, Dark Souls & whatever this is from:

 

[Parakeetman]

Absolutely love this!

Whoever designed that must think its cool to walk around in "ski boots" even those would be slightly more flexible considering that they actually have joints near the ankle section. Those how ever have no such visible joints and appear just to be a single solid piece. Which would make it quite hard to move around in without the flexibility allowing for proper movement at the ankle.

Man this thread just makes me dislike FFXIII even more. Happy to see that series end.


For the most part there are some great examples. In particular Samus, Dark Souls & whatever this is from:

Hildegard von Krone from the Soul Calibur series.

http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Hilde

 

[EBE]

Mainly ceremonial, due to the impracticality of the design in combat and the difficulty of production.

Like I said earlier, it might have happened, but it would never have been used in actual combat because it's so bloody impractical

yeah. i dont doubt it would present difficulties in combat. im just saying. even if it was purely ceremonial in nature in real life, heroines in games where that type of armor are used are usually not part of a large military group. any armor they wear might well be completely ceremonial in nature/designed by them for them. they want to add boobs let them add boobs. what that means for the games industry and the roles played by women in games is another discussion entirely and i dont want to hijack this thread for that

 

[angrygnat]

What the heck is that thing on Trinitys backside in Warframe?

 

[Alucrid]

The ninja thread got me thinking about how silly (and hell, downright dangerous) "sexy" female body armor is. What are your favorite bits of functional female body armor?

Bonus points for good examples from FFXIV because I want even more reasons to love that game.

.

 

[Kinsei]

Monster Hunter has quite a few really nice looking sets of functional female armor.

Rhenoplos (Female is on the right)

Duramboros

Volvidon (Female is on the right)

Plus many more.

 

[Exalted]

How is this practical? Look at the amount of skin being shown off. Does she really need her upper thighs exposed? Not to mention her arms?

.

Looks like something gladiators used in terms of body being exposed, or to some extend the greeks.

 

[Owlowiscious]

Every female character in every Disgaea game.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

Where's Chris from Suikoken III?

 

[Parakeetman]

Where's Chris from Suikoken III?

yaz

Not sure on it being exactly "functional" due to the obvious large size but thought Charlottes Armor in Samurai Showdown was great.

 

[Manu]

Also from FFXIV, Livia Sas Junius.

 

[jon bones]

Whoever designed that must think its cool to walk around in "ski boots" even those would be slightly more flexible considering that they actually have joints near the ankle section. Those how ever have no such visible joints and appear just to be a single solid piece. Which would make it quite hard to move around in without the flexibility allowing for proper movement at the ankle.

Hildegard von Krone from the Soul Calibur series.

http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Hilde

Ah, thanks. Never played much SC.

I disagree with that first part though, everyone knows heels make your butt look better / increases your magic resistance...

Also from FFXIV, Livia Sas Junius.

.

nice

 

[2+2=5]

My beloved Wang Yi loves real functional armors

 

[Terra_Ex]

Where's Chris from Suikoken III?

Should have been the first post.

 

[Mister Chippy]

yeah. i dont doubt it would present difficulties in combat. im just saying. even if it was purely ceremonial in nature in real life, heroines in games where that type of armor are used are usually not part of a large military group. any armor they wear might well be completely ceremonial in nature/designed by them for them. they want to add boobs let them add boobs. what that means for the games industry and the roles played by women in games is another discussion entirely and i dont want to hijack this thread for that

Well, firstly boob protrusions would likely kill you due to redirecting attacks to one of the most vulnerable points on the whole chestplate, so seeing them in games makes me cringe. Secondly, someone who would wear armor would own a usable set before they purchased a purely decorative set. In fact almost all the decorative sets of armor produced for European nobility were also completely functional, if occasionally a bit gaudy. Japanese armor was the same for men or women. The Norse didn't commonly wear metal chestplates, preferring to use leather armor (makes sense when you consider that they spent much of their time aboard boats). Honestly the only group I can think of who would actually have molded breasts for female armor are the Greeks/Romans, and I can't find anything on that right now.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Edit: oh yeah Chris Lightfellow, my favourite example other than Agrias. Love her armour.

This was so dope in VC2.

Absolutely terrible protection-wise. Boob plate, major areas exposed. Enough metal to slow her down, but no actual protection. Kind of like Lightning's ridiculous outfit, as Comfort Jones said.

I'm pretty sure having the armor conform to the breasts would be more of a flaw in the design than it's worth.

Of course. Boob-plate is a major pet peeve of mine. Can't stand it anymore. I can't unsee it and it's everywhere.

While its just a single small example dragons dogma had some pretty cool functional looking female armor too. Considering the weapon Mercedes used it makes sense that she has lighter armor like this in order to keep herself agile.

Mercedes has major boob plate going on, it would look pretty good if not for that. Also Dragon's Dogma is not such a good example. Compare the "silver breastplate" piece for males vs females (keep in mind it's the same armour, it actually changes appearance depending on the sex of the character you equip it on!):

Dragon's Dogma has some good armour and some bad ones, but even the "better" armours take on the form of the breasts if you have a busty female avatar. It's a bit annoying, though it's not as bad as Kingdoms of Amalur, where just about every single chest piece I found had big circular designs around the breasts. Ugh.


Let's take a look at kendo armours:

The person on the left is male, the one on the right is female. Their armours? Same. Fucking. Thing. It's not difficult!

 

[Morrigan Stark]

My beloved Wang Yi loves real functional armors

Are you fucking kidding me?

 

[Chuckpebble]

Nothing beats this. Such a great design.

Love that, hated that it was at the end of the game.

Here's my favorite from MonHun:

 

[Shinta]

Not at all practical, but it sure is pretty.

Look at Lightning compared to SCIV. The only real difference is that one is wearing leather pants underneath the armor. The actual armored parts aren't really that different in the end.

 

[2+2=5]

Are you fucking kidding me?

Just saying

 

[killatopak]

Absolutely terrible protection-wise. Boob plate, major areas exposed. Enough metal to slow her down, but no actual protection. Kind of like Lightning's ridiculous outfit, as Comfort Jones said.

Sorry to burst your bubble but who needs armors when you're frickin

Spoiler

Silmeria, Lenneth and Hrist at the same time?

/s

I know that her armor isn't functional. Just added that in because she's one of my favorites.

On my first two pics, I think their armors are functional enough. Traxex may be a bit special though.

 

[jabuseika]

surprised no one posted warframe yet, they have some interesting designs..

 

[CrackPebbles]

Yeah, Hilde is rad.

 

[Parakeetman]

Look at Lightning compared to SCIV. The only real difference is that one is wearing leather pants underneath the armor. The actual armored parts aren't really that different in the end.

No the difference is one person actually apparently studied real armor design and functionality. The other is just the usual Nomura style over any real substance wank.

 

[Blackthorn]

Ah, was just about to post this one. Loved Titania.

Would post Aveline but it's not exactly armour, so here's a female recruit from Revelations. The armour gets more bulky as they level up, plus the mask they can wear is pretty cool. Can't find a screenshot of it though.

 

[Oppo]

.

 

[Sobriquet]

Also Dragon's Dogma is not such a good example. Compare the "silver breastplate" piece for males vs females (keep in mind it's the same armour, it actually changes appearance depending on the sex of the character you equip it on!):

Oh wow.

 

[EBE]

Well, firstly boob protrusions would likely kill you due to redirecting attacks to one of the most vulnerable points on the whole chestplate, so seeing them in games makes me cringe. Secondly, someone who would wear armor would own a usable set before they purchased a purely decorative set. In fact almost all the decorative sets of armor produced for European nobility were also completely functional, if occasionally a bit gaudy. Japanese armor was the same for men or women. The Norse didn't commonly wear metal chestplates, preferring to use leather armor (makes sense when you consider that they spent much of their time aboard boats). Honestly the only group I can think of who would actually have molded breasts for female armor are the Greeks/Romans, and I can't find anything on that right now.

thats another more annoying thing about armors in games: they rarely ever reflect the purposes they were designed/the peoples who created them. shields are especially guilty of this. "it wasnt designed for that". "thats not how youd use it." if i see one more buckler...

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I know that here armor isn't functional. Just added that in because she's one of my favorites.

The armour in my avatar looks great but it's not exactly "functional" so I don't post it here because I read and respect the OP.

Just saying

She has a bit of exposed skin but it's minimal and could work for mobility reasons, it's certainly not drawn that way to be sexy, it looks plain (though it'd be more practical if the metal were on her chest and the leather on her arms instead of the reverse, that's true enough). Still I don't see the giant cleavage of your examples, and the exposed thighs are absolutely ridiculous. There is zero functionality in your waifu example and you know it.

surprised no one posted warframe yet, they have some interesting designs..

Another joke post? Sigh.

 

[Mister Chippy]

thats another more annoying thing about armors in games: they rarely ever reflect the purposes they were designed/the peoples who created them. shields are especially guilty of this. "it wasnt designed for that". "thats not how youd use it." if i see one more buckler...

The idea that "Shield" is one big catch all category where everything is the same just saddens me.

 

[Oppo]

My beloved Wang Yi loves real functional armors

what.

the femoral artery is THE artery to aim for after the jugular. that armour is not functional

edit - I want to like the Warframe stuff but too much of it looks like a weird R-type tumour

 

[Morrigan Stark]

A Soul Calibur female character who is fully armoured? What is this sorcery? Must be a bug.

 

[mantidor]

I've seen some ladies that would change your mind.

how?

And even then, they'd probably would fight better without the heels. Heels are the opposite of functional.

 

[jon bones]

The idea that "Shield" is one big catch all category where everything is the same just saddens me.

i'll be honest - i don't know much about shields. can you expand on that?

 

[thelatestmodel]

I've always liked Lenneth's in Valkyrie Profile:

The best answer, such a wonderful picture.

 

[2+2=5]

She has a bit of exposed skin but it's minimal and could work for mobility reasons, it's certainly not drawn that way to be sexy, it looks plain (though it'd be more practical if the metal were on her chest and the leather on her arms instead of the reverse, that's true enough). Still I don't see the giant cleavage of your examples, and the exposed thighs are absolutely ridiculous. There is zero functionality in your waifu example and you know it.

what.

the femoral artery is THE artery to aim for after the jugular. that armour is not functional

1)not all armors are full body armors, look at this greek armor for example

2)obviously Wang Yi is sexualized but overall the armor is good imo
3)this

is not sexy but is completely stupid imo.

 

[semiconscious]

/thread ...

 

[Jimnymebob]

Can't find a decent image, but Elysium's (from SCV) 2 player outfit was pretty great armoured wise aside from the skirt that she had.
For such a ridiculous 1 player outfit, her 2 player outfit was extremely practical.

 

[TalonJH]

how?

And even then, they'd probably would fight better without the heels. Heels are the opposite of functional.

Lol, It was a joke. ever heard how you know a woman is a prostitute if she can run or fight in heels.

 

[Mister Chippy]

i'll be honest - i don't know much about shields. can you expand on that?

Different shields had entirely different purposes.

First off, the buckler (that small round shield worn on the arm) was designed primarily to deflect attacks, preferably from a sword. It's basically completely useless outside of a 1v1 swordfight.

Some wooden shields, such as the ones vikings used, were useful because they could actually take a sword/spear/axe directly and catch it, instead of just deflecting them.

Some other kinds of shields were designed almost purely to block arrows.

The kite shield was actually pretty stupid to walk around with, seeing as it was designed to cover someone on horseback by providing protection to the leg without getting in the way.

A heater shield, such as the Hylian shield, while used in military combat by infantry, was also primarily a tool for mounted combat, more specifically jousting.

TL;DR - different shields were designed to do different things. Also wearing full plate and carrying a shield is stupid if you're not on horseback.

 

[Tygamr]

Ok, obviously some people's ideas of functional armor and my idea are way different. When I think functional, I think armor that could actually protect someone in combat, and thus would be covering the vast majority of the body. Not stuff that leaves exposed arms, thighs and necks.

You'd better get a time machine and tell the Greeks and Romans that their armor was pretty crappy then. Practically all of their armor only had partial coverage of the body. Lightning's armor has a similar amount of coverage. The Greeks and the Romans were both known for their military prowess (Romans more so, for obvious reasons), so their armor obviously worked well enough, despite leaving thighs, entire arms/upper arms, and necks exposed.

 

[Mister Chippy]

You'd better get a time machine and tell the Greeks and Romans that their armor was pretty crappy then. Practically all of their armor only had partial coverage of the body. Lightning's armor has a similar amount of coverage. The Greeks and the Romans were both known for their military prowess (Romans more so, for obvious reasons), so their armor obviously worked well enough, despite leaving thighs, entire arms/upper arms, and necks exposed.

Shields. They used shields. Fucking huge shields. If they didn't their armor wouldn't have done them much good.

 

[SeventhSon]

Sieglinde, Dark Souls

 

[Astral/H3X]

Different shields had entirely different purposes.

First off, the buckler (that small round shield worn on the arm) was designed primarily to deflect attacks, preferably from a sword. It's basically completely useless outside of a 1v1 swordfight.

Some wooden shields, such as the ones vikings used, were useful because they could actually take a sword/spear/axe directly and catch it, instead of just deflecting them.

Some other kinds of shields were designed almost purely to block arrows.

The kite shield was actually pretty stupid to walk around with, seeing as it was designed to cover someone on horseback by providing protection to the leg without getting in the way.

A heater shield, such as the Hylian shield, while used in military combat by infantry, was also primarily a tool for mounted combat, more specifically jousting.

TL;DR - different shields were designed to do different things. Also wearing full plate and carrying a shield is stupid if you're not on horseback.

I bet you love Arma.

The unfortunate thing is that games are not designed exclusively to mirror reality -- doing so essentially takes the game part of it away. Character designs are not made perfectly to life or death situations; otherwise all characters would look boring and uninspired, pretty hard to attract sales with boring looking characters. "Functional" to most people means something that isn't immediately just completely retarded, ie, the chainmail bikini.

 

[Steel]

Man this thread just makes me dislike FFXIII even more. Happy to see that series end.


For the most part there are some great examples. In particular Samus, Dark Souls & whatever this is from:

Hilde from Soul Calibur. It's funny because she clashes pretty heavily with all the other female characters. Hell, most of the male characters are barely armored either.

I'd say Halo reach and 4. The female armors look practically the same as the male ones.

 

[Daedardus]

How can armor ever be functional for a woman if they can't comfortably pee without having to take it all off.

 

[Kinyou]

thats another more annoying thing about armors in games: they rarely ever reflect the purposes they were designed/the peoples who created them. shields are especially guilty of this. "it wasnt designed for that". "thats not how youd use it." if i see one more buckler...

You also basically never see an armor deflect a blow. They just add more health or lower the amount of health lost. It will probably always be one of those things where game design and reality just clash