History Main / NotActuallyCosmeticAward

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* ''VideoGame/BloodlineChampions'' has achievements that give Blood Coins, the main in-game resource, that can be later used to unlock characters. Grinding the easiest ones is usually recommended for new players.
* Kongregate's main feature is an API that allows you get achievements for pre-existing flash games. Achievements are regularly selected for challenges that, if completed, give you a card for Kongai, the site's iconic CCG.
** After they merged with [=GameStop=], this was intensified-- now a random achievement each day gives you points for the customer loyalty program.
* Both of the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games feature a selection of Achievements (and later Trophies) with immediate and potent effects, such as increased XP-gain, boosted powers, access to new abilities, or any number of other benefits.
* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', there are challenges a player can do which are usually skill or weapon-based(kill enemies X times with a particular weapon, use a certain item x times, etc.). When these challenges are completed, you'll actually get minor perks.
** And most of the UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} / UsefulNotes/XBox360 / Creator/{{Steam}} achievements are tied to either the above challenges or major quests, so when you hear that [[CosmeticAward bleep,]] you're probably getting a big pile of ExperiencePoints, too.
* In ''VideoGame/{{World of Warcraft}}'', the achievement-gained mounts can qualify as this in previous versions of the game, as it means you don't have to buy a fast mount if you haven't already, and the +310% speed ones mean you don't have to buy the last flying rank. Now however all mounts move at whatever speed you have learned and flying mounts do not actually fly if you haven't learned the skill. The guild achievements also provide numerous perks, such as +EXP items to give to alts, or groupwide buff items. None of them are necessary to maximize your abilities in combat, but they can save time on many types of grinding.
* When ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' first released alternative weapons, the only way to get them was to complete various achievements for the class in question to unlock them (you can still do so, but since the items now {{Randomly Drop|s}} and you can now trade, [[ItemCrafting craft]], or [[BribingYourWayToVictory just buy]] them it's somewhat redundant).
** Some of the hats ''Team Fortress 2'' is known for used to be part of sets with other items, which when completed gave you stat boosts. The trope was subverted when these boosts were removed and the hats were {{nerf}}ed to be truly cosmetic-only.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Freespace}}'' completing secondary objectives and such not only awards you with points and medals, but also sometimes gives bonus ships.
** Completing secondary and bonus objectives sometimes give some sort of advantage in the following mission (for example, the ship you are ordered to escort might start with less damage).
* A very subtle example is found in the ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' multiplayer mode. As you ramp up your scores, you will soon receive a RankUp or ten. While your fancy online rank insignia are pretty much useless in ''hard'' gameplay terms, they give you an unexpected but significant "soft" bonus in the extremely teamwork-oriented online mode of the game: on public servers, random players are much more inclined to follow a [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] or [[FourStarBadass General]]'s orders, giving your side a higher degree of coordination and team play which translates into a significant advantage over a largely disorganized opponent.
** ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has alternate champion models that can be unlocked for real cash. While having no impact on gameplay (except for a certain Annie skin that makes the "[[OhCrap stun ready]]" particle [[FakeDifficulty hard to see]]), when you are on a team with zero skinned characters and the enemy team has three or four, you pretty much assume you will lose.
*** There's also the −1 damage to Leona's Sunlight spell that all skins with sunglasses provide.
* ''VideoGame/GotchaForce'' features palette swaps of various [[PlayerMooks borgs.]] [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority Being toys and all,]] different colors give different stats.Gold and Silver borgs in particular.

* Collecting Marks Of The Gods in ''VideoGame/{{Outland}}'' mainly unlocks some concept art for the game, but they also give you the ability to cling to walls longer, mark all treasure urns on your map and double the strenght of your melee attacks if you collect enough of them.
* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' has collectible stickers, which need to be pasted on cardboard objects in the levels to activate events. Although mostly it's for ''more'' cosmetics, as player made levels often don't use stickers to activate shortcuts often, and many of the good ones don't include stickers at all, but developer made levels are the only ones that have new cosmetics.
* In ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'', the final cheat, Ninja Ratchet, not only gives Ratchet a neat ninja costume but also increases his power and speed a bit.

* Many {{MMORPG}}s nowadays attach small stat bonuses to their Titles. Developers occasionally get carried away.
** A special mention goes out to ''VideoGame/{{Vindictus}}'', whose titles grant stat boosts whether they have been equipped or not. It might be worth going around and kicking 100 gnolls to death, if it will give you +1 STR.
* Each ship in ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' has a set of three achievements unique to it. Completing two of these three achievements unlocks a new layout of that ship, which usually feature new initial weapon loadouts, crew rosters, and floor plans.
* Some of the badges in ''VideoGame/{{Pirate 101}}'' serve as flags that signal for a reward ranging from a companion to become available in the crown shop, a housing item, or a pet.
* Some achievements in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' award small amounts of Cartel Coins (currency otherwise bought only with real money). Maxing companion affection or reaching level 50 with a human character awards small stat bonuses to all characters.
* The achievement system in ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' initially comes off as being a mere BraggingRightsReward. However, unlocking achievements[[note]]exception: Shadow Achievements[[/note]] also increases one's "Milk" percentage, and the Kitten upgrades (helpers, workers, and engineers) increase one's [=CpS=] based on the amount of Milk the player has. Additionally, there are a series of upgrades you can get, courtesy of the Bingo Center / Research Facility, and that is only available if you have the Elder achievement.

* VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG has the Quartz Charm, a piece of equipment that you get for beating the BonusBoss, Culex. It's description doesn't mention anything specific, other than it's apparently shiny. It also doesn't seem to give any stat boost when equipped to a character. However, what it ''does'' do is give you a strength and defense up boost when starting the battle, [[GuideDangIt even though it doesn't play the boosting animation when you do]], making it a very useful piece of equipment against enemies who can't debuff characters.
* Obtaining the Assassin Emblem in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' earns you the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed Assassin's Costume]], which unlike the other costumes in the game, automatically makes [=non-PMCs=] friendly toward you. [[DiskOneNuke It is well worth finding]].
* Earning any achievement in the XBLA port of ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' unlocks a special mode in the XBLA port of ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' (if you have it) that is the same game but with the scoring mechanics of ''Ikaruga''.

* While many characters in ''VideoGame/CrossyRoad'' are purely cosmetic, a few are not: many characters also change how the playing field looks, and characters such as VideoGame/PacMan and {{Music/Psy}} add new gameplay mechanics, which are often tracked separately.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ingress}}'' Medals used to simply be {{Cosmetic Award}}s, until the update that raised the level {{cap}} from 8 to 16. In order to level up past 8, you need to not only earn the required AP for the target level, but also earn ''x'' medals of one particular tier or higher and ''y'' medals of another.
* ''VideoGame/AntiIdleTheGame''[='=]s achievements each raise your Progress Bar reward multiplier additively by a slight amount.
* All of ''VideoGame/RealmGrinder''[='=]s Secret Trophies unlock an upgrade, whose usefullness ranges from rather weak to very useful. Regular Trophies themselves don't do anything, but how many you have unlocked influences several upgrades.

* A very subtle example is found in the ''WorldInConflict'' multiplayer mode. As you ramp up your scores, you will soon receive a RankUp or ten. While your fancy online rank insignia are pretty much useless in ''hard'' gameplay terms, they give you an unexpected but significant "soft" bonus in the extremely teamwork-oriented online mode of the game: on public servers, random players are much more inclined to follow a [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] or [[FourStarBadass General]]'s orders, giving your side a higher degree of coordination and team play which translates into a significant advantage over a largely disorganized opponent.

** And most of the PS3 / {{Xbox 360}} / Creator/{{Steam}} achievements are tied to either the above challenges or major quests, so when you hear that [[CosmeticAward bleep,]] you're probably getting a big pile of ExperiencePoints, too.

* The achievement system in ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' initially comes off as being a mere BraggingRightsReward. However, unlocking achievements[[note]]exception: Shadow Achievements[[/note]] also increases one's "Milk" percentage, and the Kitten upgrades (helpers, workers, and engineers) increase one's [=CpS=] based on the amount of Milk the player has.

* Earning any achievement in ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' unlocks a special mode in ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' (if you have it) that is the same game but with the scoring mechanics of ''Ikaruga''.

* Earning any achievement in ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' grants you access a special mode in ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' that is the same game but with the scoring mechanics of ''Ikaruga''.

* The achievements in ''VideoGame/AntiIdleTheGame'' provide a slight boost to your Progress Bar rewards.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldofWarships'', however, "Battle Hero" achievements aren't just cosmetic. Each achievement you can earn by performing the appropriate task in battle will also award you with a set of the appropriate signal flag(s), which you can then hoist onto your ship to provide specific bonuses for that ship for one round. Did you manage to stay afloat after sinking another ship via ramming? That "Die Hard" achievement just rewarded you with a flag that boosts the ramming damage you deal by 50% and reduces the ramming damage you take in return by 20%. Did you suffer a [[OneHitKill magazine detonation]]? Here's your "Detonation" achievement, and a flag that eliminates the possibility of that happening again for one match. Did your ship's secondary batteries land a killing shot on an enemy ship after having they have dealt at least 40% of that ship's HP in damage? Here's a "Close-Quarters Expert" achievement, and a flag that boosts the range of your secondaries.

* Obtaining the Assassin Emblem in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots earns you the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed Assassin's Costume]], which unlike the other costumes in the game, automatically makes [=non-PMCs=] friendly toward you. [[DiskOneNuke It is well worth finding]].

** Battle Trophies in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'' appear to be for show, but acquiring enough of them unlocks various [[AndYourRewardIsClothes costume changes]] for the player characters, as well as the harder difficulty settings ([[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Universe and 4D]]).

* In ''VideoGame/WorldofWarships'', however, "Battle Hero" achievements aren't just cosmetic. Each achievement you can earn by performing the appropriate task in battle will also award you with a set of the appropriate signal flag(s), which you can then hoist onto your ship to provide specific bonuses for that ship for one round. Did you manage to stay afloat after sinking another ship via ramming? That "Die Hard" achievement just rewarded you with a flag that boosts the ramming damage you deal and halves the ramming damage you take in return. Did you suffer a [[OneHitKill magazine detonation]]? Here's your "Detonation" achievement, and a flag that eliminates the possibility of that happening again for one match. Scored a lot of damage with your ship's secondary batteries? Here's a "Close-Quarters Expert" achievement, and a flag that boosts the range of your secondaries.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldofWarships'', however, "Battle Hero" achievements aren't just cosmetic. Each achievement you can earn by performing the appropriate task in battle will also award you with a set of the appropriate signal flag(s), which you can then hoist onto your ship to provide specific bonuses for that ship for one round. Did you manage to stay afloat after sinking another ship via ramming? That "Die Hard" achievement just rewarded you with a flag that boosts your ramming damage and halves the ramming damage you take in return. Did you suffer a [[OneHitKill magazine detonation]]? Here's your "Detonation" achievement, and a flag that eliminates the possibility of that happening again for one match. Scored a lot of damage with your ship's secondary batteries? Here's a "Close-Quarters Expert" achievement, and a flag that boosts the range of your secondaries.

Usually such achievements do not influence gameplay immediately and per se, but instead [[UnlockableContent unlock content]] for later use.

* In ''VideoGame/{{World of Warcraft}}'', the achievement-gained mounts can qualify as this, as it means you don't have to buy a fast mount if you haven't already, and the +310% speed ones mean you don't have to buy the last flying rank. The guild achievements also provide numerous perks, such as +EXP items to give to alts, or groupwide buff items. None of them are necessary to maximize your abilities in combat, but they can save time on many types of grinding.

It looks like a CosmeticAward, it's awarded like a CosmeticAward, it gives points like a CosmeticAward, except it is not cosmetic, it actually does something to affect gameplay.

* ''BloodlineChampions'' has achievements that give Blood Coins, the main in-game resource, that can be later used to unlock characters. Grinding the easiest ones is usually recommended for new players.

** After they merged with GameStop, this was intensified-- now a random achievement each day gives you points for the customer loyalty program.
* Both of the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games features a selection of Achievements (and later Trophies) with immediate and potent effects, such as increased XP-gain, boosted powers, access to new abilities, or any number of other benefits.

** And most of the PS3 / 360 / {{Steam}} achievements are tied to either the above challenges or major quests, so when you hear that [[CosmeticAward bleep,]] you're probably getting a big pile of ExperiencePoints, too.
* ''VideoGame/{{World of Warcraft}}'''s achievement-gained mounts can qualify as this, as it means you don't have to buy a fast mount if you haven't already, and the +310% speed ones mean you don't have to buy the last flying rank. The guild achievements also provide numerous perks, such as +EXP items to give to alts, or groupwide buff items. None of them are necessary to maximize your abilities in combat, but they can save time on many types of grinding.

** Some of the hats ''Team Fortress 2'' is known for used to be part of sets with other items, which when completed gave you stat boosts. The trope was subverted when these boosts were removed and the hats were [[{{Nerf}} nerfed]] to be truly cosmetic-only.

*** There's also the -1 damage to Leona's Sunlight spell that all skins with sunglasses provide.

* LittleBigPlanet has collectible stickers, which need to be pasted on cardboard object in the levels to activate events. Although mostly it's for MORE cosmetics, as player made levels often don't use stickers to activate shortcuts often, and many of the good ones don't include stickers at all, but developer made levels are the only ones that have new cosmetics.
* In ''Videogame/IMissTheSunrise'', merits will grant slight bonuses to the [[RelationshipValues Personal and Battle Trust]] ([[GameplayAndStoryIntegration which affect damage and accuracy]]) of all allies, including ones not recruited yet.

** A special mention goes out to {{Vindictus}}, whose titles grant stat boosts whether they have been equipped or not. It might be worth going around and kicking 100 gnolls to death, if it will give you +1 STR.
* Each ship in ''FTLFasterThanLight'' has a set of 3 achievements unique to it. Completing 2 of these 3 achievements unlocks a new layout of that ship, which usually feature new initial weapon loadouts, crew rosters, and floor plans.
* Some of the badges {{Pirate101}} serve as flags that signal for a reward ranging from a companion to become available in the crown shop, a housing item, or a pet.
* Some achievements in ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' award small amounts of Cartel Coins (currency otherwise bought only with real money). Maxing companion affection or reaching lvl 50 with a human character awards small stat bonuses to all characters.

** Battle Trophies in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'' appear to be for show, but acquiring enough of them unlocks various [[AndYourRewardIsClothes costume changes]] for the player characters, as well as the harder difficulty settings ([[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Universe and 4D]])

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands2}}'' has a laundry list of minor challenges of the "kill 10/100/1000 enemies with a pistol" variety that look like purely cosmetic achievements, but unlock "badass points" that can be cashed in for small bonuses that [[{{Twinking}} apply to all your characters]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands2}}'' has a laundry list of minor challenges of the "kill 10/100/1000 enemies with a pistol" variety that look like purely cosmetic achievements, but unlock "badass points" that can be cashed in for small bonuses that apply to all your characters.