History Main / OnlySixHelmets

Games that try to avoid OnlySixFaces often offer a wide range of [[CharacterCustomization customization]] options for the player. This can be achieved by letting the player choose from a palette of pre-made faces, or, like many newer games, letting them change single elements of the face with sliders, thereby making it theoretically possible to create thousands of different faces.

Then the player decides to play a warrior, and after ten minutes of playing he finds his first helmet. Which covers the character's face entirely. Wait, why did we spend half an hour at character creation again?

Usually, you can take it off again if you don't like this, but, depending on the [[NintendoHard difficulty of the game]] and the usefulness of the helmet, this may be a bad idea.

Averting this is one of the AcceptableBreaksFromReality (because not wearing a helm in real combat is pretty dumb); see HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic.

Note that this does not apply if there is no CharacterCustomization. This is solely about ''wasted'' customization (because we can't see it). Also applies to hairstyle or anything else that's immediately covered by armor.

Many games allow you to toggle your helmet showing up, so you can still gain the benefit, without obscuring your character.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:{{MMORPG}}s]]
* ''GuildWars'' suffered from this, but it was since changed so that displaying the headgear could be turned off, without losing its benefits.
* ''WorldOfWarcraft'' (almost only vanilla), although the player can choose not to display it or transmogrify it into a different helmet of the same armor class.
* ''MapleStory'' has several face-obscuring helmets, but, graciously, they're limited to the lower levels. And there are still more helmets than there are faces. The most obvious example was an animal head mask in previous versions that you got at an early level and had great stats, but completely hid the character's face, making all characters of a certain class look alike. In later versions, the use of this helmet has become less widespread, though. One would believe this is done to encourage players to purchase more aesthetically pleasing premium NX equipment (including a set of invisible armor) that allows you to wear no helmet or a better looking helmet while still gaining the bonus stats of said equipment.
* ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' has a fairly wide selection of helmets, and most of them don't even cover your face. Sadly, all of them cover your hair, which comes in a variety of styles and colors, [[MoneySink some of which are only available at the in-game store]]. Fortunately, there is a SlashCommand that turns a character's helmet invisible.
* ''GlobalAgenda'', though there's something like 20 helmets per class per gender, and then colors you can layer on, but you undoubtedly spent a long time making your first character's face, and there are vastly more face-customizing options than helmets. Once you get your first helmet, you often never see your face again.
* Averted in DCUniverseOnline, as the appearance of a character and the effects of their costume are not necessarily the same.
* Optionally averted in StarWarsTheOldRepublic, where face-concealing helmets are common, but one of the appearance options removes the head slot item from your character's appearance while still giving you the mechanical benefits.

[[AC:RolePlayingGames]]
* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'': All helmets erase the hair and most helmets cover the face as well. Especially glaring because your armor bonus depends on wearing armor over all parts of your body, so skipping the helmet because you want to show show your character's face means you're going to take a hit on your entire defense.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'': Pretty much the same, although there are more helmets that leave at least parts of the head visible.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' manages to make it ''worse'' since a lot of perks in the armor skill trees require wearing a full set: skip the helmet and you not only lose the helmet's protection you miss out on an additional 50% armor boost and some miscellaneous bonuses as well. However, there are several mods offering open-face helmets, circlets or crowns that offer all benefits of a helmet and none of the facelessness. Others split the difference and display helmets only during combat, leaving them equipped but invisible the rest of the time.
* PowerArmor helmets and some additional headgear (ski masks, welding masks, raider wastehound helmets) in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' cover the entire face. Some outfits, such as Radiation Suits or the Chinese Stealth Armor, cover the entire body including the head.
* Not even an hour into ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' will pass before you procure your first helmet, wasting your hard-spent moments creating the perfect nose for your human noble. At least the game automatically removes helmets during conversations. A popular mod for the PC version also allows helmets to appear unequipped only to be automatically equipped for combat and when you open the menu. It's not without its bugs, however.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' included a feature that allowed the player to hide his/her helmet while keeping it's stats.
* In the ''VideoGame/SiegeOfAvalon Anthology'', you don't get much to customize--just hair color, hairstyle, and whether you have a beard, but every one of the three dozen or so hats, hoods, and helmets covers at least the hair, and usually the face (and beard) as well. However, the non-magical ones are practically useless anyway (giving only 1-2% damage reduction), so going without is perfectly plausible.
* ''VideoGame/HellgateLondon'' has OnlySixFaces, but out of the nine different helmets (18 if counting gender-specific models for each) all of the Templar and Hunter helms conceal some nicely modeled facial features. Going bareheaded isn't recommended, and the stat bonuses are too good to pass up.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', you can procure several different types of headgear for [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] to wear, all of which provide some sort of stat bonus, and almost all of which cover most (if not all) of the face you spent ages getting ''just right''. [[note]](This is in contrast to ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', where Shepard gets ''one'' helmet which provides no stat bonuses and, except in certain hazardous conditions, can be toggled on and off at any time.)[[/note]] Luckily, the stat bonuses, while useful, aren't ''that'' big, and going helmet-less isn't a huge risk. However, during certain missions (unless Shepard is already wearing a full armor set), the game will force Shepard to wear the N7 Breather Helmet, which covers everything except his/her eyes.
** Speaking of the full armor sets: the number one complaint about them is that they all have non-removable helmets which cover Shepard's face entirely. Since most of the game's {{cutscene}}s occur while (s)he's in his/her armor, this can cause some...strange situations, such as Shepard being able to drink liquor through his/her faceplate, or people recognizing Shepard by sight despite the fact that (s)he's dressed head-to-toe as a Collector.
** Wearing a helmet with a face mask also causes Shepard's voice to sound like it's coming from a speaker which can get annoying at times.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' has a wide variety of customization options for faces, but helmets cover up all of that. You can slightly change the color of the helmets, but it is typically a small change.
* ''VideoGame/TempleOfElementalEvil''; luckily, helms have no in-game effect, except for the magic ones (and most of them are headbands).
* Played straight in DemonsSouls. The game features quite a robust face-customization, but helmets very often obscure them when you do get it. Thankfully, early helmets aren't all-obscuring, and later helmets are made of [[CoolHelmet cool]], so everybody wins.
** In the case of DarkSouls however, the trope is turned on its head. While there are helmets to obscure your carefully crafted face, during the beginning of the game, your starting state is that of an Undead. Wrinkly and really ugly, you cannot wait to reach for that helmet as soon as you get one. Just to throw more insult, none of the starting class headgears fully conceal your Undead face (except for male Thief mask). The only way to see the face properly? Reverse the Hollow state and become Human. [[OhCrap Which carries the risk of being invaded by another player if you choose to do so]], not to mention lacking headgears hurts your defense. Fortunately, There is a half of a dozen [[NiceHat nice hats]] to choose from, that usually are rather light. Most players feel that style is more important then effect, so you will be seeing a lot of these, especially since helmets have the least effect on stats compared to other gear slots.
* VideoGame/DragonsDogma plays this mostly straight - you can spend forever making a good face for yourself and your main pawn, then put on a helmet and you can't see any of it, but only when you're out in the wild parts of the world; the vast majority of masks, hoods and helmets have the visor flip up so your face isn't covered when you're in a town.

[[AC:Sandbox]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' allows you to choose a hairstyle and hair color (sometimes with facial hair) for your character. It even lets you use the entire 24-bit color spectrum to do so. But, once you get that first helmet, kiss that hair goodbye (barring certain social helmets worn on top of it), including the facial hair, as there's only one sprite for each equipped helmet, and that sprite has no hair.
** There is a wig you can wear, which you put over your helmet so you look hatless. [[CommonplaceRare It's really hard to get hold of it, though.]] You can also get a few social helmets that are practically nothing, like a flower in your hair; these will conceal your helmet if worn. There's also a set of social clothing that allows you to look like you're not wearing any armor, but it costs a pretty penny.
* {{Minecraft}} gives you the ability to create a player skin in which every pixel is custom designed. While the helmets aren't full-face, a full suit of armor means your face and hands are the only part of that skin you worked so hard on that can be seen, and for many texture packs, not even that. And even when not fully covered (either because you don't have a full set or because the texture pack you're using drew the armor to cover less), the armor often clashes with the player skin. Its unadvisable to fight mosters without armor, and certain resorces can only be gained by killing monsters.
* ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' offers lots of character customization, including sex, race, hair styles, age, and all manner of facial sliders. Many of the helmets will cover facial features, the ones with the best defenses are all-encompassing, and every hat in the game hides the player's hair. Compounding the problem is the fact that going without some kind of head protection is extremely unsafe, because the game averts AnnoyingArrows to a hideously lethal degree.
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* ''MapleStory'' has several face-obscuring helmets, but, graciously, they're limited to the lower levels. And there are still more helmets than there are faces.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' manages to make it ''worse'' since a lot of perks in the armor skill trees require wearing a full set: skip the helmet and you not only lose the helmet's protection you miss out on an additional 50% armor boost and some miscellaneous bonuses as well. However, there are several mods offering open-face helmets, circlets or crowns that offer all benefits of a helmet and none of the facelessness.

* PowerArmor helmets and some additional headgear (ski masks, welding masks, raider wastehound helmets) in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' cover the entire face. Some outfits like hazmat suits or the stealth armor cover the entire body including the head.

** There is a wig you can wear, which you put over your helmet so you look hatless. [[CommonplaceRare It's really hard to get hold of it, though.]] You can also get a few social helmets that are practically nothing, like a flower in your hair; these will conceal your helmet if worn.

** There is a wig you can wear, which you put over your helmet so you look hatless. [[CommonplaceRare It's really hard to get hold of it, though.]]

* ''TempleOfElementalEvil''; luckily, helms have no in-game effect, except for the magic ones (and most of them are headbands).

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', you can procure several different types of headgear for [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] to wear, all of which provide some sort of stat bonus, and almost all of which cover most (if not all) of the face you spent ages getting ''just right''. [[hottip:*:(This is in contrast to VideoGame/MassEffect1, where Shepard gets ''one'' helmet which provides no stat bonuses and, except in certain hazardous conditions, can be toggled on and off at any time.)]] Luckily, the stat bonuses, while useful, aren't ''that'' big, and going helmet-less isn't a huge risk. However, during certain missions (unless Shepard is already wearing a full armor set), the game will force Shepard to wear the N7 Breather Helmet, which covers everything except his/her eyes.

* ''{{Terraria}}'' allows you to choose a hairstyle and hair color (sometimes with facial hair) for your character. It even lets you use the entire 24-bit color spectrum to do so. But, once you get that first helmet, kiss that hair goodbye (barring certain social helmets worn on top of it), including the facial hair, as there's only one sprite for each equipped helmet, and that sprite has no hair.

** The game forces nothing. It's the lack of air, or air being toxic that forces the team to wear helmets.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', you can procure several different types of headgear for [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] to wear, all of which provide some sort of stat bonus, and almost all of which cover most (if not all) of the face you spent ages getting ''just right''. [[hottip:*:(This is in contrast to MassEffect1, where Shepard gets ''one'' helmet which provides no stat bonuses and, except in certain hazardous conditions, can be toggled on and off at any time.)]] Luckily, the stat bonuses, while useful, aren't ''that'' big, and going helmet-less isn't a huge risk. However, during certain missions (unless Shepard is already wearing a full armor set), the game will force Shepard to wear the N7 Breather Helmet, which covers everything except his/her eyes.

* ''WorldOfWarcraft'', although the player can choose not to display it or transmogrify it into a different helmet of the same armor class.

* Not even an hour into ''VideoGame/DragonAge'' will pass before you procure your first helmet, wasting your hard-spent moments creating the perfect nose for your human noble. At least the game automatically removes helmets during conversations. A popular mod for the PC version also allows helmets to appear unequipped only to be automatically equipped for combat and when you open the menu. It's not without its bugs, however.

** In the case of DarkSouls however, the trope is turned on its head. While there are helmets to obscure your carefully crafted face, during the beginning of the game, your starting state is that of an Undead. Wrinkly and really ugly, you cannot wait to reach for that helmet as soon as you get one. Just to throw more insult, none of the starting class headgears fully conceal your Undead face (except for male Thief mask). The only way to see the face properly? Reverse the Hollow state and become Human. [[OhCrap Which carries the risk of being invaded by another player if you choose to do so]], not to mention without a helmet, your defenses are mostly, well, horse manure. Fortunately, There is a half of a dozen [[NiceHat nice hats]] to choose from, that usually are rather light. Most players feel that style is more important then effect, so you will be seeing a lot of these.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' manages to make it ''worse'' since a lot of perks in the armor skill trees require wearing a full set: skip the helmet and you not only lose the helmet's protection you miss out on an additional 50% armor boost and some miscellaneous bonuses as well.

** In the case of DarkSouls however, the trope is turned on its head. While there are helmets to obscure your carefully crafted face, during the beginning of the game, your starting state is that of an Undead. Wrinkly and really ugly, you cannot wait to reach for that helmet as soon as you get one. Just to throw more insult, none of the starting class headgears fully conceal your Undead face (except for male Thief mask). The only way to see the face properly? Reverse the Hollow state and become Human. [[OhCrap Which carries the risk of being invaded by another player if you choose to do so]], not to mention without a helmet, your defenses are mostly, well, horse manure.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' manages to make it ''worse'' since a lot of perks in the armor skill trees require wearing a full set: skip the helmet and you not only loose the helmet's protection you miss out on an additional 50% armor boost and some miscellanious bonuses as well.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'': Pretty much the same, although there are more helmets that leave at least parts of the head visible.

* DragonsDogma plays this mostly straight - you can spend forever making a good face for yourself and your main pawn, then put on a helmet and you can't see any of it, but only when you're out in the wild parts of the world; the vast majority of masks, hoods and helmets have the visor flip up so your face isn't covered when you're in a town.

* ''HellgateLondon'' has OnlySixFaces, but out of the nine different helmets (18 if counting gender-specific models for each) all of the Templar and Hunter helms conceal some nicely modeled facial features. Going bareheaded isn't recommended, and the stat bonuses are too good to pass up.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'': All helmets erase the hair and most helmets cover the face as well.
** Especially glaring because your armor bonus depends on wearing armor over all parts of your body, so skipping the helmet because you want to show show your character's face means you're going to take a hit on your entire defense.

* Not even an hour into ''VideoGame/DragonAge'' will pass before you procure your first helmet, wasting your hard-spent moments creating the perfect nose for your human noble.
** A popular mod for the PC version allows helmets to appear unequipped only to be automatically equipped for combat and when you open the menu. It's not without its bugs, however.
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' included a feature that allowed the player to hide his/her helmet while keeping it's stats.