Basic Trope: A combination of equipment in a video game that offer superb stat boosts, but look horrendous when used together.
- Straight: In the Role-Playing Game Pothole War, Bob's best gear includes, but is not limited to, a viking helmet, a polka-dot trenchcoat, several gold chains, a massive chicken drumstick, and thigh-high boots. The off-kilter combination of items, however, compensates by turning Bob into a Game-Breaker with how many stat boosts and added benefits they provide him.
- Exaggerated: In order for anyone to get anywhere, they have to use the most gaudy clothes they can find, where even the weakest plaid mittens can block more damage than practically any enemy is capable of delivering.
- Downplayed:
- All of Bob's best equipment have a bit of visual flair added to it, but nothing beyond some markings or slight rusting.
- There are full set bonuses that usually make it better to wear a coordinated outfit. But there are still occasional cases where mismatched clothing is still a reasonable choice.
- Justified:
- All of Bob's gear is sentient, able to change its look based upon the interests of the wielder. Unfortunately for Bob, it takes a while for the effects to kick in for him, so he's stuck with how the equipment looks when he first finds it.
- Bob's gear is from all of the remaining spare parts of Lost Technology and parts of legendary armor left in the armory after the hero lost them then went out to fight again.
- Function over form.
- Inverted: The best equipment in the game is merely colored gray, no decorations or embellishments whatsoever.
- Penalties for mismatched sets are so draconian that illogically you are better off going with just plate gauntlets and a helmet rather than mixing leather and cloth armor with it. Runner up is wearing just leather armor, or just cloth armor.
- Going with whatever is the most visually cohesive and ignoring the stats works better in Player Vs Player content as the somewhat cheesy camouflage more than makes up for nominally far inferior stats.
- Subverted: Bob is stuck with his viking helmet-spotted trenchcoat-chicken leg set-up for the majority of the game, until he reaches the final dungeon and is given his old knight-like equipment back, reforged to become Infinity +1 Sword status.
- Double Subverted: The reforging process, however, underwent some difficulties, which means that Bob now looks like a cowboy pirate nobleman flailing a pool stick around.
- Parodied: Leaving equipment unembellished is unheard of; everyone assumes that it's the designs and decorations on it that gives items its power, rather than the material and quality of its construction.
- Zig Zagged: Pothole War is an MMORPG that receives frequent updates; with every update, new items and equipment is added. The visual and in-game practicality of the best items tend to vary as a result.
- Averted:
- The garish objects are treated as Joke Items.
- The game allows its players to apply the stats of one equipment to another, meaning Bob can wear a proper armor while retaining the power of the garish objects.
- Enforced:
- "The game's already got six rabid piñatas as bosses, one of whom breathes poisonous air freshener, and at least half of the world takes place in your everyday suburbs; at this point, the best items should be just as batshit bonkers as the rest of it."
- the Nov. 12, 1992 to Feb. 7, 1993 dev-builds used stock images and whatnot for the gear, as the devs were more focused on zeroing in on the gameplay issues than on the looks during this phase of development. *
- Normally the penalties for such a mismatched outfit leaves you with little offensive or defensive power, but this outfit underflows them to max.
- Lampshaded: "Not that I'm complaining, but any chance I could find a version of this stuff that doesn't come in tacky?"
- Invoked: Bob takes his reasonable-looking equipment and intentionally mangles it to ruin the look, so as to make an already strong set stronger at the cost of aesthetics.
- Exploited: The gear is intentionally designed to be horribly discordant, in hope of distracting opponents or at least causing them to underestimate the gear's wearer.
- Defied: Bob takes all his items to a tailor so as to reap their benefits, but under a new, more fitting design.
- Discussed: "I just wish, for once, I could find something that's sensible-looking and was this strong. Efficient yet elegant; is that too much to ask?"
- Conversed: "Well, someone had too much fun designing the items in this game."
- Deconstructed:
- Because of how gaudy he looks while wearing the set, Bob is ridiculed and treated as an oaf everywhere he goes.
- Bob's combat stats shoot through the roof with his set, but in exchange, his charisma stat runs into the ground.
- While the gear may give major benefits the lack of cohesion is tracked gear may cause fumbles by catching on other parts, enemies are more likely to stab through gaps, especially with stealth and flanked attacks and forget about stealth with a silhouette made that obvious.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob also uses the ridiculous-looking equipment to his advantage, putting the mockers in their place with his chicken leg and spotted trenchcoat. He eventually goes down in history as one of the greatest heroes in history despite (or even because of) how inane it sounds on paper.
- Bob's using his equipment to fight monsters, not attempt to seduce NPCs, so his charisma is a Dump Stat.
- Played For Laughs: The developers deliberately put in utterly inappropriate equipment that completely negates the weaknesses of a class. Necromancers can cover their light weakness with Frills of Justice, a warrior can boost their evasion and elemental resistances with a pink tutu, etc.
Get those striped overalls of maximum defense up and those status-protecting 4-inch heels in gear and head back to Rainbow Pimp Gear on the double.
