I’m kinda sick of walking around Witcher 3’s world looking like Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. I’m supposed to be a gruff and grizzled monster hunter, living in a filthy world and at the bottom of the social hierarchy, dishing out menacing threats in a monotone voice, yet I’m dressed in pristine baby blue prince pyjamas because they happen to be the strongest clothes I’ve come across so far. Let me cut & paste the stats from these Pierrot cumrags into a butcher’s apron or something. And let me do it freely, with no in-game wank about having to visit a special magic tailor in the bumhole of nowhere, and with no restrictions on how often I can do it.
Fuckin’ 17th century unsuccessful baroque composer lookin’ ass. If someone came up to me dressed like my Witcher character, and challenged me to a fight to the death, I’d take the challenge because I know that no just universe or god would allow any harm to come to me from a person wearing that outfit. They could thrust an obsidian-tipped spear directly into my belly, and it’d harmlessly curve around me like a snake climbing a banana tree. The sacred blood of Christ would not allow for even a mild abrasion to befall me by the lace-gloved hand of a ballet theatre’s chief bathroom attendant.
I agree with you, if equipment is just cosmetic, then at the end of the day why even bother with equipment at all? Just have cosmetics without stats and leave it at that.
I think fallout does a good job of this with having hazmat suits that help with rad, or “cool” attire that helps with bartering. The idea is that the design should complement the stats.