Bah! speaking from experience with an old MMORPG -
there used to be er.. 5 different types of 'heavy armor' and you only used the highest type u could wear (unless u were me and liked to look really cool with a mixed set
) - then there was a mage outfit, and about 4 different ranger outfits.
we all thought 'hmm some new armor would be nice' (crafting these armors was a PAIN) - so the devs there decided to add some new pieces obtainable only from merchants/quests - and even some craftable ones.
about a year later - i came back to the game to say hi to a few old friends - and saw ppl running around in a myriad amount of armors i was SHOCKED - there were WAY too many. i tried playing a bit then found that my old set was 'outdated' and no one used 'armor 5' anymore - it was all about the new quest armor from so and so quest - and the weapon from such and such merchant obtainable only after this or that quest.
i was disgusted - WAY too many different armors for me, and there was a SERIOUS problem in armors bieng very much better than the others. (not to mention outrageous prices... to put in Ryzom terms - a set of 'armor5' would cost about 1million dapper, and a set of 'armor6' would cost about 30 million dapper)
the way armors are made now is GREAT - i love having only 9 parts for each race - it makes each race unique and easy to take care of. and it helps me from having to go "ok, what was that armor called again? no no, the red one"
wow long post.. all i meant to say was 'i like having this many armors'