Patch 5.2 is finally here! It’s felt like such a long wait, even though the overall patch cadence has been the same for years now. At every turn, Shadowbringers has left me wanting more in a way that I don’t think any of FFXIV‘s previous expansions have managed (and I’m already looking forward to Patch 5.3, in the best of ways). For now, I’m still working through the new content, and I hope to have some first impressions up soon, once I’ve had time for all of the main beats. I did want to make a little time to put together a new glamour, though, since it feels like it’s been so long since we got new toys to work with.

Naturally, I did the Main Scenario Quests first, since the expansion’s primary draw has been the excellent story so far. While my last “canon” glamour served its purpose well enough for that, I’ve had the itch for something new on my main job that I haven’t properly been able to scratch with the gear options we’ve had up until now. Patch 5.2’s brought with it several new things to work with, but as ever, the most immediately accessible of these is the new high end crafted gear.

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Glamour Components (Requirements: DRK/GNB/PLD/WAR 80, Female)
Weapon: Odenta Kai (Grape Purple)
Head: Reading Glasses (Ul Brown)
Body: Neo-Ishgardian Top of Fending (Grape Purple)
Hands: Arhat Kote of Fending
Legs: Faire Kohakama (Grape Purple)
Feet: Ishgardian Thighboots (Jet Black)

On a personal level, I’m somewhat torn by the new gear. Based on the winner of a Ranged DPS gear design contest, each of the new sets has split gender morphing, following the winning design. As has become a bit of a refrain for me, I find myself mostly preferring the male designs for Alahra over the female ones, which are a bit too frilly for both her and my tastes. That said, there’s a lot to like about the female designs, particularly the corsets, of which I’m quite fond. I also rather like that they’re tied flavor-wise to Ishgard, which gives them a better place setting-wise than simply tossing the gear into some dungeon (as was done with previous contest winners during Stormblood).

So, I knew I wanted to do some glamours with them despite my misgivings because they’re still interesting even if they aren’t necessarily contenders for canonical Alahra’s fashion preferences. Of course, the sets are also still pretty pricey, given that it’s early in the patch, and so I had all the more reason to start with Dark Knight (since I’ll at least get some use out of the body piece for awhile to ensure my money’s worth). The Fending top provides a bit of a unique challenge, though.

Body pieces with asymmetrical sleeves or armguards can be a bit tricky, since they’re almost always dependent on the set-appropriate handwear to work. In the case of this one, there’s armor on one side and a puffy sleeve on the other, with the armor in particular being a shade that can be matched with any existing dyes (stop me if you’re heard that one before). While my first instinct with the top was to go all in on black and gold, which is one of my favored color schemes for Alahra, I couldn’t find a pair of gauntlets that could both cover the puffy sleeve on one side and match the armor plating’s color on the other.

After some digging around, though, I stumbled on an old piece I never got around to actually using, but had kept around because I had this strange sense that it would be some day: the Arhat Kote from the initial round of level cap dungeons of Stormblood. Their gold plating is almost a perfect match for that on the Neo-Ishgardian Top, and they’ve also got some black to to pair with the rest. Thankfully, the fabric on the top also closely matches that on the Kote when dyed Grape Purple. That gave me a little more direction, and largely determined everything else.

For an appropriate flavor match, I brought in the Ishgardian Thighboots, too (which work very well with the Neo-Ishgardian sets, so credit to the art team there for consistency). With gold studs and a solid leather base they’re a good fit for the top while also working well for the sort of ceremonial vibe the Neo-Ishgardian set has going for it (at least for the female morphs). Following after an older Dark Knight glamour from this expansion, I pulled the Faire Kohakama too, which are a solid fit for the body piece’s cloth skirt.

This is admittedly the sort of glamour that may not last too long: as I’ve already mentioned, much of the Neo-Ishgardian gear seems pretty out of place for Alahra, and frankly a lot of the female morphs seem a bit off for adventuring use—at least for the melee-centric classes. I have to also admit, though, that after I put the look together, it really started to grow on me. Purple and black isn’t a color scheme that I play around with often, but I’ve always been fond of it (thanks in part to my long love of the Yoshimitsu Nexus), and it pops especially well with gold thrown in the mix. So, it’s definitely working for now!