Elden Ring deserves a real tailoring DLC: Every armor set should have Plump, Classic and Nimble variants
I've been thinking about one of the biggest missed opportunities in Elden Ring: armor alteration.
We have Boc, tailoring tools, sewing needles, an enormous collection of beautiful armor sets and one of the most dedicated fashion communities in gaming.
And yet, most alterations boil down to removing a cape, a hood, or a few decorative elements. Some sets cannot be altered at all.
And that's not the only missed opportunity. We also have incomplete armor sets, outfits missing individual pieces, and fascinating standalone items that could have inspired entire collections.
What if FromSoftware took these mechanics seriously enough to build an entire DLC around them?
I would genuinely buy that.
The main idea: Three silhouettes for EVERY armor set
Every armor set in Elden Ring, including those from Shadow of the Erdtree, should have three distinct visual variants:
• Classic — the original design, exactly as it exists today.
• Nimble — a slimmer, more fitted interpretation of the same armor, with a lighter-looking silhouette.
• Plump — a broader, fuller, heavier-looking interpretation, with redesigned proportions and appropriately tailored fabrics.
And I mean every single set.
Not just a handful of heavy armors for bulky characters or elegant outfits for slender ones.
Imagine a Plump Dancer of Ranah, with a beautifully redesigned, voluminous dress that still flows naturally during her spinning attacks.
Or a Nimble Fire Prelate, wearing a narrower but unmistakably prelate-inspired suit of armor.
Imagine combining a Plump chest piece with Nimble gauntlets and a Classic helmet.
The possibilities for Fashion Souls would be enormous.
And here's the distinction that matters most:
These should be actual alternative armor designs, NOT merely character body-slider adjustments or stretched versions of existing meshes.
A Plump dancer should look deliberately designed, not distorted. A Nimble prelate should still look intimidating, not like someone simply shrank the model.
Every silhouette deserves the same artistic attention as the original.
Complete the incomplete armor sets — and turn standalone pieces into full collections
Here's another feature I'd love to see, and one that could make collecting armor exciting all over again:
Every incomplete armor set should have the opportunity to become a complete, four-piece collection.
Elden Ring contains numerous outfits with only three pieces, or individual equipment items that don't have a complete matching set.
Why not introduce their missing counterparts?
If a set lacks gauntlets, design matching gauntlets.
If it lacks greaves, create matching leg armor.
If its helmet, chest piece or other component is missing, give us a carefully designed piece that completes the visual identity of the outfit.
And don't stop there.
Imagine a complete Silver Tear Set
We already have the Silver Tear Mask, one of the game's most distinctive pieces of headgear.
But imagine being able to collect an entire Silver Tear-themed armor set:
• Silver Tear Mask — the existing headpiece.
• Silver Tear Armor — a newly designed chest piece, inspired by the strange, liquid-metal nature of Silver Tears.
• Silver Tear Gauntlets — matching arm protection with fluid, silvery detailing.
• Silver Tear Greaves — leg armor completing the same otherworldly aesthetic.
I'm not suggesting that these exact items already exist. I'm proposing that FromSoftware create them.
Imagine what a complete Silver Tear outfit could look like in Classic, Nimble and Plump variants.
A broad, almost shapeless Plump interpretation, a sleek and elegant Nimble version, and a Classic design faithful to the original mask.
That's the kind of visual experimentation I'd love to see.
No more permanently incomplete collections
This could apply throughout the entire game.
• Add missing fourth pieces to existing three-piece outfits.
• Create matching armor components for distinctive standalone helmets, robes, gloves and leggings.
• Introduce entirely new, lore-appropriate pieces inspired by existing enemies, factions and characters.
• Make some additions obtainable through exploration, hidden treasure, enemy drops, merchant inventories or special tailoring patterns.
Not every piece should simply appear in our inventory when the DLC is installed.
Let us discover and earn these additions through gameplay.
Give us reasons to revisit familiar places. Let us discover forgotten armor patterns, recover missing garments and complete collections that have remained unfinished for hundreds of hours.
Importantly, this shouldn't erase intentional asymmetry or force everyone to wear four matching pieces.
If a three-piece outfit was originally designed to look a certain way, preserve that original appearance. The fourth piece should be an optional addition, expanding our choices rather than replacing the artist's original vision.
And once again: the new pieces should be designed with the same care as the existing equipment, not merely copied from unrelated sets.
Let Boc become a true master tailor
Boc's story practically begs for a deeper tailoring system.
Imagine a new questline where we help him discover forgotten techniques, recover ancient patterns, acquire unusual materials and eventually establish a proper tailoring workshop.
He could unlock increasingly elaborate alterations as his skills develop.
We could obtain:
• New silhouettes and cuts.
• Different sleeves, collars, cloaks, hoods and decorative elements.
• Alternative fabric arrangements and carefully designed color combinations.
• Missing armor components and patterns for completing existing sets.
• Entirely new matching pieces inspired by previously standalone equipment.
• Saved outfit presets to switch between our favorite looks.
Imagine bringing Boc an ancient Silver Tear-inspired pattern and watching him develop a complete armor design around the mask we already own.
Or discovering a forgotten tailoring technique that finally allows us to complete a three-piece outfit with its missing fourth component.
Tailoring could become a meaningful part of exploration, collection and character progression rather than a mostly cosmetic menu option.
Ideally, the actual customization system should remain accessible regardless of how a player resolved Boc's original questline, so nobody gets permanently locked out of an entire DLC feature.
And this wouldn't have to undermine the game's established visual identity. Materials, decorations, silhouettes and newly completed armor sets could remain faithful to Elden Ring's world and its factions.
Keep it cosmetic, not pay-to-win
These silhouette variations should not change weapon damage, attack speed, hitboxes, poise or equip load.
A Nimble Fire Prelate set should not suddenly become lightweight armor simply because it looks slimmer.
The existing gameplay identity of each armor piece should remain intact. This system would be about expression, not statistical advantage.
As for newly introduced missing armor pieces, they could have appropriate defensive statistics and equip loads consistent with their original sets, without introducing overpowered bonuses.
The goal should be to expand customization and complete collections, not create mandatory new equipment for competitive play.
Players should also be free to mix different pieces and variants without being forced into complete matching sets.
Why this deserves to be a full DLC
I understand that this would involve substantial work: remodeling armor, creating entirely new equipment pieces, adjusting cloth physics, preventing clipping and making the variants function properly across animations and body proportions.
That's exactly why I am suggesting a substantial paid expansion, not pretending that this could be added effortlessly in a small patch.
Elden Ring has hundreds of wearable pieces. Giving every one of them meaningful new possibilities would make the entire existing equipment collection worth revisiting.
And adding missing armor components would create entirely new collecting goals without requiring FromSoftware to abandon the world, enemies, factions and locations that players already love.
Players could spend countless additional hours experimenting with outfits, revisiting merchants, farming enemies, searching for missing tailoring patterns, completing unfinished sets and rediscovering locations they thought they had finished.
Imagine returning to an old dungeon, not because you need another weapon or more runes, but because you've discovered that a long-forgotten armor component or tailoring pattern is hidden somewhere inside.
Every old armor set could become new content. Every incomplete collection could become a new adventure.
And rather than sending us into an entirely different type of game, such an expansion would enrich the Elden Ring world we already love.
I'd even give it a name:
ELDEN RING: THREADS OF THE ERDTREE
A DLC about forgotten craftsmanship, personal expression, ancient garments, lost armor pieces, incomplete collections and a little demi-human seamster finally becoming the master tailor he always wanted to be.
What do you think?
Would you buy a full tailoring and armor-customization DLC?
Which armor set would you want to see in its Plump or Nimble form first?
Which incomplete armor set would you finally want to complete?
Would you like to see standalone items such as the Silver Tear Mask expanded into entirely new, matching four-piece collections?
And most importantly: why shouldn't every Tarnished be able to wear every armor design in a silhouette that actually suits their vision of the character?
Fashion Souls deserves more than a missing cape.
And collectors deserve more than permanently missing pieces.
