AION - Prime Guardian Royal Captain Jerkin Mod

In this post, we'll be looking at the new Abyss armor set, starting with the leather version. As the title has shown, this jerkin has a really long name, so I'll just simply refer to it as the Royal Captain set. That should be sufficient since almost all the versions that share the same skin model has the "Royal Captain" label in them.   >.<"

The Royal Captain armor sets were introduced in AION 5.5 (NA patches) for Archdaeva of level 75 and can be bought from NPC vendors with the new Spinel medals, in addition of Abyss points. Similar to the Adma armor sets, the Royal Captain sets also feature golden frames over the basic armor; but the most prominent feature in their design is that feather-decorated shoulder armor and golden translucent feather accessory that hangs from the armor.
 

But since I am only dealing with the chest armor here, I'll just skip the shoulder armor in the images and video.  XD
 

As for the jerkin, it is a tight fitting, full body suit that is a little similar to the Sauro Commander jerkin. The similarity comes from the fact that they both spot a hot pants on one leg and long pants on the other, except that the Royal Captain jerkin has a stocking over the leg spotting the hot pants.
 

Let's first look at the original armor here.

Front View - Original Armor

On the top image, you can see the hot pants with stocking on the right leg and the full long pants on the left leg. There's also a nice accessory with golden translucent feathers, hanging from the left side of her waist. 

Front Close-up View - Original Armor

How to know that the armor is tight fitting? Well...By the belly button of course!   XD

Rear View - Original Armor

Rear Close-up View - Original Armor

There seems to be some black feather design on her back too.

Left Side View - Original Armor

Right Side View - Original Armor

Left Side Close-up View - Original Armor

Plenty of stuff can be done for this mod because of its tight fitting design. First of all, I take the uneven pants design further by turning the long pants side into a super-high-cut, revealing her full leggy left leg, while stripping off the stocking on her right.
 

Next, the dark long sleeves on both hands are recolored into skin, followed by the torso and side regions. A belt of sort is drawn onto the tummy-waist to break continuity between torso skin and pants areas. For some time, I thought about whether to apply transparent layer for the torso but finally decided to just leave it as pure skin layer.
 

Let's check out the modified armor below.

Front View - Modified Armor

I guess from the top image, you can see what I meant by super-high-cut on the left leg.  :p
 

The stocking on her right leg is also gone. 

Front Close-up View - Modified Armor

So are the long sleeves, and the leather around her tummy and waist. Notice the added belt to separate the skin and pants areas.
 

Rear View - Modified Armor

I retained the golden translucent feather accessory because it looks nice.  :D
 

Rear Close-up View - Modified Armor

Side View - Modified Armor

The modified armor looks really 'clean' on the left side, don't you agree? This design concept feels like the Frigida Hauberk.
 

Side Close-up View - Modified Armor

In order for the shoe to match the legs, I have also repainted them to skin color. However, I did not do the same for the gloves since they don't look as weird as the shoes, if not recolored. Imagine wearing socks of different colors on each leg.   ~.~"

 

OK. With this, I wrap up this post. Don't forget to check out the video.

 

Download Link

AION - Frigida Jerkin Mod

This week, we will start looking at the new Frigida armor set, which was recently introduced in AION 5.3 NA. This armor set drops off the reward chest from a new instance known as "Dredgion Defense", where the Balaur launches attacks on the capital city of the Elyos and Asmodians. This PvE instance is currently one of its kind, as it opens only once per week allowing up to 384 participants. Everyone needs to work together in order to achieve the desired points, which then determine the received rewards.

 

As the armor set is related to the Frigida legion which operates under the order of the Dragon Queen of Ice, Ereshkigal; it therefore, has an icy feel to it with a glowing/glittering white-blue tone. Another interesting thing is that I find this armor set to be the sexiest armor to date, with lots of 'unprotected' area around  the body.  XD

Specifically for the leather chest (a.k.a. Jerkin), the right side of the torso looks pretty empty, with only  a vertical piece of armor narrowly covering the front portion. The leg portion of the armor is a shiny, tight-fitting long pants. The other eye-catching part of this armor set is the glowing white-blue accessories that are attached to the armor. These accessories contains draconic design essence, such as sharp claw-like and scale-like structure.

Let's check out the original armor below to see how sexy it really is.

Front View - Original Armor

Front Close-up View - Original Armor

From the second image, we can see that the right side of the front is covered only by a vertical piece of armor, that runs from the right waist to the right breast.

Rear View - Original Armor

Rear Close-up View - Original Armor

 So, the right side of the back is practically.. hmm... 'unprotected'.  >.<"

Right Close-up View - Original Armor

 So is the right side of the torso...   >.<"

Left Close-up View - Original Armor

Wow! The left side of the torso is heavily fortified though!  O.O

Hmmm... how can I make this already sexy armor even sexier?

Well, first of all, I reduced the vertical armor piece on the right torso to just sufficiently cover the breast. Followed by partially modifying the left side of the 'heavy' metallic (I guess from the look) armor into a hard translucent plastic feel. Finally, I changed the long pants into panties-style.

So, what does the armor looks like after modification?

Front View - Modified Armor

First, we can now see the skin of those leggy legs instead the pants.   XD     I have also modified the boots to match the legs.

Front Close-up View 1 - Modified Armor

Front Close-up View 2 - Modified Armor

Notice the reduced armor piece on the right torso? I have also added a transparent layer between the armor piece and the body... to make it not so 'naked'.  XD   Else it will look like simply pasting a stamp over the breast.  ~.~

On the left side, we can see the hard plastic layer in place of the original metal armor. I have made the plastic layer looks like it is a translucent layer over the body. In fact, I have painted a darker dot onto that layer to give the feel that we are actually 'seeing' the left nipple under the thick translucent layer. Well... It isn't very obvious unless you guys look at it very closely.  :p

The reason why I used a "hard plastic cover", instead of those transparent layer that I have always been using, is because the left side armor does not actually follow the body shape tightly. If I had force-used a transparent layer over that, it would become an irregular body shape.   D:

Rear View - Modified Armor

Rear Close-up View - Modified Armor

The rear view looks really 'clean' isn't it? 

Right Close-up View - Modified Armor

Hmm... I am guessing some may find the transparent layer on the left torso a little pesky so I won't mind stripping off that layer if anyone wanted it removed.   XD

Left Close-up View - Modified Armor

The right torso no longer looks as 'heavy' and 'bulky' as before, right?

Well... That wraps up everything for this mod. You can watch the video for a clearer view of the modified armor.

Download Link

 

AION - Indigo Phoenix Jerkin Mod

As a continuation of the Indigo Phoenix armor set, we'll be looking at the Jerkin this week. The jerkin looks great with 2 very visible phoenix embedded onto the chest portion, and leggings that is connected via chains to a pair of tight shorts. Also not forgetting the 2 translucent scarfs that runs down the back of the neck. There's basically nothing that I can hate about this armor, except maybe for those trumpet sleeves.   >.<"

Although the feathers near the hands are nice additions, for an armor that is mostly tight fitting, those trumpet-styled sleeves just look kind of out of place. You guys can take a look at the original armor below and be your own judge. 

Front View - Original Armor

This armor has a very nicely designed hot pants, if you look close enough.  :p   I really like it sooo much that I decide to keep it, instead of turning it into a bikini-styled bottom. 

Front Close-up View - Original Armor

In the above images, everything is nice and fitting and then... you see the trumpet-styled sleeves. o.o

Rear View - Original Armor

Here, we can see the translucent 'scarfs' dropping down from the back of her neck.

Side View - Original Armor

So when I get to the mod, the first target is those sleeves. However, I like the feathers design near the hand, so instead of removing the sleeves totally, I shortened them into some kind of arm bands.   

Front View - Modified Armor

You may have also noticed that I had recolored the dark stockings beneath the chains to skin color. Thereby, giving the impression that the dark stockings are removed.

  

Front Close-up View 1 - Modified Armor

To make the jerkin sexier, I had also removed the slings that connect the top of the bra to the neck accessory and transformed the tummy-side area into a transparent layer. The 2 phoenix look great, guarding each side of the bra, so I kept them.  :D

Front Close-up View 2 - Modified Armor

However, holes lurk just below the phoenix and any reckless removal would exposed them. Thus, the area mostly remain unmodified.

Rear View - Modified Armor

Side View - Modified Armor

Well, that's all for this simple mod. Hope you guys like it. 

 Download Link

 

AION - Kunax's Jerkin & Boots Mod

Finally, we have come to the end of this series of mod. Some might be wondering why did I, as a leather wearing class, not mod the Kunax's Jerkin until now? Especially since, I have already done so for the Hauberk, Breastplate and Tunic.   >.<   Actually, this is one of the mod that I have done very early, even before the birth of this blog. But because I love this armor and the mod so much, I decided to keep it with me for as long as I could.  XD  Plus, I have that tingling feeling, that has been lingering in my heart, that this will be the last mod that I will show, if it is ever published. After completing the previous post on Heavenly Hauberk, I have a strange feeling telling me to show this very last piece of the Kunax's chest armor. Does this signifies the end of this little adventure or just a season finale? Hmm... I don't know either.

 

Anyway, the Kunax's Jerkin is a very beautiful full-body armor, which has a really tight fit, showing off all the curves very nicely, without distracting accessories that distort the smooth flow. I find this armor perfect except for well... that "tail".   ~.~"  In fact, the very first time that I mod this armor is basically just to remove that tail.  :p  But then, if you know skin design or mod, you will know that the area under such accessories will be greyed out, to give it a shadow. And thus, when I removed the tail, the dark patch is clearly visible on the butt.  >.<

 

After some time, I got frustrated with that dark patch and so, I tried to recolor it away. That's when I realized I could probably repaint all the cloth areas to skin color (well... this was when I was still new to skin mod-ding). And that's what I did! Stripping away all the cloth until only the frames are left.. with vital points covered though.  XD

 

However, to show this mod in the blog, I have done some more alterations to add in transparency and cover up more, especially at the butt area.  XD

 

The images below show the original armor before mod.

 

Front View - Original Armor

 The above image shows the full body armor.

Front Close-up View - Original Armor

What a great view of the cleavage area. :p  Also, the skin color here is actually of a darker shade, like a thin translucent layer above the skin.

And that bronze color, sun-like thingy is not part of the chest armor, but the shoulder guard.

Rear View - Original Armor

Here, we can see the unique "tail" with a hook and the end.

Rear Close-up View - Original Armor

And it totally covers the butt area.  ~.~

Side (Left) Close-up View - Original Armor

Side (Right) Close-up View - Original Armor

Looking at the sides, we can see those patterns, with 3D depth, that seem to overlay the skin.

 

From the above images, do you agree that this is a really nice armor?

 

So, as mentioned earlier, most of the cloth are replaced with either skin color or transparency. And this is what it looks like after mod.

 

Front View - Modified Armor

Specially for this blog, I have tuned the darker skin shade to true skin color. It will probably be more obvious in the video.

Front Close-up View - Modified Armor

From this image, you can see the cloth has been repainted to either skin or transparency. The skin area are on the inner side of both legs, while the transparency area covers the front torso, waist and outer side of both legs. 

Front Close-up View 2 - Modified Armor

Well... the black frame ran directly through the middle of both breasts, and that saves me from the crackling headache to try to find ways to hide the sensitive points.  XD  

Rear View - Modified Armor

Gone with the tail but at the expense of a nice décor on the outer side of the left thigh, because they share the same texture.  D: 

Rear Close-up View - Modified Armor

Like what I have done for the butt area? The back here is modified on the earlier mod to cover up a little more. It used to be just a G-string over a bare lower back!   >.< 

Side View - Modified Armor

I find the patterns on the outer side of both legs interesting and so I kept them. But because they have a bit of 3D depth, I can't just simply leave them plainly on the skin as that will seem like ring-worm on the skin. Therefore, I have to add the transparency layer on them.

 

Side (Left) Close-up View - Modified Armor

Side (Right) Close-up View - Modified Armor

So that is all for the chest armor mod. But since I often use this mod, and the unmodified boots looks really weird when worn together with the modified chest armor, due to a sudden discontinuation, I had also modified part of the boots to skin color, while retaining the side patterns. I usually don't do this for the other mods such as Sauro Commander's Tunic.  :p

 

And last but not least, the video.

 

Note:
AION 5.3 has just been launched in NA two weeks ago and NCSoft seem to have added a lot more armors and costumes into the game.  :D  The last skin package number has been increased to 104, overwriting all the filenames of my previous mods. But don't worry though, just change the filenames to 105 and it will be fine.   For example, change "Mesh_Textures_101.PAK" to "Mesh_Textures_105.PAK". The same goes for the "Mesh_Meshes_XXX.PAK" package. This instruction can also be found in the readme.txt that comes with the mod package.  :D

Download Link

 

AION - Heavenly Jerkin & Breeches Mod

In today's mod, we will look at one of the oldest armor in AION. This is the first abyss leather armor set, which was introduced in AION 1.0, for characters between level 25 and 35. If you guys can recall, abyss armor is a class of armor with PvP stats, that reduces damage inflicted by another player.

 

By AION 5.0, new players would probably level up so much faster, that most might have just skipped this armor set and went straight for the level 40, 50, 55 or even 60 ones. But back in the days of AION 1.0, leveling up is a grind fest and having this armor set around might enhance a player's survivability, when questing in the PvP zones. 

 

Although each level range of abyss armors has uniquely designed skin, the different grades of armor (i.e. superior, heroic, fabled, eternal & mythical) does share the same skin (except their colors). The different grades for this set are the "Guardian Recruit's", "Guardian Squad Leader" and "Illustrious" set. Even though they are now outdated in terms of stats, they are still sort after by some skin hunters, thanks to their unique skin.  XD

 

Although this is a leather armor, it gives more of a cloth feel and I find it kind of similar to a housemaid's dress (You know? Those black-white dress that maid wears in Japanese anime XD  ). The jerkin looks much like a bare-shoulder, lace neck party dress and the breeches resembles a short skirt with matching stockings, as shown below.

 

Front View - Original Armor

Front Close-up View - Original Armor

 

Rear View - Original Armor

Rear Close-up View - Original Armor

Hmmm... The back of the dress is what causes me to feel that this design originated from a housemaid's dress...  >.< 

Side View - Original Armor

In order to make the armor more appealing, I have trimmed the bra, dropped the neck lace, modified the sides-back to plastic texture, and of course not forgetting the skirt... No, I didn't remove the skirt this time round. Instead, I have shortened it to reveal more of the leggy legs.  :D

 

So, let's take a look at the modified version below.

 

Front View

Front Close-up View

The layer below the bra is empty and so, I cannot really trim much on this area. Same goes for the tummy, sides and back areas. 

Rear View

Rear Close-up View

 Does the skirt looks cuter now?   :p

Side View

And finally, modified the sides and back from cloth texture to a transparent plastic texture, since I can't do much, due the missing layer below them.

 

You can take a look at the video if the images are not clear enough for you.  @.@

 

 

 Download Link