Armour Cosmetic Customization

We all remember how the Mk VIII was introduced for 5.0, right? It was a sore spot for many, because it came with a Ravenwing icon and an antenna on the side, but no iconless variant. The devs clearly heard the community's displeasure at this, because when 6.0 was announced, they showed both a Mk VI with and without a Raven Guard icon. This was more acceptable, but it left something of a sour taste. After all, how come the Mk VI gets an iconless variant, but not the Mk VIII? So in February, a public event was held into the beginning of March where if players could beat one ops mission with each class, they could get the iconless Mk VIII--a helmet which should've already been readily available by now, and you not only had a limited time to get it, but you also had to be registered to Prism Pros to be able to participate, much the same way with the Chainsword skin based on the Chainsword from the first game. The Mk VIII was pretty badly fumbled for its introduction. Something which could've been avoided had we been given an iconless variant from that very update.

Beyond that, it's the Mk X that gets all the fancy decorations and cosmetics--and even in that, just the Tacticus configuration, with the Gravis and Phobos variants left in the dust--even the Bulwark's more knightly variant of Tacticus is largely ignored. And as great as it is to have the firstborn helmets, those decorations still look fantastic, and I wish we could have some of that on them.

What do I propose? I propose that there be a separate Icons piece, which can be applied to any helmet. This can be the unlockable both via the gameplay cosmetics the way they traditionally are gotten, and the ones in the heraldry menu. We're talking the Deathwatch icon, the Ultramarines icon, Black Templars, Brazen Consuls, Dark Angels (yes, even the Ravenwing emblem), and Raven Guard icons. And most of all, the Skull icons which are the first unlock for each class--simple, chapter-agnostic, perfect. Have them separate from the helmets, and able to be applied from the Armour tab. Now let's throw in things like wreathes and the plumes. This would add security should new helmets be introduced, such as the iconic Mk VII or the Heresy-era helmets, or the Phobos Incursor helmet--yes, if anyone here didn't know, there is a primaris helmet pattern used by Phobos Space Marines (specifically they come in the Infiltrator kit) on the tabletop that has been around for years, and yet still isn't in this game.

(Infiltrator helmet mockup via image editing software. Not done by me, it came from a reddit post. Or maybe it's a mod? I dunno, I'm getting conflicting information. Either way, fan-made, not official.)

Now, apply this to the rest of the armour. Basically, you have the base armour on one layer, and the decorations on another. By having a separate decorations selection, you can also try adding other armour components as well. Imagine your favourite class's relic secundus on a suit of Mk VII. (Imagine having a full set of Mk VII, though I'm getting ahead of myself)

I'm far from the first person to suggest this. In fact, I'll link some other posts right now to check out and upvote, in the hopes that someone at Focus will notice at least one of us and agree.