Armor Dye

Armor/clothing dyes are a new feature in Diablo III, revealed by Jay Wilson at Gamescom, in August, 2010. [1]

There will be about 15 different colors of dye, which players can apply to their character's armor. Dyeing (not dying) will change the color of an item in some aesthetically-pleasing way. It doesn't just re-tint the whole item, it changes some designed aspect of it; sometimes the whole item, sometimes just an outline, or a stripe or swash across the center, depending on the design.

Armor Dyes

It's not known how many pieces of armor can be dyed; possibly just large pieces like body armor, helms, and shields, but perhaps boots, gloves, bracers, shoulder pads, and possibly weapons as well? Details have not yet been revealed.

It's also unknown if each piece can be dyed individually, or if this is more a way for characters to change the hue of their entire outfit. In other words, can clown costumes be created? No one knows, though Jay Wilson has said previously that a design goal in Diablo III was for characters to look better in their outfits. More complementary colors; e.g. the color of the armor would modify or change the other item's colors to match.

More information about how dyes will be obtained and how they will function in the game came from the Diablo 3 community manager, Bashiok, who answered some fan questions about armor dyes after they were revealed at Gamescom.

Bashiok:I wouldn't take the mechanics of how dyes will be accessed as gospel just yet, there have been many ideas on integrating them with other systems, but for the sake of implementation they're drops. They could stay that way, we'll just have to see.

Will the dyes be used solely on individual armor pieces or will there be patterns that change the entire scheme of the character's attire as well?

Bashiok: There are specific slots that are able to be dyed, and it's generally the slots where dying them would actually matter (ie they have some surface area to be dyed).

The dye system is also not a tinting system. And by that I mean we don't apply a color shift to the entire piece of armor. Each piece of dyable armor is specifically designed and built with certain areas that can have their color changed. It could be as simple as a strip of cloth running down a chainmail chest piece, or as complex as an entire robe. We hand craft and designate these areas, and in combination with specific colors we've chosen, we can allow players to have a lot of additional visual variety, while maintaining a controlled look and style to the game.

Are these dyes single colors only?

Bashiok: They're technically a two color gradient, which allows us to achieve a more natural looking coloration, but for the sake of simplicity, yes they're presented as a single color.

I think the idea of having dyes apply effects in different ways is awesome, but don't forget there are plenty of other things going on gear that could be the basis for those types of effects as well.