Armor Dye
Armor 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 re-tint the whole item, it modifies 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 dyeing is purely cosmetic; there's no performance benefit; you can't get camouflage or anything like that. It's just something for players to have fun with and give their character some originality.
Armor Dyes
Armor dyes can be found or purchased, and there will be rarer dyes as well as more common ones. For instance, a shade of red may be found all the time, but a darker shade might be much less common, and thus all the more desired.
Dyes are single use; when you use a color on any piece of armor, it's gone. You'll need to find multiple samples of the same dye to color all of your equipment the same hue.
It's not known how many pieces of armor can be dyed; definitely the body armor, as well as pants. It should also be possible to dye your shoulders, bracers, belt, gloves, and boots. Helms will likely be dyeable as well, despite their apparent metallic nature. It's magical dye!
Official Comments
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 in August 2010.
- 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.
