This thread is more geared towards console players as lucky PC players can download mods.
Hopefully the speculations about modding for consoles will be confirmed and this thread won’t matter anyway.

And so...

One of my problems with Oblivion was the lack of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Artifacts and aesthetically pleasing http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Armor. Your options (limited too heavy or light, no options for medium) were all very similar. With heavy you got your typical plate, a heavy and bulky armour that you would imagine a fairy tale knight wearing. And Light armour where the leather tended to look like a skin tight spandex or badly stitched scrap. Then you had chain, glass and Elven which pretty much looked like heavy armour anyway.

In short the general theme for Oblivion armour was heavy battle armour, there was no real subtle adventurer armour or a greater variation for actual light http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_armour (read under construction, pretty much sums it up).

For Skyrim I would like to see more variations in each class, so not just the typical suit of armour but more like http://www.schmitthenner.com/cuirass.htm (scroll down) and I suppose http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Armor, with the possible addition of the medium armour class for the heavier bits (more metal less leather and padding). The first link in this paragraph shows armour from a variety of different cultures, most of which have a similar representation in TES. The addition of this type armour would also aid the transitions from armour to armour, as they are more similar allowing you to wear different armours and not look like you got dressed in the dark. Oblivion armour was also very bright and shiny (with some exceptions) so that most of the time you looked like you were going on a crusade or about to have a massive battle in squares, which is fine except that a lot of you (me included) were not, especially as you spent most of the game trudging through caves, woodlands and ruins....no real battlefields there.

The other thing I would like to see is wearing armour over your clothes, this would greatly add to the realism and variety in customization.

Please discuss and add links from your preference within topic, I recommend having a good look through http://www.schmitthenner.com/cuirass.htm.

Many thanks for reading

I would like to see a LOT more light armour options.

I'm really not a fan of heavy, bulky armour... it just doesn't suit the character-type I go for. In Oblivion there really wasn't much to choose from beyond Leather, Fur, etc. so most of the time I just ended up wearing normal shirts / tops that don't offer defense.

I would also like to see more layering, as you suggested. Not just armour over clothes, but light armour under clothes also. Particularly for stealth types, it would be cool to look like a civilian but have some kind of protective vest underneath.

This. Bethesda even stated that there would be more armor variation. Which is a good thing.

lol, I have just bought a nice woodsman type shirt, with my blacksmith pants.

I like you armour under cover for stealth idea, that makes sense and would also make mithril more useful.

This. Bethesda even stated that there would be more armor variation. Which is a good thing.

That is good news :celebration: